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Customer value assessment of pharmaceutical marketing in Taiwan	[ "Customer value", "Data mining", "Decision tree", "Pharmaceutical marketing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Customer value assessment is considered a decision-making tool and, because of its ability to reflect customer demand behaviors, is widely addressed in the recent literature on market segmentation (Kim et al., 2006; Khajvand et al., 2011; Han et al., 2012; Shim et al., 2012; Hollebeek, 2013). Managers have realized the importance of customer value analysis and have applied data mining techniques to retain valuable customers and to develop customer relationship management strategies (Xu and Walton, 2005; Hadaya and Cassivi, 2007). Careful assessment and segmentation of customers to meet the needs of healthcare institutions according to their behavioral differences can provide a foundation for pharmaceutical marketing.\n2 Literature review: The healthcare industry is oriented toward domestic demand and is not affected by a poor economy (Shao and Ji, 2006; Bellazzi and Zupan, 2008). The global trends of aging populations, breakthroughs in biomedical technology and nanotechnology, and the innovation of new drugs, medical treatments and medical devices suggest that the healthcare industry is expected to grow (Shao and Ji, 2006). However, the presence of numerous economic entities, such as pharmaceutical companies, sales agents, medical distributors, and healthcare service providers creates a complex industrial environment (Davis, 2004) To ensure fairness and quality of medical care is available to the public, governments must regulate their respective healthcare industries (Lukkari and Parvinen, 2008). Standardization of drug prices enforced by the NHI tends to increase the operating costs of healthcare institutions in Taiwan. Therefore, healthcare institutions strongly hope to curtail their procurement prices, resulting in highly complex customized medicine transactions (Liu et al., 2011).\n3 Research framework: We combined our analysis of transaction data with the segmentation of customers corresponding with the approach proposed by Kim et al. (2006). The research framework includes three portions: data preparation, knowledge mining, and knowledge application. The data mining process is shown in Figure 1.\n4 Research results: 4.1 Stage 1\n5 Implications: 5.1 Segment analysis and differential strategy development\n6 Conclusion: The pharmaceutical supply chain system contains numerous members and the opacity of industrial information and altered regulations create a complex operating system (Alt et al., 2003). Analyzing the transaction databases of pharmaceutical sales agents allows the exploration of the demand patterns of specific healthcare institutions. Such findings contribute to customer segmentation and the drug promotion and diffusion efforts of pharmaceutical companies (Shah, 2004; Desiraju et al., 2004).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide a data mining approach for classifying Taiwanese healthcare institutions based on customer value assessment. Each institution type has developed its own marketing strategy along with relationship management strategies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Real transaction data from 88 pharmaceutical companies were the study samples. Expert interviews were conducted to analyze industry knowledge. The frequency, money, and contract term (FMC) model was developed to assess and segment the healthcare institutions. ANOVA and the Scheffe post-test were used to explore the test effects of each FMC indicator among the groups. The C5.0 decision tree was then used to generate the behavioral rules of various segmentations. Finally, this study combined the related variables with the purchasing behavioral rules to propose specific strategies for each type of healthcare institution.\nFindings: A total of 663 health care institutions in Taiwan were divided into four types: loyalist, intellectualist, nitpicking, and churn. The terms frequency (F), money (M) and contract term (C) were all significant indicators for determining the differences among the four customer categories at the 0.01 level of significance. The behavioral rules related to the four categories were determined by using the C5.0 algorithm.\nOriginality/value: This FMC model can provide a strategic development method for the pharmaceutical industry to conduct market segmentation. The findings may assist pharmaceutical companies provide customized services to health care institutions and to manage their downstream demand effectively.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Comparing the safety climate of the Indonesian and Australian construction industries: Cultural and institutional relativity in safety research	[ "Australia", "Indonesia", "Culture", "Safety climate", "Institutional relativity" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Indonesia is the world's fourth-largest country in terms of population size and the largest economy in Southeast Asia with an annual growth rate exceeding 5 per cent and a construction industry expanding even faster at 8.1 per cent in 2017 (Epifany and Scopacasa, 2017). As a developing country, the construction industry plays a critical role in facilitating this economic growth through the development of the country's social and economic infrastructure and the infrastructure budget has been increased by 30 per cent annually on average since 2015 (Kementrian Keuangan Republik Indonesia, 2018). However, the occupational safety and health record of the Indonesian construction industry is poor with official records showing over 50,000 recorded workplace accidents across Indonesian industries in 2015, of which nearly a third happened in the construction industry (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, 2016). Annually there are also about 2000 recorded work-related fatalities in Indonesia and about 10 per cent of those fatalities occur in the construction industry (Rochmi, 2016).\nSafety climate in the construction industry: As Lingard et al. (2014) pointed out, the concept of safety climate is critically important to organisational safety performance yet is often confused with the closely related concept of safety culture. While the concept of safety culture remains poorly specified and inconsistently used, it is widely understood to be the pattern of shared basic assumptions about safety that are learned by members of a group over time which serves as a frame of reference that guides behaviour within a society, industry or organisation. In contrast, climate is a surface level expression of the culture at a given point in time which is less stable and prone to change. Zohar (1980, p. 96), who first coined the term safety climate, defined it as \"a summary of molar perceptions that employees share about their work environments\". In a construction context, Phua (2018) recognised the importance of organisational climate to organisational behaviour in a sustainability context and drawing on the seminal work of Schneider and Reichers (1983) defined climate as \"a set of shared perceptions regarding the policies, practices and procedures that an organisation rewards, supports and expects\". According to Phua (2018), organisational climate is epistemologically, theoretically and methodologically distinct from the concept of organisational culture in that it reflects more observable, dynamic and consciously perceived shared aspects of an organisation that are psychologically important to, meaningful for and impactful on its individual members. Arguing that much construction research confuses the concepts of organisational culture and climate, Phua (2018) notes the importance of construction industry researchers differentiating between the visible and accessible aspects of climate and the more invisible aspects of organisational culture. As explained by Moran and Volkweln (1992), organisational climate exhibits behavioural and attitudinal characteristics of organisation participants, more accessible to observers, while organisational culture is not readily observed, and represents the foundation of social relations and the underlying deep-structures of meaning, belief, assumptions and expectations on which interaction depends.\nSafety climate in the Australian construction industry: A number of studies have been undertaken into the safety climate of the Australian construction industry. For example, Mohamed's (2002) study of 19 construction sites in Australia found that the most important dimensions of safety climate are: management commitment, safety communication, worker's involvement, attitudes, competence, supportive environment and support from supervisors. Another research project in Australia which collected data from an organisation that constructs and maintains roads and bridges identified six dimensions of safety climate: communication and support, adequacy of procedures, work pressure, personal protective equipment, relationships and safety rules (Glendon and Litherland, 2001). Lingard et al. (2010) tested a multi-level safety climate model in a hospital construction project in Australia, and found that the perceived level of safety climate of the main contractor predicts the level of safety climate of subcontractors. Lingard et al. (2009) also found the existence of workgroup safety climates within a road construction and maintenance organisation, causing some workgroups to work safer than others despite having similar risk exposure. Likewise, discrepancies also exist not only horizontally, but also vertically, between different management levels. More recent research in Australia by Zou and Sunindijo (2013) hypothesised that project personnel skills are needed to implement safety management tasks, which then promotes the development of safety climate. They also found that there are different safety climate levels between managers and supervisors, in which the managers perceive higher level of safety climate than the supervisors.\nSafety climate in the Indonesian construction industry: In contrast to Australia and other countries where climate research has been focussed, safety climate studies in the Indonesian construction industry are limited. One notable exception was Andi (2008), who developed a tool to assess safety climate in the Indonesian construction industry. The tool has six dimensions: top management commitment, safety rules and procedures, communication, worker competence, work environment and worker involvement. In terms of finding the relationship between safety climate and performance, another study in Indonesia found that positive safety climate decreases work pressure and barriers to work safely and promotes safe behaviour (Sutalaksana and Syaifullah, 2008). The influence of safety climate on performance in high-rise building projects in Indonesia was also investigated by Irawadi (2016) who found that safety climate predicts safe behaviour and that both safety climate and safe behaviour positively influence project performance in terms of time, cost, quality, health and safety, environment and satisfaction. Most recently, Machfudiyanto et al. (2017) conducted a survey in state-owned construction organisations in Indonesia and identified nine dimensions of safety climate, including leadership, behaviour, value, strategy, policy, process, employee, safety cost and contract system.