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Strategic databanks: design for success	[ "Strategic planning", "Management information", "Business planning" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: For many firms, the strategic planning process is compromised from the outset because the management team lacks a multidimensional strategic databank - one that can crystallize the issues and opportunities the firm faces. While data abound, many managers lack critical and balanced information. As a result, subjective opinion and selective historical performance reviews overly influence strategic decisions. Key managers make impulsive or gut-based decisions about how to best allocate resources, respond to competitive threats, or seize (apparent) opportunities in the marketplace.\nStrategic databank guidelines: When the management team begins to prepare for the strategy-development process, the goal is to produce an insightful view of the dynamics of a firm's internal and external operating environment. But how best to characterize the firm and its current strategic condition? High-performing managers:* Structure a succinct, accessible, and illuminating databank.* Establish a common language and a shared perspective.* Engage a cross-functional team of managers in the active process of assessing what's relevant.Here are four practical guidelines for developing a useful strategic databank:Assemble the building-blocks: explore and translate historic performance\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Strategic planning remains the top-ranked management tool, across continents, sectors, and firm sizes. Yet many firms fail to adequately prepare a strategic databank to help optimize the planning process: senior managers suffer from too little formal data, too much, or unbalanced input that neglects critical market, industry, firm, and stakeholder inputs. This article outlines the key classes of information, recommends a process, and provides examples of specific information and formats that are useful in creating an informed, strategic context for making decisions about strategy and resource allocation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Good strategy development hinges on good data about competitive position, industry structure, market forces/trends, and internal performance trends/conditions. The practical strategic databank described balances an external perspective with an internal one; it comprises inputs from standard sources (financial statements) and less common ones (stakeholder audits, benchmarking, and other analyses designed to highlight opportunities, obstacles, and levers for enhanced performance). The approach described also stresses management and staff engagement in assembling, assessing, and presenting the data, because the process itself can serve to enhance strategic thinking and commitment to implementation. Hundreds of firms across a wide array of industries have used the methodology, which derives from two decades of strategy consulting and senior operating experience.\nFindings: - A balanced, comprehensive databank enables more robust and rational decision-making about future strategy. A focused process can help engage managers and stakeholders, enhancing buy-in and implementation. Simplicity, a common language, and uniform formatting help cross-functional managers gain insights into strategic condition (both form and content are important). By developing a small set of analytic/performance ratios, managers can also sharpen their abilities to monitor implementation performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The guidelines and logic are universal, but some of the parameters described may need to be adapted to fit the planning cycle, technology, and data constraints of each firm, and refined over time, as more and better data are cultivated.\nPractical implications: - Firms can enhance the strategy development process immeasurably by honing the strategic databank - in terms of both content and format. Sharper analytic tools and an insistence on translating data into accessible information will better prepare managers from all backgrounds to make rational decisions about priorities, metrics, and strategic investment. A transparent and inclusive process will increase the likelihood of buy-in, and signal senior management's commitment to a balanced and thorough assessment of issues.\nOriginality/value: - The rational, practical approach described offers strategic managers a toolkit for developing a succinct strategic databank - for bridging the gap between dry numbers and eye-opening discussion about how to play the game better. It outlines a straightforward process, providing hands-on guidelines for optimizing performance, and galvanizing the management team.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Developing rugby club leaders is a long game	[ "Leadership", "Mentoring", "Change management", "Continuous improvement", "Volunteers", "Sports" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Today, most rugby clubs in England are run like small businesses, and require an army of volunteers to take on the various responsibilities needed to manage club's resources. This can range from ensuring effective governance and financial management, to organising and running training sessions and matches during the season to suit all ages and skill levels. With around half of clubs owning their own facilities, they also undertake commercial activities to bring in revenue, and projects to improve their buildings and pitches. Without volunteer leaders being able to provide clear direction, or understand how to maximise the volunteer resource and create an appealing strategy for their club's future, it can be difficult to find sponsorship, funding or motivate volunteers to get them involved in bringing the sport of rugby to a wider audience in their local communities.\nLeadership Academy programme: The Leadership Academy programme (Stockdale and Williams, 2007) that was designed took the candidates on a journey of transformational change where they discovered what it really meant to be an inspiring leader of volunteers because it is quite different to being a leader in an organisation where a contract of employment brings different expectations to both parties. In particular, there was particular focus on how to understand the personal motivation of others, which can impact on the degree to which volunteers are committed to their activity.\nHow the focus on leadership has evolved: Ten years on, and hundreds of rugby volunteers across England have attended the Leadership Academy with women accounting for over 15 per cent of candidates. This is significant as the RFU aims to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in rugby union at all levels and in all roles, and there is no doubt that the Leadership Academy is playing its part in enabling this to happen.\nEvaluation of impact: The progression of all delegates has been tracked over the years. Independent research carried out in 2014 (www.englandrugby.com/my-rugby/volunteers/leadership-academy/) showed that the Leadership Academy has made a positive difference to many individuals and rugby clubs. The top five benefits for individuals and their clubs are shown in Figure 1.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Most grass-roots rugby clubs in England are small businesses, which are mostly led by volunteers. The Leadership Academy developed by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) has sought to improve the effectiveness of these leaders for the past ten years. The aim was to make clubs more effective and sustainable, so they could gain maximum benefit from public interest in rugby following the Rugby World Cup. The purpose of this paper is to document the evolution of this unique training programme with emphasis on three key improvements that were identified during this ten-year period: content progression, tutor development and mentor investment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Every year since the Leadership Academy programme began in 2005, feedback has been sought from the candidates through written evaluations to identify improvements to the programme. These improvements are then implemented for the following season. A formal external programme evaluation has also been carried out, as well as observations from the RFU programme sponsor - RFU Club Management and Governance Manager. All of these inputs are analysed to assess the effectiveness of the Leadership Academy in developing community rugby club leaders.\nFindings: The results showed that the continual improvement of the Leadership Academy enhanced the experience of the candidates who attended in subsequent years. Leaders gained strategic insights, built stronger local relationships, and improved confidence levels.\nPractical implications: The implications of these findings are relevant for others who design and deliver training programmes. The use of reflection and a continuous improvement cycle should play a role in all long-term training programmes so that learning can be applied to continually enhance the programme for future candidates.\nOriginality/value: The findings from this paper provide useful input for any other organisations that has a volunteer workforce or sports governing bodies that want to implement a leadership programme over a number of years to improve the effectiveness of their current or future leaders.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Competence trust, goodwill trust and negotiation power in auditor-client relationships	[ "Trust", "Auditor-client relationship", "Negotiation", "Disagreement" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Scholars have emphasized that financial statements are not merely altered in order to adopt all adjustments proposed by the auditor, but rather are the result of negotiations between the auditor and the client firm's management (client) (e.g. Antle and Nalebuff, 1991; Wright and Wright, 1997). These negotiations are characterized by information asymmetries between the auditor and the client, which may lead to suboptimal negotiation outcomes and thus to suboptimal audits. The key to reduce these information asymmetries is to share information (e.g. Thompson, 1991; Butler, 1999). However, auditors and clients often hesitate to do so. This is because clients might refrain from timely and completely sharing all relevant information due to concerns that in the audit negotiations the information provided could be used against their interests (Rennie et al., 2010; Gibbins et al., 2010), and the auditor might refrain from providing advice and might merely ensure that the financial statements technically comply with the relevant accounting standards if he is unsure about how the client may use the information provided (Bammens and Collewaert, 2014). Similarly, auditors have been found to reward clients who show a proactive information-sharing behavior in the audit with rather taking the role of an advisor than a policeman, thus they reciprocate their clients' information-sharing behavior (McCracken et al., 2008).\nTheoretical background and development of hypotheses: Auditing as negotiation - a dilemma\nData and methodology: Data collection and participants\nResults and test of hypotheses: The descriptive statistics are reported in Tables II and III.\nDiscussion and conclusion: In this experimental study, we investigate the role of identification-based trust in the outcome of auditor-client negotiations. In particular, we look at the impact of the two elements of identification-based trust, competence trust and goodwill trust, on the probability that an auditor or client stands up to the interaction partner's preferred treatment in auditor-client negotiations.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how competence trust (i.e. trust regarding the ability of the counterpart) and goodwill trust (i.e. trust regarding the benevolence and integrity of the counterpart) affect the probability that the auditor or the client stand up to the respective negotiation partner's position in situations of disagreement in the auditing relationship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Two experiments were conducted, one with 149 auditors and one with 116 chief financial officers (CFOs). Both auditors and CFOs had to indicate the likelihood that they stand up to the other party's preferred position in a disagreement on the materiality of unrecorded liabilities. The data derived from these experiments were analyzed using hierarchical OLS.\nFindings: The results indicate that both auditors and CFOs who take their respective negotiation partner in the audit for highly competent are less likely to stand up to them in situations of disagreement. Interestingly, goodwill trust appears to be irrelevant for the negotiation outcome.\nPractical implications: The findings are highly relevant for regulators, because they inform about the crucial importance of competence trust for the auditing negotiation outcome and thus put the so-called \"trust-threat\" into perspective.\nOriginality/value: The study adds to the literature on the role of the context for auditor-client negotiations by exploring the role of two distinct forms of trust on the outcome of these negotiations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Problems in the onward and upward phase of APS system implementation: Why do they occur?	[ "Supply chain management", "Production planning", "Production scheduling", "Problem solving" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems are information systems suited for decisions where simple planning methods cannot adequately address complex trade-offs between competing priorities (Gunter, 2005). A few examples of such decisions are found at the tactical planning level, where it should be decided which products to be produced at what plants and in what quantities; with what capacity requirements and which suppliers and subcontractors should be the source for raw materials and sub-components (Stadtler and Kilger, 2005). When APS systems are recognized in the planning processes, they may yield significant benefits, e.g. improved decision support, reduced overall planning time, cost savings, reduced inventory levels, and increased customer satisfaction (Jonsson et al., 2007). Since the potential benefits are massive, many companies are willing to invest in APS systems (Rudberg and Thulin, 2008). Still, everyone is not convinced that APS systems are \"the solution\" to superb planning (Stadtler and Kilger, 2005). Setia et al. (2008), for example, stress that although companies with complex planning tasks may receive great benefits, companies with less-complex products or narrower product lines may find negative returns from APS systems due to the additional effort required to manage them. Experiences with APS systems have also shown that many companies are not satisfied with their APS system investment (Gunter, 2005).\n2 Theory: 2.1 APS systems in tactical planning\n3 Methodology: The research method used for data collection and analysis in this study was a case study research. Case study is a research method which focuses on understanding the dynamics present within single settings and is particularly useful when there is little known about a phenomenon, when current perspectives seem inadequate, or when there is a need for a new perspective (Eisenhardt, 1989). Although there has not been much written about APS system implementations, our studied phenomenon is not completely new or unknown. There has been a lot of research conducted on implementations of other types of information systems, therefore there are experiences and theories to build upon. Still, APS systems differ from other types of information systems in several aspects, which create a need to understand the unique APS system implementation situation in order to develop knowledge about the overall APS system implementation. Thus, a case study is appropriate. One aim of this study is to generate better understanding of how the ITO dimensions in the implementation process are related to the problems arising when the system is used.\n4 The case study: In this section, the case companies and the APS system implementation process are shortly presented. A within-case analysis is also conducted where the phase-related issues influencing the received problems are identified.\n5 Cross-case analysis and discussion: This section identifies problems in the onward and upward phase and explains how the ITO dimensions occurring during the implementation phases influence the problems in the case companies. Based on the case company analysis and previous literature, we propose a number of relationships between the ITO dimensions and these problems.\n6 Conclusions: Three types of problems were identified during the onward and upward phase of an APS system implementation. Process-related problems concern difficulties to move forward, dependency of the consultancy firm, and too much time spent in the system. System-related problems concern using other planning systems parallel to the APS system, and not using the appropriate potential of the APS system. Plan-related problems occur when the plan generated from the APS system contains errors or is not considered feasible. We discovered how individual, technological, and organizational issues influence the problems. The I-dimension was especially prominent and influenced all identified problems. During the I-dimension, the understanding issue was outstanding and of special importance, and it was suggested that problems could be reduced if the team members had a general understanding of optimization and how data were structured. The T-dimension influenced the time spent in the system, the use of parallel systems and incorrect plans and the T-dimension was evident in all phases but the chartering phase although the project phase stood out as especially important. The T-dimension was not as important as the I- and O-dimensions. This suggests that top management should not view the APS system implementation solely as a technical project aimed for a few users, but instead give priority to the project since an installation of an APS system will affect a large number of people. The O-dimension influenced the dependency on consultants, the use of parallel systems, unused potential and incorrect plans and was evident in the chartering and the project phases. The study suggests that the O-dimension in the later phases is not as important for an APS system implementation as it is for an ERP system implementation project because the pass over from the project team to the operational personnel are not a big issue in an APS system implementation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Studies conducted on advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems have found problems in the marginal or negative returns from APS systems when they are implemented in manufacturing planning and control processes. The purpose of this study is to examine what problems exist in the onward and upward phase of the APS system implementation and how the individual, technical and organizational (ITO) dimensions in the implementation phases influence the problems in the onward and upward phase.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Three different manufacturing companies using a supply chain planning module to support their tactical manufacturing planning processes were chosen and their APS system implementation phases were studied. Interviews with the project members and the end-users, and on-site visits, were conducted. Internal company data and presentations were collected and analyzed according to four implementation phases and the ITO dimensions.\nFindings: Three types of problems were identified in the onward and upward phase: process-related problems concerning difficulties to move forward; dependency on a consultancy firm; and too much time spent in the system. System-related problems include the usage of parallel systems and inadequate usage of the appropriate potential of the APS system. Plan-related problems regard an incorrect production plan. Different relationships between the ITO dimensions in the implementation process and the problem type were proposed.\nPractical implications: The relationships identified in this paper are of important knowledge for companies who are implementing, or are in the process of implementing, APS systems.\nOriginality/value: There has been little written about the implementation issues of APS systems. The practical use of APS systems in the tactical planning is also relatively low. It is not known what problems to expect and how the ITO dimensions influence the problems during implementation. The findings this paper discusses fill some of these gaps.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The role of social and self-conscious emotions in the regulation of business-to-business relationships in salesperson-customer interactions	[ "Emotional dissonance", "Social interaction", "Interpersonal relations", "Culture", "Regulation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Business relationships do not endure and flourish on their own. The parties in business-to-business relationships must jointly act to sustain and fulfill the raison d'etre for their existence as an ongoing social unit. But how are they to do this, and how are we as marketing scholars to think about the regulation of business-to-business relationships? In this paper, I consider recent developments in business-to-business relationships as found in salesperson-customer interactions.\nExtreme rationalism: We tend as marketers to think of business-to-business relationships in terms of firms giving up something to get something in return so as to better meet the needs or mission of the firms. What is given up and received in exchange are typically physical and monetary objects or services rendered, and they are valued for what they do in instrumental ways for the operations of the respective firms. But to focus exclusively or even primarily on supporting the means or utilitarian ends of business firms is to miss much of the human drama that underpins the formation, fulfillment, and continuance of \"business\" relationships themselves.The boundary spanners who enact the roles of buyers and sellers in business relationships do more than follow well-defined scripts in accordance with codified rules and procedures in their home firms in order to pursue such explicit goals as use of the service under question, profitability, or other ends. If this were all there was, then firms could computerize much of business-to-business transactions and do away with most of the human element. Rather, buyers and sellers are human beings who face the task of reconciling multiple requisites and interests.One set of requisites are the goals of the home firm which must be understood, accepted, and factored into one's personal and professional objectives, plans, and actions. This happens through processes of ideation, transference, internalization, and identification with the values and mission of the firm, and is manifest ultimately in commitments to sales goals, call norms, quotas, specification of product/service attributes and legal rights and obligations, etc. At the same time, buyers and sellers make commitments to each other's interests and have both their own and the other's needs to harmonize. These needs encompass personal ends and the goals of the home organizations; but at the same time interpersonal and interfirm needs arise that go beyond personal and organization needs. Finally, the requisites of external publics intrude upon the functioning of buyer and seller or even become additional goals such that the business-to-business relationship itself becomes transformed into something more than an economic transaction with local, selfish interests. Here such extra firm, extra salesperson and buyer, and extra business-to-business relationship interests as protection of the environment, conformance to broad and even non-businesses ethical and legal guidelines, cultural diversity, and in general promotion of the common good become salient in ways not easily assimilated to frameworks based solely on the utilities and constraints of firms in interaction.Of course, such a point of view recognizes that to understand the participants in, and publics affected by, business-to-business relationships, as well as the relationship itself, we must go beyond excessive or narrow rationalistic frameworks to incorporate ideas grounded in human behavior and in institutional and public action. This means that, at the level of the people functioning as buyers and sellers in an ongoing relationship, the people involved must somehow balance their own personal interests with the interests of their home firms, the interests that emerge out of the relationship between buyer and seller, and any higher order exigencies connected to the common good. In the present essay, I deal only with regulatory mechanisms of business-to-business relationships that operate through intrapersonal and interpersonal emotions. Other social, economic, and political mechanisms may function, too, but in general these tend to act as constraints or facilitators on the psychological or social psychological processes of, and between, the boundary spanners. Marketers have not studied such phenomena much, but rather have emphasized radical individualistic and rational frameworks.\nEmotion regulation: Through human and social evolutionary processes, people have developed incredibly useful adaptive systems for self-regulating individual and social behavior. One of the most important systems, and the one I focus upon herein, is the emotional response system, particularly the so-called self-conscious or social emotions. These emotions include attachment, empathy, and pride, among positive emotions; and embarrassment, envy, guilt, jealousy, shame, and social anxiety, among negative emotions. My co-authors and I chose these emotions because they relate directly to interpersonal relationships (as opposed to basic emotions which concern personal outcomes), and a large body of basic research in psychology exists (e.g. Lewis, 2000; Keltner and Haidt, 1999; Tangney and Fischer, 1995). Emotional wisdom also is part of human emotional response systems and will be discussed below near the end of the section on positive emotions.The social emotions share characteristics with the so-called basic emotions (i.e. with happiness, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust) in the sense that they entail more or less automatic, hard-wired responses to situational input, but unlike basic emotions, the social emotions serve to coordinate people's responses so that they can better fit into the social relations and groups in which they are embedded. Further, the social emotions exhibit different coping and self-regulative responses than the basic emotions. Indeed, the experience of social emotions is often followed by the strategic choice from among alternative coping responses that may be used to regulate one's feelings and actions to advantage. Typically people interpret cognitive, feeling, and physical aspects of their experienced emotions, as well as the conditions under which their felt emotions arose and the aversive or desirable consequences they might produce, before, or along with, enacting a coping response. These responses are often learned early in life and shaped somewhat throughout one's life, and they are to a certain extent amenable to training and practice. The basic emotions generate more limited and rigidly automatic responses and lack the flexibility and self-control that the social emotions afford.Let us briefly review research to date in marketing into the regulatory role of social emotions. As a caveat, these emotions differ from research on goal-directed, anticipated emotions which are more individualistic or utilitarian in focus (e.g. Bagozzi et al., 1998; Brown et al., 1997). Goal-directed emotions concern anticipated positive and negative affect that one feels if one achieved or failed to achieve one's goals, respectively. These emotions are such basic emotions as joy, disappointment, frustration, and fear and result from thinking about expected outcomes attained or not. The social or self-conscious emotion listed above explicitly arises from and relate to social relationships one has and differ in content and function. Also it is important to point out that not every social or self-conscious emotion has been studied to date in business-to-business contexts.Positive social emotions\nConclusion: We have suggested that business-to-business relationships involve certain positive and negative intrapersonal and interpersonal emotions and that the parties to the relationships self-regulate their emotional experiences in ways that are functional or dysfunctional for the self, other person, relationship, and firms, depending on the circumstances. In addition, the self-regulation process varies as a function of cultural practices, tendencies, and contingencies. People in business-to-business relationships appraise the situations they perform in, and the happenings that occur to them, and the resulting emotions and coping responses influence the course and outcomes of the relationship. These are complex interpretive, cognitive, physiological, and affective processes that we are only now beginning to understand. Clearly, the health and results of business-to-business relationships are marked by rich human responses and activities that long-standing economic and business theories have failed to address. We hope that the approaches described herein take us a step closer to explaining, understanding, and managing business-to-business relationships in ways that better meet the needs of boundary spanning personnel, the firms they represent, and the publics that they impact.At the end of each of our articles and papers investigating emotions in salesperson-customer interactions, my co-authors and I have discussed specific managerial implications. It is not possible to summarize these implications here because of constraints on the size of the articles included in the Special Issue. But we have provided suggestions on the role of emotions in selection, training, coaching, everyday management, and self-regulation of salesperson-customer relationships. Indeed, many managerial nuances must be addressed if the role of emotions in buying and selling is to be reconciled, harnessed, and coped with effectively in business-to-business marketing.Every subfield of marketing owes its existence or place to the broader paradigm constituting marketing as well. Marketing started as a strictly business discipline but later expanded beyond the boundaries of business. In recent decades, the conceptual foundations of marketing have benefited from such construals as exchange, transaction, and relationship marketing. Business-to-business marketing has its roots and mandate largely in these traditional construals of marketing. The point of view underlying the investigation of social and self-conscious emotions in business-to-business buyer-seller encounters draws upon ideas from exchange, transaction, and relationship theorizing. It is basically dyadic in substance.But nascent murmurings can be seen in a new construal of marketing grounded in social, group, and communal ideas, which suggest that interdependence and shared meanings underlie the concept of marketing and its practice as much or more than individual or even interpersonal or inter-firm perspectives alone. Business-to-business relationships are not atomistic occurrences between distinct entities so much as they are mutual, social constructions whereby the parties to the relationship jointly commit themselves to satisfying commonly held goals (within and between firms and in relation to the environment, government, and the common good) and come to see their relationship as \"us\" or \"we\" in its broadest sense in their dealings with each other. I have begun to explore such a vision of marketing by drawing upon plural subject theory and related ideas from the philosophy literature (e.g. Bagozzi, 2000, 2005). These ideas remain to be applied to business-to-business marketing but offer hope for moving beyond the overly one-sided, partisan and ego-centered frameworks dominating the field from its beginning. Perhaps in the end, we will come to see that business-to-business marketing, in general, and salesperson-customer relationships, in particular, require a new conceptualization where rational and emotional forces are considered together within the penumbra of a truly social-centered framework that recognizes that people and nature are in this thing called life together.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The aim of this paper is to go beyond the received view, which is solely rational and economic minded, and to introduce the concept of self-regulation of behavior by salespersons and customers as essential mechanisms for initiating, maintaining, and resolving business-to-business exchanges.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - By reviewing emerging research, this paper examines the role of positive and negative social and self-conscious emotions in salesperson-customer interactions and how salespersons and customers cope with the response of these emotions so as to better function and adapt to their own, their organizations, and the interpersonal needs of their relationships and to do so mindful of the requisites of co-workers and the common good.\nFindings: - Four positive emotions were singled-out as essential to salesperson-customer relations: pride, attachment, empathy, and emotional wisdom. Six negative emotions were highlighted as key processes in salesperson-customer relations: guilt, shame, embarrassment, envy, jealousy, and social anxiety. Some research was reviewed as well, suggesting that cultural factors in the form of different self-construal (e.g. independent versus independent-based self-images) moderate the expression of felt positive and negative emotions and their effects on performance and relations with customers and co-workers.\nOriginality/value: - The ideas presented in this paper can complement economic and other extreme rational explanations of salesperson and customer behavior and point to new practices in such managerial areas as staffing, training, coaching, compensating, and promoting employees.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Decision tree analysis of wine consumers' preferences: evidence from an emerging market	[ "Classification", "Emerging market", "Decision tree", "Behavioural-cognitive factors", "Socio-demographic factors", "Wine consumers’ preferences" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The world wine market is dominated by just three countries, France, Italy and Spain, which between them account for roughly half of total world production. Per capita consumption of wine in Montenegro was 0.67 litres compared to 42.51 litres in France and 33.3 litres in Italy (Wine Institute, 2015). Montenegro's market is quite specific, since it is very small and underdeveloped, but it has extraordinary climatic advantages for the production of wine and deeply rooted respect for the traditional. The Central Register of Grape Producers and Wine Makers, kept by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, include 505 registered producers. The production of wine in Montenegro has been registered in 44 wine-making companies. As far as exports are concerned, wine remains one of the country's main export products. Of the total export figures relating to agricultural products for 2014, wine represented over 14 per cent of the total. The total value of wine exported in 2013 amounted to 13.8 million EUR. The wine sector is recognised as a very important sector for Montenegro. Montenegro encountered significant demographic changes that also had an effect on change of consumers' behaviour. Urban population accounts for 63 per cent of the general population of Montenegro (Jovanovic et al., 2016). In lateral perspective, all kinds of food in the proportion of total expenditures have changed over time. In the reporting period from 2005 to 2013, the most increased consumption is that of wine, i.e. 40 per cent (Jovanovic, 2016). Montenegro belongs to the group of countries with low GDP per capita (USD7,276.10, www.tradingeconomics.com). For that reason, economic and social factors determine consumer behaviour at the wine market to a significant extent.\n2. Reference papers: Reference papers on wine consumers' behaviour comprise numerous studies, the objective of which is to explain which of the attributes influence wine selection, as well as in our work.\n3. Research methodology: 3.1 Research questions and selection of factors\n4. Results: In order to provide answers to research questions, classification DTs were generated using the CART method. Table II gives an overview of importance of individual factors. The factors for which importance is not given do not have an effect.\n5. Discussion: The analysis of important rules derived from the DT models from Figures 1-3 can determine the combined effect of factors regarding the research questions.\n6. Conclusion: Market strategies creation in specific conditions depends significantly on the consumers' preferences. The objective of this study was to determine which factors influence the wine consumer preferences in conditions of Montenegro's developing market, with all its specific characteristics, and how. Thus, interactive and individual influences of demographic, social and behavioural factors on frequency and quality of wine consumption, as well as on importance of the brand during the process of wine purchase, have been analysed by this paper.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the interactive and individual influences of socio-demographic and behavioural-cognitive factors on the frequency and quality of wine consumption, as well as importance of the brand and advertising on selection.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The survey was prepared on the basis of the selected factors. The research was carried out on a sample of 207 randomly selected respondents. The analysis was done using the classification decision tree.\nFindings: The results show the dominant influence of socio-demographic factors, such as region, place of living (urban-rural areas), family size, age, income and education of consumers as well as behavioural-cognitive factors, such as the price importance, place of purchase and product characteristics, in all analysed target variables. Apart from the similarities with traditional wine markets, the specificities related to an emerging market have also been determined.\nResearch limitations/implications: The limitations of this research concern sample size as well as the research conducted over the period of one year.\nPractical implications: The practical objective of this paper is to help wine marketers to develop more effective positioning strategies for a specific emerging market.\nOriginality/value: This research combines critical factors based on related studies, including the antecedents and outcome variables, to develop more comprehensive models for better understanding of the wine consumers' behaviour. In major and traditional wine-making countries, the consumption of wine is fairly predictable. In emerging markets, the commercial strategies are, for the most part, based on certain specificities and are quite interesting for the surveys.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Evaluating food safety risk messages in popular cookbooks	[ "Cooking", "Food safety", "Consumer risk", "Temperature", "Food preparation", "Recipe" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Medeiros et al. (2001) estimate 3.5 million cases of foodborne illness in the USA annually are associated with inadequate cooking of animal foods or cross-contamination from these foods. Improper food handling and preparation has been identified as a risk factor for illnesses (Jacob and Powell, 2009; Scott, 2003). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) attribute 12 percent of outbreaks and 7 percent of illnesses annually to food prepared in the home (CDC, 2016). Home food preparation errors are most commonly related to cross-contamination and cooking to a safe temperature (Anderson et al., 2004; Clayton et al., 2003; DeDonder et al., 2009; Redmond et al., 2004; Scott, 2003).\nMaterials and methods: Materials\nResults: Out of 52 potential cookbooks, 23 were excluded. Of 5,251 recipes contained in the remaining 29 books, a total of 1,749 met selection criteria. Given that some recipes have more than one type of raw animal ingredient intended to be cooked, when analyzing based on food categories, the total number of ingredients is greater than the total number of recipes. For some of the statistical analyses, the categories were further subdivided by food, making the total sample size by food category different from those in the tables.\nDiscussion: The US CDC has identified contributing factors to foodborne illness: food from unsafe sources; improper holding/time and temperature; inadequate cooking; poor personal hygiene; and contaminated equipment/prevention of contamination; four of these factors are linked directly to food handler behaviors (Bean et al., 1996). According to US estimates, five out of the top ten food-pathogen combinations with the highest estimated annual disease burden are directly related to consumer handling (either controlled by cooking or reducing cross-contamination) and contain food groups that are investigated in this study - poultry, pork, beef, and eggs (Batz et al., 2012). The top two combinations, Campylobacter in poultry and Toxoplasma gondii in pork, cost society approximately $2.5 billion annually, resulting in an estimated 643,000 illness, nearly 8,000 hospitalizations, and almost 200 deaths annually. These pathogens can be fully controlled in consumer homes through cooking to safe internal temperatures and cross-contamination prevention. Risky preparation and handling of food has been linked to multiple outbreaks and identified as a factor in public health burden (Nesbitt et al., 2009; Redmond and Griffith, 2003).\nConclusion: Previous studies have shown there is little evidence-based guidance for specific food safety practices in cookbooks (Godwin et al., 2016; Griffith et al., 1994). The purpose of this research was to evaluate food safety risk guidance in cookbook recipes and investigate relationships between the food safety messages communicated and the types of raw ingredients used in cookbook recipes. This study highlights the infrequency of food safety guidance, and the lack of a scientific basis for the guidance provided, in popular cookbooks. The use of non-evidence-based subjective doneness indicators far outweighs the use of evidence-based guidance. Messaging for preventing cross-contamination is lacking, and at times guidance promotes cross-contamination. Cookbooks are not currently effective communication tools for safe food handling practices, and providing guidance on risky food handling behaviors puts the cooks and those they serve at a higher risk for foodborne illness. Cookbook authors have the opportunity to impact home cooks through providing safe food handling guidance directly within the recipe, prompting consumers to follow this guidance as they are following the recipe. Further research is needed on the effect of these results on consumer behavior, potential interventions for writing recipes with better food safety guidance, and scientific testing of subjective doneness indicators.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Medeiros et al. (2001) estimate 3.5 million cases of foodborne illness in the USA annually are associated with inadequate cooking of animal foods or cross-contamination from these foods. Past research shows home food handling practices can be risk factors for foodborne illness. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the communication of food safety guidance, specifically safe endpoint temperatures and cross-contamination risk reduction practices, in popular cookbook recipes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Recipes containing raw animal ingredients in 29 popular cookbooks were evaluated through content analysis for messages related to safe endpoint temperature recommendations and reducing cross-contamination risks.\nFindings: Of 1,749 recipes meeting study criteria of cooking raw animal ingredients, 1,497 contained a raw animal that could effectively be measured with a digital thermometer. Only 123 (8.2 percent) of these recipes included an endpoint temperature, of which 89 (72.3 percent) gave a correct temperature. Neutral and positive food safety behavior messages were provided in just 7.2 percent (n=126) and 5.1 percent (n=90) of recipes, respectively. When endpoint temperatures were not included, authors often provided subjective and risky recommendations.\nResearch limitations/implications: Further research is needed on the effect of these results on consumer behavior and to develop interventions for writing recipes with better food safety guidance.\nPractical implications: Including correct food safety guidance in cookbooks may increase the potential of reducing the risk of foodborne illness.\nOriginality/value: Popular cookbooks are an underutilized avenue for communicating safe food handling practices and currently cookbook authors are risk amplifiers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
E-learning and Web 2.0: transforming higher education in Africa: Recommendations for successful implementation	[ "E‐learning", "E‐learning 2.0", "Web 2.0", "Higher education", "Online learning", "Learning methods", "Africa", "Tanzania" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Access to education in developing countries is limited, with less than 5 percent of students in higher learning education compared to the world average of 16 percent. The demand for tertiary education in Africa has not been matched by an expansion of existing facilities and resources; meaning that tertiary education is not offered to significant portions of the population.\nIntegration of Web 2.0 in African higher education: The use of Web 2.0 technologies to support learning and teaching activities is very low in Africa. A study of 25 African countries revealed that the dominant e-learning practices seemed to be user management, glossaries, document delivery, e-mails, quizzes and tests, presentation delivery, and digital libraries. The use of Web 2.0 features such as wikis, blogs, and RSS feeds were ranked quite low.A review of current and developing international practice in the use of social networking (Web 2.0) in higher education revealed that the use of Web 2.0 in South Africa is largely developing on the fringes of institutional education programs, through experimentation by individual university staff, small research and pilot projects, or student initiatives.Wireless and mobile technologies make it possible to provide e-learning 2.0 opportunities to African learners who are either without infrastructure for access or continually on the move. The relevance of m-learning for Africa lies in the fact that the majority of learners in Africa are without infrastructure for access.It is important to note that the adoption rate of mobile technologies in African countries is among the highest rates globally. Statistics show that there were 360 million mobile subscribers as compared to 86 million Internet users in Africa by the end of 2010. A study of 290 first-year students in two South African universities also showed that three of the top five uses of technology, particularly for their studies, relied on their mobile phones. M-learning is increasingly becoming an important technology for teaching and learning in Africa. Thus, the integration of Web 2.0 features in the delivery of education content via mobile technology can enhance teaching and learning activities in Africa.\nChallenges for public universities in Tanzania: \"Making learning and Web 2.0 technologies work for higher learning institutions in Africa\" details a study where ICT personnel from six public universities in Tanzania were interviewed in early 2011. The findings showed that all the universities surveyed had basic ICT infrastructure to support teaching and learning activities.Most buildings in these universities were connected to a powerful fiber optic network and there was a wide coverage of wireless connection, at least in most of the strategic learning areas in these universities. The internet bandwidth was also good in some universities. All universities possessed other basic ICT facilities such as computers, CD and DVD facilities, which form the basis for the establishment of an e-learning platform.Higher learning institutions have a critical role to play in helping students to refine, extend and articulate the diverse range of skills they have developed through their experience of Web 2.0 technologies. However, the adoption of e-learning and Web 2.0 technologies is still in its infancy in Tanzanian public universities. Nevertheless, there was much enthusiasm amongst respondents for developing the potential of e-learning and Web 2.0 tools in their universities. These universities faced a number of challenges in their adoption and use of Web 2.0, including:* the poor technological infrastructure and the often prohibitive cost of educational technologies;* awareness of and attitudes towards e-learning;* the lack of local expertise in curriculum development for e-learning; and* the lack of ICT technical support to support e-learning initiatives.Nevertheless, e-learning and Web 2.0 have promise in addressing the need for learner satisfaction within higher education while also ensuring that strategic imperatives of the institution are being fulfilled.\nBest practice: Web 2.0 is likely to support efforts of increasing participation as it creates learning environments that are student centered, free from barriers of space and time. Sharing of knowledge and experience is vital for success of e-learning for HEIs in Africa. Best practices and strategies in the area of e-learning and Web 2.0 should be adopted.For the successful implementation of e-learning and Web 2.0 technologies in Africa and beyond, Dr Edda Lwoga recommends the following:* Develop institutional policies and guidelines on ICT and e-learning.* Improve the availability of hardware and software to ensure access to appropriate technology for all students and faculty and continue to provide for development of technical skills.* Improve internet connectivity/bandwidth - it should be reliable and fast for 24/7 access.* Provide technical support for e-learning at a range of scales by recruiting and retraining ICT experts to ensure that they are regularly updated in the new technologies.* Ensure the availability of reliable electricity by deploying other alternative power sources such as solar power.* Include the use of e-learning software in university curricula to enhance the use of e-learning application among students - basic ICT training should also be incorporated into university curricula to enable students to use ICTs.* Incorporate initial staff training and continuing professional development programs on e-learning to enhance awareness and use of e-learning software.* Partner with students to develop approaches to learning and teaching in order to steer the positive aspects of behaviors such as experimentation, collaboration and teamwork, while addressing negative behaviors such as a casual and insufficiently critical attitude to information.* Adopt a mix of other technologies such as mobile learning - this technology is based on the use of mobile and wireless devices to support, enhance and deliver learning. Mobile learning can specifically improve the e-learning initiatives in Africa due to the specific cultural, technological and organizational circumstances in this region.* Support research into teaching and learning using Web 2.0 tools.* Seek collaborative networks of public-private partnerships to improve e-learning activities in the continent. These networks can include e-learning sponsors, policy makers, telecommunication network service providers and higher learning institutions.\nComment: This is a review of \"Making learning and Web 2.0 technologies work for higher learning institutions in Africa,\" by Edda Lwoga. The article highlights the extent to which learning and Web 2.0 technologies are utilized to support learning and teaching in Africa's higher learning institutions, with a specific focus on Tanzania's public universities. The article is clear and concise, and employs an interesting and readable style. The article is of interest to librarians, faculty or students with an interest in applying Web 2.0 technologies for e-learning within an educational setting.\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: - Access to education in developing countries is limited, with less than 5 percent of students in higher learning education compared to the world average of 16 percent. The demand for tertiary education in Africa has not been matched by an expansion of existing facilities and resources; meaning that tertiary education is not offered to significant portions of the population.\nPractical implications: - The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.\nOriginality/value: - The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to digest format.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Leadership style, occupational perception and organizational citizenship behavior in the Arab education system in Israel	[ "Teachers", "Transformational leadership", "Arab", "Organizational citizenship behaviour", "Transactional leadership", "Occupational perception" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The study of school effectiveness within educational research has witnessed an increase in studies of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as it contributes to the effectiveness and success of schools and achieving their objectives and goals (Abu Nasra and Heilbrunn, 2016; Bogler and Somech, 2004). Organ defined OCB (Organ, 1988, p. 4) as \"individual behaviour that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, and that in the aggregate promotes the effective functioning of the organization.\" In the education context, Somech and Drach-Zahavy (2000) distinguished theoretically between three levels of OCB: the individual level (e.g. donating behaviors), the team level (e.g. sharing and cooperative behaviors) and the organizational level (e.g. volunteering for unpaid tasks).\nConceptual background and hypotheses: Organizational citizenship behavior\nMethod: Participants\nFindings: Table I displays the means and standard deviations of the teachers' scores for all the research variables. The results show that the teachers thought quite positively about the extent to which they experienced transformational leadership, occupational perception, OCB and transactional leadership. The results also indicate that teachers experienced more transformational leadership (M=3.92), occupational perception (M=3.50) and OCB (M=3.31), than transactional leadership (M=3.22).\nDiscussion: This paper has both theoretical and methodological contributions to the literature. This study is the first to investigate the mediating effect of teachers' occupational perceptions on the relationship between principals' leadership style (transformational and transactional leadership) and OCB. The findings suggest that principals' leadership styles have no direct effect on OCB. These results are inconsistent with numerous studies described in the literature, which pertain to the direct effect between OCB and transformational leadership (Bass, 1985; Podsakoff et al., 2000; Wang et al., 2011) and transactional leadership (Piccolo and Colquitt, 2006).\nConclusion and implications: Our findings showed that the level of OCB among teachers who perceive the principal leadership style as transformational is higher than that of transactional style. Additionally, the study calls our attention to the professional world of teachers- occupational perception. It suggests that, to increase teachers' OCB perform, we need to pay attention to factors related to all aspects teaching, especially those termed \"professional,\" as they refer to the characteristics of teaching as a vocation. Teachers' perceptions of their occupation are highly significant in affecting their OCB. This implication should be acknowledged by decision makers at the top level, such as government officials, and - on the more local level - by supervisors and principals. The more teachers perceive their teaching job as a profession and central to their lives, the more they will be satisfied with it.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The field of educational systems has witnessed an increase in studies of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as it contributes to the effectiveness and success of schools and achieving their objectives and goals. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between principals' leadership style, occupational perceptions and OCB.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research hypothesis holds that the leadership style (transformational or transactional) have a direct and indirect effect on OCB (through occupation perception). These hypotheses have been tested on data collected from 620 Arab Israeli teachers.\nFindings: The results reveal that: transformational and transactional leadership have no direct effect on OCB, an indirect effect of occupational perception on the relationship between transformational leadership and OCB, occupational perception did not mediate the effect between transactional leadership and OCB.\nOriginality/value: The results of the study contribute to the understanding of the way leadership style and OCB interact in schools, and the importance of teachers' occupational perception in explaining this relationship. Future research should further investigate the teachers' occupational perceptions and its effect on their performance as little research has been conducted to date.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Playing to the technical audience: evaluating the impact of arts-based training for engineers	[ "Arts", "Training", "Communication", "Presentations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Since 1997, the CONNECT Program in the Engineering School of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art has served as a laboratory for testing the effectiveness of arts based learning for technical trainees[1]. The underlying concept of CONNECT is that most communication breakdowns involving engineers happen because they focus on the details of their subject matter and expect others to do the same.\nAddressing the dangers of poor communication: Communicating with an audience is essentially a social skill, behavioral in basis, a fact that becomes all too apparent when one's audience has a divergent set of expectations. The importance of behavior is widely recognized in the business world. Terry Bacon of Lore International Institute writes: \"Customers don't believe what you tell them. They believe what you do. It is the purest form of expression of your intent, your priorities and your feelings.\" Bacon concludes that \"behavioral differentiation\" is key to the success of customer relations in businesses including travel, hospitality, and even motorcycle marketing. He advocates the use of behavioral criteria in hiring and firing, as well as in training (Bacon, 2004).However, customers are not the only audiences upon which behavior has an impact. The primary audience for technical personnel may be internal: middle managers, legal advisers, sales personnel, or executives. A gap with an internal audience can have consequences even more serious than with an external audience. The Morton Thiokol engineers trying to persuade managers not to launch the space shuttle Challenger made their case technically, but not in a way that persuaded the decision-makers. Conversely, the decision-makers seemed unable to adjust their expectations in a way that allowed them to see the bottom line warning provided by the engineers. Behavior matters, but content does too.Failing to meet an audience's expectations opens up what we call an \"audience gap.\" To give Cooper Union's engineering graduates the tools to close this gap, CONNECT turned to the theater. Performing artists specialize in the effective communication of any content - good, bad, or indifferent - through vocal, physical and socially appropriate behaviors keyed to a particular audience. Performers who address their audiences directly, in live performances rather than on film or video exclusively, develop a special sensitivity to the diverse expectations of multiple audiences. Even during the run of a single play, actors adjust their behaviors from night to night in response to different audience reactions. Performance theorists from Erving Goffman to Richard Schechner have long recognized behavior as fundamental to performance, whether it occurs in the theater, everyday life, or the workplace (see, for example, Goffman, 1959; Schechner, 1985).CONNECT unites the fields of engineering and performance, endorsing the need for engineers to master content and adding training in behaviors necessary to reach an audience: Equation 1 This model adapts performance techniques to situations relevant to a technical career. We apply stage movement analysis to client relations, employee interaction, meetings, and job interviews. Practical audition tools, vocal and physical exercises, and directing techniques are applied to the everyday communication challenges faced by technical personnel, as well as to formal presentation. Theatrical scenarios allow workshop participants to explore the power relations encountered in the professional world.\nResults of the CONNECT model: Attending workshops based on the Engineering + Performance model results in observably improved behaviors. In a survey of corporate recruiters, potential employees who had taken one or more CONNECT workshops were rated higher overall in areas such as confidence and maturity than those who had not participated in CONNECT. Those who had taken a range of workshops that included one in advanced non-verbal behavior were rated even higher (see Figure 1).In fact, attending even one workshop can result in a greater understanding of the role played by behavioral factors in effective communication. An analysis by external raters of comments taken from pre- and post-workshop participant surveys over a three-year period found that behavioral awareness more than doubled after participation in their very first CONNECT workshop. These results were achieved after mixed early assessment results led us to significantly refine our methods starting in the program's second year (see Figure 2).\nCrafting a successful program: The structure we arrived at resembles a mini-conservatory of the performing arts: an introductory workshop followed by a four-workshop module addressing the elements of expressive behavior - vocal, physical, group, and content. Upper level workshops were reconceived to emphasize the practice of these behaviors in professional situations such as video presentation, the delivery of prepared remarks on short notice, memo writing, conflict resolution, decision-making, brainstorming, and interviewing.Just as important to the improvements we saw after the first year was an adjustment to how we approached the students in the workshops themselves. We needed to practice what we preached, and that meant understanding our own audience of young engineers. We ourselves needed to behave in ways that would get through to them.Coming to this point involved two key realizations. First, performers and technical trainees have something in common. They are not the oil-and-water mix that may come to mind. Second, performers and technical trainees have different expectations as audiences.It has been striking to us just how well engineers and performing artists get along. To be sure, television viewers have a natural interest in people who have actually appeared in Law and Order, as have more than one of our facilitators. However, there appears to be a deeper affinity between theater people and technical people that contributes to the success of performance-based training. This affinity has been noted before. Theater scholar Shannon Jackson has pointed out that the rise of professional theater training in the United States was directly linked to its resemblance to a technical field, including the establishment of the first college theater program at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1914. It was precisely the \"technical elements\" of theatrical production that made it attractive to Carnegie Tech as a way of introducing the humanities into an industrial curriculum (Jackson, 2004).This interesting history aside, we believe that performers and technical trainees have three main things in common:1. Practicing collective problem solving under pressure. Imagine what it involves to put on a play. There's a deadline - opening night - by which time the production's component parts must function with machinelike efficiency: acting, costuming, lighting, sets, sound, dialogue, movement, music and dance. These must be tested collaboratively in rehearsals, very much like experiments in an engineering project. No wonder that Shannon Jackson, at a conference on theater and technology in 2001, approvingly quoted a phrase she had heard from an engineer, that \"theater is the engineering of the humanities\" (Jackson, 2001). The difference between a performing artist and a literary artist is analogous to that between a scientist and an engineer, the theorist versus the practical problem solver who works first and foremost in a team.2. Understanding the value of lifelong learning. Lifelong learning has been widely recognized as a necessity for technical professionals in a changing world. Criteria for engineering degree accreditation lists it as one of several key professional skills (Engineering Accreditation Commission, 2004), and business has long understood the need for such learning in both hard and soft skills. Similarly, performing artists take workshops and classes throughout their careers, exercising old skills and acquiring new ones as time goes on.3. Freely acknowledging the differences between them. Even though performing artists hold many of the same values as engineers, they are not, obviously, engineers. As a result, they can relate to technical trainees while avoiding specialized debates about content. We've found the disclaimer, \"I'm not an engineer\" or \"I'm just an actor, what do I know?\", to be disarmingly effective in getting engineers to concentrate on what works behaviorally - which actors do know - rather than on content and analysis - the importance of which engineers already understand. Performers can also stand in for the kinds of non-technical audiences that technical trainees will have to address in the professional world.Building on these affinities presented a challenge in our early workshops. Relying on what engineers and performing artists have in common produced real but limited benefits; too often, our performer-facilitators assumed that what performers respond to positively in theatrical training would play equally well to a technical audience. Technical audiences need to be understood on their own terms if arts-based training in communication and other soft skills is to achieve its full potential.Researchers have found that engineers in particular prefer to absorb information individually, and want it to be verbally taught and tested (Seat et al., 2001). This is how most technical subjects are taught in a traditional curriculum, and a technical audience tends to expect the same in other situations. An experiential workshop can seem repetitive and overstated. To be effective, CONNECT's performing artists must play to the expectations of this audience, while guiding it to understand that behavioral tools cannot be taught like math or fluid dynamics.Adjusting our approach to achieve this balance was key to the improvement in results that we saw starting in the program's second year. Changing how we behaved toward our own audience of young engineers required real sensitivity to what was happening in the workshops and to how our facilitators related to the students.\nMaximizing the impact of arts-based training: While the similarities between performers and engineers provided a foundation on which to build, we found that our facilitators had to adjust their own behaviors to account for the differences. What we learned during this process can be distilled into four \"rules\" for maximizing the effectiveness of performing-arts-based training in a technical field.1. Don't follow a script - customize from moment to moment. Sensitivity to different audiences is second nature to performing artists. What works on Friday night may not work at the Sunday matinee. Similarly, what is effective in training chemical engineers may not work for their civil engineering or electrical engineering colleagues. And what works for engineers in general will certainly not work for each individual engineer. We have recognized the value of individualized attention, even in workshops involving teams or groups, and our facilitators send each participant away with something specific to his or her needs.2. Don't go \"touchy feely\" - unless you connect the dots. Most actors don't think twice about standing in a circle and \"passing a ball of energy\" from person to person, or closing their eyes and imagining themselves at a \"favorite place,\" or taking a deep breath and \"letting it all out\" in a sigh or a yawn. They understand that these traditional \"warm-ups\" will have a positive effect on the performance they are about to give. When we first started doing workshops, most of our facilitators assumed that engineers would respond in the same way. But, we found that most engineers simply did not believe that a shoulder massage at six o'clock in the evening would positively affect an impromptu speech delivered at seven-thirty. Consequently, they often felt that the first part of the workshop was a \"waste of time.\" And nothing - nothing - is more counterproductive when it comes to coaching technical trainees. However, when the value of such activities is clearly related to the stated purpose of the workshop - if, as it were, a cause and effect relationship is established, few people will get the point more quickly than does an engineer. In our workshops we still stand in circles, and close our eyes, and take deep breaths, but only in response to a specific issue related to a specific person doing a specific task. Activities that might otherwise come off as extraneously \"touchy feely\" are transformed into proven tools for reaching an audience.3. Don't just prescribe - demonstrate. There are at least three approaches possible for facilitating a workshop. The prescriptive approach tells trainees what is necessary (\"speak up, make eye contact, emphasize that point\"). The experiential approach lets them personally experience what happens when a new element is added to a situation (\"keep your shoulders relaxed, make your point again\"). The demonstrative approach asks them to observe the effectiveness of a certain way of doing things (\"watch this, and see the difference\"). Any effective training program is bound to include all three approaches. We have found, however, that prescription is by far the least effective, even though engineers tend to expect it. Similarly, the experiential approach can meet resistance because the purpose of the exercise may not be immediately obvious.Demonstration, by contrast, jibes with the way technical work is accomplished, which is to solve problems through testing and observation. For this reason, we emphasize the observation of effective and ineffective communication behaviors in others as a way of demonstrating the options available to everyone. In post-workshop surveys, a majority of trainees say they have observed the effectiveness of workshop activities in improving each other's communication skills (see Figure 3). Seeing a colleague become more effective as result of a behavioral adjustment opens other participants to the possibility that a similar adjustment might benefit them as well. As a result, there is no need to offer simplistic prescriptions, and the participants are more willing to give themselves over to experiential approaches.4. Be intensive and specific - but not judgmental. People with technical backgrounds have an ability to absorb demonstrated principles quickly and comprehensively. We have found that a great deal of understanding can be gained in a relatively short time, and that effective training avoids dwelling on \"the basics.\" Yet that is exactly what many technical students have experienced in the past, often in cookie cutter classes that fail to acknowledge either the technical audience as a whole or the individuals that make it up. Repetition works only if the basics are built on in an increasingly complex fashion. The continual addition of new elements keeps the interest of engineers and demonstrates that what is basic in one situation, or to one person, is not necessarily basic to another.Effective training is about exploring the tools that each individual already possesses for reaching an audience or working productively as a team. A \"flaw\" can be a virtue if channeled in the right direction. Properly coached, a nervous habit transforms into an expressive gesture. In an intensive environment there is less time for judgment and more time for personal discovery. The discoveries made in an intense situation are likely to be more deeply felt and imprinted on each and every trainee, especially if the discoveries are distilled into tools that can be used in actual situations. It is important to be patient and non-judgmental, and our data demonstrates that, while not every engineer is likely to become a great communicator, almost all engineers are capable of becoming better communicators (see Figure 4).These \"rules\" are, of course, only a starting point. We have learned to apply them both rigorously and with flexibility. At the Engineering School of the The Cooper Union, customization meant establishing a mini-conservatory. We have learned that you can't close someone else's audience gap without first closing your own. In another setting, playing to the technical audience might require a completely different sort of customization and a subtly different set of training behaviors. What CONNECT has shown is that knowing one's audience - and knowing it specifically rather than generally - is fundamental. A training model that combines engineering with performance is uniquely positioned to build on this basic insight.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Aims to assess the effectiveness of arts-based learning for technical trainees.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Considers the CONNECT Program in the Engineering School of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. The Program has been running since 1997.\nFindings: - Communicating with an audience is essentially a social skill, behavioral in basis, a fact that becomes all too apparent when one's audience has a divergent set of expectations. Failing to meet an audience's expectations opens up what is called an \"audience gap.\"\nOriginality/value: - Of value to anyone, particularly technical personnel and trainers, interested in closing the audience gap and learning how to communicate effectively with those with a less technical background, be they internal or external customers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Transformation of accounting through digital standardisation: Tracing the construction of the IFRS Taxonomy	[ "IFRS", "Translation", "Standardisation", "Actor network theory (ANT)", "Circulating reference", "IFRS Taxonomy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Over recent decades, there has been significant activity to advance digital corporate reporting (Bonson et al., 2009; Guilloux et al., 2013; Troshani et al., 2015). As leading regulators are increasingly mandating firms to digitally file their corporate reports, the IFRS Foundation has been proactive in creating a technological \"standard\", the IFRS Taxonomy that enables preparers and users to continue to use IFRS Standards[1] in the digital realm (IFRSF, 2016a). The IFRS Taxonomy is a dictionary of digital tags. It formalises and structures reporting disclosures based on IFRS Standards, and is an essential mechanism needed to create digital corporate reports (IFRSF, 2015a, 2016b).\n2. IFRS Standards, IFRS Taxonomy and XBRL: IFRS Standards constitute guidelines for composing corporate financial reports in terms of information required and the manner in which it needs to be presented (Botzem and Quack, 2006). The standards are both developed and maintained by the IASB, the standard-setting body of the IFRS Foundation. A key objective of the IFRS Foundation is to develop and promote IFRS Standards to provide firms around the world with a consistent and comparable way of preparing and presenting corporate reports (Botzem, 2012; IFRSF, 2013c).\n3. Theoretical underpinning: In this paper the transformative effects on accounting of the process of standardisation needed to enable digital reporting are theorised using ANT and Botzem and Dobusch's (2012) model of the recursive cycle of transnational standardisation. In this section, we explain our choice by first relating the standardisation literature to the research setting, then explaining the ANT concepts of circulating reference and translation, and finally by integrating the Botzem and Dobusch's (2012) model into the theoretical framework.\n4. Data collection and analysis: We adopted ANT as a basic interpretative framework for data collection and analysis. From this perspective, the manner in which the IFRS Taxonomy is formed is understood by examining the interpretations of actors as they interact and get tied in bonds of reciprocity in the IFRS Taxonomy construction process (Latour, 1999a).\n5. Shaping the IFRS Taxonomy: While early IFRS Taxonomy construction efforts at the IFRS Foundation can be traced back to the year 2000, key changes and developments took place between 2012 and 2013. We analyse how the IFRS Taxonomy was shaped as a result of relations with key actors in the IFRS network, including XBRL, the technology that underpins the IFRS Taxonomy. We find that the IFRS Taxonomy was subjected to pressures from IFRS, IFRS Foundation and XBRL. IFRS Foundation pressures operated as OPP conditions which attempted to define the IFRS Taxonomy while XBRL pressures attempted to dictate the taxonomy architecture and the language to be used to represent the IFRS Standards as a taxonomy. The discussion shows how early motivations of key actors inform their justification and explanation of the relevance of the IFRS Taxonomy.\n6. Tension and disconnect in IFRS Taxonomy construction: The IFRS network attempted a faithful transformation of IFRS Standards into the IFRS Taxonomy. For it to be a circulating reference, the IFRS Taxonomy would need to become a stable and durable reference translating key allies in the IFRS network into the IFRS Taxonomy. However, this transformation was characterised by tension and disconnect as a result of the incompatible natures of the IFRS and IFRS Taxonomy:[There is] tension between the principles-based approach to disclosure followed by the IASB and the more prescriptive requirements of a computer-based tagging system(Teixeira, 2013a, p. 1).\n7. How regulators and preparers have responded: The previous sections discuss attempts to diffuse the tensions that have emerged in the process of constructing the IFRS Taxonomy while also addressing the disconnection with important users including regulators and preparers. Translating these actors is important if the IFRS Taxonomy is to be perceived as a circulating reference of the IFRS for them:That's the sort of concept that if you bring them [users] in, in partnership, and they are part of the process of developing the [IFRS Taxonomy] standard. And they understand why the decisions have been made, then when it comes to actual adoption they will take it(IFRSF No. 13).\n8. Concluding discussion: We examine the process of constructing the IFRS Taxonomy as a legitimate digital standard using the concepts of circulating reference and translation in the context of a model of transnational standard formation. We focus on what the IFRS network gains and what is given up as well as the implications for the taxonomy's adoption.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Corporate reporting infrastructure and communication are being transformed by the emergence of digital technologies. A key element of the digital accounting infrastructure underpinning international corporate reporting is the IFRS Taxonomy, a digital representation of international accounting standards that is required by firms to produce digital corporate reports. The purpose of this paper is to trace the development, governance and adoption of the IFRS Taxonomy to highlight the implications for accounting practice and standard-setting.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors mobilise Actor Network Theory and a model of transnational standardisation to analyse the process surrounding the formation and diffusion of the IFRS Taxonomy as a legitimate \"reference\" of the IFRS Standards. The authors trace the process using interview, observation and documentary evidence.\nFindings: The analysis shows that while the taxonomy enables IFRS-based reporting in the digital age, tensions and detours result in the need for a realignment of the perspectives of both accounting standard-setters and taxonomy developers that have transformative implications for accounting practice and standard-setting.\nOriginality/value: The study explains how and why existing accounting standards are transformed by technology inscriptions with reflexive effects on the formation and diffusion of accounting standards. In doing so, the paper highlights the implications that arise as accounting practice adapts to the digitalisation of corporate reporting.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Consumer-directed care and the relational triangle: Power, subordination and competing demands - a qualitative study	[ "Government policy", "Home support workers", "Employee relations", "Non-profit organizations", "Organizational change", "Consumer directed care" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In OECD countries, the increase in aging populations, including the \"tsunami\" of aging baby boomers Kirkey (2013, p. 1), and their care present major health and community challenges (Hugo, 2007). There is also increasing longevity of populations. For example, in Australia \"the 'old-old' population is growing faster than the total aged population [...]\" (Hugo, 2007, p. 169). By 2050, it is predicted to be over 3.5m aged persons (Australian Productivity Commission, 2011). Challenges in aged care also arise from medical advancements, economics, and societal and consumer expectations (e.g. Christensen et al., 2009).\nConsumer-directed care: Internationally, consumer-directed care models broadly range from a professionally monitored model, to a professionally assisted model and to where the client has extended power and decision making (Kodner, 2003). These models allow clients to hire and fire support workers, but in the first two models care managers have responsibilities such as determining and monitoring the services. Under the third model (e.g. USA, \"cash and counseling\" model), clients receive funding and have total discretion as to its use with optional professional counseling (Benjamin et al., 1998; Kodner, 2003; Swaine et al., 2016). At the extreme this model comprises of a dyadic relationship between the client and the worker, with minimal or no organizational participation. Korczynski (2013) depicted this model as an \"extreme case\" of consumer-directed care, where there is an \"increasingly distant role of the state as the 'employer,' [and] [...] the key role of the customer [...] becomes hard to deny\" (p. 5).\nThe relational triangle: In service work environments, clients can participate in a range of different employment activities that influence the traditional dyadic worker and employer relationship, creating a worker, employer and client triangle (Albin, 2011). Service work is described as \"interactive\" involving interactions with a client (Korczynski, 2009; Leidner, 1993), which is the most important and unique aspect of front-line service work (Korczynski, 2002). The service relationship exists directly or indirectly between the worker and the client (Korczynski and Ott, 2004) while the relationship between the organization and the client is the business relationship (Havard et al., 2009).\nMethodology: Participants\nFindings: The final template is depicted in Table IV comprising a priori themes taken from the literature and the research question and codes derived from the sub set of data.\nDiscussion and conclusions: Through the lens of the relational triangle theory, this paper develops a deep understanding of frontline workers' perceptions of the effect of a change to a client empowerment model on their relationships with clients. In the concept of the relational triangle the further empowerment or \"dilution of subordination\" of one actor entails the decrease of power or the increase in subordination of one or both of the other actors (Havard et al., 2009; Lopez 2010). Client empowerment is the fundamental principle of consumer-directed care and in the Australian government legislated consumer-directed care model, power is transferred away from the organization to the clients, as scenario A in Figure 2 shows. Clients are given powers of choice of provider and services. Organizations retain management and service facilitation powers. Support workers maintain their subordination to the organization as an employee and continue to perform their work according to organizational requirements. However, as scenario B in Figure 2 shows, our findings reveal that worker perceptions of the change do not always conform with the new model. Three levels of perception of subordination became evident amongst participant support workers. Some participant workers did not perceive that the empowerment of their clients resulted in a loss of their own power in the workplace. The second and largest group, while experiencing no or minimal levels of loss of power or increased subordination, spontaneously volunteered that this may change with the influx of the next generation of clients, who would be more aware of and ready to demand their rights. The third group perceived a significant increase in subordination to their clients, even though they remained an employee of the organization. This manifested itself in their treatment by the client as the client's employee, or even servant.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Following a recent government initiated change to a consumer-directed care model across the Australian community aged care sector, the purpose of this paper is to explore frontline home support workers' perceptions of relational changes with clients in power and subordination within the triadic relationship between employer, employee and client.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Contextual interviews were held with managers (n=4), coordinators (n=10) and semi-structured face-to-face interviews with support workers (n=17) in three organizations. Interview transcripts were analyzed.\nFindings: Some workers did not perceive a power change in their relationships with clients. Others perceived minimal change but were concerned about the incoming client generation (baby boomers) that were more aware of their rights. Others felt subordinated to the client, perceived a loss of control or that felt treated like an employee of the client. Consistent with the philosophy of consumer-directed care, senior staff encouraged clients to treat workers in this way.\nResearch limitations/implications: Further research is recommended on worker and client perceptions of relationships within the context of a consumer or client focused model.\nPractical implications: A clear and realistic understanding of the locus of power within a triadic relationship by all actors is important for positive workplace outcomes.\nSocial implications: The increasing ageing population makes it essential that workers' relationships with clients and with their organization are unambiguous.\nOriginality/value: This study makes a contribution to theories about change and power transfer in the implementation of consumer-directed care through the perceptions of support workers. Examination of power and subordination transfer through the perceptions of the actors of rather than through the prism of organizational policy deepens the understanding of frontline service work and relationships.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Tools without skills: Exploring the moderating effect of absorptive capacity on the relationship between e-purchasing tools and category performance	[ "E‐purchasing tools", "Absorptive capacity", "Purchase category performance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Over the past two decades, e-business technologies have transformed supply networks, with potential benefits including reduced purchasing prices, lower transaction costs, and better customer service (Johnson et al., 2007; Rosenzweig, 2009; Slack et al., 2011). However, empirical evidence suggests significant variation in realised benefits of e-purchasing tools (Gonzalez-Benito, 2007). One possible problem may be that studies to date have generally examined the linkages between technologies and performance at the level of the entire organisation or the entire purchasing function (Gonzalez-Benito, 2007). However, often such technologies are not implemented across an entire firm and significant differences can exist in their use for different purchase categories (Pohl and Forstl, 2011). In addition, aggregate measures of firm performance, such as sales and profit margins, have been found to be too remote to be significantly associated with e-commerce capabilities (Zhu and Kraemer, 2002). Sriram and Stump (2004) have suggested that more emphasis needs to be placed on studying the effect of e-tools on a functional level and using more intermediate performance measures such as purchasing costs, and process improvements. Additionally, we need not only to determine whether IT investments produce a positive effect, but by studying best practice, to investigate the contextual factors that influence this relationship (Gonzalez-Benito, 2007; Sousa and Voss, 2008; Rosenzweig, 2009).Some context-specific studies examining the effects of IT investments have been conducted mainly focusing on customer-facing supply chain processes (Devaraj et al., 2007; Rosenzweig, 2009). At a firm level, Johnson et al. (2007) study how industry context, firm characteristics and strategic resources impact on the exploitation of e-business technologies and the relationship between their use and firm performance. They suggest that simply investing in e-business technologies does not provide competitive advantage and that the capabilities for effective implementation are more important. Recent e-purchasing literature appears to be evolving from whether benefits associated with investments actually exist to studying how benefits can be obtained. As such, it is assumed that it is not the technology itself that provides competitive advantage, but how it is used in conjunction with complementary capabilities (Zahay and Handfield, 2004; Ordanini and Rubera, 2008). Building on this perspective, our study examines how different e-purchasing tools can help improve purchase category performance, given certain purchasing organisation characteristics.The approach of the study is grounded in OM practice contingency research, with a focus on understanding the contextual conditions under which implemented practices are effective (Sousa and Voss, 2008). The contingency model comprises three sets of variables: use of practices, contingency factors and performance. In our research, the practices under investigation are the use of three different groups of e-purchasing tools: e-sourcing tools, e-process tools, and e-transaction tools. The contingency factor examined is the absorptive capacity (AC) of the purchasing function - the human interface needed to enable the best possible use of e-tools and the new capabilities and information provided by them in purchasing. Five different aspects of AC are included as moderators: buyer competence, manager competence, communications climate, communications network and knowledge scanning (Tu et al., 2006). Category performance variables include purchasing price, internal process costs, user satisfaction and end-user contract compliance. The selection of the contingency factors is influenced by studies typically examining firm level performance and/or organisational IT capabilities (Powell and Dent-Micallef, 1997; Bharadwaj, 2000), which have concluded that human elements are key complementary resources needed to drive performance improvement. Accordingly, within the purchasing context, we include AC of the purchasing function as the contingency factor in our study and test its moderating effect on category performance.The paper is structured as follows. First, we examine the effects of e-purchasing tools on various category performance outcomes, and discuss the possible moderating role of AC. Within the literature review, we present hypotheses concerning direct and moderated impacts of e-tools on performance. Second, we present our data collection and analysis based on survey data from 297 large firms in ten European and North American countries. Third, we discuss our findings and outline contributions to managers and practice, and to academics and theory. Finally, we draw conclusions and suggest opportunities for future research.\n2 E-purchasing tools, performance, and AC: E-purchasing is a term used to describe the various integrated database systems and a wide area of (typically web-based) network communication technologies employed across all or part of an organisation's purchasing process (Croom and Brandon-Jones, 2007). This process includes the initial identification of needs, specification, supplier search, sourcing, tendering, negotiation, order placement, authorisation, and the mechanisms that register receipt, trigger payment and support post-supply evaluation (Caniato et al., 2010; Slack et al., 2011). These e-purchasing technologies can be clustered into three main groups - e-sourcing tools, e-process tools, and e-transaction tools. E-sourcing tools support the sourcing process, from product/service specification to final negotiation and supplier selection. The most common e-sourcing tools are the use of electronic supplier database, e-tendering and reverse e-auctions (Presutti, 2003; Hartley et al., 2004; Bartezzaghi and Ronchi, 2005). E-process tools support an organisation's order cycle by allowing users to place orders digitally, leverage an automatic authorisation workflow, and track order status (Croom, 2000; Barnes and Vidgen, 2002; Yen and Ng, 2003). E-transaction tools support external communication between organisations and their suppliers. The most common e-transaction tools are electronic data exchange, electronic invoicing, and automated payment (Lancioni et al., 2000; Sriram and Stump, 2004; Croom and Brandon-Jones, 2007).The use of e-purchasing tools to integrate systems within and between organisations is a potentially powerful source of supply chain improvement (Neef, 2001; Power and Singh, 2007; Sanders, 2007). Such e-tools have the potential to reduce purchasing prices, lower the cost of managing the purchasing process, increase contract compliance, and improve user satisfaction (De Boer et al., 2002; Brandon-Jones and Carey, 2011). As firms weigh opportunities to invest in these different technologies and make the ensuing changes to their organisations, supply base and business processes, an increased understanding of how to maximise potential benefits is needed (Johnson et al., 2007). Given the large expenditures that many e-purchasing tool investments require, it is important to consider the impact of different types of information technologies on performance (Sanders, 2007; Ronchi et al., 2010).While some studies examine the relationship between e-procurement and performance (De Boer et al., 2002; Bartezzaghi and Ronchi, 2004; Croom and Brandon-Jones, 2007), others have taken the viewpoint that IT cannot in itself bring sustained competitive advantage without being combined with other firm capabilities (Mata et al., 1995; Jeffers, 2010). Researchers have argued that because of industry sector isomorphism, competitors often look to duplicate investments in IT (Bharadwaj, 2000). Mata et al. (1995) argue that the resource-based view suggests the search for IT-based competitive advantage must therefore focus less on IT per se and more on the process of organising and managing IT within a firm. IT creates advantage by leveraging and exploiting pre-existing, complementary human and business resources (Powell and Dent-Micallef, 1997; Caniato et al., 2005). That is, a human interface is required to maximise the information and transactional improvement potential of e-tools.Prior studies (Lewis et al., 2010) suggest that competitive advantage is derived and sustained from capabilities based on socially complex organisational routines that are often developed over a long period of time and are not easily observed. Rosenzweig and Roth (2007) call for future supply chain research to incorporate a more socio-technical systems approach, where success depends upon the alignment of the people using the appropriate tools and techniques. Therefore, in this study we examine both possible direct effects of e-tools on category performance, as well as how human elements within the purchasing function - its AC - moderate these effects.In the following, we will first formulate hypotheses for the direct effects of the three groups of e-purchasing tools (e-sourcing, e-process, and e-transaction) on four types of category performance, and then discuss which of these are expected to be moderated by the five AC constructs. The four performance measures used in this study are purchasing price, purchasing process costs, contract compliance, and user satisfaction. Price can be defined as expenditure on direct or indirect products and services (De Boer et al., 2002). Purchasing process costs reflect the work involved in processing orders. This includes the cost of searching for and selecting a supplier, order processing, authorisation, receipting, invoicing and payment (De Boer et al., 2002). Contract compliance is defined as the extent to which users comply with mandated contracts (Karjalainen et al., 2009). User satisfaction is defined as the internal user's perception of the quality of the services provided by purchasing, including both the e-procurement systems and the support provided to use them (Brandon-Jones and Carey, 2011).2.1 Direct performance effects of e-purchasing tools\n3 Data collection and analysis results: 3.1 Data collection\n4 Discussion and conclusions: While some firms achieve successful outcomes when implementing e-purchasing tools, others continue to fall victim to the technology productivity paradox - spending far more on IT than the benefits achieved (Tippins and Sohi, 2003). Various explanations for this paradox have been offered, including management's failure to leverage IT potential, ineffective implementation, and incomplete performance measures. Whilst imperfect market factors can allow temporary profits from new technologies, increased competition and changing conditions often destroy this competitive value (Lenox and King, 2004). Many technologies can easily be purchased in the market, so a stand-alone e-procurement system may, at best, deliver a temporary advantage. Our results support this view by demonstrating that e-tools in themselves have a performance increasing impact in only two of the eight relationships tested.Feisel et al. (2011) note the increasing importance of managerial skills in helping the purchasing function add organisational value. Our results point to a similar conclusion. While electronic purchasing tools in themselves appear to have a limited ability to contribute to purchase category performance, some elements of purchasing AC moderate the relationship by increasing their performance impact. Our analysis thus indicates co-specialisation as well as complementarity in combining e-purchasing tools with AC. Co-specialisation means that one capability has less, or no, value without another one, while complementarity arises when the value of a capability is enhanced by the presence of another one, due to synergistic effects (Ordanini and Rubera, 2008).Specifically, our results demonstrate that when a direct relationship between e-tools and performance exists (only in two cases: H2a and H3b), AC constructs do not moderate such relationships. This means that e-process tools enable price reduction and contract compliance, and e-transaction tools increase user satisfaction in a purchase category regardless of the AC of the purchasing function. This is likely due to the strong impact of those tools on performance, as evidenced in previous literature (Croom, 2000; Cuganesan and Lee, 2006). In other cases, AC constructs are necessary to increase performance, and in particular moderate the impact of e-sourcing tools on purchasing price (H1a) and process cost (H1b); the impact of e-process tools on process cost (H2b); and the impact of e-transaction tools on purchasing price (H3a). It appears that in these cases e-purchasing tools can provide performance improvements only when combined with various aspects of the AC of the purchasing function. Lack of AC can hurt performance, suggesting it as a basic requirement for a purchasing organisation. This is in line with findings from Yassine et al. (2004) within the context of product customisation, who find that establishing an IT infrastructure is ineffectual unless the organisational structure is capable of employing the data it provides.Overall, our findings demonstrate that AC appears essential in gaining performance improvements from the use of electronic purchasing tools. Buyer competence and manager competence appear particularly important in moderating the beneficial effect of e-purchasing tools on category performance, and in many cases, the existence of AC in itself, especially a strong communications network, appears in itself to bring increased category performance. This reinforces the view that in many cases the human capital in a purchasing function is as important as, if not more than, the existence of electronic purchasing tools. This is in line with earlier findings on manufacturing technology implementation, where human elements have also been found to be crucial to success (Maffei and Meredit, 1994; Co et al., 1998).In conclusion, Tippins and Sohi (2003) have shown that organisational learning plays a significant role in determining the outcomes of IT on firm performance. Our study extends these results to the context of purchasing. Our analysis supports the view that organisations which not only possess the technical capabilities for automation but also the ability to learn and share information are most likely to be successful in implementing e-purchasing tools (Zahay and Handfield, 2004). Increased levels of AC play an important moderating role in the extent to which adopted technologies contribute to category performance. In addition, they appear to have a direct effect on category performance, regardless of the use of e-purchasing tools for that category. AC is clearly needed as an organisational-human interface to maximise the increased operational capabilities and information provided by e-purchasing tools.4.1 Contributions to managers and practice\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The paper examines the moderating role of a purchasing function's absorptive capacity (AC) on the relationship between the use of electronic purchasing tools and category level purchasing performance. The authors argue that an e-purchasing tool may not in itself positively influence performance unless combined with AC as a human interface to maximise its information and transactional improvement potential.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Survey data collected from 297 procurement executives of large companies in ten countries are analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and hierarchical moderated regression.\nFindings: - The results demonstrate few significant direct effects of e-purchasing tools on category performance. All performance measures studied are enhanced when dimensions of AC and their interactions with the e-purchasing tools are added. Specifically, buyer competence, manager competence and communications climate have performance-enhancing effects. In some cases, AC on its own appears to increase performance more than e-tools.\nOriginality/value: - This paper is the first to study the moderating effects of AC on the relationship between e-purchasing tool usage and category performance. Its findings support the view that simply implementing technology does not lead to performance improvements, but that a human interface is required to maximise the information and transactional improvement potential of e-purchasing tools.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