\nResearch method: While there have been examples of safety climate research in both Australia and Indonesia, there have been no direct comparative studies. To this end, safety climate data were collected in both countries at project level using an identical survey of construction personnel working on construction sites in both Australia and Indonesia (translated into Indonesian for the Indonesian context). The survey comprised two sections. The first section sought to collect data about respondent demographics, including age, gender, level of education and years of working in the construction industry. The second section mobilised Zou and Sunindijo's (2015) construction safety climate framework and consisted of 58 questions against each of the six dimensions of safety climate discussed above. The questionnaire has been previously used and validated in the Indonesian context. It was then reviewed by Indonesian and Australian practitioners to ensure that the items are not ambiguous. As a result of this review, the wording of some items was revised, some items were removed because they were assessing similar phenomena, and some items related to safety training were added. A six-point forced response Likert scale format ranging from \"strongly disagree\" to \"strongly agree\" was used to minimise the risk of respondents choosing the midpoint which is a risk in safety research (Johns, 2005).\nAnalysis and discussion: Table II compares the levels of safety climate between the Australian and Indonesian construction industries by presenting the mean scores and ranks for each item in the 58-item instrument we used to measure safety climate. Both sets of data can be assumed to be normally distributed because each group has more than 30 responses. A two-sample independent t-test was used to analyse whether the difference between the mean scores of each item for the Australian and Indonesia samples were statistically significant or not. This parametric test is robust and commonly used to compare the means of two unrelated groups on the same variables. Levene's test was used to assess the equality of variances of the two sets of data. SPSS 25 was the software used to analyse the data. In addition, Table II also presents the rank for each safety climate item so that the lowest items requiring improvements can be determined. For negatively worded items in the questionnaire, the means for these items have been adjusted.\nConclusions: The aim of this paper was to assess and compare safety climate in the Indonesian and Australian construction industries. More specifically, this paper addresses the following research questions:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess, compare and explain safety climate differences between the Indonesian and Australian construction industries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper reports a comparative safety climate survey of 415 construction personnel working in the Australian and Indonesia construction industries.\nFindings: Surprisingly, the results show that the safety climate in Indonesia and Australia are similar and that the differences in safety performance, safety climate must be interpreted within the context of wider health and safety norms, regulations, awareness, knowledge and typical work environments to make any sense.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research contributes a missing international comparative dimension to the emerging research on construction safety climate. Indonesian studies are notably absent from this literature, despite the size of the country and the poor health and safety record of its construction industry. Similar comparisons between safety climate in other countries need to be made.\nPractical implications: This research allows construction managers operating across international boundaries to better understand the cultural and institutional context in which safety climate is developed. This will assist in the development of more culturally sensitive safety management strategies.\nSocial implications: The construction industry's poor safety record has serious implications for both individuals working in the industry, their immediate families and the communities in which they live. By improving the safety record of the industry these impacts can be reduced.\nOriginality/value: This research reveals, for the first time, the cultural and institutional complexities of comparing safety climate across different countries. The results contribute to safety climate research by highlighting the importance of cultural and institutional relativity in making international comparisons of health and safety research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Domains of influence: exploring negative sentiment in social media	[ "Brand communication", "Social media", "Negative brand sentiment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Consumers are increasingly turning to social media to express their opinions of brands (Tsimonis and Dimitriadis, 2014). As consumer-brand interaction is no longer defined purely by purchase or consumption (Quinton, 2013), companies are now vulnerable to negative sentiment delivered via these channels, regardless of whether or not they choose to participate in these platforms. Such networks provide consumers with the capacity to elevate issues of discontent, often with profound consequences for consumer-brand relationships and, by extension, brand management. Consumer reactions range in their manifestation from benign complaining or brand switching behaviour through to extreme forms such as organised anti-brand communities and collaborative attack (Einwiller and Steilen, 2015; Hollenbeck and Zinkhan, 2010; Rauschnabel et al., 2016).\nBackground and literature review: Research into negative brand sentiment\nMethodology: The retail fashion industry was chosen as the context for the study as it provides an empirically appealing eco-system in which ongoing daily interactions with customers can be readily observed (Yin, 2014). In most jurisdictions, retail fashion is characterised by a diverse mix of small to large firms with a low concentration of ownership. Intense competition arising from such fragmentation leads firms to explore opportunities through new technology to enhance their competitive advantage (Magner, 2017). Consequently, the sector has been quick to adopt social media, with broad acceptance by consumers of these platforms providing fertile ground for the study of negative interactions between brands and consumers. Loose approximations of brand communities form around some of the faster fashion-oriented brands. Many of these consumer-brand relationships exhibit a propensity for bilateral engagement of a type approximating Fournier and Avery's (2011) open-source branding; that is, characterised by a collaborative approach to brand management via social networks.\nFindings: This section outlines five interconnected dominant themes revealed by our analysis which pertain to the mitigation and management of negative brand sentiment expressed through the companies' social media platforms. Some are overt and are easily symbolised by the informant quotes contained in Table III (adapted from Stein and Ramaseshan, 2016). Others are less apparent and require interpretation via the complementary data collection methods used in this study. The themes comprise five domains of influence; company philosophies, company operations, customer relationships, internal relationships and other stakeholder relationships. These domains may be defined as a nominal classification of the spheres of activity within which companies manage negative social media sentiment. We categorise the themes as either relational domains, which reflect an extension of extant relationship management knowledge that is frequently drawn from offline environments; or the more recently conceptualised transformational domains of influence, which demand a reorientation in the attitudes and policies underpinning company operations to acknowledge their importance in influencing the valence of socially mediated customer discourse.\nDiscussion: The purpose of this research was to examine how firms manage negative comments in their social media feeds, as a step towards understanding the optimal ways to mitigate and circumvent such commentary. We designed an exploratory study aimed at unearthing deep insights into the management of such phenomena, in particular contemporary methods for its mitigation and remedy, to contribute towards theory building and the development of an empirically based decision-making framework for practitioners. The findings identify five principal domains of influence around which the firms based their approach to addressing social media backlash. We suggest that these domains can be categorised as either relational domains built on human exchange or transformational domains grounded in the less tangible elements of corporate culture and operational practices.\nImplications: There are a number of implications derived from this study's findings, of both a theoretical and managerial nature. We acknowledge that some of these implications are universally applicable across the retail fashion sector while others are specific to a particular size, reach, audience or type of firm. In identifying five inter-related domains of influence relevant to this context and their constituent components which are classified as transformational or relational in character, we determine that, in online settings, a blend of intangible behaviours and pragmatic actions can lead to more harmonious relationships.\nLimitations and future research: The current study shines a light on the practices of firms in relation to the management of negative sentiment in social media. The findings identify a range of factors of both a relational and transformational nature that influence the character of a firm's discourse with its publics. Some practices appear more effective than others in the governance of these conversations and require further investigation. While many of the relational elements are documented in the services marketing, customer relationship and public relations literature, we believe that scope exists to better understand how some of the transformational elements identified in this study can be combined with the relational elements in an all-of-company approach to mitigate the negative effects of unfavourable brand sentiment expressed through social media. Corporate culture, ethics, human relations and operational management all play a vital role in the consumer-brand relationship, yet little is known about the optimisation of their functional integration for the purposes of influencing online brand sentiment. In this regard, a more detailed examination of the application of constructs developed for the offline context in online settings will aid in the integration of multidisciplinary theory and will be of particular value to retailers whose operations are wholly online. Future research might also examine the antecedent role of abstract forces in shaping relationally based responses to negative social media sentiment. In addition, as social media is playing a greater role in brand management and the communication of brand values, it is important to understand how it can be integrated as more than a mere communications adjunct, to influence brand culture and thus reduce backlash. This imperative is accentuated by the fast-moving nature of social media platforms, Facebook specifically. We therefore encourage researchers to explore the scope of company reactions to anti-brand behaviours through the longitudinal ethnographic examination of online communities.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the manner in which companies mitigate negative sentiment in social media and to map the forces that may lead to pre-emptive strategies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Case studies were drawn from the retail fashion industry using data collected from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with practitioners and a netnographic examination of company artefacts and social media conversations.\nFindings: The findings identify five principal domains of influence upon which the firms based their approach to social media negativity. The authors suggest that these domains can be fundamentally categorised as either relational domains built on human exchanges or transformational domains rooted in less tangible elements of corporate culture and operational practices that can have a significant impact upon a brand's socially mediated exchanges.\nPractical implications: The research provides guidance based on empirical observation of effective strategies utilised by firms, emphasising robust systems integration, a holistic management ethos, and leveraging of third-party alliances.\nOriginality/value: Bringing together disparate cross-disciplinary elements, the research contributes to knowledge by highlighting opportunities for the development of a proactive rather than reactive approach to online brand negativity and deepens the understanding of applied brand management techniques adopted to address negative social media encounters. The authors provide a series of contemporary and empirically grounded recommendations for practitioners that offer substantive insights.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Do relationship benefits and maintenance drive commitment and loyalty?	[ "Relationship marketing", "Commitment", "Relationship benefits", "Customer relationship management", "Customer loyalty" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.\nIntroduction: In the current business environment, customer relationships are essential to creating a competitive advantage and thus gaining the economic benefits derived from customer retention (Verhoef, 2003). Developing and maintaining a loyal customer base is of critical importance to service firms (Kandampully and Duddy, 1999). Relationship marketing is a well-suited strategy for service firms to build long term, profitable relationships that consumers perceive to be mutually beneficial (Berry, 1995). In relationship marketing, firms enhance the customer-firm encounter by strengthening already strong relationships and converting indifferent customers into loyal customers (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991).The focus of this research is on investigating commitment as a central construct in the development of customer loyalty. Managers must be aware of the antecedents to commitment in order to generate customer loyalty. This research examines the effects of relationship benefits and relationship maintenance on the customers' commitment to the service firm, and ultimately customer loyalty. Specifically, we examine the impact of confidence, social and special treatment benefits as well as relationship investment, communication and management on customer commitment. We then examine the impact commitment has on customer loyalty.This research extends past literature by simultaneously testing the effect of relationship benefits and relationship maintenance on commitment. Our findings provide insights into how firms can create customer commitment. Moreover, our findings underscore the critical role commitment plays in determining loyalty to the firm. While the effect of commitment on loyalty is well known, few studies have specifically focused on investigating the antecedents that drive commitment. Through an analysis of 591 service customers from a range of service industries, this research extends prior work by empirically examining the impact of relationship benefits and relationship maintenance on commitment and ultimately the effect of commitment on loyalty.\nRelationship benefits and customer commitment: The establishment of a good business relationship must reflect mutual benefits for both a firm and a customer. The relationship benefits that customers receive from a firm should add value to their service experience beyond that provided by the core product (Zineldin, 2006). It has been suggested that firms will commit themselves to establishing, developing, and maintaining relationships with partners who provide substantial benefits (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). Similarly, Hennig-Thurau et al. (2002) found that relationship benefits are directly related to the level of commitment the customer may feel towards the service firm. Specifically, relationship benefits consist of confidence benefits, social benefits and special treatment benefits (Gwinner et al., 1998), and in the present study, these are proposed as antecedents to commitment.Confidence benefits and commitment\nRelationship maintenance and customer commitment: While firms hope to establish committed, loyal relationships with customers, it is crucial that firms recognize the significance of effectively maintaining the relationship. This can be achieved through investment, communication and active management of the relationship. In order to increase commitment among customers, firms must show that they are investing in their customers, openly communicating with their customers, and making an effort to manage the relationship with their customers.Relationship investment and commitment\nCustomer commitment and loyalty: Customer commitment is recognized as being crucial to long-term relationships (Dwyer et al., 1987; Garbarino and Johnson, 1999). In fact, commitment has long been regarded as a critical variable in successful social exchanges (Thibaut and Kelley, 1959), including customer-provider relationships (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). Committed customers are more likely to remain loyal to the service firm (Moorman et al., 1993) as they feel that the service relationship is important (Moorman et al., 1992). As a result, they have a desire to maintain the relationship while also being willing to put effort into maintaining the relationship (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). As customers and firms become more committed to each other, the client-firm relationship becomes more stable (Wang et al., 2006), thus fostering a long-term relationship.As business becomes increasingly competitive, creating and sustaining customer loyalty is critical (Homburg and Giering, 2001). Loyalty is important because it positively impacts sales, share-of-wallet and customer retention (Oderkerken-Schroder et al., 2003; Reynolds and Beatty, 1999). Increased loyalty translates into higher profits because it is less expensive to retain customers than to attract new ones (Fornell and Wernerfelt, 1987; Reichheld and Teal, 1996). As suggested by Hennig-Thurau et al. (2002), loyalty provides a concrete outcome against which relationships can be measured.While commitment has been shown to positively predict aspects of customer loyalty, such as referrals, the relationship between commitment and loyalty has not received substantial research attention (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2002). Customers that are committed to a firm will hold the relationship in high regard, believing that the relationship deserves effort and attention. Commitment signifies a long-term relational perspective (Anderson and Weitz, 1992) and encourages exchange parties to resist the short-term benefits offered by other firms in favor of the benefits associated with remaining in a relationship (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). Mutual commitment creates the foundation upon which relationships are built (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991). We therefore propose that:H7. Commitment positively affects customer loyalty.\nResearch method: We examine our model across a range of services - travel agents, hairdressers, family doctors, photo printing service, general banking, pest control, cinemas, airlines and fast food outlets - based on Bowen's (1990) classification typology[1]. A pilot study was conducted to test our questionnaire. We piloted the questionnaire on a representative sample of 30 consumers. The questionnaire had three versions corresponding to the Bowen categories given above. The questionnaire cover page listed three service industries from each Bowen category. Respondents were asked to \"Choose one service provider from the following list that you feel you have a current relationship with.\" Respondents then filled the questionnaire in with that service provider in mind. A national sample was taken of 3,000 people aged 18 or older who were contacted through the post using a commercially available mailing list.Questionnaires were returned over the following six weeks. The final sample size was 591 representing a response rate of 19.7 percent. Table I depicts the demographic profile for the sample, which is reasonably balanced by gender and is well spread over age, income and education groups.Measures\nResults: Fit and structural parameters for our model can be seen in Table IV. The testing of the research model depicted in Figure 1 revealed fit statistics that are of an acceptable level (kh2(81)=461.63, p=0.00, CFI=0.95, IFI=0.95, RMSEA=0.07). Examination of the statistical significance and direction of the parameter estimates indicated almost all our hypotheses were supported.To begin, confidence, social and special treatment benefits each had a significant and positive impact on commitment. Confidence benefits were found to have a large effect (b=0.57, p<0.05) on commitment, supporting H1. Social benefits had a medium effect (b=0.23, p<0.05) while special treatment benefits had a small effect (b=0.09, p<0.05), supporting H2 and H3. Further, the results suggest that relationship investment and management both had a medium positive effect on commitment (b=0.21, p<0.05) and (b=0.25, p<0.05), which supports H4 and H6. Surprisingly, relationship communication had a significant but negative effect (b=-0.24) on commitment, which does not support H5. Finally, commitment was found to have a large positive effect on loyalty (b=0.83), thus supporting H7.