MPM's productivity improvement project approach in provinces	[ "Productivity rate", "Geographic regions", "Economic processes", "International organizations", "Knowledge transfer", "Turkey" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In Turkey, initial studies on productivity started in the 1940s, and the \"Inter-ministerial Productivity Committee\" was established in 1948, to act as the nucleus of the Turkish Productivity Center (MPM). This Committee was then charged with contributing to the operations of manufacturers (Public Economic Enterprises) and its influence extended into almost all sectors, in line with the principles of profitability and rationality in Turkey. The legal structure of the \"Inter-ministerial Productivity Committee\" ended upon establishment of the \"National Productivity Center\" in 1965 with a special law.This Law outlined the duties of MPM as follows:to research measures that will assist the development of the economy, and strive to implement these measures;to search and find methods that will improve productivity in public and private sector businesses, supervise their implementation and make appropriate recommendations;to disseminate knowledge about methods of productivity improvement; andto promote this knowledge and the methods productivity improvement.The highest organ of MPM, the General Committee and the Board of Directors it has elected, has a triple composition formed of representatives of the government, employees and employers. In addition to these three groups, MPM's Board of Directors also includes one member representing Universities, Chambers of Trade and Industry and Chambers of Agriculture. This has arisen from the lawmaker's intent to ensure the MPM is a balanced and impartial organization under the management of three sectors that are in direct relationship with productivity.MPM, from the date it was established, has made significant studies with the purpose of introducing the concept of productivity in Turkey, improving productivity awareness, training public and private sector organizations about productivity-increasing measures through practices, and supervising and measuring productivity at the national level. Moreover, through studies conducted in cooperation with universities, productivity improvements at macro, micro and sector levels are monitored, problems are detected, proposals are made for solution and improvements in theoretical domains are followed to renew the available stock of knowledge.MPM has a rich collection of publications connected with the studies and researches it has previously conducted. Besides; studies are also underway aimed at information transfer, training of experts and joint projects with the productivity centres of other countries and with international organizations.\nMPM's productivity improvement project approach in provinces: MPM made some important revisions in its service method thanks to a new project approach it developed in 1998, named as \"Productivity Improvement Project Approach in Provinces\". The main characteristic of this approach is to make common MPM's productivity services through different collaborations developed at the local level in a more rapid and effective manner, starting from provinces which are described as new local industry focuses.Developed within the frame of this approach, practices aimed at \"Productivity Improvement Project in Provinces\" (PIP) were initiated in 1999. Gaziantep and Denizli were the provinces chosen for the initial application, and these became named as \"Anatolian Tigers\" in the media because there were increasing numbers of successful private sector initiatives in these regions, with particular focus on industries based on textile and agriculture. Successful outcomes of these projects implemented in two remote and distinct regions resulted in demands for similar project applications to MPM also from different regions of the country in the following years.Initially put into practice in only these two provinces, these projects started to be implemented in a manner to cover approximately six provinces every year starting from 2004 as a result of ever-increasing demands of provinces. There are 81 provinces within the administrative system of Turkey, and the number of provinces where project implementations are made reached 37 as of the year 2007.\nJustification, presumptions, basic features and objective: Initial justification and presumptions\nPIP process: The main project activities carried out, are described as follows:1. Selection of province: In addition to the developing nature of the provinces, financial, organizational and technical support and contribution of the province to the project, will also be taken into consideration for selection purposes.2. Creation of publicity in the province: At the project commencement, MPM will visit organizations rendering public services in the province, to the municipality, Chamber of Trade and Industry of that province and other professional bodies and non-governmental organizations and universities with the purpose of promotion of MPM and the applicable project. In these visits, managers of these organizations will be informed about the foundation purposes and services of MPM as well as the purpose of the project. At this stage aimed at creating publicity, local print and broadcast media will be exploited (for about two weeks).3. Project promotion meeting and protocol signature ceremony: Following the completion of the publicity campaign, the project will be promoted via a meeting in the province with wide participation. In this meeting a Project Framework Protocol will be signed between MPM, the Province Governorship and the Chamber of Trade and Industry.4. Preliminary preparation and planning: Although organized in a similar format, there may be variations in the types, contents and target groups of project service packages of these projects put into practice by MPM in provinces. At this stage, MPM primarily tries to answer the following questions:In what areas does research or analysis need to be undertaken? Who will benefit and how will they benefit from the outcomes of this research and analysis?Which organizations and businesses in the province should be given consultancy services about which productivity improving methods and techniques?Which of the MPM's training programmes should be implemented in the province?At which social sectors and groups should promotion and awareness-raising be aimed?As a result of the preliminary preparation works, the scope and content research to be conducted in the province, businesses and organizations consultancy services will be determined as will consultancy subjects, training program, promotion and awareness activities. Following completion of project preliminary preparation works, a project plan will be prepared and announced to project participants in the province.5. Project commencement: Service packages included in the project plan are started simultaneously. Through preliminary preparation works, project scope determined specifically for the province, works to be conducted, subjects and schedule of works will be announced throughout the province. Business approval will be sought for consultancy work to be made specifically for businesses and organizations and works will be started on a simultaneous basis.6. Project presentation meeting: After completion of all the scheduled activities and services, a presentation meeting will be held in the province with the participation of said sectors, organizations and persons. With this meeting a general evaluation of the project will be made and the results will be presented.7. Preparation of project book: A project book will be published specifically for the province to log and to present the project.8. Supervision: A group of MPM experts to be appointed one year after completion of the project shall realize a supervision work for the purpose of revealing the level of benefits made from the project.\nThe content of the services offered by the project: Starting with the provinces where initial projects were undertaken in 1999, productivity improvement project applications have been completed in 32 provinces so far. Projects in five provinces are underway as per the 2007 work schedule.Research, consultancy, training, promotion and public relations services rendered within the scope of the project are provided by MPM's personnel specialized in different fields. Where necessary, these services can also be offered by MPM's pool of external specialists. Studying the examples relating to existing applications, examples of works made within the scope of main service packages included in the project are given below.Consultancy services\nSummary: MPM has maintained a series of Productivity Improvement Projects in Provinces from the launch of the programme in 1999 until today. Projects have been undertaken in a total of 37 provinces so far. The duration, scope and content of these projects has varied according to the features and demands of provinces.The following conclusions can be reached from an examination of the statistics about the project:About 100 research examination works have been conducted in provinces included within the scope of the Project, and their reports have been announced to the general public using various means at the local and national level.Consultancy services were provided to about 750 SMEs in different sectors regarding application of techniques to improve productivity. Systems established by consultancy services and results of improvements made have set examples for other organizations as well.About 40,000 senior and medium level managers and technical staff in the public and private sector were given training relating to the implementation of productivity improving techniques.Countless people were reached through the public relations and promotion activities widely implemented in provinces. Key members of this community - about 70,000 - were primary school students, teachers, civil servants and non-governmental organizations.Many local and national media organs have covered the issue of productivity, and many news stories were created in the media about productivity and MPM's work.MPM has developed effective corporate cooperation in these provinces. Particularly the relations established with public administration of provinces and private sector organizations, nongovernmental organizations and training organizations continued after project works too. This ensured the continuation of the productivity movement started in provinces.Projects also contributed greatly to the corporate development of MPM, and its familiarity in the country. In this frame, MPM specialists gained significant expertise particularly on SME consultancy.MPM, through the expertise and stock of information it has gained by these projects, has been able to implement a range of productivity improvement projects at the regional and sector level in subsequent periods.*Positive feedback was received from supervision works conducted with the groups who have received service in provinces where projects have been undertaken. Entrepreneurs and industrialists have expressed their satisfaction in seeing the Government close to them with this Project, and their staff gained motivation thanks to the trainings they received as well as reaching the convenience of adopting new developments.The Productivity Improvement Project Approach has played a significant role at the province level on the nationwide promotion of MPM's work, and on the spread of productivity knowledge and awareness at the national level which is an important indicator of national development, improvement of living conditions and improvement of the international competitiveness of Turkey's national economy.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The aim of this paper is to summarise the characteristics of, and results from, a large-scale project to promote productivity improvement throughout Turkey's provinces.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper describes the aims and approach of the project leading to a quantitative summary of outputs.\nFindings: - The Turkish Productivity Center (MPM), through the information gained by these projects, has been able to implement a range of productivity improvement projects at the regional and sector level in subsequent periods.\nPractical implications: - The paper acts as a useful model for other productivity support agencies which wish to create wide-ranging intervention programmes at regional and national level.\nOriginality/value: - The paper gives important details about the foreground and background activities involved in running a major national project.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Purchasing of logistical services: a new view of LSPs' proactive strategies	[ "Innovation", "Supply chain", "Purchasing", "Logistics service provider (LSP)", "Kraljic matrix", "Relational disequilibrium" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Relationships between shippers (manufacturers or large retailers) and their logistical service providers (LSPs) are often characterized by tensions, power and even conflicts, for instance, in the distribution of productivity gains. Using a Delphi investigation, Makukha and Gray (2004) underline that to maintain their freedom of choice, shippers tend to avoid close relationships with LSPs, whereas LSPs want to become real strategic partners. Supporting this line of thinking, Hammervoll and Bo (2010) mention that a lack of trust emerges between shippers and LSPs, due in part to the shippers' bargaining power and to the lack of transparency in the transactions. Although it would be normal to expect that the two \"partners\" have enough in common to develop a win-win situation for logistics, reality appears to be different. By maintaining its LSP in a precarious position, the shipper is often able to make the LSP bear most of the additional costs resulting from an increasingly volatile environment. Actually, to what extent does the LSP really have a choice, unless the shipper relies more and more on LSPs to provide some of the complex logistical services?\n2. The shipper aims for an unbalanced relationship with its logistical service provider: LSPs appeared mostly in the 1990s, following the outsourcing of various types of logistical activities by many shippers, who considered these services to be \"non-critical\". This reality is now widely acknowledged in the literature (Fulconis et al., 2011). However, it is much less discussed that shippers have systematically tried to maintain LSPs in a dependent position by taking advantage of the disequilibrium in the relationship. In fact, many factors then favored the shippers:\n3. How can a logistical service provider move toward a better position?: According to Lorino (1997), an equilibrium normally results from actions followed by counterattacks and of a continuous adaptation to external disruptions. Thus, a new equilibrium is the consequence of changes modifying the relative position of the parties within an organized system, in this case, a supply chain. When the situation is clearly to a shipper's advantage, can the LSP move toward a better position? The answer to this question is of utmost importance for LSPs and also meaningful for researchers interested in the dynamics of inter-organizational relationships. Recent changes in the logistics world indicate that by using the proper strategies, dynamic and innovative LSPs have been able to change their relative position from the disequilibrium they were in, into a more favorable - or, at least, a less unfavorable - one. In Section 3.1, we discuss how LSPs usually respond to the ramp effect by developing further the relationship with the shipper, often by suggesting activities which are highly customized and difficult to duplicate. Section 3.2 shows this trend with the example of 4PLs, who have a unique \"plug and play\" expertise, and whose presence in supply chains has become more prevalent since the end of the 2000s.\n4. Conclusion: This viewpoint explored the dynamics of inter-organizational relationships between shippers and LSPs; from a relational disequilibrium at the time some logistical services were outsourced, the relationships have become more balanced over time. Although many articles deal with power disequilibrium, and also despite the fact that more and more articles on logistics have been published since the early 2000s, most researchers have so far adopted a \"win-win\" view of cooperative supply chains (Ballou, 2007; Christopher, 2010). In this viewpoint, we have approached this relationship differently by discussing how an unbalanced relationship in the shippers' favor was progressively offset by LSPs using technological and organizational innovations; in addition, we have shown how shippers have used the ramp effect to reduce the actual and the perceived power developed by LSPs. The evolution of the logistics industry in Europe, with the presence of LSPs capable of developing additional expertise in high value-added services, really corresponds to a perspective of actions followed by reactions: shippers' efforts to commoditize LSP's services and to make the change of suppliers easier; and then the most innovative LSPs' reaction to introduce difficult-to-duplicate logistical services.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this viewpoint is to analyze the emergence of a modified equilibrium in the relationship between buyers (\"shippers\") and suppliers (\"providers\") of logistical services. In the 1990s, the logistical service providers (LSPs) had relatively little power and were often asked to perform basic operations. The situation has evolved as a result of proactive strategies implemented by some forward-thinking LSPs. In this viewpoint, the emphasis is on the strategies developed by shippers which the authors labeled the \"ramp effect\".\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors discuss the impact of the ramp effect on LSPs' innovation processes. This viewpoint is based on the authors' experience in the field, on a literature review focused on the logistics industry and on the purchasing strategies applied to logistical services.\nFindings: The authors show that the buyers of logistical services have lost some of their power because of two main factors: LSPs' embeddedness in the shipper's supply chain and the transformation of LSPs into orchestrators (labeled fourth-party logistics). This viewpoint discusses the relational disequilibrium between shippers and LSPs rather than the cooperative relationships between them.\nOriginality/value: The ramp effect as a source of innovation and proactive strategies for LSPs has never been covered in the management literature. This viewpoint provides both academics and practitioners with a different perspective of the relational disequilibrium between buyers and sellers of logistical services.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Co-leadership: public sector case studies using reciprocal expectations	[ "Conflict resolution", "Public sector", "Public service", "Co-leadership", "Reciprocal expectations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Public service design and delivery are more complex than ever before. Elected people have demands made on them by their electorates and, in turn, place great demands on salaried public servants at all levels. This paper outlines some of the complex environments within which public services operate. It then focuses on exploring the practical application of an innovative approach, demonstrating how the most senior elected people in government can operate constructively with the most senior public servants to deliver as confident, high quality \"co-leaders\" in government.\nThe complex nature of the public services sector: Donnelly (1999) reported on some of the complexities of modern public services that differentiate them from those delivered by private sector organizations. Engagement and loyalty levels are much lower in the public sector than in private sector organizations, especially in the UK (Pritchard, 2008), although this may not necessarily be the case in other cultures. Recent ethical scandals involving leaders in government organizations (Hassan et al., 2014) highlight the need for more attention on effective leadership approaches and the necessity to develop quality assessment approaches for the public services. Added to this, defining who the \"customer\" is and the \"service\" received represents a significant challenge for most public and civil servants. In practical terms, early research (Donnelly and Dalrymple, 1996) indicated that the ability of the commercial sector instruments to assess service quality might be compromised, as the service under scrutiny moves away from the existence of any close commercial sector analogue in terms of extent of direct payment for, and personal receipt of, the service. Public sector services in the UK are under the control of groups of democratically elected individuals, and, as such, these people are accountable to their electorate for the choices that they make (Donnelly, 2004).\nThe reciprocal expectations approach: The reciprocal expectations (RE) approach is a process that requires the agreement by leaders to undertake facilitated conversational workshops involving the management team on its own, the political team on its own, and then a joint plenary to focus on areas of agreement and any associated issues. The facilitator then reflects the proposed \"deal\" (compact) formally to the plenary group. The RE approach is a conversation similar to a psychological contract (Rousseau, 1989) and consists of five stages. First, the politicians were invited to say what their expectations were of the paid public officials both individually and collectively. Second, the politicians were then asked what they would give in return if the paid officials delivered on all of these expectations. Third, the paid public officials were invited to say what their expectations were of the politicians. Fourth, the officials were then asked what they would give in return if the politicians delivered on all of these expectations. Finally, the expectations of each group were then presented to the other group for discussion within their group and each was then invited to review the \"offer\" they would make if their expectations of the other group were met. In addition to the process described, successful RE facilitation requires the application of management consultation frameworks such as emotional intelligence models and conflict management techniques. The outcome in this learning intervention was that the act of sharing expectations managed to shift current mindsets and facilitated the development of a meaningful, positive dialogue between the elected representatives and the paid officials of the council.\nCase studies: The application of the RE approach at joint \"away day\" workshops at Organization A and Organization B led to the development of a \"deal\" or \"compact\" between the co-leaders. A summary of the compacts is shown in Table I.\nDiscussion and conclusions: The personal and interpersonal relationships between elected people and paid officials are complex, and arguably their co-leadership is central to the success of the organization. This is only one aspect of the environment within which modern public services are delivered. Such endeavors are rarely smooth and harmonious with unanimous agreement. Notwithstanding, in the case studies explored in this paper, there is clearly a significant power in simply asking the following questions:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The paper aims to introduce the reciprocal expectations (RE) approach to co-leadership and outlines the complex environments within which public services operate.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A case study of two government departments is undertaken to apply the RE approach within a public services context.\nFindings: The application of the RE approach to co-leadership resulted in the mending of broken relationships, thereby providing the basis for stable, effective government, and restoring Ministerial confidence in the government departments.\nPractical implications: Strong and effective co-leadership can be achieved when attributes of trust, honesty, and clear expectations are facilitated and mutually adopted.\nOriginality/value: The organizational context of elected and professional leaders in government is complex, unique, and requires special attention. The RE approach is original, and the case studies contribute to the knowledge of co-leadership and the benefits of the RE approach to good governance practice.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Assisting Bulgarian special educators with competency development online	[ "Competences", "Education", "Bulgaria", "E‐learning", "Internet" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: It is often assumed \"that learning is an individual process, that it has a beginning and an end, that it is best separated from the rest of our activities, and that it is the result of teaching\" (Wenger, 1999, p. 3). It has also been argued, however, that learning is a social phenomenon resulting from regular interaction with others throughout our daily lives. Based largely on this argument, Lave and Wenger (1991) proposed a social learning model that involved habitual interaction with what they termed a community of practice (CoP) (Smith, 2006a). \"Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis\" (Wenger et al., 2002, p. 4). Professionals that regularly meet for lunch to discuss their jobs are part of a CoP. The parents of children involved in a sport, who advise each other about parenting, are also part of a CoP. Similarly, with regard to special education in Bulgaria, CoPs already exist. Some are challenged geographically by distance and regional boundaries and others have the potential to form but do not because of the requirements of daily living or separation across cities.Special Education Bulgaria (SEB) is a CoP for special education researchers, practitioners, teachers in training, and parents. It is facilitated by a web site. SEB's central purpose is to connect extant geographically-dispersed special education communities in Bulgaria. The web site, www.specialeducationbulgaria.com, has been updated progressively throughout three phases of research (see Figure 1). The design-based research approach has guided each phase (Brown, 1992; Collins, 1992; Design-Based Research Collective, 2003; Peterson and Herrington, 2005; Reeves et al., 2005; van den Akker, 1999). Theoretical underpinnings originate from the CoP concept but more specifically relate to the distributed community of practice (DCoP) concept described by Wenger et al. (2002).When the SEB project began in 2005, it was not known if the development of a DCoP facilitated by the internet would be feasible to establish in Bulgaria. Results from the first two phases of research, however, indicated that it was not only possible, there was a great deal of interest. The web site has grown from an initial group of 20 users to more than 300. Further, it appears that this is just the type of project that the European Union (EU) is interested in pursuing (Bulgarian National Assembly, 2001; Commission of the European communities, 2005; Koper and Stefanov, 2006).Preliminary results from the third and final research phase, however, indicate that a DCoP alone may not meet the needs of Bulgaria's special education community. Though the SEB web site appears to facilitate community building, it remains unclear if it significantly helps special educators do their jobs better? To address this finding, SEB has looked to the EU's Sixth Framework integrated project, TENCompetence[1]. It is anticipated that the success of a TENCompetence-SEB partnership will depend primarily on the implementation and testing of e-portfolios and online courses to assist special education professionals with lifelong competency development. This paper briefly summarizes the SEB features consistent with TENCompetence concepts of competency development, lifelong learning, and professional networking. It then describes, in detail, the features needed to expand SEB from a DCoP into a suitable TENCompetence pilot. It concludes with a discussion of the benefits of a TENCompetence-SEB partnership.\nNew objectives: The SEB project objectives correlate closely with several of the TENCompetence objectives. The web site provides discussion forums; chat rooms; document, photo, and links repositories; online voting; RSS news feeds; calendar and other tools and meets all of the necessary DCoP criteria laid out by Preece (2000) and Wenger et al. (2002) including, among others, ease of navigation and quick, secure access. What appears to be missing, however, is a direct link to standardized competencies and ways of developing such competencies. Hence, to better address all four TENCompetence core objectives, SEB will host online courses to teach and assess special education competencies and e-portfolios for substantiating such competencies. The next two sections of this paper explain how online courses and e-portfolios will be integrated.\nOnline courses: The SEB internet community is powered by Moodle[2], a dependable course management system, that is widely praised for its ability to host online courses. To date, however, only the social networking, \"learning community,\" aspects of Moodle have been employed by SEB (Dougiamas and Taylor, 2003). The following section discusses the competencies to be targeted by SEB and how online courses will be integrated to better address TENCompetence objective number 3.The objectives currently addressed by SEB are:* Methods and technologies for the creation, storage, use, and exchange of knowledge resources.* Models, methods and technologies for the creation, storage, use, and exchange of networks of competence development programs.Objectives to be addressed after the addition of online courses and e-portfolios:* Standards-based methods and tools for the creation, storage, use, and exchange of formal and informal learning activities and units of learning.* Methods and technologies for the creation, storage, use, and exchange of formal and informal competence development programs.Targeted competencies\nE-portfolios: Key to the competence development process described by Schoonenboom et al. (2006) is the use of e-portfolios. The process is described as follows:As a learner starts with competence development, self assessment will be the most prominent, if not the only, form of assessment. This orientation stage is followed by a stage of evidence collection, which is supported by e-portfolio building. In a third stage, the learner is judged by others, and in this stage organisations make use of assessment forms such as on-the-job assessment, 360-degree assessment and assessment centres. In the fourth stage, the learner performs competence development activities (Schoonenboom et al., 2006, p. 1).E-portfolios are critical to the success of this model and to the TENCompetence project (TENCompetence, 2005). SEB will provide formal opportunities for competency development as described in the \"Online courses\" section above. The following section describes the types of e-portfolios relevant to SEB and how they will be integrated. E-portfolio integration is intended to help SEB better address TENCompetence objectives numbers 2 and 4.Types of e-portfolios\nWin-win: There are many reasons why the SEB expansion described herein is a win-win opportunity for Bulgaria, special educators, special needs students, TENCompetence, and the EU. For one, the expansion suits Bulgarian and EU plans to implement lifelong learning solutions facilitated by information technology (Bulgarian National Assembly, 2001; Commission of the European Communities, 2005).Second, TENCompetence requires cycle-2 pilots that address non-technical competencies; address competency development in authentic work environments; can test the TENCompetence PCM software; are sustainable after research completes; employ open-source, standards-based technologies such as Moodle; and attract long-term associate partners such as Sofia University's Department of Special Education and Bulgaria's Ministry of Education and Science (Hemmje et al., 2007).Furthermore, Bulgaria is transforming continually to meet EU requirements. The EU currently focuses on judicial system reform and organized crime and corruption (Commission of the European communities, 2006). As the Bulgarian government attends to these front-page concerns, other issues, such as Bulgaria's faltering university system (Popkostadinova, 2007), may be overlooked. Other examples include the need to improve the quality of support available to disabled children; integrate special needs students into the regular school system; and integrate Roma children (Rowling, 2006; Smith, 2005, 2006a,b,c,d; Tzvetkova-Arsova, 2004; UNICEF, 2007; UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2005). The Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science has published an official strategy for integration, but this is only the first of many steps to come (Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, 2004). Integration in any country is a very difficult task. Moreover, integration is only the first step toward inclusion[6] (Peterson and Konza, 2006).As Bulgaria transitions to a system of integration, it faces many challenges. Such challenges include the restructuring of hundreds of special schools and institutions and the retraining of special educators and general educators nation wide (Cholakova and Georgieva, 1996; Peterson and Konza, 2006; Tzvetkova-Arsova, 2004). It follows that integration will catalyse a major shift in the competencies required for the practice of special education in Bulgaria. Thus, the integration process has the potential to create unstable demands on the education system unless effective competency development programs, such as those proposed by SEB and TENCompetence, can be provided.\nConclusion: This paper discussed a potential partnership between two research projects: SEB and TENCompetence. Both projects seek to engage internet technologies, for example, e-portfolio, online course management, and Web 2.0 social networking software, to facilitate professional development and lifelong learning. SEB requires competency-development tools to better support its members, and TENCompetence requires long-term associate partners. Moreover, both projects expect that early and continual focus on sustainability will lead to long-term adoption of research outcomes. For TENCompetence, sustainability will largely depend on the number and diversity of associate partners recruited. For SEB, sustainability will depend on the quality and relevance of professional development tools and resources provided to its members. Hence, the development of a SEB test pilot for TENCompetence is a win-win opportunity. If successful, similar approaches may be taken for the professional development of special educators in neighbouring Balkan countries, especially those new to or soon to enter the EU.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to discuss an expansion of the Special Education Bulgaria (SEB) internet community that is required to pilot software created by the European Union's (EU's) Sixth Framework integrated project, TENCompetence.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - SEB is the product of a two-year research project designed to create a sustainable nation-wide community of practice (CoP) for special education in Bulgaria via the internet. This paper discusses the SEB features consistent with TENCompetence concepts of competency development, lifelong learning, and professional networking. It then describes the additional features needed to prepare a SEB pilot.\nFindings: - SEB was developed throughout three phases of research, which included a needs assessment, formative evaluation, and effectiveness evaluation. Effectiveness evaluation results indicated that though a CoP has begun to coalesce, it remains unclear to what extent SEB helps special educators do their jobs better. In response to this finding, the implementation and testing of e-portfolios and online courses is proposed. The implementation would employ Moodle for course management, Elgg or Mahara for e-portfolios, and TENCompetence open-source software for defining and organizing competencies.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Research outcomes regarding online communities and lifelong competency development may also apply to the professional development of special educators in neighbouring Balkan countries, especially those new to or soon to enter the EU.\nOriginality/value: - Internet-based competency development and lifelong learning for special educators in Bulgaria, one of the EU's newest member countries, is investigated.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Evaluating the validity of Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness (SET) in India	[ "India", "Structural equation modelling", "Higher education", "Validity", "Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness", "Reflective model" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Quality of teaching is measured through an assessment of \"teaching effectiveness\" (TE). This is evaluated in several ways including influence on positive personal change and development in students their academic achievements and work. In turn these get reflected as how students rate the TE of their teachers (Shevlin et al., 2000). In higher education, the measurement of perceived service quality from the students' perspective is increasingly becoming important (O'Neill and Palmer, 2004; Stodnick and Rogers, 2008). However, some issues relating to the construct and its measurement from the students' perspective need to be examined. For example, responses to queries such as \"what are the determinant dimensions of TE?; how to design a quality management model based on the measurement instrument and how to deal with issues related to its implementation?\" need to be addressed.\nIndian higher education: Higher education in India is regulated by both central and state governments and their regulatory authorities. These consist of central universities set up by parliament; state universities set up by State Legislative Assembly; deemed universities which are institutes of national importance notified by central government, institutes of national importance set up by parliament and colleges which have been affiliated with the aforementioned universities (Gupta and Gupta, 2012).\nReview of existing literature: TE - definition and measurement\nSET: SET measures are widely used to provide formative feedback to faculty for improving teaching, course content and structure; a summary measure of TE for promotion and tenure decisions; and information to students for the selection of courses and teachers (Marsh and Roche, 1993; Chen and Hoshower, 2003). SETs are collected and used to provide diagnostic feedback to faculty for improving teaching. Some of the applications for improving teaching through SETs are: as a measure of TE for personnel decisions; providing information for students for the selection of courses and instructors; as a component in national and international quality assurance exercises, to monitor the quality of teaching and learning; and as an outcome for research on teaching (e.g. studies designed to improve TE and student outcomes, effects associated with different styles of teaching, perspectives of former students) (Marsh, 2007). Student ratings of instruction are extensively employed to evaluate TE in universities and institutions worldwide (Seldin, 1985; Abrami, 1989; Wagenaar, 1995; Abrami et al., 2001; Hobson and Talbot, 2001). SET is widely used in universities in UK and USA to effect changes in course material and its delivery. In the USA, faculty decisions regarding terms of employment, salary levels and promotion are influenced by SET results.\nMethodology: In this study 209 graduate students were self-selected during the MBA program in January-March 2013 at the business school department of a Delhi state government University in New Delhi, India. The demographic profile of the participants were considered to be representative of students of other MBA programs. The final sample size used for data analysis was 201 due to deletion of eight entries because of the missing data and errors. The students in the first year of the two year MBA program were selected for the study and were asked to rate their teachers in the two marketing courses composed of a total of 20 sessions of 90 minutes duration each. The students rated two male and two female teachers who had taught them the mentioned courses.\nMeasurement scale: The initial 11 items scale of SET employed for the study was adapted from the study by Shevlin et al. (2000). The data on the 11-item self-reported scale of TE (Appendix 1) was collected by a member of the managerial staff. The scale consisted of seven items (items 1-6, 11) to measure the \"LA\" factor and four items (items 7-10) to measure the \"module attributes.\" Students rated their perceptions on the items on a five-point Likert scale with options ranging from \"strongly disagree\" (1) to \"strongly agree\" (5). The charisma of the teacher/lecturer was measured with two items, i.e. item nos 12 (\"The lecturer has charisma\"), and 13 (\"The lecturer helped in transforming me to take interest in studies\") (Appendix).\nFindings: CFA\nDiscussion and conclusions: The purpose of this study was to empirically test the relationship of teacher's \"charisma\" with dimensions of SET so that it can be considered as a valid measure of TE (Figure 1). The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that the teacher's trait of \"charisma\" would significantly influence the student's ratings of the teacher/lecturer on SET dimensions as demonstrated by Shevlin et al. (2000) in their study with students of higher education in UK. The results show that charisma significantly affects SET ratings by students The results show that the SET dimensions of \"LA\" and \"MA\" are not only measures of TE but also reflect the single higher-order measure of teacher's trait of \"charisma\" as hypothesized in the study (Figures 1 and 2) and hence the hypothesized relationship is valid in Indian higher education context. The study thus provides evidence of the inadequacy of SET as a measure of TE.\nLimitations: The specified model was adapted from the study by Shevlin et al. (2000) and the relationships were specified on the basis of theories of personality from psychology. However, alternative specifications of the model are possible as suggested by Shevlin et al. (2000) wherein the direction of influence can be from the SET dimensions to Charisma. Thus, it can be hypothesized that students perception of teachers' \"Charisma\" is formed through their judgment of LA and module attributes. Since the model of relationship of SET with charisma has only been tested in two context's, i.e. the UK and India, the results are not generalizable especially as regards the dimensionality of SET, the attributes used in the measure and the results of the study.\nRecommendations for future research: Future research based on the SET dimensions of TE suggested by theories of learning and information and evaluation of their relationship with other traits and behaviors of the teacher/lecturer would create better understanding of the dynamics of the effects' of extraneous factors on SET. Further research on enhancing the validity of the SET can be done by minimizing the halo effect of \"teachers charisma\" and other extraneous variables which are a measure of teacher's leadership abilities rather than TE. Further refinement of the hypothesized and tested model by including other variables or/and testing other model specifications (e.g. a formative model), wherein SET is hypothesized as influencing teachers trait of charisma would resolve the dilemma of whether the teachers charisma is reflected by their leadership attributes or formed by them and hence the need for a formative model to be tested and compared with the reflective model. Cross-cultural research would help contribute to the structural generalizability of the SET model especially since most studies have been conducted with English speaking students. Third, the SET model specified in this study was two-dimensional whereas SET models with three and more dimensions need to be empirically tested especially those developed by Marsh and Dunkin (1992) and Ramsden (1991) to obtain a better insight into the structure of SET and so that the nature of its relationship with the teacher's trait of charisma can be better understood.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: There is a debate in literature about the generalizability of the structure and the validity of the measures of Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness (SET). This debate spans the dimensionality and validity of the construct, and the use of the measure for summative and formative purposes of teachers valuation and feedback. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the aforementioned issues. Specifically the paper tests the relationship of teacher's \"charisma\" trait with a measure of SET consisting of the two dimensions of \"lecturer ability\" and \"module attributes.\" The market characteristics of the paper are those of an emerging market and cross-cultural context with a specific reference to India.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In this study, a two-dimensional scale of SET, which was originally developed by Shevlin et al. (2000) in their study in the UK, was empirically tested with Indian students and modified. Empirical data were collected from Indian students pursuing their MBA program in a north Indian university and statistical testing using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses was undertaken. The proposed relationship of a teacher's \"charisma\" trait was tested as a reflective construct comprising of the two dimensions of SET with the help of the software package Amos ver 4.0.\nFindings: The results indicate that the measure of SET is influenced by the teacher's \"Charisma\" (trait), thus providing evidence of a halo effect. This raises the issue of validity of SET as an instrument for measuring teaching effectiveness (TE). The results provide support to the hypothesis that structure of SET is multidimensional along with the need for adapting the instrument in diverse cultural and market contexts.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the debate on the validity, structure and use of SET as an instrument for measuring TE in a developing market with cross-cultural implications such as India.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
School staff advice-seeking patterns regarding support for vulnerable students	[ "Social network analysis", "Mixed methods", "Advice-seeking patterns", "Vulnerable students" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Tackling social inequality has become an imperative in England as research has shown that the country is one of the most unequal societies in the developed world (e.g. Hills et al., 2010). A report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) comparing inequality in child wellbeing in rich countries along the dimensions of income, health, life satisfaction and education indicates that England performs worse when it comes to tackling inequality for vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the latter dimension (UNICEF, 2016). In other words, the country is experiencing challenges in meeting the needs of its most disadvantaged children, particularly when it comes to education. Indeed, when focusing on secondary schooling in England, students with special needs, from deprived backgrounds, and from certain ethnic groups are more likely to show low academic performance (DCSF, 2009; Kingdon and Cassen, 2010; Thompson, 2017).\nConceptual framework: Research on school staff collaboration\nResearch aims: The present study investigated the variation in advice-seeking patterns among staff in secondary schools. The focus in this paper is placed on professional networks of advice on supporting vulnerable students' learning and wellbeing. Patterns of staff active engagement with colleagues aimed at supporting vulnerable learners in schools are portrayed drawing upon social network methods, in combination with qualitative data.\nMethods: Sample\nResults: Variation in school advice networks\nDiscussion: The findings reported above, arising from both quantitative and qualitative methods, showed that schools differed with respect to staff access to expertise on supporting vulnerable students and schools. In line with previous research, this study suggests that, despite sharing common context and intake characteristics, schools can vary significantly in their patterns of collaboration (Bakkenes et al., 1999; Daly et al., 2010; Dorner et al., 2011; Spillane and Healey, 2010). This represents an important index of distributed leadership.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Supporting the learning and wellbeing of vulnerable students is an important yet challenging part of school educators' work. The purpose of this paper is to investigate advice-seeking patterns around the issue of supporting the learning and wellbeing of vulnerable students, among professional staff in six English secondary schools. The paper focuses on investigating variation in advice-seeking patterns among schools, exploring the association between these patterns and staff perceptions of the school climate for collaboration, and examining how these informal advice-seeking patterns relate to formal support arrangements in the schools.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods approach that combined findings from social network analysis with in-depth interviews was used.\nFindings: It was found that advice-seeking patterns among staff vary substantively, even among similar schools. Furthermore, schools with more cohesive and reciprocal advice networks also showed a stronger climate for collaboration (i.e. mutual respect and distributed leadership). Also, formal organizational structures and informal advice-seeking structures showed coherence in the sample, as formally designated leaders, such as the Headteacher and the Special Educational Needs Coordinators, were generally highly central to their schools' advice network.\nOriginality/value: This study advances the field as there is little research that examines the social networks of educators in England, and no previous studies that explore teacher advice-seeking networks in relation to supporting vulnerable students, internationally.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Stochastic AHP and fuzzy VIKOR approach for warehouse location selection problem	[ "Fuzzy VIKOR", "The warehouse location selection", "Stochastic AHP" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Rapidly changing and evolving conditions have necessitated businesses to make the right decisions for their companies. In such an environment, companies must make a valid and healthy decision in order to provide a competitive advantage. In order to carry out the decision-making process effectively, MCDM techniques are used which help companies choose the best alternative among more than one criterion. MCDM is a frequently used methodology for solving evaluation and ranking problems involving many conflicting criteria.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Warehouse location selection problem\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Stochastic AHP\n4. Application and results: This section demonstrates how to implement SAHP-fuzzy VIKOR methods. The name and any other information pertaining to the supermarket are not used in the study due to the privacy policy of the supermarket owner.\n5. Conclusion: Warehouse location selection problem involves many different and vague criteria. Various methods have been developed to find solutions to such problems. In this study, a model was developed that has not been previously applied to storage location problems.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a stochastic multi-criteria decision-making approach to solute the warehouse location problem in the stochastic environment which contains uncertain condition.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In developed approach, the weight of criteria was calculated by using the stochastic analytic hierarchy process (SAHP) method. Alternative ranking was made and evaluated by fuzzy VIKOR (VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje).\nFindings: This study dealt with warehouse location selection problem of a supermarket that has sellers in many regions in Turkey and selected proper warehouse.\nOriginality/value: This study combined SAHP and fuzzy VIKOR methods as a solution approach for warehouse location selection problems.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Point-of-care glucose testing: on-site competency assessment	[ "Direct observation", "Competency assessment", "Point-of-care testing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Point-of-care testing (POCT) is defined as those procedures performed at or near the patient's location, with results leading to possible changes in patient management (CLSI, 2005). Point-of-care (POC) glucose testing is the most commonly used procedure. At Siriraj Hospital, a 2,200-bed Thai University hospital, around 400,000 POC glucose tests are performed each year. POCT can be affected by errors in pre-analytic, analytic and post-analytic phases (Plebani, 2009); thus, good quality management is needed to prevent such errors. The Siriraj POC committee used ISO 22870:2006, which is a specific POCT-standard to assure glucose testing quality. In June 2009, Siriraj Hospital clinical pathology staff, responsible for POCT quality management, previously accredited for ISO 15189:2007, were accredited by ISO 22870:2006, becoming the first Thai hospital accredited by this standard (Opartkiattikul et al., 2009). The ISO 22870:2006 technical requirements include eight aspects: personnel, accommodation and environmental conditions, laboratory equipment, pre-examination procedures, examination procedures, quality assuring examination procedures, post-examination procedure, and reporting (ISO, 2006). The standard requirements, such as operator training, procedure manuals, internal audit or monitoring by a POCT coordinator had been implemented, but no direct observation to evaluate its success. In fact, POCT is performed by clinicians or nurses having no laboratory skills and are not familiar with the quality control process. Close supervision by direct observation during their actual work may be an essential element. This pilot study, therefore, aimed to: perform on-site assessment; and highlight non-compliance for education and training purposes.\nMaterials and methods: Assessment form\nResults: Staff competency assessment\nDiscussion: Our study attempted to evaluate ISO 22870:2006 implementation by a direct observation method using established assessment forms. Directly observing POC glucose testing performed by another person who did not regularly work in that place was difficult to accomplish. Neither the staff, who were supposed to be assessed, nor the assessments for each person (which should be three to four times), were achieved. There were two reasons: working hours did not match the investigator visit times and there was no patient testing for direct observation when the investigator visited the POC site. The first problem was solved by making an appointment in advance, but the second, no patient testing, remained an obstacle. On-site inspections in large institutions are labor intensive (Gregory and Lewandrowski, 2009). However, inspections can detect overlooked problems by personnel working at the site and enables the POC team to build a working relationship (Lehto et al., 2011). Because directly observing testing is still recommended (Thomas, 2008), to make this technique practicable, the POCT committee should provide special training for the nursing unit heads (POC site) or designated persons from those POC sites (site coordinator). Thus, they could assess their own operators (Lehto et al., 2011) and help enhance the program (Gregory et al., 2012). This special training or training the trainer should help solve the labor-intensive limitation. Another method for on-going competency assessment is routine IQC testing. If IQC test results are acceptable then the assessment is satisfactory (Shephard et al., 2009).\nConclusion and recommendations: The study's main limitation was that only nurses were observed, but medical students and residents also perform POC glucose testing. If more representative samples are needed then these groups should be included. On-site competency assessment can be used to detect POC glucose testing common non-compliances and maintain staff performance. All non-conformities found during staff and POC site assessments should be corrected and monitored by the POCT coordinator and the POCT committee, and emphasized in further training. Though not easy to accomplish, it helps to identify improvement opportunities. To fulfill the requirements, the POCT committee should supply instruments and tools to facilitate the operators' work.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this pilot paper is to use on-site assessment to determine common non-compliance in point-of-care (POC) glucose testing, deficiencies that should be improved by the POC team or emphasized in further training.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Assessment forms for POC site and staff competency were developed and used for direct observation in four POC sites. Nurses were sampled in these sites.\nFindings: The on-site assessment demonstrated that initial operator training was insufficient. Only three of 15 nurses achieved a satisfactory score on the first assessment. In all nine participants who had been assessed at least twice improved their performance. In total, 16 (30 percent) of 53 competency items were not achieved, so these should be addressed during refresher training. Improved compliance with the checklist was observed in two of four POC sites.\nResearch limitations/implications: Medical students and residents also perform the test, so more representative samples are needed.\nPractical implications: The assessment of staff performance in the workplace with constructive input and POC site inspections to identify common deficiencies are recommended. Refresher trainings should be focussed on the deficiencies identified.\nSocial implications: Assessing staff performance in the workplace with constructive input and POC site inspections to identify common deficiencies are recommended. Refresher trainings should focus on deficiencies.\nOriginality/value: This study involved directly observing POC site staff during glucose testing. The assessment forms were based on ISO 22870:2006 technical requirements.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The impact of cultural differences on technology transfer: Management practice moderation	[ "Vietnam", "Management practice", "Cultural differences", "Efficient technology transfer", "Japanese manufacturing subsidiaries" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Global cooperation and competition have become the driving forces of business survival and development and are thus of interest to all businesses. Meanwhile, modern organizational theory perceives the issue of culture as a significant factor in the many drivers of competitive advantage (Schlunze et al., 2011). Culture has been identified as one of the key determinants of the success and sustainability of economic and business exchanges among countries and industries and even within individual businesses. Culture is a particularly significant factor in the expansion of manufacturing activities from developed to developing countries through technology transfer channels; the issue of cultural difference is of crucial importance to the efficient achievement of cross-cultural technology transfer and is a major challenge for managers undertaking international technology transfer projects. Both the negative and positive impacts of cultural difference on efficient technology transfer have been discussed (Nguyen et al., 2012; Nguyen and Aoyama, 2012a). The adverse impact of cultural difference plays an important role in eliminating the potential for successful technology and knowledge transfer and causing the failure of the international technology transfer process (Dussauge et al., 2000; Lin and Berg, 2001; Lucas, 2006). It is clear that many overseas subsidiaries fail to deal with cultural difference systematically. Japanese manufacturing subsidiaries in Vietnam are no exception; they have faced difficulties and complications in their management and business performance due to cultural constraints.\n2. Literature review: Knowledge is seen as the key to controlling technology transfer performance (Li-Hua, 2004), and there is a vast body of quantitative research on the factors inhibiting and facilitating efficient knowledge and technology transfer. However, these works have examined only a few dimensions, such as the characteristics of knowledge, its suppliers and recipients, their relationships (e.g. Kogut and Zander, 1993; Rebentisch and Ferretti, 1995; Gupta and Govindarajan, 2000; Pak and Park, 2004; Sazali and Raduan, 2011), organizational learning (Jabar et al., 2011), and management practices (Nguyen and Aoyama, 2012b, c). Some studies have explored the importance of national culture, the obstacles stemming from cultural differences, and the conflicts and misunderstandings occurring in cross-cultural knowledge and technology transfer (e.g. Lyles and Salk, 1996; Mowery et al., 1996; Simonin, 1999; Lin and Berg, 2001; Evangelista and Le, 2009). Few exploratory studies have investigated how cultural differences affect knowledge transfer (e.g. Bhagat et al., 2002; Lucas, 2006; Chen et al., 2010; Nguyen et al., 2012; Nguyen and Aoyama, 2012a). Most studies on cross-cultural technology transfer which have aimed to explain the nature of international technology transfer have not adequately addressed how to achieve efficient technology transfer cross-culturally. The prevailing issue now is the question of what managerial activities significantly promote technology transfer implementation in the context of cultural difference. However, a fundamental understanding of cross-cultural technology transfer, and particularly of ways to minimize cultural difference's constraints on international transfers, has not yet been holistically achieved, as is shown below.\n3. Analytical framework: Previous research allows us to identify the adverse impact of cultural difference on efficient technology transfer. This study develops a conceptual model (see Figure 1) by which to determine which of the management practice elements in each management practice construct (i.e. management commitment, quality practice, team-based work, training, and sharing and understanding) can significantly alter the adverse impact of cultural difference on efficient technology transfer. In current study, technology transfer is defined as acquiring technological knowledge from partners, enhancing knowledge application, increasing the motivation for further study, and improving innovative capacities to provide process and product quality. Each management practice is designed as facilitator to organizational features for efficiently achieving cross-culturally technological knowledge transfer. Once organizational learning occurs, the facilitating factor promotes the new knowledge acquisition, creation, and organizational learning (Appelbaum and Reichart, 1998). Therefore, this study takes the knowledge-based view - specifically, its organizational learning perspective - to investigate the above inquiry. Among three views of organizational learning - as a learning process; an outcome in changing behavior and improving organizational effectiveness; and a linkage between learning process and its outcomes (Sazali and Raduan, 2011), organizational learning regards to integrating learning process of individuals as well as groups/organizations and learning outcomes which is defined by Hill (1996), Buckler (1998), and Sadler-Smith et al. (2001) is suitable for this study. To this end, the sub-sections below present the explanations, theoretical arguments, and rationale that lead to the study's hypotheses on the impact of each construct on the negative relationship between cultural difference and efficient technology transfer.\n4. Research method: 4.1. Measurement scales\n5. Findings and discussion: 5.1. The reliability and validity of measurement scales\n6. Conclusion: This study has determined which significant management practice elements should be considered high priority and be implemented to deal with the cultural constraints impeding efficient technology transfer. To bridge current gaps in the study of cross-cultural technology transfer, the management practice items and their theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed below in terms of each management practice construct.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively evaluate which of the elements of five management practice constructs - management commitment, quality practice, team-based work, training, and sharing and understanding - can significantly lessen the adverse impact of cultural differences on efficient technology transfer.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling multigroup analysis are used to analyze structured survey data from 223 Japanese manufacturing subsidiaries in Vietnam.\nFindings: The following are the primary factors that moderate the adverse impact of cultural difference on efficient technology transfer: employees' understanding of quality; top managements' communication of clear goals and procedures for technology transfer; the nature of the collaborative teamwork and frequent communication about technical issues among Japanese experts and Vietnamese staff; sending of key Vietnamese technical staff to Japan for technological seminars and on-the-job training while providing them with the appropriate materials and guidelines.\nPractical implications: Although cultural diversity's impact on technology transfer may never be problem-free, Japanese and Vietnamese managers should be aware of the effects of differing cultural values and use the appropriate interfaces to minimize cultural problems, maintain a cooperative environment, and transform cultural values into business value.\nOriginality/value: Cross-cultural technology transfer research, from the knowledge-based perspective, has produced interesting findings but has not yet identified which managerial elements effectively reduce the adverse impact of cultural difference on efficient technology transfer. This study addresses that shortcoming through the organizational learning perspective.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Cultural policy and participatory art practices in Flanders	[ "Participation", "Cultural policy", "Cultural organization", "Politics of resistance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In their work on the social impact of the arts, Belfiore and Bennett (2008, 2009, 2010) have raised important questions about what it is in the field of culture and the arts that attracts the support of governments and that legitimizes its place in educational institutions and society at large. They focus more in particular on how cultural policy often assumes specific impacts as a way to legitimize public expenditures, which implies the expectation of a \"return on investments\" rather than unconditionally granting \"subsidies\" (Belfiore and Bennett, 2007; Caust, 2017). These assumed impacts are at the same time the basis for assessing and measuring whether the public investment has indeed been worthwhile or had its effect. The required evidence of tangible and measurable outcomes is mostly extrinsic to the field of culture and the arts itself and often taps into other policy domains (Belfiore, 2006). This is referred to as \"policy attachment\" (Gray, 2002a, b), which implies that the cultural sector \"attaches\" its value to other policy domains that appear to be more societal or economically worthy such as economic growth, employability and urban regeneration. Belfiore (2006) argues that, consequently, cultural organizations are often expected to \"deliver\" on social and economic policy targets and are furthermore also held \"accountable\" for this. As such, the discussion about the social (and economic) impact of the arts is inevitably related to the so-called \"cult of the measurable\" (Belfiore and Bennett, 2007).\nParticipation: from socialization to subjectification: The notion of participation is obviously a very complex and multi-layered concept. The term often implies an explicit or an implicit call for active participation and engagement of citizens (Biesta, 2011) with the aim to become \"good citizens\" (Stevenson et al., 2017). In that vein, a fruitful distinction has been made between a socialization and subjectification conception of citizenship. A socialization conception of citizenship emphasizes the importance of active participation as a condition to be recognized as a proper citizen (Biesta, 2011). The underlying assumption of socialization, however, refers to an attempt to integrate citizens \"within the existing social order in society\" (Roets et al., 2016). In the field of culture and the arts, this has been referred to as the \"civilizing mission of the arts\" (Belfiore and Bennett, 2008, p. 31), which implies that a \"good citizen\" is a citizen who actively participates in artistic and cultural activities.\nCultural policy in Flanders: the Arts Decree: In Flanders, the subventions in the cultural sector are largely divided and decided upon within the framework of the Arts Decree, which was revised in 2013 (Flemish Parliament, 2013a). Within this renewed framework, art organizations may choose in their funding applications for one or more functions to describe their artistic and cultural practices (production, reflection, development, presentation, participation) and to situate their practice in one or more disciplines (architecture and design, performing arts, audiovisual and visual arts, music or trans-disciplinary). The rationale behind this renewed system was to avoid formerly solidified categories such as \"socio-artistic practices,\" \"art education,\" \"music theatre\" and \"art centers\" and create new possibilities for exchange and interaction between different practices that cross the boundaries of several disciplines and that prioritize different functions (Gatz, 2015). This implies that, within this framework, art organizations can opt for \"participation\" as one among other (artistic) functions. The fact that participation is fully recognized within cultural policy potentially has a positive impact on the field and legitimizes participatory art practices that were previously not recognized as such. New cross connections, exchanges and partnerships have been made possible by broadening the scope of the participatory art landscape (Hoet, 2016c, d; Wellens et al., 2016).\nMethodology: Data collection\nResults: passing through the participation police: Negotiating expertise\nConcluding reflections: This paper aimed to explore the perspectives of practitioners who are active in shaping participatory art practices in relation to how citizenship and participation are coined within a renewed cultural policy framework in Flanders. This paper tried to reveal how \"participation\" is interpreted and renegotiated in policy and practice, and confronted the perspective of practitioners in participatory art practices with the rationale of cultural policy in Flanders. Our research findings show that many underlying issues influence the translation of the definition and function of citizenship and participation in the decree into different interpretations in practice. Inspired by the socialization and subjectification conceptions of citizenship and participation, we might argue that our findings show how participatory art practices can approach citizens as intrinsic \"cultural producers\" according to a subjectification rather than socialization conception of citizenship and participation (Matarasso, 2007). The implication is that next to canonized and institutionalized culture also \"lived\" culture is considered, which opens different definitions of participatory art (Snick, 2006; Hillaert and Trienekens, 2015). In that sense, Hillaert and Trienekens (2015, p. 5) define participatory art practices in their manifesto for participatory art practice as:[A] form of artistic research, in which artists together with citizens seek the right artistic format that allows alternative voices and interpretations to be heard. The artists understand their artistic work as the driving force behind wider processes, rather than simply as the creation of a preconceived artistic product.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: In Flanders, the subventions in the cultural sector are mainly divided and decided upon within the framework of the Arts Decree. Within this policy framework, art organizations may choose in their funding applications for \"participation\" as one of the five possible functions to describe their artistic and cultural practices. However, questions need to be raised about the different interpretations of the notion of participation within this policy framework. The growing trend of evidence-based policy-making implies that participation risks to become a \"target\" that needs to be achieved instrumentally, which paradoxically ignores the fact that participatory practices within culture and the arts are very often diverse, multi-layered and context-specific practices. Starting from this paradox, the purpose of this paper is to explore how the current policy framework is translated into different \"participatory\" art practices by art organizations and specifically how cultural practitioners themselves conceptualize it.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In this paper, the authors discuss the results of a qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews with cultural practitioners about how they grapple with the notion of participation within their organizations and practices.\nFindings: The results clearly show that practitioners use micro-politics of resistance to deal with different, and often conflicting, conceptualizations of participation in relation to this cultural policy framework.\nResearch limitations/implications: The implications of the findings are vital for the discussion about cultural policy. These micro-politics of resistance do not only have an impact on the development of individual participatory art practices but also on the broader participatory arts landscape and on how the function of participation is perceived within the renewed policy framework.\nOriginality/value: The original contribution of this paper is to explore the perspective of practitioners in cultural organizations about the function of participation in the Arts Decree in Flanders and specifically how the notion of participation is operationalized in their practices in relation to this cultural policy framework.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Seeking common ground: making connections big and small	[ "Education", "Culture in education", "Diversity and social justice policies in education" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: So any citizen of this country who figures himself as responsible - and particularly those of you who deal with the minds and hearts of young people - must be prepared to \"go for broke\". Or to put it another way, you must understand that in the attempt to correct so many generations of bad faith and cruelty, when it is operating not only in the classroom but in society, you will meet the most fantastic, the most brutal, and the most determined resistance. --James Baldwin, A Talk to Teachers[1]\nFirst intention: kindness, respect and dignity for all as tending the garden: I have over the course of a 30-year career boiled my teaching philosophy down to a pithy encomium: be kind and respect all. I offer this neither as a salve nor a strategy, but a baseline for a common ground. Students cannot learn well if these conditions are not met. From that place of kindness and respect, ideas can flourish and the human drive to contribute can be welcomed and nurtured; absent it, the soil for ideas is more barren and less fertile. Pedagogues need to model how to incorporate all voices, perhaps especially those we find challenging.\nSecond intention: connecting worlds big and small as irrigating the ground: American society is pluralist; American citizens are ineluctably diverse. We vary in temperament, talent, and capacity within all groups and categories, including those of sex and race. We locate ourselves in the world in the light of experiences we built up over time. We interpret the realities we confront through perspectives made up of particular ranges of interests, occupations, commitments, and desires. (Greene, 1978, p. 126)\nThird intention: InShallah growing and fertilizing the collaborative ground: The third intention of this essay is to further the mission and aims of the journal itself, the PSURR. In the current world political and social climate which seems to present both divisions and conflicts as normal, collaborations across differences, cultures and time zones can make a difference. Thus, the inclusion of this essay in this journal and my participation in the Prince Sultan University College for Women's First Conference on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in 2011, bespeak one diverse engagement, with contours worth retelling.\nConclusions and implications for our futures: This essay ends as it began, with a charge to make connections across difference. Using the tropes of kindness, inclusion and appreciation, it argues for a kinder, more collaborative world, and offers that collaborations such as the PSURR are exemplars of possibilities. Within the writer's academic field of teacher education, opportunities abound to make connections and to steel the next generation for provincialism and ignorance. Every moment is an opportunity to respect and be kind, but kindness is not enough - students of all ages need to feel part of the human conversation. Visiting KSA and staying connected fosters this sense of inclusion, and the writer hopes, with this small contribution, that the appreciation of such inclusion is represented herein. The writer uses variegated examples to illustrate the power, purpose and availability of lifelong learning. Using a famous American event, the 1963 March on Washington as well as field examples, he argues for acceptance, and edification particularly within the pedagogy of teacher education.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This essay furthers cross-cultural exchange, and understanding. Written for a general audience by a teacher educator, it argues for accepting all others into the academic conversation. Using varied examples, the purpose of this paper is to illustrate both lifelong learning and the power of connecting across difference.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The author draws upon experience as a teacher and professor and his engagement with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for examples of edification and engagement.\nFindings: The author cites both the current period and a mid-twentieth-century American major event, the civil rights March on Washington to illustrate possibilities for connection, clarity and symbiosis.\nOriginality/value: Written for this journal, this essay uses an original and skeletal theoretical and empirical frame as well as field examples to argue for inclusiveness, exchange and acceptance of all learners.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Generating gameworlds with computers: the case for procedural creativity	[ "Education", "Games", "Creativity", "Programming", "Computation", "Coding" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Computer science (CS) and the computer science education (CSE) movement, not surprisingly, have eagerly endorsed Jeannette Wing's concept (first outlined in 2006) of Computational Thinking (CT) and her call for the broad social diffusion of CS fundamentals as an essential contributor to the social good[1]. This special issue is in part motivated by the idea that current educational initiatives and related research \"offer support that the incorporation of computer science concepts in learning programs is an idea whose time has come\" (Meyers and Huang). However that may be the case, in this paper, we temper that certainty by arguing that CT, as a paradigm for understanding human and social processes and for developing ways in which to enable people (especially youth in learning environments) to become empowered to think (and create) with computational technologies, comes with significant limitations. Accordingly, we suggest an alternate paradigm - procedural creativity - that moves beyond the limitations of CT and the CSE pedagogies and curricula it has informed. Although, like Meyers and Huang, we see the making of video games as a valuable mode in which to engage youth in effectively using computational technologies, we suggest that coding interfaces and games design curricula designed to teach youth CS in the guise of game making are limited by the paradigm of CT, and that procedural creativity enables the consideration of other game creation interfaces and a richer application of games design approaches-interfaces and approaches that are not predetermined by and extend beyond CS and CT.\nThe limits of computational thinking: There are several aspects regarding the conceptualization of CT that require interrogation if it is to be promoted as key to learning environments for youth. The first is its initial development and deployment as a way of advocating for (or, more crassly, \"selling\" the idea of) the broadly social relevance of (and the public investment in) Computer Science Education (CSE), what Jeannette Wing, in her initial delineation of CT, called \"a grand vision [...] as we act to change society's image of the field [of Computer Science]\" (Wing, 2006, p. 35). Wing's \"call to arms\" (Meyers and Huang) presumes that a broad diffusion (a social literacy) of Computer Science fundamentals is important to the well-being, the optimal functioning, of humanity and society. We suggest that, while CSE advocates may fervently subscribe to this claim, it is debatable whether Computer Science is the most empowering and enriching way in which youth might think with computers. In part, this is due to what we see as a key limitation of the conceptualization of CT, a limitation that is due in large part to the limitations of the concept of computation. One of its limitations is that it operates within a considerably circumscribed field: to compute is \"to determine by arithmetical or mathematical reckoning\" (OED Online, sense 1) (one might add here logical reckoning), and to determine something is \"to put an end or limit to; to come to an end\"; \"to direct to some end or conclusion; to come to some conclusion\" (OED Online, I and III). In these definitions we can see the highly specialized nature of computation, which relies on a scientific paradigm (mathematics) to furnish a definite end or result: thus Wing's view that CT is directed toward solving problems-at coming to a definite result (a solution). CT conceives of human endeavor primarily taking the form of the (computational, logical) development of solutions to problems: \"Computational thinking involves solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior, by drawing on the concepts fundamental to computer science\" (Wing, 2006, p. 33); \"Computational thinking is a way humans solve problems\" (Wing, 2006, p. 35). So, to take up the first aspect of CT mentioned above - what might be called the proselytizing zeal behind the original articulation of CT - with the tenet that CT is about solving problems, the result is an article of faith that believes that society needs to mainstream CT in educational systems and settings (via CSE) and in society at large to effectively solve problems to benefit society. Unfortunately in real-world terms, despite Wing's explicit claims that CT is not (or is not reducible to) computer programming (Wing, 2006, p. 35), the CSE agenda appears to have largely become \"teach kids to code\" to fulfill a neoliberal commandment that education should prepare youth to fulfill the current demands of the labor market: coding or programming is seen as a hard skill that (rightly or wrongly) will be in continual demand and will ensure an individual's swift incorporation into the workforce.\nProcedural creativity defined: The core of what we propose as a new approach to computer-based pedagogy is the concept that we have termed \"procedural creativity\". Unlike computation, a procedure is a \"particular course or mode of action [...] a process, a proceeding\" (OED Online, sense 2a): in other words, to focus on procedurality is to focus on the activity or doing and not on the result. Procedural creativity predates computers. One instance of this is OULIPO (Ouvroir de litterature potentielle) (\"Workshop of potential literature\"), founded in 1960 by a poet, Raymond Queneau, and an engineer, Francois Le Lionnais. OULIPO's focus is on the development of constraints, essentially the proposal of formal rules and procedures that might lead to new and perhaps unexpected forms of literature. OULIPO's focus, then, is not on the creation of literary works, but on algorithms or programs-processes-by which literary work might emerge, often through combinatorial procedures, such as Queneau's Cent mille milliards de poemes (1961), which consists of ten sonnets in which every sonnet's lines can be combined with lines from other sonnets, which results in 1014 (100,000,000,000,000) distinct sonnets. A computer-based example is the work of Nick Montfort, who devises minimalist programs that can generate potentially interesting literary outputs. As with OULIPO, is it the creativity that goes into the process-the program-that is of primary interest. A useful example is Montfort's ppg256 series, a series of poetry generators written in Perl limited to 256 characters (https://nickm.com/poems/ppg256.html). Works like Montfort's raise new areas of inquiry that call for new theoretical paradigms, as William Winder notes in his article on \"Robot Poetics\": \"Generated text has a robotic author, itself created by a human programmer. There is a poetics of creating that author (here creativity lies in the writing of instructions); a poetics of generating a specific text (how those instructions play out to make a given text); and a poetics of reading generated literature (how the reader will read a text knowing, or not, that it is automatically generated).\" Developing these poetics would provide a deeper understanding of the dimensions of procedural creativity.\nGame design as pedagogy: Pairing a teaching philosophy with an engaging pedagogy can be difficult. The LAP approach, for example, has been used primarily in business software to improve workflow and communication (Schoop, 2001). While important, such applications are unlikely to draw learners, particularly young learners, to computing and coding. We instead propose that digital gaming, and in particular game design, is an ideal vehicle for teaching and understanding procedural creativity. In Yamin Kafai's important and influential Minds in Play, she notes that \"games, more than any other media, have brought technology into children's homes, and children have received them enthusiastically,\" while arguing that \"I see programming games as a medium for children's personal and creative expression\" (Kafai, 1995, pp. 13-17). More than that, however - while acknowledging that Kafai does not speak for all children - games operate at a level of procedurality that other media types rarely, if ever, reach. Games are inherently transactional, and game code must continuously respond to user input, which itself changes based on visual and auditory feedback. Games involve the user in a procedural loop, a blend of user action and programmatic reaction that is established and configured in the design process. Games are thus more than just vehicles for vaguely-understood notions of meaningful personal expression. By bringing in new theory, particularly the work of Margaret Boden, the direct benefits of game development as a creative process, and the importance of creativity as a fundamental computational process, can be tangibly expressed.\nGames as conceptual spaces: It could be argued that, from a play perspective, games are sites of exploratory creativity. Game design, however, is a site for transformational creativity. There are fundamental reasons why this is the case, related to how games are designed are organized from a procedural perspective, and it is for these reasons that we argue that game design is an ideal site for procedurally creative practices. To understand this, it is necessary to go into the history of the concept of the game engine.\nGames and procedural creativity: Given our conception of procedural creativity, and given the discussion of game development that preceded it, the connections between the two should be clear. But a brief discussion, to be followed by examples, will be given here. Game development is an ideal platform upon which to build pedagogies for procedural creativity. As noted, games are essentially conceptual spaces, and the process of game development is the creation of a conceptual space. There is more to the story, however. Given the importance of procedural creativity, as outlined in the previous section, we argue that the goal of any programming pedagogy should be the creation of conceptual spaces. In other words, learning to program is not an end goal in and of itself, nor is learning to program in a traditional programming language necessarily an ideal approach to learning (though such languages can be powerful tools toward procedural creativity, as will be discussed below.) Rather, the goal should be to promote creativity through the procedural development of conceptual spaces. And no genre of software is more conducive to such efforts than games.\nCase study: Twine: Twine (twinery.org) is fundamentally a hypertext/hypermedia authoring platform that can incorporate programming elements, which enables it be used as an interactive fiction and game creation platform. Twine (version 1) (in the form of a downloadable software) was created by Chris Klimas in 2009 using Python and JavaScript; a second version (Twine 2), written in HTML5 and JavaScript, exists in both a browser-based and downloadable versions. In large part due to its accessibility and flexibility (and because it builds into a HTML file that can be easily published on the web), Twine was eagerly taken up by a range of independent game creators and hobbyists, including Anna Anthropy (author of Rise of the Videogame Zinesters), Porpentine and others (a collection edited by Merrit Kopas, Videogames for Humans: Twine Authors in Conversation, provides an informative snapshot), as well as educators at all levels.\nCase study: Inform 7: In the early 1980s, one of the most popular forms of computer game was the \"text adventure\", a genre in which players interacted with text-only game worlds via command-line parsers. Such parsers enabled players to move about game worlds, interact with people and objects, and perform other specialized actions, all by typing in noun and verb-heavy phrases (Montfort, 2003). The Zork series, discussed above, were text adventure games, as were all the games made with the ZIL language. Recently, the genre, now rebranded as \"interactive fiction\", has enjoyed renewed interest; the rise of similarly-structured hypertext games, discussed above, has likely amplified their reach. In the early 1990s, Oxford mathematician Graham Nelson developed the Inform system, which consisted of both a programming language and compiler, to generate new works of interactive fiction (Reed, 2011). While the language did not receive much attention at first, its popularity has steadily increased.\nConclusion: next steps: The key points of procedural creativity are summarized in Procedural creativity, summary.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Despite the popularity of the Computational Thinking (CT) paradigm and the call for broad social diffusion of CS fundamentals, the authors argue that the concept is inherently limited and limiting and does not sufficiently convey an understanding of how to enable people to create with computational technologies. The authors suggest an alternate paradigm, procedural creativity, that calls for the development of conceptual creative spaces governed by procedurally generative principles. The authors also call for game development to be the focus of procedural creativity pedagogy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors first discuss the limitations of the CT paradigm, focusing, in particular, on the issue of abstraction and representation as opposed to execution and action. The authors then define procedural creativity in more detail. Following that, they discuss the use of game development as pedagogy, with a focus on Margaret Boden's notion of conceptual creative spaces.\nFindings: CT is limited because it focuses overly on solutions to computational \"problems\", because it is tied too closely with economic concerns and because it focuses on abstraction at the cost of action. Procedural creativity, on the other hand, focuses on the individual's capacity for personal expression with the computer and on the generative capacity of code in action. Game development is in ideal platform for procedural creativity because it emphasizes the development of creative domains and conceptual spaces.\nOriginality/value: This paper offers a challenge to the CT status quo and presents a novel way forward for understanding computation as a creative practice.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Entrepreneurial orientation in business schools: A comparative study of higher education systems in Egypt	[ "Entrepreneurial marketing", "Business schools", "Comparative study", "Entrepreneurial orientation", "Higher education in Egypt", "Higher education systems" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The emergence of knowledge as a valuable resource for economic development has prompted a shift in priorities of universities to include commercialization activities alongside the traditional activities. Universities have as a consequence been encouraged to become more entrepreneurial (Mowery and Shane, 2002). Despite expanding research on commercialization activities within universities, little is known about the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of academic departments per se (Todorovic et al., 2011). The business school is the first academic department in the network of commercialization activities, focusing on the need for EO not merely as a driver for survival but also as a way to secure sustainable development . Therefore, business schools cultivate EO in all their functions.\nLiterature review and hypotheses development: The basic idea of linking Entrepreneurial marketing and EO has been discussed widely over the recent years. Early authors used these dimensions as the same especially in terms of proactiveness, innovativeness, and risk taking (e.g. Miller, 1983). Although empirical evidence suggested that entrepreneurial marketing has been promoting EO in HE (Jones and Hegarty, 2011), there is no universally accepted definition of the two terms. Scholars' view of these topics have changed considerably over time (Lee et al., 2005), and few studies (e.g. Volkman, 2004; Morris et al., 2002; Stokes, 2000b) have sought to understand the role of entrepreneurial marketing in identifying the concept of EO. Therefore, the researcher executed a review of the two concepts and their dimensions in the existing literature to propose a working definition for each to be used in the current study.\nResearch methodology: Sample groups and data collection\nConclusion and future research: Universities in general and business schools in particular are adjusting to recent changes in the economic environment, and their contribution to sustainable development is receiving more and more attention. As government funding becomes scarcer, universities are forced to become more entrepreneurial by using concepts of entrepreneurial marketing to advertise themselves. This has positive effects in that it makes universities more entrepreneurial and able to discover and satisfy the latent and unarticulated needs of customers; select the right opportunity before their competitors; exploit of new opportunities; promote innovation and creative behaviors; acquire additional resources; and create unique combinations of resources.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences between the four main kinds of business schools in Egypt (private; internationally affiliated; public with local programs; and public with international programs) in terms of perceptions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were gathered 212 with a response rate of 55.1 percent from a sample of academics in the four groups of business schools (private; internationally affiliated; public with local programs; and public with international programs) using self-administered questionnaires. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to check EO, construct validity and to identify meaningful factors. MANOVA was performed by using factors identified in the previous step to establish whether any significant differences exist between the four groups.\nFindings: The results show that differences between the four groups exist in terms of four sub-constructs of EO (research mobilization, unconventionality activities, industry collaboration, and perception of university policies) which successfully predict business school involvement in accreditation and commercialization setting.\nPractical implications: It is meaningful to conduct a comparative study of EO; the results of this study may be broadly applied to higher education (HE) systems in other countries where strong entrepreneurship has contribute to building a more solid economy.\nOriginality/value: The recent literature has put little effort in understanding the effects of cultural differences among universities and its departments in terms of EO and none in identifying the differences between HE systems on the same topic.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Product strategies for growth in niche food firms	[ "Small firms", "Value added", "Growth strategies", "Norway", "Qualities", "Speciality food" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: During the last 20-30 years, local food production has become a growing industry in Northern Europe. This can be seen as a reaction to large-scale standardised food production from the world of industrialised agriculture, in which there is little profiling of variation and distinctiveness (Goodman, 2003). Potential consequences of industrial food production have caused concerns about human health, environmental consequences and food safety, farm animal welfare and fair trade, stimulating interest in short and more transparent food supply chains (Winter, 2003). Such concerns are seen as the prime motivating factors in a move away from the homogenised products of the global agro-food industry, with quality seen as inherent in more \"local\" and more \"natural\" foods (Murdoch et al., 2000). The consequence of this change is that local food production is based on quality criteria that differ from those for conventional foods. It could be maintained that, up to the present, conventional food has been based to a greater extent on measurable and scientific criteria, i.e. objective criteria, than local food specialties. In contrast, local products have had a stronger basis in social and cultural quality criteria, i.e. more subjective criteria (Straete, 2008).\nWhat does product quality involve in specialty food?: The concept: specialty food\nLocal food in Norway: Before 1990, there was little or no attention to local food as a business strategy in Norway (Kvam, 2010). The large food enterprises, which were largely organised as cooperatives, received virtually all milk and meat production for further processing. Four dominant supermarket chains, which account for almost 99 per cent of food sales in the groceries market, have traditionally emphasised improving efficiency and offering low-cost food. At the same time, Norwegian consumers in general have also focused on low-cost food. The result was that food product offerings featured little variation and distinctiveness.\nMethod: To address the research questions of the current study, a qualitative approach was deemed most suitable relative to a hypothetico-deductive approach employing structured instruments on larger populations. Qualitative approaches usually allow for more depth of insight and interpretation of meaning (Ray, 1993). The qualitative method adopted was case studies (Yin, 1994), because we wanted to explore the firms and their network in greater depth to examine their chosen strategies for growth. The firms studied all had ambitions for growth, but we also selected them because of their diversity in production, markets and geographical locations, to gain a broader view of the problem formulated. On this basis, we selected four cases that provided sufficient data for our purpose. The number of cases could have been increased, but the purpose was not to make this study statistically representative. Instead, in case studies the method of generalisation is analytical, in which a previously developed theory is used as a template with which to compare the empirical results (Yin, 1994).\nDevelopment and quality focus in four growth firms: In the Norwegian context, these represent large companies in the category of local food firms, which seem to have about two person-years on average (Magnus and Kvam, 2008) (Table I).\nFactors related to qualities of products and growth: Local connection\nConclusion: The study shows that quality strategies, and the practices associated with them, may change in line with growth processes, but also because of other changes in the firms' surroundings. Product qualities that were important in local niche markets are regarded as less important in regional and national markets. Use of local ingredients is less important in more remote markets, and customers place more emphasis on qualities in the form of distinctive features of the product itself, such as taste. In our cases, distinctive taste is based on a traditional and artisanship method of production. All the firms are in a trial-and-error phase aimed at further strengthening qualities of the product as part of the process of growing into new markets. However, several of the qualities that the firms have developed do not appear to be significant for a price premium in the markets in which they are operating. Traceability, terroir and organic are examples of product qualities appreciated in some European countries that are not valued the same way in the Norwegian market. The reason why producers develop such qualities may be excessive attention to trends in other countries and the qualities that result in a price premium there. A supplementary explanation is that the producers know too little about the customers and their preferences. According to a survey conducted in 2010, 16 per cent of the Norwegian population is highly interested in local food specialties (Synovate Norge, 2010). This group is described as \"urban idealists who are willing to change\". The producers are described as \"rural traditional idealists\" with limited knowledge about the important target group mentioned above (Synovate Norge, 2010). In the Norwegian context there is a need for greater knowledge and greater awareness about the qualities that generate added value for food specialties in different markets. At the same time, it is important to develop knowledge about market communication strategies and in particular how to follow up sales to ensure that product qualities are communicated to potential consumers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of growth processes of speciality food firms and how these processes influence the producers' perception of quality demands of the products.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A case study approach was chosen covering four specialty food companies in Norway. This explorative study was conducted from the producer's perspective.\nFindings: Results show that, as part of growth processes, firms invest in different activities to strengthen the quality of their products to achieve distinctiveness in more competitive markets. The most important quality that contributes to distinctiveness and increased value seems to be traditional handicraft production processes. In some cases, expensive and time-consuming processes are invested in developing qualities that are not transformed into higher value in the market.\nResearch limitations/implications: The number of cases is too small for statistical analysis, but this explorative case study may provide a basis for a survey of a larger sample of firms.\nPractical implications: The study indicates a need for companies to gain more knowledge about consumers' preferences and behaviour, and to develop product qualities and market communication accordingly.\nOriginality/value: Research is scarce on obstacles to growth in specialty food firms. This study contributes important knowledge to enhance further development of the industry.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Are mobile devices a blessing or a curse? Effects of mobile technology use on salesperson role stress and job satisfaction	[ "Role stress", "Job satisfaction", "Salespeople", "Mobile technology tools", "Technological compatibility" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In today's hyper competitive markets, salespeople are increasingly under pressure to do more in less time, and interfacing with technological tools has emerged as an integral part of their job (Marshall et al., 2012). The technology that salespeople use includes a variety of hardware and software applications (Speier and Venkatesh, 2002). In fact, \"most business to business (B2B) sales jobs are impossible to perform without a heavy dependence on sales technology\" (Hunter and Panagopoulos, 2015, p. 162). The literature has placed special emphasis on studying the antecedents and consequences of sales force automation (SFA)/customer relationship management (CRM)[1] software applications in the sales profession. Studies on the consequences of technology use among salespeople have mostly addressed its influence on sales performance (Ahearne et al., 2005; Avlonitis and Panagopoulos, 2005; Eggert and Serdaroglu, 2011; Hunter and Panagopoulos, 2015; Roman and Rodriguez, 2015; Sundaram et al., 2007). Clearly, sales numbers are important, but these studies do not consider the psychological aspects of the job (Karasek, 1979). The present study particularly focuses on role stress and job satisfaction as extant research has shown that they have major impacts on employees' burnout and turnover intentions (Boles et al., 1997; Jaramillo et al., 2011; Judge et al., 2001).\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses: In this study, we conceptualize the use of mobile technology tools as the extent to which salespeople use mobile devices (laptops/tablets and smartphones) and general software applications (e.g. word processor, spreadsheets, presentation software, web browsers, video conferencing and instant messaging software, etc.) to conduct job activities during their working hours. Therefore, this paper is concerned with the quantitative dimension of technology use. The qualitative dimension, on the contrary, refers to the type of functionality of a mobile device application (e.g. SFA/CRM) that is used to perform a specific task, such as data processing or information access (Gebauer and Shaw, 2004). Regardless of the specific SFA/CRM software, salespeople can use the general software of their mobile devices to make a sales call through Skype, they can support their sales pitch to a potential customer with a pdf/power point file or communicate with other members of the sales team via WhatsApp messages. Mobile devices have not only become a part of people's daily routine, but also made widely accessible general software applications with very short learning curves (Gartner and Rivera, 2015). SFA/CRM software applications, on the contrary, are more complex to use and sometimes industry- or even company-specific. Consequently, users are required to use increased efforts before they can use these tools effectively (Ahearne et al., 2005).\n3. Research methodology: 3.1 Data collection and sample\n4. Analysis and results: 4.1 Measurement model evaluation\n5. Discussion: 5.1 Theoretical implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Mobile technologies have become indispensable in sales. However, there is a lack of agreement about whether mobile technology use facilitates the sales job or contributes to the salesperson's stress and reduced job satisfaction. To address this controversy, this study aims to examine the effect of mobile technology use (smartphones, laptop computers and tablets) on salespeople's role stress and job satisfaction.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Hypotheses are tested using responses of 265 sales employees working for a broad range of industries in Spain.\nFindings: This study shows that mobile technology use during working hours has a positive effect on job satisfaction through a mediating process that involves role stress. In addition, the impact of mobile technology use on role stress is strengthened by technological compatibility.\nOriginality/value: The current study extends previous research by moving beyond a focus on technology-centric outcomes (i.e. sales performance) to understanding broader, more psychological outcomes, namely, role stress and job satisfaction. Importantly, previous research reporting that salespeople feel \"plugged in\" to a device all day have not made the distinction about when the mobile device is used. One important difference in this study is that it exclusively focuses on mobile technology use during working hours.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