\nDiscussion and conclusions: Relationships are crucial to firms that derive economic benefits from customer retention (Verhoef, 2003). While the importance of commitment in driving loyalty has been established (e.g. Hennig-Thurau et al., 2002), the antecedents that drive commitment remain largely unknown. To this end, this study makes a timely and important contribution. Our results indicate that to enhance customer commitment, firms must provide focus on providing confidence, social and special treatment benefits. Specifically, service managers must ensure that customers feel secure, that they perceive minimal risk and are comfortable in the service relationship. This is particularly important as confidence benefits were found to have the largest influence on commitment. Service providers must also ensure that social benefits are present in the relationship. The social aspects of a formal business relationship not only enhance relationship quality, but also improve commitment to the firm (Goodwin and Gremler, 1996). This is primarily because customers feel the need to reciprocate the relationship. Providing special treatment such as price breaks and tailored service to customers in a service relationship was also found to enhance commitment towards the firm, although less so than confidence and social benefits.Our results also show that relationship investment, communication and management influenced commitment. We found that relationship investment and management enhanced commitment to the firm. This means that service providers must devote time and money to investing in and managing customer relationships in an effort to improve commitment levels. These activities signal to customers that the firm is also committed to the customer. Somewhat surprisingly we found that relationship communication had a negative impact on commitment. One possible explanation is that customers may feel harassed and perhaps skeptical towards the communication they received from a service firm. Since language and expressions can often be construed to mean different things to different people (Sabel, 1993), customers may doubt the genuine nature of the communication they receive thus reducing commitment levels.As was expected we found a strong association between commitment and customer loyalty. This finding adds support to prior studies (Dwyer et al., 1987; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2002). Given that commitment plays a critical role in maintaining long-term relationships, service providers must ensure that they do everything within their control to improve commitment levels. To this end, service providers can implement strategies aimed at improving the confidence, social and special treatment benefits the customer receives. They can also ensure that they invest in, and actively manage the relationship they have with their customer base. Firms should also be aware of the potentially negative impact communication can have on commitment and carefully construct communication in a way that it is seen as sincere, genuine, open and honest.\nLimitations and future research: This study utilized a cross sectional design to extend our understanding of the impact of relationship benefits and relationship maintenance on commitment, and ultimately the impact of commitment on loyalty. We limited our study to the investigated constructs for parsimony. While, in the present study we examined our research hypotheses across nine different service industries, future research may benefit from an examination of the differences between service types. Finally, future research could examine moderation effects on the association between important relationship constructs. The effect of customer demographics such as age, gender, and income, relationship characteristics such as duration, strength and intensity of the relationship, and service type effects may also provide interesting results. In spite of these limitations the present study provides firms with an understanding of the factors that drive commitment and underscores the importance of commitment as a precursor to customer loyalty.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to examine the central role that commitment plays in driving customer loyalty and to identify the effect that confidence, social and special treatment benefits as well as relationship investment, communication and management have on the development of commitment, and ultimately customer loyalty.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper reports the results of a national mail survey of 591 consumers across nine different service industries.\nFindings: - The findings of the study suggest that relationship commitment drives customer loyalty and that confidence, social and special treatment benefits affect commitment to the service, as does relationship investment and management. Surprisingly, relationship communication was found to have a negative effect on commitment to the service.\nPractical implications: - This paper provides managers with insight as to how they can better create and sustain loyal relationships through the creation of customer commitment.\nOriginality/value: - The paper empirically demonstrates the importance of commitment in developing and sustaining loyal relationships while also providing a detailed assessment of the role of relationship benefits and maintenance in creating committed customers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Awakened leaders: born or made?	[ "Ethics", "Social values", "Trust", "Job satisfaction", "Leadership", "Justice" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The phenomenon leadership has been extensively studied in past decades. A brief review of leadership styles developed throughout the years leads us to the following incomplete results: resonant leadership (Boyatzis and McKee, 2005; Drath, 2006); servant leadership (Greenleaf and Spears, 1977; Pierce and Newstrom, 2003); self leadership (Manz, 1983; Pierce and Newstrom, 2003); laissez faire leadership (Knight and Emmett, 1999; Frittz, 2005; Canty, 2006; Pierce and Newstrom, 2003); authentic leadership (George, 2003); authoritative leadership (Fullan, 2003); coercive leadership (Pierce and Newstrom, 2003; Hughes et al., 2002); charismatic leadership (Northouse, 2000; Pierce and Newstrom, 2003; Hughes et al., 2002); team leadership (Northouse, 2000; Pierce and Newstrom, 2003; Hughes et al., 2002); crisis leadership (Mitroff, 2001 and 2005); transformational leadership (Northouse, 2000; Pierce and Newstrom, 2003; Hughes et al., 2002); and transactional leadership (Northouse, 2000; Pierce and Newstrom, 2003; Hughes et al., 2002). The reason why the above results are labeled \"incomplete\" is, because leadership is a highly dynamic and continuously evolving topic, which entails that new definitions and styles of leadership are continuously developed.When applying a closer analysis, it becomes apparent that the common factor missing in most of these theories is multi-applicability, which means that the majority of these leadership styles are limited to either one type of leader, or one type of follower, or one type of situation. While highly useful in particular settings, many of these leadership styles are inapplicable in settings that deviate from the one they were developed for. Yet, multi-applicability is increasingly becoming a requirement in the continuously intertwining global village that is our world. Along with the concept of multi-applicability arises the need for a meta-leadership style, which means, a leadership style that is applicable under a broad variety of situations and with a broad variety of followers, thus, highly flexible.Setting out a search for a meta-leadership, and thus multi-applicable leadership style, the author of this paper conducted a series of interviews with eleven leadership practitioners and thinkers. Through these interviews, along with a significant portion of literature review and workplace observations, the \"awakened leader\" emerged. This paper will briefly introduce the awakened leader, analyze some of the important experiences and skills that make this type of leader so outstanding, and will conclude with a brief reasoning why this leadership style is easy and difficult at the same time.\nAwakened leaders: who are they?: Before getting into some details of the findings, it may be interesting to start with some general conclusions and then work our way back to how these conclusions came about. The name that was ultimately chosen for the leader to be described in this paper was, \"The awakened leader.\" This name was derived from Buddha's (approximately 563 BCE) post-enlightenment answer to the question of a passer-by whether he was a god, a magician, a wizard, or anything else, upon which Buddha simply stated, \"I'm awake\" (Kornfield, 1999).Awakened leaders, as the participants to this study agreed upon, are those who lead from the heart and soul. They are the corporate, community, and household leaders, official or unofficial, who refuse to put on different hats when it comes to their personality. They don't believe in parking their souls at the door (Rosner, 2001). Awakened leaders practice a holistic and authentic approach in every environment and at every time.\nWhy is awakened leadership important?: The urge to inquire about a different type of leader emerged from the current trend of globalization, and with that, increased exposure of human beings from all walks of life to different ways of acting, thinking, and interacting. It is common knowledge that the internet, as a mass communication and meta-applicable source, has made our world more interdependent than it ever was. Patki and Patki (2007) concur with these perspectives in their assertion, \"Internet technology has impelled us to develop faith in the modern practices of business, commerce, and trade. Offshoring has been viewed as a global phenomenon on the economic frontier\" (p. 57). Cultures are now accessible to a far greater extent, and communication between people from different continents happens on a continuous and massive basis. It is no news that organizations, and therefore their workforces, are increasingly diverging their operations over the globe, for purposes of efficiency and effectiveness, in order to remain a player in their oftentimes hyper-competitive field of expertise. Collins underscores the above in his statement, \"Large organizations are trying to make innovation a pervasive part of their culture in a move reminiscent of the introduction of quality management in the 1980s\" (p. 5). Collins (2007) continues, \"They want to make innovation a part of their employees' day-to-day lives, and find ways to take advantage of their customers' and partners' ideas as well\" (p. 5). Collins concludes, \"Part of the reason for this is pressures such as globalization and the shifting role of the consumer enabled by the Internet\" (p. 5).Indeed, how easy has it become, thanks to the Net, to have parts of a job prepared in the west, then continued by eastern colleagues located several continents away while the westerners sleep, and ultimately finalized again in the west when the new workday starts there? That's efficiency, effectiveness, and thus competitiveness, to the max, just like Collins, Patki and Patki, and many other authors have confirmed.Yet, efficiency and effectiveness only go so far without leadership that facilitates and embraces an environment of acceptance, willingness to understand, and mutual respect. This is where the need for awakened leadership emerges. \"Leader accountability has been hailed as both a proactive step in building and sustaining a climate of trust and credible leadership and as a remedial step in restoring trust and credibility once lost by the leader\" (Wood and Winston, 2005, p. 84). Contemporary leaders at any level and in any type of setting, but particularly those at the helm of organizations that operate in various continents, have to develop sensitivity toward and insight into possible misunderstandings and subsequent conflicts that can arise among workers from various cultures, and thus, with various work ethics.\nBorn and made: \"The changing face of organizations, an increasingly competitive and globalized world economy, and rapid changes in demographic trends are posing great challenges to management\" (Ayoko and Hartel, 2006, p. 345). Due to these massive changes and the consequential high demands of today's increasingly diversifying workforce, the need for diversity leaders has tremendously augmented. \"Diversity leadership refers to anyone that leads or manages a diverse or heterogeneous workgroup\" (Ayoko and Hartel, 2006, p. 345).When taking note of the above-posted demands on contemporary leaders, the image of an awakened leader emerges. In their answers to the questions presented to them, the participants to the study discussed in this paper indicated that an awakened leader is a diversity-oriented and experienced one. Because the factor experience plays such an immense role in the descriptions provided by the subjects in this study, they concluded that an awakened leader is one that was born as all humans do, but made to become an awakened leader. Made by life and made by the experiences he or she obtained while growing up. Although, according to the interviewees, this leader may have been born with certain skills that enhanced his or her chances and marked his or her initial aspirations toward becoming a leader, the wakefulness within the leader was derived through trial and error.In many professional environments the phenomenon trial and error is taboo, because it indicates a waste of time, money, energy, and prestige. However, the participants to the leadership study conducted agreed that the making of an awakened leader cannot happen in any other way than by trial and error, even though some of them named it differently, and with the utilization of a significant amount of time. This may indicate that the case of the awakened leader may be one of the rare circumstances where this phenomenon should be considered a good one.\nThe study: In order to obtain specific information about awakened leadership and to find out whether awakened leaders are actually possible in the opinion of established leaders, the author set out to interview 11 leaders from a broad variety of backgrounds.Selection of participants\nThe formation of an awakened leader: As could be extracted from the participants' answers, many awakened leaders have made their share of mistakes, and have experienced some pretty humbling situations before they reached the stage of wakefulness. Many of the participants engaged in thorough self-reflection when formulating their answers to the questions. They drew the conclusion that trial and error was exactly what makes them such bright persons today: They explained that they had been sleepwalking through life, and that something drastic happened in their life, which woke them up. Overall they agreed that it is exactly because of their blunders in the past that awakened leaders are now such reliable, honest, fair, and flexible persons to work with.In order to find out what some of the elements are that make up for an awakened leader, the author compiled the responses from the participants to several of the interview questions. The following attention points emerged.Morals and values\nDifficult and easy at the same time: To briefly summarize some additional responses from the participants as an endnote to this review: Awakened leadership can be considered difficult and easy at the same time. Difficult because society, with its ongoing codes of conduct, and particularly its ingrained sense of individuality, may not yet be as widely prepared to embrace the awakened leader and his or her sense of unity and mutuality in moving ahead; and easy, because the awakened leader, once accepted, does not have to remember different behavioral patterns in different environments. This leader remains the same, whether alone, with a small or large group of people, in front of an audience, or among friends: Graceful, kind, empathetic, respectful, and down-to-earth.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to review the leader of the twenty-first century, the Awakened Leader. Based on information, collected from 11 leadership thinkers and practitioners, literature review, and the author's workplace observations, the article seeks to analyze some of the important experiences and skills that make awakened leaders so outstanding.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This study was conducted as a qualitative study of the phenomenological kind, enriched with literature review. Interviews were executed from a pre-validated interview protocol. The approach to the topic is: definition of awakened leadership; review of the essence of awakened leadership; reasoning of the determination regarding this leader being born or made; and perspectives toward awakened leadership.\nFindings: - An interesting combination of qualities emerged for awakened leaders varying from morals and values, ethics, integrity, honesty and trust, to kindness, forgiveness, courage, love, and deep listening. As an interesting endnote the article explains why practicing awakened leadership is easy and difficult at the same time.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The studies reviewed, although in-depth, applied to a small sample of leaders, which makes generalization riskier. Because leadership is such a broad and dynamic topic, literature review is never exhausted, and thus always relatively outdated.\nPractical implications: - Leaders may reconsider the skills required for themselves and their workforce to guarantee successful performance in an increasingly interconnected world. Leaders may engage in reflection and work toward stronger emphasis and development of skills in which they consider themselves weak. Leaders may reexamine their work environment and consider how to minimize the factors that complicate the practice of awakened leadership in their organization.\nOriginality/value: - The phenomenon of awakened leadership as an all-encompassing and multi-applicable leadership trend is shown in the paper.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
African culture and business markets: implications for marketing practices	[ "Africa", "Culture", "Marketing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Since marketing involves an outlay of resources, marketers are expected to be more receptive to cultural differences. There is consensus that culture has a fundamental influence on marketing practices and that cultural differences affect marketers' behavior in ways parallel to their effects on consumers (Omar et al., 2003). The dawn of the phenomenon of \"global village\" (Levitt, 1983; Keegan and Green, 2005) with its associated transfer of investment from industrialized economies to African nations (Debrah, 2002; Mmieh and Owusu-Frempong, 2004) means that understanding and appreciating African culture is not an option but a necessity (Nwankwo, 2000). As stated by Iguisi and Rutashobya (2002), the lack of proper integration of culture in management in Africa is denying Africa the resultant synergy needed in national economic, managerial and social development.In an era of economic interrelationship in Africa that is fueled by global financial transactions and joint ventures between businesses in industrialized and businesses in developing countries in Africa (Ofosu and Hansen, 2002; Mmieh and Owusu-Frempong, 2004) and the growing attraction of foreign direct investment to developing economies in Africa, it is surprising that little is documented about African culture and its interface with business-to-business marketing practices. Moreover, with the passing of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) by the United States Congress in 2000 and the recent G8 (Club of Eight Industrialized Democracies) debt amnesty deal, markets in Africa should open up as emerging markets for foreign investment. The debt relief program comes with a conditionality that is designed to \"encourage countries to tackle corruption, boost private-sector development and eliminate obstacles to private investment\" (Davis, 2005, p. 1). Thus, this study aims to provide an understanding of culture (i.e. African culture) with a focus on the implications for business-to-business marketing (i.e. business marketing) (House et al., 2002; Yang, 2005).A \"new scramble for Africa\" is ensuing, driven by perceptive investors who are beginning to look for ways to diversify their portfolio as they face up to the prospect of lower returns in more mature markets (Nwankwo, 2000). According to Nwankwo (2000) Africa's business environment is rapidly changing and multinationals willing to make serious, long-term commitments, are likely to reap attractive rewards.Over the next decade, a number of multinational enterprises (MNE's) expect a significant proportion of their revenues growth to come from the emerging markets (Steenkamp, 2005) and from developing countries in Africa (Nwankwo, 2000; Mmieh and Owusu-Frempong, 2004). Firms seeking new opportunities outside their traditional Asian-Pacific markets will most likely consider Africa as a potential market. \"It is worth noting that the continent of Africa has a population