From Russia with love	[ "Interlibrary loan", "Interlending", "National libraries", "Languages", "Academic libraries" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Handling interlibrary loan (ILL) requests for foreign-language materials is often fraught with problems. The chances are that the lending libraries you most frequently deal with have less comprehensive foreign language collections than English holdings. Then, too, the book title or article citation itself can be a mystery when you do not understand the language. These typical and obvious problems are compounded when dealing with requests for Russian-language materials. When dealing with Spanish, French, or German titles, there always seem to be more people and libraries to turn to for help, than when dealing with Russian titles. Since Russian employs the Cyrillic alphabet, citation problems are compounded by transliteration. According to Shaw (1967), there are four basic systems of transliteration, and various combinations of these systems. To illustrate the potential for confusion: the surname for the famous author and playwright Anton Pavlovich Chekhov can appear as: Chekov, Tchehov, Tchehoff, Tchekhof, Tchekhov, Tchekhoff, Tchekkof, Cexov, Cekov, Cecov, Cechov, Chekhoff, and Chehov. However, despite the difficulties, there are many great libraries and various resources that can help with Russian language ILL requests.\nFinding help in the US: In the US, the libraries with the best Russian collections are large libraries with excellent holdings in many other areas as well, namely: the Library of Congress, New York Public, Harvard University, Yale University, University of California Berkeley, Stanford University (especially the Hoover Institute collection), University of Chicago, University of Michigan, Indiana University Bloomington, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill[1]. Other libraries could certainly be added to the list, but that would simply be underscoring the wealth of material near at hand. More importantly, these excellent collections are readily accessible to the ILL practitioner. For the most part, holdings are listed in WorldCat, and ILL requests can be sent via OCLC and paid for through IFM. The only exception is Stanford; though their holdings are in WorldCat, Stanford asks that you initiate ILL requests via their ILLiad lending web pages, all of which is simple enough to do. Material from the Hoover Institute is also channeled through the main ILL office at Stanford, the only exception being photocopies from the Hoover Institute Archives, which must be directed to the Institute itself.\nRequesting from Russian libraries: In the previous example, Trubitsyn\nOther Eastern European libraries: It is a commonly held belief that if the item the patron needs cannot be found in either of the two great libraries in St Petersburg and Moscow, then it simply cannot be found; however, that is not necessarily true. For example, the National Library of Finland (NLF) is a marvelous source for Russian titles:\nBook dealers and conclusions: The final point I will make is one which diverges a bit from ILL. At the University of Notre Dame when a patron asks for a book which we cannot borrow, we will sometimes purchase it. This is especially true with foreign imprints, and the easiest way to patron satisfaction is to purchase that title on Amazon.com. Although there is no Russian Amazon.com, there are plenty of options, such as Panorama of Russia, Ruslania, Kniga.com, Books.ru, Russia Online, Natasha Kozmenko, Oriental Research Partners, Eastview.com, Russkoe Slovo, and others. Most of these bookdealers or vendors specialize in new publications; however, a few such as Oriental Research Partners are helpful when you are looking for older, out-of-print titles. Most of these dealers have offices in the US; however, a few such as Natasha Kozmenko, Books.ru, and Ruslania are strictly based abroad in Moscow and Helsinki, Finland. Some are vendors like Eastview.com who are more used to dealing with libraries rather than individuals. Some are more geared toward importing popular works like Kniga.com, while others like Panorama of Russia focus on the more scholarly publication. The dealers with whom I have had the best success are probably Ruslania, Kniga.com, and Panorama of Russia, and here I am defining success by titles found and response time. In any case, as you can see from this brief survey, there are many possible dealers from whom you can buy Russian imprints, just as there are many, many libraries, who can fill Russian requests via ILL.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper\nDesign/methodology/approach: The author relies on his extensive professional experience in locating such materials. He provides a broad survey of library collections, Russian language subject specialists, and online book purveyors who are both willing and able to provide assistance.\nFindings: Locating and obtaining Russian language materials via ILL is not as difficult as it appears. Excellent Russian language library collections in the US, Russia, and Eastern Europe as well as online booksellers all provide discovery tools, delivery services, and payment methods that are readily accessible to ILL staff.\nOriginality/value: All ILL staff who need to obtain Russian language materials on behalf of their users will find this article especially useful.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Consumer attitudes towards electric vehicles: Effects of product user stereotypes and self-image congruence	[ "Gamification", "Stereotyping", "Attitude change", "Electric cars", "Implicit association test", "Self-image congruence" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: A substantial volume of research has established that the stereotyping by members of the public of groups of individuals who buy particular kinds of products influences the stereotype holders' attitudes towards those products (Wittenbrink et al., 2001; Wegener et al., 2006; Bassili, 2008; Bashir et al., 2013). Studies have also concluded that the attitudes resulting from stereotyping can affect a person's willingness to purchase the products in question (Hini et al., 1995; Peter and Olsson, 2008; Johnstone and Hooper, 2016). The term \"product user image\" (PUI), i.e. the \"stereotypic image of the generalised product user\" (Sirgy et al., 1992 p. 402), describes a consumer's image of purchasers of a specific kind of product. PUI has been found to impact strongly on some consumers' attitudes regarding the qualities of the products bought by a stereotyped group (Jamal and Goode, 2001; Kressmann et al., 2006; Bassili, 2008). It is known moreover that the match between a person's actual or ideal self-concept and the same individual's image of purchasers of a certain type of product, i.e. the person's \"self-image congruence\" (SIC) with buyers of that kind of product (Sirgy et al., 1991), can influence an individual's attitudes towards the type of product involved (Grewal et al., 2000; Farhat and Khan, 2012).\nElectric vehicles: The European Union (EU), the government of the UK and the public authorities of numerous western nations recognise the need to increase the uptake of EVs among the driving public [for details see Garling and Thogersen, 2001; Houses of Parliament, 2010; Burgess et al., 2013; OLEV (Office for Low Emission Vehicles), 2013; Heyvaert et al., 2015; Bennett et al., 2016]. In the EU, for example, regulations to limit average emissions from new cars were introduced in 2012, setting a target of a 40 per cent reduction in average EU tailpipe emissions by the year 2020 based on 2009 levels. Likewise, the UK's Climate Change Act of 2008 committed the country to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by the year 2050, including an 80 per cent reduction in transport emissions (Houses of Parliament, 2010). Most national authorities consider EVs to be the cleanest of all vehicle technologies, possessing great potential for reducing air pollution and CO2 emissions (Bunce et al., 2014), and offering many benefits to motorists, e.g. low maintenance and running costs, excellent performance (exemplified by speed, power and manoeuvrability), reliability, comfort and low noise levels (Egbue and Long, 2012; Shaw and Bunce, 2015). In the UK, the government offers a PS5,000 subsidy (plus tax benefits) to people who purchase EVs to make such vehicles affordable compared to petrol- or diesel-powered cars. Nevertheless, members of the public routinely associate EVs with the existence of difficulties such as their relatively short driving range, the poor availability of charging points and slow charging processes (Shaw et al., 2014). Studies in a number of countries have confirmed this view. Junquera et al. (2016), for example, found that drivers in Spain voiced many concerns about the technical aspects of EVs, notably battery life, charging times and driving range. Likewise, a survey of 607 motorists in Hefei, China completed by Han et al. (2017) concluded that, whereas perceptions of functional attributes of EVs (performance, convenience, etc.) exerted strong direct and indirect effects on EV purchase intention, non-functional aspects had only indirect influences. (For general reviews of factors influencing consumer usage intentions vis-a-vis electric cars, see Burgess et al., 2013; Song and Ali Bekhet, 2015; Bennett et al., 2016; Li et al., 2017.)\nLiterature review and theoretical foundations: It is known that emotions can play a critical role in attitudes and behaviour concerning EVs. Emotions, in the words of Cabanac (2002, p. 69), are \"conscious experiences characterised by intense mental activity and a high degree of hedonic content\". A substantial body of literature asserts that affectively pleasing emotions can create positive attitudes towards and judgements about items, which may be seen as more effective (Norman, 2005). Attitudes, according to Norman (2005), can be influenced by visceral (affective), reflective (cognitive) or behavioural factors (the last of these sometimes resulting from past experiences). Moons and De Pelsmacker (2012) observed how emotional factors such as self-image and identity, sense of satisfaction with contributing to a cleaner environment and believing that one is an opinion leader could be more important in forming EV attitudes and behaviour than rational arguments. Indeed, according to Schuitema et al. (2013) and Rezvani et al. (2015a), the anticipated emotional pleasure (a behaviourally related influence - see Norman, 2005) available from owning an environmental-friendly product such as an electric car can encourage purchase. Schuitema et al. (2013) found that emotions of pleasure, pride and (negatively) embarrassment were associated with EV ownership; while Graham-Rowe et al. (2012) observed the presence of emotions of \"feeling good\", less guilt and (sometimes) embarrassment among people undertaking EV test drives. Heath and Scott's (1998, p. 1110) review of motives for purchasing automobiles (of all types) concluded that many people buy cars they believe possess symbolic images \"similar and/or complimentary to the image they hold of themselves\". According to this line of thought, some individuals might obtain an EV to express their self-identity, to help create a certain self-image and to be seen as environmentally friendly (see Ozaki and Sevastyanova, 2011 for details of relevant literature supporting these propositions).\nStereotypes of EV owners: A stereotype is a generalised belief [often oversimplified, exaggerated, inaccurate and resulting from incomplete information (Patterson, 1991)] about individuals belonging to a certain group (Kanahara, 2006). Stereotyping can influence how an individual processes information, may bias interpretations and consequently may have an impact on attitudes and behaviour (Wegener et al., 2006). A stereotype can develop explicitly (e.g. via conscious observation followed by attributions of characteristics to all the members of a group) or implicitly (unconsciously) and without the person being aware of holding the stereotype (Greenwald and Banaji, 1995). Unconscious stereotyping may arise from influences that a person does not know exist, but which subsequently affect the individual's attribution of specific qualities to the stereotyped group and hence lead to certain attitudes concerning the group (Wittenbrink et al., 2001). Attitude formation resulting from stereotyping can be rapid (Shih et al., 1999), strong (Bassili, 2008), highly simplistic and biased (see Forbes and Schmader, 2010 for information on literature pertaining to this matter).\nAdditional possible influences on attitude, SIC and stereotyping of EV owners: Two further variables are posited to affect:\nMethodology: The strengths of the study participants' presumed stereotype of EV drivers were assessed both before and after an individual had played the game using an IAT (Greenwald et al., 1998). IATs measure implicit as well as explicit biases in stereotypes by evaluating the strengths of connections between automatically made associations (e.g. \"EV Owner and unconventional type of person\" or \"non-EV owner and conventional type of person\"). This is achieved by presenting people with words on a computer screen that are potentially associated with a presumed stereotype and asking the participants to place these words into categories (e.g. by pressing the plus or minus keys on a computer keyboard). Strength of association is measured by performance speed and accuracy as the respondent completes classification tasks: the faster the speed, the stronger the assumed association. As an IAT requires instant judgements, participants cannot analyse information before responding, hence avoiding social responsibility bias, yet revealing potentially hidden prejudices (Greenwald and Banaji, 1995; Devine, 2001). Also, IATs allegedly avoid in large part the problem that self-reported paper-based measures depend on subjects' willingness to report their true beliefs (Greenwald et al., 2002). The configuration of the IAT used in the present study (set up using cognilab software) is given below.\nResults: The results did not vary significantly with respect to respondent demographics or number of miles driven. Composite reliabilities for environmental concern, product knowledge and attitude exceeded 0.73 (product user SIC was measured as a formative construct); all the average variance extracted figures were greater than 0.58, and the Fornell and Larcker (1981) criterion for discriminant validity (i.e. that AVEs had higher values than the R-squares among the constructs) was satisfied. Variance inflation factors for all the independent variables were less than eight, indicating the absence of technical problems associated with multicollinearity. Consequent to the participants playing the game, the mean value of the attitude towards EVs measure increased by an average of 17 per cent (z = 3.7, p < 0.001), the stereotype of EV owners moved in the positive direction by an average of 19 per cent (z = 4.6, p < 0.000), while product user SIC increased on average by 14 per cent (z = 3.0, p < 0.001). However, willingness to purchase was largely unaffected, rising by just 1.9 per cent (z = 0.06, p = 0.65). Product knowledge rose by an average of 8 per cent (z =2.22, p = 0.03), while environmental concern increased by just 2.7 per cent on the average (z = 0.09, p = 0.37). Thus, H2a, H2b and H2c and H8a are supported; H2d and H8b are rejected.\nConclusion: This study developed an integrated model of potential determinants of consumer attitude towards EVs based on the posited influences of a specific stereotype of EV owners possibly held by people without experience of EVs, and on the latter's SIC concerning EV ownership. Environmental concern and EV product knowledge were suggested as antecedents of both product user SIC and stereotype negativity as well as exerting direct effects on consumer attitude. Interrelations among the variables were examined, as was the relationship between attitude and willingness to purchase. The model was estimated before and after study participants had played a game in which they assumed the role of an EV driver. It emerged that the participants' attitude regarding EVs, their product user SIC regarding EVs and the favourability of their stereotype of EV owners increased significantly and substantially consequent to their having played the game, substantiating the view that gamification has a positive utility for securing favourable attitude change in respect of such matters (Lee and Hammer, 2011; Sailer et al., 2013; Bittner and Shipper, 2014; Burke, 2014). Also, the respondents reported significant increases in their product knowledge of EVs after playing the game, suggesting that the experience caused them to learn about the product (Hamari et al., 2014; Huber and Hilty, 2014; Landers et al., 2015). Clearly the participants felt they had learned a great deal about EVs through playing the game. Moreover, product knowledge exerted a significant influence on attitude in the post-game situation (Tsai et al., 2015), again underscoring the value of gamification. The results show significant links between the negative stereotyping of EV owners and attitude towards EVs (Greenwald and Banaji, 1995; Wittenbrink et al., 2001; Forbes and Schmader, 2010), and between product user SIC and:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of gamification on connections between consumers' self-image congruence in relation to the purchasers of an environmentally friendly product electric vehicles (EVs) and their possession of a stereotype of EV owners as being \"unconventional\", and their attitudes towards EVs, having regard to their levels of environmental concern and prior knowledge of EVs. Additionally, the research explored the link between attitudes towards and willingness to purchase EVs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Participants completed a questionnaire and an Implicit Association Test (IAT) both before and after playing a computer game wherein the player assumed the identity of an EV driver. A structural equation model was constructed to predict attitude to EVs. The relationship between attitude and willingness to purchase was examined via a conditional process analysis.\nFindings: The experience of playing the game improved the favourability of the respondents' stereotype of EV owners by an average of 19 per cent, and their attitude towards EVs by 17 per cent. Self-image congruence in relation to EV ownership increased on the average by 14 per cent and reported EV product knowledge by 8 per cent. However, willingness to purchase an EV was not substantially affected. The link between attitude and willingness to purchase was weak, but was significantly moderated by stereotype favourability and self-image congruence with EV owners.\nResearch limitations/implications: As with any IAT study, it was necessary to pre-specify a particular form of stereotype. Future research could employ alternative stereotypes. The investigation took place in a single country and involved a single environmentally friendly product.\nPractical implications: Gamification has much potential for helping manufacturers and government agencies to stimulate the mass market for EVs. To negate unfavourable images of EV owners, marketing communications promoting EVs might usefully employ celebrities, sports personalities and/or leading political figures as exemplars of the types of people who drive electric cars.\nOriginality/value: The research is the first to explore the effects of gamification on product user self-image congruence and stereotype formation. It is novel both in its employment of an IAT to measure the consumer stereotype of an environmentally friendly product and in its examination of the moderating influences of stereotype and product user self-image congruence on the attitude-willingness to purchase link.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Procedure and guidelines for evaluation of BPM methodologies	[ "Process management", "Business process re‐engineering", "Strategic evaluation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Business process management (BPM) is a field of knowledge at the intersection of management and information technology, encompassing methods, techniques and tools to design, enact, control and analyse operational business processes involving humans, organizations, applications, documents and other sources of information (van der Aalst et al., 2003). BPM follows a life cycle consisting of four phases, namely: design (modelling), implementation, enactment and analysis (zur Muehlen and Rosemann, 2004; van der Aalst et al., 2003; Weske, 2007).Although BPM experts stress that there is a lack of a reliable holistic methodology that guides the BPM projects end-to-end (Bandara et al., 2007), there exist several BPM methodologies that follow the abovementioned process life cycle and propose techniques and tools to support BPM. The following popular methodologies may serve as examples: ARIS methodology, IBM web sphere methodology, Ultimus BPM suite methodology, Savvion business manager methodology (SUPER, 2007a).When companies are to select one methodology from the plethora of available ones, they need guidelines and advices. In order to assess the relevance of the given methodology to the special needs of the organisation, the results of methodology evaluation may be helpful. In order to make the results of different methodologies' evaluation comparable, they should all follow a similar approach and use the same or similar criteria. Currently, there is no standard evaluation procedure available used to assess the BPM methodologies. Therefore, within this paper we present an evaluation procedure that may be applied to the BPM area. Moreover, we present a case study - an evaluation of the semantic business process management (SBPM) methodology developed within a European research project, SUPER (www.ip-super.org) to show how the proposed evaluation procedure may be used in practice.The remainder of the paper is organised as follows. First, in Section 2, the notion of evaluation, as well as evaluation methods and criteria that may be relevant to our interest are discussed. Next, in Section 3, the general evaluation procedure for BPM methodologies along with the criteria are outlined. In Section 4, the evaluation of the SBPM methodology on the example of the SUPER project is presented. Finally, conclusions are given in Section 5.\n2 Evaluation approaches and evaluation criteria: The main aim of this section is to provide a brief overview of different approaches used for evaluation purposes. This overview is by no means complete. However, its aim is to show how rich in evaluation approaches the world is.There exist many different definitions of the notion of evaluation, each of them stressing different aspects of this concept. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (www.m-w.com/), evaluation can be defined as \"the process of determining the significance, worth, or condition of [something] usually by careful appraisal and study\". More precisely, evaluation may be understood as a systematic acquisition and assessment of information in order to achieve feedback about some object. Stufflebeam and Daniel (2000) defines evaluation as \"a study designed and conducted to assist some audience to assess an object's merit and worth\".The above-mentioned definitions of the evaluation process imply that the evaluation work involves collection of and going through data, making judgments about the validity of the information and/or inferences derived from it. Its main aim is to determine the value of evaluands (i.e. the objects/artefacts being evaluated). This is the understanding of the evaluation that is used in this paper.In the remainder of this section, an overview of the selected evaluation approaches, as well as some guidelines concerning the evaluation model to select, are given.2.1 Evaluation procedure\n3 BPM methodology evaluation procedure and guidelines: This section presents the proposed evaluation procedure that may be used to evaluate BPM methodologies.We distinguish six phases of the proposed evaluation procedure. First of all a clear understanding of what the evaluand is, why evaluation is to be performed and what the aim is, should be achieved. Then, the selection of the adequate evaluation approach and preparation of the evaluation plan defining timing of all tasks, persons responsible, etc. follows. The defined plan sets up the framework and constraints for the next steps of the evaluation procedure. The next step is the identification of the evaluative criteria that are to be taken into account. Then, the data collection phase in accordance with the defined plan takes place. After collecting the data, it should be analysed and the interpretation of the obtained results should be performed. Finally, the overall assessment and conclusions is to be formulated. The evaluation procedure is presented in Figure 1.In the subsequent parts of this section, each step of the schema is briefly presented in the context of BPM.3.1 Motivation\n4 Evaluation of the semantic business process management methodology: The evaluation methodology proposed was used to evaluate the SBPM methodology developed within the SUPER European project that aims at bridging the gap between the business and IT world by enabling at least semi-automation of the BPM lifecycle. This semi-automation is to enable shortening the implementation time, and to allow increasing the flexibility of enterprises, understood as a quick adaptation to the changes in business environment and clients' preferences. In order to fulfil this aim, the use of semantic technologies within the BPM lifecycle, namely, a concept of SBPM was proposed (Hepp et al., 2005) and detailed within (SUPER, 2007b).The SUPER methodology is \"a documented approach for performing activities in a coherent, consistent, accountable and repeatable manner\" (TEAF, 2000) in order to enable SBPM. The SUPER methodology was developed, taking into account existing BPM methodologies and extending them with semantically related concepts, as the aim was to develop the \"Semantic Business Process (SBP) Life Cycle\". Therefore, the SUPER SBP life cycle involves four phases of business process maturity, supported by the ontological foundation, namely:1. SBP modelling: encompassing creation of semantically enriched business process models and benefiting from such features as auto completion, searching for appropriate processes (or process fragments) within the business process library, and providing semantic annotations to specific process elements, e.g. annotating process tasks with their semantic goals.2. SBP configuration: within this phase, based on the outputs from the SBP modelling phase, the executable description of the process is being prepared. The SBP configuration involves service composition (implementation of the process using web services), then translation from business process modelling ontology to sBPEL ontology, which is then further serialized to an executable specification, namely BPEL4SWS.3. SBP execution: during which the run-time discovery and composition of semantic web services (SWS), and thus the highly automated execution of business processes, takes place.4. SBP analysis: used in order to monitor business processes and KPIs and provide feedback on their execution for the needs of continuous process improvement.The SUPER methodology also defines a top layer - the strategic SBPM, linked to the enterprise strategy and thus constituting the choice of objectives, processes and indicators to be applied during the four SBPM phases, and a bottom layer providing the ontological foundation for the SUPER framework (SUPER, 2007b).The SUPER methodology is depicted in Figure 2.The evaluation that was carried out applying the procedure presented in this paper was to answer the following questions:* Is the SUPER methodology sound and adequate for the purpose of the semantically supported BPM in companies?* Does it take into account the business needs and the expectation of the target audience?* How IT solution experts will benefit from the SUPER technology?* How it may be assessed in comparison to other methodologies in this area?Therefore, taking into account aims of the evaluation and the current shape of the methodology to be validated, it was decided to follow a hybrid approach constituting the stakeholder model - evaluating the methodology from the point of view of the business users and its future industrial exploitation. We decided to involve in the evaluation process both project internal (use case partners) and external parties (BPM consultants). The target group that performed the evaluation were business users, analysts and consultants. The evaluation plan was defined according to the previously described methodology.We decided to follow a non-probabilistic sampling method and conduct only a pilot study. A non-random group, namely a focus group consisting of the use case partners from the SUPER project was selected. As we decided to follow non-probabilistic sampling methods and the number of the use case partners (our focus group) was limited, ensuring the right quantity of the sample was not possible.The evaluation was carried out on a face-to-face basis using the questionnaire prepared according to the dimensions and criteria identified above. All use case partners were initially provided with the questionnaire (one week before the interview took place) and then the interview followed. After conducting the questionnaire, the analysis of the results gathered was performed.In general, the outcomes of the conducted evaluation were as follows. We investigated that the use case partners have different opinions about the status of the SUPER methodology. During the interviews, some questions were hard to answer as the methodology was published only recently. However, the interviews conducted with the use case partners showed us that the SUPER methodology is almost complete and may be accepted as a general guideline.Problem areas in the current SUPER methodology are mainly related to the current tool support along the whole SBPM lifecycle. Regarding the SBP modelling phase, the SBP modelling tool is still under development. An interesting investigation might be how the current BPMN modelling tools may be used and enhanced with semantic technology in order to make them more user-friendly. Furthermore, SUPER is lacking additional support in the strategic SBPM layer.Analysis of the collected data shows that the overall score of the methodology is at the level of about 65 per cent. The aggregated results of the survey are depicted in Figure 3.To be more specific, the conducted analysis revealed the following issues - almost all criteria are fulfilled in more than 50 per cent. However, the criteria: completeness and support (in terms of phases, tools, etc.), as well as flexibility and correctness did not do very well in the survey. In addition, understandability did not get high marks. Moreover, from the three dimensions only the rationale got the score around 66 per cent, whereas quality as well as structure dimensions reveal a need for improvement. Therefore, it is suggested to improve the methodology according to the received feedback.Use case partners provided also valuable comments that will further shape the SBPM methodology as well as tools supporting it. The analysis showed that there are some certain aspects missing in the methodology: roles, change management, support for publishing SWS, control of reusing software, development of new SWS, metrics to control continuous improvement cycle (like, e.g. capability maturity model integration).To ensure application of methodology in various companies, complex promotion involving also training activities should also be carried out. One argument for introducing this methodology to the enterprises is that the usage of the SBPM methodology should decrease time-to-market benefiting from incorporation of currently used methodologies with SBPM lifecycle.The evaluation of the SUPER methodology enabled to identify its strengths and weaknesses. Information gathered will be used in future development of the SBPM methodology that will be then more aligned to the needs of its future users. Moreover, the conducted evaluation proved the validity of the defined set of criteria and the entire evaluation procedure designed and presented within this paper.\n5 Summary: The concept and ideas behind BPM are not new ones and have been discussed within numerous research and business communities. Looking at the promises and benefits of BPM, namely streamlining processes, cost reduction, faster time to market, higher flexibility, easier change management and many more, the question remains which methodology should be followed by an organization in order to achieve those benefits.Various BPM methodologies exist and provide different sets of guidelines. Therefore, users are often confused which methodology from the plethora of available ones they should select. In this paper we tried to present the methodology for evaluation of different BPM approaches that was designed taking into account the needs and experience of different groups of business users. We have thoroughly analysed the notion of evaluation, different methods of evaluation and related criteria, focusing on those relevant to BPM methodology evaluation. After that, we have outlined the proposed evaluation procedure for BPM methodology. The detailed overview should be sufficient to perform evaluations of BPM methodologies based on the content of this paper. Finally, we have shown and discussed the results of applying the evaluation methodology on the SBPM methodology developed in a European research project.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology that may be used to perform evaluation of business process management (BPM) methodologies. As this area lacks proper formalized approaches, the aim of the publication is to promote the new approach, proposed by the authors.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The authors analyse related methodologies and theoretical background. Based on that, they suggest an evaluation approach, which is used to verify correctness of a semantic BPM (SBPM) methodology.\nFindings: - The proposed evaluation methodology has been practically tested. Additional interviews have been conducted and interviewees stress high value of the approach. The presented evaluation methodology was validated on the example of the SBPM methodology used in a European integrated project.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The results of this paper can be used to guide development and verify correctness of new BPM methodologies.\nPractical implications: - The paper demonstrates how validation of BPM methodologies can be conducted in practice.\nOriginality/value: - The approach presented in the paper is the first comprehensive approach to provide methodology for evaluating BPM methodologies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
"Let's Talk About Drugs": Pilot study of a community-level drug prevention intervention based on motivational interviewing principles	[ "Motivation (psychology)", "Interviews", "Drugs", "Colleges", "Community work (social welfare)", "United Kingdom" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Substance use among young people continues to be a source of concern and the object of attempts to influence behaviour. One common type of response is to provide drug prevention information and activities at the community level to reduce drug use and associated problems. Community-level interventions seek to influence the environment, culture, policy, and norms of a community rather than directly targeting individuals with interventions designed to influence their behaviour (Hingson and Howland, 2002). This approach typically involves multiple intervention components, with it being possible to target the community as a whole or specific subgroups therein.Hingson and Howland (2002) reviewed research studies on community-level interventions, and considered the implications for specifically targeting university students in order to reduce alcohol problems. They concluded that drinking, in common with sexual behaviours, may be more amenable to targeting with community-level intervention than cigarette smoking or broader cardiovascular risk reduction, as a result of the likelihood of immediate health consequences. Community ownership of intervention activities was identified as preferable to programmes being imported from outside.Motivational interviewing (MI) is a counselling style in which a constructive atmosphere is created for the participant to evaluate actual or potential behaviour within the context of their own goals and values (Miller and Rollnick, 2002). MI involves a careful balance between person-centeredness and directiveness, with the participant being active in making decisions about the nature and content of interventions. It is assumed that the participant has the capacity and resources to resolve their own problems, with the role of the counsellor being to assist this process, for example by helping to provide structure.We had previously been involved in studies of motivational interviewing, at the individual level, for drug prevention purposes (McCambridge and Strang, 2004, 2005; Gray et al., 2005), and were interested in the potential for application at the community level. In common with a community approach, MI is empowerment-orientated, with an emphasis on issues being addressed in ways that assist the target group to recognise and mobilise internal resources for the enhancement of health and wellbeing. In MI, over-involvement by the counsellor is actually seen as detrimental (Miller and Rollnick, 2002). Expert solutions are specifically avoided in both, with the role of the interventionist largely being akin to that of a coach or facilitator.These commonalities had been previously identified and explored by Miller and colleagues (Miller et al., 2000). In that study, a quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate a community-level intervention delivered over a period of 18 months at one university campus in comparison with another where there was no intervention. The intervention employed both universal and targeted prevention activities including print media based information, video production and dissemination, speakers, peer education, computer resources, campus policy revisions, referral and check-up services and training events (Miller et al., 2000). This intervention primarily focused upon alcohol problem prevention, though also included a subsidiary orientation to prevent illegal drug use. A range of encouraging alcohol consumption and perceptions of risk differences were found between the two campuses along with some evidence of an impact on illegal drug use.We wished to partially replicate the study conducted by Miller et al. (2000), adapting both intervention content and the evaluation design, in light of identified limitations and the different context of the proposed study. Further education (FE) colleges in Britain are pre-university institutions providing a wide range of academic, technical and vocational training courses, and are the most common destination for those ending compulsory schooling at age 16.A London college was identified to participate in this study, which had participated in previous MI research, with good links having already been established with senior staff. The college comprises a number of sites and the two identified for the purposes of the study were those most closely matched in size (being the largest two). They were also satisfactorily distant from each other, with few students attending both sites. It was negotiated with the college that one site would function as the intervention site and be provided with a facilitator trained in MI for one term on a full time basis. The role of the facilitator was designed to be that of a catalyst for activities of interest to the college, which was encouraged and supported to develop and implement sustainable ideas. The provision of this facilitator with this MI orientation distinguishes this intervention from a series of college-organised events. No intervention components were planned for the control site, which would as far as possible replicate what would have taken place in the absence of dedicated study.As a preliminary attempt to translate a research literature developed in the USA (Hingson and Howland, 2002) to a different institutional and cultural context, this was designated as a pilot study. There was no expectation that the intervention would have any immediate measurable impact on drug use. The core purposes of the research were to establish the feasibility of delivery of the adapted intervention, and to develop evaluation methods for future studies. We wished to build upon the work of Miller et al. (2000) in order to explore how MI principles could be meaningfully translated to inform community-level interventions. We wanted to ascertain what type of activities it was possible to stimulate and support, and learn lessons about this process. In particular we sought to establish a more constructive climate for discussions about drug use, by working with the college itself to help develop its own response to this issue. We were also interested in the different roles and potential contributions of college management, curriculum and non-curriculum staff and students.\nMethods: Intervention development and content\nResults: A summary of the events initiated as part of the intervention is presented in Table I, along with the numbers of participants in each. These events comprised both classroom and non-classroom based activities, and training workshops for staff and students. Beyond these events, there was a communications campaign largely based on posters directed at students and collaboration with the Dean of Students on the development of the drug policy for the college as a whole.Special events\nDiscussion: It was originally intended that the facilitator would function as a catalyst and resource for activities over which the college itself would increasingly exercise ownership and control. What generally transpired was that the facilitator was viewed by the college as a valuable drug prevention resource, who themselves initiated and implemented useful activities, without the college actually assuming direct responsibilities. Whilst there is some evidence of institutionalisation of drug prevention (see below), the reasons for this wider failure were rather straightforward to understand. Generally speaking, the facilitator was not in place for long enough to build relationships with busy staff performing roles with no specific drug prevention responsibilities, who as a result did not become involved in the activities. The capacity to implement the series of activities previously described thus provides only partial proof of concept, with the feasibility of more fundamental organisational change contingent upon greater input.Influence of the content of the drug policy has been achieved. An ongoing action plan has been incorporated, with more specific incident management procedures and staff responsibilities for dealing with various issues have been identified. There are plans in place to review the document on an annual basis and the tone of the document is more explicitly supportive than previously. In addition, there are commitments to provide drug education in the form of tutorials, to ensure that staff have the relevant training for implementation, to provide ongoing support with peer mentors, and to ensure that students have access to the relevant information should they wish to seek help outside of the college environment. Whilst staff were trained initially by us, we are not aware that any specific arrangements have been made for future training. There are likely limitations to the sustainability of changes made within the college. At the end of the academic year in which the study took place, there was an organisational restructuring which resulted in the Dean of Students at the intervention site leaving the college. The challenge for the college will now be to successfully implement the drug policy with which this individual was closely associated.We gained much learning about the process of intervention delivery in this environment. Posters worked well to begin with, but it seemed that students stopped reading them as time passed. The college is currently piloting text messaging to students in order to share information of various types. A more substantial preparation phase would have been useful for staff to think about how to incorporate the theme into curriculum-based learning, or into any non-curriculum activities with which they were involved. Commonly, staff expressed interest but did not have the time to take this further. Activities often require a planning period of some months, and the absence of direct contact with the college teaching staff group as a whole in the previous term will have limited the activities that it was possible to implement. The short ten-week duration of the intervention term accentuated this limitation. The emphasis of the action research orientation on learning as you go should not inhibit longer term planning.Student and staff feedback was positive, with negative comments largely relating to delivery constraints. The intervention succeeded in creating a \"feelgood factor\", being widely seen as valuable. The \"Let's Talk about Drugs\" theme appears to have contributed to the creation of the intended climate for drug prevention. It is difficult to say to what extent this might have been influenced by the specific perspective of motivational interviewing. Often, attitudes to drugs and to drug policies were at issue, and it may be more accurate to emphasise the application of a broader harm reduction perspective as influencing intervention content as it was actually delivered. There may have been some unintended consequences which gave rise to different issues. Students became more open about their drug use during the course of the term, as intended. This puts the college in the position of supporting this ethos whilst at the same time actively discouraging drug use on the premises, and giving specific attention to the impact of drug use on learning.Quasi-experimental evaluation of community-level interventions may be likely to involve some form of non-equivalence between communities. Matching provides a strategy for minimising non-equivalence, and in the context of studies of college-delivered interventions, it should be carefully considered whether different sites of the same college are indeed appropriate for comparison. Although they may share institutional characteristics, they also may differ in important ways. Appropriately powered intervention studies will require large sample sizes.We conclude that it is likely that greater input, including more advanced preparatory contacts with both teaching and non-curriculum staff, and a longer period of direct intervention delivery, have the potential to lead to environmental and attitudinal changes, of the types observed in modest ways in this study. This rather optimistic assessment must be balanced, however, with the observation that it will be much more difficult to prove that changes of these types will lead to changes in actual drug use behaviours and levels of problems within the community as a whole.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The feasibility of a community-level drug prevention intervention based upon the principles of motivational interviewing within a further education college was investigated in a pilot study.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The implementation over the course of a single term of \"Let's Talk about Drugs\" was studied with both action research methods and a quasi-experimental design.\nFindings: - Modest qualitative evidence of attitudinal and environmental benefit provides some optimism that intervention of greater duration may have the capacity to produce more substantial impact.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The sustainability of the achieved institutional changes following the delivery of this intervention, most notably centring upon a revised drug policy, is questionable. No quantitative data on reduced drug use behaviour or associated problems directly attributable to intervention was obtained.\nOriginality/value: - Further education colleges offer relatively unexplored opportunities for drug prevention and harm reduction, at both individual and community levels. Three major lessons were learned: for the motivational interviewing approach to be applied with meaningful potential to effectively shaping behaviour at the college level, greater input is required; quasi-experimental methods for evaluation are feasible and appropriate; and intervention must be coherent with, and shaped by, the specific college context.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Corporate and academic responses to gender diversity	[ "Gender", "Women", "Organizations", "Business schools" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nCorporate and academic responses to gender diversity: One of the ongoing challenges to US businesses is how to effectively manage diversity - racial, ethnic, and gender. Diversity is not just a human resources issue; it is a business issue both inside and outside of companies. Some companies have responded to the call for diversity, but fewer have capitalized on it by integrating diversity into their business strategies. More companies need to respond to the challenge of developing the business case for diversity. Business schools, in turn, need to communicate these corporate efforts to students in case materials. Business school case studies should perform the valuable functions of modeling behavior and creating role models. Case studies need to present ways to model behavior and modify attitudes in order that diversity can be considered a means to an end, not an end in itself. Regarding role models, women do not see themselves in the important line positions that are critical to their advancement. The notion of women as followers, not leaders, or as individuals who develop managerial and leadership skills through experiences of adversity rather than success, is reinforced in the minds of men and women by many case studies. Therefore, the value of diversity is not being leveraged in the classroom or the boardroom.This paper will discuss the reasons to focus on gender diversity, the costs associated with companies' failure to address diversity issues and the need for business school cases to feature women in leadership roles. The paper will conclude with examples of two companies that have successfully integrated diversity into their business strategies.\nWhy focus on gender diversity: This paper focuses on gender diversity for several reasons. First, women have attained a critical mass in the professional and managerial ranks of a significant percentage of US companies, especially financial and services organizations; and, women constitute the largest segment of the increasingly diverse US labor pool. In 2004, women made up 46 per cent of all US labor force participants - up from 29.6 per cent in 1950 - and held half of all managerial, professional, and related occupations in US companies, up from 36 per cent in 1976 (US Department of Labor, 2005). Women's entry and increased participation in the professional and managerial ranks of American businesses presented corporations with their first diversity challenges.Women are a highly educated group from which corporate America will need to recruit and develop future leadership. In 2001-02, women earned 57.4 per cent of all bachelor's degrees, 57.1 per cent of all master's degrees, 43 per cent of \"first professional\" degrees, and 47.1 per cent of doctorates in all fields, including almost a third of all science and engineering degrees and over half of all non-science PhDs (US Department of Education, NCES, 2003).Given this influx of women into corporate and professional positions, as well as women's enrollment in traditionally male fields of study, it is noteworthy that their enrollment in top-ranked MBA programs continues to lag that of men. In 2000, women on average made up only 30 per cent of full-time MBA students at the top-tier US MBA schools, compared to 44 per cent at the top US law and medical schools (Graduate Management News, 2002). The reasons for this under representation of women in MBA programs will be discussed below.The second reason to focus on gender diversity is that women have had a leading-edge role in transforming the American workplace. The growing dependence of US companies on women's workforce participation has been accompanied by a growing recognition that family/personal needs of all employees are legitimate concerns. Initially, conflicts related to work/family balance were seen as women's issues. Today employees expect companies to assist them with work/life balance, including programs/policies that address individuals' needs for workplace flexibility, and dual-career couples' needs for relocation assistance. Work/life initiatives are now regarded as fundamental to effectively managing diversity in American companies and professional firms, as evidenced by the annual rankings of companies on their family-friendly policies and programs that appear in business and women's publications (Branch, 1999).The third reason to focus on women is that the lessons companies learn from managing gender diversity will serve them well in developing initiatives to manage other forms of diversity. Recent research benchmarking best practices for recruiting, retaining and advancing women shows that corporate initiatives designed to address the unique needs of women professionals and managers frequently serve as models for initiatives addressing the needs of other diverse groups (Catalyst, 1999a).\nCosts of failing to address diversity issues: Corporations' costs of failing to address diversity issues are significant. They include the high cost of turnover and the inability to retain and advance talented managers. Catalyst, a US research and advisory organization, has identified the following as the most powerful barriers to female career advancement:* negative assumptions in executive ranks about women, their abilities, and their commitment to careers;* lack of career development and succession planning for women resulting in limited experience in line positions that lead to top management;* failure to hold managers accountable for advancing women;* assumption that women will not relocate for career advancement;* lack of mentoring for women and exclusion from informal career networks where men learn the unwritten rules of success;* perceptions that women's management and leadership styles do not fit with the corporate culture;* appraisal and compensation systems that are not uniform for men and women;* benefits systems and productivity measures that do not take into account new policies such as flexible work arrangements;* discrimination and sexual harassment (Catalyst, 1998).Turnover\nThe case for women: Companies' need to develop senior-level women is both a management issue and a customer issue. Those companies that have learned to manage gender diversity will be able to recruit and retain the most talented managers, reduce turnover costs, respond to the changing marketplace, and, ultimately, make better business decisions. In addition to the benefits reaped within companies such as increased retention employee loyalty and morale, there are benefits in the marketplace.Women continue to be the primary buyers of traditional household and consumer products; but they are also becoming buyers of products that traditionally have been purchased by men, such as cars, computers and even condoms (Cutler, 1989). Since the early 1900s, American carmakers have recognized the power of women in influencing car purchases. By 1948, Ford, Plymouth, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Chevrolet were buying space in women's magazines (Pollack, 1996). While some companies continue to use blatant sexism in their commercials (Garfield, 1993), more and more are revamping their advertising strategies to capture the growing affluent female market.General Motors has been a leader in targeting women. In 1991, Lincoln-Mercury's genderless Capri commercials used stick figures of people and lighthearted music, bringing in an estimated 65 per cent female buyers (Candler, 1991). GM targeted women for its Buick Riviera coupe, and the brand's advertising broke away from its family-oriented image (Halliday, 1997). Sensitivity to the female market is appearing on both sides of the Atlantic since Renault and other European carmakers were criticized by women for their patronizing sales language (Tylee, 1996). Women protested that the only car commercials targeted to them are for practical small cars, such as the Nissan Micra and Peugeot 106, rather than the more powerful, glamorous vehicles (Barrett, 1997).In addition to influencing companies' communication strategies, the growing segment of female buyers has affected product design. Companies that want to sell to women will have an edge if their products and customer service deliver a unique benefit to this market (Widgery and McGaugh, 1993). Once again, GM has been in the forefront. In the early 1990s, safety researchers from GM and the University of Michigan launched a joint study on the safety of pregnant women in vehicle crashes including development of a pregnant female crash dummy (Wolak, 1994). Cadillac did extensive market research with female car-buying prospects leading to findings on how women want to be treated by car dealers and on the importance of certain safety and security features (Feminine Tastes, 1996). More recently, Volvo car company invited hundreds of women employees to create a vehicle that suits their needs, resulting in a roomy, 215-horsepower coupe that's easy to park, maintain, and keep clean. Through customer research, the company discovered that women want everything in a car that men want in terms of performance and styling, \"plus a lot more that male car buyers never thought to ask for\" (USA Today, 2004). In the health and beauty aids category, Gillette's Sensor for women razor was designed by and for women. Even its color and name were chosen to avoid past stereotypes in the category (Maremont, 1993).Women's purchasing powers have also increased in the business-to-business area both within large corporations and as women start their own businesses. Women entrepreneurs are flourishing in the United States. In 2004, 10.6 million firms were at least 50 per cent owned by women (CWBR, 2005). Between 1997 and 2004, the estimated growth rate in the number of women-owned firms was nearly twice that of all firms (17 per cent vs 9 per cent), employment expanded at twice the rate of all firms (24 per cent vs 12 per cent), and estimated revenues kept pace (39 per cent vs 34 per cent) with all firms (CWBR, 2005).Women business owners want to work with law firms, accounting firms and other product and service companies that employ women in high-level positions and that is representative of their customer base. MCI business markets reported that women accounted for half the telecommunications and MIS decision makers they wanted to reach. In response to their buying power, MCI prominently featured women as techno-savvy characters in their Gramercy Press advertising campaign (Kondo, 1995). According to a study by Conning and Co., of Hartford, Connecticut, women business owners approach the purchase of insurance policies much differently than their male counterparts; they demand more service and, in turn, remain more loyal. Companies that recognize this difference will be better able to capture and retain sales from women entrepreneurs, who have been forming businesses at a rate twice the US national average (Dinnen, 1998).Women entrepreneurs are also growing abroad. A survey conducted by the Institute of Management revealed that women in the UK founded almost one-third of all new small-to-medium-size businesses in 1997 (Gracie, 1998). As shown, companies that address gender diversity issues as business issues will reap both internal and external financial rewards.Much of the argument for women managers' increased decision-making and buying power is predicated on their continued preparation for and commitment to careers in business. Women have prepared themselves for senior-level management positions by attending the top US business schools in increasing numbers. However, since 1994, the percentage of women enrolled in two-year MBA programs has failed to increase significantly.Several reasons have been posited to explain this situation. First, most business schools have increased the amount of work experience expected for MBA applicants. The average age of the typical MBA student has risen to nearly 29 from 24 a decade ago. By that age, business school is an unwelcome detour for women thinking about having children. A second reason may be the fields in which MBA graduates work. Nearly two-thirds of 1998 MBA recipients went to work in finance or consulting, fields that typically attract more men than women. Marketing and entrepreneurial careers, areas more appealing to women, attracted far fewer graduates (Schellhardt, 1998). Entrepreneurs, particularly, are less likely to see the value of an MBA.B. Joseph White, dean of the University of Michigan business school, observed that women perceive both a glass ceiling and a lack of flexibility at major corporations (Waldsmith, 1998). Another reason has to do with ethical issues. Researchers believe that some women see the values espoused in business school as incompatible with their value systems (MacLellan et al., 1997). Finally, researchers are investigating whether the business school environment itself may be a deterrent to women's attendance: the under representation of female faculty and the sometimes aggressive, or even hostile, tone of male faculty and students.Interviews with male and female business students and faculty show that stereotypical attitudes toward business women develop long before they enter the workforce (Catalyst et al., 1999b). These attitudes are reinforced in business school by the paucity of top management women in cases and by their presence in stereotypical roles when they do appear.Women's portrayal in business school cases\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - To show how companies that address gender diversity issues as business issues, not just as human resources issues, will reap rewards both inside and outside the company. Also, to show how business schools can make a significant contribution toward the understanding of diversity as a business issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - First, women's corporate managerial roles are examined: the economic and social reasons to focus on gender diversity and the costs of companies' failure to address diversity issues, specifically, turnover and retention. Next, women's roles as consumers are studied. Finally, women's roles as business students are looked at, specifically, the negative stereotypes reinforced in business school and carried into the workplace. The study concludes with examples of programs developed by Avon Products and Deloitte and Touche, LLP, to address diversity issues.\nFindings: - Provides statistics on women's workforce participation, costs of corporate turnover, women's earned college and graduate degrees. Identifies the key barriers to female career advancement; discusses the role of female consumers and business owners; provides company examples and case studies that illustrate the successful integration of women into academic and corporate life.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Only Stanford and Harvard Business school cases are looked at, although the latter is the largest producer of case studies used in business schools. One of the two longer corporate examples discusses diversity strategies in Avon Mexico which may limit its relevance to other US companies.\nPractical implications: - Good source for bibliography on corporate and academic diversity. Particularly useful for corporate human resources professionals and women about to enter business school or start their first corporate job. Also useful for researchers/academics writing business school case studies.\nOriginality/value: - Presents a strong case for the retention and development of corporate women as well as the need for business school cases to model behavior and modify negative attitudes toward women in business.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
"Access to Research": how UK public libraries are offering access to over 15 million academic articles for free	[ "Electronic journals", "Journal publishing", "Open access", "Publishing industry", "Finch report", "Local libraries" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Access to Research (A2R) is a publishing industry initiative that delivers nearly 9,000 journals and 15 million academic articles to public libraries throughout the UK. The content comes from a broad range of high-quality and prestigious research journals. When the pilot service was launched in 2014, the then Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, declared that A2R \"will connect people to a wealth of global knowledge - maximising its impact and value\". Neither the libraries nor the public are charged for access to this content. What follows is an explanation of how this has come about and what impact the service has had since its launch.\n2. Origins: A2R has its origins in the open access debate, which, put simply, is about how to widen access to publicly funded research. In the UK, the recent evolution of open access has been shaped by the \"Finch Report\". This report, entitled \"Accessibility, sustainability, excellence: how to expand access to research publications\", was published in 2012[1].\n3. Development of a pilot project: Publishers invited the Publishers Licensing Society (PLS) to lead a steering group to implement this recommendation. The steering group included publishers, public librarians (represented by the Society of Chief Librarians, SCL) and the British Library.\n4. The implementation of Access to Research: The technical pilot ran for three months at the end of 2013. PLS signed up 14 publishers who provided access to nearly 8,000 journals, whereas SCL secured the involvement of ten library services and about 200 library branches. The pilot ran well, with a positive feedback and support from the libraries.\n5. Use of Access to Research: Throughout the A2R pilot, PLS has collected and circulated usage statistics (Figure 4).\n6. Feedback from librarians and library users: A2R was run as a pilot for the first two years. The steering group decided to evaluate the service towards the end of that period to take a decision as to whether to continue the service after the completion of the pilot. To ensure that the participating publishers and library community had comprehensive and independent feedback, a research tender was put together. PLS and SCL led this process, but received financial support and expert advice from Arts Council England.\n7. The future: The research detailed above was presented to the participating publishers and the Executive Committee of the Society of Chief Librarians in November 2015. The question both stakeholders considered was whether they would continue to support A2R beyond the pilot. The conclusion of both groups was that they would. Specifically, they agreed that A2R should continue on a rolling basis, subject to annual reviews. Furthermore, they agreed that a number of initiatives should be undertaken to improve the service and libraries' promotion of it.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe a unique service offering by UK public libraries that provides access to over 15 million academic articles for free.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The approach is descriptive.\nFindings: The service has been a success with users, but more training for staff, as well as promotion, is needed.\nSocial implications: The study will be potentially important for enabling access to a vast amount of published academic articles for a wide section of UK citizens.\nOriginality/value: The first article on this service is aimed specifically at the LIS community.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Development level of electronic government services: An empirical study of e-government websites in Pakistan	[ "E-service", "E-government", "Developmental stage model", "Government services", "Government transformation", "Web portal" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The managing of public services with the implementation of Information Technology is an emerging phenomenon in the developing world, and the concept of e-government (electronic government) has been attracting fame over the past decade. In developing countries, governments are also introducing e-government services for its citizens to create the culture of good governance in its true terms. Pakistan is a developing country in South Asia with low implementation of IT in public services. In Asian countries, the adoption rate for online government services is slightly low because of the digital divide, a lack of awareness and the citizens' hesitation to use internet-based services (Ali et al., 2018).\n2. Statement of the problem: The success of online services largely depends on the maturity of services and development of websites for the provision of information and services. Around the world, Web portals are attracting fame which serves as a gateway to e-governments websites so that the citizens may gain access to e-services with one click. This study therefore aims to explore the types of e-services provided by the government of the Punjab and describe the existing development level of e-government services websites by applying the Layne and Lee (2001) \"Four-Stage Development Model\". This study is the first local study which may empirically contribute to the current level of provision of e-government services in Pakistan. This research specifically deals with the Punjab Web portal with the websites of 38 provincial departments (Appendix).\n3. Objectives of the study: Following are the objectives of study:\n4. Methodology: It is a quantitative study based on the content analysis of websites. The population includes e-government websites developed by The Ministry of Information Technology in the GOP portal for management and provision of online services. Punjab has 58 per cent literacy rate and the use of internet is higher than in other provinces. Therefore, Punjab Web portal was selected as the purposive sample of the study. Punjab Web portal comprises 38 websites that are considered the unit of analysis for the presented study.\n5. Data analysis: Descriptive statistics, e.g. frequency, mean values, percentages and standard deviation were applied for analyzing data about the level of developments of e-government websites' services and features. Punjab Web portal was used to identify the list of websites, which were offering different e-services to citizens.\n6. Conclusions and discussion: In all 38 websites, 24 websites had a medium level of first publishing stage which revealed that more than half the number of websites were providing only static information about services. It was also found that 14 websites were providing searching facility to their users for putting their query to get online responses and in this regard they proved themselves as a dynamic facilitator. These kind of searching facilities are signs of developing services that enhance the citizens' interest toward e-government services in Pakistan (Ahmad et al., 2012). The second stage findings show that e-government websites are at a medium level of development. As 25 websites were providing downloading options, 11 websites facilitate the citizens for online submission of forms.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to explore the emerging trends of e-government in Pakistan with an empirical investigation of the e-government websites and the services they provide to the citizens of Pakistan. It also investigates the level of development of these e-government websites in the Punjab Web portal. The governments in Asian countries, including Pakistan, have been struggling to switch their services from traditional on-spot services to online services. Focal points of the study are development level of e-government websites, available e-services and quality.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The e-government Web portal of Punjab province with 38 websites is center of attention in present study. Website's content analysis method is used to study e-government websites (N = 38) from the Punjab Web portal. It used the \"Four-Stage Development Model\" for the four stages, namely, \"publishing\", \"interacting\", \"transacting\" and \"transforming\", to study the phenomena.\nFindings: The findings showed that most of the websites on the Web portal were at the first (publishing) and second (interacting) stage of development. For the provision of effective online services, websites need to be on the third (transacting) and fourth (transforming) stage. Only a few websites in the Punjab Web portal were the on transacting and transforming stages providing a mature level of services. In total, 40 different types of services are identified in 38 websites of Punjab e-government Web portal.\nPractical implications: E-government, Web portals are developed to give citizens a single, easy access point to several departments' websites and their services. This baseline study recommends to update e-government websites periodically and put more focus on technological and contextual features to enhance the accessibility and usability of the websites.\nOriginality/value: This is first empirical study of e-government websites to explore their services and examine existing level of website development in this region.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The usage and acceptance of domestic preprint servers in China	[ "File servers", "Preprints", "Communication", "China" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Open access (OA) has been recommended by the Budapest Open Access Initiative, and can be achieved by both self-archiving and by publishing in open access journals (www.soros.org/openaccess/read.shtml), these routes have been described as the \"green road\" and \"gold road\" to open access. Although open access journals have received most attention from scholars, self-archiving, especially preprint servers play an important role in scholarly communication in the e-science environment; for example, arXiv.org has become an essential vehicle for the dissemination of physics papers, (Brown, 2001). Preprint servers have also been initiated in recent years in other disciplines such as chemistry, economics, library and information science (LIS).Open access is a new word in China, but may be not so strange to some Chinese physicists since they have used arXiv.org for a very long time. That is to say, they actually benefit from open access although they were not aware of the term as such. With the development of the open access movement throughout Europe and the USA, China has realized the importance of open access to its scientific research and wants to be a model for other developing countries. In 2004, Yongxiang Lu, the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. This is usually regarded as a milestone for the OA movement in China (Fang and Zhu, 2006). In 2005, the Chinese Academy of Sciences sponsored the \"International conference on Strategies and Policies on Open Access to Scientific Information\" in Beijing in order to explore the most appropriate mode for OA in developing countries. This took the Chinese movement to a new level.Despite much effort, OA in China is still in its preliminary stage. Only six journals from mainland China appear in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). There are other open access journals which do not use the OAI protocol and thus cannot be harvested by OAI service providers; for example, the journals belonging to the alliance of open access journals in China (www.oajs.org/). But still the number is disappointingly small compared with the nearly 5,000 academic journals published in 2003 in mainland China (Xian, 2006).Self-archiving is still the leading model of open access in China and preprint servers are the main tool for self-archiving. Currently there are three integrated preprint servers in mainland China all founded in 2003. They are:1. Qiji e-print archive (Qiji), founded by a group of young volunteers who wished to build a platform for scholarly communication similar to arXiv.org. It is a non-profit archive that is supported almost entirely by donations and advertisements. E-prints of research papers, teaching materials, news, images, and so on, can be submitted to the archive but must obey recognized scientific methodology and papers must be reviewed by at least two peers.2. Chinese Preprint Server (CPS) is operated by The Institute of Science and Technology Library of China (ISTIC). Only research articles can be submitted to CPS which is adopting a reviewing procedure similar to Qiji.3. Chinese Science Papers Online (CSPO) is sponsored by the Center for Science and Technology Development of the Ministry of Education. CSPO aims to assist those researchers who have difficulty in publishing their research papers and tries to shorten the time lag between research and publication. CSPO has retained many specialists to implementing a fairly strict peer review procedure to guarantee the quality of CSPO. Unlike Qiji and CPS, both of which are totally reliant on voluntary submission, CSPO requires that authors who are funded by the Ministry of Education submit at least two research articles to the server.Zhang has compared the three e-print archives from the aspects of management, audience, resources organization, system functions, and quality control (Zhang, 2006). Liu has compared the quantity and the subject range in the top ten by the number of scientific papers in the three preprint servers, and used Alexa to measure the traffic trend of the three (Liu and Gao, 2006). This article aims to evaluate the current status, usage, and acceptance of preprint servers in mainland China by investigating the submission number, published rate, and citation issues of Qiji, CPS and CSPO. We assume that official promotion and policies are two important factors affecting the usage and acceptance of preprint servers in mainland China. A survey of websites and another on the policy of colleges were carried out in order to test the validity of this assumption.\nMethodology: Submission number and disciplines distribution\nResults and discussion: Universities' websites survey\nConclusion: The volume of submission has a strong correlation with official policy and promotion. The preprints communication in China shows a preponderance of physics, mathematics and computer science that reflects the international preprint communication priorities. Preprint servers in mainland China have developed steadily but still receive little attention from excellent scholars and as yet have a low impact on scientific communication.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The aims of this article are to describe the current status, usage, and acceptance of domestic preprint servers in mainland China by investigating three integrated preprint servers in mainland China. These are the Qiji e-print archive (Qiji), the Chinese Preprint Server (CPS), Chinese Science Papers Online (CSPO).\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This research gives a quantitative analysis of the submission numbers to three preprint servers, the subject distribution and citations. An investigation of university websites and their policies was also carried out.\nFindings: - Preprint submissions have a strong correlation with official promotion and policies. The preprints communication pattern in mainland China concentrates on the disciplines of physics, mathematics and computer science which reflects international preprint communication behaviour. As yet the domestic preprint servers in mainland China attract little attention from excellent scholars and have a low impact on scientific communication.\nResearch limitations/implications: - No author survey was conducted.\nOriginality/value: - This is the first paper to characterize the usage and acceptance of domestic preprint servers in mainland China using a quantitative method.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Mindfulness and leadership flexibility	[ "Leadership development", "Mindfulness", "Leadership flexibility" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The last few decades have been characterized by hyper-competition between companies, rapid technological changes and dynamic and turbulent economic contexts. An additional challenge for leaders is the increase in organizational complexity, due in large part to the existence of many contradictory circumstances (Denison et al., 1995). For example, a company that is a competitor in one sphere of activity could conceivably become an ally in another, just as striving to maximize profits today may contradict efforts to invest in the future. While the phenomena affecting decision making are increasingly complex and interconnected, adapting to these apparent contradictions is a major challenge for leaders, who often struggle to maintain the level of acuity and calm needed to fulfill their role (Castelli, 2016; George, 2014).\nLiterature review: Leadership flexibility\nMethods: Participants\nResults: Preliminary analyses\nDiscussion: This exploratory study embraced the challenge of addressing two emerging concepts - behavioral flexibility and mindfulness - and trying to refine our understanding of their relationships in a leadership context, a question no other study has focused on to date. Our hypotheses concerning the relationships between mindfulness, behavioral flexibility and its two dualities are empirically supported. The results show a positive and significant correlation between the overall mindfulness score as measured by the short version of the FFMQ and leader flexibility. These findings suggest that the more mindful leaders are, the more they are able to exercise a flexible leadership style. Although the observed correlations indicate weak linear relationships, this study constitutes a first step in research on the phenomenon, and presents interesting findings that are worthy of further investigation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: In a context of great complexity, many authors have focused on the beneficial effects of leadership flexibility (Denison et al., 1995), a capacity theoretically associated with mindfulness. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the relationship between mindfulness and behavioral flexibility in leaders.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from two samples: 100 active leaders from diverse economic sectors and 62 students pursuing an executive MBA degree.\nFindings: The results show that mindfulness is positively associated with the overall score for leader flexibility, and with its two dualities: self-assertive and directive vs collaborative and supportive, and long-term strategy vs short-term execution. Specifically, four of the five dimensions of mindfulness (nonreactivity, nonjudging, acting with awareness and describing) were positively correlated with the overall flexibility score.\nPractical implications: The results suggest that by developing mindfulness, managers might be better able to adapt their leadership style to the demands of different situations. To that end, interventions based on mindfulness are worthwhile options for use within organizations, particularly in the context of leadership development programs.\nOriginality/value: While most models of leadership assume a linear relationship between certain leadership behaviors and performance, other voices suggest that effective leaders need to possess great behavioral flexibility so that they can adapt with agility to the multiple needs of the people and situations around them. Few studies have examined the factors that may play a role in leadership flexibility.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Crisis communication consulting: rethinking the role of PR firms in solving organizational crises	[ "Crisis communication", "Public relations", "Strategic communication", "Public relations agencies", "Communication consulting" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Organizations facing serious crisis situations often hire specialized PR firms and consultants to advise them how to communicate with their stakeholders and public. The role of these firms often varies; from counseling to assisting in daily operations. At the same time, the relationship between organizations as clients and their PR firms as service providers often turns out to be very specific, with unrealistic client demands, clients imposing their own opinions and views on the strategy that should be implemented to strong domination and influence of consultants on their clients and vice versa.\nLiterature review: Management consulting has been a common field of interest for researchers. Pang et al. (2013, p. 151) note that empirical studies on consulting have been conducted within a multitude of areas and had been focused on its history, economics and sociology (Armbruster, 2006; McKenna, 2006), strategy, marketing, human resources and information technology (Greiner and Poulfelt, 2005); the client-consultancy relationship (Clark, 1995; Sturdy et al., 2009); management consulting and fashions (Clark and Greatbatch, 2002; Kieser, 2002); and management consulting and academia (Engwall et al., 2002). Johansen (2017, p. 107) outlines two milestones of management consulting research: \"The Creation of European Management Practice\" research project, conducted from 1998 to 2001, and the publications of The Oxford Handbook of Management Consulting (edited by Kipping and Clark) and Management Consultants I-II (edited by Avakian and Clark), both in 2012. Johansen (2017) notes these two publications \"took stock of almost 20 years of management consulting research, emphasizing how significant the role of management consultants and consultancies has become in both private and public organizations\" (p. 107). Literature on consulting has been also analyzed by von Platen (2015, p. 151), who explains that most of this work touches upon the function and roles of the consultant and offers numerous typologies, classifications and metaphors from authors such as Greiner et al. (2011), Kakabadse et al. (2006), Kitay and Wright (2003) and Schein (1999).\nTheoretical framework: The theoretical framework of this paper is based on Maines's (2000, p. 577) claim that \"meaning can be socially constructed,\" and the definition of crisis formulated by Coombs (2012, p. 2) which emphasized the aspect of perception within crises: \"crisis is the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders, can seriously impact an organization's performance and generate negative outcomes.\"\nMethodology: This study, whose aim was to analyze the attitudes and experiences of practitioners from PR firms in Croatia, uses an exploratory research design and semi-structured in-depth expert interviews as a research method. The questions were not asked in any given order, rather they were asked in a way that developed, facilitated and encouraged the conversation with the respondents. The interviewers had to use initiative in ensuring that the topics list is covered completely. The study includes a total of 13 individuals: CEOs, directors, managing partners and senior consultants from 13 different PR firms operating in Croatia, who had over 10 years of experience in PR and whose firms offered crisis communication consulting as a service. The interviews were conducted between June and September 2018.\nFindings: RQ1. How do PR firms in Croatia, which provide their clients with crisis communication services, define a modern organizational crisis; in practice, what do their clients consider a crisis; and to what extent do the two views differ from the most commonly used theoretical conceptualizations of crises?\nDiscussion and conclusion: This study provided valuable insights into the specific relationship between PR firms and their clients during crisis situations, based on the personal experiences and impressions of PR practitioners working in and/or managing these firms in Croatia. Although the findings cannot provide us with generalizable conclusions since they are limited to the Croatian environment, they made it possible to identify several consistencies that can, strengthened by further research, possibly lead to firmer conclusions regarding the field of crisis communication consulting in Croatia in the future.\nLimitations and future research: As anticipated, this study has a number of potential shortcomings restricting its validity. The first limitation comes from the sample. The results of the study are based on a sample consisting only of Croatian interviewees. Consequently, it is impossible to generalize the findings onto a broader scale. At the same time, the PR firms that participated in the study represent a significant part of the total population of PR firms (apart from a few exceptions, dominantly headquartered in Croatia's capital, Zagreb) offer crisis communication services, and the only way to broaden the sample would be to include PR firms from other countries. It would also be accurate to conclude that this research can serve only as a snapshot of the current state within PR firms providing crisis communication services in Croatia. This study also generated suggestions and ideas for further research: to conduct a similar study among the clients of the PR firms included in this study, and to broaden the sample of respondents with PR firms from other countries. Both examples would provide the opportunity to make a comparison and would provide valuable insights on practicing crisis communication consulting from the aspect of both parties involved: clients and service providers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between organizations and their PR firms during crisis situations. It contributes to the field by identifying the role of communication consultants in contemporary organizational crises, tasks they are entrusted by their clients, as well as providing their perspective on current crisis communication practice and its future development.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research is based on 13 semi-structured in-depth interviews with two groups of senior staff in 11 Croatian PR agencies: CEOs, directors, managing partners and senior consultants, all in charge of their clients' crisis communication projects.\nFindings: The research results suggest that PR firms define crisis differently than their clients, who tend to consider every risk a crisis, which causes a significantly broadened scope of work for their PR firms. The findings also suggest crises to be periods when new PR firm-client relations are often established and caution PR firms to balance between openly expressing their opinion when unfavorable for their clients and providing the best advice possible to achieve a sustainable business model with the clients that they consult.\nOriginality/value: This research provides rare insight into crisis communication consulting practice, especially consultant-client relations during crises. Methodologically, it includes a representative group of senior communication practitioners acting as consultants and can provide the management of PR firms and scholars valuable insight into the current and future trends of the crisis communication field in Croatia.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How boards influence business performance: developing an explanation	[ "Corporate governance", "Strategic management", "Agency theory", "Critical realism", "Black box" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Boards of directors (henceforth, boards) provide an important link between company owners and company managers (Fama and Jensen, 1983). They are often introduced by owners to represent their interests following the separation of ownership from control (Berle and Means, 1932) that occurs in companies as a result of owners (equity providers) not working or no longer working within the business they own. Nowadays separation between owners and managers occurs for multiple reasons, however, Berle and Means' interest was piqued by the scale of industrialisation encountered in North America, a marked contrast to that being experienced in the UK and Europe at the time. The publicly listed company, therefore, became the normal structure for business. Consequently, boards have become the subject of research (Brown and Caylor, 2006) often aimed at understanding the best configuration through which to achieve the desired outcomes of company owners - in what is a re-emergence of Chandler's (1962) contingency approach.\n2. The separation of governance and management: Scholars have been interested in boards; the relationship between ownership, control and managerial activity in companies; and, the relevance of boards to performance outcomes since the early decades of the twentieth-century (Daily et al., 2003). The concept of corporate governance was discussed by Berle and Means (1932) in their seminal treatise, although the term was only explicitly introduced (Eells, 1960) in the literature much later.\n3. Strategic decision making and performance: Company performance appears to be heavily dependent on the selection and implementation of an appropriate strategy or strategies that enable the company to exploit resources and compete effectively to maximise returns and company value (Audretsch et al., 2009). While an association between corporate governance and performance has been suggested in the literature, no categorical causal link to increased performance or value creation has been established. However, the board appears to be important to value creation; board effectiveness appears to be an antecedent of company success; and some variables appear to be significant in some circumstances and the board in session appears to be the very source of corporate governance. When Anderson et al. (2007) described the board as being a \"strategic asset\" (p. 787), for example, they qualified their conclusion by suggesting the further research was needed to establish the efficacy of such a description.\n4. The apparent importance of access: Access appears to be crucial to the advancement of corporate governance research, especially to the creation of credible knowledge about boards, what they actually do and their contribution to business performance. The direct observation of boards, the only credible source of primary data, within a real-life context should enable researchers to learn more than what is possible with experiments and cross-sectional methods, which typically extract the subject of interest from its natural context (George and Bennett, 2005). Insights from first-hand observations often transcend those available from interviews, surveys or statistical analyses (Bales and Flanders, 1954). Boards are no exception. The identification of underlying mechanisms (Sayer, 2000) that can be activated by boards - and are expected to be significant to explanation - is unlikely to be possible if the research is limited to the analysis of secondary data; deductive or inductive modes of inference (Danermark et al., 2002); or, worse, if such representations of data (Stablein, 2006) are mistaken to be the data itself as appears to be commonly the case in governance research especially with qualitative studies based on director and/or CEO interviews.\n5. Approach to research: Analysis techniques that move beyond the limitations of cross-sectional methods and hypothetico-deductive science are likely to be required if a deep understanding (Dobson et al., 2007) is to be gained. The literature indicates that methodologies founded upon critical realism (Bhaskar, 1975) enable complex organisational phenomena to be investigated (Wynn and Williams, 2012) and underlying mechanisms to be exposed (Tsoukas et al., 2000). An iterative approach to analysis that combines qualitative and quantitative data gathered from multiple sources; utilises abductive and retroductive modes of inference; and, is based on critical realism, appears to provide an viable pathway (Crow and Lockhart, 2014) along which to pursue the production of more holistic, credible (Krupnik, 2012) and methodologically pluralistic theories (Kurki, 2009) of how boards can influence company performance outcomes.