of 877.5 million\" (Vence, 2006, p. 10). Thus, these firms will need to re-assess their business strategies within the context of African culture.It is important to note that while the study of marketing practices and market orientation have received an appreciable level of attention (see for example, Akaah and Riordan, 1988; Dadzie et al., 1988; Okoroafo and Kotabe, 1993; Appiah-Adu, 2001), these works have dwelt on the broad subject of marketing practices and not on business-to-business marketing practices. Additionally, implications of African culture for business marketing practices appear to have been overlooked by marketing researchers.While companies in the West have responded to the challenges of building collaborative relationships with customers and suppliers (Kalafatis, 2000), it is not clear whether the latter can be said about companies in Africa (see Iguisi and Rutashobya, 2002). In addition, the business-to-business (B2B) literature lacks consideration of African culture (Moller and Wilson, 1995; Naude and Turnbull, 1998; Ford, 2002). To succeed in the African marketplace, we argue that multinational firms must understand the beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions that characterize African culture.Thus, the objectives of this paper are, first, to highlight the cultural underpinnings of Africa. Second, following the suggestions of Nakata and Sivakumar (2001), we use Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961) and Hofstede (1980, 1983) as backdrop to provide a synoptic view and a modal focus of the African culture by synthesizing the extant literature on African culture. Third, we summarize insights from this cultural value system and assess its implications for business marketing. The implications for business marketing cover the following areas: organizational behavior, buyer-seller interactions, collaborative partnerships and negotiations.For the purposes of this paper, the term \"African\" is used to represent Black Africans or indigenous African peoples south of the Sahara (i.e. sub-Sahara Africa) and who live in countries such as Benin, Botswana, Congo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia, to name but a few. Thus, in geographic terms, the discussion is restricted to Africa south of the Sahara and excludes the countries on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea (Okeke et al., 1999). In the ensuing sections, the term \"African\"/\"Africa\" is used to avoid the unending repetition of sub-Saharan Africa.\nAfrican cultural values and underpinnings: In the subsequent sections, we describe African culture along cultural orientations and dimensions. Specifically, five orientations from Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961) and four dimensions from Hofstede (1980) are discussed. We review the extant literature by African cultural anthropologists and African philosophers to provide the necessary backdrop for positioning African culture along Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's (1961) orientations and Hofstede's (1980) dimensions.Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's theory of value orientations\nModal focus of African culture: a summary: We offer two caveats before presenting a summary. First, there is no empirical evidence to suggest that Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's (1961) cultural orientations and Hofstede's (1980, 1983) dimensions \"are relevant or comprehensive enough to capture the essence of African cultural milieu\" (Kiggundu, 1988). Second, in anthropological studies of African societies, researchers (e.g. Beattie, 1980) have suggested that African societies are among the most collectivistic (Mpofu, 1994). Such claims, in general, have yet to be empirically tested (Eaton and Louw, 2000). It is also important to acknowledge the shift in rural-urban interface. There appears to be a gradual shift away from the traditional high collectivism in urban areas because of economic hardships and the influence of Western business and marketing practices (see Appiah-Adu, 2001; Iguisi and Rutashobya, 2002). The rapid urbanization, to some extent, undermines the traditional African culture and poses a challenge for any discussion about African culture and its implications for business marketing practices.Notwithstanding the foregoing caveats, the following generalizations can be drawn from this review. First, the innate African human character is imbued with both good and evil. The African is perceived good when his/her actions conform to customs and traditions of the community. Thus, doing good and being of good character are essential ingredients of the African personality. Second, in terms of man and nature orientation, man must live in harmony with the universe, obeying the natural, moral and mystical order. In addition, religion is an integral part of the entire culture and permeates the African way of life. Third, in terms of time orientation, the African takes a circular view of time, where the past and present are more important than the future. The focus is on the past and present. Also, emphasis is on fulfillment of social obligations and using time in social contexts takes precedence over the use of time in other contexts. Fourth, African culture reflects a collateral relational orientation that supports respect of elders and sense of community. African culture recognizes respect for elders and a relevant trait is the upholding of group rights. Fifth, in terms of activity orientation, the cognitive style is oriented toward synthesis, and the African thought system reflects a high degree of harmony among elements within the system, the use of symbols, and proverbial social thought. Sixth, African culture exhibits high power distance. Authority is inherent in one's position within a hierarchy. Seventh, African culture tends to be collectivistic. The interest of the group takes precedence over individual interest. Eighth, African culture exhibits intermediate uncertainty avoidance, with preference for structure and consistent routine. African culture recognizes preservation of customs. Finally, African culture shows characteristics that reflect slight femininity. They value social relevance and welfare of others. Tables I and II provide a brief summary.\nAfrican culture and implications for business marketing: Bearing in mind the importance of business marketing and specifically, upstream (suppliers) and downstream (customers) business relationships (Kalafatis, 2000); this section deals with the implications of African culture in business marketing. We explore four areas: organizational behavior, buyer-seller interactions, collaborative partnerships and negotiations. We argue that culture has important implications in business-to-business marketing practices. The business market comprises natural product providers, goods-producing firms, service-producing firms and governments (Brierty et al., 1998) and the interfaces they bring to bear (Kalafatis, 2000). The latter is also evident in small business-to-business orientation (Blankson and Cheng, 2005) - a sector prevalent in African business environment.In the African context, firms may range, in size, from small to large. They may also range in type, from small family owned businesses to large private corporations. Others may include large state owned corporations to large multinational enterprises and the government markets may be at the municipal, district, regional and state level. The group of firms comprising the multinational enterprises operates along Western lines, whereas the second group of firms consisting of the small commercial upstarts, family owned enterprises, the large indigenous-owned corporations and the state owned corporations are managed along the lines of African cultural dynamics. Hence, the latter group and the government market are more likely to be influenced by African cultural values and belief systems. However, one cannot ignore the cultural influences even for multinational enterprises operating in Africa, since the individuals working for these organizations are social beings and are influenced by culture.Organizational behavior\nConclusion and future research directions: In an age of globalization, examination of cultural factors and the subtle ways in which culture affects marketing practices and patterns of market behavior should command increased attention from marketers. Foreign companies need to think outside the proverbial box when formulating their marketing strategies and when collaborating and forming business partnerships in Africa (Koku, 2005). As companies move to do business in Africa, a greater sensitivity to African culture will be required and an understanding of African cultural realities should facilitate business transactions in this region. African culture differs from other cultures in the way Africans construct meanings, negotiate social contexts and make sense of their environment (Ahiauzu, 1986).From the extant and allied literature, we have offered several impressions in the context of African culture and implications for organizational behavior, buyer-seller interactions (relationship marketing), collaborative partnerships and negotiations. In this paper, we have used the term, \"African culture\" as an overarching concept. We acknowledge the fact that to propose a monolithic African culture, however, may be inaccurate because of the strong national differences. Nonetheless, there are some cultural dimensions common to the sub-region (Grzeda and Assogbavi, 1999). These commonalities include: a hierarchical social structure, the importance of kinship, the primacy of the group, time orientation (Safavi and Tweddell, 1990), the driving norms of human interdependence, virtue of symbiosis and reciprocity (Mangaliso, 2001), the belief in ancestry and existence of a supreme being, and the value attached to the extended family (Mwamwenda, 1999). Thus, the argument for cultural relatedness across Africa has been strongly made by Mbiti (1990) and Gyeke (1995, 1997). For example, Gyeke (1995, 1997) argues that people of this region constitute a meaningful cultural group that shares important values and practices, while allowing for variations in individual preferences (Munene et al., 2000).In any event, the following are key issues that international marketers may take into consideration when dealing in African business markets. First, with respect to organizational behavior, policies that are consistent with the value system will receive least resistance. Second, in buyer-seller interactions, a high cultural sensitivity can facilitate trust and attention should be paid to non-verbal communication and the context. Third, sending the right team to negotiate or establish the collaborative partnership is of vital importance. The status of the team members, their titles and positions will directly affect how they are received by their African counterparts and will influence the likelihood of successful outcomes. In light of Africa's high power distance nature, a team comprising of high-ranking employees is preferable.To a degree, this paper responds to Nakata and Sivakumar's (2001) suggestions for marketing researchers to deepen the study of culture and its implications for marketing in view of the increasing globalization of markets. It is our hope that this study would form the prelude to further discussion and research on African culture and its implications for marketing.Moreover, in light of the significant market potential for multinational corporations in Africa, research is needed to continue the assessment of the applicability of Western business models in Africa (Appiah-Adu, 2001; Kuada and Buatsi, 2005) and to examine the reciprocal relations between individual and group norms, attitudes and behaviors (Steenkamp, 2005). A research program is also needed to address the business-to-business issues and key aspects of African business that really matter to the continent and how these are impacted by culture. In addition, our current study can be extended by developing research propositions about interactions that take African cultural issues into consideration and within the context of providing theoretical foundations for future empirical studies. Research is also needed to validate the cultural orientations with respect to the African market place, confirm African culture's role in business marketing practices and success and determine which marketing practices are the most effective and/or compatible for this culture. The vast expanses of Africa, with hundreds of ethnic groups, provide a rich source of study. Discovering culture-specific marketing practices in different African countries is apropos for additional research and investigating the interactions of different combinations of buyer and seller cultures also offers opportunities for future research.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to focus on the key underpinnings of African culture and its implications for business marketing practices.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Using Kluckholn and Strodtbeck's and Hofstede's conceptualizations as a backdrop, the paper provides a synoptic view and modal focus of African culture. Covered are the culture's implications for organizational behavior, buyer-seller interactions, collaborative partnerships and negotiations.\nFindings: - The study shows that African culture promotes the principle of reciprocity. In buyer-seller interaction, respect for the elderly is an important guiding principle. In collaborative partnerships, preference is for the terms of the collaboration to be reached through consultation and consensus. The foreign company needs to pay attention to the softer issues surrounding the relationship and to send a high-ranking employee-team. In negotiations, long-term relationship and win-win outcome are preferred and encouraged.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The paper uses the term \"African culture\" as an overarching concept. However, the fact that to propose a monolithic African culture may be inaccurate because of strong national differences is acknowledged. Nonetheless, there are some cultural dimensions common to the sub-region, including a hierarchical social structure, the importance of kinship, the primacy of the group, the belief in ancestry and existence of a supreme being, and the value attached to the extended family.\nOriginality/value: - The study provides useful and candid insights into African culture that international marketers may take into consideration when dealing with African business markets. It also responds to Nakata and Sivakumar's suggestions for marketing researchers to deepen the study of culture and its implications for marketing in view of the increasing globalization of markets. It is to be hoped that this study leads to further discussion and research on African culture and its implications for marketing.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
R&D Construction builds the skills of its workforce: Company steps up to the plate as government cuts red tape for business	[ "Construction industry", "Certification", "Health and safety", "Training", "Occupational health and safety" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The UK government's aim to reduce red tape for business is helping to shift attitudes towards training.\nTailored courses address specific business needs: R&D Construction Limited illustrates the changes well. After reviewing the way in which it carries out staff training, it is seeking to ensure that its own employees and those of its customers benefit from tailored courses that address their specific business needs and allow them to work towards relevant accreditations.Founded in 1986, R&D Construction deals with all aspects of plant hire, civil engineering and building contracts. One business division deals with internal and external plant hire, owning and maintaining an extensive range of modern plant that supports all aspects of construction. A second division concentrates on civil engineering and building contracts.With such an extensive business and project portfolio, R&D Construction has an ongoing requirement to deliver multiple training courses to its 80 employees, across a range of multi-skilled accreditations.Marcus Normanton, safety, health, environmental and quality manager, R&D Construction, joined the organization earlier in this year. His brief is to expand the courses R&D Construction's employees undertake, and to ensure the appropriateness and relevance of that training.At the core of these training requirements is the company's objective of working towards the achievement of internationally recognized standards and Lloyd's Register status that provides independent assurance to companies operating high-risk, capital-intensive assets in the energy and transport sectors.Marcus Normanton explained: \"When I started in my role at R&D we were looking to obtain national electricity register (NERS) full accreditation, to enable us to go on to the Lloyd's Register. In order to meet the NERS criteria, there are numerous courses that our staff need to complete, including asbestos awareness, control of substances hazardous to health (Coshh), manual handling, abrasive wheels and working at heights.\"My job role is to ensure that those training courses are given to the appropriate individuals, cover the necessary skills and are delivered in such a way that the content is highly relevant to their daily roles.\"\nMaximize the value from time spent training: Having worked with a number of external training providers previously, as well as running internal courses where appropriate, R&D Construction recognized that significant benefits could be achieved by working with a single, trusted training provider. Such an organization would understand R&D's specific business needs and be able to work in partnership to provide tailored courses in line with those requirements.\"We wanted a true training partner who could help to provide highly flexible courses that would fit not only our specific needs, but maximize the value our staff get from the time they spend receiving the training,\" said Marcus Normanton.The company selected C&C Training, which had previously delivered successful street-works training to R&D Construction. The two organizations now work together to run the course portfolio flexibly and in parallel, where possible. This enables R&D employees to take minimal time out of work, which saves the company time and money and enables it to maximize returns from its training budget.Marcus Normanton continued: \"My role entails reviewing and implementing policies that are up to current regulatory standards and ensuring that staff are completing appropriate courses. In the process of reviewing policies and courses for our staff, I have to identify legislative changes to my directors and put this against the budget in order to establish how many staff members will be able to take a course to ensure the safety of our team and be within the budget allocated for that training.\"C&C Training has become an integral part of my health-and-safety and quality team. Its knowledge of the regulatory landscape is exemplary and complements my knowledge of what R&D Construction requires. Working together, we can tailor some of the courses C&C provides for new things we are bringing in, such as temporary work training, while still ensuring that the regulatory requirements are adhered to.\"We have built an excellent relationship that goes beyond one of mere training provider,\" he concluded. \"C&C is part of the team that is enabling R&D Construction to embrace the value of both company-specific and industry-standard training to build skills and demonstrate to our customers a true commitment to quality.\"\nNote: David Pollitt, Human Resource Management International Digest Editor, wrote this article.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The article aims to describe how R&D Construction is seeking to ensure that its own employees and those of its customers benefit from tailored courses that address their specific business needs and allow them to work towards relevant accreditations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The background to the training, the form it takes and the results it is achieving are explained in the article.\nFindings: - It is contended that UK government attempts to cut red tape for business are shifting attitudes to training, with employers playing a greater role in ensuring that their employees have the necessary accreditations.\nPractical implications: - The value of a partnership arrangement that R&D Construction has forged with training provider C&C Training is highlighted.\nSocial implications: - Companies still need to train their workforce to a relevant standard, even when they may no longer be required by law to do so.\nOriginality/value: - The article shows how a UK construction company is attempting to gain the maximum advantage from the money it spends on training.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Authenticity in health education for adolescents: a qualitative study of four health courses	[ "Participation", "Health", "Knowledge", "Education", "Identity", "School", "Adolescents", "Authenticity" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In school-based approaches to health education it is often difficult to present health information and health communication in ways that make sense and appeal to adolescents. This often results in misconceived campaigns and approaches which have little or no effect in terms of acquisition of health knowledge or changes in health behaviour. Research suggests that many of these campaigns and approaches only manage to appeal to adolescents who are already healthy (Grabowski, 2013b; Peters et al., 2009; Wistoft, 2010). This causes significant inequalities in adolescents' knowledge about health which may transform into inequalities in adulthood (Due et al., 2011). Based on an empirical study, this paper proposes a new, theoretical and practice-orientated way of focusing on making health education more meaningful and, thereby, more relevant for adolescents.