\n6. Findings and discussion: A proactive involvement by boards in the strategy development process and assessment of strategic options is apparent from the analysis of data collected in the boardroom. The two boards appear to improve the quality of environmental scanning, minimise the chance of selecting poor strategies, and improve decision making. Knowledge about the business appears to be important, even though the CEOs interviewed during this research believed that their boards did not necessarily understand the drivers of their respective company's success. The interviewees also reported that the making of strategic decisions can be challenging because decision makers typically do not have access to all the information required to make suitably informed choices. Management was observed to control the board's agenda in many cases, which was observed to limit the flow of relevant information between themselves and their boards. Poor decisions - or decisions not made because items were not raised by management or the board asked the wrong questions - were also observed. Whether or not this can be construed as being an agency problem is moot, for advantages to managers (at the expense of the company owners) were not identified when such asymmetry was observed to occur. It simply occurred.\n7. Conclusion: The value that boards can contribute to company performance appears to lie in their active and ongoing involvement in the company's strategic thinking and strategic management processes - through the consideration of strategic options, the development of strategy, the making of strategic decisions in the context of approved strategy, and the monitoring of strategy implementation and subsequent performance. Company performance appears to be enhanced when the division of labour between the board and managers is clearly defined and efficiently implemented, and underlying mechanisms are activated.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between boards and board activity and subsequent business performance, in the context of high-growth companies, through the lens of decision making and business performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A critical realist approach was used to conduct a longitudinal multiple-case study of two medium-sized, quasi-public high-growth companies. Data collection included first-hand observations of boards in session, semi-structured interviews with key actors and the inspection of board and company documentation. An iterative approach to analysis was used to gain an in-depth understanding of how the boards worked and how they sought to exert influence.\nFindings: The paper provides empirical insight about board involvement in strategic management. A proactive involvement by boards in the strategy development process and assessment of strategic options, and a collaborative form of board involvement in strategic management together with management is indicated as being important if the board is to exert influence beyond the boardroom. A conceptual model of a collaborative form of board-management interaction is developed.\nPractical implications: The paper provides guidance for boards, suggesting that a more direct level of involvement in strategic management by the board together with management may be material to improved business performance.\nOriginality/value: The paper responds to calls for more research on the relationship between boards and business performance. It contributes much-needed first-hand evidence from within the boardroom.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Resistance to change in the case of mergers and acquisitions: part 2	[ "Change management", "Transformational leadership", "Resistance to change", "Mergers and acquisitions", "Organization culture" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nBackground: mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and resistance to change: This literature review explores resistance to change and its management during an M&A under four interrelated categories: communication, support from management, employee perception and participation, and adherence to the organization (Amiot et al., 2006; Appelbaum, Gandell, Shapiro, Belisle and Hoeven, 2000; Appelbaum, Gandell, Yortis, Proper and Jobin, 2000; Appelbaum et al., 2007a,b; Rubin et al., 2013; Wanberg and Banas, 2000). While Part 1 examined the communications process thoroughly, Part 2 of this paper will deal with the crucial support from management during this process as well as employee perceptions and participation in the entire process.\nSupport from management: Support from management can take many forms, but is mostly linked to establishing trust, and communicating and demonstrating support.\nEmployee perception and participation: Fairness and justice\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are inherent to firms evolving in today's business world, whether they be corporate giants, SMEs or start-ups. While the ultimate objective of an M&A is to improve the newly constructed firm's performance, financial and technical impacts are but some of the considerations the organization will need to face. Indeed, employee resistance appears to be a major factor in the overall success of this strategic move. Throughout this three-part paper, the purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough overview of the forces at play in employee resistance to change, its influence on the M&A's success, and the ways to address such resistance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on existing empirical studies, industry expert findings and academic reviews, this paper sought to link together the concepts of communication at a time of change, leadership, employee involvement, feeling of adherence to the firm (the four key pillars), and their respective influences in how they may handicap or aid the firm in achieving its M&A objectives.\nFindings: Although it may seem like a straightforward concept, resistance to change in the turbulent time that is a merger and acquisition situation is anything but simple. Classic assumptions of resistance being a negative force or participation being a requisite part of overcoming resistance are challenged. At the same time, leadership and employee feeling of adherence to their previous organization play a supporting role when compared to the significant influence of communication pre, during, and after the merger. The ensuing portrait is thus multifaceted and underscores the complexity of handling an M&A at the human resources level.\nResearch limitations/implications: Whilst the paper allowed to identify and link the different factors at play, a thorough empirical study in order to compare and contrast those factors at an M&A's different stages (pre-during-post), and thus evaluate their respective importance, would be commendable.\nPractical implications: In providing an overview of several aspects at play in employee resistance to change, this paper allows a management practitioner to consolidate their knowledge on the process' four key pillars.\nSocial implications: By illustrating not only its - expected - negative outcomes, but by also providing a glimpse at some potential benefits in terms of increased merger performance, this paper gives managers incentives to not always challenge but also embrace their employee's resistance to change as a healthy part of the firm's transformation process.\nOriginality/value: This literature review provides an overview of resistance to change and draws parallels between the concepts explored herein and the M&A situation, which would be useful to the general practitioner undergoing an M&A.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Value-creation initiatives in buyer-seller relationships	[ "Value analyis", "Buyer‐seller relationships" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The emphasis in business relationships in recent years has shifted from transactions to interactions, and it is now generally accepted that firms can create and sustain significant competitive advantages by nurturing cooperative relationships between buyers and sellers (Anderson et al., 1994; Blankenburg et al., 1999; Dyer, 1997; Dyer and Singh, 1998; Lambert et al., 2004; Sheth and Sharma, 1997; Wilson, 1995). Managers who had traditionally added value by nurturing internal competencies now seek to generate value for their firms by initiating and managing external partnerships (Kay, 1993; Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2000). In particular, firms are now seeking innovative ways of unleashing the creativity of their business partners and taking advantage of their expertise (Sahay, 2003; Swink, 2006; Tyndall et al., 1998).The traditional transactional focus was consistent with the classical economic premise that production occurs within firms, whereas outputs are exchanged between them (Alchian and Demsetz, 1972). According to this view, \"cooperation\" merely involves the coordination of exchanges between trading partners. In contrast, an interaction perspective perceives \"cooperation\" as including the creation of productive resources (Brousseau, 1993; van de Ven, 1976; Hammervoll, 2005). Nevertheless, despite a growing awareness of the theoretical and managerial importance of value-creation through cooperative interactions between firms, the mechanisms by which this occurs remain poorly understood. For example, the concept of \"trust\" has often been proposed as a means of enhancing cooperation (Dwyer et al., 1987; Hakansson and Snehota, 1995). However, it is difficult to accept the notion that deep and trusting relationships always represent the optimal solution for the majority of firms as they strive to survive (with limited resources) in today's competitive marketplace.The purpose of this study is, therefore, to identify and describe important value-creation initiatives in buyer-seller relationships (BSRs). The aim is to analyse how buyers and sellers can contribute to value-creation within their respective firms and in the BSR itself. A list of value-creation initiatives identified in a review of the literature is used as a basis for mapping \"real life\" value-creation initiatives in 14 BSRs with a view to ascertaining whether these initiatives are really useful to firms in their efforts to create value in cooperation with other firms.The remainder of this paper is organised as follows. In the following section, the relevant literature on value-creation initiatives is reviewed. The methodology for the qualitative study of the issues is then described, followed by a presentation of the findings and conclusions. The paper concludes with a description of the main managerial implications and research limitations of the study, together with suggestions for further research.\n2 Literature review and conceptual framework: 2.1 Value-creation in BSRs\n3 Methodology: 3.1 Design and setting\n4 Findings: Six of the ten value-creation initiatives identified in the literature review were spontaneously mentioned by the respondents during the interviews. Any value-creation initiatives that were not mentioned spontaneously in any given interview were discussed at the end of that interview. The findings can be summarised as follows.4.1 Spontaneously mentioned initiatives\n5 Conclusion: The objective of the present study was to identify and explore important value-creation initiatives in BSRs. By and large, the study found that most of the value-creation initiatives identified in the existing literature played a prominent role in the BSRs of the sample of firms that was investigated.The study has thus found support for the theoretical studies on value-creation in the extant literature. In particular, transaction-specific investments, adaptation, and motivation of \"right\" effort, as identified in governance value analysis of Ghosh and John (1999) have been shown to be important in BSRs. In addition, logistical information sharing (Borys and Jemison, 1989) and coaching and knowledge sharing (Dyer and Singh, 1998) have also been demonstrated to be of importance.However, other value-creation initiatives identified in the literature - such as relationship-specific investments and willingness to combine complementary strategic resources - were perceived by the respondents in the present study as being prerequisites for cooperation in interactions and commitment, rather than value-creating initiatives in their own right, as suggested by Borys and Jemison (1989). In addition, the respondents did not believe that \"effort\" (in problem solving) was an important value-creation initiative.All types of value-creation initiatives were detected in the seafood industry. In the chemical, technical, and furniture industries several (but not all) types of value-creation initiatives were identified. It would seem that the large firms in these industries had the resources to participate in a range of development activities and to transact high volumes.\n6 Theoretical implications: The study suggests that it is important to distinguish between value-creation in transaction-based arrangements and value-creation in interaction-based relationships. In the former, value-creation initiatives aim to reduce logistical costs or improve logistical performance; in contrast, in the latter, value-creation initiatives require a cooperative response from the exchange partner to create value. Examples of value-creation initiatives in transaction-based arrangements included transaction-specific investments, providing information for planning logistical flows, or adapting to changing logistical requirements. A specific instance of such a value-creation was investment in appropriate goods-handling equipment to facilitate transactions with an exchange partner. Examples of value-creation initiatives in interaction-based relationships included the provision of strategic information (on developments in products, markets, or technologies) and coaching. In these instances, the exchange partner must respond and contribute to the value-creation initiatives made by the focal party.In addition, the study has identified a third class of value-creation initiatives that might be described as prerequisites for possible value-creation in a relationship. This class of initiatives includes relationship-specific investments and willingness to combine complementary strategic resources. Such initiatives indicate a commitment to the long-term relationship and a desire to create new opportunities for cooperation in interactions. However, in the present study, these initiatives did not constitute an overt aspect of the process of value-creation in existing collaborative arrangements.\n7 Practical implications: The study provides managers with practical guidance on the selection of appropriate value-creation initiatives in various types of BSRs. For managers, the important value-creation initiatives that emerged from this study can be summarised as follows:* Transaction specific investments. Investments made to enhance logistical performance (efficiency in technical and administrative coordination); they should be tailored to the relationship such that they have lesser value in alternative uses if the relationship is ended.* Adaptation. Effecting changes in plans or actions to obtain satisfactory logistical performance.* Motivate \"right\" effort. Identifying and motivating the exchange partner to engage in appropriate actions (differentiation efforts, simplification of product specifications, developing new production processes).* Logistical information sharing. Exchange of information to enhance technical and administrative coordination in logistical operations.* Information supply. Provision of useful non-logistical information (regarding developments in markets, products, or technologies).* Coaching. Contributing to the other firm's problem-solving efforts.* Strategic knowledge sharing. Exchange of knowledge that enables the two firms to engage in joint problem-solving efforts.Value-creation in transactions is best managed by seeking mutual transparency, adaptations, appropriate logistical planning, and the efficient flow and processing of information between parties. Value-creation in interactions is best managed by ensuring that each party has good knowledge of the other's organisation. Value-creation initiatives should be in the form of either:1. the provision of relevant expertise for coaching problem-solving efforts; or2. the establishment of appropriate joint problem-solving arrangements.Finally, managers should note that some value-creation initiatives are followed up, whereas others are not. The present study found that some firms did not fully exploit customer feedback, even though they recognised that they probably should do so. Managers must be conscious of:* How their partners contribute to value-creation?* Which value-creation initiatives are important to them?\n8 Research limitations: Certain limitations in the study are acknowledged. First, the sample included only 14 firms. Despite genuine attempts to assemble a heterogeneous sample and to capture general impressions of the subject matter being examined, care should be taken in attempting to generalise the findings to other contexts. Second, this was a cross-sectional study. A longitudinal study, with data collection at several points in time, would have produced more reliable findings. Third, despite attempts to obtain a heterogeneous sample, most of the data in the present study did come from sellers.\n9 Future research: This study reports the findings of the first empirical study of value-creation initiatives in BSRs. The findings in this exploratory research suggests that some value-creation initiatives are prerequisites for value-creation in BSRs, while others are important in \"transaction-\" and \"interaction-\" based relationships. The lack of empirical research in this field means that there is little guidance on how to optimise cooperative activities with partners both from a practical and an academic point of view. We suggest that a natural first step for further research should be to establish models that relate different value-creation initiatives to value-creation outcomes, like learning and performance. Such efforts comprise developing variables (including reliable and valid scales for measuring them) and developing comprehensive but parsimonious models. Only by doing that, we will be on our way to increasing our knowledge and understanding the role of value-creation initiatives in value-creation.Possible avenues of research in this regard include:* investigations of the management of knowledge redundancy and its implications for firm- and relationship performance; and* a study of how internet technology can be used to promote value-creation in BSRs.The framework for the present study was rooted in technological interdependence within BSRs. Future research can shift the focus to other value-creation initiatives beyond the dyad and related to the network (Hakansson and Snehota, 1995). For example, the role of initiation of new bonds to other exchange partners in seeking new exchange opportunities can prove to be an interesting avenue for investigation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore important value-creation initiatives in buyer-seller relationships (BSRs).\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Following a literature review and the presentation of an appropriate conceptual framework, an exploratory study of 14 BSRs in a variety of European industries is undertaken using in-depth semi-structured interviews with key informants.\nFindings: - The findings justify a distinction being drawn between two types of value-creation initiatives: those that are important in transaction-based arrangements (in which efficiency is paramount); and those that are important in interaction-based relationships (in which effectiveness is paramount). Of the ten value-creation initiatives identified in the literature review, seven were found to be of importance in the BSRs of the present sample.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Despite genuine attempts to select a heterogeneous sample, most of the data did come from sellers. Future studies could look more deeply into buyer data to explore these issues in BSRs.\nPractical implications: - The paper provides managers with practical guidance on the selection of appropriate value-creation initiatives in various types of BSRs.\nOriginality/value: - The paper reports the first known empirical study of value-creation initiatives in BSRs.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Developing a P2P lending platform: stages, strategies and platform configurations	[ "China", "Case study", "Process model", "FinTech", "P2P lending", "Platform development" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending refers to the process of establishing a loan between individual borrowers and lenders, with an online platform operating as an intermediary (Bruton et al., 2015). It uses social networks to harness communities of both borrowers and lenders to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of aggregating and transferring funds (Lee and Teo, 2015). By offering faster and more convenient access to loans for borrowers, and an alternative investment channel for lenders (Bachmann et al., 2011), the popularity of P2P lending has skyrocketed especially in developed financial markets across the globe in recent years (Chen et al., 2015; Yan et al., 2018). In fact, analysts are projecting that the size of the P2P lending market will reach approximately US$370 billion by 2025 (Bloomberg, 2019).Still, in spite of its growing prominence in the contemporary business landscape, our knowledge of how to develop and manage the digital platforms that make P2P lending possible is limited (Bachmann et al., 2011; Lee and Teo, 2015). In particular, of the handful of published works in this area, most of them are centered on identifying the critical success factors (CSFs) of the development of these platforms (e.g. Chen et al., 2015; Lee and Teo, 2015), but without grasping the underlying nature of the process, the field is currently lacking a \"recipe that strings [the CSFs] together in such a way as to tell the story of how [the outcome] occurs whenever it does occur\" (Mohr, 1982, p. 37). It is especially important to address this knowledge gap because most P2P lending platforms are startups with limited resources (Chen et al., 2014) that can ill afford to bear the consequences of suboptimal strategic choices and competitive actions (Castrogiovanni, 1996). If these platforms cannot achieve business sustainability, they may go out of business as many within the P2P lending sector already have, which may hurt the confidence of the general public in the emergent business model, and thus, impede the development of the entire industry (Yan et al., 2018). Addressing this knowledge can reduce the likelihood of business failure (Dietz et al., 2016), and consequently, sustain the momentum of the global P2P lending revolution.The aim of our paper is to address this knowledge gap through a case study of P2PLend.com (a pseudonym), one of the leading P2P lending platforms in China. More specifically, through an in-depth examination of the strategies deployed and actions taken across the various stages of P2PLend.com's development, as well as their consequences, we are seeking to derive a process model of P2P lending platform development. In doing so, we are hoping that our study can contribute a process perspective of the phenomenon to complement the existing studies in the literature and provide more nuanced guidelines for practitioners on how such platforms can be developed and managed effectively. Accordingly, the research question of our study is: \"How can a P2P lending platform be effectively developed?\"\nLiterature review: Based on the literature review methodology recommended by Creswell (2002), we conducted a search on three leading academic search engines (i.e. Google Scholar, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost) based on different relevant search phrases (such as \"FinTech\", \"P2P lending,\" \"digital platform\") in August 2017. Based on this initial search, we accumulated a pool of 143 papers. All of us on the research team then proceeded to review the abstract of these papers independently, with each member creating a shortlist of papers that were deemed relevant to our research topic. For the papers that were common across our shortlists, we included them in our final pool of papers for in-depth review. For those papers that were only in some but not all of the shortlists, the research team had a meeting to discuss each of those papers, and decide on which papers should also be included in our literature review. Using the same search engines, our literature review was conducted over five iterations, with the last iteration occurring in February 2020. The subsequent iterations yielded an additional 59 papers, which was added to our initial pool and subjected to the same selection process. Eventually, 32 articles related to P2P lending platforms and 21 articles related to platform development were reviewed in-depth, which we will summarize in the stream of reporting that follows.P2P lending platforms\nResearch method: The case research method is especially appropriate for our study because its strengths lie in exploring \"how\" research questions (Walsham, 1995), understudied and multi-faceted phenomena (Siggelkow, 2007), as well as processes that cannot be separated from their contexts (Rynes and Gephart Jr, 2004) - all conditions that are relevant to our study. To address our research question, we identified two criteria for case selection. First, the ideal case study target should be a P2P lending platform that has achieved a significant extent of commercial success so that we are able to develop a theory based on proven, if not best, practices (Pan and Tan, 2011). Second, the case organization should ideally have employed a variety of strategies and initiatives in platform development so that a broader range of possibilities for action may be uncovered (Tan et al., 2010).Based on these criteria, we selected the case of P2PLend.com Financial Services, an online P2P lending platform in China. P2PLend.com is especially appropriate for the purpose of our study because not only is it one of the commercially successful P2P lending platforms in China with a registered capital of CNY$50 million and physical branches in over 80 locations across the country, but a preliminary investigation into the background of the firm revealed that P2PLend.com had also deployed a variety of creative strategies and initiatives toward the development of its platform, fulfilling both of our selection criteria perfectly.Case description\nFindings: The findings from our study of P2PLend.com suggests that the development of a P2P lending platform is a process that traverses at least three stages (refer to Figure 2). As each of the stages is emphasizing the development of a particular side of the platform (made up of Partnering firms, Lenders, and Borrowers), we term the stages P-side Development, L-side Development, and B-side development accordingly. More importantly, each stage is marked by the employment of a distinct platform development strategy, which, in turn, leads to a specific platform configuration and its associated developmental outcomes. The following stream of subsections will present our findings in relation to each of the stages in sequence.Stage 1 - P-side development (2013-2015)\nDiscussion: Theoretical implications for P2P lending\nConclusion: Limitations and future research\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Online Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending platforms are becoming increasingly popular globally in recent years. Our knowledge of how to develop and manage the digital platforms that make P2P lending possible, however, is limited. Through an in-depth examination of the strategies deployed and actions taken across the various stages of development of Tuodao, one of the most successful online P2P lending platforms in China, the purpose of this study is to develop a process model of P2P Lending Platform Development to address this knowledge gap.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The case research method was adopted for this research, and a total of 16 informants were interviewed. The informants were composed of representatives of Tuodao'stop management, organizational IT functions as well as its various business units.\nFindings: Our study reveals that the development of a P2P lending platform can unfold in a specific sequence across three stages, and the development of a particular side of the platform should be emphasized in each stage (i.e. Partners, followed by Lenders, and then Borrowers). Each stage is also distinctive in terms of their strategies and platform configuration outcomes, which are elaborated on in our paper.\nOriginality/value: Our process model contributes an in-depth view of how P2P lending platforms should be established and nurtured to complement the existing studies in this rapidly growing research area. In addition, our study also hints at the strategies that can facilitate the various stages. Our model can potentially serve as the foundation for formulating guidelines for the managers of P2P lending platforms, so that they are able to optimize the development of their platforms and extend the benefits of P2P lending to a broader base of customers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Reverse mentoring: a review of extant literature and recent trends	[ "Reverse mentoring", "Mentoring", "Multi-generational workforce" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nReverse mentoring: Technological advances are changing the workplace environment and, as a result, the workforce is changing with it. With the entry of millennials (born after 1982) into the global workforce (almost 75 per cent by 2025), organizational work cultures and systems are undergoing significant changes. The majority of millennials, the youngest in the workforce, are tech-savvy who strive for early recognition, strong networking with superiors, and appropriate career support. Consequently, conventional mentorship methods (the top-down approach) may not help in achieving techno-operational competitiveness. In the era of technological disruption, it is believed that knowledge is no longer a one-way street. The interest of all stakeholders will be served best when expertise is exchanged between individuals. Reverse mentoring (RM) can emerge as a solution to deal with these changing work dynamics.\nHow this differs from traditional mentoring: Murphy (2012) identified the key elements that form the core of RM relationships and make it significantly different from traditional mentoring:\nWhy reverse mentoring (RM)?: RM offers an opportunity to achieve a competitive edge in terms of an enriched flow of information, ideas, and expertise among the multi-generational workforce across different hierarchal levels. Moreover, given the cultural and psychosocial differences between the generations, RM is an innovative concept to bridge inter-generational differences through learning and leadership development among millennials. Beyond flipping the traditional hierarchy, it can also foster more inclusivity and cross-generational camaraderie. Being a two-way street, a well-executed RM program can have numerous advantages, not just to the mentors and mentees, but also to the organization itself (Murphy, 2012):\nThe multi-generational perspective: The rise of the multi-generational workforce is the driving force behind the growing endorsement of RM. By facilitating high-quality networks and one-on-one relationships between members of diverse generations, RM bridges the generational gap and promotes a shared understanding of their differences and similarities. This further fosters a work environment which has high sensitization and cooperation toward workplace diversity (in terms of age, gender, values, and preferences) paving the way for effective knowledge sharing as well as mutual learning and development. RM is thus proposed to be a tool for developing engaged and committed multi-generational workforce.\nLooking beyond the technological silo: RM was originally introduced with the objective of keeping senior executives up to date with technological advancements by having them mentored by tech-savvy junior and younger employees. However, merely improving senior executives' technological skill set is a narrow approach that restricts the boundaries within which RM can function effectively. In recent years, RM has received wide practical acceptability in many organizations and has yielded multi-faceted benefits, over and above technological silo such as:\nRoute to success: The successful implementation of RM demands:\nPotential threats: Making the senior executives (mentee) believe that being mentored will be worth their time and reducing their complacency is awfully hard which may lead to non-performance of RM programs. This problem becomes more complex in cultures characterized by high power distance. Moreover, as observed in traditional mentoring exchanges, mentee's (senior) egocentric and exploitative conduct; and/or mentor's (junior) lack of adequate skill, self-efficacy, and emotional intelligence may result in dysfunctional RM relationships. Thus, the mere implementation of RM does not ensure success.\nFuture implications: Several organizations have started practicing RM to deal with human resource challenges. However, most of what has been written about RM can be found in practitioners' periodicals, lacking both theoretical foundation and empirical evidence. As a result, some caution is required in generalizing the benefits of RM to the larger population. By highlighting this research-practice gap, this study reports the expanding role of RM as is taking place in practice and instigates the readers to revisit the concept by looking beyond its technological aspect and adopting a broader lens toward it. Also, it highlights the need for empirical research on RM to support these outcomes or benefits, and thereby establish a strong knowledge-base that can boost the confidence of practitioners.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Reverse mentoring though widely discussed and adopted in practice, scholarly research on the same is scarce. This paper thus attempts to provide an overview of the extant literature and highlights the developments taking place in the practical arena so as to reveal the research-practice gap and identify new avenues with respect to the expanding role of reverse mentoring.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper is based on the review of important developments in research and practice related to reverse mentoring.\nFindings: Despite the multi-faceted benefits of reverse mentoring observed by practitioners, the academic literature is not only scarce but also confined to its vignettes and anecdotes. This review highlights how reverse mentoring has much more to offer than being just a tech-savvy tool.\nResearch limitations/implications: This review calls for abandoning the single-faceted outlook (of a tech-savvy tool) towards reverse mentoring by exploring the concept from a broader lens.\nOriginality/value: The insights covered in the review highlight the expanding scope of reverse mentoring and present future pathways both for researchers and practitioners. It inspires the readers to re-visit the concept and explore how it can deliver valuable outcomes especially with regards to the multi-generational workforce.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Managerial strategies to reorient hospitals towards health promotion: Lessons from organisational theory	[ "Health promotion", "Management strategy", "Organizational development", "Organizational theory" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Hospital organisations function in complex and changing environments. As a result they are bound to constant organisational learning and change. Hospitals need to adapt to new medical knowledge and techniques, apply new forms of management and react to more general trends in the health care sector or in society at large (McKee et al., 2002). From the perspective of hospital managers, hospital health promotion can be regarded as an organisational development strategy that relates to various issues in health care organisations including staff health, changing patient expectations and roles, community health and integrated care (Pelikan et al., 2005).\n2. Organisations as autopoietic, complex and polycontextural social systems: The demand to include systemic thinking in health promotion implementation is not new. Green et al. (2000) contributed to the discussion on health promotion settings and systems theory by pointing out the usefulness of a systemic approach for health promotion science and practice, especially for the analysis of settings such as hospitals, schools and universities. In contrast to other, more behaviouristic (Whitelaw et al., 2001) concepts in health promotion theory, systemic approaches permit describing complex social settings, such as hospitals, as genuine phenomena with specific effects, dependencies, rules and conditions, which are not reducible to the behaviour or mental models of individuals (Luhmann, 1986). Hence, systemic thinking draws the attention of organisational analysts to issues other than behaviouristic theory and offers important insights into organisations. Because of its paradigmatic distinctiveness, the systems approach is increasingly gaining prominence in health promotion theory (Dooris, 2006). Due to the insights it provides into complex organisations, as well as its potential to integrate findings from other theories and fields, Niklas Luhmann's (2006) social systems theory - mainly his concepts of autopoiesis, complexity, organisational decision-premises and polycontexturality - will be used in this paper to generally observe and describe organisations.\n3. Hospitals as professional bureaucracies: Hospitals present specific organisational challenges for management in general and, even more so, for the management of strategic change. Mintzberg (1979) explains this through the typical organisational configuration of hospitals. Hospitals organise their formal structures as professional bureaucracies (Mintzberg, 1979), aligning their communication channels (departments, hierarchies, units) to the highly specialised knowledge and skills of some of their experts (medicine or care). Professionalisation, in the context of professionalised bureaucracy, refers to the ability of organisational experts to protect their decision programmes and practices against the influence of other organisational structures and parts (Ho et al., 1999). As a result, experts in professionalised bureaucracies organise their work practice according to their own profession's mental models, coordinate themselves through specific expert hierarchies, and define their own decision programmes according to the standards of their professional community. Accordingly, the hospital's strategic planning is often absorbed by inner organisational processes (Denis et al., 1995). Therefore, the consequences of professional bureaucracy for health promotion reorientation are mainly related to the possibility of strategically managing the health promotion reorientation of the hospital core processes of cure and care, and hospital management has only very limited possibilities for directly changing important but professionalised decision-premises.\n4. Obstacles to hospital health promotion reorientation: Change in organisations is related to the autopoietic processing of those organisations. Organisational decision-premises as key elements of organisational autopoiesis are therefore very important in an organisation's reorientation (towards health promotion). Strategic health promotion reorientation or change interventions have to be perturbing enough for the on-going autopoietic processes of the hospital to bring about adaptations in the hospital's decision-premises. Since health promotion contradicts some well-established, un-decidable as well as decidable, organisational decision-premises (for example, the traditional definition of health as absence of (diagnosable) disease (Luhmann, 1990), comprehensive health promotion reorientation of a hospital organisation becomes a risky task that is likely to fail). Hospital organisations alter their decision-premises unpredictably since, as complex social systems, they have at their disposal multiple and varied equivalent options for adapting to new conditions. Conditions that lead to the adaptation of a decision-premise can arise internally as well as externally. As a consequence, decision-premises can be adapted even when external conditions remain unchanged, just because of systemic reflection or memory mechanisms. On these grounds the effects of strategic reorientation interventions become not only unpredictable but unreliable and require continuous assessment, evaluation, and recalibration.\n5. Requirements for hospital health promotion reorientation: Considering all the complexities that accompany organisational change and health promotion, organisational reorientation becomes unlikely when the organisation is not able to develop measures to meet these challenges (Crisp et al., 2000). To increase the chances for successful and sustainable reorientation towards health promotion, hospital managers can only choose to build up the organisational capacities (Hawe et al., 1997; Joffres et al., 2004) that facilitate dealing with complexity, uncertainty and unreliability. The consequences of autopoiesis, complexity, polycontexturality and professionalised bureaucracy present a variety of complications to the strategic hospital health promotion reorientation processes:\n6. Strategy 1: integrating health promotion into organisational decision-premises: Organisational decision-premises can facilitate or hinder effective health promotion practice in hospitals (as in any other type of organisation). The capacity of a hospital to transform important organisational decision-premises is the basis of any reorientation process towards health promotion.\n7. Strategy 2: continuous and supportive management and leadership: The decision-premises of hospitals are constantly adapted and optimised. On the one hand, to keep the internal fit between the dynamic decision-premises of different hospital parts, on the other hand to adapt the hospital's decision-premises to its external environment. Even though adjustments happen constantly at all levels of the organisation, hospitals have developed specialised decision-premises, such as administrative or managerial roles, and bodies with specific tasks, such as evaluation, revision and change of other decision-premises in the organisation to deal systematically with decidable decision-premises. Continuous support from managerial roles and bodies becomes, therefore, a vital capacity for the sustainable reorientation of hospitals towards health promotion. Even if the steering options of managers in hospitals are rather limited in light of a professional bureaucracy, hospital administrators and managers still have numerous possibilities for supporting the reorientation process. According to Joffres (Joffres et al., 2004), management can build up organisational capacities for health promotion by, for example, establishing health promotion as an organisational priority, by incorporating health promotion into the mandate of existing health and safety committees, by supporting and implementing new committees, by supporting health promotion programs, by developing criteria for staff recruitment that emphasise health promotion competence and activity or by allocating or reallocating funding for health promotion. Pelikan also stressed the necessity of developing \"more general HPH structures\" (Pelikan, 2007b), such as health promotion management, health promotion committees and health promotion focal points, in hospital units.\n8. Strategy 3: recursive strategic management mechanisms: Intentional and strategic reorientation processes in hospitals frequently fail, because organisational complexity does not allow any observer to predict exactly how the organisation will adapt to a given change intervention. Accordingly, Walston et al. (2000) demonstrated for a sample of 2306 medical/surgical US hospitals (with a minimum of 100 beds per hospital), that \"...reengineering not only may not improve performance, but may actually be detrimental to it.\" (Walston et al., 2000, p. 1379) They concluded that the success of change and reorganisation attempts in hospitals strongly depends on \"integrative mechanisms\", such as codification of change processes and the use of internal teams and committees (Walston et al., 2000, p. 1379).\n9. Strategy 4: participative strategic management mechanisms: In polycontextural social systems such as hospitals, the health promotion strategy formulated or the reorientation of organisational decision-premises is likely to be assessed and evaluated from various stakeholder perspectives such as different professions, patients, patients' relatives, hospital management, health policy and community members. Consequently, any attempt to change decision-premises can trigger conflict and resistance from one or several stakeholder groups. The longitudinal comparative case study on the career of reengineering in public acute hospitals in the UK by McNulty and Ferlie (2004) revealed the sensible balance of power and division of labour in (public) hospitals and their dampening or even obliterative influence on applied change strategies and change processes (McNulty and Ferlie, 2004). Drawing on a qualitative study of 23 Canadian hospitals, Denis, Langley and Lozeau (Denis et al., 1995) stated that strategic planning is likely to be consumed by necessarily occurring political processes and conflicts (Denis et al., 1995). Any health promotion strategy formulation or strategy implementation process will very likely have to deal with these issues of multiple stakeholders - because hospitals are polycontextural and because health promotion aims, as a matter of principle, rely on involvement and participative change processes (Rootman et al., 2001).\n10. Strategy 5: indirect governance of professionalised programs: As suggested in the theory section, experts in hospitals shield their decision programs and their organisational practice from other parts of the organisation by professionalisation. McNulty and Ferlie draw the same conclusion in their study and emphasise that one cannot rely on \"strong leadership\" in transformational organisational change processes in large, complex and professionalized organisations such as hospitals. since the senior management's ability to fully engineer and control change cannot be assumed (McNulty and Ferlie, 2004). Denis et al. conclude from their empirical results that the confrontation of technocratic rationality and professional bureaucracy leads to a number of paradoxes which make strategic planning difficult (Denis et al., 1995).\n11. Conclusions: Compared to organisations that are not structured as professional bureaucracies, hospitals present unique challenges for health promotion because organisational experts can broadly impede change and reorientation attempts by management. As a result, hospital management has to rely on less direct strategies of steering and on recursive strategy development circles to keep the chances for strategic health promotion development alive. The opportunity map shown in the paper identifies possible fields of action for hospital managers for establishing various organisational health promotion structures. Transformational leadership, circular and participative strategic management and indirect expert governance mechanisms were identified as important organisational health promotion capacities. Although no claim of completeness is asserted, the capacities described are, from a social systems theory perspective, indispensable for the successful management of a sustainable hospital reorientation towards health promotion. Although the health promotion reorientation of hospitals also depends, in addition to organisational capacities, partly on other factors in the organisational environment such as national financial and payment regimes, national public health cultures and agendas or (public) health policies, these would have been outside the scope of this paper which focuses exclusively on possibilities, chances and strategies of hospital managers, leaving factors outside the hospital for discussion in further research.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Reorienting health services towards health promotion is one of the major health promotion strategies stipulated by the Ottawa Charter). Important contradictions, tensions and barriers to health promotion implementation associated with organisational structures have, thus far, been underexposed in the hospital health promotion discourse. This paper aims at identifying risks and the chances for hospital management to strategically and sustainably reorient their hospitals towards health promotion.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper combines theories and findings from organisational science and management studies as well as from capacity development in the form of a narrative literature review. The aim is to focus on the conditions hospitals, as organisational systems with a highly professionalised workforce, provide for a strategically managed reorientation towards health promotion. Models and principles helping managers to navigate the difficulties and complexities of health promotion reorientation will be suggested.\nFindings: Hospital managers have to deal with genuine obstacles in the complexity and structural formation of hospital organisations. Against this background, continuous management support, a transformative leadership style, participative strategic management and expert governance can be considered important organisational capacities for the reorientation towards a new concept such as health promotion.\nPractical implications: This paper discusses managerial strategies, effective structural transformations and important organisational capacities that can contribute to a sustainable reorientation of hospitals towards health promotion. It supports hospital managers in exploring their chances of facilitating and effectively supporting a sustainable health promotion reorientation of their hospitals.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides an innovative approach where the focus is on enhanced possibilities for hospital managers to strategically manage the reorientation towards health promotion.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Enhancing university business curriculum using an importance-performance approach: A case study of the business management faculty of a university in Malaysia	[ "Business graduate employability", "Business schools", "Importance‐performance analysis", "Attributes", "Higher education institutions", "Resource allocation", "Business studies", "Graduates", "Malaysia" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In today's highly competitive job market, employers are seeking those who are both highly skilled and have the appropriate academic qualifications to fill positions in their organisations. Malaysian employers are looking for a more flexible, adaptable workforce as they themselves seek to transform their companies into more flexible and adaptable entities in response to changing market needs. In 2005 the Human Resources Minister of Malaysia highlighted the fact that 30,000 Malaysian graduates had only managed to get casual and temporary work such as cashiers and restaurant workers because of their poor proficiency in English, thus reducing their chances of better career prospects, especially in securing jobs that are relevant to their career training.A Malaysian employment agency, JobStreet.com, conducted a survey of graduate unemployment rates in 2005. The survey was administered to 3,300 human resource personnel and employers. Among the factors that contributed to graduate unemployability were:1. weakness in English (56 per cent);2. poor social etiquette (36 per cent);3. demanding too much pay (32 per cent);4. degrees not relevant (30 per cent);5. fresh graduates too choosy (23 per cent); and6. no vacancies (14 per cent).Weakness in English and poor social etiquette are the top reasons for graduates being unemployed. These findings show that Malaysian graduates are unemployed not because they are unintelligent, but rather because most of them lack the attributes required by the employers.Studies carried out by the Ministry of Higher Education on graduate employability from 2006 to 2009 have shown a significant improvement in their employability. In 2006, the unemployment rate among graduates was high at 31 high; in 2007 the unemployed graduate rate had dropped to 27 per cent. The unemployment rate among graduates was further reduced to 24 per cent in 2008 (Khaled, 2009). In 2009, the percentage remained the same as in 2008, with 24 per cent of graduates being unemployed (Khaled, 2009). The percentage rate of unemployed graduates has improved and more graduates are finding places in the job market. This is a result of a policy created by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education that produces graduates who are sought after in the workplace and possess the required skills, competencies and attitudes needed to succeed. Among the initiatives are the introductions of soft skills modules to embed communication skills, leadership and team building as well as reporting skills into the higher education curriculum. In addition, basic entrepreneurship modules, internship or industrial training programs, and collaborative programs with relevant industries have been introduced (Khaled, 2009). Despite these efforts by the Ministry of Higher Education, which contributed to a drop in graduate unemployment between 2006 and 2008, graduate unemployment was still standing at a high 24 per cent in 2008. The country needs bold transformational efforts to address this concern.Universities and colleges across the nation have, over the years, been the recruiting ground for industries in search of future employees. Employers often develop long-term relationships with these higher education institutions (HEIs) following the consistently successful recruitment of young executives with the right combination of skills and personal attributes. However, over recent years, employers have complained that graduates from these HEIs are unable to meet employers' expectations in the current volatile economic environment. Therefore, universities are urged to produce employable graduates who are able to compete in this employment market (Moreau and Leathwood, 2006; Harvey, 2000). The drive to strengthen the competitiveness of graduates has resulted in a new interest in finding training and development programs that support improvement in the productivity of the graduates (Norliza and Abu Hassan, 2004).As a result of these major employment market-led pressures, business schools are forced to consider incorporating market-oriented professional competencies among their graduates (Jurse and Tominc, 2008). This strategy requires continuous input and long-term alliances established between business schools and industry. The industry input serves as an additional resource acquired by business schools which can then be used to help redesign the existing curriculum content, modify delivery structures and develop a student-focused education system (Uchida et al., 2007; Jurse and Tominc, 2008).With the developments indicated above, the main contribution of this study is to examine the possible gap between the attributes deemed important for business graduates and the actual performance of these graduates in their post-graduate employment, particularly among graduates from the business school of the HEI studied, as viewed from the employer's perspective. The performance of these graduates is considered in four dimensions, namely knowledge, skills, abilities and personality (KSAP). Furthermore, the study will look into the factors that comprise these dimensions and their corresponding attributes required by the employers. When the business school is made aware of the attributes required by employers, their teaching and learning methods could be adapted to reflect these requirements.\nRelated theories: The related theories used in this study are a resource-based view and alliance theory.Resource-based view\nLiterature review: Industry perspective on graduate employability\nMethodology: The study was carried out in two phases. Phase 1 involved a focus group session of ten managers who, through a brainstorming session, provided information regarding employer expectations. This session focused on the growing concern among employers about the relevance of the HEI's business management curriculum in the face of developments in the real world today. The researchers, being the moderators of the focus group, sought unprompted discussion of the issues contributing to business graduate unemployment in Malaysia. Using the KSAP dimensions as a basis for the study, attributes were derived from the focus group interview and specific issues put forward by the group. In Phase 2, the dominant theme(s) emerging from the focus group study were used to establish a questionnaire pertaining to the KSAP dimensions and were pre tested through a pilot study.The questionnaire was then distributed personally to the managers of all the companies in industries that employed business graduates from this HEI. This exercise enabled the examination of the gap between the perceptions of managers towards the important characteristics of these graduates and their actual performance in terms of their knowledge, skills, abilities and personality.The use of a questionnaire may contribute to common method bias (Podsakoff et al., 2003). However, Spector (2006) suggests that the existence of common method bias in self-reported surveys is unfounded. In this study, the researchers attempted to minimize the concern for common method bias statistically or procedurally by ensuring a rigorous methodology. This included a pilot study to address the concern about ambiguity of the attributes used. A pre-analysis was carried out using reliability and validity analysis on the actual study to ensure the suitability of the attributes used to represent the factors investigated. In addition, the researchers used balanced rating scales to reduce the effect of bias. Descriptive analysis was then used to describe the data. The findings were presented in the form of a quadrant analysis.Instrument\nResults and discussion: Respondents profile\nConclusion and future research: This study has provided evidence of the usefulness of the IPA in designing business management curriculum strategies for the business school, which can be used now and in the future. The outcome of the analysis provides the impetus to enhance the quality of the curriculum and to make it relevant to the needs of the market and industry. The study highlights the practicality of the IPA as a means of assessing and directing continuous business management curriculum development efforts within the business school. The use of the IPA in evaluating managers' perceptions of business graduates can identify how these graduates are performing, identify specific problem areas and help target corresponding improvement efforts.The study reveals the factors relevant to managers' perceptions of graduates and their satisfaction level with the performance of graduates of the business school. The results of this study indicate that managers attach different weights to different aspects of graduates' performance, and therefore, efforts to develop the business management curriculum should be directed towards attributes that are expected of the graduates. This will allow for corrective actions that can address perceived problem areas. The findings of this study suggest that the business school should target such things as the enhancement of soft skills and personality development (located in the \"Concentrate here\" quadrant in Figure 2) in its business management curriculum. In addition, the study found that the business school should reduce its resources for enhancing physical abilities (located in the \"Possible overkill\" quadrant in Figure 2) in the curriculum and maintain a low level of resource deployment in developing tacit knowledge and a sense of agreeableness (located in the \"low priority\" quadrant in Figure 2). Factors such as explicit knowledge, hard skills, intellectual abilities, conscientiousness and emotional stability (located in the \"Concentrate here\" quadrant in Figure 2) require the business school to continue with its current level of resource allocation.The study focussed on factors located in the \"Concentrate here\" and \"Possible overkill\" quadrants because these factors require immediate resource considerations. However, when these factors were analysed further using the attributes that represent them it was found that none of these attributes was located in the \"Concentrate here\" quadrant. Therefore, it appears that the business school only needs to continue with resource allocation to attributes in the \"Keep up the good work\" quadrant and hold resources in reserve for future needs for attributes located in the \"Low priority\" quadrant.Clearly, the business school should undertake extensive employer research in order to identify those factors expected in employers' evaluations of graduates' performance. Consequently, this information can assist in decision-making on a range of fronts, including facilities development, positioning attributes, business management curriculum development and the delivery of the core curriculum. This approach is \"new\" in that the attributes developed are sourced and verified by industry experts rather than from a purely theoretical perspective, thus bridging the gap between theoretical foundations and practical applications. Besides focusing on knowledge, skills and abilities, this study introduces Big Five personalities (KSAP), which have not previously been investigated extensively from this perspective, and which are essential for business graduate employability. Business graduates need to be equipped with such personality traits in order to be competent, industrious, and able to meet industry's expectations. The findings also supported the resource-based view and alliance theory, which were used as underlying theories in this study.It should be noted that this is a case study of graduates from a business school of an HEI. Future research could seek to establish whether a consistent pattern is observable across graduates from all other business schools of various HEIs in different industries and countries and the different levels of management expectation. It should also be noted that the quantitative analysis used does not explain why the observed ratings occurred. A supplementary exploratory study is required to address this issue. However, it must be remembered that managers' expectations and performance ratings for specific attributes change over time due to changes in the macro environment. The IPA analysis is a simple, useful, visually based and accessible tool that meets the needs of employers; however, it is only one approach to explain the performance of graduates in the labour market. There are many other methods that can be used to identify business management curriculum needs. Future research using other statistical analyses could confirm or refute the findings of this study. However, implementation of any changes based on research findings must be done incrementally rather than all at once.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study seeks to investigate the potential gap between important dimensions of business graduates' attributes and the actual performance of these graduates in their post-graduate employment. These graduates have completed a business-related degree from the business management faculty of a higher education institution (HEI) located in Peninsular Malaysia. The dimensions of attributes and the performance of these graduates are considered in four broad areas, namely, knowledge, skills, abilities, and personality.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A questionnaire seeking responses from managers reflecting their importance ratings of essential attributes for business graduates, and the corresponding performance ratings of the graduates in these attributes, was distributed to managers of all companies employing the graduates from the business school. Importance-performance analysis was used to evaluate the managers' perceptions of these graduates and to determine their actual performance. The graduates' information was obtained from the records of the HEI's alumni.\nFindings: - The results of this study reveal that managers attach different weights to different aspects of graduates' performance. Therefore, curriculum development should be directed towards attributes that are expected of these graduates and are relevant to the needs of the market and industry. This will allow for corrective action to take place to improve perceived problem areas.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Since this research is a case study of business management faculty graduates, future nationwide research could be carried out on graduates from all HEIs employed in different industries and involving different levels of management and employment to determine whether a consistent pattern is discernable.\nOriginality/value: - There are only a few studies that have included employer research surveys with the intention of evaluating factors contributing to graduate performance and improving the business management curriculum of HEIs in Malaysia.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Work-family conflict and job and family satisfaction : Moderating effect of social support among police personnel	[ "Work‐to‐family conflict", "Family‐to‐work conflict", "Job satisfaction", "Family satisfaction", "Social support", "Police personnel", "Family", "Family life", "Conflict" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Work and family are the two most significant constituents of an individual's life. Fulfillment of multiple responsibilities of work and family domains require a great amount of time and energy. Quite often, balancing multiple roles across the two domains can increase interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict among individuals, which further can result in work-family conflict. Work-family conflict is a form of inter-role conflict in which the demands from one domain (work or family) are incompatible with role demands stemming from another domain (family or work) (Greenhaus and Beutell, 1985). Research indicates that work-family conflict is a two-dimensional construct where: the first dimension indicates the conflict arising when work roles interfere with family roles (work-to-family conflict) and the second dimension refers to the conflict arising when family-related roles interfere with work-related roles (family-to-work conflict) (Beutell, 2010; Kinnunen et al., 2010; Kossek and Ozeki, 1998).The results of a variety of studies, conducted across different countries and cultures, have demonstrated that a high level of work-family conflict may have detrimental consequences for employees as well as for the organization. Specifically, research has shown that work-family conflict is related to increased turnover intentions and parental distress and reduced job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and family satisfaction (Beutell, 2010; Karatepe and Kilic, 2007; Kinnunen et al., 2010; Kossek and Ozeki, 1998; Lu et al., 2010; Spector et al., 2007). The association of work-family conflict with job and family satisfaction, and other related variables, has been extensively investigated among employees representing a variety of occupations, such as hotel employees, social workers, college professors, software workers, etc. (e.g. Grandey et al., 2005; Karatepe and Kilic, 2007; Namasivayam and Zhao, 2007; Scholarios and Marks, 2004). Nevertheless, the influence of work-family conflict on various individual and organizational outcomes among police personnel remains relatively unexplored, particularly in the Indian context.Police forces enjoy a favorable reputation in the general public in most of the democratic countries. However, the situation is entirely different in India. The Indian police forces are widely regarded as lawless, abusive, corrupt, professionally incompetent, and criminally negligent (Human Rights Watch, 2009). Indian citizens do not trust the police personnel, feel intimidated by them, and have developed a negative attitude toward the whole police system of the country (Verma and Subramanian, 2009). In addition, the Indian police forces are highly understaffed and frequently face high political interference in their day-to-day functioning (Human Rights Watch, 2009).The working conditions of junior or low-ranking police personnel (known as constables and head constables, who make up around 85 percent of the Indian police force) are highly stressful and unhygienic (Saha et al., 2010). They suffer from high level of stress due to heavy workload; have the statutory requirement to be available for duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week; live in filthy and cramped barracks; are frequently transferred from one location to another; and are often demoralized due to degrading working and living conditions (Human Rights Watch, 2009; Saha et al., 2010). Police personnel in India often feel neglected by, and receive very little support from, the higher authorities (Human Rights Watch, 2009). Moreover, due to high job demands and irregular and inflexible work schedule, they do not get time for months to meet their family members, which leads to work-family conflict.Indians, being part of a collectivist culture, give high priority to fulfill their family and social responsibilities (Hofstede, 2001) since family and social relationships occupy a central position in their life. However, due to high job demands and work-family conflict, police personnel do not get enough time to fulfill family responsibilities. This may cause negative attitude toward the job and low satisfaction with the family life. Nevertheless, social support received at workplace can reduce the negative effect of work-family conflict. In order to better understand this phenomenon, the present study aims to investigate the relationship of work-family conflict (work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict) with job satisfaction and family satisfaction among police personnel in India. Moreover, this study aims to investigate the moderating effect of social support from coworkers on the relationship between work-family conflict dimensions and job and family satisfaction.\nLiterature review: The concept of work-family conflict\nMethodology: Sample\nResults: Inter-correlations\nDiscussion: The present study aims to investigate the relationship of work-family conflict (work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict) with job satisfaction and family satisfaction among police personnel in India. Moreover, this study intends to explore the moderating effect of social support from coworkers on the relationship between work-family conflict dimensions and job and family satisfaction. The results of the study indicate that when employees perceive that demands of their work role interfere with the fulfillment of the family roles then it may negatively influence their attitudes toward the job, which can further result in reduced job satisfaction.Indian police personnel work in highly stressful and unhygienic work environment and face a variety of problems in their jobs. They are required to work 24 hours a day (seven days a week), even on holidays and during festivals under constant pressure. Most of the time, police personnel stay in police stations and live in filthy and cramped barracks away from their families, and do not get time for weeks or months to meet their family members (Human Rights Watch, 2009). This may have caused the work-family conflict among police personnel and may have contributed in developing a negative attitude toward their job since work is perceived to interfere with the family roles. While explaining the influence of work-to-family conflict on job satisfaction, Grandey et al. (2005) propose that \"the more the work interferes with family life, the more dissatisfied the employee will be\" (p. 310).The results of the study also indicate a negative association between family-to-work conflict and job satisfaction. Some other studies have shown similar findings (e.g. Beutell, 2010; Grandey et al., 2005; Kossek and Ozeki, 1998). Some researchers argue that the outcomes of family-to-work conflict reside in the domain receiving the conflict, i.e. job (Frone et al., 1992; Kinnunen et al., 2010). It indicates that when family-to-work conflict is experienced it increases the likelihood that work responsibilities will remain unfulfilled, and unfulfilled work responsibilities, in turn, may negatively influence work attitudes (Kinnunen et al., 2010), resulting in lower job satisfaction.Finally, the research indicates that social support from coworkers significantly moderated the relationship of work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict with family satisfaction, but not with job satisfaction. These findings got some support from previous research. For instance, a longitudinal study by O'Driscoll et al. (2004) showed that support from coworkers consistently moderated the relationship between work-to-family conflict and family satisfaction. The results of the current study indicate that high social support from coworkers contributes in enhancing family satisfaction of police personnel, whereas it did not influence their job satisfaction. We assume that the two important factors may have contributed to these results. The first is the high job demands, and working conditions of the police department. The second is the collectivist culture of India (Hofstede, 2001), where fulfillment of family and social responsibilities is a very high priority.It has been mentioned earlier that police personnel in India work under a lot of pressure and face a variety of problems in their job that lead to low job satisfaction. Junior or low-ranking police personnel receive very little support from their superiors. Many times they are assigned to non-skilled tasks like being used as tea servers and personal assistants to the police officers (Human Rights Watch, 2009). In addition, almost all junior police personnel stay away from their home and family members. They depend on each other to share their problems and to fulfill social needs.It is assumed that police personnel view their colleagues as extended family members since they spend most of their time with them and also share their personal and professional problems with them. Further, it is assumed that the support received from coworkers acts as a buffer and contributes in enhancing family satisfaction of police personnel as it makes them feel that there is someone (extended family member) who cares for them and with whom they can share their problems. This feeling of satisfaction that police personnel achieved through their workplace carryover in their personal life, thus enhancing overall family satisfaction. Kamerman and Kahn (1987) propose that social support received at the workplace helps in integrating work-family roles. On the other hand, coworker support does not seem to enhance job satisfaction because almost all employees are highly dissatisfied with their jobs. This dissatisfaction is caused by the prevailing working conditions and the problems faced by police personnel in their jobs. Thus, any support that they receive from each other does not seem to have any positive effect on their attitude toward the job.\nPractical implications: The findings of the present study may have certain implications for employees as well as for organizations, especially for the police department. The results of the current study indicate that work-family conflict (work-to-family and family-to-work conflict) is negatively related with job satisfaction. Previous research has shown that work-family conflict may have detrimental consequences for employees as well as for organizations (e.g. Beutell, 2010; Grandey et al., 2005; Kinnunen et al., 2010; Lu et al., 2010; Spector et al., 2007). On the other hand, job satisfaction has been observed to produce many desirable organizational outcomes (Judge et al., 2001; Kinicki et al., 2002). It may be argued that organizations (in this case police department) should adopt measures that can reduce work-family conflict and enhance job satisfaction.Police job requires police personnel to work for longer hours, even on weekends and holidays. This creates work-family conflict, which further leads to job dissatisfaction. It may be suggested that higher authorities in the police department should take necessary action to minimize the work-family conflict experienced by the police personnel. One way to reduce work-family conflict may be scheduling the working hours in such a way so that police personnel can get sufficient time for their wife/husband, children, and other family members, and can fulfill their family and social responsibilities.It may also be suggested that senior police officers should take necessary action to provide adequate social support to police personnel at work. To achieve this objective, senior members in the department should adopt a few measures where all employees can get opportunities to freely interact and discuss various problems with each other and their superiors. It may be helpful in alleviating some of the problems that police personnel face at the workplace. Moreover, police department can adopt a few other measures that may be helpful in reducing work-family conflict and in enhancing work life balance and job satisfaction. As suggested by Mayerhofer et al. (2011), police department can focus on adopting measures like: recognition of long work time through overtime payments; time off in lieu; or increased holiday time or other means negotiated between employees and management that provide opportunities to reduce work-family conflict (p. 602).\nLimitations of the study and directions for future research: The present research has a few limitations that must be addressed. First, the study used a homogenous sample with participants working in the police department. Hence, the findings of this study have limited applications for other sectors and it is difficult to claim that findings of this study can be generalized across other industries or sectors. Second, for the present study data were collected from the police personnel based in a particular region of the country. Consequently, it is difficult to conclude that the sample used in the study is a representative sample of the country or the occupation studied. For a better representation of the country and the occupation data should be collected from different parts of the country.Finally, the constructs investigated in the current research, namely work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, job satisfaction, family satisfaction, and social support from coworkers were measured using the self-report method. It has been argued that in case of self-report measures social desirability bias is a major concern for researchers. Social desirability bias occurs when respondents tend to over-report admirable attitudes and/or behaviors, presenting themselves favorable with respect to current social norms and standards, and under-report attitudes and behaviors that they feel are not socially acceptable or respectable (Zerbe and Paulhus, 1987). Therefore, it may be assumed that in this research too responses of the participants may be influenced by social desirability bias.This study has investigated the moderating effect of coworker support on the relationship of work-family conflict with job and family satisfaction, and has not explored supervisory support as the moderating variable. Nevertheless, given the peculiar condition of the Indian police system where junior police personnel receive negligible support from their superiors (Human Rights Watch, 2009), we think it may be interesting as well as informative to investigate the moderating effect of supervisory support on the relationship between work-family conflict and job and family satisfaction. Moreover, future research can focus on exploring the relationship of work-family conflict with organizational commitment, job performance, and other related variables.\nConclusion: Policing work is regarded as one of the most stressful occupations in the world. Police personnel face a variety of problems in their jobs and work under constant pressure. Moreover, they often experience work-family conflict due to high job demands and the incompatibility felt between the work roles and the family roles. Since work-family conflict may have detrimental consequences for employees and their organizations, it is imperative for researchers and organizational leaders to understand the nature of the work-family conflict and its impact on employees and their organizations, in diverse occupations and cultures. The present study contributes in this direction by investigating the relationship of work-family conflict with job and family satisfaction among police personnel in India. This understanding may be helpful for the police department to take necessary action in order to alleviate the work-family conflict and its negative consequences.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study aims to investigate the relationship of work-family conflict (work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict) with job and family satisfaction among police personnel. Moreover, this study focuses on exploring the moderating effect of social support from co-workers on the relationship of work-family conflict dimensions with job and family satisfaction.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This study is quantitative in nature. The data for the present study were collected from a total of 148 police personnel based in India.\nFindings: - The results of the study indicate that work-to-family and family-to-work conflict are negatively correlated with job satisfaction. Moreover, social support from co-workers is observed to significantly moderate the relationship of work-to-family and family-to-work conflict with family satisfaction.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The research has a few limitations like cross-sectional nature of the study, use of self-reported measures for data collection, and use of homogenous sample in the study.\nPractical implications: - This paper provides valuable insights into understanding the work-family conflict among police personnel. A few measures are suggested that higher authorities in the police department can adopt to minimize the work-family conflict, which can lead to better work-life balance among police personnel.\nOriginality/value: - This study explores the phenomenon of work-family conflict and its effect on job and family satisfaction among police personnel in India. The Indian police system is unique in many ways; like, police personnel face high political interference in their day-to-day functioning, face very high job demands, work and live in unhygienic conditions, and receive very little support from higher authorities. These atypical working and living conditions of police personnel make it interesting and informative to understand their work and family life, and how and to what extent their life is influenced by the support from co-workers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The comparative exploration of mobile money services in inclusive development	[ "Development", "Equality", "G20", "O40", "I10", "I20", "I32" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: One of the greatest economic tragedies of contemporary capitalism is exclusive development, apparent by increasing immiserizing growth, inequality and poverty. A plethora of stylized facts substantiate this position (Asongu and De Moor, 2015). World Hunger (2010) has sustained that the main cause of hunger and poverty in the world today is the underlying capitalistic economic system, which structurally encourages a minority to possess and control a great majority of global wealth, leaving the bottom to survive piece meal. Income inequality has also substantially risen over the past decade (Milanovic, 2011). According to Joseph Stiglitz: \"There has been no improvement in well-being for the typical American family for 20 years. On the other side, the top 1 percent of the population gets 40 percent more in one week than the bottom fifth receive in a full year\" (Nabi, 2013, p. 10). Some more recent accounts sustain that: the top 1 percent has benefited from all the income accruing from the recent economic recovery (Covert, 2015), and by 2016, the income of the top 1 percent is estimated to exceed that of the bottom 99 percent (Oxfam, 2015). Some studies have focused on the urgent \"Need to design the right economic policies to enhance inclusiveness especially in the developing countries\" (Nabi, 2013, p. 13). This includes, among others, the restoration of finance as a fundamental mechanism to inclusive development (Freeman, 2010). While this call for the reinvention of finance is more aligned to the formal financial system, there are recent advances in inclusive financial development like mobile banking that have been documented to be positively (negatively) correlated with the informal (formal) financial system.\n2. Data and methodology: 2.1 Data\n3. Empirical results: Tables I-III, respectively, present results corresponding to \"quality of growth,\" poverty and inequality. Whereas panel A of all tables provide findings on \"mobile phone used to pay bills,\" the results of Panel B are related to \"mobile phone used to send/receive money.\" Before engaging table-specific results, it is important to clarify two concerns in order to improve readability, namely, nature of signals and expected signs of thresholds for inclusive development. First, whereas growth quality has a positive signal for inclusive development, poverty and inequality denote negative signals. Second, for mobile money service to stimulate inclusive development, positive thresholds are needed for the modifying or interactive variable with a positive signal (quality of growth) while negative thresholds are required for the dependent variables with negative signals (poverty and inequality).\n4. Concluding implications and future directions: Economic opportunities in developing countries are increasingly being ameliorated with the conversion of mobile phones into pocket banks which are enabling a great part of the population that was previously excluded from financial institutions to have the much needed financial access (Demombynes and Thegeya, 2012). Our results show that such better financial access by means of mobile money services promotes inclusive development in developing countries. Specifically, we have established two main findings to this end. First, increasing use of the mobile phone to pay bills is positively linked to \"growth quality\" in LMIC and negatively correlated with inequality in Latin American countries (LA). Second, growing use of the mobile to send/receive money is negatively associated with poverty in AP and CEE.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to respond to some challenges in the transition to sustainable development goals by examining the correlations between mobile and inclusive development (quality of growth, poverty and inequality) in 93 developing countries for the year 2011.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Mobile money service entails: \"mobile used to pay bills\" and \"mobile used to receive/send money.\" Interactive ordinary least squares are employed.\nFindings: The following findings are established. First, increasing use of the mobile phones to pay bills is positively linked to \"quality of growth\" in lower-middle-income countries and negatively correlated with inequality in Latin American countries. Second, growing use of mobile phones to send/receive money is negatively associated with poverty in Asia and Pacific and Central and Eastern Europe.\nOriginality/value: Macroeconomic data on mobile money service are scarce. No study to the best of our knowledge has used this macroeconomic mobile money service data before.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effects of logo frame design on brand extensions	[ "Brand image", "Brand extension", "Regulatory focus", "Logo design", "Logo frame" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The logo frame (i.e. logo with or without outline) is one of the most design features in logo design (Bresciani and Paolo, 2017). In Citroen's logo design history, to take one branding example, the double chevron was embedded into an oval frame in its first iteration but was then later removed from the frame in 1959. Citroen's current emblem, introduced in 2009, is silver with black shades and with the frame removed. Cadillac had a framed logo in 1995 and changed it into an incompletely framed logo in 2014. The incompletely framed logo was further moved in 2014. Such logo frame revisions could also be found in Dodge, Lexus and Volvo.\nTheoretical background: Based on the purposes of this study, we first reviewed the design of logo frames, and then the influence of visual closeness vs openness on the breadth of consideration sets. The regulatory focus effect was then introduced as a moderator, as inspired by Hagtvedt (2011) and Fajardo et al. (2016).\nStudy 1. The effects of logo frames on perceived brand breadths: Study 1 has two folders. The first experiment investigated whether removing or breaking logo frames could enlarge consumers' perceived brand breadth. The moderating role of the regulatory focus was also explored. Participants reviewed the logos and listed the products, which the brands could possibly offer. The product associations with brands were collected to examine the hypothesis with regard to frame patterns, regulatory focus and perceived brand breadth. The second session was conducted to explore the mechanism of brand impressions generated by completely framed, incompletely framed and open logos for perceived brand breadth.\nStudy 2. The effects of logo frames on attitudes toward brand extensions: The purpose of Study 2 was to apply what has been found in Study 1 on a brand extension situation. Study 1 was the first step in revealing that an open logo had more expansive brand breadth than an incompletely framed logo, and an incompletely framed logo had a wider brand breadth than a framed logo. Study 2 used the results of brand breadth to examine the acceptance of a brand extension based on the perceived fit of new extensions. To directly investigate consumers' acceptance of a brand extension, the concept of perceived fit should be reviewed first.\nGeneral discussions: Comprehensive conclusions and implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purposes of two experiments were to examine how brands may create a broad brand impression and benefit brand extensions by crafting logo frames.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Two experimental studies were conducted. Study 1 examines how removing and breaking logo frames expands perceived brand breadth. Study 2 considers the implication of this logo frame effect and indicates the impact of logo frames on brand extension scenarios.\nFindings: Removing and breaking logo frames could expand perceived brand breadth and, in turn, benefits the brand extensions, especially for promotion-focused consumers. However, prevention-focused people held favorable brand extension attitudes when the brand logo constructs a complete frame due to its perceived trustworthiness.\nResearch limitations/implications: As an initial exploration, this study conceptualizes and manipulates logo frames as full framed, partial framed and open logo. Future research studies could include further design features in the examination.\nPractical implications: If a brand seeks to be broad, removing or breaking its logo frame is an alternative. However, consequential negative impressions on brand extension attitudes among prevention-focused customers should be considered.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first investigation into the impacts of logo frame patterns on consumers' perception of brand breadth and the consequent extension attitudes.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Using concept maps to reveal conceptual typologies	[ "Cognitive mapping", "Learning" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the last 50 years or so, our understanding of general learning processes and of individual difference in learning style has advanced considerably. Since the publication of Kolb and Fry's (1975) work on the \"experiential learning cycle\", many researchers have developed models of learning through processes of reflection, evaluation, theory generation and practical experimentation. Notably, Honey and Mumford's (1992) approach to the diagnosis of \"preferred learning style\" is now widely used in both the business and the academic community to assess both the appropriateness of different approaches to learning support, and to help individuals develop their abilities as learners. Similarly, Jarvis' work on adult learning (e.g. Jarvis, 1992; Jarvis et al., 1998) owes considerable antecedence to Kolb (Figure 1) and is now regarded by some authors as one of the most significant contributions to adult learning theory in recent years (Gray et al., 2004).In Jarvis' original research, participants from the UK and the USA were invited to write down details of a learning incident in their lives; stating when it started, how it progressed and when and why they concluded that it was completed. Pairs of participants were then asked to discuss their experiences and examine similarities and differences between them. Participants were then asked to adapt a simplified copy of Kolb's learning cycle and relate it to their experiences. The exercise was then repeated and the last phase was to adapt the adaptation produced by the previous round of participants. The resulting model (Figure 1) was then tested in seminars in the UK, the USA and Denmark (Jarvis, 1993). The model shows the various routes to learning (or non-learning) through memorisation, practice, evaluation and reflection. There are two distinctive characteristics of this model. First learning is about personal change (and the person) is at the centre of the model. Second, learning can lead to change or to consolidation of knowledge frameworks without structural or morphological change. The approach of Jarvis (1993) also has considerable similarity with Knowles' (1980) definition of andragogy, particularly because its implications for teaching imply emphasis on facilitation of individual learning rather than teacher-centred approaches. Nevertheless, Jarvis (1987, 1992), does not distinguish reflective and non-reflective learning according to age (see Jarvis et al., 1998).A different (but complementary) set of learning style frameworks has also been developed by workers such as Marton (e.g. Marton et al., 1993; Entwistle and Marton, 1994; Saljo, 1975: Marton and Saljo, 1976), Entwistle (and his co-workers (e.g. Tait and Entwistle, 1996; Entwistle and Tait, 1990; Entwistle and Ramsden, 1983)) and Novak (1998). The work of these, and other researchers, is distinct in that it is based not on learning process but on individuals' conceptions of the learning. Thus, for example, various articles in the co-edited book by Marton et al. (1997) have shown that learners' descriptions of learning can be divided into two broad categories: learning as the acquisition of knowledge and information; and learning as the development of understanding and even personal change. In much of the work of Entwistle and colleagues, these two broad categories of conceptions of learning are equated with \"surface\" and \"deep\" learning. Furthermore, Entwistle's \"Learning Style Inventory\" (see Tait and Entwistle (1996), for example) aims to identify students who are at risk of non-learning as a consequence of their (surface) approach.This theme is developed in the work of Novak (1998), although the terminology used is different. Here the terms \"rote\" and \"meaningful\" learning are used to differentiate between individuals who acquire information without understanding and those who seek to integrate new knowledge meaningfully in with what is already understood. Nevertheless, the implications are broadly similar. Novak's approach, however, is particularly powerful. First, his approach is built on a long-standing and robust theory of learning process (Ausubel's (1963) theory of assimilative learning). Second, the term \"meaningful learning\" is defined in precise and deliberate ways that make it measurable. Third, Novak has developed and under-pinned his approach with a specific method (concept mapping) by which learning can be documented and assessed in terms of \"meaning development\" (see below).Concept mapping\n2. Concept mapping and cognitive structure: Since 1998, Kinchin, Hay and various co-workers have been using concept mapping methods to explore individual understanding of topics in science, engineering, nursing, teaching, business, enterprise and the arts. This has been done among both adults and children. Their first major study was based on analysis of maps from among school children and science undergraduates. That work, showed that there were three basic cognitive structures common to all subjects (Kinchin et al., 2000), designated chain, spoke and network structures (Figure 3).Subsequent work has shown this system of classification to be remarkably robust. It has been applied to the teaching of university undergraduates studying science (Kinchin et al., 2005), nurses and midwives (Kinchin and Hay, 2005), engineers (Kinchin and Alias, 2005), and both teachers and business people.Concept mapping has considerable utility in learning and teaching. First, concept maps can be used to enable sharing of understanding between teachers and students (e.g. Kinchin, 2000a, 2003) and to facilitate group work (Kinchin and Hay, 2005). Second, the approach enables clear identification of superficial understanding and the prevalence of misconceptions that appear to hinder learning (e.g. White and Gunstone, 1992; Driver et al., 1994). Third concept mapping is an important tool in lesson planning, revision and learning about learning (e.g. Kinchin and Alias, 2005; Kinchin et al., 2000). However, it is the power of concept maps to reveal the structure, organisation and elaboration of understanding that is their greatest attribute. The prevalence of chain, spoke and network structures has considerable implication for an ability to apply and contextualise knowledge and information and for future learning (see below). Within the literature, there has been some attempt to link variations in concept map morphology with learning styles such as \"holist\" and \"serialist\" (e.g. Kinchin, 2000b; Huai, 2000), nevertheless, a broad conceptual framework is still lacking for understanding the elaboration and development of different structures and for describing \"switching\" and \"change\" between structures of one type and another. This is the primary aim of this paper. The theory we describe is tentative in some respects, but we suggest it as an important source of testable hypotheses for the future development of this important field.\n3. Cognitive structure, development and change: Figure 4 summarises the key differences between spoke, chain and network structures and their compatibility with development or change (after Kinchin et al., 2000).Structural development\n4. Cognitive switching and hidden cognitive structures: Concept mapping is a method which can be used to reveal existing knowledge structures, but, like any other research tool designed to reveal personal meaning and understanding, it can also hide them. Individuals can retain a series of alternative cognitive chains that they deem (rightly, or wrongly) appropriate to different contexts and situations. Concept mapping may sometimes fail to reveal competing cognitive structures. This is linked to the motivation for creating the map (intrinsic or extrinsic), and may be driven by \"teacher-pleasing behaviours\" (i.e. an attempt to guess the response that is sought by the teacher or manager).Moving between alternative cognitive structures (of the same or different typologies) constitutes conceptual switching and it is likely to be a (relatively) common phenomenon. In addition, networks can sometimes belie hidden or underlying networks (hidden structures). These issues are explored below. This does not compromise the validity of the concept mapping approach: all qualitative methods must deal with possible discrepancies between replete exposition of knowledge and understanding, and expressed opinion or behaviour (i.e. the role of emotions and intentions (see Sinatra and Pintrich, 2003)). Furthermore, the addition of concept mapping methods to more traditional tests (such as examination, practical testing and interview techniques), is likely to add richness to these intractable issues. This is an important priority for future research.Cognitive switching\n5. Cognitive structures in practice and in learning: The chain and network models of cognition represent distinct modes (or typologies) of thought (whether ever they are to be located on the continuum between \"fixed\" styles and \"adaptive\" strategies). It is therefore important to consider their utility in different practice situations and learning environments. This we do below as an exercise in conjecture. We emphasise that experimental tests (or even correlation studies) of spoke chain and network structures and performance in different operational contexts (of either application or learning) have not been done in order to establish correlations with preferred learning styles. We offer, what seems to us a series of tentative (but we hope, logically justified) hypotheses and once more suggest that this is likely to prove a rewarding area of research in the future.Expert networks\n6. Concept mapping and the broader study of learning styles: A better understanding of the ways in which people learn is a clear goal of educational research. That people learn differently is intuitive and that people conceive of learning in different ways is phenomenologically demonstrable (see Saljo, 1975; Marton and Saljo, 1976; Marton et al., 1993; Entwistle, 1990). Furthermore, there is now a considerable body of empirical research data to suggest that individual approaches to learning can have considerable impact on the outcomes they achieve (e.g. Entwistle and Tait, 1990) and that the assessment of learning \"style\" may be a useful means of identifying students at risk as a consequence of their approach (e.g. Entwistle, 1990; Entwistle and Marton, 1994). Nevertheless, the literature that reports the evaluation of learning style assessment is mixed and often overtly critical (see for example, Garner, 2000; Coffield et al., 2004a, b). This is largely because the field lacks a broad theoretical underpinning that is explanatory for the discipline as a whole (Sternberg, 2001; Coffield et al., 2004a, b) and tangible evidence for change that can be defined in terms of recognisable \"styles\" is lacking.Concept mapping has the potential to address these criticisms in several important ways. First, the method allows learning to be reduced to discrete and observable phenomena that are tangible measures of learning over time. Second, changes that occur in the course of learning can be assessed in the context of defined criteria that may be derived from the learning style literature. Hay, for example, has used the deep versus surface distinction (that is the basis of Entwistle's (1990) Learning Style Inventory to distinguish between the \"grasp of meaning\" and the acquisition of additional knowledge by rote. This provides an important bridge between the diagnosis of style and learning outcomes. Third cognitive change may be assessed for direct evidence of different learning styles and approaches.A number of researchers have explored the teaching and learning process as a \"conversation\" (see for example, Laurillard, 1993; Pask, 1976). This approach was formalised by Pask (1976) in his \"conversation theory\" and the approach is commonly underpinned by the mapping of nested conversational frameworks between teacher and student. However, the maps produced in these studies are rarely concept maps in the way that Novak (1998) defines them; they do not comprise labelled links that build concepts into sets of verifiable propositions. Concept mapping (see Novak, 1998) is likely to be a powerful addition to the further development of this line of enquiry and theory generation. Novak's (1998) approach to concept mapping is precise and highly defined; concepts must be linked together with explanatory statements (to form propositions), and the validity or explanatory power of these linking statements can therefore be assessed.\n7. Conclusion: In this paper we have placed the concept-mapping approach in the broader context of learning style and learning theory. We have explored and developed the concept mapping method for the identification and classification of thinking typologies. We suggest that networks are often hidden and belie an apparent tendency to think in chains. Overall, the network structure is a robust and adaptable cognitive typology because redundant concepts can be deleted without loss of cognitive integrity while new concepts can be added at many places in an over-arching cognitive hierarchy. Nevertheless, network thinking has its drawbacks. It is complex and best suited to reflective deliberation rather than action. Although it is an adaptable strategy, network thinking is also highly resistant to radical re-structure and change (i.e. it develops slowly). Network thinking is probably synonymous with approaches to learning that are either deep (see Entwistle, 1990), or holist (see Pask, 1976) and take time to change because of the radical re-organisation of knowledge and information that is required. Chain thinking, on the other hand, leads to achievement, drive and goal-directed behaviour. Chain thinking is vulnerable to collapse and is often poorly translated in different situations and contexts. It can only persist if alternative conceptual chains are simultaneously retained and conceptual switching strategies are used to accommodate different situations and structures. Chain thinking has considerable utility in practical situations. Nevertheless, an ability to retain complex networks in an underlying structure while moving quickly to prescriptive chains is likely to be the hall mark of the successful manager and leader. This is a strategy that retains the attributes of both structures and promotes control through the limited and selective disclosure of information. In our view concept mapping is a powerful approach for the study of learning and learning style and we suggest that analysis of gross cognitive structure is likely to generate considerable insight in the future. In particular, future work should be done to integrate concept mapping methodologies with other research techniques (empirical analysis of exam and test results, detailed and probing interviews and the variety of learning style inventories that are now available). Longitudinal studies tracking change in cognitive structure and testing our theories of cognitive switching, hidden structures and cognitive utility are desirable. Some of our assertions may prove invalid, but we are convinced that the field will be advanced.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to explain and develop a classification of cognitive structures (or typologies of thought), previously designated as spoke, chain and network thinking by Kinchin et al.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper shows how concept mapping can be used to reveal these conceptual typologies and endeavours to place the concept-mapping method in the broader context of learning styles and learning theory.\nFindings: - The findings suggest that spoke structures are indicative of a naive epistemology, or of \"learning-readiness\"; chain structures are indicators of \"goal-orientation\" and networks are indicators of expertise. Furthermore, change that comprises simple elaboration of existing spokes or chains is likely to be the result of surface learning styles and the emergence of networks indicative of deep learning. The utility of these different cognitive approaches is discussed.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The work is limited by the general lack of empirical testing, but the approach is presented as an important source of hypotheses for future research.\nPractical implications: - The practical implications of the research are considerable. First, concept mapping provides a framework for documenting and assessing understanding at \"novice\" and \"expert\" levels. Second, where definitive criteria can be developed from the learning styles literature, cognitive change in the course of learning can be evaluated to distinguish between deep versus surface or holist versus serialist approaches, for example.\nOriginality/value: - The papers original and comprises a synthetic approach to the study of learning style and learning theory through the use of the concept-mapping method. It has both practical and theoretical value because it suggests a new approach and is an important source of testable hypotheses.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The Austrian National Knowledge Report	[ "Intellectual capital", "National standards", "Austria", "Assets", "Knowledge transfer" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: roots of the initiative and structure of the paper: The private-public Austrian research corporation Seibersdorf (ARCS) has acted as a pioneer of intellectual capital (IC) reporting by developing a knowledge report at the corporate level as early as 1999 (Schneider and Koch, 1999). Inspired by the work of Swedish pioneers (e.g. Sveiby, 1997) the approach has spun off other initiatives with its basic conception of combining structural and process elements and of linking IC development to strategy by introducing visions and objectives. Ever since then ARCS has been reporting its IC-related activities (ARCS, Wissensbilanzen 1999-2005). The model was adopted by the legislator when parliament reformed the Austrian university system. Austrian universities are obliged to deliver knowledge reports and will publish first reports in 2007 (Seeboek, 2003). Against this background it was only a logical next step to ask the question whether the methods of IC reporting - albeit still under development - could be transformed to the next level, that of national efforts to \"succeed\" in a new political, economic and cultural setting which has been coined as globalisation.The paper reports on a project which aimed at examining the transferability of intellectual capital approaches from the corporate to the national level. In a first step it will describe changes which affect Austria as well as others of its EU partner countries and are often summarized under headlines such as knowledge society, globalisation and digitalisation. Those changes result in a shift of Austrian economic and social aspirations from a country that imports technology to a technology exporting country. In a second step the state of the art in corporate IC reporting will be reviewed in order to extract its common core and to understand its major problems, which can be expected to amplify at the national level. In the third section the author will provide a description of the philosophy, the research design and the outcomes of the pilot project. As we have applied a trans-disciplinary and action research design, results cannot be generalized[1]. However, they can point to relevant variables in an explorative way, whose interplay should be studied empirically if and after the prototype report and procedure will have been adopted in Austria. In section four results and problems of the research design will be discussed. Finally the paper will conclude with an outlook towards next steps.\nThe national background: According to various statistics, which differ slightly in ranks, Austria has succeeded in becoming one of the five richest countries of the world as measured by per capita income (Aiginger, 2007). Gross national product, however, is a measure, which reflects past investments into the tangible and intangible infrastructure of a country. Furthermore, it counts the destruction of natural resources as growth and therefore lacks sustainability (Van. Dieren, 1995). To capture future potentials it seems necessary to develop a national strategy, which positions the country within the dynamic environment of a globalising world, fuelled by scientific and technological discoveries as well as by the entering of the large and potent economies of India and China, Russia and Brazil into the global and free exchange of goods, services, capital and talent.Traditionally Austria has been focused on catching up with the more advanced Western European economies and its major trading partner, Germany. This strategy relied on the following strengths: early adoption of technological inventions, focus on niche strategies, average spending on R&D and a sound and broad educational system as well as wage differences to Western European countries in order to attract FDI in production facilities. After the country has measured up with and even overtaken the benchmark countries, this strategy can be considered as no longer adequate. In a world society under the condition of dynamic change, which has been termed differently, such as risk society (Beck, 1986), post-modern society (Bauman, 1998) digital society (Tapscott, 1996) and above all, knowledge society (Drucker, 1969, 1993), national policies have to respond to major changes:* Decision makers find themselves under pressure to select the \"right\" path, where the future is volatile and uncertain and where path-dependencies increase the risk to select inadequately. Therefore politicians have turned to the corporate system and to insights by strategic management theories to support them. The latter may be due to Dunning's observation that in the twentieth century companies competed and states cooperated, while in the twenty-first century corporations are cooperating and states are competing. They compete in principle for mobile factors such as talent and capital and most states have developed sophisticated schemes to attract those factors (cf. Schneider, 1996).* National strategies should provide for investment in future potentials to create value: This implies a focus on the country's contribution to leading edge science, on its participation rates in new technologies, on the quality of its research and educational system.* As intangible assets require high upfront investments (fixed costs) and can then mostly be multiplied at relatively low variable costs, traditional accounting methods with their focus on costs of acquiring (or producing) an asset do not seem adequate to capture potentials of future returns. Therefore shifts from input to output control as well as from past spending to future earnings have occurred. However, outputs and future earnings are uncertain and decision makers feel an urge to control the processes which lead to the desired outcomes. This may be one reason why more and more measures, indicators, benchmarks and auditing procedures have been emerging and are being reinforced by industry or international standards or even by law. Although each auditing model can be considered as a learning step, providing additional insight, its hidden agenda to \"fake\" certainty, where there can only remain uncertainty, is dangerous.* Economic competitiveness is a crucial factor of a country's future success. However, it is embedded in a complex socio-cultural pattern, which influences factors such as openness to the world, entrepreneurship, acceptance of change, curiosity to adopt new technologies, ambition and inclination to hard work as well as social peace. Therefore a country's strategy must not be reduced to a narrow concept of economic performance.Against this background many governments thrust to manage the factors which can contribute to a bright future of their countries. Experts around the world point out that those factors are no longer only of a physical or material but more and more of an intangible, immaterial nature. Therefore the focus is on research and development (in the broad and evolutionary sense of V. Bush's report to President Roosevelt, (cf. Bush, 1945), on education and on culture in both of its meanings. However, we still know little about the nature and growth of those important intangible factors, although all over the world a community of researchers has started to elaborate proposals how they could be monitored and measured (cf. OECD, 1999; or Manifesto of the New Club of Paris, (Founding Committee, 2006)).To translate the international state of the art to the needs of a small country which is heavily dependent on trade, a group of Austrian researchers and practitioners has set out to develop a national knowledge report in the frame of a trans-disciplinary pilot project whose design and results will be described in the section \"the pilot project\".\nIntellectual capital reporting at the corporate level: core components, open questions: Various studies have been conducted to gain an overview on IC reporting. Some are summarized in Vandemaele et al. (2005) who found a rather poor state of the art as illustrated by a reference to Guthrie and Petty (2000). The latter concluded their research on Australian listed companies as follows. \"... the key components of intellectual capital are poorly understood, inadequately identified, inefficiently managed, and not reported within a consistent framework, when reported at all\" (in Vandemaele et al., 2005, p. 418). In a similar way, Housel and Nelson state that \"... current knowledge resource identification and measurement tools (such as patent or citation accounts) are crude and often inadequate\" (Housel and Nelson, 2005, p. 544). Schneider has summarized the weaknesses of current macro- and micro approaches to IC measurement as follows:* isolated indicators, instead of a complex analysis of factor interplay;* orientation on the past with a focus on stocks and accrued costs; and* more emphasis on measuring and reporting than on managing IC (Schneider, 2001, Ch. 5).At the national level the MERITUM project in Spain (MERITUM Project, 2002), the Danish Guideline for Intellectual Capital Statements (Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, 2005) and the Japanese Intellectual Capital Reporting Guideline (Johanson et al., 2006), as well as the Austrian legislation on universities all try to establish a balance with regard to the challenges of costs versus benefits, of confidentiality versus accountability, of uniqueness versus comparability and of internal control versus external communication. There is much to be done to improve the balances. As Johanson et al. state: \"However, the importance of intangibles exceeds the current ability to recognize and measure them\" (Johanson et al., 2006, p. 474).Still, all efforts mentioned above, share some common features:* Most reports use a typology of IC which includes at least three components: human, structural and relational capital, or in Sveiby's terms, human capital, internal and external structure. Authors treat the notions of resources, assets and capital differently, some use them synonymously, others separate them. For the purpose of this paper, differentiations can be forgone over the first step to establish a procedure at the national level.* There seems to be consensus that - due to immature state of the art - uniqueness is acceptable, although it forecloses comparability, that voluntary reporting may be preferred to mandatory accountability, although this may inspire managers to set an agenda by window-dressing and masking out intellectual liabilities and that internal control is as important as external communication although it is difficult to serve both purposes with one single report.* Although empirical findings on the significance of IC disclosure for analysts and investors show mixed results, there is evidence that significance is increasing (Abdolmohammadi, 2005).* Although the adage \"what is not measured cannot be managed\" may result from a narrow view, authors agree on the necessity to draw attention to the way IC assets translate into value creation (Burgmann et al., 2005).* Most reports combine metrics from an accounting or financial perspective with narrative elements to capture \"qualities\", which emerge from the interplay of various factors, but cannot be reduced to their addition.Given this state of the field, it may seem premature to transfer a theory which remains in its infancy to the national level. However, the pressing requirements identified in section 1 inspired the project team to follow this track, while remaining aware of the difficulties inherent to it.\nThe pilot project: The project was executed from fall 2005 to December 2006 by a core team of researchers and practitioners with different disciplinary backgrounds. The team had applied for a grant from funds dedicated to foster trans-disciplinary research. In the following, the project will be described along the lines of philosophy, assumptions, methods and results.Philosophy of the project\nDiscussion: As a singular case the project is of an explorative character. It has not assumed mono-causal relationships in a chain of cause-effect relations from intellectual capital components to performance indicators and then tested hypotheses with macro economic data. Although the author is convinced that it is of utmost significance to support causal relations by empirical evidence, she also holds that the field has not yet been sufficiently understood to proceed to such rigorous methodology.The exploration by the project \"Austrian Knowledge Report\" has supported the elaboration of three major levels or nested systems at which an \"Agenda Knowledge\" aims, namely (national) society as a whole, organizations and individuals.Thus the model-process tries to trace the emergence of intellectual potential from the inner core (individuals) to the outer circle (Austrian society) in order to find supporting policies with a deeper leverage effect. An example is illustrated in Table I.Procedure challenges\nOutlook: The results will be published and diffused in the academic as well as the political community. Strong partners need to be found in order to realise the \"Knowledge Partnership\" as a procedure which allows for a pluralistic discourse on matters of a knowledge society. In addition, the procedure makes sure that discourse is not continued for ever as it foresees milestones, where discourse must turn into the planning and execution of action. Important stakeholder groups have become curious to learn about the project. We hope that we will be able to implement our prototypes and follow up on our research.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the transferability of the intellectual capital approach methodology from the corporate to the national level. Just as financial measures fall short of covering major value drivers at the corporate level, gross national product does not sufficiently reflect future potentials to grow and to contribute to a globalising economy with trans-national value chains, value cycles and value networks. There have been many efforts to develop core indicators of economic performance, such as ratings of competitiveness, global embeddedness, high-tech exposure, spending in R&D, competencies to read and calculate of students and many more. The project team concluded that those measures showed two major weaknesses: they lack an overall framework and thus an analysis of their interplay and they overemphasise the reporting in relation to the development or management aspect of the factors considered by the respective approaches.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The team aspired to create a prototype knowledge report for Austria as part of a prototype procedure, the \"Agenda Knowledge\", which should fuel efforts of the country to change its role in the emerging knowledge society from imitator to inventor. The endeavour was based on the Lisbon Agenda of the European Union, which integrates economic competitiveness and social cohesion. A trans-disciplinary design was applied which is best described as action research and makes use of many different methods at different stages of the process; all methods were evaluated in terms of their effectiveness, efficiency and social acceptance.\nFindings: - Results of the pilot project comprise a prototype national knowledge report as part of an overarching prototype procedure which is able to deal with incommensurabilities at the level of visions and ends as well as with different paradigms at the level of end-mean relations in a political rather than in an academic manner.\nOriginality/value: - First process-oriented approach to the development and monitoring of intellectual capital at the national level.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Tax complexities in the Malaysian corporate tax system: minimise to maximise	[ "Malaysia", "Taxation", "Corporation", "Corporate taxpayers", "Tax complexity" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Tax compliance has always been an area of concern to policy makers, tax administrators and society in general. This is mainly because tax compliance affects revenue collection and the ability of the government to achieve its fiscal and social goals (Tan and Sawyer, 2003, p. 1). Measures to improve compliance include providing excellent taxpayer services that generate better long-term outcomes such as higher tax collection and a reduction in the tax gap. The aim of tax reform in many countries is to achieve higher voluntary compliance and one way to achieve this is by introducing a self-assessment system (SAS).\nLiterature review: Tax simplicity appears to be a desirable feature of a tax system. A simpler tax system reflects a reduction in complexity and is identified as one of the variables that affect tax compliance (Jackson and Milliron, 1986, pp. 186-188). In many previous studies, wherever a taxpayer indicated that they had experience difficulty in complying, it was interpreted as a situation where complexity had been encountered. For example, an early study has shown that complicated tax returns, feelings of uncertainty and demands for legal completeness are some of the tax complexities experienced by many taxpayers that subsequently deter them from complying (Vogel, 1974, pp. 512-513). It is argued that a simple tax system that consist predictable, clearly communicated and consistent rules that are well integrated with other tax rules may consequently increases compliance (McKerchar, 2002b, p. 24).\nResearch approach: Research employing mixed methods approach has become increasingly common in recent years and has come to be seen as a distinctive research approach in its own right (Bryman, 2006, p. 97). The mixed method researchers view the world as complex and therefore it cannot be simply understood by using only one approach. The central premise of the mixed method approach is that the use of qualitative and quantitative approaches in combination provides a better understanding of research problems than either approach alone. The use of mixed methods design in taxation research is particularly supported by Torgler (2007, p. 52) and McKerchar (2008, p. 20, 2010). The use of mixed method allows the strengths and weaknesses of the qualitative and the quantitative methods to complement one another and enable the researcher to understand the phenomenon under study better (Creswell and Plano Clark, 2007).\nResearch participants: First phase - focus group interviews\nFindings from focus group: Tax complexity is identified as an important variable that influences compliance behaviour and it may be at the root of non-compliance among corporate taxpayers in Malaysia (Abdul-Jabbar, 2009). Although, Long and Swingen (1987, p. 25) identified six dimensions of tax complexity[1], this study discovered only three dimensions of tax complexity mainly encountered by many Malaysian corporate taxpayers: tax computations, record keeping and tax ambiguity.\nFindings from surveys: In the second phase, the authors examined tax-related difficulties, encountered by corporate taxpayers, in meeting their tax obligations under the SAS. There were nine statements relating to tax-related difficulties probably encountered by many corporate taxpayers in complying with corporate income tax obligations. Respondents were asked to identify the statement relevant to them, and were given the option of selecting more than one answer. The following section discusses the results of the survey.\nOverall results: Tax complexity was identified by tax auditors as one of the major compliance variables among corporate taxpayers. From the focus group interviews, three dimensions of tax complexity primarily encountered by corporate taxpayers were tax computations, record keeping and tax ambiguity. The first two complexity dimensions were faced largely by smaller companies.\nPolicy implications: In attempting to improve voluntary tax compliance, reducing the tax complexity faced by many corporate taxpayers is paramount. Reducing the taxpayer burden may encourage compliance and may reduce compliance costs (Blackwell, 2000; Butterfield, 2002). Thus, it is recommended that the IRBM give priority to simplifying the preparation of tax computations, standardise procedures for record keeping and formulate clearer tax laws to reduce tax ambiguity.\nConclusion: The main objective of the study was to examine areas of tax-related difficulties encountered by Malaysian corporate taxpayer under the SAS. A two-phased mixed methods design was employed. In the first phase, eight focus group interviews with 60 tax auditors from the IRBM were conducted followed by survey questionnaires from a sample of Malaysian corporate taxpayers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to examine areas of tax difficulties encountered by corporate taxpayers in complying with tax obligations under the self-assessment system.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A two-phase exploratory mixed methods approach was employed. The first phase involves eight focus group interviews with 60 tax auditors from the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) and the second phase adopts a mixed-mode survey among selected Malaysian corporate taxpayers. Thematic analysis and descriptive and inferential analysis were used to examine the qualitative and quantitative data in achieving the objective.\nFindings: Three dimensions of tax complexity encountered by corporate taxpayers were tax computations, record keeping and tax ambiguity. The first two complexity dimensions were faced largely by smaller companies. On the other hand, the least difficult tax-related areas were dealing with tax agents, submitting tax returns within the given time and dealing with the tax authority.\nPractical implications: In a tax policy context, this study enables international tax authorities in general, and Malaysian tax authority in particular, to have greater confidence in developing and administering tax laws and policies to maintain and/or increase the overall level of corporate tax compliance.\nOriginality/value: Unlike prior studies that mainly used individual taxpayers or students as research participants, this study employed corporate tax auditors from the tax authority and corporate tax officers. Tax auditors and corporate taxpayers provide invaluable insights into the possible determinants of compliance variables. These insights are based on their practical experience in handling corporate tax audits and managing corporate tax matters, respectively.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An exploration of the Business Plan Competition as a methodology for effective nascent entrepreneurial learning	[ "Competencies", "Entrepreneurial learning", "Nascent entrepreneurship", "Business Plan Competition" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Business Plan Competitions (BPCs) have come to assume global prominence since the 1980s with provision on university campuses particularly ubiquitous (see Bell, 2010; Kraus and Schwarz, 2007; Ross and Byrd, 2011). These competitions typically involve nascent entrepreneurs, i.e. \"individuals who alone or with others are trying to start an independent business\" (Delmar and Davidsson, 2000, p. 1), entering venture ideas which are then judged by an industry and investment peer group on their commercial merits, with \"the best\" ideas being rewarded by way of a cash award, this often accompanied with opportunities for financial investment, PR exposure and networking (Gailly, 2006; McGowan and Cooper, 2008; Thomas et al., 2014). The promotion of university-based BPCs today can be observed a product of graduate entrepreneurship (Matlay, 2010; Nabi et al., 2010; Nabi and Holden, 2008), start-up support (Dee et al., 2015), entrepreneurship education (Pittaway et al., 2015), entrepreneurial university (Cunningham et al., 2017; Etzkowitz, 2003; Gibb, 2002, 2005, 2012; Guerrero et al., 2015) and pro-business plan (Lange et al., 2007) agendas.\nTheoretical considerations: Nascent entrepreneurial learning and competencies\nMethodological considerations, data collection and analysis: The rationale for a LQR approach\nFindings: The presentation of findings is structured along the three waves of data collection; thus the start-of competition, end-of competition and six months post-competition and the themes identified within the resultant data sets. An overview of findings is provided in Figure 3.\nConclusions and implications: This research has brought the ubiquitous yet under-researched university-based BPC into focus as a timely topic for empirical research. In response to an observed tendency to view such competitions as an inherently beneficial entrepreneurial learning activity, despite limited analysis of outcomes from the perspective of the nascent entrepreneur participant. The study contributes new insights into how university-based BPC competition participation enables entrepreneurial learning outcomes through the development of competences needed for new venture creation. Before broader implications are discussed, the key conclusions of the study in relation to its research questions are addressed.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Business Plan Competitions (BPCs) are readily prescribed and promoted as a valuable entrepreneurial learning activity on university campuses worldwide. There is an acceptance of their value despite the clear lack of empirical attention on the learning experience of nascent entrepreneurs during and post-participation in university-based BPCs. To address this deficit, the purpose of this paper is to explore how participation in a university-based BPC affords entrepreneurial learning outcomes, through the development of competencies, amongst nascent entrepreneurs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Underpinned by a constructivist paradigm, a longitudinal qualitative methodological approach was adopted. In-depth interviews with nascent entrepreneur participants of a UK university-based BPC were undertaken at the start and end of the competition but also six months after participation. This method enabled access to the participant's experiences of the competition and appreciation of the meanings they attached to this experience as a source of entrepreneurial learning. Data were analysed according to the wave of data collection and a thematic analytical approach was taken to identify patterns across participant accounts.\nFindings: At the start of the competition, participation was viewed as a valuable experiential learning opportunity in pursuit of the competencies needed, but not yet held, to progress implementation of the nascent venture. At the end of the competition, participants considered their participation experience had afforded the development of pitching, public speaking, networking and business plan production competencies and also self-confidence. Six months post-competition, participants still recognised that competencies had been developed; however, application of these were deemed as being confined to participation in other competitions rather than the routine day-to-day aspects of venture implementation. Developed competencies and learning remained useful given a prevailing view that further competition participation represented an important activity which would enable value to be leveraged in terms of finance, marketing and networking opportunities for new venture creation.\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings challenge the common understanding that the BPC represents an effective methodology for highly authentic, relevant and broadly applicable entrepreneurial learning. Moreover the idea that the competencies needed for routine venture implementation and competencies developed through competition are synonymous is challenged. By extension the study suggests competition activities may not be as closely tied to the realities of new venture creation as commonly portrayed or understood and that the learning afforded is situated within a competition context. Competitions could therefore be preventing the opportunities for entrepreneurial learning that they purport they offer. Given the practical importance of competition participation as a resource acquisition activity for nascent entrepreneurs, further critical examination of the competition agenda is necessary as too is additional consideration about the design of such competitions and how such competitions should feature within university policy to support new venture creation.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the limited literature and studies on BPCs by focussing on its effectiveness as a means of providing entrepreneurial learning for participants. The key contribution taking it from an individual nascent entrepreneur participant perspective is that the competencies afforded through competition participation are more limited in scope and application than traditionally promoted and largely orientated towards future BPC participation. Learning is mainly situated for competition sake only and about participants securing further resources and higher levels of visibility. As the nascent entrepreneurs intended learning outcomes from competition participation are subsequently not realised, the study highlights a gap between the intended and actual outcomes of competition participation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Antecedents of demand-side search in servitization of manufacturing firms: the critical role of service-oriented HRM practices and market capability	[ "Demand-side search", "Market capability", "Service organizing", "Service-oriented HRM", "Top management service commitment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Open innovation refers to the firms' efforts to search for diverse knowledge required for innovation from nonlocal domains (Wang et al., 2019). Such knowledge search strategies enhance firms' innovative performance (Castro, 2015; Chiang and Hung, 2010; Laursen and Salter, 2006; Li et al., 2013). Although the technology aspect of supply-side search has been emphasized, the rapidly growing demand-side approach looks downstream from the focal firm toward product markets, and it underscores the demand-side markets as the key sources of competitive advantage (Adner and Zemsky, 2006; Priem et al., 2012). Hence, attention was given to the value of demand-side search (Cruz-Gonzalez et al., 2014; Sidhu et al., 2007). Demand-side search is defined as \"the effort devoted to the discovery of new insights in own and allied markets regarding market structures and segments, product use and substitution patterns, and customer preferences and needs\" (Sidhu et al., 2007, p. 21). It is important for Chinese manufacturing firms with massive opportunities in the market (Zhang et al., 2017).\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses: 2.1 Demand-side search\n3. Method: 3.1 Sample and data collection\n4. Results: Table III presents the basic statistics for all of the variables. Our research model includes both moderation and mediation effects. For the moderation effects, Cohen et al. (1983) suggest that it is appropriate to use a hierarchical approach when analyzing multiplicative terms in regression analysis. We therefore tested our H3 and H4 using hierarchical regression analysis. We mean-centered all variables to minimize the threat of multicollinearity before creating interaction terms (Aiken and West, 1991). We also calculated the variance inflation factor (VIF) statistics to check multicollinearity. The maximum VIF value is 1.730, which is much lower than the cut-off point of 10.\n5. Discussion: 5.1 Theoretical implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents of demand-side search in service strategy of manufacturing firms. In particular, this study examines whether service-oriented human resource management (HRM) practices promote demand-side search by enhancing firms' market capability as well as how top management service commitment and service organizing moderates this relationship in manufacturing firms.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To test this research model, this study obtains survey data from two distinct informants of 279 manufacturing firms in China. Data were collected applying a standard questionnaire in a five-point Likert scale. The hypotheses are tested using hierarchical regression analysis and partial least squares.\nFindings: Results show that service-oriented HRM practices can promote demand-side search by enhancing firms' market capability. Furthermore, it is found that top management service commitment negatively moderates the relationship between service-orientated HRM practices and demand-side search, while service organizing positively moderates this relationship.\nResearch limitations/implications: Depending on cross-sectional subjective data for the core variables and the choice of Chinese manufacturing firms limit the capacity to generalize the findings.\nPractical implications: This research suggests that service-oriented HRM practices are important drivers of demand-side search activities and to take advantage of service-oriented HRM practices, firms should commit to market capability development. In addition, it is better to match service-oriented HRM practices with other service-oriented organizational parameters such as top management service commitment and service organizing.\nOriginality/value: The study highlights the crucial role of service-oriented HRM practices in demand-side search, the mediating role of market capability and the moderating role of other service-oriented organizational parameters such as top management service commitment and service organizing. This study advances research on knowledge search, servitization and strategic HRM.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Defining a bearing replacement strategy using Monte Carlo methods	[ "Monte Carlo methods", "Maintenance", "Engine components" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a maintenance program which employs a strategy for maintaining plant and equipment at its optimum level of operational effectiveness. Primarily, the TPM approach links into the \"Lean\" concept and aims to reduce waste within a system caused by poorly maintained machinery and equipment. TPM also provides for value added (VA) inputs by ensuring that equipment and machinery remains productively operational for longer periods of time (Sharma et al., 2006). In achieving this objective, the value of the asset is also maintained for a longer period of time, thus ensuring a greater Return on Asset Investment (ROAI) and offers improved contributions to the productivity of the organisation.In TPM, systems are designed such that maintenance and procedures are deployed down through the organisation so that autonomous teams of maintenance operators undertake basic machine maintenance and machine care practices thus freeing up maintenance technicians and engineers to undertake further and more detailed maintenance work in order to prolong machine life, increase mean-time-between-failures (MTBF) and enable the equipment to contribute to greater productivity. Enhancing machine life and increasing MTBF is often achieved by working with machine developers to ensure that maintenance tasks are easier to accomplish when a machine is in service and to ensure that existing machines do not become obsolete prematurely. However, in order to operate a cost effective system, it is evident that the company should have the in-house ability to undertake modification and redesign of the assets. In undertaking such commitment, TPM requires the organisation to invest heavily in staff and skill development processes.It can be argued that TPM implementation can be undertaken in a range of different ways, although attempts have been made to formalise the TPM strategy (Ahuja and Khamba, 2008; Mathaisel, 2005; Al-Mishari and Suliman, 2008; Yamashima, 2000) there is still no formally defined approach that can be considered as an industry standard for TPM implementation. However, it is worth noting that the basic principles of the TPM strategy are similar in many organisations where the goal is to achieve significantly reduced levels of machine breakdowns (and other forms of waste as defined by the Six Big Losses) through developing autonomous maintenance teams and upgrading the work of the maintenance teams and engineers so that they are able to facilitate the TPM process on the shop floor. Table I shows the typical hierarchical approach taken to TPM and defines the levels of each stage.Whilst significant information exists on developing the Level 1 operations in companies, little exists on how TPM can be used to define and set the strategic direction for a company. This paper concentrates upon the Level 3 activities and develops a statistical approach towards defining a bearing replacement strategy for slow rotating bearing systems. The aim of the approach is to enhance the capabilities of maintenance engineers operating at this TPM level so that they are equipped with a new and more advanced approach towards predicting bearing replacements especially when failure data is poor or there is a lack of data as seen when new machinery or equipment is introduced into service. It can be argued that Level 3 implementation work is often overlooked by TPM managers and practitioners when setting up of autonomous teams and the undertaking of simple yet effective maintenance tasks, seems to be the only real development of TPM. Figure 1 shows the autonomous team concept developed at three levels of the TPM process.However, critical to the success of a TPM process is that of developing the intellectual capacity and capabilities of maintenance engineering staff. By enabling them to contribute directly to the analysis and development of machinery and equipment redesign, it is probable that their overall contribution to the system will be more productive. This paper will describe one such approach which can be used to accomplish this objective.\n2. Maintenance and TPM: One difficulty which arises when developing a TPM schedule for a particular asset is that of obtaining sufficient historical life data from the asset in order to develop a robust and appropriate TPM program. Without the availability of such data it is difficult without the advantage of advanced condition monitoring equipment to develop repair and replacement strategies.In the early life of new machinery and equipment there is often an pronounced lack of performance data and as such, it can only be a matter of experiential knowledge with similar equipment that an appropriate TPM program, which addresses the balance between over and under maintaining such equipment, can be devised. It is only after sufficient operational time has elapsed and more life cycle data becomes available, is it possible for maintenance engineers to adjust and fine tune TPM programmes and to develop appropriate TPM intervention strategies to suit the equipment and then to correctly schedule the downtime planning to minimise productive losses and costs (Blanchard, 1997).Another situation where lifecycle data is difficult to obtain and subsequently analyse is in the area of slow rotational machinery and systems. In many cases such systems are not prone to the issues and problems which occur with higher rotational systems, where bearing life can be severely affected by a range of factors such as; shaft imbalance, lubrication degradation, lubrication starvation, heat, and so on. Therefore, it is assumed, in many instances, that slow rotational systems (typically rotational speeds of less than four RPM) are not affected by any major noise factors or degradation influences other than pure frictional or sliding surface wear. This implies that bearings of this type, provided that they are suitably lubricated and correctly maintained can give thousands of hours trouble free operation. In consequence, the collection of life cycle data (i.e. MTBF etc.) is difficult and thus it is virtually impossible to design and fine tune a suitable TPM program which ensures that appropriate maintenance is addressed whilst minimizing the amount of maintenance work carried out by the engineers so that costs can be reduced and the machines run for longer periods. However in situations where companies, who operate such systems, bearing life is still critical to their productive outputs and costly when failure occurs.When defining a TPM program for any given asset, a balance has to be struck between the amount of maintenance work undertaken on the machine and the amount of time it is possible to run the asset without intervention, thus enabling the asset to contribute fully to the productive capabilities of the company. However, when intervention is required, possibly due to a failure within such a system, the next decision to be made is what other maintenance or modification (other than replacing the failed component) could or should be considered when the machine is inoperative. Such a simple approach ensures that the system reliability of the asset increases and that the operational functionality of the asset is not compromised because of another problem which could have been resolved when the initial repair was being undertaken.The next section describes an example of low rotation sheave bearings to demonstrate how it is possible to estimate random systems failures and how a suitable replacement strategy can be developed in such a situation.\n3. Monte Carlo approach: This paper will now describe, in detail, the application of the Monte Carlo as one possible method to estimate bearing failure rates and associated costs of such failure. This approach will then be used to identify bearing replacement costs as a means of setting company policy in situations where little or no historical data is present for that particular machine, and to establish a replacement policy based on historical (and more accurate data).The Monte Carlo simulation method was initially developed by Fermi and later by Metropolis and Ulam (1949). It takes its name from studies in the casinos of Monte Carlo. It was later used some forty or so years ago by the physicists at the Los Alamos nuclear research centre in the USA during the Manhattan Project (Doolan and Hendricks, 1987). The method has since been used in many different application areas including the banking and finance, as well as engineering and medical sectors. More recently, Marquez and Iung (2007) apply the Monte Carlo concept in modeling and assessing systems reliability and availability of assets with complex systems behaviours. At the heart of the method is the use of pseudo random numbers to predict future failures in various systems. Using random numbers as indicators of systems failure is ideally suited for predicting machinery failures, especially when the machine or piece of equipment being monitored is operating in the constant life failure section of its life cycle curve and hence is likely to experience random failures. In contrast, machinery operating in the burn-in or burn-out stages of the life cycle curve frequently show clear trends in failure and hence the failure of the product is much more predictable and capable of being measured and acted upon.The suggestion is that the simple Monte Carlo method could be used to define a suitable bearing replacement strategy for a company based on such random events occurring. Of course, when dealing with a machine which has sufficient life cycle data available and hence has enough breakdown and downtime data present, then the system of failure estimation and strategy formation is not based on random failures occurring. However, when a system is new and hence has very little life cycle data present, Monte Carlo simulation may provide a suitable approach to estimating future costs and hence replacement strategies for a company.First, as mentioned, the Monte Carlo method uses pseudo random numbers to indicate the potential failure of a component in service and hence can identify a replacement/repair point in the life of a component. However, randomised events need to be confirmed in reality and so there must be a small, but sufficient, quantity of failure data available relating to machine performance before the simulation can begin. The following is a case study which shows the application of the Monte Carlo method in developing a bearing replacement strategy for the steel industry. Details of which are shown in the next section.\n4. Case study: Research methodology\n5. Sheave bearing design and TPM: The simplistic Monte Carlo approach adopted in this contribution, has allowed engineers to evaluate two simple bearing replacement strategies. Given cost accuracy, it is evident the Monte Carlo method has identified the better replacement strategy i.e. to replace both bearings when one fails. The study has also identified the total cost that the company is likely to incur over a 250,000 hour bearing operating life. However, it must be considered that the analysis does not consider a potential increase in systems reliability when new bearings are fitted on both bearings.Using the costing identified from the study, the engineering team set about on the design of a TPM programme to reduce the costs of bearing replacements. As an extension to this study and forming part of the implementation of a large scale TPM programme, engineers undertook a Level 3 TPM analysis of the current sheave bearing design. As a direct result of this re-design consideration exercise, an alternative bearing was identified. Studies on this new bearing suggest that it is likely to give greater longevity in service and reduce maintenance costs. It is clear from the cost analysis previously that the actual bearings costs are a fraction of the total cost of bearing fitment and it was therefore wise to invest in more expensive bearings with the potential benefit of being able changing them less frequently and save significant costs in the process.The team ensured that the new bearing could be fitted using the same method as with the previous method of fitment (if not then the cost of the new fitment method would also have to be considered). In this case the bearing could be fitted in the exact same way as the traditional bearing and as a result of this new bearing identification, the engineers fitted the new full compliment, double row cylindrical roller bearings in place of the single row deep groove ball bearing previously used. These new bearings provide improvements in performance where it has been possible to also increase the dynamic load rating of the bearing from 143KN to 695KN. This significant increase in load capability enables the company to increase both machine loading and processing capacity which is a fundamental goal for TPM.Since the introduction of the new bearing arrangement, condition and performance data collection on the new bearings has been taken. Early evidence of this exercise suggests that the new design is significantly more robust and thus less prone to failure than the original arrangement. Due to the full compliment design of the bearing, no vibration frequencies are visible from the manufacturers maintenance strip down, and inspection has initially been agreed between the bearing manufacturer and end user at two years, unless failure occurs within that time.Since the installation of the new bearings in 2007 no further bearing failures have occurred. It was therefore decided that in 2009, the sheave bearings would be removed as part of the condition monitoring research programme. Upon inspection, it was observed that there was some evidence of very minor micro pitting and denting of the inner raceway. This is consistent with debris material in the lubrication system. These minor effects would appear to have no detrimental effect on bearing life in the short term and in consequence has enabled the company to extend its service intervals considerably. The bearings were subsequently refitted and are monitored on a yearly basis where full strip down and analysis will be undertaken.\n6. Application of the Monte Carlo method - Case study 2: In order to obtain proof of concept, the authors applied the Monte Carlo method in two additional areas. details of each case are given below.6.1 Application A - main head spindle bearing failure on CNC router\n7. Evaluation and conclusions: This paper has reported on the application of the Monte Carlo simulation method to the study of bearing failure in an application within the steel processing industry. Although the simple form of the Monte Carlo simulation technique has been widely employed in many different application areas over a large number of years, its usefulness and validity in this study, has yet again proven that, even simple tools and techniques still have their place in management science. In this study the simulation was instrumental in highlighting potentially significant maintenance costs which led directly to a bearing re-design study. As a direct consequence of the re-design study, equipment modification was undertaken and a substantive portion of the overall maintenance cost burden of over PS1,000,000, over a 250,000 hour operational period, was eliminated. Thus the overtly simple model has shown that even an un-validated model can prove to be of significant benefit to a cost reduction exercise. In conclusion, it can be reported that the re-designed sheave bearings are still operational, after a further two years of continuous service and still only showing very minimal damage to the bearing races. In consequence the only maintenance required on the bearings since the changeover has been a further condition inspection, which again only showed minor pitting problems and were thus reinstalled after cleaning and lip seal replacement. Further analysis and monitoring of bearing life is scheduled to continue, in the expectation of identifying the onset of bearing failure where, if appropriate, further life analysis and costing will be undertaken\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to propose a bearing replacement strategy which employs the Monte Carlo simulation method. In this contribution the method is used to estimate the economic impact on the selection of a particular bearing change strategy. The simulation demonstrates that it is possible to identify the most cost-effective approach and thus suggests a suitable bearing replacement policy, which in turn allows engineers to develop the appropriate maintenance schedules for their company.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper develops the Monte Carlo method through a case study approach. Three case studies are presented. The first study is detailed and chronicles the design, development and implementation of the Monte Carlo method as a means of defining a bearing replacement strategy within a subject company. The second and third cases outline the application of the Monte Carlo method in two different environments. These applications made it possible to obtain proof of concept and also to further prove the effectiveness of the Monte Carlo simulation approach.\nFindings: - An effective development of the Monte Carlo approach is proposed and the effectiveness of the method is subsequently evaluated, highlighting the benefits to the host organization and how the approach led to significant improvement in machinery reliability through a bearing replacement strategy.\nPractical implications: - The design, development and implementation of a bearing replacement strategy provide a simple yet effective approach to achieving significant improvements in system reliability and performance through less downtime and greater cost savings. The paper offers practising maintenance managers and engineers a strategic framework for increasing productive efficiency and output.\nOriginality/value: - The proposed bearing replacement strategy contributes to the existing knowledge base on maintenance systems and subsequently disseminates this information in order to provide impetus, guidance and support towards increasing the development companies in an attempt to move the UK manufacturing sector towards world-class manufacturing performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Threshold concepts in business school curriculum - a pedagogy for public trust	[ "Higher education", "Threshold concepts", "Curriculum design", "Threshold capabilities", "Profession-like judgement", "Troublesome knowledge" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The role of higher education institutions is to prepare graduates to be able to make, defend and be accountable for their practice-based judgements. This kind of statement is usually reflected in graduate attributes - public undertakings of the knowledge, capabilities and values higher education institutions intend for their student's education. These graduate attributes relate not only to disciplinary knowledge but to areas of broader industry and public policy such as sustainability, ethical and moral behaviour. Graduate attribute statements should not be mere fodder for public relations but statements with an accompanying responsibility to develop knowledge, capabilities and dispositions in ways that promote broad public trust and confidence (Winch, 2010; Nixon, 2011; Filippakou and Williams, 2014).\n2. Threshold concepts and importance for curriculum design: Threshold concepts emerged from a UK Economic and Social Research Council funded project over the period 2001-2005 (Cousin, 2009). Although the idea of threshold concepts has been implicit in curriculum design, its explicit presence in assisting to design curriculum has only recently made its way in the literature, bringing with it a broader awareness of the importance on TCC in curriculum design and assessment. Table AI highlights this point by summarising the literature on curriculum design over a period of five decades. Threshold concepts are a conceptual gateway that have particular characteristics. Threshold concepts \"enable academics to explore what is fundamental to grasp the subject they teach\" (Cousin, 2009, p. 201). They are the jewels in the curriculum (Land et al., 2008). The appeal for academics lays in its focus on difficulties of mastery in the subject' (Cousin, 2009).\n3. A threshold concepts \"experiment\" to expose risks in passing: One way of examining the benefits of introducing threshold concepts in the curriculum is to determine whether there exists any significant difference in student performance with and without the use of threshold concepts now and into the future. In this section we outline the options we considered to address this question and we then illustrate the course of action we chose. Alternative approaches for assessing the benefits of threshold concepts considered included:\n4. Methods and findings: Academic performance has been found to depend on a number of factors such as previous academic performance including high school performance (McKenzie and Schweitzer, 2001; Pascoe et al., 1997) and several other factors including study habits (Power et al., 1987; Pantages and Creedon, 1975; Abbott-Chapman et al., 1992); integration into university, self-efficacy, employment responsibilities (McKenzie and Schweitzer, 2001); financial difficulties (Lecompte et al., 1983); careers orientation (Himelstein, 1992); mentoring and guidance (Gerdes and Mallinckrodt, 1994); employment responsibilities (Pantages and Creedon, 1975); and psychological predictors (Tinto, 1975; Terenzini and Pascarella, 1978) including a range of demographic factor such a socioeconomic status (see Hoskins et al., 1997; McKenzie and Schweitzer, 2001). Given that the approach we have adopted in this paper is to compare student performance by retrospectively evaluating understanding of threshold concepts, a number of these factors influencing academic performance were not available for this student cohort as the students have moved on and progressed beyond this subject (Finance1). Information on study habits, employment responsibilities and such like data is only possible through a survey of the student cohort. Given the ex post facto nature of this analysis, such survey data is not possible. These missing variables are likely to be time invariant and therefore are indirectly captured in students' performance measured by Finance1. We were however able to capture data on some of these factors influencing academic performance including overall high school performance, types and levels of high school subjects studied and socioeconomic status based on an analysis of postcode (both residential and school location).\n5. Implication for business schools: We have presented evidence which questions the \"taken-for-granted assumptions\" of much that passes for assessment in higher education. We have identified several operational consequences of introducing threshold concepts. In so doing we identified fundamental issues about how marks have traditionally been awarded. That is, that marks become the sole measure of what is required to pass a subject and eventually to attain a qualification. What defines a threshold concept is that it is a whole concept, one which would not be understood by isolated or poorly related parts. All or nothing. According to threshold theory, students either understand a specific threshold concept in toto or not. If not understood marks ought not be awarded. Consider failure in two examples: failing to understand the physics involved between speed and the camber of the road when cornering a car; or a young finance graduate failing to appreciate the implications of risk and return when advising a client nearing retirement with a high risk-high income strategy that is more suitable for a younger person with a longer investment horizon. A failure of understanding in both cases could be tragic - not just in theory but in life/practice.\n6. Conclusion: The introduction of threshold concepts by Meyer and Land (2003) is a valuable and powerful development in curriculum theory. We have envisaged the potential of threshold concepts in the context of addressing public concerns about business school curriculum. Our concern in this paper has been to make a start in addressing the failure of business schools' approach to curriculum design and assessment specifically from a content approach to curriculum to a thresholds approach. Our claimed post Global Financial Crisis ambitions for cultivating profession-like judgement in our graduates called for understanding in some depth how our business qualifications were configured to that end. Drawing on threshold concepts in that analysis exposed assumptions and practices in marking and assessments identified in the analysis of just one subject. The implications for the design of qualifications and thus whole of course design are profound.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the implications for curriculum design by operationalizing threshold concepts and capabilities (TCC) in subject delivery. The motivation for undertaking this exploration is directly related to addressing public concerns for the business school curriculum.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A post facto analysis of a compulsory subject in finance that is part of an Australian business degree and the impact on a subsequent finance subject.\nFindings: Customary approaches to granting part-marks in assessing students, (fractionalising) understanding of content can mean students pass subjects without grasping foundational concepts (threshold concepts) and are therefore not fully prepared for subsequent subjects.\nResearch limitations/implications: Students passing subjects through fractionalization are poorly equipped to undertake deeper explorations in related subjects. If replicated across whole degree programs students may graduate not possessing the attributes claimed for them through their qualification. The implications for undermining public trust and confidence in qualifications are profound and disturbing.\nPractical implications: The literature has exposed risks associated with operationalizing threshold through assessments. This highlights a risk to public trust in qualifications.\nOriginality/value: Operationalizing threshold concepts is an underexplored field in curriculum theory. The importance of operationalizing customary approaches to assessments through fractionalising marks goes to the legitimacy and integrity of qualifications granted by higher education. Operationalizing assessments for TCC presents profound, inescapable and essential challenges to the legitimacy of award granting institutions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Organizational policies and diversity management in Saudi Arabia	[ "Middle east", "Saudi Arabia", "Diversity management", "Foreign employees", "Gulf countries", "Saudization" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper investigates the effects of organizational policies and practices on diversity management in the Saudi private sector as, in today's business environment, managing diversity among the workforce is critical to the success of business organizations (Rice, 1994; Robinson, and Dechant, 1997; Davis et al., 2016). Therefore, diversity creates a competitive advantage by helping organizations attract and retain the best employees, increase creativity and improve decision making (Foster and Harris, 2005). Nonetheless, if diversity is not properly managed, it can be a source of conflict, which leads to inefficiency, poor quality, lack of creativity and innovation, as well as increased labor turnover (Farrer, 2004). Managing diversity is more than recruiting diverse employees and also means learning to appreciate and respond properly to the needs, attitudes and values diverse employees bring to an organization and finding the most effective ways to utilize the skills and talents of a diverse workforce.\nResearch objectives: The research objectives examine the impact of organizational policies and practices on diversity management in Saudi Arabia considering that the organizational policies and practices adopted in the Saudi private sector are significantly affecting the recruitment of a diverse workforce in Saudi private organizations. The main research objectives are:\nLiterature review: Saudi Arabian context: Previous research adopted different research methodologies to examine diversity management policies and practices. For example, Lee Cooke and Saini (2012) adopted a qualitative technique and investigated diversity management practices in China and India. They collected data by means of a semi-structured interview design from 16 Chinese and Indian middle and senior managers and four human resources directors in the regional headquarters of foreign multinational firms. Their findings revealed the processes of diversity management in the Chinese and Indian contexts are different from that in western contexts. Lee Cooke and Saini's (2012) study showed the majority of Chinese companies do not see diversity management as an issue. Instead, Chinese organizations focus on conflict avoidance rather than adding value to the business, whereas managing diversity in India is of greater significance for firms, both legally and financially (Lee Cooke and Saini, 2012). A similar study conducted by Khan et al. (2010) examined diversity management in the multicultural setting of the UAE. Data were collected through questionnaires from ten organizations operating in the UAE. Location was found to be a differentiating factor in the context of commitment to the organization, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi employees expressing different views on diversity in the workplace. Davis et al. (2016) presented findings on workplace diversity management practices in Australian organizations. To this end, a self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 650 managers and human resources managers in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The results showed that the workforce diversity is not well comprehended or valued, particularly by non-human resources personnel managers. The statistical analysis demonstrated substantial conflicting opinions across the surveyed group. Additionally, organizations generally seem not to consider the workforce diversity management and the different levels of senior managers' commitment to the diversity issue is vague (Davis et al., 2016).\nResearch methodology: Data collection and analysis\nFindings: Descriptive statistics were run and the mean for each scale, namely, demographic characteristics covered in the diversity programs, organizational policies and practices affecting the recruitment of diverse employees, and some critical issues about discrimination in Saudi private sector, were examined in Panels A-C of Table II.\nDiscussion: The literature review shows diversity management has been described by numerous theoretical concepts and reported in several previous empirical studies. In this context, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of organizational policies and practices on diversity management in the Saudi private sector. The quantitative data collected from Saudi Arabia generated meaningful results and the tested hypotheses have been confirmed, the mean scores revealing how demographics such as education, experience, nationality, race/ethnicity and age are widely covered in the diversity programs of the Saudi private sector, whereas disability, gender and religion are least covered (see Tables II and III). The literature indicates effective diversity management benefits from diversity demographics in recruiting and selecting diverse talented employees through affirmative action, as well as creating a social context of several diverse values, beliefs and diverse perspectives (Avery et al., 2007; Chavez and Weisinger, 2008; Kravitz, 2008; McKay et al., 2008; Acar, 2010). As such, the Saudi Arabian private sector can benefit from diverse demographics, that is, having educated and experienced employees of different nationalities from diverse age groups. Hassi et al. (2015) pointed out that, as the level of education of the employees increases, the more positively they perceive diversity, particularly foreign workers in the services industry. Nonetheless, the Arabian private sector needs to consider the religion issue, cater for disability in the workplace and recruit employees from diverse genders in private sector organizations. Further, the findings indicate that the organizational policies and practices in the Saudi private sector, namely Saudization, retention, pay and benefits, health insurance, promotion and diverse working environment policies greatly impact the recruitment of diverse employees in the Saudi private sector, while training and development and gratuity policies have a lower impact on the recruitment of diverse employees. The literature shows effective diversity management can increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness, improve quality, creativity, innovation and help attract and retain the best employees (Ozbilgin and Tatli, 2008). As such, it is essential for Saudi private sector organizations to continue providing training and development programs and commensurate gratuity policies. Additionally, it is important for the Arabian private sector to reduce the negative effects of organizational policies and practices such as Saudization, short-term employment, low pay and benefit packages and lack of health insurance coverage. Further, the literature demonstrates that, in Saudi Arabia, there is no specific discrimination law on hiring, such as in western countries, which have equal employment opportunity and affirmative action laws and regulations that control the activities of organizations on discrimination (Manshor et al., 2003; Al-Jenaibi, 2012; Yaghi and Yaghi, 2013). Evidence from the literature suggests unfair discrimination is often harmful to both organizations and employees, as it assumes group homogeneity. It also means excluding qualified job candidates from initial hiring and promotions (Robbins and Judge, 2011). Consequently, there is a need to review foreign employment policies and address equal employment opportunity requirements and affirmative action laws and regulations that control the activities of companies on discrimination issues in the Arabian private sector.\nConclusion: The study was carried out in Saudi Arabia and examined and reported findings from questionnaire data on the impact of organizational policies and practices on diversity management in Saudi private sector business organizations. The findings revealed how Saudization, retention, pay with benefits and health insurance policies on the diversity management in Saudi Arabia. These findings support the hypothesis of this study, as the data present strong evidence against the null hypotheses. Consequently, organizational policies and practices adopted in Saudi private sector organizations are significantly affecting the recruitment of diverse employees in the Saudi private sector business organizations. Across the sample, the four considered organizational policies and practices adopted in Saudi private sector organizations are significantly impacting the recruitment of diverse employees with p-values of 0.000, 0.000, 0.002 and 0.002, respectively. Therefore, the paper contributes to the literature and bridges the gap between theory and practice in identifying new empirical evidence on organizational policies and practices.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report empirical research conducted in Saudi Arabia on the impacts of organizational policies and practices on the diversity management of the Saudi private sector. To this end, the Saudization policy and views of key respondents have been tested and discussed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Primary data were collected through questionnaire surveys from the largest 11 private sector organizations listed on the Saudi Stock Market in the financial/banking, oil and gas, petrochemical, private higher education and private health service sectors. Statistical tools such as means and standard deviations and one-sample t-tests were used for analysis.\nFindings: The findings suggest that Saudization, retention, pay with benefits and health insurance policies significantly affect the diversity management in the Saudi private sector. Therefore, there is a need to develop organizational policies that support the existence of foreign employees for private businesses in Saudi Arabia. Considering differences as strengths that can be utilized to enhance performance, a diverse workforce might better be able to serve diverse markets.\nResearch limitations/implications: Collecting data from a closed environment such as Saudi Arabia is constrained by access difficulties, as well as inadequate literature on relevant diversity issues. However, the convenience sampling method and snowballing approach adopted in this study generated reliable data. As a result, this study has implications for both the multinational corporations operating in Saudi Arabia and Saudi owned companies operating in the West and intending to adopt and implement diversity management initiatives for branches in different countries. As such, further research on the gulf countries' diversity management issues would be critical.\nOriginality/value: The current study is a first survey-based research endeavor on the topic of diversity management in the Saudi context. The findings contribute to the limited knowledge base on middle eastern countries, thus presenting new empirical evidence on the organizational policies and practices of Saudization, retention, pay and benefits and health insurance policies. The study of the Saudi case, thus adds value to the existing knowledge on diversity management.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Affective and developmental transitions: qualitative themes in multicultural counseling journals	[ "Journals", "Intercultural maturity", "Multicultural pedagogy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Whenever counseling is used to restrict rather than foster the well-being and development of culturally different persons, then counselors are participating in overt or covert forms of prejudice and discrimination (Pedersen, 1991, p. 11).\nJournals as a pedagogical tool: Student journals have long been used to enhance learning (Dunlap, 2006; Fritson, 2008); it encourages reflection; supports transference of cognitive and metacognitive skills; improves students' self-efficacy, learning, and locus of control (Fritson, 2008); enhances advanced problem solving; and, most importantly, \"makes conceptual and perceptual changes visible for assessment purposes\" (Dunlap, 2006, p. 20). Fritson (2008) suggests that student journal assignments typically involve reflection on course information, perceptions of course concepts and controversies, and insights share how course learning relates to practical application. Structured or unstructured, journals allow instructors a window into the students' thinking and processing of course material and experiences (Fritson, 2008).\nMethod: This phenomenological study was designed to explore the thoughts and feelings of students as they progressed through a multicultural counseling class to explore growth as expressed directly by the students. The goal was to understand students' internal processes as they encountered the concepts and experiences of the class. Analysis was conducted on data derived from the weekly journals written by the students, which were voluntarily offered for the study after the class was over and grades were posted, as described below.\nResults: This study was formed to explore the internal processes experienced by students in a multicultural counseling class as they journaled their multicultural growth. The analysis of journal content based on timeframe (early-quarter journals, mid-quarter journals, late-quarter journals, as described above) resulted in six themes: three developmental vectors experienced for the duration of the class, and three affective challenges that were encountered at different times of the class but were articulated by every journal in the study. Repetition and recycling of challenges was noted in journal entries as students made new discoveries about self and others during the course. The vectors will be discussed first, then the challenges will be presented Figure 1.\nDiscussion: Optimal theory suggests that interconnection (Myers and Speight, 1994) will improve how counseling services are offered and received, as long as the practitioner knows how to connect with persons who are different from themselves. This study examined the internal process that counselors-in-training engaged during a multicultural counseling class in which they demonstrated multicultural growth. The internal process of developing multicultural insight is not linear or sequential, but entails addressing and revisiting diversity constructs in a circular process in which learning about diversity is powered by greater self-discovery and self-acceptance (Myers and Speight, 1994). This is similar to the recycling of stages of learning found in epistemological theory described in dialectical thinking (Basseches, 1980). This study also highlights that both affective and cognitive growth is a part of multicultural insight, supporting the inclusion of the affective taxonomy (Dollarhide, 2013; Krathwohl et al., 1964) in counselor education.\nConclusion: In this study, an attempt has been made to examine the processes inherent in multicultural growth. Evidence of three cognitive vectors was found that paralleled a model of intercultural maturity as described by King and Baxter Magolda (2005), but affective challenges were also detected in the journals of the participants that are unique to this study. The results of this study serve to reinforce the intercultural maturity model and add the affective dimension that was embedded, but not articulated, in their model. While the importance of multicultural training for counselors is not questioned, understanding the process to best facilitate multicultural growth is continually evolving. This study can be one additional step in ensuring that multicultural training for counselors addresses both cognitive and affective growth.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how multicultural counseling students expressed their understandings about themselves and others in relation to diversity. The authors wanted to know how cognitive development, affective development, and sense of self-evolved during a multicultural counseling class to examine all aspects of growth.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Themes from a phenomenological qualitative analysis of journals from a multicultural counseling class suggest that students struggle with cognitive challenges (dealing with ambiguity, internalizing multicultural concepts, and self- and other-acceptance) and affective challenges (anger, guilt, and fear) in attaining multicultural growth.\nFindings: This expanded view of multicultural growth that includes affective challenges can fill a prior gap in understanding how multicultural learning occurs.\nResearch limitations/implications: Implications are explored for counselor educators and supervisors.\nOriginality/value: Recent use of journals to provide empirical insights into student growth include a study by Cohen et al. (2015), who used qualitative analyses of journal contents to examine growth in student attitudes toward geriatric clients, death, and dying. Knowing that student journals can provide insights into changing multicultural attitudes, and that qualitative methodology can provide tools for analysis, the authors decided that it might be possible to better understand multicultural growth by studying the journals written in a multicultural counseling class.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Creation processes for radical manufacturing technology innovations	[ "Technological innovation", "Radical process innovation", "Manufacturing technology", "Creation processes in firms" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The development of production operations can occur through incremental, continuous improvements, or through radical shifts in the method of production. This study focuses on the latter, i.e., the development of production through a radical shift in the core production technology and process, here labeled as radical manufacturing technology innovations (RMTIs). In practice, this implies the introduction of new industrial equipment (Reichstein and Salter, 2006; Milewski et al., 2015) that embodies a new method of production, and may involve the invention, development and piloting of new technological and process know-how in the core production operations of the firm.\n2. Literature review: Section 2.1 introduces the terminologies and conceptualizations of radical technology and process innovations based on previous research, and positions the concept of RMTI among other types of innovations. Section 2.2 discusses the meaning of \"radical,\" differentiating it depending on the novelty of the innovation. It also builds a foundation for understanding differences between RMTI projects. Section 2.3 summarizes the present understanding on RMTI creation processes, manufacturing firm's and equipment supplier firms' activities in them, and the need to investigate RMTI creation processes across different projects.\n3. Research method: 3.1 Research design\n4. Findings: 4.1 Types of RMTI\n5. Discussion: 5.1 Different types of RMTI projects\n6. Conclusion: 6.1 Contributions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper empirically investigates the processes by which manufacturing firms create radical innovations in their core production process, referred to as radical manufacturing technology innovations (RMTI). The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the processes and practices manufacturing firms use to create RMTI.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Creation processes for 23 RMTI projects from diverse industry and technology contexts are explored. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews, and an inductive analysis was carried out to identify similarities and differences in RMTI types and creation processes.\nFindings: Three types of RMTI and three alternative RMTI creation processes are revealed and characterized. An integrated view is developed of the activities of the equipment supplier and the manufacturing firm, highlighting their different roles and interaction across the three RMTI creation process types.\nResearch limitations/implications: The exploratory design limits the depth of the analysis per RMTI project, and the focus is on manufacturing technology innovations in one country. The results extend previous case and context-specific findings on RMTI creation processes and provide novel frameworks for cross-case comparisons.\nPractical implications: The manufacturing firms' proactive role in RMTI creation is defined. A framework is proposed for using different RMTI creation processes for different types of RMTI.\nOriginality/value: This study addresses recent calls for empirical research on understanding the ways in which process innovations unfold in manufacturing firms. The findings emphasize the role of manufacturing firms as creators of RMTI in addition to their role as innovation adopters and implementers and reveal the suitability of different RMTI creation processes for different RMTI types.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Identifying the characteristics of small specialist international retailers	[ "Retailing", "Small enterprises", "United Kingdom", "International business" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The international retailing literature categorises retailers in various ways including operational approach (Hollander, 1970); geographical dispersion and operational cost and control (Treadgold, 1988); strategy (Salmon and Tordjman, 1989); market position of retail offer and format (Dawson, 1994); and merchandise/product sector (Burt, 1995). As Alexander (1997) states, no classification exists that is universally acceptable in the international retail literature. In great part this is because \"multinational retailers vary considerably in size, role, functions, ownership, control, history and objectives\" (Hollander, 1970, p. 14).As a result, some retail organisational types receive far more research attention than other organisational types. Although, the past decade bears witness to a growth in research that examines international fashion retailing (Moore, 1998; Doherty, 2000; Moore et al., 2000) rather than large format food retailing, larger retailers and larger formats tend to dominate the agenda.Likewise, in terms of the broader international small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) literature, research tends to focus on manufacturing company activities, with the internationalisation of smaller retailers being largely neglected in this body of work. That said some researchers from the SME field do emphasise the need to examine international activity on an industry-by-industry basis (Chadee and Mattsson, 1998; Antoncic and Hisrich, 2000).This work, therefore, aims to address these gaps in the literature and identify the characteristics that define the small specialist international retailer. In other words, identify the characteristics that facilitate the development of an international capability by small specialist retailers. By investigating the international activity of these companies, this work aims to contribute to both the SME and international retailing domains by providing insights into a category of international retailer that is increasingly significant yet remains under-researched.\nLiterature review: The internationalisation of specialist retailers\nMethodology: Historically, research in the domain of international retailing has been predominantly quantitative in nature, employing survey methods (Alexander, 1990). More recent studies, however, increasingly recognise of the value of qualitative techniques, in particular, the case study method (Doherty, 2000, 2007; Doherty and Alexander, 2004, 2006; Moore and Birtwistle, 2004). The SME literature argues that positivistic research does not yield a rich understanding of small firm activity (Fillis, 2001). Given the paucity of research on the small specialist international retailer, this study is exploratory in nature and adopts an interpretive research paradigm, employing qualitative techniques and a case study design. Such an approach is in line with approaches taken in the international SME literature (Coviello et al., 1998; Westhead et al., 2002) and extant international retailing research studies which examine emerging research issues requiring in-depth investigation (Doherty, 2000, 2007; Moore et al., 2004; Hutchinson et al., 2007).The importance of SME internationalisation from the perspective of policy makers and government organisations is given emphasis in the work of Fischer and Reuber (2003), Spence and Crick (2003) and Terzioski (2003). In recognition of the value of a macro-level viewpoint on this study, in addition to the case study research with retail companies, qualitative interviews with government and consultancy organisations provide an analysis of the international activity of small specialist retailers from the perspective of the wider UK industry.A purposeful sampling design was used in the selection of case companies, thus allowing for the selection of \"information-rich\" cases (Patton, 2002). An initial investigation was conducted using the Retail Rankings (2001) and the internet, which provided information on relevant firms according to retail sector, management structure, the UK stores, and presence overseas. This process initially identified eighteen potential companies relevant for this research. That is, all retailers originated in the UK market with head office locations in the UK; operated in at least one international market outside the UK; and had, at the time of investigation, sales turnover less than PS24 million (definition of SME according to European Commission(2000)).The final sample of companies consisted of nine small specialist retailers at different stages of international development and operating in different sectors of the industry. As illustrated in Table I, three broad patterns of international activity is displayed according to company age and experience overseas: \"early\" internationalists who expanded overseas in first eight years of business (i.e. companies D and G), \"intermediate\" internationalists who expanded overseas in the first 20 years of business (i.e. companies B, C, F and I), and \"late\" internationalists who expanded overseas after a significant time of establishment in the domestic market (i.e. companies A, E and H). These companies also operated in a number of retail sectors:* clothing and accessories (companies A, B, I);* health and beauty (companies C, D, E);* sports and leisure (companies H); and* giftware (companies F and G).While in qualitative case study research there are no precise guidelines to the number of cases to include in a study, there are several recommendations (Eisenhardt, 1989; Lincoln and Guba, 1985). Eisenhardt (1989) recommends between four and ten cases. For the purpose of this study, nine case studies offering the right balance between breadth and depth of experience form the basis of the case study analysis (Table I).In order to provide a macro-level perspective of international activity by small specialist retailers, participation of government and consultancy organisations became an integral part of the research. As no specific organisations exists in the UK to assist small specialist retailers in their international activity, organisations were approached based on the relevance of their services to the types of case companies under study. An initial examination of industry experts in these areas revealed eleven such organisations in the UK; a total of eight government and consultancy organisations agreed to fully participate in the study.The study employs two fundamental aspects of case study research in the collection of data: interviews (with government and consultancy organisations as well as senior personnel responsible for the international decision-making process in their respective retail companies) and company documentation (company histories, press releases, advertising and marketing material, and product market strategies). Qualitative, open-ended, semi-structured interviews (Gillham, 2000) were conducted with elite informants (that is, personnel with senior positions) in the case companies and industry organisations. The duration of each interview extended to approximately 90 minutes. Following the recommendations of Eisenhardt (1989) and Gillham (2000), preliminary research questions were set in order to provide focus to the data collection. While the overall aim of the study is to explore the international activity of small specialist retailers, more specifically, this research seeks to investigate key factors that characterise these firms as they internationalise their retail operation.In addition to interview data, documentary evidence, which the literature views as a rich source of insight (Adam and Healy, 2000) was collected from the case companies and industry organisations in order to supplement the evidence from interview transcriptions. The qualitative analysis of data followed an inductive process, observing the recommendations of both Morse (1994) and Lindlof (1995). Throughout the duration of the study, analysis of the data went hand in hand with data collection to allow for the emergence of important themes and patterns in the data (Taylor and Bogdan, 1984). This allowed for the early analysis of themes from case companies and industry organisations in a like manner, reflecting a triangulated approach where the theory is continually supported (or contradicted) by evidence from different groups (Hartley, 1994).Table I provides information on each of the nine case companies detailing turnover, number of stores in the UK, age, years of experience overseas, number of foreign countries and finally, ownership status. As the issue of confidentiality was important to the companies in this study, cases are referred to as companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I.\nFindings: By examining the process of internationalisation of these nine firms, key characteristics of the international small specialist retailer emerge from the data. These are: possession of a strong company brand image/identity, niche strategy, dual strategy of expansion, dimensions of ownership and vertical integration from manufacturing to retailing. The following section details each of these characteristics.Strong company brand image and identity\nDiscussion: In view of the case and industry evidence, this paper concludes that such sectors of the industry present specialist retailers with the opportunity to fill gaps in international retailing (Feigenbaum, 1993). It is argued that a number of characteristics have been found to categorise small specialist retail internationalisation. These include:* strong brand image/company identity;* niche strategy;* dual strategy of expansion;* company ownership; and* vertical integration from manufacturing to retailing.The possession of a strong company brand image or identity is the first dimension that identifies small specialist international retailers and is both a key impetus for expansion and the platform from which these retailers develop competitive advantage in international markets. In view of existing studies which conclude that brand image is a key characteristic of international fashion and luxury retailing (Laulajainen, 1992; Fernie et al., 1997; Burt and Carralero-Encinas, 2000; Moore et al., 2000; Moore and Birtwistle, 2004; Wigley et al., 2005), this study likewise concludes that a strong brand image or company identity is a key feature of the small specialist international retailer.Niche strategy, linked to brand image is the second dimension that identifies small specialist international retailers. In particular, existing research points out that the luxury or exclusive appeal of focused merchandise distinguishes SME from larger competitors (Spannagel, 1993). The distinct appeal of small specialist international retailers targeting the luxury or middle market consumer and following a niche market approach reflects a marketing differentiation strategy. For such retailers, a niche strategy focusing on a particular market segment (and targeting the luxury or middle market consumer), that allows them to adapt rapidly to new opportunities in foreign markets, supports existing studies on SME internationalisation (Alexander and Quinn, 2001; Michman and Mazze, 2001).Operational approach is the third dimension identified. The trade-off between controlling the brand and making international expansion economically viable leads to a dual strategy of expansion. Retailers use stores in key locations to protect brand/company reputation and wholesale/distribution to fund and build brand awareness in a greater number of markets. In light of existing studies in the literature, this operational strategy is also characteristic of the market entry decision exhibited by luxury fashion retailers (Hollander, 1970; Fernie et al., 1997, 1998; Moore et al., 2000; Moore and Birtwistle, 2005). This classification of small specialist international retailing brings new evidence to support existing work by Alexander (1997) that compares Hollander's (1970) and Treadgold's (1988) typologies, which cite specialist retailers as aggressive internationalists.Company ownership characteristics are the fourth dimension that identifies the smaller specialist international retailer. Two distinct types of management are characteristic of these companies, that is, internal management by entrepreneur and/or founder, or external management by a parent corporation. This research confirms the knowledge, experience and vision of the entrepreneur or founder is as important as the literature suggests (Alexander and Myers, 2000; Lloyd-Reason and Mughan, 2002). Likewise, for these small specialty retailers, a parent company take-over and the acquisition of funds, knowledge and networks represent a critical incident in the process of internationalisation (Bell et al., 2003; Lindsay et al., 2003; Spence and Crick, 2003). Parenting advantage is important in developing international operations and distribution; while it does not create the born global qualities of the brand, it does facilitate growth. Therefore, following the work of Moore and Birtwistle (2005), it is argued that parent ownership is characteristic of smaller specialist retailers appealing to the luxury market.Vertical integration from manufacturing to retailing is the fifth and final dimension that identifies small specialist retailers with international operations. Given that the impact of vertical integration upon international retail activity receives little attention in the literature (Tordjman, 1994), this study contributes new empirical evidence, which confirms the importance of such a strategy for the small specialist retail company.\nConclusions: Overall, the findings of this paper and, in particular, the categorisation of small specialist international retailers, makes an important theoretical contribution to existing knowledge in the field of retail internationalisation, that neglects to empirically examine or classify such factors specifically. Furthermore, existing research in the field of SME internationalisation focuses predominantly on the manufacturing sector. This work provides new empirical evidence of international activity by small specialist retailers operating in the luxury and middle market sectors of the industry.The research highlights five characteristics and provides a guide to those small specialist firms considering the move into the international marketplace. The majority of the case companies have operated internationally for over a decade. Their experiences can inform other firms of the characteristics smaller international retail operations require for survival in the specialist sector.As this study focuses on nine small specialist retailers and eight industry organisations based in the UK, the findings do not claim generalisability. Rather, the paper argues that the in-depth case approach of this work facilitates the construction of a holistic and context sensitive analysis of the internationalisation process particular to small specialist retailers based in the UK. In terms of future research, the current work recommends that the characteristics of small specialist retail internationalisation that this work identifies is a starting point for future comparative studies with companies in other regions and countries.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to examine the internationalisation process of small, specialist retailers with the aim of identifying the key characteristics that define this specific category of international retailer.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Qualitative case studies of nine UK-based small international retailers, coupled with interviews with government and consultancy organisations, form the empirical basis of the work.\nFindings: - The findings highlight five characteristics of small specialist international retailers: possession of a strong company brand image/identity with luxury/middle market appeal; niche strategy; dual strategy of expansion; ownership characteristics defined either by the founder or parent company; and vertical integration from manufacturing to retailing.\nPractical implications: - With the increasing internationalisation of retail operations, the specialist sector comprises a significant number of retailers operating in international markets or contemplating the move into the international marketplace. The findings of the current work highlight the key factors that characterise those small specialist firms that operate outside their domestic market.\nOriginality/value: - The paper identifies the key characteristics that define a significant category of international retailer, hitherto unexplored in the literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Weapon of the weak: The hidden transcripts of academics' resistance to policy imperatives in Indonesian universities	[ "Social policy", "Individual perception", "Employee attitudes", "Work organization" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the study of policy implementation the important position of grass root levels or what Lipsky called them as street level bureaucrats has come to the fore of implementation research literature (cited in Sabatier, 1986). Even though, they are often associated with features of passive roles rather than active roles in accepting, interpreting and implementing policy imperatives, their behaviours and interpretation on policy enactment have considerable impacts on the success of the policy implementation (Yanow, 1987; Sabatier, 1986; Trowler, 1998).\nContext: Modern forms of HE institutions in Indonesia were introduced by the Dutch in order to provide professionals for their colonial government and such institutions limited their access only for aristocrat families of native Indonesian-leading to the construction of elitism and closed society (Tajuddin, 2007). The provision of HE to produce professionals had signalled that the nascent emergence of economic, market-driven purpose of HE institutions in Indonesia had been paved by the colonialist government (Sulistyono, 2007).\nResistance: In organisation theory, the research on resistance has developed out from the contradictory functionalists and interpretive studies (Hollander and Einwohner, 2004). The resistance per se has become an elusive concept to define within these two studies which have been differently influenced by the two theoretical frameworks. The first, functionalists were born out of the Marxist's Labour Process Theory which views resistance resulted from the domination of capitalist economic of reproduction process. Referring to this, resistance is perceived as an oppositional action against structural class of reproduction process. While, the second, interpretive proponents, views that economy is not the factor contributing to the emergence of resistance, but simply because the awareness towards the colonisation of subjectivity (Foucault, 1982).\nMethodology: We design our proposed research study in a qualitative case study approach. The case study approach is considered as an ideal approach when we want to understand holistically \"a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context\" (Yin, 2009, p. 18). In this study, its main purpose is to gain in depth understanding about the accountability process manifested in the lexicon of efficiency and productivity and how the respondents give meaning to this process within Indonesian university contexts. This process is considered as a social construction of the members of Indonesian higher institutions through their day-to-day interaction and these cannot be explored by using survey instruments (Merriam, 1998).\nMethod: Sampling procedures\nMethod of data analysis: The data were analysed using systematic qualitative data analysis proposed by Miles and Huberman (1994). The interviews were analysed through coding process to generate categories and themes. In producing codes we were guided by the research questions. The original interview transcript (in Indonesian language) was translated into English. So the English-translated interview transcript version became the source for us to create code schemes. After categorising, the data were coded and themes were generated. The themes were applied to each sorted data from the interview utilised. These themes then were tagged and acted to describe the whole sentences. Drawing on this procedure, the themes under each category were compared to all interview transcripts for each department and then put them in the same group.\nFindings: Protest and critiques in cynical and sceptical tones\nDiscussion: Academics from the three universities exhibited how they make use of their resources and opportunities at hand to declare their equivocal affirmation of resisting and accommodating the colonisation of government-driven policy in their crux of their activities. Not like other forms of resistance which is well-organised, well-intended, actual, and frontal, academics' resistance displayed in this study had taken its shapes in discursive, disguised, under surfaced, and non-frontal forms of resistance (Scott, 1986; Thomas and Davies, 2005a; Contu, 2007; Page, 2011; Fleming and Sewell, 2002). Such as forms of resistance are used as their intellectual and safe techniques and tactics to put forward their self- affirmation and actualisation in dealing with and coming to term with the control from strong hands of government to allow the balance of power relations exercised upon their actions (Scott, 1986).\nConclusion: The findings drawn from this study revealed that academics which have long been denoted as street level bureaucrats featured with their mute or passive acceptance towards policy imperatives imposed upon them, seemed inappropriate to be applied within academics under study. They apparently are not empty headed people of implementing agency of government-driven policy. They have their personal ways of resisting and accommodating the changes in their communities through their hidden languages circulated and communicated among their peers at the backstreet, which have gone unnoticed by power holders. Therefore, for policy to be successful in its implementation, policy makers are encouraged to consider aspect of subjectivity of policy recipients which resides in the micro politics domain in the study of resistance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how academics resisted and accommodated changes towards the reform process in higher education institutions in Indonesia which has introduced market-driven principle of new public management and the principle of Neo-Weberian model. Using the theory developed by Scott concerning the resistance patterns by powerless or subordinated groups through \"weapon of the weak\", this study aimed at mapping the resistance exhibited by Indonesian academics.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study was a case study using semi-structured interviews conducted with 30 academics in three state universities in Indonesia.\nFindings: The results of this study demonstrated that academics in Indonesian universities resisted and accommodated the policy reform using their discursive, unobtrusive tactics of resisting.\nResearch limitations/implications: The method of data collection used in this research was based on the interview alone. It would be useful to consider to deploy other forms of data collection such as, observation to allow the building up of strong trusthworthiness of the findings of this research.\nPractical implications: The authors believed that this study may be useful to give better understandings for policy makers on implementing policies by considering aspects of behaviours of academics as street level bureaucrats in accepting, interpreting, and implementing policy imperatives. These results might also be beneficial for policy makers from other sectors outside higher education in effectuating policy imperatives.\nOriginality/value: The authors argued that, academics actively responded to external pressures which contradicted their own values and beliefs with their unique intellectual strategies by which have been overlooked in the formulation of policy.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The role of context in assessing international marketing opportunities	[ "International business", "Market entry", "Market segmentation", "Consumption", "Consumer behaviour" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In assessing international marketing opportunities for initial market entry, firms have typically adopted a sequential approach, focusing first on macro-level data and then selecting a limited number of countries to examine in more depth (Cavusgil, 1985; Papadopoulos and Denis, 1988; Kumar et al., 1994; Craig and Douglas, 2005). While this approach provides a basis for ranking countries in terms of relative attractiveness, further data need to be collected to identify potential target customers or market segments and develop an effective marketing strategy to target such customers. Countries may be similar in terms of macro-economic factors such as the level of economic development or urbanization, but vary dramatically in terms of other contextual factors such as regional and cultural variation within-country, or the nature of the marketing and retail infrastructure. These have an important impact on target market selection, as well as the formulation of marketing strategies. Further, as markets expand and become more complex, firms are developing finely tuned segmentation strategies, identifying target segments within and across countries, and differentiating strategies based on similarities in customer tastes and interests, as well as the context in which consumption and purchasing take place.As a result of the increased geographic and technological complexity of managing international operations, firms need to pay more attention to the broader socio-cultural and ecological context of consumption and purchase behavior in evaluating international marketing opportunities. This entails examining not only differences in the macro-environmental or country level, but also within-country differences such as the characteristics of an urban vs rural context, the household living arrangements and social interaction, the marketing and media infrastructure, as well as the specific situational context in which consumption takes place. In addition, this approach can provide important insights not only into how a product or service can best be designed to fit the consumption context, but also how it can be appropriately positioned and promoted. This in turn requires greater attention to collecting information (both quantitative and qualitative) relating to consumption contexts and factors which vary across and within countries and influence behavior in these contexts. This paper examines the impact of context at four distinct levels and suggests how this may impact market selection and segmentation decisions.\nThe role and influence of contextual factors: Consumption takes place within a context, and the context along with other factors helps shape values and attitudes, as well as influencing both broad and specific consumption choices. It is important to develop a deeper understanding not only of the role of the context in shaping consumption and purchase behavior, but also to understand the variations in contextual factors across and within countries. Figure 1 shows the four key levels of context nested within each other. The key element is that two countries may have highly similar macro-environmental contexts, but differ dramatically in context at other levels. Further, there may be significant variation within a country that limits opportunities for segmentation strategies. There may also be opportunities to target consumers across countries where the macro-level contexts may be dissimilar, but meso- or micro-level factors are highly similar, at least in a particular region or area.The wide range of contextual factors existing at different levels impact consumer values, attitudes and consumption behavior. These range from macro-environmental factors relating to a given country or region in the world including, for example, economic factors such as the level of GNI per capita, socio-cultural factors such as values, income distribution, the role of women and demographic factors such as the size of different age groups, or urbanization; meso- or middle-level factors such as regional, economic or cultural variations within a country; micro-level or more specific factors such as local population density, the media or distribution infrastructure, local educational or social institutions and living arrangements such as extended vs primary family habitations; and situation-specific factors relating to differences in behavior on specific occasions vs daily routines. Illustrative factors in each of these categories are summarized in Table I to provide some indication of the range and diversity of contextual influences.In addition to being surrogates for market potential, contextual factors play a key role in the formation and perpetuation of cultural values and behavior, as well as directly impacting consumer attitudes and behavior. Interactions within and beyond the family unit will mediate the impact of macro-environmental forces. In some cases, these interactions may reinforce the impact of contextual variables on individuals' behavior. In other cases, they may diminish the influence of these factors on values, attitudes and behavior, and act as barriers to change, both at a societal or individual level (Craig and Douglas, 2006). Contextual factors are thus key elements influencing consumer attitudes and behavior and patterns of segmentation. Even where their influence is subtle and indirect, they need to be taken into account in assessing market opportunities and determining which countries offer the best market potential.Macro-environmental factors\nImplications and conclusion: The impact of context on consumption behavior and market opportunities is pervasive and complex. Examination of contextual factors provides a richer and deeper understanding as to which international markets to enter and which segments to target. In particular, it helps to shed light on heterogeneity within countries not only in customer behavior and competitive behavior, but also in the nature of the market infrastructure. This may be a key element not only in formulating entry and segmentation strategies, but also in implementing those strategies. This suggests the importance of going beyond the macro-environmental level in analyzing data for market selection and segmentation decisions. While international market selection decisions tend to use the country as the focal unit of analysis in collecting data relating to these decisions, contextual factors operating at different levels within a country help to shape behavior both within and across countries. A high degree of within-country heterogeneity may make a country less attractive, as it suggests diverse contexts and fragmented markets, although in some cases transnational market segments may be identified. Consequently, while contextual factors are frequently ignored, it is critical for management to consider their impact both in selecting which countries to enter and how to segment markets.The limitations of assessing international marketing opportunities based on macro-economic or country-level factors suggest the need for a broader and more comprehensive approach, which includes not only country-level factors, but also within-country factors. These should include consumer characteristics that enable the firm to identify potential target segments, based on demographics, consumption patterns, media habits and so on, as well as contextual factors relating to the general environment such as ecological or topographical factors, the nature of the local environment, for example, urban vs rural, and the specific consumption situation or occasion. While frequently ignored, these are often critical factors influencing the nature, formation and evolution of consumption patterns.In-depth examination of contextual factors at different levels of aggregation helps to shed light on the diversity of consumption patterns both within and across countries. In recent years the geographic scope of international operations has expanded to include not only developed countries, i.e. the Industrial Triad, but also emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil. As a consequence, marketers have to cope with an increasingly diverse array of cultures and behavioral patterns worldwide. Consumption patterns in emerging markets not only reflect different cultural values and behavior from Western industrialized nations, but are also characterized by marked differences within countries, particularly the gulf between the surging class of affluent, mostly urban entrepreneurs, and the rural poor.Understanding how contextual factors at different levels of aggregation impact consumption patterns within and across countries provides valuable insights that can aid in designing product, pricing, promotional and distribution strategies tailored to contextual differences. In addition, it can help in identifying target market segments both within and across countries. As markets become ever more diverse, resulting in growing market fragmentation and segmentation, developing context-based strategies can be an important tool in increasingly competitive international markets.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The choice of which country or countries to enter is a critical decision and needs to be made with considerable care and deliberation. Initial market entry decisions have typically focused on country evaluations based on macro-economic data. While appropriate in providing an initial screening of countries, other factors, notably contextual factors, can provide important insights in assessing international market opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of context at four distinct levels.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The literature on the influence of context on consumption and purchase behavior is reviewed to provide a framework to understand contextual factors as a means to refine entry strategy and develop effective segmentation strategies.\nFindings: - A wide range of contextual factors exert influence on consumption choices and contribute to within-country heterogeneity. These are typically examined at the macro-level, but also need to be examined at the meso-level, micro-level and situational level to fully assess market opportunities and establish viable market segments.\nPractical implications: - Examination of contextual factors provides a richer and deeper understanding of which international markets to enter and which segments to target. Within-country cultural diversity, dramatic economic and regional disparities and marked differences in the infrastructure need to be assessed. In particular, examination of contextual factors helps to shed light on heterogeneity within countries not only in customer behavior, but also in the nature of the market infrastructure. This is a key element, not only in formulating entry and segmentation strategies, but also in implementing those strategies.\nOriginality/value: - The effect of context has received little attention to date. The current paper highlights the importance of considering contextual factors and their impact on consumption behavior - an issue which has largely been ignored in previous research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Justifying investment in advanced manufacturing technology: a portfolio analysis	[ "Advanced manufacturing technologies", "Economic sustainability", "Strategic management", "Technology led strategy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) represents a wide variety of modern technologies devoted to improving operational efficiency and, as a consequence, the competitiveness of manufacturing firms. There is little doubt that significant tangible and intangible benefits can be gained from implementing AMT, and that failure to quantify all benefits is detrimental to the decision-making process, whether the project is accepted or not. If the project is accepted, failure to quantify the expected benefits will create problems for performance evaluation, whereas a potentially useful project may be rejected if all the benefits are not carefully identified (Mansfield, 1993; Handfield and Pagell, 1995; Small and Yasin, 1997). Therefore, the development and use of appropriate justification approaches and techniques are crucial to ensuring that AMT projects are evaluated for all the strategic and operational benefits they can provide and for all the costs that are associated with their acquisition and operation.While the costs (hardware, software, planning, training, operations, etc.) and many of the operational benefits are generally easily quantifiable, some of the major strategic benefits are very difficult to estimate. To overcome this limitation some have promoted the use of strategic justification approaches that consider criteria such as comparison with competitors, the retention, attainment or perception of industry leadership, and expected future developments in the industry. But there is some concern that reliance on strategic justification alone may be as problematic as full reliance on traditional financial justification approaches. There is a growing consensus that hybrid investment approaches which include both strategic and economic justification criteria are needed to evaluate these complex systems.This study seeks to answer the following major research questions concerning AMT adoption in the discrete-parts durable good manufacturing industry in the USA:RQ1. What justification approaches (financial, strategic or hybrid) are firms using to support investment in AMT?\nLiterature review: Justification approaches and techniques\nProblem definition and research methodology: Problem definition\nSurvey results and discussion: Technology profile of survey respondents\nManagerial implications and research challenges: A summary of the lessons learned as a result of this research and several managerial implications of these findings are presented in Table VIII. Furthermore, a number of challenges to academicians and researchers that arise from the findings and managerial implications are also advanced in this exhibit.\nSummary and conclusion: Our results indicate that while the majority of our responding plants had adopted a hybrid approach to justifying AMT, they are not utilizing the more sophisticated justification techniques which have been touted by many academicians as means of improving AMT justification decisions. For these techniques to prevail in the industry, available research findings need to be simplified and disseminated to the wider manufacturing community. The use of multi-attribute spreadsheet models such as that developed by Badiru et al. (1991) are particularly useful in organizations because they offer the ability to perform sensitivity analysis and because most analysts are familiar with spreadsheet models. Some other recent approaches that utilize decision support tools, the analytic hierarchical process and fuzzy logic are also worthy of consideration (Abdel-Kader and Dugdale, 2001; Chiadamrong and O'Brien, 1999; Luong, 1999). But these models are relatively complex and will also need to be simplified to improve the likelihood that plants would be willing to incorporate them into their justification processes.The level of participation of functional departments in justification activities was found to be significantly related to the type of AMT portfolio adopted. It also appears that plants need to increase the level of functional integration at the justification stage as they move from the less complex to more complex portfolios. Most of the adopters of the integrated process technologies had involved the production/operations, engineering, and finance departments and plant administration in their evaluation of AMT. The information systems/IT department was less involved. The low level of marketing involvement in the planning and justification stages of the AMT implementation process could have a serious impact on setting marketing performance benchmarks for the project. Further research is needed to assess the importance of the marketing department in the planning and justification phases of AMT projects.This study has made a significant contribution in terms of addressing the justification of AMT investment from a technology portfolio perspective. In addition, our findings were used as a foundation for the presentation of several managerial considerations for plants that are contemplating the adoption of AMT or that are making additions to their current AMT portfolios. Avenues for further research on justification of AMT are also presented. It should be noted, however, that while the findings of this study may be generalized to manufacturing firms in the discrete parts durable goods industries, further research on representative samples of other industries are required to determine if these findings can be generalized across other manufacturing industries.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to present the results of an investigation on the justification of investments in advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) at manufacturing plants in the USA. Unlike previous research that explored the adoption and use of a specific AMT or groups of similar AMT, this study focuses on a plant's combination of technologies or its technology portfolio.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Mail survey responses from a sample of 82 plants are used to examine the relationships between the type of technology portfolio being used and the justification approaches and evaluation techniques that were utilized to justify these investments. The study also investigates the level of functional integration and the level of effort applied to several activities during the justification stage of the AMT projects.\nFindings: - The majority of plants that had adopted the more complex technology portfolios were using hybrid (economic and strategic) justification approaches supported by ratio and discounted cash flow justification techniques. Plants that were using the less complex portfolio also used hybrid approaches, but tended to concentrate on the use of ratio techniques. Findings on the level of functional integration at various stages of the AMT project are also reported.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This research concentrated on discrete-parts durable goods producers in the USA. Further studies are needed to determine whether the findings can be generalized across other industries or in other countries.\nOriginality/value: - This research uses an innovative portfolio analysis approach to investigate the important topic of justification of AMT. Managerial implications arising from the results of this study and a number of new research avenues are advanced.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Supervisor conflict management, justice, and strain: multilevel relationships	[ "Conflict management", "Supervisor", "Justice climate", "Multilevel", "Employee strain" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Conflict in workgroups is a complex phenomenon, with many factors influencing how it may escalate or resolve. Parties to conflict, others who observe the conflict, and how the conflict is handled by third parties, such as supervisors, are all important considerations in how workgroup conflict manifests and its potential effects on employee strain. Statistical models have often struggled with this complexity as investigating questions of this nature requires consideration of complex data structures, such as employees nested within workgroups. With the development of new statistical methods, it is now possible to model both workgroup-level and individual-level concerns, thereby allowing an examination of the effects of workgroup-level variables, such as group perceptions of supervisor behavior, on employee outcomes.\nCMS and employee strain: There are a multitude of models of CMS (Lewicki et al., 1992), however, for the purpose of our paper, the much cited and empirically tested Conflict Management Taxonomy/Grid (Blake and Mouton, 1964) and the related Dual Concern Theory (Pruitt and Rubin, 1986; Thomas, 1992) are considered. According to these models, there are four ways individuals typically respond to conflict to which they are a party. First, individuals may collaborate (problem solve) by providing insights and making trade-offs. Second, individuals may yield, involving concessions to the other party. Forcing an outcome can include imposing their will on the other party/s, threats, bluffs, persuasive arguments, and positional commitments. Last, avoiding involves inaction or withdrawing.\nRole of the supervisor as a third party to conflict: Involving a third party in a dispute is a specific conflict management tactic for employees, which can influence outcomes during a potentially stressful time (Ting-Toomey and Oetzel, 2001), including reduced exhaustion, absenteeism, and turnover intentions (Giebels and Janssen, 2005). It has been proposed that this positive association occurs as using a third party can clarify issues, determine procedures to manage conflict, and give parties more control over the process and outcomes (Arnold and O'Connor, 1999). Although these studies highlight the importance of third party help in resolving conflict, they fail to specify the source of third party help (supervisor or colleague) or to specify the nature of assistance provided by the source (mediation, arbitration, or other).\nWorkgroup-level perception of SCMS: Workgroups or \"a team to which individuals are assigned, whom they identify with, and whom they interact with regularly in order to perform work-related tasks\" (Anderson and West, 1998) are an important part of organizational functioning. As members of workgroups interact, the development of \"shared perceptions about the way things are done around here\" (Reichers and Schneider, 1990, p. 22) can emerge. Organizational climate literature supports the notion that group-level stressors affect individual-level psychological well-being (Tucker et al., 2005), and we propose that situations may arise where the shared perception of SCMS will have an effect on employee strain, and therefore, that employees need not be directly exposed to conflict to experience strain. Indeed, recent studies have assessed the effects of group CMS on team cohesion and performance (Tekleab et al., 2009) and on satisfaction with group processes (Park and Park, 2008). There also have been findings suggesting that different cultures of conflict exist within workgroups (Gelfand et al., 2012). The group-level climate induced by SCMS, and its potential impact on employee strain, however, has not been investigated to date.\nRole of PJ climate: To help understand why SCMS climate might influence employee strain, we propose that workgroup-level justice climate mediates the relationship between the variables. The role of justice in conflict has a long tradition (Byrne and Cropanzano, 2001), but its role as a potential workgroup-level mediator is worthy of enquiry. According to justice theories, there are two reasons that a sense of justice has importance for people (Tyler, 1994). The resource-based view suggests that when people are treated in a fair way, they believe they can maximize outcomes in situations involving social exchange. The group-value model suggests that people's sense of status and self is strengthened by fair treatment, as it communicates to them that they are important and valued. In applying this thinking, it is suggested that employees who perceive their supervisor to treat people fairly, not only feel more valued, but also expect a better resolution of conflict.\nMethod: Sampling procedure and participants\nResults: Aggregation analysis and descriptive statistics\nDiscussion/conclusions: This paper reports on the impact of SCMS climate on employee strain, and PJ climate as a mediating variable. This work is in line with recent calls for more research into precisely what managers can do to both foster feelings of justice and minimize stress reactions among their subordinates (Greenberg, 2004; Kivimaki et al., 2004). Findings revealed that workgroups that reported a high supervisor collaborating climate also reported lower levels of sleep disturbance, job dissatisfaction, and cognitions related to taking action for a stress-related problem at work, as well as higher levels of PJ climate. Workgroups that perceived a high supervisor yielding and forcing climate had higher experience of all four indicators of employee strain and lower PJ climate. High PJ climate constituted the mechanism by which lower levels of sleep disturbance and job dissatisfaction were experienced when supervisors collaborated in response to conflict. Similarly, low PJ climate mediated the positive relationships between a supervisor yielding climate and sleep disturbance, job dissatisfaction, and action-taking cognitions. Theoretically, these results support the importance of group justice perceptions and apply it to a new context, that of SCMS climate and its influence on employee strain.\nConclusion: These findings provide important foundations on which to build effective ways for supervisors to intervene when conflict occurs in their workgroups. It highlights the important and broad role of the supervisor as a potential lever for change from negative to positive outcomes when employees are exposed to conflict in their workgroup. It also reinforces the important role that perceived fairness may play in workplace processes related to responding to conflict. With targeted and empirically driven interventions regarding the visible use of CMS by supervisors, benefits for employee health and morale may be achieved.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test a multilevel model of the main and mediating effects of supervisor conflict management style (SCMS) climate and procedural justice (PJ) climate on employee strain. It is hypothesized that workgroup-level climate induced by SCMS can fall into four types: collaborative climate, yielding climate, forcing climate, or avoiding climate; that these group-level perceptions will have differential effects on employee strain, and will be mediated by PJ climate.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Multilevel SEM was used to analyze data from 420 employees nested in 61 workgroups.\nFindings: Workgroups that perceived high supervisor collaborating climate reported lower sleep disturbance, job dissatisfaction, and action-taking cognitions. Workgroups that perceived high supervisor yielding climate and high supervisor forcing climate reported higher anxiety/depression, sleep disturbance, job dissatisfaction, and action-taking cognitions. Results supported a PJ climate mediation model when supervisors' behavior was reported to be collaborative and yielding.\nResearch limitations/implications: The cross-sectional research design places limitations on conclusions about causality; thus, longitudinal studies are recommended.\nPractical implications: Supervisor behavior in response to conflict may have far-reaching effects beyond those who are a party to the conflict. The more visible use of supervisor collaborative CMS may be beneficial.\nSocial implications: The economic costs associated with workplace conflict may be reduced through the application of these findings.\nOriginality/value: By applying multilevel theory and analysis, we extend workplace conflict theory.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Drivers affecting the adoption and effectiveness of social media investments: The Italian wine industry case	[ "Cluster analysis", "Social media", "PCA", "Impact of SM investment", "SM skills and competencies", "Business performance", "Corporate image", "Wine industry", "Human resources" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Over the past few years, the spread of the internet and digital technologies and, notably, social media (SM) has played a key role in responding to the increasing global competition, through a gradual change in business models. The opportunities and the benefits offered to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by internet-based and digital technologies are numerous, as has been emphasised in several studies (Elghannam et al., 2017; Hsieh and Lin, 1998; Jones et al., 2015; Lawrence, 2009; Parveen, 2012; Prenaj, 2016). Parveen (2012) emphasises the fact that besides allowing millions of people to network socially beyond the confines of geographical proximity, the internet and networking represent, from a business perspective, an essential component of success for any business. Among the elements of internet-based and digital technologies, SM equips firms with powerful transformative tools that are changing the means of communicating and collaborating, both within the firm and with external stakeholders, offering user-generated, interactive, fast and low-cost content (Aral et al., 2013; Whelan et al., 2013). SM allows firms to engage in timely and direct end-consumer contact at a relatively low cost and with a higher level of efficiency than can be achieved through more traditional communication tools (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010, p. 67). The rapid spread of SM can be attributed to three characteristics of this marketing tool, namely, interactivity, speed and cost-effectiveness. By making use of SM, users can participate in online communities as a platform for exchanging judgements on products and brands and share ideas, thoughts and images, thereby ensuring the dissemination of information via electronic word of mouth (eWOM) (Bone, 1995; Cheung and Thadani, 2012; Chu and Kim, 2011; Erkan and Evans, 2016; Tsimonis and Dimitriadis, 2014; Utz, 2015; Zhang et al., 2010). These users become social influencer distributors of impressions and a channel to reach new users and potential buyers. Moreover, the low investment required and the reduction in incurred operating costs (Broekemier et al., 2015; Michaelidou et al., 2011) compared to traditional marketing channels are important aspects that have encouraged the diffusion of SM tools among firms and contribute to the enhancement of business performance (Charoensukmongkol and Sasatanun, 2017).\n2. Literature review and hypotheses: The increasing spread of SM builds on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, which has influenced the way firms to endorse their marketing and communication approaches and interact with their customers. In recent years, a growing number of firms have encompassed SM tools in an integrated communication and media plan by transforming their business approach (Bianchi and Andrews, 2015; Dahnil et al., 2014; Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Firms can take advantage of SM in different ways, according to whether their objective is purely economic or both social and economic (Berthon et al., 2012). The social role of SM has been emphasised by Weinberg and Pehlivan (2011), who stress its ability to empower and influence consumers, enabling relationship building between organisations and individuals. Thereby, a business becomes a network member in a system of interactions among customers and between customers and companies (Kietzmann et al., 2011) in real time. This social component of SM tools has the potential to create capabilities that could translate into useful resources, which can potentially turn results into competitive advantages and improved performance (Lau, 2011; Leonidou et al., 2011; Trainor et al., 2014).\n3. Materials and methods: 3.1 Sample and data collection\n4. Research results: HCA was used to detect similar organisational models among Sicilian wineries using SM in their communication and media plans, as well as to identify which physical, organisational and human skills and competencies characterise wineries inclined to perceive the benefits offered by these tools positively.\n5. Discussion and conclusion: This study enriches the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of SM technologies on businesses' economic and organisational performance, focussing on a strategic sector, the wine industry. Overall, our findings demonstrate the main reasons and motivations that drive managers and owners operating in the Sicilian wine industry towards the implementation of SM in their marketing and communication plans. It has been found that the will to improve the corporate image and better understand the consumers' preferences, to meet their expectations and expand the audience, as well as to increase the competitive advantage of the business, including through the reduction of costs, are important determinants. These findings are consistent with other empirical evidence in different socio-economic and geographical contexts. As observed by Franco et al. (2016) in Portugal, Hassan et al. (2015) in Malaysia and Odoom et al. (2017) in Ghana, SM provides powerful tools for sharing information and interacting with consumers, but also for generating and increasing brand awareness and trust through online comments, posts and other types of engagement (Higgins et al., 2016; Wallace et al., 2014). In addition, Bughin et al. (2011) found that the cost reduction (both communication and marketing costs and transaction costs) is one of the most important drivers in several industries. As stated by Broekemier et al. (2015), SM tools represent an inexpensive promotional option when compared with traditional marketing channels for SMEs operating in several US industries.\n6. Implications and further research recommendations: This study presents both theoretical and managerial implications. From a theoretical perspective, it contributes to enriching the empirical evidence on the role and use of SM technology and its impact on business performance. In particular, our empirical findings help to explain, in terms of the entrepreneurial perception, the influence of SM investment in a strategic sector, such as the wine industry, identifying the main factors affecting this perception. With specific reference to the main factors, our study illustrated that SM competencies, measured as the number of qualified staff engaged in SM management, affect the positive perception of the impact of SM investment. Furthermore, whereas previous studies on SM use have demonstrated that small firms can respond more quickly to customers because of their smaller size, our study showed that most large wineries have a better perception of SM investment.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to identify distinct organisational models in a sample of firms operating in the wine industry; and second, to identify the main internal resources that characterise those firms most motivated towards the adoption of social media (SM) tools and those that perceive SM investment as more effective.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The empirical investigation was carried out by administering an online questionnaire to a sample of 82 Sicilian wineries. The principal component analysis was used to identify latent factors that drive managers to invest in SM technologies and to measure the impact perceived by managers. Subsequently, a cluster analysis was performed to identify similar organisational models.\nFindings: The findings show that large wineries with a high number of employees possessing knowledge and skills in regard to SM tools and social network (SN) management are highly motivated towards the adoption of SM and perceive their SM investment as more effective.\nResearch limitations/implications: The main limitation of the paper lies in the limited sample size, which does not allow the results to be generalised.\nPractical implications: The findings provide support for managers, who could use these results to better focus their investment on infrastructure that facilitates the development of specific skills needed to manage SM tools and SNs, as well as customer relations.\nOriginality/value: To date, very few empirical studies have focussed on providing evidence on the role and impact of SM integration into the marketing communication plan of a strategic industry, such as the wine industry.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A critical examination of the EO-performance relationship	[ "Entrepreneurialism", "Multivariate analysis", "Research methods", "Organizational performance", "Small to medium‐sized enterprises" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) (Lumpkin and Dess, 1996, 2001) has received considerable interest in contemporary entrepreneurship research. EO generally refers to a firm's propensity to take risks, to be proactive, and to be innovative (Wiklund, 1999). The attributes used to measure the level of EO are generally based on the scale developed by Miller and Friesen (1982) and refined by Covin and Slevin (1989) (Brown et al., 2001; Covin et al., 2006).The development of a scale to measure the level of EO has made it possible to untangle the complex causality between entrepreneurship, as defined in the EO construct, and performance. In several recently published articles (listed in Table I), it has been stated that earlier research (listed in Table II) has identified positive correlations between EO and performance. As in all fields of research, a new theory, or in this case a proposition, is generally built on some core references. The increasing number of contributions makes it important to go back to the frequently referred-to studies that have claimed to have found evidence for a relationship between EO and performance and to examine the elements of these studies. This is necessary in order to develop a solid foundation and a rigorous point of departure for future studies in which different aspects of the relationship are analyzed.Several studies have examined the moderating role of EO on the performance of firms by using different contingency and configuration approaches. The level of dynamics in the product market or environmental uncertainty has, for example, been found to have a key role in determining the importance of EO (Attahir, 2002; Dess et al., 1997; Wiklund and Shepherd, 2005). Other scholars have argued that EO can make the resource-based view of the firm more dynamic, when used to describe how resources are acquired (Andersen, 2007) or organized (Wiklund and Shepherd, 2003). Although it is important to analyze the moderating role of EO, these notions are not challenged in this paper. The key question that is addressed in this study is whether or not EO alone has an effect on the performance of a firm, based on evidence from the core references.Thus, the purpose of this study is to critically analyze the assertion that there is a statistically significant relationship between EO and performance. In this article, I concentrate on identifying the core references and on examining these studies critically. In addition to this, the result of yet another study on the relationship between EO and performance in SMEs will be presented. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a critical analysis of the core references. This section constitutes the main contribution of this paper. The methodology and the results of the empirical study are presented in Section 3, and the concluding discussion is presented in Section 4.\n2. Analysis of the core references: In order to identify the core references, articles from established entrepreneurship journals during the period 2004-2007 with references to studies that examined the relationship between EO and performance were analyzed. The publications covered were the 15 leading entrepreneurship journals according to the John Carroll University ranking (see McElwee and Atherton, 2005). In addition to these journals, articles in other peer-reviewed journals that specifically analyzed some aspect of the EO-performance relationship were included. The result of this review is presented in Table I and the core references identified, based on this review, are listed in Table II.As illustrated in Table I, the references that re-occur are:* Wiklund and Shepherd, 2005 (referred to three times).* Smart and Conant, 1994 (three times).* Zahra, 1991 (six times).* Zahra and Covin, 1995 (six times).* Wiklund, 1999 (nine times).So let us examine these five frequently referred-to studies, published by six scholars. These contributions can be regarded as constituting the basis of the EO-performance relationship. The content of the studies is summarized in Table II. All five studies examined the relationship between EO and performance, and argued for a statistically significant relationship between the two. The five studies had a number of limitations, however, which will now be addressed. The issues mainly involve five considerations:1. the independent variable (EO);2. the dependent variables (performance);3. the use of perceptual dependent variables;4. differences between small firms and large corporations; and5. survival rates for entrepreneurial firms.These different issues will now be discussed.Differences regarding the independent variable\n3. Empirical study of the relationship between EO and performance: The weaknesses described in the core references make it interesting to conduct an empirical study in which some of these weaknesses are taken into consideration. The study presented here uses a sample similar to the sample used by Wiklund (1999) and Wiklund and Shepherd (2005), i.e. small- and medium-sized Swedish manufacturing companies. In contrast to the Wiklund studies, however, this study uses objective dependent variables and several separate performance measures. The aim of this study is to investigate the accuracy of the following hypothesis: \"EO has a significant positive effect on the performance of small firms in terms of return on assets, return on sales, average growth in number of employees, average growth in sales or overall performance\".3.1. Research method\n4. Discussion and conclusions: Based on the review of the core references, one can conclude that the study conducted by Zahra and Covin (1995) was the most rigorous from a methodological point of view. In their study, several factors that can have an effect on the validity were analyzed and discussed. However, that particular study had some weaknesses also, especially regarding the lack of analysis of companies that had ceased to exist. Both studies that had used objective data (Zahra, 1991; Zahra and Covin, 1995) examined corporate entrepreneurship. In fact, the term used in these studies was corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and not EO. As discussed, there are several problems associated with using perceptual data and same-source information when measuring EO and performance. Entrepreneurial managers may, for example, be more likely to have a more positive attitude and optimistic perceptions of performance than others. Highly aggregated and different performance indices and different EO scales are other weak points associated with some of the core references. However, ignoring the relationship between risk and failure is likely to be the most problematic aspect of the core references. The notion that risk-taking can result in great success is, of course, apparent. By taking risks, however, companies are - by definition - faced with a greater risk of failure. The most dramatic consequence of such failure is that the company will cease to exist. However, the core references have exclusively focused on the more positive aspects of risk-taking, thus ignoring the relationship between failure and risk-taking.The empirical study presented in this article does not take the EO-failure relationship into consideration either. In spite of this, no evidence for a significant correlation between EO and performance, in terms of growth and/or profitability, could be identified. Thus, the empirical study constitutes another argument for taking on a more critical viewpoint when discussing the correlation between EO and profitability, especially in SMEs. The relationship identified between the proactiveness component of EO and growth in sales and overall performance can be an indication of an aggregation problem with the EO construct. Other authors have also found that only some components of EO are correlated to different performance measures. Kropp et al. (2008), for example, found a relationship between the innovativeness component and performance, and Swierczek and Ha (2003b) identified a relationship between the proactiveness- and innovativeness dimensions and performance. There are, however, some limitations that suggest caution in assessing the findings of the empirical study. In order to eliminate the elements of subjectivity, the number of control variables is limited. Caution should also be exercised in generalizing the findings to other populations. Potential survival bias is another limitation. However, and as argued in this paper, survival bias will most likely weaken the EO-performance relationship.The purpose of this article has not been to provide a complete review of the EO-performance literature. The focus has been on the core references that were identified. However, more recent studies seem to have the same weaknesses in their methodological constructs as the core references. There are 13 recent publications listed in Table I. Several studies (i.e. Chow, 2006; Keh et al., 2007; Krauss et al., 2005; Madsen, 2007; Naldi et al., 2007; Poon et al., 2006; Wiklund and Shepherd, 2003) have used perceptual and/or same-source data regarding the dependent variable. Other studies (i.e. Hughes and Morgan, 2007; Slater and Narver, 2000; Walter et al., 2006) have not shown a significant correlation between EO and performance. Jantunen et al. (2005) and also Kazem and van der Heijden (2006) used objective performance data. However, these studies analyzed the relationship between internationalization and EO, and Kazem and van der Heijden (2006) could not find support for any correlation between EO and profitability. Covin et al. (2006) showed a positive correlation between EO and growth, based on a study using mainly objective performance data. None of the studies addressed the issue of the EO-failure relationship in detail, however. Madsen (2007), for example, conducted chi-square tests similar to those conducted by Zahra and Covin (1995), but did not conduct any further analysis of the companies that had gone out of business.This article has highlighted several weaknesses in previous studies, especially regarding the relationship between EO and performance in SMEs. The usefulness of using perceptual performance data, as well as disaggregating the EO construct when analyzing EO, is an important area of research for future studies. An even more important challenge would be to conduct longitudinal studies in which non-survivors are analyzed. It is worth mentioning that the authors of the core references did indeed discuss the limitations of their studies, which shows an awareness of the complexity of the relationship between EO and performance in their contributions. Even so, these studies are frequently referred to when other scholars state that there is a significant relationship. Thus, the possibly negative consequences of EO have to be addressed. Until then, I recommend that other scholars should adopt a more cautious approach when discussing the relationship between EO and performance, or that they refer to additional studies (if available) that have taken the weaknesses identified in the core references into consideration to a greater extent.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the assertion that there is a statistical significant relationship between EO and performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - In several publications it has been stated that there is a positive relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and the performance of a firm. These studies have generally used the same core references, and these seminal contributions are examined critically in this article. The EO-performance relationship is also analyzed in an empirical study, consisting of 172 Swedish SMEs in the manufacturing sector.\nFindings: - The result of the literature review is that the notion of a positive EO-performance relationship can be questioned. Earlier studies have neglected some important issues, mainly regarding the use of perceptual performance data, common method biases and survival biases. Some of the conclusions presented are supported by the empirical study.\nOriginality/value: - The main point of this paper is to show that the relationship between EO and performance is more complicated than previous studies have implied. More care should be taken when generalizing the results of core references and scholars ought to have a more cautious approach when stating that there is a general correlation between EO and performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Post-MBA industry shifts: An investigation of career, educational and demographic factors	[ "MBA students", "Careers", "Part‐time MBA programs", "Graduates", "Career development" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The MBA degree often is perceived as a tool to facilitate career change (DeMeglio, 2006; McCormack, 2007), but its role in career change has not been the subject of substantial and rigorous academic research. After groundbreaking research in the 1970s and 1980s on the role of the MBA in increasing socioeconomic mobility (Dreher et al., 1985; Pfeffer, 1977; Weinstein and Srinivasan, 1974), there have been calls for more research on learning skills that may benefit career development and the importance of cross-cultural generalization of career patterns (Sullivan, 1999). The first decade of the twenty-first century has brought a resurgence in research on the role of the MBA in career development (Datar et al., 2010; Gioia and Herman, 2005; Khurana, 2007; Montgomery and Ramus, 2011), but still little is known about the types of career change MBA degrees help produce, or the extent to which they influence such outcomes.This paper examines the role of the MBA experience in influencing occupational change, particularly decisions to change industries. We study how the likelihood of the MBA degree to facilitate industry change is affected by variables such as student orientations toward career success, program characteristics, and student demographics.In the next section, we present a literature review and develop hypotheses based on existing research about objective and subjective career success, the role of the MBA in career development, program characteristics that may encourage industry shifts, and the types of students that would be more likely to shift industries after their MBA experience.The third and fourth sections describe our methodology (research sample, measures and analytical techniques) and report the results of our analyses. In the final sections, we discuss our findings and examine the limitations of our study and its potential implications for business schools and future research.\nLiterature review and hypotheses: Objective and subjective career success\nMethod: In order to examine the role of MBA degrees in facilitating career changes across industries, we needed data that captured relevant MBA demographic factors, career-related attitudes, and post-MBA industry affiliation. Thanks to the Management Education Research Institute (MERI) of the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), we were granted access to the Global MBA Graduate Survey Dataset and the MBA Alumni Perspectives Survey Datasets. Data from 2003-2005 were merged to obtain a variety of student demographic information, satisfaction with MBA experience, career attitudes, and reported industries before and after MBA education.Sample\nResults: Table III presents correlations (phi relationships) among the independent demographic factors and provides a useful profile of typical MBA students over the three years of collected data. Age was negatively correlated with all the MBA Programs, with phi coefficients ranging from -0.27 to -0.58. Similarly, work experience was negatively correlated with all the MBA programs (phi coefficients ranging from -0.06 to -0.32). There were also correlations among experience and ethnic groups, and other demographic variables.Principal component analyses were carried out on student responses from the three student satisfaction and career attitudinal areas in the 2003 to 2005 datasets. Overall, the exploratory factor analysis showed good factor loadings by items on their respective components and discriminant ability of items against non-intended components. The lowest item loading on intended factors was 0.51, with most of them above 0.65. The highest item loading on non-intended factors 0.21, with most of them below 0.11. The results revealed one component in the student satisfaction area, two components in the career option attitude area, and three components in the student considerations in job decisions area.The student satisfaction component accounted for 77.8 per cent of item variance. This component reflected a general student satisfaction with what they believed their MBA could achieve for them in terms of career development, achievement, earning power and security.The two career option components and three job decision components were respectively adopted as objective and subjective career success factors.The two components in the career option attitudinal area accounted for 45.2 per cent of item variance. The first component reflected a desire to start a business (objective career success factor), and the second reflected a desire to be competitive for career growth (objective career success factor).The three components in the student job decision considerations area accounted for 48.5 per cent of the item variance. The first reflected a concern for achievement (objective career success factor), the second a preference for stability (subjective career success factor), and the third a desire for a good work environment to utilize skills (subjective career success factor).We also performed Cronbach alpha tests on each component. The results were mixed. On the Satisfaction component, which has nine measurement items based on a five-point Likert scale, the alpha coefficient was high at 0.964. The alpha coefficients for each of the other five components were low to non-meaningful. These low readings could be explained by the dichotomous nature of the scales used on items in these five components, and also the low number of items making up each component - four out of the five components consisted of two or three measurement items and only one had four items. A review of the literature showed that alpha tests underestimate reliability under such conditions, since alpha coefficients require tau equivalence conditions and any slight variation from these conditions have a large impact on test results (Bollen, 1989). Also, the dichotomous nature of measurement items in these five components reduces item ability to capture wider variance patterns of respondents in contrast to items that were designed with Likert type scales (Raykov et al., 2010). The limited number of items in each of these five constructs also caused variations in tau equivalence conditions of a single item to have a disproportionate impact on the remaining other one or two measurement items (Rayvov, 1997, 2001).Recognizing the limitations of alpha coefficients under such conditions, we took the next analytical step of performing confirmatory factor analysis to assure us that the emerging measurement items in their respective sub-constructs from the good exploratory factor structure do indeed have some validity for further use in our study. Accordingly, we subjected the measurement items and their related factor structures to the measurement part of a structural equation model to test for significance of item to construct relationships and their overall fit in the model. The resultant measurement and structural model vindicated the results from the exploratory factor analysis. All item to factor relationships were significant at the 5 per cent level and overall model fit was good. Fit indices are presented below.Item descriptions for these components are presented in Tables I and II, along with their respective lambda Y coefficients from a structural equation validation model.To test our hypotheses of how industry change behavior may be related to student beliefs about what their MBA could do for them, their career option attitude, job decision considerations, and demographic factors, we developed a three-stage SEM model. Industry change (stage 3 - dependent factor) was regressed against both:1. intermediate factors (interest in objective career factors such as:* starting own business;* enabling career growth;* achievement and subjective career factors such as:stability and benefit; andskill utilization); and1. independent factors, such as students' satisfaction with what the MBA could achieve for them, and demographic factors including gender, age, work experience and ethnicity, as well as type of program (Full-time/Part-time/Exec, and Others).The intermediate factors were also regressed against the independent factors.Results of the SEM model revealed good fit (GFI=0.90; AGFI=0.82; NFI=0.94; RMSEA=0.071). All significant relationships are at the p<0.=0.05 level. Table IV presents significant beta relationships from the intermediate factors of starting own business, concern for career growth, concern for achievement, concern for stability and desire for skill utilization on the dependent factor of Industry Change.Table V presents significant gamma relationships from the independent factors (satisfaction with what the MBA could do for students and demographic factors) on the intermediate and dependent factors.The dependent factor, industry change after MBA program, was positively predicted by three intermediate factors (Table IV). These positive predictors included two objective career factors - remaining competitive for growth (gamma=0.10) and concern for achievement (gamma=0.14), and one subjective career factor - preference for stability (gamma=0.05), suggesting support for H1. The independent factor, student satisfaction with the MBA as a tool to achieve career goals, was not a significant predictor of industry shift (Table V), and therefore H2 was not supported.In addition to the three explicitly tested relationships, industry change also was predicted by various demographic factors (Table V). The positive predictors were Part-Time Program (gamma=0.16), Work experience (gamma=0.11), Female (gamma=0.49), and Other ethnicity (gamma=0.05). Negative predictors were Full-Time Program (gamma=-0.05), Exec. MBA Program (gamma=-0.07), Other types of MBA program (gamma=-0.11), Age (gamma=-0.17), American Native ethnicity (gamma=-0.04), Caucasian ethnicity (gamma=-0.02), and Hispanic ethnicity (gamma=-0.02). These findings support H4 (female gender related to industry shift), but do not support H3 (full-time program related to industry shift).\nDiscussion: Summary of findings\nConclusion: This is one of the first large scale studies of industry-level career change among MBA graduates. Although some of our results were to be expected (such as objective career success factors motivating industry change and participation in Executive MBAs being negatively related to industry shifts), we obtained some surprising findings, such as the significance of part-time programs in facilitating industry change. Collectively, these findings suggest that for all the concerns associated with management education, the MBA has the potential to be a basis on which industry shifters might construct new identities to facilitate professional transitions. Such a role suggests that MBA programs may be underappreciated as a vehicle for generating regional, economic, and social benefits. Our findings also indicate the important role of part-time MBA programs in creating such benefits, and should encourage further research on this under-examined effect. We believe that in the foreseeable future, with the evolving demographics of the MBA student population and the changing labor markets in different industries, the role of the MBA in career development will continue to be quite fluid, and therefore an important area of study for careers and management education researchers.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to examine factors that predict industry-level career change among MBA graduates.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study analyzed longitudinal data from the Management Education Research Institute (MERI)'s Global MBA Graduate Survey Dataset and MBA Alumni Perspectives Survey Datasets, using principal component analyses and a three-stage structural equations model.\nFindings: - Perceptions about career growth and opportunity for advancement were the strongest predictors of industry shifts. The type of program was also found to have an influence, with part-time MBA programs positively predicting industry shift, and full-time programs having an indirect effect through significant associations with each of the intermediate predictors of industry shifts. Women were found to be more likely to change industries. Satisfaction with the MBA degree was not a predictor of industry change behavior: they were found to be related only to the extent that graduates valued the importance of certain career factors, such as the objective career factor of career growth.\nOriginality/value: - This is a first large scale study of industry-level career change among MBA graduates.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Music and wine tasting: an experimental neuromarketing study	[ "Music", "Neuromarketing", "Priming effect", "Wine selection" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: It has been stated that an individual's environmental sensory experience would prime the individual's response to stimuli (Simner et al., 2010). Numerous studies have examined the effect of music on affective, behavioural and temporal variables (Bhatti et al., 2016; Shih et al., 2009). Music is considered as the language of emotion and plays a vital role in social communication, further affecting behavioural patterns (Bhatti et al., 2016). Some types of music may reduce an individual's anxiety, whereas others may increase anxiety levels (Scheufele, 2000). The effect of music on consumer behaviour has been of great research interest, and it has been postulated that music would exert greater influence on sophisticated products such as luxury and technological goods. The concept of \"musical fit\" reflects the fact that consumer purchasing decisions would be influenced by how background music activates their superordinate knowledge structures (Yeoh and North, 2012).\n2. Theoretical background: studies on the priming effect: As McNamara (2005) coined the term priming as \"an improvement in performance in a perceptual or cognitive task, relative to an appropriate baseline, produced by context or prior experience\" (p. 3), priming can be used in knowledge activation to result to specific outcomes (Minton et al., 2017). The priming effect refers to a situation in which priming of an item or issue may influence people's judgement, which has been extensively discussed in the related research on cognitive media effect (Wang, 2007). As the tripartite model empirically validated by Breckler (1984), priming effects can be attributed to three aspects, namely, affective, behavioural and cognitive and this present study was designed to explore how the priming effect of musical stimuli influences consumer decisions on wine selection. Klauer and Musch (2003) further indicated that priming can be both affective and cognitive but that affective priming would be stronger. Minton et al. (2017) defined affective priming as the technique of using stimuli to influence an individual's affective response and cognitive priming is employed to change one's thoughts. Most stimuli for cognitive priming comprise words and thus cognitive priming is also known as semantic priming and is prevalently discussed by most marketing research.\n3. Research methodology: 3.1 Participants\n4. Results: 4.1 Priming effect by music\n5. Discussion: Thompson and Vourvachis (1995) suggested that taste was the most significant attribute correlated to consumer purchasing decisions of wines. For this reason, further exploration on participants' state of mind whilst tasting wines will be able to help us extend our current understanding about consumers' brain activity. Priming effects can affect one's behaviour, and auditory stimuli are reportedly effective in inducing such effects (Hinojosa et al., 2009). Pellegrino et al. (2015) confirmed that consumer tastes would be affected by background sounds, but evidence on the priming effect generated by various genres of musical stimuli on one's wine tasting preferences remains scarce. The aim of this study was to bridge this gap in knowledge by investigating the priming effect of music on an individual's wine preferences. This study found that using French chansons as musical stimuli resulted in half (50 per cent) of the participants changing their selection from Spanish to French wine. Moreover, 35 per cent of the participants changed their preference from French to Spanish wine after listening to two Spanish songs presented as musical stimuli. The priming effect of musical stimuli was confirmed based on the statistically significant kh2 test of independence results. A prior study (Laran et al., 2010) confirmed that consumer behaviour will be primed by numerous marketing strategies; for example, brand names always have priming effects on consumers, whereas slogans have reverse priming effects. Instead of possible sources of priming effects used in marketing strategies such as brand names, slogans, brand representatives and pricing, the present study explored the priming effects of music stimuli on wine tasting. Compared to other factors, music is easier to manipulate and use at the point of sale (Jeon et al., 2016). The result of this experimental study offers an alternative approach to the marketing strategies of wine sales, i.e. applying the priming effects of music to consumers before their arrival to the sales point and expanding marketing interventions in terms of time and location as suggested by Biswas et al. (2018). However, the priming effect remains a debatable issue in psychology, and thus more evidence is needed (Minas and Dennis, 2019). Insightful information on the priming effect of musical stimuli can be drawn by analysing participant brainwave activities, and thus further comparisons on participant brainwave activities during the two rounds of wine tasting were conducted.\n6. Conclusion, limitations and implications: This present study adopted an experimental research design to examine the priming effect of music on participant wine tasting preference. In total, 40 participants participated in two procedurally similar experiments with a musical stimulus treatment (French chansons vs Spanish songs). Their choices on two rounds of wine tasting were recorded and analysed with the kh2 test, which reported a significant association between the genre of musical stimuli and the change in preference in the wine tastings. When also considering the brainwave data, it was found that the musical stimuli induced changes in brainwave activity. Participant b and g wave activities were significantly different in the first and second wine tastings irrespective of whether the musical stimuli were French chansons or Spanish songs. Correlational analyses were conducted to examine the associations between participant a, b and g wave activities when listening to the musical stimuli and the second round of wine tasting. The results showed that a, b and g wave activity generated during the presentation of the musical stimuli had a significant but negative relationship with a wave activity in the second round of wine tasting. g wave activity generated during the presentation of the musical stimuli was not significantly associated with b and g wave activities during the second round of wine tasting. Furthermore, a wave activity during the presentation of the musical stimuli had a significant and negative relationship with b wave activity during the second round of wine tasting, and the other associations were significant and positive.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Music has a priming effect on product selection. The purpose of this paper is to extend the current understanding on this issue using an experimental design incorporating behavioural and brainwave data.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An experiment with 40 participants was conducted to explore how and why wine tasting preferences would be primed by different genres of musical stimuli. Electroencephalographic measurement was adopted to measure participant brainwave activity in two experiments, each involving two rounds of wine tasting, and the treatment was administered between the two rounds.\nFindings: Significant associations between the musical stimulus genre and participant change in wine selection were found, and the musical stimuli resulted in different brainwave activities because participant b and g wave activities significantly differed in the first and second wine tasting rounds. Correlational analyses indicated that a, b and g wave activities generated by the musical stimuli were significantly but negatively correlated with a wave activity. a wave activity in the musical stimulus phases was significantly negatively correlated with b wave activity in the second round of wine tasting, and the other associations were significant and positive.\nOriginality/value: This study highlighted the priming effect of musical stimuli in wine tasting. Empirical evidence derived from experimental research was analysed with behavioural and brainwave data. This study's original contribution is that it explored wine tasting preferences from a neuromarketing perspective. The results of this study can provide empirical evidence on how to effectively use music in marketing strategies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Application of learning technologies to promote holistic thinking and consensus building in global studies	[ "Role play", "Surfing Global Change", "Consensus building", "Game-based learning", "Global studies", "Information and learning technologies" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The generation that grew up with digital devices such as computer, internet, video consoles, gaming and mobile phones has already entered the education system. Teaching and learning strategies that ignore these social and technological changes and remain anchored in traditional text-based instructional formats or lectures provoke problems such as a rising lack of student motivation (Sancho et al., 2008, p. 671). Although the information-age generation has learned a thousand new things, is called to be connected and multitasked and is autonomous and peer mindful, many researchers and academics (Bauerlein, 2008; Damon, 2009; Tapscott, 2009) present skeptical views and argue that they are poor communicators, are losing their social skills and are making no great leap forward in human intelligence or global thinking. Thus, a key interest in integrating information and learning technologies (ILTs) into learning environments is to improve social skills and create highly engaging learning experiences in and out of class (Martinez, 2011, p. 33). The advantages of web-based ILTs have been well-documented in literature, including the enhancement of student engagement, personal development and the improvement of various learning outcomes (Chen et al., 2010; Chin and Carroll, 2000; Nelson Laird and Kuh, 2005; Wdowik, 2014).\n2. Review of the web-supported negotiation game SGC: SGC is an interdisciplinary and partly web-based negotiation game over five levels with the aim of identifying sustainable consensus solutions in complex subject areas (Ahamer, 2004, 2005, 2013a, 2014). SGC empowers students to adopt a proactive and responsible professional role in building a sustainable global society (Ahamer, 2014, p. 114). Students are engaged to decide upon a current topic of global change and multiple potential stakeholders with (competing) interests. Students slip into the role of a stakeholder, analyze the situation from a certain perspective and provide a possible solution. The challenge is to find a common solution to a certain global issue taking into account different perspectives (Ottl et al., 2014, p. 121). This offers students a holistic view of problems and corresponding solution expertise, which is essential in the field of global studies. SGC, as a case-based approach, engages students to solve a real problem and reflect on others' standpoints and alternative solutions. Students develop sensitivity and a networked way of thinking that is needed in a variety of multi-cultural settings (Hohenwarter, 2011, p. 5). It allows students to actively contribute to the learning process and education experience. SGC bridges the gap between theory and practice through the application and transfer of knowledge and skills (Ching, 2014; Ertmer and Russel, 1995). According to Ahamer (2013a, p. 288), students are trained to the following:\n3. Application and implementation of SGC: a case study: This case study focuses on hands-on experiences of the learning environment and partly web-based negotiation game SGC, taking place between October 2015 and January 2016 with students of the Master's program \"Global Studies\" at Karl-Franzens-University of Graz (one of whom being the author of this paper). Global Studies is an interdisciplinary study program that prepares students for holistic thinking and acting in an increasingly complex and dynamic world, which is needed to understand unresolved global pressures such as climate change, resource shortages, hunger, mass poverty, migration and terrorism (Hohenwarter, 2011; Ahamer, 2013b). SGC fosters global and holistic thinking, negotiation skills as well as the ability to solve problems and adapt standpoints for the sake of a greater equilibrium in a game-base setting.\n4. Evaluation on learning technologies and outcomes of SGC: SGC is definitely something new in students' everyday life. The implementation of different ILTs supports and enhances the learning process. SGC offers the opportunity to deal with a theme intensively as well as to discuss it controversially. The online learning platform, in this case Moodle, supports the learning process by providing opportunities for the exchange of documents, the sharing of information with multiple users and at the same time the facilitating of peer reviews and discussions. Thus, the learning process is not only teacher to student based but also student to student and even student to teacher, as the teacher follows the game's closing phases on a meta-level as a facilitator. Online peer review enhances student-to-student learning processes, trains academic review culture and strengthens the students' ability to view a problem from different perspectives. Increased student-to-student learning opportunities are a great advantage of SGC.\n5. Conclusion: SGC allows students to encounter a different and diverse partly web-based learning environment, which fosters global and holistic thinking by analyzing and discussing self-chosen topics in the area of global dynamics. SGC bridges the gap between theory and practice. Over five levels, students experience social processes that start from individual working tasks, go through reviewing processes, controversial discussions and team work to the understanding of different viewpoints, which establishes a basis for the process of finding a consensus. Students are supported by a web-based online information and learning platform that provides them with the necessary information, down- and upload areas for documents, response tools for peer review and discussion fora. Besides the training of negotiation skills at levels 3 and 4, enough time should be planned for peer review, feedback and online discussions at levels 2 and 3. Online peer review enhances student-to-student learning processes, trains academic review culture and strengthens students' ability to view a subject matter from different perspectives. Online discussions are further tools for engaging students to get close, immerse in the world of SGC and deal with a topic intensively.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Acting in an increasingly complex and dynamic global world requires students to analyze and discuss professionally many of the international challenges that the world is facing due to globalization. The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate the implementation of information and learning technologies (ILTs) in the practical case of the web-based negotiation game \"Surfing Global Change (SGC),\" which fosters holistic thinking and consensus building. The paper analyzes the technological and social processes during the game and provides a brief overview of its content, in this case the migration and refugee crisis in Austria in 2015.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Review and evaluation of the social and technological processes connected to SGC by one participating student, in this case the author of this paper, to enhance students' points of view on ILTs.\nFindings: The implementation of ILTs in university learning environments enhances student motivation and optimizes learning experiences. By slipping into different roles, taking perspectives and finding a consensus, SGC fosters holistic thinking, sensitivity, negotiation and problem-solving skills, which are essential in a variety of multi-cultural settings.\nResearch limitations/implications: The results obtained are based on a single case study and a single student's viewpoint. According to the rules of SGC, the chapter that focuses on the case study, i.e., the refugee and migration crisis in Austria, is written from the perspective of the stakeholder \"concerned citizen\" and does not necessarily reflect the personal opinion of the author.\nOriginality/value: Participants' perspectives of, experiences with and evaluations of ILTs are essential to improve the quality of web-based learning tools, such as SGC.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Eco-design requirements in heavyweight vehicle development - a case study of the impact of the Euro 5 emissions standard on the Brazilian industry	[ "Automotive industry", "Product development", "Ecodesign", "Heavyweight vehicles" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: It is widely known that the traditional production and consumption model and economic interest do not usually converge with environmental commitment. Ceschin and Vezzoli (2010) argue that the automotive industry is economically interested in reducing its energy and material consumption in production because it aims to reduce manufacturing costs, but at the same time, it does not have a direct economic interest in reducing energy consumption when the vehicle is in use or in extending the vehicle's life span. Meanwhile, automobiles have a high impact on the environment and society, especially through their use: air pollution and traffic congestion are two major negative impacts (Farkavcova, Rieckhof, & Guenther, 2018).\n2. Theoretical foundation: 2.1 Ecodesign\n3. Methodological procedures: A qualitative approach was taken to understand how environmental regulations affected the product development process of one of the leading companies in the heavyweight vehicle manufacturing industry in Brazil. The case study method is used to investigate a specific phenomenon within a given context or a context that is not sufficiently elucidated (Yin, 2005). According to Eisenhardt (1989), the case study is a research strategy that focuses on understanding the dynamics present within unique configurations. In addition to the interviews, this case study combined other data collection methods, such as examining documentation represented by the technical design, the bill of materials used in the design, emissions, organizational records, drawings, parts lists, internal standards, procedures for product development, personal notes and participant observations.\n4. Results: The automaker and its engine supplier have taken actions to adopt certain environmental practices, including internal environmental management and investment recovery. Some actions that fall under internal environmental management are the ISO 14001 certification and the establishment of environmental goals for the factory, such as reducing energy and water consumption and the generation of CO2 and waste. Investment recovery mainly occurs through the sale of scrap and used materials to recycling companies.\n5. Conclusions: This article aims to analyze how environmental regulations affected the product development process of one of the leading companies in the heavyweight vehicle manufacturing industry in Brazil. As a study object, ecodesign practices were verified during the development of trucks with the euro 5 engine.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how technology-forcing regulations affect the product development process in the supply chain of heavyweight vehicles.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Through a case study, this paper seeks to understand how one of the leading companies in heavyweight vehicles manufacturing industry and its engine supplier in Brazil introduce eco-design practices into its engine development process.\nFindings: Through case studies conducted in a heavyweight vehicle producer and its engine supplier, this study shows that, in addition to meeting the standards and legislation, the automaker uses ecodesign practices during the product development cycle such as a design that eliminates harmful and hazardous materials and a project that allows recycling, the reuse of parts and energy efficiency, thereby reducing the environmental impact. However, without the mandatory requirements imposed by federal legislation, products with lower environmental impacts would rarely be developed, as environmental performance is not demanded by customers, who are mainly cost driven. Technology-forcing regulations play an important role in enhancing the adoption of ecodesign practices, but market and competitive conditions also play an important role.\nOriginality/value: Several studies on the impacts of public policies and development for the automobile sector have been conducted, but there is a lack of studies in the area of commercial vehicles, especially in Brazil. Therefore, this research is justified by new demands of society, in addition to the necessity of complying with legal requirements and the adoption of good practices related to eco-design.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Status and quality of open access journals in Scopus	[ "Scopus", "Open access journals", "CiteScore", "Journal quality", "Non-open access journals", "SJR" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: First, scholarly journals appeared in mid-sixteenth century in Europe as mediums for scientific communication (Solomon, 2014). Over the years, many features of scientific journals have changed, of which electronic dissemination of journals was among the most significant and revolutionary ones. Open access (OA) publishing of journals started in late 1980s with the development of the World Wide Web. According to Harnad (1999), the first open access scholarly journal was published in 1989. From that time, OA journals have received considerable attention in the scientific community as an important channel of scholarly communication.\nReview of the literature: A review of the literature was conducted to investigate and summarize previous studies with regard to quantity and quality of OA journals. The number of gold OA journals articles was studied by previous research. In one of the first estimations, Harnad (1999) reported that 2.5 per cent out of the total world publication appeared in gold OA journals. In a study conducted in 2010, Yuan and Hua reported that DOAJ listed 68 library and information science journals in 2006, while this number increased to 96 journals in 2008. Bjork et al. (2010) studied the availability of OA articles through gold and green roads and found that 20.4 per cent of the sampled articles were freely available (11.9 per cent in websites and repositories, 8.5 per cent in OA journals). In another research, Archambault et al. (2014) reported the annual growth rate of 18 per cent for the number of gold OA journals indexed in Scopus during 1996-2012, which means that the share of papers published in these journals doubles every 4.1 years.\nMethodology: Scopus was selected as the data source of this study because of its broad coverage and ease of data extraction. Data were gathered using Journal Metrics[2], a free website that provides current and comprehensive data for source titles in Scopus (see Figure 1 for a screenshot from the Journal Metrics). A total of 22,256 active journals indexed in Scopus in 2015 were selected as the research sample; of these, more than 3,800 titles' articles were free available without any restrictions, identified as OA journals. These journals were considered to be OA if they registered at one or both of the DOAJ and/or the Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources (ROAD). Scopus considers the following types of journals as OA:\nFindings: Of the 22,256 journals indexed by Scopus in 2015, OA journals comprise approximately 17 per cent. The results of the study showed that the volume of OA journals varied across different research areas, ranged from a high of 28.7 per cent to a low of 5.5 per cent. As can be seen in Figure 2, the subject areas with the highest proportion of OA journals were veterinary (60/209; 28.7 per cent), dentistry (44/164; 26.8 per cent), multidisciplinary (24/98; 24.5 per cent), immunology and microbiology (138/571; 24.1 per cent) and neuroscience (139/592; 23.5 per cent). On the contrary, business, management and accounting (85/1531; 5.5 per cent), economics, econometrics and finance (76/927; 8.2 per cent) and psychology (111/1291; 8.6 per cent) were subject areas with the lowest share of OA journals.\nConcluding remarks: The current research investigated the coverage of the Scopus with regard to the OA journals and compared the quality of OA with non-OA journals in 27 research areas. The overall OA share was approximately 17 per cent, over 22,256 journals indexed in Scopus in 2015. In comparison with the results of Miguel et al. (2011), who reported the share of 9 per cent for OA Scopus indexed journals in 2011, we can conclude that the volume of OA journals is becoming greater. The results revealed an uneven spread of OA journals across disciplines. The percentage of OA journals in Scopus ranged from 5.5 per cent (business, management and accounting) to 28.7 per cent (veterinary). The proportion of OA journals was found to be higher in physical and medical sciences than that of in social sciences, humanities and art. The results of the study are somewhat consistent with those of Bjork et al. (2010) who reported higher proportion of gold OA journals in medicine, medicine-related areas and molecular biology in comparison with humanities and social sciences. As Becher and Trowler (2001) discuss, the intensity of OA publishing varies in different research areas based on \"disciplinary culture\" of scholarly communications in that area.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to provide an extensive overview of OA journals' status and quality in 27 research areas based on all Scopus-indexed journals. It shows the volume of OA journals, proportion of publications in OA journals and the quality of these journals in comparison with subscription-based counterparts.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research investigated 22,256 active peer-reviewed journals indexed by Scopus in 2015. Data were gathered using the Journal Metrics website. The current research adopted four indicators to compare the quality of OA and non-OA journals indexed in Scopus under each subject area, namely citedness rate, CiteScore, SNIP and SJR.\nFindings: OA journals comprised approximately 17 per cent out of the total journals indexed by Scopus in 2015. The results revealed an uneven spread of OA journals across disciplines, ranged from 5.5 to 28.7 per cent. Studying the quality of journals as measured by CiteScore, SJR SNIP leads us to the finding that, in all research areas, except for health profession and nursing, non-OA journals attain statistically significant higher average quality than do OA journals.\nOriginality/value: Although OA publishing improves the visibility of scholarly journals, this increase is not always coupled with increase in journals' impact and quality.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Chief learning officers: Activities, effectiveness, and success	[ "Development", "Learning organization", "Outcomes", "Funding", "Chief learning officer", "Measuring" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In a changing and competitive market, organizations need to learn, adapt, and develop to keep up with, or get ahead of, other companies, as well as to survive and grow. The changing environment can mean an organization has to be prepared for fast, continuous, or large changes. Many organizations turn to the creation or recruitment of a chief learning officer (CLO). A CLO is often useful in leading change and integrating the change strategically across all levels of the company, so that the company can become a learning organization. A CLO can provide encouragement and support to develop learning. There is little previous research on CLOs. Given their importance to the changes and learning in a company, it is important to look at what they do and how they do it, their role, effectiveness, and success.\nStudying the role of a chief learning officer: The authors Haight and Marquardt (2018) carried out semi-structured interviews with 20 CLOs. They had been CLOs for two years or more. All interviewees worked in the USA. Over half of the interviewees (55 per cent) were the first CLO for their respective organizations.\nResearch questions: The study used the following five questions to investigate the role and effectiveness of CLOs in creating a learning organization:\nResults: Personal qualities of a chief learning officer\nConclusion: The results from the interviews showed that there were four dominant themes working together in the CLO role: collaboration, networking, and community; measuring, assessing, and feedback; funding and resources; and having a vision and strategy. Such results could be invaluable to future CLOs, providing extra support and authenticity to the value of the role, which could be beneficial in setting up their own learning organizations. The study provided data that could be useful for organizations when creating or recruiting their own CLOs. It showed what a CLO needs to build a learning organization, to be effective, and for the learning organization to be a success.\nComment: The review is based on \"How chief learning officers build learning organizations,\" by Haight, V.D. and Marquardt, M.J., published in The Learning Organization.\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 his/her own impartial comments and places the articles in context.\nFindings: This research looks at the role of chief learning officers (CLOs), at how they create and develop a learning organization, and at what they need to achieve success. There are four main themes behind the role of a CLO: funding and resources; networking, collaboration, and building a community; having a vision and a strategy; and measuring, assessing, and using feedback.\nPractical implications: This paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.\nOriginality/value: The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Understanding users' switching intentions and switching behavior on social networking sites	[ "Perceived risk", "Trust", "Social networking sites", "Perceived value", "Habit", "Switching intention" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, the increasing integration of computers and networks into society has profoundly affected our lives. As part of this trend, people spend more time on the internet and its associated services, including Web 2.0, blogs, and so on. Among these services, social networking sites (SNSs) can be classified as information media.\n2. Theoretical framework: The concept of perceived value has been defined as the overall assessment of the utility of a product or service based on consumers' perceptions (Zeithaml, 1988). Sweeney and Soutar (2001) suggest that a consumer's perception of value comprises his/her opinions of performance/quality, emotional responses, social status, and other factors. Sheth et al. (1991) have classified perceived value as including functional, social, emotional, epistemic, and conditional values. Turel et al. (2007) have provided evidence that perceived value is positively associated with intention to use, while Sirohi et al. (1998) note that the intentions to remain loyal to a particular retailer are negatively affected by the perceived value of a competitor. In other words, the perception of value in a brand the customer is not currently using has a positive relation with his/her switching intention.\n3. Research method: A questionnaire survey was used to collect data on the users' perception of SNSs. Most of the instruments used to measure the constructs in this study are adapted from previous studies in order to ensure content validity. Items measuring consumption values, such as performance/quality, emotional and social value are adapted from Sweeney and Soutar (2001) and Pura (2005). Epistemic value is measured by items adapted from Pihlstrom and Brush (2008). Trust is measured by items adapted from Wang and Head (2007), perceived risk is measured by items adapted from Crespo and Rodriguez (2008), and intention to switch and habit are measured by items adapted from Kim et al. (2006) and Limayem et al. (2007).\n4. Analysis and results: After incomplete questionnaires were excluded, our effective sample size was 471 participants, of whom 267 were men (57 percent) and 204 were women (43 percent). All came from various cities in Taiwan, and their ages ranged from 15 to 66 years, though more than 50 percent were aged 18 to 24 years. Unmarried participants made up 80 percent of the sample. A plurality of the participants' occupations related to information technology (141 or 30 percent), and 110 participants were students (23 percent). Almost all the respondents (466 or 99 percent) had used internet for more than four years, and 212 (45 percent) participants had used SNSs for more than four years. The proportion of respondents who said they used SNSs more than seven hours per day was 40 percent, while 27 percent said they used SNSs between two and three hours per day. More details are presented in Table I.\n5. Discussion: The impact of user intention and behavior on SNSs is critical (Chang et al., 2015; Cheung et al., 2011; Matook et al., 2015). As expected, quality/performance value, emotional value, social value, and trust all have positive effects on switching intention (Deng et al., 2010; Mouakket, 2015; Turel et al., 2007; Wang and Head, 2007). A user is likely to switch SNSs if the new SNS can be more useful (i.e. performance value), seems more interesting (i.e. emotional value), provides more contacts with people (i.e. social value), and/or is more reliable or trusted. However, epistemic value had no significant effects on switching intention in this study. Pura (2005) noted that epistemic value has a significant positive relationship with monetary value, but only in information services where the novelty effect may enhance perceptions of good value. In other words, epistemic value may not have a significant direct effect on behavioral intention. A possible reason for this is that our participants were heavy users of the internet, so SNSs may not have aroused their curiosity or increased the likelihood that they would experiment with their normal ways of doing things.\n6. Conclusion: The empirical investigation described in this paper is of considerable importance to the future development of research on switching intention behavior theory and practice, adding to the body of work on specific frameworks that explain, determine, and influence SNS-switching intention and behavior. The main theoretical implication of this study is that the epistemic value component of perceived value may not significantly affect switching intentions, at least in the SNS context. However, this finding should be treated with caution, given that heavy network users of the sort who made up the majority of our sample will be more familiar with SNSs than a random sample of the population. In addition, our results regarding the moderating effects of habit are a useful confirmation, in the SNS context, of the findings of a small but important body of prior studies.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between social networking sites (SNSs) users' switching intentions and switching behavior. With regard to the former, the authors focus on three factors (perceived value, trust, and perceived risk), and investigate whether and to what extent habit moderates the relationship between SNS-switching intention and actual switching behavior.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data collection for this study was carried out using an anonymous survey. The questionnaire was devised based on the literature review. It consisted of a total of 34 items, all of which used the seven-point Likert scale, and was divided into nine sections. Data collection lasted for approximately three months from March to May 2015. Data analysis used SPSS and SmartPLS statistical software packages. First, the descriptive statistics were computed. Next, reliability as a measure of internal consistency was calculated. Then, the relations between all factors were explored.\nFindings: Before they switch, users usually evaluate the perceived values and risks of the SNSs they might join, as well as establish the degrees of trust with respect to those networks. Hence, this study is potentially useful to SNS providers planning their business strategies, and/or seeking to optimize their services based on a detailed understanding of the concerns of users and potential users.\nOriginality/value: This study is of considerable importance to the future development of research on switching intention behavior theory and practice, adding to the body of work on specific frameworks that explain the SNS-switching intention and behavior. The main theoretical implication is that the epistemic value component of the perceived value may not significantly affect switching intentions, at least in the SNS context. In addition, the results regarding the moderating effects of habits are a useful confirmation, in the SNS context, of the findings of a small but important body of prior studies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Supplier development for sustainability: contextual barriers in global supply chains	[ "Supplier development", "Sustainable supply chain management", "Global supply chain", "Barrier", "Conceptions of sustainability", "Dyadic case study", "Goal-setting theory" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Many firms in developed economies have outsourced and offshored products, components, and functions over the last few decades, compelled by substantial labor cost advantages (Ehrgott et al., 2013). Consequently, suppliers are now often located in distant emerging economies. Such countries are frequently characterized by relatively poor sustainability-related conditions; that is, poor green, social, and ethical attributes within the supplier's operational processes (Busse, 2016). While in the past buyers' purchasing interests were primarily related to the quality and the price of purchased goods, as well as purchasing risks and delivery conditions, today suppliers' sustainability-related conditions are also a factor. Most importantly, buyers' stakeholders exert substantial pressure on buyers to manage their global supply chains in a socially and environmentally responsible manner (Meixell and Luoma, 2015). Stakeholders can punish buyers severely when they become aware of unacceptable sustainability-related conditions among suppliers (Hofmann et al., 2014), arguing that buyers are able to prevent such wrongdoing by means of supplier selection and development (Klassen and Vereecke, 2012). As a result, purchasing decisions and supply chain management of buyers play an important role in ensuring supply chain sustainability (Krause et al., 2009). Specifically, supplier development for sustainability (SDS) is a powerful instrument with which buyers can shape their supply base to mitigate potential supply chain sustainability risks (Foerstl et al., 2010). Responsible sustainability-related conditions among suppliers can also foster cooperation with buyers and may occasionally even create promotional benefits for buyers (Busse, 2016). Thus, responsible sustainability-related conditions among suppliers indirectly serve the interests of buyers. SDS serves to improve these conditions.\nConceptual background: SDS\nMethodology: An exploratory case study design was employed to generate theory about and an in-depth understanding of contextual barriers to SDS in the complex field of global supply chains, based upon rich, contextually embedded data (Dubois and Araujo, 2007). Case study research is well suited to examine complex phenomena from different angles (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2014) since its main advantage when compared to other methods is the opportunity to interact closely with key informants (Pratt, 2009). Moreover, case study research is ideal for exploring causal relationships in-depth, considering not only the \"what,\" but also the \"how,\" \"why,\" and - to some extent - the \"when\" (Whetten, 1989). The data were collected at the level of the dyad to ensure that the perspective of both the buyer and the supplier were fully represented.\nFindings on contextual barriers: The analysis identified five contextual barriers to SDS. Jointly, the barriers can be viewed from the perspective of GST. GST revolves around \"the relationship between conscious performance goals and level of task performance\" (Locke and Latham, 2002, p. 705). Given that SDS is triggered by a need to improve the supplier's sustainability performance as a specific task and that the buyer typically sets goals for the supplier, GST is a suitable theoretical lens for SDS and supplier development in general. According to GST, specific goals reduce ambiguity surrounding the effects to be achieved, thereby increasing task performance (Locke and Latham, 2002). The first barrier effect stemming from the conceptual complexity of the sustainability concept obstructs the specificity of goal definition, thereby impeding sustainability performance improvements in accordance with GST. GST also posits that more challenging but achievable goals improve task performance. In line with this GST finding, the second barrier effect stemming from socio-economic differences prevents the buyer from setting challenging goals for their suppliers. Finally, GST posits that \"for goals to be effective, people need summary feedback that reveals progress in relation to their goals\" (Locke and Latham, 2002, p. 708). The other three barrier effects obstruct necessary communications between the buyer and its suppliers during the pursuit of SDS goals, thereby preventing suppliers from receiving necessary feedback.\nFindings on partial remedies: Three remedies to mitigate (i.e. reduce, but not deactivate) barriers to SDS in global supply chains were identified. They are motivated by findings from the case studies, are explained theoretically, and are related to the extant literature.\nConcluding discussion: The objective of this exploratory study has been to develop theory on the contextual barriers and related remedies to SDS in global supply chains. The study makes important scholarly and practical contributions and identifies interesting avenues for future research.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore contextual barriers to supplier development for sustainability (SDS) in global supply chains and managerial remedies to mitigate such barriers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A dyadic case study design was adopted with a Western European buyer and six of its Chinese suppliers. The database consists of 41 interviews and 81 documents.\nFindings: Contextual barriers to SDS in global supply chains derive from complexities in the sustainability concept, socio-economic differences, spatial and linguistic distance, as well as cultural differences between buyers and suppliers. Partial remedies include effective joint communications, an open organizational culture, and the fostering of cross-contextual understanding.\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings contribute to theory development at the intersection of sustainable and global supply chain management research. They help to explain why scarce sustainability-related progress in global supply chains has occurred in recent years.\nPractical implications: The identified barriers facilitate managerial decision making that will expedite SDS progress in global contexts.\nSocial implications: By diffusing knowledge regarding available remedies, the study contributes to improving SDS effectiveness, thereby fostering sustainability capabilities and performance of suppliers.\nOriginality/value: This research highlights the criticality of contextual barriers to SDS. The barrier effects that stem from differing real-world conceptions of sustainability may inform future sustainable supply chain management research within and beyond SDS.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Understanding industrial safety signs: implications for occupational safety management	[ "China", "Occupational health and safety", "Health and safety requirements", "Work safety", "Industrial safety signs", "Safety officers", "Cognitive sign features", "Hong Kong" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: There has been a growing concern about industrial safety in Hong Kong in recent years, and this concern has manifested itself in a variety of ways. Local laws require that industrial undertakings now have additional responsibilities for industrial safety; they must strengthen the supervision and administration of production safety, and take a more active role in preventing and reducing accidents. Regulations and guidelines have been promulgated for industrial undertakings and professional institutions with the aim of improving occupational health and safety. More industrial concerns have been required to identify and assess potential risks to eliminate unacceptable risks and increase productivity (Law et al., 2006; Gabbar, 2007; Liu et al., 2007; Edington and Schultz, 2008; Goetzel et al., 2008). However, there are still many industrial accidents causing serious injuries and deaths. It was reported by the Hong Kong Labour Department (2010) that the number of occupational injuries in all workplaces in the first three quarters of 2010 stood at 31,580, representing an increase of 6.7 percent from 29,601 in the same period of 2009. The number of fatalities in the first three quarters of 2009 and 2010 were 129 and 143, respectively, representing an increase of 10.9 percent. Compared with neighbouring countries, the reported injury rates in Hong Kong are relatively higher. The annualized fatal injury rates per 100,000 employees for 2007 and 2008 for Hong Kong were 6.6 and 6.8, respectively (International Labour Organization, 2011). For Korea, the corresponding values were 0.04 and 0.05, respectively. For Japan, the corresponding values were even lower at 0.01 and 0.00, respectively.A recent investigation of fatal construction accidents showed that \"poor safety attitudes and behaviour of workers\" was the main cause of industrial fatalities (Wong et al., 2009). The design of the workplace environment is another obvious possible cause of accidents and its importance was highlighted by Golding and Golding (1987). However, according to Whittingham (2004), about 80 percent of accidents can be attributed to human error. People make mistakes for a number of different reasons, in particular when there is a lack of awareness or understanding of safety information provided in the workplace (Sneddon et al., 2004; Laurence, 2005).Hebblewhite (2009) indicated the importance of safety signage and pointed out that in mine safety management systems, signage is one of the system components used for delivering warning and guidance messages to mining workers so as to promote appropriate and responsible behaviour in mine areas. It is important that \"the industrial designer should make a sign as clear and unequivocal as possible so that the target group understand the message\" (Mono, 1997). Recent studies on safety signs, however, have shown that some safety signs do not convey safety messages at all effectively (Liu et al., 2005). Failure to achieve adequate understanding and to convey warning information effectively can lead to injury or death (Lesch, 2003). Therefore, to reduce the risk of misunderstanding and increase the level of sign comprehension, there is a need to investigate the effects of user factors on sign understanding and to design safety signs with a high level of usability. The study of industrial safety sign comprehensibility is thus of great importance because at present there are no local codes, regulations, or standards governing the design and use of such signs. It is of course, of interest to study general understanding of safety signs by the people working in different industrial environments. However, here, the authors considered that this study should be conducted using safety officers because they are safety professionals with safety work experience in various industries and work environments. As safety professionals, the safety officers should be familiar with general industrial safety and health matters, and have reasonable knowledge and understanding of the intended meanings of safety signs.Specifically, this study investigated the understanding of industrial safety signs and messages by registered and non-registered safety officers (NRSOs) in Hong Kong with ten different user factors, and examined the relationship between cognitive sign features and sign comprehensibility. A comprehensive review of the purposes and use of safety signs, job duties of registered and non-registered safety offices, user factors, and definitions of cognitive sign features was conducted for formulating the research questions of the study. For investigation of the understanding of industrial safety signs by safety officers, a questionnaire survey was conducted with careful selection of safety signs for comprehension testing. Participants were asked about their demographics and experience of reviewing safety sign information, and for rating the cognitive sign features and testing safety sign comprehension. The comprehension scores of safety signs and comprehension performance of participants were carefully analysed, and the interrelationships between cognitive features and comprehension scores for the signs were examined. The association between personal experience on safety and health issues and comprehension performance for the participants was also studied. The findings of this study will provide useful information for the design and selection of safety signs and give suggestions of the necessity of sign training and test process for obtaining registration status, which are important for promoting the intended messages of industrial safety signs so as to improve workplace safety and organizational safety culture.This manuscript is structured as follows: in Section 2, we review literature on different aspects of the research topic including industrial safety signs, safety officers, user factors, and cognitive sign features. In section 3, we formulate the research expectations based on the review results of past-related factors. In Section 4, research methodology is presented, and is followed by experimental results in Section 5. A thorough discussion of the major findings, research implications, and limitations is given in Section 6. Section 7 gives our conclusions with suggestions for further research.\n2 Literature review: 2.1 Safety signs\n3 Theoretical foundation for development of research expectations: 3.1 Registered and non-registered safety officers\n4 Methodology: In order to investigate understanding of industrial safety signs by safety officers, the safety signs to be tested had to be carefully selected and the questionnaire well constructed for easy interpretation by the participants.4.1 Safety signs\n5 Experimental results: A total of 41 Hong Kong RSOs and 51 NRSOs voluntarily participated in this study. There were 85 males and seven females. The age range of the RSO group was 28-58 years while the age range was 18-58 years for the NRSO group. The mean ages for the RSO and NRSO groups were 42.99 years (SD=9.36) and 37.21 years (SD=13.19), respectively.5.1 Comprehension score\n6 Discussion: The purpose of this study was to investigate the comprehension level of industrial safety signs amongst Hong Kong registered and non-registered safety officers, and to examine the interrelationships between cognitive features and comprehension scores for the signs. The results showed that comprehension scores differed significantly from sign to sign. The ability to communicate a message clearly is very important for a pictorial symbol when conveying safety-related information because poorly-designed symbols can lead to injury as a result of lack of understanding or misinterpretation (Raskin, 2000). The relatively low-sign comprehensibility scores found here showed that the industrial safety signs did not transmit the intended messages to users. The results also clearly indicated that even the RSOs who were supposed to be familiar with industrial safety and health matters could not interpret the meanings of the signs successfully. It must surely be the case that the general public will find it even more difficult to correctly interpret such signs. It is therefore suggested that an effective education program to promote the intended messages of such signs should be conducted or, preferably, the signs should be redesigned as soon as possible and then launched with a public education program.6.1 User factors\n7 Conclusion: This study compared the industrial safety sign comprehension performance of registered and non-registered safety officers in Hong Kong. The findings provide some useful information for safety management in the selection and evaluation of safety signs for improving workplace safety and organizational culture. The results demonstrated that the effectiveness with which safety sign messages are communicated relates to both the user characteristics and cognitive sign features. The comprehensibility of safety signs was better for the signs which were familiar, concrete, simple, and meaningful, which suggest that safety management office should use familiar symbols as much as possible.The possession of RSO status was a significant predictor of comprehension performance amongst the user factors tested. Nevertheless, the findings here suggested that there is a need to enhance RSOs' risk perception and to increase awareness of the importance of safety signs so as to improve workplace safety and reduce industrial injury rates. Safety officers, especially those who work in the construction industry need to play a more prominent role in ensuring workplace safety, and in transferring safety knowledge to the workers. From a sociotechnical perspective, training programs are suggested as a mechanism for enhancing safety attitudes and emphasizing the consequences of not giving attention to the hazards represented by safety signs. The results also strongly suggest the implementation of a test of safety sign meanings as part of the process of obtaining registration status. Refresher training programs on current and redesigned safety symbols should also be regularly provided to registered and non-registered safety officers, and workers. It needs to be noted that the research findings here are limited by the small sample size of female participants. A larger sample size of female respondents would allow meaningful comparison of results between the two genders.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the understanding of industrial safety signs and messages by registered and non-registered safety officers in Hong Kong with ten different user factors, and examine the relationship between cognitive sign features and sign comprehensibility.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The research methodology includes the survey development and appropriate statistical analyses. In total, 92 Hong Kong Chinese participated voluntarily in the study. A questionnaire survey was used to collect information about demographics, personal experience on safety and health issues, experience of reviewing safety sign information, comprehension scores, and the ratings of sign features for 30 industrial safety signs used in Hong Kong. The effect of ten user factors on sign understanding for the design of highly usable safety signs was examined.\nFindings: - Of the ten factors tested, only the factor of possession of registered safety officer (RSO) status was a significant predictor of comprehension performance. As expected, comprehension scores varied with the cognitive sign features of familiarity, concreteness, simplicity, and meaningfulness.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The currently used industrial safety signs should be redesigned as soon as possible, with careful consideration of cognitive sign features. To make the results more generally applicable, further research is needed to collect more data, particularly from females.\nPractical implications: - This research suggests that an effective education program for promoting the intended messages of industrial safety signs in various industries and work environments should be conducted as soon as possible. Safety officers, especially those who work in the construction industry need to play a more prominent role in ensuring workplace safety, and in transferring safety knowledge to the workers.\nSocial implications: - There is a need to enhance RSOs' risk perception and to increase awareness of the importance of safety signs through training programs, so as to improve workplace safety and organizational safety culture. The redesigned safety signs need to be launched with a public education program.\nOriginality/value: - The paper's findings emphasize the need to create awareness of the importance of industrial safety and promote understanding of safety sign meanings amongst people in their work environments. Useful information for the design and use of safety signs was generated.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The SMART university: the transformational role of learning analytics	[ "EU" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: So what is learning analytics and what opportunities does it offer higher education institutions (HEIs)? There is a current focus for a lot of universities in using their existing data for more constructive purposes, this can include student welfare, improved student outcomes, or evidence driven course redesign. The data can be simply reported in more timely or descriptive ways, or automated to learn or interpret in predictive models. In partnership with Jisc, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) announced the first ever national programme to cover learning analytics (HEFCW, 2018) in July 2018. This was followed by Jisc launching the world's first national Learning Analytics Service (McKie, 2018) in August 2018.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to answer the following questions: What is the process and policy journey that a university must go through in implementing an effective learning analytics programme? What are the drivers for undertaking such an activity, and who are the stakeholders?\nDesign/methodology/approach: The journey of the information, the process or the stakeholder is placed at the heart of the programme, so a primarily ethnographic methodology is appropriate, although ultimately the outcomes of analytics are usually quantitative.\nFindings: In undertaking the journey to a full implementation of an analytics programme, a university must clearly know the strategic driver for starting, and the clear outcomes, if a purposeful path is to travelled.\nOriginality/value: As a currently growing area of interest for lots of higher and further education institutions in the UK and worldwide, learning analytics should be high on everyone's agenda. This viewpoint is intended to provide a short overview to the process and the important strategic drivers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Viewpoint: accelerating the implementation of the SDGs	[ "Implementation", "Sustainable development goals", "Universities", "Academic community" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The international debate on the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has reached a significant degree of maturity, so that time is prone to review them and assess the extent to which higher education institutions have been and may continue to contribute to this process.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the need to accelerate the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the actions needed to reach them. In particular, it outlines a variety of actions which higher education institutions may undertake, to take an active part in the process.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper presents an analysis of the trajectory leading to the SDGs, their relevance and the problems seen in the implementation.\nFindings: There are many needs to be met to implement the SDGs, and there is a perceived need to accelerate their implementation.\nOriginality/value: The viewpoint tackles the complexity inherent to the implementation of the SDGs and points out some of the needs to be met, so as to enable their implementation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Customer experience modeling: from customer experience to service design	[ "Customer experience", "Service design", "Interaction design", "Customer service management", "Design" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Companies have embraced customer experience as a way to obtain sustainable competitive advantages (Shaw and Ivens, 2005), leading some authors to claim that customer experience will be the next competitive battleground (Pine and Gilmore, 1998). Meyer and Schwager (2007) define customer experience as the internal and subjective response customers have to any contact (direct or indirect) with a company. Customer experience is a holistic concept that encompasses every aspect of a company's offering (Zomerdijk and Voss, 2009).Service design research acknowledges the importance of experience when designing a new service (Mager, 2009; Moritz, 2005). Service design is a multidisciplinary field that involves marketing, human resources, operations, organizational structure, and technology disciplines (Ostrom et al., 2010). Following this holistic approach, service design orchestrates service elements such as the physical environment, people (customers and employees), and service delivery process to help customers co-create their desired experiences.However, the scarcity of research about customer experiences (Verhoef et al., 2009; Stuart and Tax, 2004; Patricio et al., 2008; Roth and Menor, 2003; Hill et al., 2002) is mirrored in the methods used by service design researchers to collect and depict experience data. Service design applies interdisciplinary methods and tools from several backgrounds (Moritz, 2005), but they seem focused on single elements of customer experience, rather than on the complete landscape of experience factors. For example, consider personas which are defined as \"a documented set of archetypal people who are involved with a product or service\" (Saffer, 2010). Personas provide information about the customer, or a specific kind of customer, who will use the service. Another example is use cases that are focused on the intended functionality of a service (Saffer, 2010). Also, another stream of service design research has focused on the service delivery process (Smith et al., 2007), addressing aspects such as technology infusion (Froehle and Roth, 2004; Bitner et al., 2000), customer contact intensity (Chase, 1981), and internal process design to support experience (Verma et al., 1999; Voss et al., 2008). Service blueprinting (Shostack, 1984; Bitner et al., 2008) is one of the most common techniques for designing the service delivery process, while other operations management methods and techniques can also be applied to services (Johnston, 1999).While these techniques focus on specific elements of customer experience, holistic study of customer experience through exploratory data collection methods will swiftly flood researchers with information. As Zomerdijk and Voss (2009) point out, it is unclear which service elements create the most compelling contexts. As such, while existing methods address some of the elements of customer experiences, there is no systematized representation of a more holistic view of the customer experience to support service design.To fill this research gap and provide a robust toolset for service designers, we present customer experience modeling (CEM) as a method for capturing the rich and complex elements that shape an experience. CEM systematizes and represents customer experience to support service design efforts. The creative transition from understanding the customer experience to devising service solutions is crucial for service design, and models can play a key role in facilitating this transition process (Patricio and Fisk, n.d.). CEM is applied in the early stages of the service design process. CEM provides a modeling tool that enables a manageable abstraction of a complex reality and facilitates the creative transition to service design solutions. While providing a common framework for multidisciplinary team members, CEM not only portrays the problem space, but also enables envisioning the solution space.Several multidisciplinary contributions were included in CEM. Human activity modeling (HAM) is an interaction design tool for capturing and representing activities and their context (Constantine, 2009). HAM provides the conceptual grounding and notation for CEM. From service design and requirements engineering, we embedded in CEM the concept of customer experience requirements (CER) (Patricio et al., 2008). Based on the goal-oriented analysis concept of softgoal (Mylopoulos et al., 1999), CER have integrated requirements engineering and service design, bringing to the latter a way to express customer desired attributes. Employing CER's enables the assessment of how each service element influences the customer experience. Finally, multilevel service design (MSD) (Patricio et al., 2011) provides the connection between customer experience and service design through three hierarchical levels that frame the experience study, from service concept to service system to specific service encounter.In the next section, we detail how these contributions were integrated to develop CEM. Then we introduce CEM and present its application in a service design effort for a multimedia service provider.\n2 From customer experience to service design: Following the service-dominant logic of Vargo and Lusch (2004) customer experience is not designed, rather it is co-created through customer interactions with the several service elements. To enable the desired experience, service designers must assemble a coherent set of elements, or clues, along the customer journey (Berry et al., 2002). These service elements are the context within which an experience takes place and, along with service activities, comprise the prerequisites that service designers put forward to enable desired experiences (Zomerdijk and Voss, 2009). Context encompasses the elements of each touchpoint, while activities unfold the experience.Customers co-create unique experiences through their interactions with a service provider across different touchpoints, responding to the different designed elements, along with other elements that are not under an organization control, such as the social environment (Verhoef et al., 2009). As such, we cannot expect to design experiences that follow predicted outcomes exactly. Instead, we only design situations that better support customers in co-creating their desired experiences (Forlizzi and Ford, 2000). While many elements take part in shaping the customer experience, it is unlikely the customer recognizes any structure behind it, instead perceiving each experience as a complex but unitary feeling (Gentile et al., 2007). In this context, customer experiences cannot be designed by the organization, but services can be designed for the customer experience (Patricio et al., 2011).Existing service design methods focus on separate elements of the customer experience but designers must embrace the holistic nature of customer experience and take any and all elements and touchpoints into account (Berry et al., 2002). This requires an approach that captures diverse customer experience components and systematizes them for service designers. Since some of these components are beyond a company's reach, we must examine the experience from the customer's eyes.To that end, CEM supports the holistic nature of customer experience, provides a systematic portrayal of the experience context, and considers the physical artifacts, the technology-enabled systems, and the actors involved in each activity throughout a customer journey. Thus, we can characterize the customer experience and shift the focus from single elements to their orchestration. CEM does not substitute for existing methods, but provides a higher-level approach that systematizes experience information to support service design early stages. To achieve a comprehensive characterization of customer experience we followed a model-based approach, which combined several multidisciplinary contributions.\n3 CEM underpinnings: CEM is a model-based method that combines three multidisciplinary contributions to represent and systematize customer experiences for service design efforts. We use models to synthesize and communicate knowledge between members of a multidisciplinary service design team. Models are abstractions used to explain concepts and their relationships, which are too complex to be otherwise understood (Ludolph, 1998). Using models helps the design process by making visible a system's elements and its interactions, thus enabling the design team to achieve a common point of view, both of the problem and its solution (Dubberly et al., 2008).3.1 Human activity modeling\n4 Customer experience modeling: CEM combines three multidisciplinary contributions to provide a comprehensive and systematic representation of customer experience. To apply CEM, a thorough customer study is undertaken using techniques such as interviews, observation, and contextual inquiry (Beyer and Holtzblatt, 1998).Collected data is then systematized with three multidisciplinary contributions; HAM gives the notation and conceptual grounding for a systematic representation of the customer experience, CER's further characterize the experience by pointing out desired qualities, and the three levels of MSD structure the approach and establish the link to service design. HAM notation and concepts were adapted to reflect the customer and service focus because HAM was originally conceived to support the development of designed artifacts rather than designed services. Data must be analyzed to build the relevant categories for CEM, namely the activities performed, artifacts and systems employed, actors involved, and CER's. CEM's concepts and their notation are specified in Table I.These are then structured according to the three levels of customer experience defined by MSD: value constellation experience, service experience, and service encounter experience. For each of them we elicit the relevant CER's and draw its participation map (on the right of Figure 1) with the contextual elements: artifacts, systems and actors.4.1 Value constellation experience\n5 CEM application to a multimedia service provider: CEM was further developed and refined as part of a project to design new services and improve existing ones for a large Portuguese multimedia service provider. Its service offerings include cable TV, high-speed internet, mobile and landline phones, and several video on-demand channels. The project involved a multidisciplinary team of business specialists, designers, and software engineers, which provided a fruitful ground for CEM's application.To begin with, we studied the service provider business model to determine the most relevant customer activities their services supported. As the huge majority of customers were final, residential consumers, and the service provider's main business goal was to maintain its market share in this segment, we excluded business customers. For residential customers, the service provider offering fit into two key overall activities; entertainment, which included cable TV and high-speed internet, and communication, which included the mobile and landline phone services. Therefore, entertainment and communication were the two overall activities we started with.Subsequently we interviewed 17 residential customers and analyzed the collected data following a Grounded Theory approach (Corbin and Strauss, 2008; Charmaz, 2006) with the help of NVivo 8 software. This analysis provided the basis to map customer activities, contextual elements, and corresponding CER's. The latter were identified as follows:* Affordability. Availability at a price deemed acceptable.* Engagement. The feeling of being pleasantly absorbed.* Content. Availability and quantity of up-to-date multimedia materials.* Convenience. Availability and ease of access to something that is desired.* Reliability. Performing in a dependable way and with a predictable outcome.* Reward. Worth the time spent in doing it.* Speed. Swiftness in obtaining what is desired.For each contextual element, a factsheet was produced to better describe and communicate its characteristics, mentioning relevant design guidelines and even including actual field data, such as pictures and customer's quotations. For activities, we adapted HAM's Activity Profile (Constantine, 2009) which describes activities according to their purpose, place and time, participation, and performance characteristics. In Table II we illustrate such factsheets.5.1 Value constellation experience\n6 Conclusion: Understanding customer experiences requires capturing rich information across all customer interactions with the service provider and even other service providers that support the overall customer activity. CEM builds upon multidisciplinary contributions in a way that systematizes this rich information and structures the holistic nature of customer experience. The application of CEM to a multimedia service shows how it can facilitate understanding the customer experience and provide valuable insights to support the service design process.6.1 Research and managerial implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Customer experience has become increasingly important for service organizations that see it as a source of sustainable competitive advantage, and for service designers, who consider it fundamental to any service design project.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Integrating contributions from different fields, CEM was conceptually developed to represent the different aspects of customer experience in a holistic diagrammatic representation. CEM was further developed with an application to a multimedia service. To further develop and build CEM's models, 17 customers of a multimedia service provider were interviewed and the data were analyzed using Grounded Theory methodology.\nFindings: - Combining multidisciplinary contributions to represent customer experience elements enables the systematization of its complex information. The application to a multimedia service highlights how CEM can facilitate the work of multidisciplinary design teams by providing more insightful inputs to service design.\nOriginality/value: - CEM supports the holistic nature of customer experience, providing a systematic portrayal of its context and shifting the focus from single experience elements to their orchestration.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Students' commuting pattern from the viewpoint of environmentalism: comparing Australia with China	[ "China", "Australia", "Environmental knowledge", "Environmental attitudes", "Students’ travel behaviour" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nAbbreviations: ABS\n1. Introduction: Educational trips are the trips that are \"made by students to an institution of learning\" (De Guzman et al., 2005), and these can account for a high proportion of daily trips within urban areas (Gonzalo-Orden et al., 2012). There is a growing body of research on the travel behaviour of university students in recent decade (Bonham and Koth, 2010; Rissel et al., 2013; Danaf et al., 2014). It is evident that university students are unique population segments with distinct characteristics, engaging in a wide variety of activities apart from their study commitments, and they exhibit flexibility in choosing transportation modes especially alternative travel modes (Lyth et al., 2015; Travel Plan Services, 2015). As a result, educational trips associated with students' mobility have also become more complex and demonstrated different characteristics compared to other trips made by general population (Limanond et al., 2011).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 The importance of educational trips in urban traffic\n3. Research methodology and data: 3.1 Case study introduction\n4. Analysis and findings: 4.1 Travel patterns of students\n5. Conclusion: 5.1 Significance of the research\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to clarify the differences between students' travel behaviours in Australia and China and the association between students' environmental attitudes and their travel behaviours in both countries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper extensively reviewed most of existing literature work on commuting patterns of higher education students with referring to different studies around the world and then used it to build a theoretical framework and conceptual model to relate the travel patterns of students to built environment, personal demographics and environmental knowledge/consideration. An online survey was used with 230 students at Mawson Lakes campus of University of South Australia and Beiyangyuan campus of Tianjin University (China). Statistical tests (i.e. mean test, one-way analysis of variance, factor analysis) were used to analyse the data.\nFindings: The study reveals that a high dependence on private vehicles amongst students at the Mawson Lakes campus, whilst a more environmentally sustainable modal choice dominated at the Beiyangyuan campus. Those who studied at Mawson Lakes campus tended to have stronger involvement in environmental activities than their counterparts at Beiyangyuan campus, which presented a clear association between environmental awareness and the travel behaviours of the sampled students.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study focussed on two respective campuses of both universities in Australia and China. Future work could be expanded with students at all campuses of two universities.\nPractical implications: The study affirmed the value of nurturing environmental awareness for students in both universities to encourage more environmentally sustainable travel behaviours amongst students. The paper provides policy recommendations such as establishing infrastructure, and facilities for new stream of mobility included sharing bike schemes, which would be very practical due to flexibility and cost effectiveness within University campuses. The paper attempted to transfer lessons from Chinese bike friendly society to Adelaide's car dominated campus.\nOriginality/value: This study brings remarkable contributions as comparing university students' travel behaviours in two different nations. It is the first one in Australia, which links the environmental concerns among university students with their travel behaviours. The paper was successful in getting the gap between theory and practice filled to some extent. The paper has a capability to be used as an evidence-base work in the area of sustainability education.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Motivating language: a meaningful guide for leader communications	[ "Leaders", "Communication", "Organizational development", "Motivation (psychology)" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: As enthusiastic consumers of organizational advice, leaders are constantly hearing the maxim that effective leader communication is the key to high performance. Yet just what does effective leader communication mean? And even more specifically, what framework can be implemented and evaluated in a cost-effective manner to improve the impact of strategic leader language on such major organizational outcomes as job satisfaction, performance, attendance, retention, and innovation? In response, this article offers a primer on Motivating Language Theory (MLT) (Sullivan, 1988), including reasons for its value, basic tenets and assumptions, expected benefits and limitations, and suggestions for future applications.\nWhy motivating language matters: Today's organizations are increasingly dependent on knowledge sharing, global operations, innovation, and the requisite flexibility to successfully assimilate diversity and rapid change. And despite the emergence of high technology information exchange, the need for competent interpersonal skills is more important than before to optimize workplace outcomes. Robust discoveries about the powerful characteristics of social and emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1998, 2007) have also shown us that mere intellectual skills and sophisticated technology alone cannot induce organizations to thrive.Motivating language (ML), a form of strategic verbal communication, is an ideal tool with which to fulfill this challenge. This powerful form of leader speech is linked with significant benefits. To date, studies report that high levels of ML are significantly associated with improvements in employee performance (up to 17 percent), attendance (up to 28 percent), job satisfaction (up to 70 percent), retention (intention-to-stay, up to 5 percent), and innovation (up to 20 percent). An ML scale has been developed, strongly validated and is freely available, that measures these attributes. Equally important is the fact that some of these ML studies have been conducted with diverse populations in non-US settings, ushering in the promise of wide reaching applications.\nThe basics of ML: MLT (Sullivan, 1988) proposes that strategic leader speech can directly have a positive affect on critical employee outcomes which are associated with motivation, such as job satisfaction, performance, attendance, retention, and innovation. MLT is derived from well-grounded linguistics research on speech acts, and is composed of three main types of leader communication that are expected to cover most leader-to-employee language. These three categories are:1. Direction-giving speech that reduces uncertainty. Examples include goal setting, vision sharing, and management by objectives.2. Empathetic speech that expresses compassion and humanistic respect for employees. A congratulation on a well-executed task (\"Good job Josephine\") and validation of negative emotions (\"I understand that this project is tough, Joe\") are examples of this ML type.3. Meaning-making speech refers to clarification of cultural norms within an organization. Often, meaning-making language occurs in subtle or symbolic ways through stories and rituals. Cases in point, a repeated employee \"success story\" and identification of \"command performance\" social events (such as a company awards banquet) to a direct report are forms of meaning-making talk.Beyond these definitions, ML should be used under the following conditions:* leaders must walk their talk, otherwise, ML will be ineffective, perhaps even detrimental to organizational outcomes;* all three forms of ML must be co-coordinated and appropriately present at different times in leader language to achieve optimal impact; and* ML only can affect outcomes that are related to leader-to-employee speech.Below is a behavioral checklist for ML communication practices:1. Direction giving language:* Clearly define the task a worker needs to accomplish. This definition should include expected tangible outcomes.* Provide the worker with necessary specific directions. Such information should include time-lines and output quality levels.* Check to make sure that the worker understands your directions.1. Empathetic language:* Become aware of when a worker needs emotional support.* Provide support through appropriate verbal means.* Follow-up with appropriate supportive behaviors.1. Meaning-making language:* Decide on pertinent cultural aspects that the worker needs to know.* Tell the worker about these aspects.* Include multiple stories about complex cultural aspects.\nOpportunities for organizational advancement with ML: ML offers many untapped opportunities for organizations of various sizes and national settings. The scale is well-validated, short and simple, easily administered, and can ultimately be shared as a leader diagnostic tool, including within a developmental 360 degree (multi-source) leader feedback program. Moreover, recent ML training experiments comprised of lecture, role play, and group exercises, have received promising assessment, especially during implementation of major organizational transitions. Conceivably, remedial learning in weaker communication areas can be introduced. Such steps should be especially helpful in light of recent psychology research that affirms the high impact of effective training on neurological maps.Also important, ML offers the potential to address specific organizational objectives, especially those which embrace change. For example, an organization undergoing significant change initiatives, such as during a merger or acquisition, could well benefit from increased emphasis on meaning-making language. On the other hand, rapid growth, new markets, or new product development may also signal an enhanced focus on direction-giving language. Consistently, the value of leader empathetic language regarding improved organizational outcomes has remained remarkably strong throughout a number of ML studies.\nPotential future applications: Many additional avenues for ML have yet to be explored, but merit experimentation. One particularly feasible application would be used in closing the electronic communications gap. Although organizations worldwide are increasingly dependent on electronic communications, these same media have been shown to have negative effects on the transmission of meaning and consequently, the mutual understanding that is required for effective organizational practices. To bridge this disparity, ML could potentially be transformed into written and audio-visual media.In conclusion, successful strategic leader communication bears considerable responsibility for achievement of crucial organizational outcomes. Now more than ever before, a leader has to use the right words at the right times in order to optimize such key results as performance, job satisfaction, attendance, retention, and innovation. Through strategic transmission of meaning, ML may serve this purpose well.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The paper aims to share research findings to date, explain the conceptual model, and discuss workplace implementation options.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper presents concept applications for improved leader communication based on existing research and future potential.\nFindings: - The paper finds that motivating language is significantly linked to improved organizational outcomes in performance, retention, attendance, innovation, and job satisfaction.\nOriginality/value: - Training and assessment in leader use of motivating language can have a substantial impact on key organizational outcomes.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Scottish citizens' perceptions of the credibility of online political "facts" in the "fake news" era: An exploratory study	[ "Scotland", "Credibility", "Information behaviour", "Political parties", "Fake news", "Alternative facts" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In November 2016, Oxford Dictionaries announced \"post-truth\" as its international word of the year, defining it as an adjective \"relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief\". Oxford noted that it had become associated with a particular phrase, \"post-truth politics\", and that much of its use in 2016 had been related to the UK's European Union membership referendum (\"Brexit\"), or to the US presidential campaign (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016). In total, 12 months later, Collins Dictionary named \"fake news\" as its 2017 word of the year. Defined as \"false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting\", Collins also highlighted the word's relationship with the 2016 US election and subsequent allegations about President Trump's links with Russia (Collins Dictionary, 2017). Internationally, then, concerns about the provision of false and unreliable information have become a major part of the political and media discourse in recent years. In the UK, one consequence has been an 18-month public inquiry into disinformation and \"fake news\", conducted by the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee, whose final report concluded that \"fake news\" poses a real threat to \"the very fabric of our democracy\" (DCMS Committee, 2019, p. 5).\nTheoretical underpinning: In the mid-1990s, when the World Wide Web became increasingly available to the masses, the information science community began to question the veracity of some of the information available on the internet, and consider how the public at large might best evaluate online information. Key concerns here revolved around the lack of bibliographic structure, editorial control or peer review of web-based information (e.g. Brandt, 1996). Some early observers suggested that the criteria used to evaluate traditional, printed sources (i.e. authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency and coverage) could equally be applied to websites (e.g. Rettig, 1996; Hahn, 1997). Others believed that additional criteria, related specifically to the new online environment (e.g. levels of interactivity, the existence of a search engine, additional software/hardware requirements and page loading speeds), should also be considered (e.g. Gurn, 1995; Stoker and Cooke, 1995; Collins, 1996).\nMaterial and methods: The research reported in this paper consisted of an online survey of the general public, where respondents were asked to gauge the reliability of \"facts and figures\" contained within five social media posts made by the main political parties in Scotland in late 2016 and early 2017. Respondents were asked to provide reasons for their answers, and to indicate how they might find out more about the information presented. They were also asked to give examples of political \"facts\" subsequently exposed as falsehoods; and to relate any incidences where they personally had been misled by information presented as a \"fact\".\nResults and discussion: Reliability of the \"facts and figures\" presented in the five social media posts\nConclusions and further research: This research has focused on public perceptions of the credibility of \"facts and figures\" contained within five \"real-life\" social media posts produced by the main political parties in Scotland in late 2016 and early 2017. These posts are typical of many made by the Scottish parties, in that they rarely, if ever, cite the precise source of any statistics contained within.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study that explored public perceptions of the credibility of \"facts and figures\" contained within five social media posts produced by political parties in Scotland.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study consisted of an online survey conducted in Spring 2017 (n=538). Respondents were asked to gauge the reliability of \"facts\" contained within the posts, to provide reasons for their answers, and to indicate how they might go about confirming or debunking the figures.\nFindings: Less than half the sample believed the posts' content would be reliable. Credibility perceptions were influenced by various factors, including: a lack of cited sources; concerns about bias or spin; a lack of detail, definitions or contextual information; personal political allegiance and trust; negative campaign techniques; personal experience of policy issues; and more intuitive judgements. Only small numbers admitted that they would not know how to find out more about the issues or would be disinclined to look further. The majority appeared confident in their own abilities to find further information, yet were vague in describing their search strategies.\nOriginality/value: Relatively little empirical research has been conducted exploring the perceived credibility of political or government information online. It is believed that this is the first such study to have specifically investigated the Scottish political arena.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Climate, communication and participation impacting commitment to change	[ "Organizational change", "Procedural justice", "Employee participation", "Organizational climate", "Affective commitment to change", "Change communication" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Although failure rates of organizational change are estimated to be as high as two-thirds of all initiatives (Beer and Nohria, 2000; Burnes, 2004), change often remains the only constant in many organizations (Sorge and van Witteloostuijn, 2004). The low success rate is frequently judged to be an implementation failure rather than a flaw of the change itself (Armenakis and Harris, 2009; Klein and Sorra, 1996; Kotter, 1995). While a failure of planned change may indeed have multiple causes, few are as critical as employees' attitudes toward change. The central role workers play should not be underestimated (Choi, 2011; Jones et al., 2005; Meyer et al., 2007) and the active support of individuals is essential, especially during the implementation process (Ford et al., 2003; Self et al., 2007). Attitudes toward change have become a popular subject of scholarship, and many similar but distinct concepts have been introduced into the literature. Among these, a leading construct in the research on individual attitudes toward change is affective commitment to change (Choi, 2011), which has been associated with improved coping with change, lower turnover intentions and increased supportive behavior during organizational change (Jaros, 2010).\nThe relationship between communication, participation and commitment: Commitment is considered to be one of the most important indicators in explaining employee behavior and desirable work-related outcomes in organizations (Choi, 2011). The definition of commitment has been generalized by Meyer and Herscovitch (2001), and is defined as \"a force that binds an individual to a course of action of relevance to one or more targets\" (p. 301). This makes the concept applicable to multiple foci, including organizational change. Previous studies indicate the importance of affective commitment to change for supportive behavior during organizational change, higher job satisfaction and lower turnover intentions (Ford et al., 2003; Herscovitch and Meyer, 2002; Jaros, 2010; Neves and Caetano, 2009; Rafferty and Restubog, 2010). In line with previous research, the current study focusses on this dimension (Conway and Monks, 2008; Herold et al., 2008; Neves and Caetano, 2009).\nFormalization and involvement climate: Organizational change cannot be separated from the organization in which the change occurs. Rather, organizational change should be seen as a process that emerges and evolves in the cultural, historical and political context of the organization (Pettigrew and Whipp, 1991). Psychological climate represents an individual's perception of their work environment (James et al., 2008). These perceptions allow an employee to interpret events, predict possible outcomes and evaluate the appropriateness of their actions (Parker et al., 2003). In prior work, psychological climate has been found to be strongly related to affective variables at work, including organizational citizenship behavior (Ehrhart, 2004), innovation (Anderson and West, 1998) and organizational commitment (McMurray et al., 2004). Additionally, previous research related an individual's perception of the organizational environment to readiness to accept and engage in organizational change (Armenakis et al., 2007; Holt et al., 2007).\nQuality change communication and employee participation as mediators: We argue that both quality change communication and employee participation during a change process are useful mediating constructs to understand how organizational climate influences affective commitment to change. Psychological climate impacts the perceptions of supported and rewarded behaviors and practices. As such, this will direct and motivate employee efforts (Schneider et al., 1996). First, an organizational climate high in formalization focusses on rules and procedures as primary modus operandi. The focus on formal rules and procedures aims to optimize communication, but does not foster participative decision making (Jones et al., 2005). In a high-formalization climate, we expect that there will be few opportunities for employee participation. In addition, employees will try to limit their involvement as this is not reinforced within the organization:\nMethodology: This study tests the hypotheses associated with our theoretical model by collecting data through an employee survey in two different police organizations. To reduce common-method variance, a number of ex-ante steps were taken in de design of the study, as suggested by Chang et al. (2010). For multi-item Likert-scales, multiple endpoints were used (ranging from four to seven), as well as different formats in the form of reversed items, as proposed by Podsakoff et al. (2003). Additionally, the order of the items was randomized between constructs. In addition, an ex-post Harman's one-factor test was conducted (Podsakoff and Organ, 1986), without detecting evidence of common-method variance.\nSample: The first organization is a local Belgian police force, with 158 employees. Their focus is on neighborhood policing, reception, intervention, aid to victims, local investigations, maintaining public order and traffic control. The organization was created nine months before the study by merging two adjacent police forces with the same responsibilities and tasks, but covering different geographical areas. The second organization is a support unit of a Belgian police force, with 20 employees. Their focus is primarily on providing technical, administrative and operational support to local police forces, and on coordinating national police operations. The support unit was created seven months before the study in a merger of two separate entities with the same responsibilities and tasks, but in adjacent regions. In total, 178 surveys were distributed - 158 in the local police force and 20 in the support unit - of which 134 completed surveys were returned: 116 in the local police force and 18 in the support unit. This resulted in an overall response rate of 75.3 percent. Those who returned the survey were representative of the organization at large (n=178) with regards to gender (68 percent male) and age (57.9 percent younger than 45 years).\nMeasures: To ensure adequate measurement of each variable, previously established multi-item scales are used. Questionnaires were administered in the respondents' native language (Dutch). In line with Brislin's (1980) recommendations, questionnaires were first translated in Dutch by one of the publishing authors, followed by the back-translation by an independent researcher. The means, standard deviations and reliability estimates (Cronbach, 1951) for all of the study variables are reported in Table I.\nResults: Table I reports variable descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and zero-order correlations. Six hierarchical linear multiple regression analyses are conducted to test the direct and mediation effects of quality change communication, employee participation and psychological climate on affective commitment to change. The results are reported in Table II.\nContributions and implications for research and practice: Employee commitment and motivation is a critical factor for the success of change initiatives (Oreg et al., 2013), and this study focusses on antecedents of affective commitment to change. We examined the impact of two dimensions of organizational climate, and studied the interaction with quality change communication and employee participation. Outcomes from linear multiple regression analyses of a sample of 134 Belgian police officers demonstrate that an involvement-oriented climate enhances affective commitment to change, and that this effect is fully mediated by quality change communication. Additionally, we find that employee participation reduces affective commitment to change in a highly formalized climate. Contrary to our expectations, formalization climate and employee participation do not directly impact affective commitment to change. Below, we offer explanations for non-expected results, and discuss implications for research and practice.\nStudy limitations and suggestions for further research: As any study, this research has strengths as well as limitations, which suggest avenues for further research. First, our study looks at the same type of organizational change in two similar professional organizations. Hence, our study has to be replicated in other organizations and professions. Second, although ex-ante measures are taken to limit the risk that common-method variance artificially inflates correlations, independent and dependent variables are measured from the same single-informant source. As such, common-method variance cannot completely be ruled out. In future work, it would be useful to include outcome data from other sources. Third, causality cannot be tested in the current study, due to the cross-sectional design. However, as the climate of an organization is very difficult to alter (Schneider et al., 1996), we expect that alterations in climate, if they occurred, would have been small and would have had a limited impact on the results.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Through the combination of change process, context and content the purpose of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of failure or success of organizational change. This study considers the effect of organizational climate on affective commitment to change simultaneously with quality change communication and employee participation during the change process, while controlling for perceived change impact.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The findings are based on 134 survey responses gathered through surveys in two police forces that recently underwent a merger.\nFindings: First, quality change communication is the only process variable that directly impacts affective commitment to change. Second, the results indicate that an involvement-oriented climate positively affects affective commitment to change, mediated through quality change communication.\nOriginality/value: First, the general understanding of the impact of climate on organizational change is very limited. Second, employee participation and quality change communication are generally studied together. The authors propose that both process variables each have their unique impact on attitudes toward change.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Self-presentation, privacy and electronic word-of-mouth in social media	[ "Privacy", "Social media", "Brand communities", "EWOM", "Self-presentation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The developments in media and technology have changed the ways in which people communicate with one another. Recent years have seen increasing trends towards joining different social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and Snapchat (Statista, 2016a). In fact, statistics show that Facebook has over 1 billion daily active users, making it the largest social networking site (SNS) by the number of users (Statista, 2016b). Given the size of its audience, Facebook is an important marketing communication channel for companies, and reportedly, over 40 million small businesses manage their brand pages on Facebook (Ha, 2015).\nSocial media and electronic word-of-mouth: The development of online and social media environment has witnessed the growth of consumer-to-consumer and consumer-brand interactions (Popp et al., 2015; VanMeter et al., 2015). Individuals increasingly turn to online environments to look for information about products and services, to find comparisons of different brands and their main features, to learn about other consumers' experiences with the brands or to find confirmation of pre-defined product judgements (Pentina et al., 2015). Individuals can further discuss and exchange brand-related information on social media, asking their friends and close contacts for restaurant suggestions, get ideas regarding holiday destinations or recommendations about which technology brand to choose. Thus, social media allows for a significant amount of information to be generated outside of companies' control and influence. Consumers can relate their perceptions of the brand to one another and shape each other's attitudes towards the brand (Ladhari and Michaud, 2015) and its reputation in the eyes of potential customers (Amblee and Bui, 2011).\nBrand communities and electronic word-of-mouth: Social media facilitates consumer-brand interactions by offering a platform for brand community development. Habibi et al. (2014, p. 125) discuss that \"at the intersection of brands and social media are groups of communities of brand admirers\", referred to as \"social media-based brand communities\". Brands use social media to engage with their existing fans, to maintain relationships with current customers and to spread interest and awareness among potential brand enthusiasts (Palazon et al., 2015), ultimately positively influencing their brand evaluations (Beukeboom et al., 2015). Similarly, brand enthusiasts can initiate pages and groups related to the brand and attract others interested in the brand to join (Zaglia, 2012). Facebook brand pages encompass brands from various industry sectors, ranging from just having a few hundred fans to thousands of followers (Habibi et al., 2014).\nMethodology: Owing to the lack of research connecting brand community literature and eWOM research and taking into account the emerging and evolving nature and functionality of online environment, this study adopts an exploratory approach. To understand the experiences of members of Facebook brand pages and focusing on the nature of their communication about brands, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Semi-structured interviews allow flexibility in gathering the data, where the researcher can alternate between the questions depending on the flow of the discussion, can add follow-up questions and ask for additional clarification (Mitchell and Jolley, 2009).\nFindings: Nature of brand-related electronic word-of-mouth on Facebook\nDiscussion: The paper has explored the nature of brand-related eWOM in the context of Facebook brand pages. Building on the research on eWOM and the literature on brand communities, and using qualitative data from interviews with consumers, this research elaborates on the conceptualisation of eWOM in this specific context and sheds light onto two important drivers of eWOM activity. EWOM in the context of Facebook brand pages involves a variety of communication activities, including commenting, posting, sharing and consuming brand-related content. Two important drivers of brand-related eWOM in the social media emerge, which are one's need for self-presentation, or communicating one's self-image, and one's concern for privacy.\nLimitations and future research: This study has several limitations. First, the paper adopts qualitative research approach, which aims to explore an under-researched area of consumer interactions limited to Facebook brand pages. The study setting and exploratory data do not allow for generalisability of the findings to all brand communities and all social media. The study design focuses on community participants and explores multiple pages to which they belong. Future research could focus the investigation on one brand category, or, compare the findings from different types of brand communities (e.g. within an alternative social media setting) to provide further insights into the implications of category or community setting on eWOM.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to explore the nature of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and the key drivers of this consumer-generated brand communication, focusing on eWOM in the context of social media communications.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study uses inductive qualitative design, and the data have been collected via 22 semi-structured interviews with individuals who follow brands on Facebook.\nFindings: Building on interview data, the paper advances a conception of eWOM in the social media context and highlights that eWOM consists of a broad range of brand-related communications, which include such activities as consuming, commenting, posting and forwarding information. The study also uncovers two major antecedents of eWOM, which are one's concern for self-presentation and privacy.\nResearch limitations/implications: Further research could examine additional drivers of brand-related eWOM in the context of Facebook brand pages, and investigate eWOM in other social media platforms.\nPractical implications: The findings have two important implications for brand management. Firstly, considering the importance of self-presentation, brands are advised to develop an in-depth understanding of the types of self-image pursued by their target audience. Secondly, given the concerns about privacy on social media, brands may carefully consider and manage the levels of privacy that should apply when communicating with their followers.\nOriginality/value: The novel insights centre on the individual differences in eWOM activity, and the importance of one's perceptions of self-image and privacy in explaining these differences. It seems that the propensity to engage in eWOM and the form that this communication takes are the reflections of one's self-presentation and privacy preferences.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Impact of psychological capital on organizational citizenship behavior: Mediation by work engagement	[ "India", "Organizational citizenship behaviour", "Work engagement", "Perceived organizational support", "PsyCap" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the era of globalization and utmost competition, organizations survive and thrive on optimal utilization of their human resources (Seval and Caner, 2015). Therefore, it is important for the organizations to identify the factors encouraging employees to volunteer for activities beyond the call of their duties. Such discretionary extra-role behavior of employees is called organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) which is of paramount importance for organizational productivity and efficiency. Occupational psychologists believe that OCB is exhibited more by highly engaged employees because the engaged employees simultaneously invest their cognitive, physical, and emotional energies in their work. Similarly, psychological capital (PsyCap) is considered as a critical personal resource which facilitates employees in the completion and achievement of official targets. This accomplishment of task leads to a feeling of fulfillment and generate positivity among employees which motivates them to engage in extra-role behaviors.\nTheory and hypotheses: Organ (1988) defined OCB as an individual's voluntary behavior which cumulatively helps in the organizational functioning, but is not explicitly or directly acknowledged by the formal reward system. OCB has been classified in several ways. Some scholars have classified it based on the nature of these behaviors such as altruism - helping behaviors and compliance behavior - sportsmanship and conscientiousness (Shaheen et al., 2016), whereas others have classified it based on the recipient of these behaviors. In addition, Williams and Anderson (1991) classified OCB into OCBI and OCBO based on the intended beneficiary. The voluntary behaviors directed toward colleagues are called OCBI, and the behaviors directed toward organization - punctuality and working overtime - are called OCB-O (Shaheen et al., 2016). Former includes behaviors that have an immediate benefit specifically on individuals, thus indirectly contributing to the organization, whereas the latter includes behaviors that are directly beneficial for the organization instead of an individual.\nMethod: Sample and data collection\nResults: EFA results largely indicated clear loadings except for two POS items that were removed in the subsequent analyses. These items were: \"My organization is willing to help me when I need a special favor and My organization shows very little concern for me.\" AVE values were found to be more than 0.5 for each construct, thereby indicating validity of the scale. Furthermore, all the constructs were reliable as a values exceeded the minimum criterion of 0.70 (refer Table I).\nDiscussion: The results of the present study are largely as per the expectations. A significant and positive relationship between PsyCap and the two facets of OCB reaffirms the findings of the previous studies, according to which, employees with high PsyCap are more efficacious and positive and this leads to the exhibition of extra-role work behavior (Avey et al., 2011). The positive relationship between PsyCap and WE confirms the earlier finding because employees with high PsyCap are highly efficacious and resilient to the work challenges. They are confident and optimistic about the work outcomes. The mediation of WE between PsyCap and OCBO is one of the major contributions of this paper, which confirms that employees display voluntary work behaviors toward organization only when they are committed and engaged in their work. A committed and engaged employee will find the work interesting and will have onus toward it (Sweetman and Luthans, 2010). Furthermore, POS is found to be a significant moderator between WE and the two facets of OCB, which is another major contribution of this paper. It explains when and how an engaged employee will be more helpful and generous. Dedicated employees may find the extra-role behavior as deviation from their work, but if they perceive that they are valued and cared by their organization, they will be more supportive and helpful to their colleagues and organization and will display more altruistic and sportsmanship spirit. Moreover, according to the theory of positive emotions, individuals reciprocate positive behaviors when they feel good and positive about something (Fredrickson, 2001).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of work engagement (WE) between psychological capital (PsyCap) and the two facets of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) which involves both individual and organization. It also examines the moderating role of perceived organizational support (POS) between PsyCap and WE, and WE and the two facets of OCB.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A total of 293 responses gathered from employees working in diverse service sector industries in India were assessed using structural equation modeling.\nFindings: Overall, the results support the mediating role of WE in the PsyCap-OCB relationship, and the moderation of POS between WE and the two facets of OCB.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study helps in understanding how WE-OCB relationship can be negatively affected in the presence of high POS.\nPractical implications: The results encourage organizations to establish systems for enhancing the engagement levels of their employees, which according to this study may be achieved by creating and maintaining vibrant work environment.\nOriginality/value: This study helps in understanding the role of POS among PsyCap, WE, \\and the two factors of OCB.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Challenges and factors influencing initial trust and behavioral intention to use mobile banking services in the Philippines	[ "Philippines", "Behavioral intention", "Online banking", "Mobile banking", "Antecedents of trust", "Initial trust" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The Philippines financial system is undergoing a period of technological innovations. The changes include a significant increase in the number of alternative formal channels for delivering financial services. The most recent are the use of mobile banking. Since the telecommunication industry was liberalized from 65 years of private monopoly ownership in 1992, there is a rapid growth in cellular mobile telephone services in the country. By the year 2000, the mobile phone subscriptions surpassed fixed telephone lines with a ratio of 8.3:3.9 per 100 subscriptions (ITU, 2016). At the end of 2012, it indicates that every Filipino owned a mobile phone regardless of economic status with 101.9 million subscribers exceeding the total population of the country of 97.1 million. The deficiencies of fixed telephone lines in underserved and unserved areas facilitated the adoption of mobile devices and short message services (SMS). Therefore, financial institutions are attracted to reach larger population by utilizing mobile phones to bring financial services to undertake banking transactions such as account balance inquiries, monitor checking account transactions, pay utility bills, pay loans, fund transfer, receive and send remittances and payroll services. It is important distribution channels through which bank customers can be migrated from brick-and-mortar branches to minimize banks' operating expenses (Peevers et al., 2008).Despite the rapid rollout of mobile services and popularity of mobile money in the country, adoption of mobile banking has been slow. Based on the study of Ramanathan et al. (2014) on digital banking penetration across 13 Asian markets, they found that the Philippines had the lowest digital banking penetration which shows only 9 per cent of the respondents used a smartphone to transact banking services. However, despite the Philippines earned the title of \"texting capital of the world\" or the \"SMS-intensive country in the world\" (GSMA, 2014), the use of mobile phones in online banking services is still in its infancy stage, and the mobile money services provided by telecommunication industry retains its position as the leading mobile financial channel for the Filipino. There is a dearth of literature addressing mobile banking, prior researches focused on microfinance services (Jimenez and Roman, 2005), ease of use of internet banking (Lim, 2013), mobile money (Alampay and Bala, 2010; Boor et al., 2014; Mendes et al., 2007) and internet banking (Chiu et al., 2016).This research fills in the gap by expanding and formulating a deeper understanding of the antecedents of initial trust that influence consumer behavioral intention that might be responsible for the slow diffusion of mobile banking services in the country. This study focuses on analyzing the direct effects of antecedents of trust, the mediating effect of initial trust and the moderating effect of demographic variables on non-adopters' behavioral intention to use mobile banking. The results from this study will help financial institutions create a beneficial connection with consumers while alleviating the fears of non-adopters. It will also enhance their marketing efforts on the benefits of mobile banking by knowing the different factors that influence trust toward the use of mobile banking. This paper has been structured as follows: Section 2 provides a literature review of the mobile banking and barriers to adoption in the Philippines. Section 3 outlines theoretical framework, conceptual model and hypothesis development. Section 4 highlights the research methodology. The results and discussion are presented in Section 5. Lastly, Section 6 discusses the key conclusion, significant business implications, research limitations and future research directions.\n2. Literature review: Mobile phones have increasingly become a significant tool that an individual use for banking, budgeting, payments and shopping. Given the rapid growth in the area of mobile finance, mobile banking has been a major contributor to the evolution of banking system. The purpose of mobile banking is to increase bank's profitability (DeYoung et al., 2007; Hernando and Nieto, 2007) by reaching a wider geographical area (Cruz et al., 2010) and decreasing bank's operating costs such as handling fees, transaction costs, manpower and overhead expenses (Nsouli and Schaechter, 2002; Polatoglu and Ekin, 2001). Convenience and efficiency of mobile banking within the overall service delivery process provide consumer value by decreasing time, effort and costs (Laukkanen and Lauronen, 2005). Table I presents the different mobile banking services provided by the local banks in the Philippines which aim to give freedom to carry out most of the physical banking activities.Based on Digital Report end of 2016 on Southeast Asia (We Are Social and Hootsuite, 2017), it shows that Philippines are advancing in digital connectivity:\n3. Theoretical framework: 3.1 Theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior\n4. Conceptual framework and hypothesis formulation: This study intends to investigate the perceived impact of mediation and moderating variables (MoV) to behavioral intention to use mobile banking services. Based on the above review of literature and their prior research results, we proposed a conceptual model (Figure 1) to explain non-adopters' behavioral intention to use mobile banking by synthesizing both positive and negative factors through the adoption of TRA and TPB.Based on previous studies, this research tested a model of behavioral intention to evaluate potential moderators and mediators of the relationship as presented in Figure 1 assuming that the factors influence the intention to adopt mobile banking:\n5. Research methodology: The data were collected from both qualitative and quantitative method. The questionnaire was the main data-gathering instrument used in this study and supplemented by informal interviews. Selected factors found in the questionnaires were based on previously reviewed studies. To provide more reliable and valid results, a pre-testing of the questionnaires was done with customers from the twenty local banks. As the result of the pre-test, several items were refined. There were changes made in the formulation of proper wording and meaning to be adopted. Some initial items were found to be unclear for the respondents, and these items were eliminated. After the pre-test, the original questionnaire were refined. In all, 46 questions regarding non-adopters of mobile banking were developed. All variables were measured on a five-point Likert scale which ranges from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5).\n6. Results and discussion: In this research, the impact of key IVs that could influence initial customer trust in mobile banking and behavioral intention was tested. Some of the key findings from the data analysis are highlighted below.\n7. Conclusion and implications: 7.1 Contributions to research and practice\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to assess the direct effects of antecedents of initial trust, the mediating effect of trust and the moderating effect of demographic variables on non-adopters' behavioral intention to use mobile banking.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study tested the models of theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior to evaluate potential antecedents of trust (diffusion of trust, infrastructure quality, perceived costs, privacy and security) moderators (demographic variables) and mediators (initial trust) that will influence behavioral intention to use mobile banking. The Hayes' Process Macro developed by Andrew F. Hayes (2013) was used as a statistical analysis in SPSS to estimates the path coefficients using multiple regression. The tool provides insights on the direct and indirect effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable through the existence of moderating variables and mediation variables.\nFindings: The results show that the non-adopters of mobile banking asserted that the antecedents of initial trust played a significant influence on behavioral intention to use online banking services.\nOriginality/value: There is a dearth of literature addressing mobile banking in the Philippines. The first initial trust formation in internet banking using computer workstations and laptops in the Philippines was conducted by Chiu et al. (2016). This research fills in the gap by expanding and formulating a deeper understanding of the antecedents of initial trust that influence consumer behavioral intention that might be responsible for the slow diffusion of mobile banking services in the country. The results from this study will help financial institutions create a beneficial connection with consumers while alleviating the fears of non-adopters and enhancing their understanding of the benefits of mobile banking.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Protection motivation theory and brick-and-mortar salespeople	[ "Brick-and-mortar salespeople", "Customer-driven fear appeals", "Protection motivation theory" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Despite a rich scholarly and practical retailing literature, concerns exist about retailing practice leapfrogging scholarly research (Dekimpe and Geyskens, 2019). However, brick-and-mortar salespeople's in-store performance continues to interest academicians and practitioners jointly (Claro and Kamakura, 2017). Because they can boost customer satisfaction and purchase likelihood, well-trained salespeople are critical to retailer success (Fisher et al., 2019; Stephens, 2013; Vieira et al., 2018); hence, the repeated calls by retailing scholars for studies about ways to improve salespeople's performance (Clark, 1983). Some prior studies have focussed on how trust between customers and salespeople sustains customer-retailer relationships (Abbes and Goudey, 2015; Poon et al., 2017; Sahi et al., 2016; Sharifi and Esfidani, 2014; Sherriff et al., 2013; Wong and Sohal, 2002). Other studies have focussed on salesperson loyalty, ingratiation, sales-team cooperation, online selling and store layout (Bailey, 2015; Janhonen and Lindstrom, 2015; San-Martin et al., 2017; Webber et al., 2018; Yu and Tseng, 2016).Retailers should benefit from controlling and managing the human elements that enhance customers' favourable attitudes about their salespeople's actions (Kim and Kim, 2012). Customers' emotions affect the customer-service provider relationship and selling outcomes, which suggests that retail managers should quell their customers' negative emotions (Alnawas and Hemsley-Brown, 2018; Burns and Neisner, 2006; Lim and Kim, 2017). Given the importance of customers' emotions, it is surprising that sales scholars have ignored brick-and-mortar salespeople's emotions such as fear. Recognizing and understanding salespeople's responses to customer-induced fear should begin to fill this void in the sales literature (Gilliam and Rockwell, 2018). Furthermore, better conceptualizations of customer-induced fear should provide additional insights into customer-salesperson dyads (Elmashhara and Soares, 2019; Jacobs et al., 2001; Mohd-Ramly and Omar, 2017).To align retailing research with practice (Dekimpe and Geyskens, 2019), the effect of fear on brick-and-mortar salespeople is contemplated here. Consider challenges to salespeople, such as uncivil customers, new selling technologies and reduced in-store traffic attributable to online retailers (Bleier et al., 2019; Frey and Osborne, 2013; Gaucher and Chebat, 2019; Rashed et al., 2018). Although sub-optimal, fear is a typical response to such challenges. Understanding how salespeople can anticipate and react to fear can help retail managers boost sales and retain customers.In higher-end and more complex brick-and-mortar stores, salespeople routinely interact with customers whose explicit and implicit requests can create fear. If unrecognized or mismanaged, such fear may spur salespeople to rely on maladaptive coping behaviours. Retail managers can prepare their salespeople to withstand customer-induced fears and choose beneficial response behaviours.The focus here is to review prior literature on applications of protection motivation theory (henceforth PMT) and then to develop a related framework for studying the influence of consumers' fear appeals on brick-and-mortar salespeople. Hence, the three objectives here are:To create a PMT-based framework for studying customers' fear appeals to salespeople;To guide retail managers and salespeople when responding to such appeals; andTo offer tools for retail managers to help salespeople deal effectively with customers making fear appeals.\nSalesperson side of the salesperson-customer dyad: The accountability and consequences salespeople face depend on whether they work in a B2B or B2C venue. Although the posited model may pertain to B2B and other selling venues, the scope here is limited to higher-end B2C transactions (e.g. more complex, requiring multiple employees, sales credited to participating salesperson) in brick-and-mortar stores. In lower-end B2C transactions, salespeople are less accountable for increased or decreased sales due to their superficial interactions with customers and external factors such as economic status, online advertising and price competition (Charnavoki, 2019; Porto and De Abreu, 2019; Sun and Gilbert, 2019). As a result, customers involved in lower-end B2C transactions are less likely to induce fear among salespeople. Regardless, the posited PMT-grounded model of higher-end B2C transactions provides a meaningful perspective on brick-and-mortar salespeople, who generally suffer from high turnover rates (e.g. Cho et al., 2017; Mengjie et al., 2019), low job satisfaction (e.g. Lindblom et al., 2015) and high job stress (e.g. Blazejewski and Walker, 2018; Shukla et al., 2016).Marketing scholars have investigated B2C retailers in various contexts. For example, a retail manager's ability to sense emotions in salesperson-customer relationships facilitates the effect of salespeople's customer orientation on sales performance (Kadic-Maglajlic et al., 2017). Brick-and-mortar salespeople capable of satisfying lonely consumers' social needs are similarly effective (Rippe et al., 2018).Although limited, the research on the salesperson side of the salesperson-customer dyad (e.g. how salespeople's behaviours affect retailing outcomes) suggests a fruitful research stream. For example, selling skills and emotional commitment directly influence adaptive selling (Simintiras et al., 2013). Congruence between salesperson and customer characteristics affects speciality store customers' buy/no-buy decisions (Goudge et al., 2017). Salespeople's knowledge structures can enhance selling efficacy and help retail managers train and supervise salespeople more efficiently (Sharma et al., 2000). Positive affect towards customers can improve salespeople's productivity (Sharma and Levy, 2003). Salespeople who mimicked customers' verbal and nonverbal behaviours received more favourable evaluations by customers (Jacob et al., 2011).Despite anticipated yet substantial changes in retailing (e.g. methods and time of delivery, store locations, shopping habits, product offerings) (Grewal and Levy, 2007), brick-and-mortar salespeople continue to be the critical \"sales messengers\" mostly responsible for retailer success. The lack of research on the antecedents of customer contact suggests opportunities for exploring customers' abilities to induce fear among brick-and-mortar salespeople (Coelho et al., 2011). If a better understanding of customers' shopping experiences helps retailers to improve customers' satisfaction and store profitability (Puccinelli et al., 2009), then a better understanding of salespeople's reactions to customers' behaviours also should be beneficial. Hence, the exposition continues with theoretical support for examining customer-driven fear among brick-and-mortar salespeople, followed by the posited model and implications for retailing scholars and practitioners.\nTheoretical backdrop: Emotion\nManagerial implications: Although salespeople's fears can originate from various sources (e.g. managers, other salespeople), customers are a common and potent inducer. Under PMT, a salesperson copes with customers' fear appeals by recognizing them (see Figure 1), accurately appraising their severity and likelihood and avoiding undesirable responses to them (see Figure 2) (Ruiter et al., 2014). Training (to enhance product knowledge and selling skills) and coaching can enhance these coping skills (Olexova, 2018). Delaying either one until an inability to handle customers' fear appeals becomes toxic and will harm a salesperson needlessly.Figure 4 bridges that gap by suggesting coaching tools for helping brick-and-mortar salespeople cope with customers' fear appeals. To make them less abstract, these tools are illustrated within a brick-and-mortar floor covering store context. However, the pre-emptive ways suggested here are generally applicable and include (1) reassuring salespeople that fear is a common emotion in brick-and-mortar selling, (2) providing sufficient sales training, (3) utilizing manager coaching and (4) conducting role-playing exercises.Coaching practices, such as reassuring and training brick-and-mortar salespeople, underscore their value to handling fear-induced thoughts and behaviours (Blunt, 2018; Schwantz, 2018) and teach salespeople to calm their fears (Cox and Patrick, 2012). In a two-step process, retail managers can first learn to identify fear signals (e.g. voice, physical reactions) and develop fear remedies and then transmit that knowledge to their salespeople. Despite coaching's value to sales force developmental programmes (Badrinarayanan et al., 2015), sales researchers and practitioners have overlooked the positive effects of coaching on fear.Pre-emptive training and coaching tools (Figure 4) can incorporate examples of customer behaviours that trigger salespeople's fears (e.g. negative responses to questions, strenuous objections). Through training and coaching sessions, retail managers and senior salespeople can share their experiences handling customer-induced fear, thus serving as role models for salespeople subsequently encountering similar situations. Role-playing exercises can help salespeople learn proven methods for closing sales and ways to overcome customer-induced fear. Also, trainers/managers and salespeople can collaborate in constructing responses to mitigate each salesperson's unique fears related to previous selling experiences. Essential to all these processes, management must openly discuss fear as a universal and understandable phenomenon experienced by salespeople and strive to mitigate its deleterious effects.\nFuture research: Brick-and-mortar salespeople often face customers who evoke emotional responses that can compromise sales results. Although the practitioner press contains many reports about the negative influence of customers' fear appeals on salespeople (Garmaise, 2013; Keis, 2015), scholarly research on the topic remains sparse (Verbeke and Bagozzi, 2000). This practice-theory gap presents a research opportunity. Retailing scholars and practitioners should investigate the impact of customers' fear appeals and design training and mentoring programmes to help salespeople respond to those appeals with constructive behaviours.Sales researchers should investigate other fear sources, such as the introduction of new sales-related technologies (Frey and Osborne, 2013). Advancements in artificial intelligence, smart platforms, virtual reality and augmented reality are changing the ways salespeople interface with customers. Chatbots acting as personal shopping assistants challenge the value of traditional selling services (Schlosser, 2016). Many salespeople fear that emerging technology will supplant them despite the importance of \"human touch\" to brick-and-mortar sales (Baumgartner et al., 2016). Salespeople's behaviours, such as managing exceptions, tolerating ambiguity, using judgement and shaping questions that machines will help to answer, may be irreplaceable.Power imbalances often accompany customer-salesperson relationships. If the imbalance favours the customer, then the salesperson may experience fear (e.g. \"I am afraid to suggest my product solutions because the buyer will conclude I have inferior product knowledge\"). Future research on customer-induced fear can explore the buyer/seller dyad from this previously unexplored (but undoubtedly valuable) perspective. Although beyond the scope of this work, subsequent research could address this perspective.Future studies could consider expanding the perspective of retail salespeople to include elements that interact with fear (Doughty, 2014; Olatunji et al., 2017; Swallow and Hillman, 2019). These interactions could include information and product asymmetry, simultaneous two-way communications, past buyer/seller experiences and other emotions.\nConclusion: Familiarity with the posited PMT framework may help retail managers to improve their salespeople's performance. Different from simple results-driven interactions, this framework can inform processes designed to mitigate customer-induced fear and help retailers to develop coaching programmes that can help their salespeople recognize and handle customers' fear appeals in ways that benefit and protect salespeople while boosting profitability.The primary role of brick-and-mortar salespeople is to create revenue (Fisher et al., 2019). Because emotions affect salesperson-customer interactions, it behooves retail managers to understand the connections between customers' fear appeals and selling outcomes. PMT provides a theoretical framework for examining how salespeople interpret those appeals based on threat susceptibility and severity, which in turn is influenced by beliefs about their ability to respond effectively. The posited model suggests how retail managers' recommendations can ease such fears and may help to answer this research question: How do customers' fear appeals affect salespeople's performance-related behavioural intentions?Because salespeople can learn to manage their counterproductive responses to customer threats, brick-and-mortar retailers should offer training activities and practical instructions to help their salespeople recognize and handle customer-induced fears. Many salespeople can neither identify the level and severity of their fears nor avoid the disruptive interactions that diminish customer satisfaction and buying intentions. Such training and instructions can reduce maladaptive selling behaviours.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to apply protection motivation theory (PMT) to brick-and-mortar salespeople's responses to customers' fear appeals.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The approach is to develop a conceptual model for the effect of customers' fear appeals on brick-and-mortar salespeople.\nFindings: PMT relates to the influence of customers' fear appeals on brick-and-mortar salespeople's behaviours. The salesperson's decision whether to follow a retail manager's suggestion about ways to mitigate a customer's fear appeal depends on believed threat severity, believed threat susceptibility, response efficacy, self-efficacy and response costs.\nResearch limitations/implications: PMT is applied to a new domain: brick-and-mortar salespeople. Although a powerful yet universal emotion, only limited research has examined fear within this group.\nPractical implications: Understanding salespeople's fears will help retail managers identify strategies for encouraging adaptive behaviours and deterring maladaptive behaviours by salespeople.\nOriginality/value: A model relating customers' fear appeals to salespeople's behaviours is introduced.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The nature, characteristics and ten strategies of learning organization	[ "Learning organization", "Characteristics", "Constructive strategies", "Nature" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: As a world advanced theory of leadership and management, learning organization has great vitality and value. It is profound and practically significant to build a learning Communist Party, a learning team and a learning society through accurately understand the essence, characteristics and constructive strategies of the learning organization.\nThe nature and purpose of learning organization: Learning organization theory stems from the systems mechanics which aims to help the organization to adapt to the complex environment and maintain the capacity of sustainable development. The specific concepts are generated from the research on the \"The Living Company.\" Geus (Arie De Geus) who is in charge of the Shell Company found that \"The Living Company\" is good at learning the constantly changing world and keeps changing to meet new requirements, which shares a common characteristic with other world's top 500 companies. He added that the ability to learn faster than the competitors is the only sustainable competitive advantage, which is consistent with the study of Peter Senge (1998, p. 3). Senge was inspired by De Hete's speech when he held his Research Camp at MIT University. Senge linked systems thinking and mental models to the organizational learning and then called it learning organizations, which is the ideal organizations with high innovation and intelligence. Based on this concept, Senge generated \"The Fifth Discipline\": personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning and systems thinking. It has become a rich vitality of new theory of organization and management. In other words, Senge has created a \"new era\" for this area. People have formed an impression that Peter Senge is learning organization and learning organization is the Fifth Discipline.\nThe basic characteristics of the learning organization: Since the mid-1980s, learning organization theory has developed for more than 20 years, during which it has formed the core theory and practice. To master these basic features is critical to create a learning organization, otherwise we may make the fabled error.\nTen effective strategies for building a learning organization: There are many researches on how to build a learning organization. Peter Senge has presented eight strategies: to combine learning and work, to begin with the existing conditions, to learn the culture of two-way communications, to set up the training ground, to build connections with core work, to build a learning community, to collaborate with the opponent and to develop learning infrastructure. In addition to these eight strategies, some scholars have created a number of effective strategies, approaches and methods under specific contexts and conditions.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to grasp the nature, characteristics and strategies of learning organization so as to construct a learning CCP organization, a learning team and a learning society.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on the nature and characteristics of learning organization, this paper proposes ten effective strategies to construct learning organization in China.\nFindings: This paper proposed ten strategies to construct a learning organization: to construct learning group of leaders; to deliver mission, stimulate aspirations and overcome self-transcendence; to learn comprehensively and change mental models; to promote deep dialogue and expand organizational capacity; to learn at work and work in learning and put learning into practice through solving problems; to eliminate the obstacles of learning and improve the effectiveness; to establish a dynamic model of learning - research - innovation; to make a long-term plan, move forwards step by step and promote sustainable development; to implement evaluation during the whole process of construction; to conduct trial implementation.\nPractical implications: As well, there are some effective strategies and methods of constructing a learning organization, such as the enhancement of learning leaders, the establishment of a pilot group, the improvement of the mental models in learning, the promotion of the dialogue to expand the organizational capacity, learning at work and the work in learning, the establishment of \"three in one\" work model of learning - research - innovation, the promotion of the construction through evaluations and a long-term stage to promote sustainable development.\nOriginality/value: Learning organization is not only a new form of the organization, but it is also a leadership strategy that advances the healthy and sustainable development of the organization. Moreover, it is a culture of the organization that enhances organizational learning, improves mental models, increases organizational intelligence quotient and emotional quotient, and the ability of creating the future.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Applying learning analytics to program curriculum review	[ "Curriculum", "Learning analytics", "Program review" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nBackground: This paper reports on the application of learning analytics (LA) for curriculum review at the program level. Most research applying LA in higher education has focused on academic success and retention (Siemens et al., 2014), rather than as an approach to program[1] curriculum review. Historically, curriculum review in higher education is conducted using a fairly standard approach - stakeholders, usually students and faculty, are surveyed and/or interviewed, standard course and subject performance data are collected, an evaluator (often external to the program under evaluation) is appointed who undertakes the review and analyzes the data to generate a report with recommendations for improvement (Saunders, 2011). A review of the literature on curriculum review and the current status of its use in higher education indicates that LA specifically for curriculum review purposes has considerable potential, but at present it is underexplored (Mendez et al., 2014; Komenda et al., 2015; Toetenel and Rienties, 2016). This paper presents applications of LA as part of curriculum review at the program level which clearly demonstrate its usefulness in providing actionable insights that are either not easily obtained or not possible with traditional curriculum review approaches. Progress made toward formalizing an LA approach to conduct curriculum review of programs is discussed. Furthermore, work addressing the challenge of making LA-based curriculum review accessible to teachers through tools that analyze and visualize program or subject data are also briefly discussed.\nCurriculum review and learning analytics: Curriculum review\nA learning analytics approach to curriculum review: This work on program curriculum review using an LA approach represents a new application for LA. The use of LA for program review grew out of work we have undertaken to support academic departments at our university in the implementation of outcome-based education and program review. The work we have conducted has included looking at the application of LA to a range of different data, including institutional survey data and student performance data, such as student grades obtained from the university's academic records system. Since the graduation of the first cohort of a new four-year curriculum introduced in the 2012-2013 academic year, there has been considerable interest in program review at our university to ensure that the curriculum is achieving the intended learning outcomes. There has also been a focus on how to improve programs from a structural (e.g. timetabling) and learning design perspective. A key part of this has been working with program and subject leaders on curriculum review by adopting an LA approach to complement and extend traditional methods, such as document review, stakeholder surveys and interviews and some limited analysis of student grades. Through this work, analytic approaches have been developed and tested to address questions raised as a part of program review. These analyses, discussed subsequently, provide insight into program and subject difficulty, relationships between subjects in a program, assessment mix and differences between student groups.\nDiscussion: The application of LA to program review is an under-explored area, but one with potential for identifying the areas for curriculum improvement. The examples presented in this paper from our work illustrate the usefulness of adopting an LA approach to program review. Using LA methods more usually applied to subject level data, we have shown that the same analyses provide insights for actions that could be taken for improvement. Program leaders report that actionable insights are very useful and they have commented that these analyses provide concrete evidence, which can be used to develop and implement strategies for improvement. These analyses have also told them things about the program that they would not have otherwise known, such as how challenging the program is for students or how subject difficulty is related to students' satisfaction with a subject. However, while feedback from colleagues has been positive and supportive, there is a need to formalize the approach by mapping data types to analyses that address specific curriculum review questions and detailing related strategies for analysis, visualization, interpretation and reporting when conducting LA-based program review.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe examples of the application of learning analytics (LA), including the assessment of subject grades, identifying subjects that need revision, student satisfaction and cohort comparisons, to program curriculum review.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Examples of analyses that address specific questions that a curriculum review wishes to address are provided, together with examples of visualizations from the analyses to aid interpretation.\nFindings: The results show that using LA as a part of curriculum review can provide insights not possible with the traditional curriculum review methods and can yield useful and actionable insights.\nResearch limitations/implications: The work in this paper illustrates another important application for LA and demonstrates the value this approach has for informing curriculum enhancement at the program level.\nPractical implications: The analyses described provide insights not possible with traditional curriculum review methods. However, the challenge remains to develop analytic tools that can assist teachers to conduct LA independently.\nOriginality/value: LA have been used to predict grades or identify at-risk students (Gasevic et al., 2016), but there is little research on its use for curriculum evaluation (Mendez et al., 2014). This paper addresses this gap and provides examples of its application in program curriculum review and the insights it can provide.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Insights from a distinguished scholar's literary contribution	[ "Poem", "Prose", "Literature and Insights", "Professor Steve Evans" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: This paper's current form is based on a variant of Professor Steve Evans' (Doctor of Philosophy, Creative Writing, Flinders University) 2008 cento and literary pieces reflect the themes contained in his scholarly contributions to AAAJ readers between 2009 and 2011.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the varied themes of Professor Steve Evans contributions to Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ) as Literary Editor between 2009 and 2011.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Methodology takes the form of a prose article and accompanying fictional poem.\nFindings: Literary editors provide different themes when publishing submitted and accepted literary works. However, there might be similarities in the themes provided.\nResearch limitations/implications: The manuscript encourages use of creative expression as a way of representing areas of inquiry and research.\nOriginality/value: A review of Professor Evans' contribution to AAAJ, as contained in the Journal's Literature and Insights, is structured in a cento variant and prose.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The US gender pay gap: the way forward	[ "Gender", "Public policy", "Patriarchy", "Labour market", "Wage gap", "Inequality" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The day after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, an estimated 4,157,894 people in 654 US towns and cities participated in the Women's March while another 308,480 outside of the US also marched in solidarity (Chenoweth and Pressman, 2017). The Women's March was the largest coordinated protest in US history (Women's March, 2017). Though there were undoubtedly many different motivations for the individual marchers, the organizers emphasized a key tenet of the march was women's equality in all components of society, including pay equity. Such global concerns result from the awareness that women know their gender is a liability in the labor market. Internationally, women earn 23 percent less than men for the same type of work (United Nations Population Fund, 2017); however, solving the problem cannot happen at the international level because the gender pay gap (GPG) occurs in a particular historical and social context. In this paper, we provide a case study examining the persistence of the GPG in the USA.\nUS GPG: highlighted facts: The US GPG has been omnipresent. In the early days of the republic, women employed in agriculture and domestic services earned 29 percent of their male counterparts' wages (Goldin, 1990, p. 63). The development of manufacturing industries enabled more women to work for more outside of the home. Women were earning 44 percent of men's wages by 1,832, and in northeastern states, their earnings proportion rose to as much as 50 percent of men's by 1,850 (Goldin, 1990, p. 63). Replacing men with women in clerical professions by the turn of the century allowed another narrowing of the pay gap. The female-to-male wage ratio jumped from 46 percent in 1890 to 56 percent in 1930 (Goldin, 1990, p. 62). In the postwar years the pay gap stagnated at 60 percent between 1950 and 1980 (Goldin, 1990, p. 62; US Bureau of the Census, 1975, pp. 131-132). It narrowed again after 1980 as women's post-secondary educational attainments and labor force experiences and attachments became similar to men's (Blau and Ferber, 1986). The ratio was 80 percent in 2006 and has remained at this level (BLS, 2015, p. 2).\nNeoclassical theories of the GPG: The persistence of the GPG shows that the dominant economic voice - neoclassical economics - has not provided viable solutions to the GPG. The problem is and has always been because neoclassical economics seeks to explain away the pay gap.\nSocial provisioning approach to the GPG: The social provisioning approach rejects foundations of scarcity and resource allocation and resultant market-based outcomes and emphasizes that \"economic activity involves the ways people organize themselves collectively to get a living\" (Power, 2004, p. 6). Hence, processes--interactions of people embedded in specific historical and social contexts--are as important as outcomes (Power, 2004). Social provisioning theorists examine these contexts through the lenses of institutions. Institutions are ways of doing things, and they define what is and what is not possible for individuals. The interaction between people and institutions is symbiotic; just as institutions define the boundaries for individuals, people also alter institutional boundaries with their actions.\nPolicy implications from the social provisioning approach: The government can and must be a positive, powerful and active force if the GPG is ever going to be eradicated. Though there is bottom-up pressure for institutional change, the government remains the economic actor that can most potently foster and even force it. It is only when institutions supporting and fomenting the gender bias that manifests itself in the GPG are changed that the gap will be closed.\nPolicy recommendations: The authors argue successful legislative change has to incorporate the following tenets: explicitly limit capitalist inclinations to segregate workers in any way by gender as a means to justify pay disparities to increase profit and actively erode patriarchy and patriarchally based grounds for differential treatment based on gender. Currently, two immediate steps that can begin the erosion of the institutional foundation of the GPG are the Paycheck Fairness Act (FPA) and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The FPA can close the legal loopholes in the 1963 Equal Pay Act and provide added protection for women in the workplace.\nConclusion: In this paper, the authors argue that the neoclassical perspective is an ill-conceived theoretical framework to explain the GPG. Neoclassical economists have done little to make policy recommendations to eliminate the pay gap since they either do not see a problem or think the efficient labor market will eventually fix it. The authors propose an alternative theoretical starting point to understanding the pay gap called the social provisioning approach. The social provisioning approach shows how the interaction between the capitalist production system and patriarchy creates and sustains the GPG. Viewed from this light, the authors argue in favor of legislation that can have a positive effect on the pay gap. The Fair Paycheck Act and open salary data is a start, but ultimately the foundation for equal treatment must rest on an unassailable foundation: the ratification of the ERA or comparable amendment. Such actions would begin the restraint of capitalist tendencies toward discrimination and furthers the erosion of patriarchy.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine why the gender pay gap (GPG) - with its significant social costs generated through disadvantaging half of the population - persists in the USA despite decades-long efforts toward eradication.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A social provisioning approach, rooted in heterodox economics, is used to examine institutions that create and maintain the US GPG. The GPG is not a natural phenomenon, and, thus, must be examined within a specific social and historical context.\nFindings: The analysis finds that the institutions of capitalism and patriarchy have created and perpetuated the GPG; however, mainstream economic theory does not consider these institutions and goes as far as explaining away the problem. Current US policies are formulated from this mainstream economic perspective, and, thus, are inherently flawed. The authors propose a reorientation toward a social provisioning theoretical perspective to analyze the GPG, which provides a more meaningful and practical foundation for policy formulation.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides a comprehensive examination of effective and ineffective theories and policies for addressing the GPG. Additionally, the authors provide concrete policy recommendations to eradicate the GPG.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Evaluating the performance of technology transfer offices	[ "Technology transfer office", "Performance appraisal", "Fuzzy cognitive mapping", "Economics", "Information transfer" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the information age, knowledge is the key factor in the development of nations. Hence in an economy, based on knowledge, importance of technology innovation is raising as a factor which increases national and corporate competitiveness. Traditionally, universities are the source of science and technology. However, for playing an important role in the economy, it is inevitable that the knowledge and technology is not only created at universities, but also transferred from universities to economy, or more specifically to industry.Given the importance of technology transfer for the economic development, it is not surprising that there is a variety of potential channels through which knowledge is transferred. In fact Brennenraedts et al. (2006) suggest ten categories in which the knowledge and technology can be transferred between universities and firms: publications, participation in conference professional networks and boards, mobility of people, other informal contacts/networks, cooperation in R&D, sharing of facilities, cooperation in education, contract research and advisement, intellectual property rights, spin-offs and entrepreneurship.Transferring knowledge and innovation from universities to the private sector for commercial application and public benefit requires a formal mechanism - a technology transfer office (TTO) - to protect and license intellectual property. Many stakeholders such as academic researchers, TTOs and private industry are involved in the technology transfer process. Among those three players, TTOs are commonly considered to be key stakeholders to determine a university's overall success at transfer process of technology.The objectives of TTOs are to contribute to the economy, facilitate research uptake for the public good, develop mutual beneficial ties with industry, motivate and retain academic staff, and, ultimately to increase income of the universities. These objectives are pursued through activities that include the commercialization of research results, the negotiation of research agreements, support for the creation of new spinout companies, and training and education for scientists in the field of technology transfer (Campbell, 2007).In recent years, universities have shown a growing enthusiasm for the more risky forms of entrepreneurial activity, namely, forming start-up companies around a university-developed technology or licensing to small private firms rather than through the traditional commercialization route with large public companies (Powers and McDougall, 2005). Thus, to reach the success under uncertainty, it requires understanding the relations among the factors influencing the performance of TTOs more precisely.In this study, the performance of a TTO is measured using the indicators of license income, number of patents, industry sponsored research contract income, number of start-up established, and consulting income. On the other side, TTO performance is closely related to other environmental variables such as economic uncertainty or internal decision variables such as TTO human resources. The purpose of this study is to investigate the causal relationships among all the related factors influencing the technology transfer offices' (TTOs) performance.This study provides a contribution by building the mental map among the concepts which are influencing the TTOs' performance. The causal relationships are defined in a non-hierarchical network model. Initially, the pair wise influence degrees of the factors are determined by an empirical study. Thereafter, the impact of factors on the performance of TTOs is determined using the FCM.The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a literature review about TTO. In section 3, the FCM methodology and the FCM applications in literature are provided. In section 4, the application of FCM for TTO performance is explained and finally in section 5, conclusions are provided.\n2. TTO literature: There is a rapidly growing literature on the technology management and innovation activities of universities in recent years. The related literature covers mainly:* impacts of university research;* productivity/efficiency of technology transfer activities;* organizational issues; and* regional or international comparisons/case studies (Rothaermel et al., 2007; Anderson et al., 2007; and Phan and Siegel, 2006).The aim of this paper is to investigate the causal relationships among the factors influencing the TTOs performance. Therefore, it would be beneficial to focus on the researches related to performance evaluation of TTOs.Some scholars have analyzed the implications of organizational and environmental issues on the productivity of TTOs with different perspectives so far. Bercovitz et al. (2001) examined the influences of university organizational forms on technology transfer performance. A model was developed by Markman et al. (2005b) to explain the relationships between TTO structures, licensing strategies and new venture information. Markman et al. (2005a) interviewed with TTO directors and found that the productivity of the TTO can be increased by shortening the commercialization time of technologies. They also identified the determinants of speed as TTO resources, their competency in identifying licenses and participation of faculty in the licensing process. Rasmussen et al. (2006) analyzed the university policies and initiatives to enhance commercialization of research activities through four case studies. Lopez (1998) highlighted some concepts, which, if implemented successfully, can provide more effective research opportunities to universities. Debackere and Veugelers (2005) described effective technology transfer mechanisms that can facilitate the commercialization of academic science. Perez and Sanchez (2003) studied the influence of innovation networks on the dynamics of technology transfer during the university spin-offs' early years. Powers and McDougall (2005) investigated the effects of specific resource factors on TTO performance in terms of two measures: the number of start-up companies formed and the number of newly public companies (IPOs) to which a university had previously licensed a technology. A set of financial, human capital, and organizational resources were found to be significant predictors of these outcomes. Friedman and Silberman (2003) studied on the impacts of rewards for faculty involvement in TT, the experience of technology transfer office, clear mission and objectives, and location of TTO on performance. Caldera and Debande (2010) looked at the performance of Spanish universities in technology transfer through an empirical analysis. Their research findings indicate that university policies are important determinants of university technology transfer performance. Their results also show that the presence of a science park has a positive effect on the commercialization of university research. Arvanitis et al. (2008) explored the propensity of Swiss science institutions to cooperate with firms and found that applied research institutes show stronger tendency to technology transfer activities.Besides, Santoro and Gopalakrishnan (2000) focused on the organizational structures of industrial firms to understand their effects on knowledge transfer activities. They found that knowledge transfer activities can be improved through more mechanistic structures. Siegel et al. (2003a, b) and Siegel et al. (2004) investigated organizational/managerial barriers to effectiveness in TTOS and underlined some of the challenges such as cultural barriers between universities and firms, TTO staffing and compensation practices, and inadequate reward system for faculty.Several colleagues have proposed models for the measurement of TTO performance. The US universities were evaluated based on their success on generating spinoff companies by O'Shea et al. (2005). Rogers et al. (2000) presented an assessment of TTOs using correlation of characteristics technology transfer score. Foltz et al. (2000) and Thursby et al. (2001) applied linear regression to assess the efficiency of TTOs. In addition to empirical researches, data envelopment analysis (DEA), a mathematical programming methodology, has been used as a productivity evaluation tool for technology transfer activities of universities. Using DEA, Thursby and Kemp (2002) examined the overall productivity of university licensing activity; Anderson et al. (2007) assessed technology transfer efficiency of 54 US universities. Chapple et al. (2005) used DEA and stochastic frontier estimation (SFE) to analyze the relative productivity of university TTOs in UK. Siegel et al. (2008) proposed a model based on DEA for cross-country comparison of the relative performance of TTOs. With respect to their results, US universities are more productive than UK universities in technology commercialization.Among this variety of approaches, what has not yet been thoroughly addressed by previous research is the implementation of fuzzy cognitive mapping to evaluate the relations among the factors influencing the TTO performance.\n3. FCM: 3.1 FCM methodology\n4. Application: 4.1 Application of FCM to TTOs\n5. Conclusion: Technology transfer has an important role to play in today's world, where access to know-how and knowledge are valuable. The technology transfer offices (TTOs) facilitate commercial knowledge transfers through the licensing to industry of inventions or other forms of intellectual property resulting from university research. These offices also conduct activities of supporting spin-offs, negotiating industry sponsored research agreements and consulting. There are various variables affecting the performance of TTO. It is important to identify and analyze the relationships among these variables.In this study, we proposed FCM as a modeling tool and simulation technique for analyzing the causal relations among the factors influencing the TTO performance. According to the findings, TTO performance is mainly influenced by economic uncertainty, industry research demand, R&D budget of university and TTO human resources capacity. The preceding two of these factors are defined as external and the latter two factors are identified as internal variables. When we analyze the TTO performance measures, number of patents awarded, license income, number of established spin-offs, consulting income and contractual research income are influenced at the similar degree by the external factors. However, the influence of internal factors on number of patents awarded, license income, number of established spin-offs is higher in comparison to consulting income and contractual research income. Since the internal factors are controllable for TTOs, it could be concluded that TTO managers should focus on three performance measures; number of patents awarded, license income, number of established spin-offs which are affected mostly by the internal factors.In future work, we will develop a risk based cost-benefit model for technology transfer offices considering the direct and indirect relations among the factors affecting the TTO performance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the causal relationships among the factors influencing the technology transfer offices' (TTOs) performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM) method is used in this study.\nFindings: - The findings from this research is that TTO human resources, industry research demand, R&D budget of university and economic uncertainty are the most influential factors on the performance of TTOs. The performance outputs which are mostly affected are the factors, licenses, patents, established spin-offs, industry research contracts and consulting income.\nOriginality/value: - This study provides a contribution by building the mental map among the concepts which are influencing the TTOs' performance. The causal relationships are defined in a non-hierarchical network model. Indirect effects are considered in examining the TTOs performance. The pair wise influence degrees of the factors are determined by an empirical study. Using the FCM, the impact of factors on the performance of TTOs is investigated.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Key determinants of waste separation intention: empirical application of TPB	[ "Structural equation modelling", "Universities", "Theory of planned behaviour", "Waste management", "Structural analysis", "Waste separation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Developing countries, including Malaysia, are faced with low quality of environment, especially in urban areas, with respect to the solid waste management sector (Khajuria et al., 2010; Shamshiry et al., 2011). As stated by Firdaus and Ahmad (2010), one of the factors contributing to the low environment quality is inadequate and unscientific municipal solid waste management practice. Application of the 3Rs should be done in developing countries to improve solid waste management (Desa et al., 2011; Badgie et al., 2012). Badgie (2010) and Shamshiry et al. (2011) stated that Malaysia is also facing challenges in handling the increasing trend of solid waste generation owing to economic growth and increase in population and residents' attitudes, while Moh and Manaf (2014) add rapid urbanisation as a factor that contributes to solid waste management challenges. The Malaysian Government has launched various recycling programmes and campaigns and has provided solid waste facilities to improve the solid waste management sector, but the success rate is still low based on the increasing amount of waste generated from year to year (Solid Waste Corporation Management, 2015). This is because people are not practising waste recycling behaviour actively even though they have an understanding and awareness of the impact of improper waste management on the environment (Moh and Manaf, 2014; Omran et al., 2009). Therefore, in the 11th Malaysia Plan, the government focused on changing the nation's behaviour in minimising waste through waste separation instead of providing extra landfill and dumping areas (Economic Planning Unit, 2016). Waste separation is one of the ways to reduce the amount of waste being dumped at the landfill and increase the recycling rate (Badgie, 2010; Poon et al., 2001). In this RMK11, the government focus is on fostering waste separation behaviour in the society through comprehensive activities and a willingness to invest more, as the waste issue is at critical stage. Subsequently, the government came up with the A2 strategy in RMK11, which emphasises changing Malaysian behaviour, especially in waste separation, and was launched on 1st September 2015. A programme known as \"Separation of Solid Waste at Source\" was launched on 1st September 2015, to implement the mandatory separation of waste at source in a few Malaysian states. In addition to government efforts, research has also been conducted to contribute to reducing the amount of waste generated in the country. For example, a study conducted by Begum et al. (2006) emphasised on benefit - cost analysis of the economic feasibility of construction waste minimisation, that by Desa et al. (2011) focused on solid waste management and other research that focused on food waste separation (Eisted and Christensen, 2011; Ghani et al., 2013; Knussen et al., 2004; Pakpour et al., 2014). Based on the literature, it is seen that little research has been conducted, whether in Malaysia or other countries, on solid waste separation compared to industrial waste separation, food waste separation and household waste separation. Therefore, the present study, in exploring the solid waste separation intention, will contribute to the existing solid waste separation literature.\nTheoretical framework: Waste should be separated before being recycled (Boldero, 1995; Ramayah and Rahbar, 2013). Therefore, waste separation comes at an early stage, before recycling, such as sorting out the waste into specific materials, which are paper, glass and plastics. Generally, solid waste is separated into different colours of bin according to its composition. However, waste separation is likely to be difficult, and several factors may have to be taken into consideration, especially having any intention to separate waste. Therefore, it is important to boost people's intention to separate waste for achieving success in any waste separation programme.\nMethodology: This study used structural equation modelling (SEM) technique assisted by SmartPLS to examine the causal relationship of the determinants towards waste separation intention among the students on campus. Two-step modelling was performed in this study. The first step is establishing the measurement model, whereby the measurement model is revised and confirmed. The second step is to test the structural model, whereby the causal relations among latent variables are modelled. TPB is adopted as the theoretical structure in this study. Based on the theoretical structure provided in TPB, three hypotheses are formulated:\nResults and findings: There are two models involved in PLS-SEM analysis, namely, measurement model and structural model. The measurement model shows the relationship between a latent variable and its corresponding indicators, while the structural model demonstrates the relationship between different latent variables. Although PLS-SEM provides the advantage of testing both models simultaneously, we needed to access the models in stages. The validity and reliability of the measurement model were examined before checking the path-coefficient between latent variables for hypothesis testing on the relationship between student's attitude, SN and PBC and the student's intention in performing waste separation (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). The results of the measurement model and structural model will be reported in the following subsection.\nDiscussion: Overall results show that only two constructs (attitude and PBC) are significant predictors towards student intention to separate waste. Among the constructs, attitude is the strongest predictor towards waste separation intention among the students at UTM. Attitude has been acknowledged as one of the significant predictors to influence intention to enact a desired behaviour. For example, a study conducted by Ghani et al. (2013) on source separation found that attitude has the strongest influence on intention. In addition, a study on recycling conducted by Arvola et al. (2008) had similar results, in that attitude is a significant predictor in predicting intention to purchase organic food. Some studies have also found attitude to be a significant determinant of waste separation intention, such as Pakpour et al. (2014), who found attitude as a significant predictor towards household waste separation, and also on recycling behaviour as found by Chan and Bishop (2013). This finding implies that a more positive evaluation of students' intention towards waste separation will increase the students' intention to separate the waste and, hence, potentially lead to waste separation behaviour. In the present context, the students were likely to separate the waste on campus when they perceived that such practice would help to reduce pollution and contribute to a cleaner environment, reduce waste management costs and increase the country's recycling rate. This finding also suggests that the UTM students, as respondents in this study, had an attitude which makes them feel good whenever they do the waste separation.\nConclusion: This research aims to identify the key determinants of waste separation intention among Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students. The TPB is adopted as the fundamental theoretical structure in identifying the key determinants of waste separation intention, which are attitude, subjective norm (SN) and perceived behavioural control (PBC). An elicitation study was conducted among 89 students on campus to identify the beliefs and normative referents that served as input for the final questionnaire. Subsequently, a total of 486 empirical data gathered from final questionnaire survey was analysed using SEM analysis assisted by SmartPLS software. The results of analysis showed that the strongest predictor of student intention to separate waste on campus was attitude and PBC, while SN did not influence the intention to separate waste among the students. In essence, UTM's waste management system should focus on elements that can effectively inculcate pro-environmental behaviour among students, such as highlighting the benefits of waste separation, and by providing sufficient facilities to increase waste separation intention and foster desired behaviour. However, this study only focuses on students from UTM, not including other university community, such as support staff and academic staff. Therefore, the results only target and apply to the student community and cannot be generalised to other contexts. Similar methodology can be adopted for other university, as well as other context with relevant modification. Considering limited study had been conducted particularly on waste separation context in Malaysia, existing identification of the determinants that influencing waste separation intention could add value to the existing theory by demonstrating its applicability in waste separation context. In addition, this research uses self-reported data, as it is a social science research. This may give biased answers during data collection. Lastly, it is recommended to include some other additional determinants in future study appropriate to the local context.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to identify the key determinants of waste separation intention among the students in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study adopted the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as the fundamental framework. The key determinants of waste separation behaviour are attitude, subjective norm (SN) and perceived behavioural control. An elicitation survey has been conducted to explore the students' beliefs relative to waste separation behaviour. The empirical data collected were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) assisted by SmartPLS software.\nFindings: The result shows that only two determinants are significant towards intention, attitude and perceived behavioural control, while SN is not. The results of the study are significant to the organisation, as an identification of the determinants that influence waste separation intention contributes to a more focused waste separation programme aligned to Malaysia's objective towards a sustainable developing country.\nOriginality/value: There are few studies on solid waste separation compared to food waste and industrial waste separation. The authors focus on the identification of the key determinants of solid waste separation intention among students. This study serves as an initial attempt to adopt the TPB in solid waste separation context, hence contributing to existing literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Relationships between job embeddedness and employees' life satisfaction	[ "South Africa", "Life satisfaction", "Job embeddedness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Research on employee turnover has focussed on the reasons why employees voluntarily leave their jobs (Griffeth et al., 2000; Hom and Griffeth, 1995). In contrast, Mitchell et al. (2001) proposed a construct called job embeddedness (JE) which focusses on why people stay. According to the JE theory, the reasons why employees stay or leave their jobs can be attributed to two broad sets of influences (Mitchell et al., 2001). On-the-job influences bind employees to their work organisations (Holtom and Inderrieden, 2006; Karatepe, 2016; Mitchell et al., 2001), while off-the-job influences bind employees to their residential communities and may sway them to decline opportunities for inter-organisational mobility if the employment opportunity involves geographical relocation (Ng and Feldman, 2014). Several subsequent studies have shown that employees who are highly embedded in their organisations and communities are more likely to stay with their employers than employees who are less embedded (e.g. Mallol et al., 2007; Robinson et al., 2014).\nTheoretical framework and research hypotheses: JE\nResearch methods: Respondents and procedures\nResults: Table I shows means, standard deviations, correlations and CFA of the variables. Significant and positive correlations were found between organisation embeddedness and life satisfaction (r=0.471, p<0.001), community embeddedness and life satisfaction (r=0.309, p<0.001) and age and life satisfaction (r=0.167, p<0.001). Gender was not significantly related to life satisfaction (r=0.060, p>0.05). There were significant and positive correlations between the sub-dimensions of organisation embeddedness and life satisfaction: links (r=0.314, p<0.001); fit (r=0.436, p<0.001); and sacrifice (r=0.422, p<0.001). Similarly, there were significant and positive correlations between the sub-dimensions of community embeddedness and life satisfaction: links (r=0.179, p<0.001); fit (r=0.328, p<0.001); and sacrifice (r=0.394, p<0.001).\nDiscussion: As noted, almost all studies of JE examine relationships between JE and outcomes which are beneficial for the organisation. The present study is an attempt to redress this imbalance in JE research by exploring the relationship between JE and employees' life satisfaction, which is a major component of SWB (Diener, 1984; Pavot and Diener, 2008). No published studies, to our knowledge, have examined the JE-life satisfaction relationship.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore relationships between organisation embeddedness and life satisfaction, and community embeddedness and life satisfaction. The study also examined relationships between each sub-dimension of organisation embeddedness and community embeddedness and life satisfaction. These sub-dimensions are \"links\", \"fit\" and \"sacrifice\".\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 549 employees in organisations located in four major business centres in South Africa. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling.\nFindings: Both organisation embeddedness and community embeddedness were positively related to life satisfaction. Regarding the sub-dimensions of organisation embeddedness, only organisation fit and sacrifice were positively related to life satisfaction. As regards the sub-dimensions of community embeddedness, only community fit was positively related to life satisfaction.\nPractical implications: Adopting practices which embed employees in the organisation and communities where they live is potentially beneficial for both organisations and employee well-being.\nOriginality/value: The bulk of research on job embeddedness (JE) and work-related outcomes has focussed on benefits for the organisation. The effects of embeddedness on employee well-being have been largely overlooked. The current study is an attempt to redress this imbalance in JE research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring diversity in sustainability assurance practice: Evidence from assurance providers in the UK	[ "Actor-network theory", "Assurance provider", "Sustainability assurance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The growing trend for major companies to issue sustainability reports has given rise to a need for a mechanism to verify the integrity of these reports (Jones and Solomon, 2010). Sustainability assurance (SA) has, therefore, emerged as a new service in the non-financial assurance market. Despite positive perceptions of SA amongst report users, the information usefulness of SA has been said to be limited by a considerable degree of diversity in SA practice, particularly differences in the scope and level of assurance offered as well as the content of the assurance statements (Low and Boo, 2012). This paper aims to enhance an understanding of, and provide a systematized view of, this diversity of practice.\n2. Exploring SA from an actor-network perspective: a conceptual framework: As argued earlier, the emergence of the idea of SA has led to a new market for accounting and non-accounting firms to offer services. In order to populate this market, the service providers need to establish their identities and perceived expertise as well as assign particular practical meanings to the conduct of the SA process. These endeavors involve sustained negotiations, the building of relationships with other actors, and connecting to a variety of sustainability-related discourses (Power, 2005). ANT provides a particular conceptual lens through which these dynamics can be captured by directing attention to the processes through which the particular interpretations (in ANT terms, translations) of SA emerge and evolve and by assigning agency to both human and non-human actors as the essential agents through which this happens (Callon, 1986; Latour, 1987).\n3. Methodological approach: Studies of SA that have been restricted to analyzing the content of assurance reports have been criticized for providing little understanding of the complexities of actual practice (O'Dwyer et al., 2011). In contrast, this study employs a qualitative approach which aims to capture the contextual imperatives that serve as a source of practice variation and perceptions of the practitioners as to the dynamics of practice development. The study relies on semi-structured interviews as a primary data collection method. In contrast to a more structured interview approach, such a method retains a degree of structure to ensure consistency in the range of topics discussed with the participants, yet allows for prompts and probes to follow up on important issues emerging during the discussion, and hence provides sufficient flexibility for collecting a variety of viewpoints and differences in the manner individual practitioners conceptualize practice. The wealth of different views on, and experiences of, SA collected through the interviews was key to our ability to capture and make sense of the diversity of approaches to SA and the degree of segmentation characteristic of this practice space.\n4. Empirical findings: In this section, we present an analysis of the SA practice from the perspective of SA providers. We discuss their perceptions about their roles as SA providers, how they problematize the meaning of \"sustainability\" and \"assurance\" as components of the assurance practice[2], and how they assign such meanings to their practical routines in conducting assurance engagements.\n5. Discussion: different perceived roles of SA providers and typology of SA engagements: In Section 4, through the analytical lens of ANT, we have demonstrated the way in which SA providers develop the practice. A variety of positions is evident regarding the degree of SA providers' involvement in their client's reporting process and the manner in which they represent their roles in the conduct of the assurance process (e.g. Edgley et al., 2010; Manetti and Toccafondi, 2012; O'Dwyer, 2011; Owen et al., 2000; Beaulieu, 2003; Power, 1991; Smith et al., 2011). We have discussed above how the manner in which SA providers negotiate their roles with other actors is determined by reference to their conceptualizations of the assurance practice. These conceptualizations vary significantly between providers, depending on how they problematize key categories (in ANT terms, \"boundary objects\") that constitute SA practice - \"sustainability\" and \"assurance.\" We have seen how the providers' problematizations of \"sustainability\" range from a broad focus on sustainability of the society and the planet (i.e. social and environmental sustainability) to a significantly more narrow emphasis on organizational sustainability of the reporting entity. Further, the conceptions of \"assurance\" range from a practice built on a holistic approach to data assurance involving materiality assessments and internal control checks to a practice that is primarily data-oriented and involves an agreed upon set of procedures and/or specific datasets. Table II provides a summary of the findings presented in Section 4.\n6. Concluding remarks: Much of the existing literature on SA practice relies on SA statements to make broad conclusions about the characteristics of the practice and its functionality. In contrast, this study has responded to calls for research to examine the \"back stage\" of different assurance practices, particularly those of an unregulated nature (Andon et al., 2015; Free et al., 2009; Gendron and Spira, 2009), and to directly engage with assurance providers (O'Dwyer and Owen, 2005). Empirically, this study has provided a holistic view of SA practice by focusing on a variety of different SA provider types. Our findings have revealed a considerable diversity in the way SA is conducted and a range of contextual imperatives that serve as sources of practice variation. They have showed, in particular, how this diversity is evident in the differences in the providers' perceptions of their roles and responsibilities as regards the assurance process, practical routines they develop to conduct such a process and the persuasive arguments they put forward to promote the relevance of SA.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand sustainability assurance (SA), and diversity in that practice, by examining assurance providers' understandings of the practice and the influences that those understandings have on the actual assurance process. It focuses on the issues beyond the content of statements in SA reports.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper employs semi-structured interviews, supplemented by textual data sources. Research participants are assurance providers in the UK, including those within and outside the accounting profession. Drawing on the perspective of actor-network theory, the study focuses on the associations between different actors and how those shape the assurance practice.\nFindings: The findings indicate that providers' understandings of SA practice vary significantly. This variation has a major effect on how the assurance practice is conducted. The study identifies four types of SA engagements, which are designated as: social assurance, integrated assurance, formative assurance and compliance assurance. Such a categorization provides a broad-based understanding of the operationalization of SA and the degree of heterogeneity within it.\nOriginality/value: This paper extends the understanding of SA by focusing on the practice beyond the statements made by assurance providers, which have been the predominant focus of analysis in the existing literature, and by offering a categorization of the diversity in practice. The focus on the associations between assurance providers and other actors provides a new perspective for exploring the fundamentals of the practice.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Localising climate change: heatwave responses in urban households	[ "Disaster", "Risk", "Climate change adaptation", "Risk perception", "Community engagement", "Household", "Melbourne", "Heatwave", "Risk reduction" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: While framed as a global issue, there is a growing urgency concerning the local materialisation of climate change impacts, with households the frontline of climate change-exacerbated hazards and disaster responses (Elrick-Barr et al., 2014; Fincher et al., 2015). Calls to reduce the vulnerability of urban localities and households in preparation for increasing frequency and severity of climate-related hazards, in particular flooding, drought, bushfires, storms, sea-level rise, and heatwaves, are becoming more common (UNISDR, 2015; City of Melbourne, 2016). However, little is known in the disaster risk reduction (DRR) literature, nor the sub-field of climate change adaptation (CCA), about the ways in which households in Australia, and indeed many other developed nations, are responding. Key to this disregard for households, there is also neglect of the underlying logics that influence household responses (Toole et al., 2016). Indeed, Fincher et al. (2015, p. 266) argue that \"there is little attention paid to any disconnect between these immense temporal and spatial scales and everyday life\" with regard to the potential social impacts of climate change.\nHeatwaves and the urban environment: Heatwaves are Australia's most deadly climate-related hazard, resulting in \"55% of all natural disaster related deaths, and burden the Australian workforce by ~US$6.2 billion every year\" (Perkins-Kirkpatrick et al., 2016, p. 102). While there is no formally recognised definition at the international level (Coates et al., 2014), in Australia heatwaves are often defined as periods of three or more consecutive days of \"excessive\" heat (Perkins-Kirkpatrick et al., 2016). This lack of a formal definition has made it difficult to calculate the overall impacts of \"excessive\" heat events on communities over time (Coates et al., 2014; Nairn and Fawcett, 2015). The excess heat factor, defined by the three-day-average daily mean temperature proposed by Nairn and Fawcett (2015), has recently been adopted by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to address these definitional concerns and therefore improve monitoring and forecasting for social impact. Extended periods of heat result in multi-stress vulnerability, which impacts \"health, physical and mental wellbeing, financial situation, mobility, social relations, and access to basic services\" (Bolitho and Miller 2017, p. 683). Under projected climate change scenarios, the frequency and intensity of such heatwaves is expected to increase (Bambrick et al., 2011; Nairn and Fawcett, 2015; Perkins-Kirkpatrick et al., 2016).\nMethodology: CEDRR: This research is driven by understanding that climate change is contributing to the increasing frequency and severity of a range of hazards in Australia (CCoA, 2017). When coupled with existing vulnerabilities, these hazards alter and largely exacerbate underlying disaster risk (Wamsler, 2014). DRR and CCA, while traditionally separated in Australian-based research and policy (Howes et al., 2015), are now inseparable when considering preparation, response, and recovery for future emergencies (Wamsler, 2014; Kelman et al., 2015; Kelman et al., 2017). Despite Australia's extensive experience with natural hazards, there continues to be significant losses, often despite adaptive actions to reduce the future vulnerability of publics following an event (Palutikof et al., 2015). Recent reflections on disasters in Australia by Howes et al. (2015) and Palutikof et al. (2015) attribute this to a combination of communication challenges within and between emergency respondents, the inadequacy of adaptive actions, increases in the vulnerability of publics, shifting climatic extremes, and a lack of public engagement and knowledge about the risks associated with these hazards. Top-down \"education\" and \"awareness raising\" continue to be the primary form of DRR, including CCA efforts by federal, state, and local governments to engage and encourage participation from the public both within Australia, and internationally (Handmer and Towers, 2015). While education and awareness raising are important features of DRR including CCA, the literature suggests that as strategies they are insufficient to generate effective action by publics. Similarly, approaches to public participation are dominated by preconceived standards, boundaries, and practices defined by \"experts\", which fail to be \"participatory\" (Chilvers and Kearnes, 2016; Arnstein, 1969). This view is made by Handmer and Towers (2015, p. 11), who argue that the fundamental challenge for DRR is \"how to move from a relatively passive awareness and knowledge to being proactive in building resilience. This is likely to require a shift from current mainstream approaches to disaster awareness\".\nFeeling the heat: localising climate change: Localising climate change: associating climate risk with changing heatwaves\nImplications, limitations, and conclusions: While the risks of hazards such as bushfires and flooding are distant in the minds of respondents in this sample, climate change risk was most frequently associated with concerns surrounding the increasing frequency and severity of heatwaves. The qualitative respondents' experiences with heat \"localises\" the global effects of climate change, contributing to a perception of risk and to various forms of adaptive actions in their households. However, climate change was not cited by the interview respondents as the primary driver of these actions, rather it was driven predominantly by experiencing increasing frequency and severity of heatwaves over the course of their lives, and subsequently by the growing challenges of this for their households. This becomes critical in understanding household perceptions and (in)action to individual hazards vis-a-vis \"climate change\". As highlighted by Pidgeon (1998, p. 11), \"[risk] perceptions lead to actions with real consequences\" regardless of what these perceptions may be. The results of this research provide evidence challenging claims that households do \"not act [...] because climate change may be unthinkable within the confines of everyday life\" (Gibson et al., 2011, p. 4). These findings and supporting arguments suggest a need to shift beyond the traditional framing by government of public inaction caused by a lack of awareness and knowledge of hazards and strategies to address vulnerability. Furthermore, these findings presented alongside the current heatwave literature suggest a need to reconsider the ways in which experts define and evaluate household adaptive capacity and strategies across different hazards. This case study requires further research and case studies to be able to draw more generalisable conclusions about household responses to hazards projected to be exacerbated by climate change. This paper presents empirical evidence on household adaptive (in)action for heatwaves - an underexplored area in the literature. Finally, the results of this preliminary examination of household (in)action for DRR including CCA highlights the need to undertake further research into the diversity of climate-related hazards and their relationship with \"the public\".\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical insights into urban household perceptions and (in)action towards the perceived impacts of climate change, based on a case study in Kensington, Victoria, Australia. This case utilises households as sites of active agency, rather than as passive recipients of climate change or associated governance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research trialled an approach to engaging a community in the context of disaster risk reduction (DRR). It involved a two-stage quantitative door-knocking survey (reported elsewhere), followed by a qualitative interview with interested households. In total, 76 quantitative surveys contextualise 15 qualitative interviews, which are the focus of this analysis. The findings are presented comparatively alongside the current literature.\nFindings: Heatwaves are understood to be the most concerning hazard for the households in this sample who associate their increasing frequency and severity with climate change. However, subsequent (in)action is shown to be situated within the complexities of day-to-day activities and concerns. While respondents did not consider themselves to have \"expert\" knowledge on climate change, or consider their actions to be a direct response to climate change, most had undertaken actions resulting from experience with heatwaves. These findings suggest there may be an under-representation of DRR, which includes climate change adaptation actions, within the existing research.\nResearch limitations/implications: While this sample justifies the arguments and conclusions, it is not a representative sample and therefore requires follow-up. It does however challenge traditional approaches to risk management, which focus on awareness raising and education. The research highlights the unique contexts in which households perceive and act on risk, and the need for risk \"experts\" to consider such contexts.\nOriginality/value: This research provides empirical evidence of urban household responses to perceived climate change-related risk, an often-neglected dimension of heatwave and adaptation studies in Australia. The findings also suggest promise for the methodological approach.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Expert view	[ "Organizational processes", "Organizational effectiveness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nThe power of goal-based processes: Over recent decades many managerial, organizational and technical approaches have been proposed to increase efficiency and effectiveness of organizations. Amongst this plurality of recommendations, at least three principles have been proved particularly useful:1. Business processes are central. Hammer (1990) and others pointed out that businesses should redesign their processes according to customer needs. On the one hand, whilst the extent of redesign was limited in practice, on the other it is now generally accepted that companies should focus on their processes and not on their departmental, functional organization.2. IT systems are central to support business processes. To increase efficiency of business processes, IT systems take an important role (Davenport and Short, 1990). Not only in the hardware-oriented industries, such as the automotive industry but also in the service-oriented industries (e.g. banking or insurance) entire process chains are executed almost automatically. Enterprise systems, supply chain management systems and workflow systems have made this possible, and the technological advances make it possible that process automation is not restricted to large companies.3. Creation of IT systems must be based on clear software development processes. Empirical studies of the Software Engineering Institute at the Carnegie Mellon University have shown that maturity of the software engineering processes has a significant effect on the performance of IT projects in terms of time, cost, and quality (Goldenson and Gibson, 2003).In order to combine the three elements mentioned above, there is some kind of \"glue\" required - we call it \"goals\". According to the The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language a goal is \"the purpose toward which an endeavor is directed\". In our case, the endeavor is to improve the business processes. To achieve this, various steps are needed, and at each step goals play a central role (Figure 1).Let us assume that there is a particular business process in place which should be improved. Therefore, the first question we would like to ask the process owner is \"what goals should the business process meet?\" (see question 1 in Figure 1). She probably might say that the business process has three goals, called 1, 2, and 3. A further dialogue with the process owner might reveal that the business process has two main stakeholders, called k and p, and that stakeholder k wants to meet goals 1 and 2, and stakeholder p follows goals 3. A deeper analysis of the goals might show that goal 2 consists of three sub-goals called i, ii, and iii, whereas ii and iii are conflicting, and sub-goal i not only supports goal 2 but goal 3 as well. In addition she might mention that goal 2 is more important than goal 3.In a following step, a process model that considers the goals and its interrelationships should be set up. This raises the question \"how do we model the goals?\". The widely practiced process modelling approaches such as the Structured Analysis and Design Technique (SADT), the Event-driven Process Chains (EPC), the Role Activity Diagrams (RAD), and the activity diagrams of UML do not support goal modeling adequately (Kueng and Kawalek, 1997; Kueng et al., 1996). Therefore, current modeling techniques have to be altered and new notations are needed. In the field of requirements engineering, goal-based modeling has been addressed earlier than in the area of business process modeling (see for instance Dardenne et al., 1993).Once a business process model is built, a system has to be constructed that is able to execute the business process addressed. In most cases this executable system is an IT system that interacts with human actors. In this step, the question we have to deal with is \"how do we map the business process goals in the (IT) system that handles the business process?\" (see question 3 in Figure 1). Of course, IT systems are not built solely on the basis ob business process models; other models that specify the functional and non-functional requirements (e.g. use case models, supplementary specification, etc.) are used as well (Bider, 2002). The challenge for the software engineering community is twofold. On the one hand, the different notations used in requirements models and process models must be compatible to identify commonalities and inconsistencies. On the other hand, the system requirements (be they goal-based or not) and the business process goals must flow into the software development and testing process in a way that forward and backward traceability is given.After the system is built, the business process can be executed. The goal-related question we are interested in is \"how do the goals (embedded in the system) influence the execution of the business process?\". In other words, a system that is built on business process goals should conduct the execution of business processes in a way that is consistent with the goals specified. Newer IT systems are able to handle some kind of process goals in a limited way. For instance, workflow-based systems may send an alert to the user, e.g. if the maximal allowed lead-time of a business process is approaching. However, a comprehensive, full support of modeled business process goals by the IT system has not yet been achieved.Once a number of business process instances have been performed, the process owner may want to know whether the specified goals 1, 2 and 3 have been achieved. Based on this information she has to decide whether the business process, or the goals have to be altered; the latter implies a modification of the business process. At his point the cycle starts again.\nConclusion: The short analysis has revealed five points:1. Goal-oriented business process modeling is a fundamental discipline to create systems that support business processes effectively.2. Goal-oriented business process modeling per se does create limited value only, e.g. it facilitates communication among stakeholders, process owner, and system engineers.3. To leverage the effect of goal-oriented business process modeling, goals must flow from the stakeholders (who owns the goals), to the analyst (who creates the process model), to the system engineer (who builds the IT system), to the IT system (who supports or automates the process execution), to the user of the IT system (who may chose the way of working), to the process owner who checks the performance and acts upon. In short: in order to be effective goals must flow from one step to the next; they must undertake an endless loop.4. An analysis of the current state of the art reveals that further research is needed. Two aspects should be treated in particular. First, a notation is needed to depict goals in a descriptive way. The representation of the captured goals may be textual or graphical, but the legibility of it must be high. Ten-year experience with formal representation of goal-based system requirements has shown that acceptance of such models is very limited. Second, further research is needed to transform goal-oriented business process models into models/representations the systems and software engineers are working with. It is vital that the information captured in the goal-oriented business process models can be integrated with today's software development processes.5. Once the goals of business processes can flow smoothly from the stakeholder to the IT system built and back to the process owner, the power of goal-based business processes will grow substantially.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The paper aims to improve business processes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Describes various steps needed to improve business processes and the goals required at each step.\nFindings: - The steps required are: what goals should the process meet? How do we model the goals? How do we map the goals in the (IT) system? How do the goals influence the IT execution? Which goals have been achieved? Must we adjust the process, the goals, or both?\nOriginality/value: - Explains the power of goal-based processes.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Elections, news cycles, and attention to disasters	[ "Disasters", "Political science", "Coverage of mass media", "Media coverage" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Disaster recovery is often dependent on response beyond the impacted community, and as so, affected victims and communities are left at the mercy of news cycles to generate response to disasters. Research has shown that mass media determine which issues are given priority, and act as \"agenda-setters,\" especially within an election (McCombs, 1972; Golan, 2006; Sweetser et al., 2008). However, this can be problematic in the event of a disaster if other events are placed higher in the agenda. According to McCombs and Shaw's media agenda-setting theory, \"the press may not be successful much in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about\" (Cohen, 1963). Thus, when the media agenda is dominated by political events, crisis communication is thwarted, and the ability to solicit recovery resources is foiled. This paper discusses the effects of inter-media agenda-setting during the 2016 presidential election on the coverage of two disasters: The 2016 Baton Rouge floods and Hurricane Matthew. Specifically, we introduce the media coverage of these disasters as an example of the intersection between political agenda building and media risk communication.\nApproach: To develop the viewpoint taken herein, we reviewed the national response to the Baton Rouge flooding and to Hurricane Matthew, as well as the influence of concurrent political events, including the Access Hollywood Trump-Billy Bush tapes. The timeline of these events are assessed, as well as how they affected one another.\nResults, discussions and conclusion: This information is provided to demonstrate the differences in coverage and politicization between two disasters: the Baton Rouge flooding and Hurricane Matthew. The major difference, as argued herein, was political strategy and news cycles. In the context of disasters, news coverage is important for response, provision of supplies, and recovery efforts. Despite having a considerably larger impact, Hurricane Matthew was not politicized in the presidential election to the extent of the Baton Rouge flooding. This observation aligns with media agenda-setting and the ability of the highly publicized presidential election between Trump and Clinton to dominate the news cycle, despite the effect of this agenda-setting on crisis communication (c.f. Cohen, 1963; c.f. Garfield, 2007). While it is widely established that elections play a role in both first- and second-degree agenda-setting, the comparison of the Baton Rouge flooding and Hurricane Matthew demonstrates different paths this can take.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Political elections, especially presidential elections, have a tendency to overshadow other events, including disasters. Response to disasters during elections, such as Hurricane Matthew and the Baton Rouge flooding in 2016, are often dependent on attention given to them from the media, as well as prominent political figures and political candidates candidates. The purpose of this paper is to explore how election cycles affect government response to disasters and ultimately demonstrate the dependency of crisis communication on media agenda-setting for presenting saliency of disaster risk and needs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Responses from presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, as well as President Barack Obama, in regards to the Baton Rouge flooding and Hurricane Matthew, were observed using media reports and social media accounts. These results were matched with key events from the presidential election timeline.\nFindings: There is a positive relationship between news exposure and attention, and also between attention and civic response. In regards to the 2016 presidential election, news coverage of the release of the Donald Trump-Billy Bush tape distracted national attention from the approach, landfall, and recovery of Hurricane Matthew. Information subsidies provided by the candidates directed the media agenda away from the needs of the communities and individuals impacted by these disasters.\nOriginality/value: Disasters are often assumed to be value-free because they are \"blind to politics.\" Here, it is argued that this was not the case in relation to these two disasters. Thus, the authors encouraged more research be conducted to clarify the impact that political elections have on strategic news coverage of disasters and ultimately on disaster response.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How to use language agents for knowledge transfer? Evidence from translators and multinational organizations in Korea	[ "Cultural competence", "HRM practice", "Identity", "Knowledge transfer", "Language", "Multinational organization", "Translator" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Knowledge transfer, defined as creation and movement of knowledge within an organization or between organizations to promote learning and productivity for workers in the organization, becomes critical for the success of the business (Gaur et al., 2019; Minbaeva et al., 2003)[1]. Regarding this topic, the literature on knowledge management has two basic approaches. On the one hand, structural dimension is emphasized, e.g. organizational structures (Ferraris et al., 2018; Joia and Lemos, 2010) and interfirm networks (Del Giudice and Maggioni, 2014; Lipparini et al., 2014). On the other hand, diverse practices are highlighted, e.g. trust and contract (Li et al., 2010), experiences and social ties (Kang and Kim, 2013), openness (Ferraris et al., 2017a) and operational integration (Berry, 2014). Recently, the literature pays attention to the role of language and culture (Del Giudice, 2012), as knowledge management is particularly challenging in multinational organizations, such as multinational corporations (MNCs) and global teams, because of different linguistic and cultural contexts (Brannen et al., 2014; Welch and Welch, 2008). Therefore, multinational organizations should develop internal capabilities such as employees' language proficiency (Froese et al., 2012), and adapt to external environments such as cultural distance (Ambos and Ambos, 2009). Such diverse practices will help to promote employees' cultural competence, which subsequently leads to knowledge transfer through mutual interactions (Barner-Rasmussen et al., 2014).\n2. Literature review and hypotheses: 2.1 Knowledge transfer in multinational organizations\n3. Methods: 3.1 Sample and data collection\n4. Results: The exploratory factor analysis of the survey data on translators provides 17 principal factors, but only 5 factors with eigenvalues over 1 are selected in this study: \"knowledge transfer,\" \"HRM practices for translators-commitment-based,\" \"employees' cultural competence,\" \"translators' professional identity-job\" and \"translators' professional identity-task.\" Some factor loadings do not exceed 0.7, which are excluded from each variable.\n5. Discussion: 5.1 Summary of empirical findings\n6. Conclusion: This study extends knowledge management studies by emphasizing the utilization of external agents for knowledge transfer in multinational organizations, complementing organizational structures and internally-oriented practices. Particular attention needs to be paid to translators' professional identity and arranged for specific HRM practices to facilitate it.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: For knowledge transfer in multinational organizations, knowledge management studies draw on diverse practices, such as employees' language proficiency or environments, such as cultural contexts, but pay little attention to the practical role of external agents, i.e. translators. The purpose of this study is to analyze how translators facilitate knowledge transfer, using their professional identity in relation to employees' cultural competence and organizations' Human Resource Management (HRM) practices.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study examines survey data on 182 translators and 206 HRM managers who work in multinational organizations. Regarding common method bias, comparing people with different views and inclusion of control variables collected from archival sources will help the empirical results to be robust.\nFindings: This study finds that translators' business-oriented professional identities complement employees' cultural competence and eventually promote knowledge transfer. Furthermore, translators' business-oriented professional identities are enhanced by organizations' commitment-based HRM practices.\nOriginality/value: This study expands knowledge management studies by incorporating external agents into the analysis of knowledge transfer. Particularly for the language approach in knowledge management, the framework of this study sheds light on the critical dimension of translators' professional identity for organizational goals. Practically, this study suggests that multinational organizations should design commitment-based HRM practices to motivate translators' business-oriented identity for knowledge transfer.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Corporate Greening 2.0: factors in play as executives zero in on climate change	[ "Global warming", "Sustainable development", "Environmental management", "Corporate social responsibility", "Corporate communications" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The deliberate and over the past four decades progressively effective environmental management at the operations level - call it the era of Corporate Greening 1.0 - now provides the backdrop for a bigger and broader challenge. Top management must now and in the decades ahead come to grips with the sociopolitical conditions arising from emphasis on climate change and carbon emissions. This realization has pushed environment up the ladder of corporate agendas. More than half of the 2,687 chief executives responding to a worldwide survey conducted by McKinsey in 2007 identified the environment, including climate change, as one of the top three issues that will dominate public attention during the next five years. The implication is that senior executives worldwide know that their business plans were subject to change. In the USA, where I have been engaged in environmental communications for most of four decades[1], we are in a period in the world of business that can be called Corporate Greening 2.0 (Harrison, 2008). It involves economic, social and political factors. I would like to describe five of these factors now in play in the USA.\nFactor 1: green has enlisted in the war on carbon: The old-guard green issue, preoccupied with air and water pollution, waste, recycling, public health and wildlife protection has barged back into the corporate suite with new vigor by holding hands with the issue of climate change. The strong political and social consensus on global warming has given rise to a war on carbon, resulting in two major areas of impact on business:1. Operational. Beyond the ongoing accountability for established environmental matters, companies must now get their heads around the linkages of the environment with carbon-connected energy. Power, fuel, products, and carbon footprints - a fresh supply of questions is thereby pushed onto the business strategy table.2. Economic and financial. Among the multitude of new green-plus-black topics that apply to virtually every company are risk exposure, energy costs, and moves to provide cushions against future shocks of emission limits (for example, banking and trading carbon credits) and innovations that produce profitable new technology products.Company business communications must adjust to the new reality that the carbon war will keep green issues alive in new contexts, linked in new ways to essential corporate energy needs, and, at the same time, enlivening some positive prospects for new technologies, products, processes and markets.\nFactor 2: green political activism has been revived: In the USA, corporate executives, including communicators, realize that the game has changed in another way. It has brought onto the political or policy field a refreshed group of players. Greens were sidelined in 1995 when Republicans took over Congress. Like the Russian home guard troops in World War II who waited for the weather in Moscow to change so they could retake the city under conditions they favored, green activists in 2007 took back Congress and they quickly flexed their muscles in Washington as well as in key states.When the US Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide could go into the basket of regulated pollutants, when California rolled up its sleeves to lead the new wave of carbon controls (a lead that at least 15 states said they will follow), the course was set for environmental policy-making of unprecedented intensity.By the time of the 2008 American presidential election, as in no previous election period, climate change became an organizing principle of social accountability. Eco-activism, on the backs of energy supply and cost issues, has become mainstream in America. Political hammers in Congress and in the states are nailing down the future for business and its green/climate challenges.Environmental groups, the news media, politicians in and out of office, federal and state regulatory authorities now energized and looking to the business community both as part of the problem and as a substantial part of \"the answer\" to global warming. On the web, daily coverage of business and climate change is at a consistently high pitch, with sites such as E&ETV and ClimateWire becoming must-access for corporate communicators who need to track the fast pace of climate/sustainability developments affecting business[2].\nFactor 3: investor activists: Wall Street, pension fund managers and others invested in corporate well-being have their spotlights on companies positioned to capitalize on carbon-war conditions. Shareholder resolutions, putting pressure on company management to address both the risks and market opportunities associated with global warming, are on the rise. The 2008 proxy season filings of 50-plus climate-change proposals (up from 39 the previous year, and 30 the year before that) followed the escalation of global warming news, state and federal government action and reports - on web sites - from companies on climate change and sustainability. Critics and admirers are tuned in. According to the nonprofit Social Investment Forum (2008):[...] concern over climate change - and whether companies are preparing strategies for the geophysical, regulatory and litigation risks it poses - constitutes a top and closely watched category of shareholder proposals.Corporate communicators are interacting with investors who are now probing for corporate values and vulnerabilities, raising questions such as these: is the company a winner or a loser as carbon is constrained? Can the company withstand physical climate change, energy cuts, environmental responsibility, social and cultural demands? Can this company's executives beat the competition's?We see gadflies from the first green wave (who stung companies to move on pollution cleanup) reinvigorated by global warming. As an example, Ceres, the corporate governance hawk born during the time of acid rain and the Valdez oil spill, now challenges corporate management to disclose climate change risk. Advocates like Ceres and pension funds see climate risk as no different from litigation risk or hazardous-waste risks or anything else disclosed in normal financial filings. Evaluation groups such as the Carbon Disclosure Project, which claims more than 300 institutional investors including Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch (among the several major firms that have set up green business practices focused on climate change), are pushing companies to reveal their carbon footprints in a consistent quantitative way which is one of several steps now driving a new definition of corporate sustainability.All this, of course, means corporate communicators must help senior management answer a number of important questions: what is the exact nature of our new green strategy, now that climate change is in play? What are the dynamics of Greening 2.0, for our company and our stakeholders? How can we leverage what's been learned in managing the environmental challenges of Greening 1.0?\nFactor 4: green-collar executives: The bursts of activism in Washington in 2007 and 2008 have established a strong sociopolitical front for Corporate Greening 2.0. Corporate executives are engaged in the climate-altered process of public policy formation. The best example is the collaboration known as the US Climate Action Partnership that put CEOs and green activists together in the earliest rounds of congressional negotiations on energy and climate change[3].What motivates this involvement? McKinsey's pollsters found a sizable group of executives personally worried about global warming and presumably motivated to rethink green policies out of fear. My sense is that for most corporate executives, and I would include communications executives, the greatest fear is not so much about change as it is about uncertainty. That is the motivator that puts corporate leaders into policy formation, to understand social and political forces, and to negotiate the terms of change.In the USA, the best example of executive acceptance of changed social and political conditions is in the American auto industry. They agreed to tough future rules on fuel efficiency, assuring some level of certainty as to what is expected of them, and releasing them now to work with all the company's stakeholders - to move toward compliance.Some level of certainty is the goal and the message. Similarly, before the United Nations climate conference last December, more than 150 global companies signed on to a call initiated by Prince Charles for mandatory greenhouse gas controls. To summarize this factor we find, especially in the USA - corporate leaders in a pragmatic green-collar stance, agreeing to certain mandates to mitigate the dangers of climate change while working with lawmakers toward achievable, market-based compliance, reliable long-term carbon price signals, regulatory certainty, and economic safety valves.\nFactor 5: corporate communications move toward sustainability: Respondents in the McKinsey survey identified environmental concerns as the most important trend influencing expectations of business. Since stakeholder expectations are in the wheelhouse of corporate communications, this puts CCOs in an important carbon-war role.Company communication strategies, methods and tools must are now trained on engaging with critical stakeholders with a corporate sustainability mindset.Corporate sustainability means establishing a workable, synergistic approach to addressing social expectations while succeeding at the main goal of any enterprise, and that is of course, satisfactory economic or financial performance. The sustainability mindset says that social accountability - in this case, social impact resulting from climate change putting energy into green contexts - has taken on full acknowledgement of economic accountability. It acknowledges that companies are judged first and foremost for their financial performance. In his book on The Halo Effect, Rosenzweig (2007) underscores the fact that good scores (halos) chalked up by a company on social, cultural and other accounts are almost always just an extension of the good scores on its financial front - profitable products and operations, return on investment and the like. With sustainability, as I interpret it based on conversations inside companies as well as studying what the experts and major players are saying, social accountability now meets the hard road of economic accountability. Each enables the other, but social good without financial soundness is a frail foundation for enterprise endurance. This is not to suggest that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is reduced[4]. In fact, the socioeconomic melding that's forced by climate change should mean an elevation of CSR as a very substantial C-suite consideration. CCOs and executive level peers who have found any resistance to bringing up \"CSR\" as a high-level agenda topic will get new respect by making it part of a corporate sustainability agenda. Here, is the relevant American experience - political action re-defining corporate sustainability. If politicians and government officials did not recognize the necessity for all-out war on carbon, did not declare carbon dioxide a pollutant to be regulated, did not embark aggressively to change current market economic factors into what I call carbonomics - then executive discussions about social good and greening and energy might still be separable. My point is: these factors are forced together by politicians with major impact on corporate communications. Greening 1.0 - clean it up, manage it, pay the price - is now supplanted by a new tripartite accountability that is social, economic and political. This is Corporate Greening 2.0, driven by climate change and energy interactions, newly defining \"sustainability.\"\nSummary: In this paper, I have reviewed decisive factors that require management attention to climate change and sustainability issues: a war on carbon that renews green as a strategic issue; politics that require business participation; investor activism that converts \"green\" into financial governance terms; the emergence of green-collar executives who are showing the corporate engagement path; and a new imperative of corporate sustainability to align economic, social and political accountabilities for stakeholder support.Companies throughout the industrialized world are constructing the sustainable business communications platforms that will put chief communications officers at the C-suite strategy table as an executive colleague of the come-back kid of green communications. Common outcome targets for chief communications officers require attention at two levels:1. Engage with others inside the business, to make sure that internal information flow is timely and pragmatic, and to provide stakeholder-sensitive strategic advice in the process of executive decision making.2. Align corporate communications with external stakeholders and their concerns by designing and managing the information outflow that is relevant, and, to the extent practicable, enables feedback and stakeholder participation.Consistent, understandable and open communication and dialogue will serve the strategic purposes of maintaining - and creating - supportive stakeholders and moving toward new collaborations that will be in play because of climate change and sustainability. Inside the business organization and along the company's external interfaces, where climate change, energy and environment combine into Corporate Greening 2.0, strategic business communication will help shape the odds for success.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of Corporate Greening 2.0 as a sustainable corporate communication and business strategy (the author's perspective on the societal and economic impact of climate change and carbon constraint is developed in a recent work by Harrison).\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The approach is based on the author's career experiences and insight into sustainability issues as a reporter, US Congressional aide, chief communications officer of a Fortune 500 company, and head of an international consulting firm.\nFindings: - The paper explores models for corporate officers to follow in developing \"green\" sustainability strategies.\nOriginality/value: - This paper offers a new perspective in developing corporate social responsibility, climate change, and corporate greening initiatives as competitive business strategies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Egyptian food experience of international visitors: a multidimensional approach	[ "Egypt", "Local food", "Behavioral intention", "Food satisfaction", "Destination experience management", "Destination food experience" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In recent years, local food has been increasingly recognized by governments, businesses and academics as an integral part of the tourism experience and as a means of differentiation for destinations (Hall et al., 2003; Kalenjuk et al., 2015; Kim et al., 2009; Mak et al., 2012). Local food consumption is increasingly acknowledged as an effective means to underscore destination attractiveness and uniqueness (Okumus and Cetin, 2018). Sampling local cuisine has become a significant tourism activity and an essential part of travel experience (Promsivapallop and Kannaovakun, 2019). As a result, destinations have used food as an image projection tool. For example, Italy, France and Spain have successfully developed food images as part of their overall attractiveness (Seo et al., 2017; Seo and Yun, 2015). Countries such as Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia and Korea have marketed their local cuisines as major tourist attractions (Lai et al., 2019). However, in countries where local food is not marketed as a main attraction, food culture and cuisine are still subsidiary to other aspects of the tourist experience such as historical sites and monuments. Egypt is such a case in point despite its rich food culture and resources.\nLiterature review: Food consumption as a multidimensional experience\nResearch methodology: The fieldwork for this study was carried out in Cairo, Egypt. It is the administrative, political, economic and cultural center of the country. Cairo is well known for its small street vendors who cook and serve the food outdoors. Convenience sampling was applied to survey international tourists who were engaged in local food-related activities at casual local restaurants, dining restaurants and hotels in different tourist spots in Cairo between December 2018 and April 2019. Potential respondents were approached by two graduate researchers majoring in hospitality management. The survey was respondent-completed but assistance was available when requested. Four screening questions were used to qualify a respondent for the study: the participant was 18 years or older; the participant was a tourist and not a resident of Cairo; the participant had a local food experience during his or her stay in Egypt and the participant could understand the English language.\nResults: Profile of the respondents\nDiscussions: The outcome of this research suggests that how international tourists consume food is a full-bodied engagement of senses: the mind, emotions and actions. The results show that three of the four dimensions of a destination food experience have a significant impact on tourist satisfaction and revisit intentions, namely, sensory, affective and behavioral experiences. It was noted that tourists' sensory and emotional engagements with food very significantly influenced how they evaluate their overall destination food experience. The behavioral aspect of the experience (i.e. eating local cuisine in the manner it is practiced locally and sampling a variety of foods) is noted as a significant factor contributing to tourist food experience satisfaction, although its relative importance compared to the sensory and affective experiences, is not as pronounced.\nConclusion: The study has examined international visitors' destination food experience as a four-dimensional phenomenon, and has assessed how the various aspects of the experience influence visitors' destination food satisfaction and revisit intention. Egypt, as the research setting, provides a suitable environment to study the multidimensionality of food consumption in tourism because the Egyptian food experience is seen as a good means to immerse tourists into Egypt's culture and explore the country on multi-layered levels. The results suggest that the tourist destination food experience encompasses sensory, intellectual, affective and behavioral elements. The study, therefore, identifies the multifaceted characteristics of local food experience that deserve scholars' and marketers' attention. It identifies the aspects of food experience that need to be managed at a strategic level.\nLimitations and future research: The first limitation of this study is that the scale used to measure food experiences was adopted from previous research. Future research may need to develop additional items to measure food experiences and test them in diverse contexts (i.e. different countries and regions). Second, this research is based on respondents who experienced local Egyptian food in casual and fine dining restaurants in Cairo. Therefore, the findings should be generalized with utmost care regarding the applicability to other places. Third, future studies could test the interrelationship between the different aspects of food experience because sensory food evaluation may affect the affective food experience. Fourth, future research may consider the moderating role of food-personality traits such as food involvement and food neophobia in the relationship between tourists' food experiences and their behaviors. Finally, because tourists increasingly resort to tourism as a health enhancement resource (Lehto and Lehto, 2019), future research in assessing the relationship between food sensory qualities and food safety and nutritional qualities can be revelatory.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Using destination brand experience as a conceptual lens and data evidence from international visitors to Egypt, the purpose of this study is to examine the relative impact of the various dimensions of local food experience on tourist overall food satisfaction and destination revisit intention.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data from a convenience sample of international visitors to Cairo, Egypt, (N = 302) was quantitatively analyzed using the structural equation modeling approach to test the relationships among constructs.\nFindings: Empirical results reveal that three components of destination food experiences - sensory, affective and behavioral - effectively explain tourists' food satisfaction and destination revisit intention, while intellectual food experience was reported to only influence destination revisit intention. Interestingly, the effect of food experience satisfaction on destination revisit intention was not significant.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study identifies local food experience aspects that require to be managed at a strategic level and provides guidelines on how these aspects can be effectively managed.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first empirical application of a multidimensional experience model to the context of tourists' local food experience; it identifies the multifaceted characteristics of local food experience that deserve scholars' and marketers' attention.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
India needs to improve training image: Multinationals doing better than local-origin firms	[ "Performance", "India", "Training", "Management development", "Training effectiveness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Think India and you think of a business powerhouse, relentlessly on track to emerge - along with China - as one of the world's dominant economies. The UN predicts it to grow by 6.4 per cent in 2015, and some economists say it is on course to overtake China as the fastest-growing big economy within two years.\nComparison of training attitudes in different sectors: There are likely to be differences in terms of the perceived importance of managerial training in multinational companies (MNCs) and those of Indian origin, and between the country's service and manufacturing companies. In an effort to find out, Dr Harsh Sharma of the Hyderabad-based Administrative Staff College of India undertook a comparison of the importance and performance of managerial training in India among the different industrial sectors. He concluded that it is incumbent on firms to develop better training strategies and also to work on building a better image for training.\nMore emphasis placed on credible business results: The importance and performance of training is manifested in different ways in various types of organizations. Tradition and the nature of business and training activities play a part in these differences. However, in today's competitive global business environment, it is incumbent upon firms to develop better training strategies and also to work on building a better training image.\nComment: This review is based on \"Importance and performance of managerial training in Indian companies - an empirical study\" by Harsh Sharma. Dr Sharma compares the importance and performance of managerial training in India among different industrial sectors - multinational and Indian-origin, and service and manufacturing. He concludes that Indian-origin organizations fall short in terms of the importance given and performance of the training function compared to multinational companies.\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: So is it full marks all round to India's business leaders? Well, not quite, because some of them stand accused of not giving due importance to training. Training is recognized as an integral part of work and development if an organization is to be successful, with the USA spending billions of dollars on employee training and development. However, look closely at large and important companies in emerging markets, including India and China, and it can be seen that, in spite of enormous business opportunities, many of them are still falling short of their operational and revenue goals.\nPractical implications: The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.\nOriginality/value: The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]

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