\nMethods and context: The data stem from a study of a series of privately funded health courses for Danish adolescents. The courses are offered for free by a private institution (The Youth Town) and the primary target group is adolescents between 13 and 16 years. In Denmark, health education is included in the curriculum but there are no specific lessons set aside for it. This means that schools and teachers often have to find alternative ways of conducting health education in a manner that does not take too much time from other lessons. The courses studied in this paper aim at providing the schools with an alternative way of conducting health education.\nResults: In the following sections, we present the most significant examples of authenticity-related findings from the study. In the discussion, we relate these examples to the theories and the existing literature.\nDiscussion: Four emergent categories of authenticity\nConclusions: We studied how health courses for adolescents bring different forms of authenticity into play. In doing so, we explored the interrelated concepts of participation, knowledge and health-identity along with different definitions and characteristics of authenticity.\nStrengths and theoretical contribution of the study: Strengths of our study include the comprehensive theoretical framework combining theories about health-identity, knowledge and participation with different levels of authenticity-literature. This combination proved useful in analysing the qualitative data. It is also significant that the interview guides were effective in stimulating the adolescents to talk about and reflect upon the health courses on a level that provided us with ample data in order to analyse and discuss on an informed level.\nLimitations of the study: Limitations include the dependence of interviews and data collection on the relatively few courses scheduled in one semester. This meant that we could not structure the data collection freely and, though the schools included in the study were diverse in many respects, we could only choose between the ones that had booked the respective courses. Studying the four categories of authenticity within a more structured and diversified set of data would have enabled us to elaborate on the categories and the links to the theoretical framework of health identity, participation and knowledge.\nImplications for health education practice: Linking the findings and especially the four categories of authenticity to health educational practice is the next step and there are many different ways of doing that. All schools are in some ways unique and it will always be up to each individual school to use its specific circumstances and environment to create the ideal health educational context. Nonetheless, a focus on the categories of authenticity would be relevant for all these contexts. The research results of this study provide teachers with important knowledge about why and how health educational approaches have to focus on authenticity in order to provide conditions that generate a significant health educating effect for all adolescents, not just for the ones who are already healthy.\nImplications for further research: This research has opened several, potentially interesting perspectives for further investigation. Authenticity should be researched closely in relation to each of the three elements of this study's theoretical framework, and the four categories of authenticity need to be tested within a broader health educational context.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore different kinds of authenticity in four health courses for adolescents. In school-based approaches to health education it is often difficult to present health in ways that make sense and appeal to adolescents. Authenticity, as a health-pedagogical concept which focuses on the quality or condition of being believable, trustworthy or genuine, has the potential of providing an analytical framework as well as practical recommendations for this challenge.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This was a qualitative study based on 23 group interviews with a total of 114 adolescents and 12 individual interviews with their teachers. The data were iteratively analyzed and categorized using guidelines for content analysis. The study used a theoretical construct focusing on participation, knowledge and health identity, as each of these three elements affects aspects of authenticity when applied to a health education context.\nFindings: The analysis revealed four interdependent categories of authenticity: first, authentic connections/relations; second, authentic instructors; third, authentic themes; and fourth, authentic methods/activities. In each of the four categories the paper presents analytical tools for researchers and practical recommendations for health education professionals.\nOriginality/value: The paper presents a new and innovative model with four categories of authenticity that provide health practitioners with important knowledge about why and how health education might wish to focus on authenticity in order to provide conditions that create a significant health educating effect for all adolescents, not just for the ones who are already healthy.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Effect of product attribute beliefs of ready-to-drink coffee beverages on consumer-perceived value and repurchase intention	[ "Repurchase intention", "Perceived hedonic value", "Perceived utilitarian value", "Product attribute beliefs", "Ready-to-drink coffee beverage" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Beverages are consumed by people for the purposes of health and pleasure (Agrawal et al., 2013). After water, coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world (Gaascht et al., 2015). The coffee market, which had a gross value of approximately US$173.4 billion in 2012 (International Coffee Organisation, 2014), is the world's second most valuable commodity market after crude oil (Murray, 2009). The coffee market is a crucial segment for the food and beverage industry, and coffee consumption has been increasing consumption levels worldwide (Carvalho et al., 2016). Because the amount of global coffee consumption has steadily increased annually (Chen and Lee, 2015) and the global coffee market has become increasingly competitive (Chinappa and Rajashekar, 2012), understanding coffee consumers' consumption behaviours is critical.\nLiterature review: Product attributes or cues have been dichotomised as intrinsic-extrinsic attributes (Olson and Jacoby, 1972; Olson, 1977). Intrinsic product attributes are related to the physical composition of a product and product consistency (Field et al., 2012). Intrinsic product attributes represent product-related attributes that cannot be changed or manipulated without altering the physical product itself (Mendez et al., 2011; Chamhuri and Batt, 2015). Intrinsic product attributes can also be used to measure product nutrition, functionality, and performance (Field et al., 2012; Feng et al., 2014). According to the aforementioned studies, the current study classified intrinsic product attributes into two types: content sensory attributes (e.g. taste, sugariness, and homogeneity), and content functional attributes (e.g. ingredients, thirst-quenching ability, and calorie content). By contrast, extrinsic product attributes, are related to physical products but do not include the properties of the products themselves (Bernues et al., 2003; Field et al., 2012). Thus, extrinsic attributes are product-related attributes that are not part of the physical product itself (Mendez et al., 2011) such as the brand name, packaging colour, and serving size (Bernues et al., 2003). Thus, in the current study, extrinsic product attributes focussed on packaging (e.g. colour, size, and graphics) and brand attributes (e.g. memorable and well known). Consumers tend to consider both intrinsic and extrinsic product attributes when evaluating product quality (Chao and Rajendran, 1993; Mendez et al., 2011; Kelley et al., 2015). A previous study suggested that when relevant intrinsic attributes of a product are unavailable, consumers tend to rely on the product's extrinsic attributes (Arboretti and Bordignon, 2016). There is evidence that consumers more easily recognise and interpret extrinsic attributes than intrinsic attributes (Mendez et al., 2011). Becker (2000) suggested that consumers rely heavily on extrinsic cues for quality selection and that such cues are the dominant means of informing consumers on the reliability of quality attributes.\nHypothesis development: Effect of the taste attribute beliefs of RTD coffee beverages on consumer-perceived utilitarian and hedonic value\nResearch methodology: Sample and data collection\nData analysis and results: Validity and reliability test\nDiscussion: This paper presents insights into RTD coffee beverages and provides evidence that product attribute beliefs affect consumer-perceived value. This paper further evidences the relationships among the product attribute beliefs of RTD coffee beverages (i.e. content sensory, packaging and branding, and content functional attributes), consumer-perceived utilitarian and hedonic value, and consumer repurchase intentions. The findings show that content sensory, packaging and branding, and content functional attribute beliefs affect consumer utilitarian and hedonic value perceptions, which in turn determine consumer repurchase intentions. In addition, whereas content functional attribute beliefs have a dominant effect on consumer-perceived utilitarian value, content sensory attribute beliefs are more crucial in the formation of consumer-perceived hedonic value.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of the product attribute beliefs of ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee beverages (i.e. content sensory, packaging and branding, and content functional attributes) on perceived value (i.e. utilitarian and hedonic value) and repurchase intention.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In the study survey, 401 participants who had purchased RTD coffee beverages within the previous month were included. Structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the survey data.\nFindings: The findings indicate that consumers of RTD coffee beverages form utilitarian and hedonic value perceptions through content sensory, packaging and branding, and content functional attribute beliefs. Furthermore, utilitarian value is one of the most crucial determinants of repurchase intentions. The findings further reveal that whereas content functional attribute beliefs have a dominant influence on utilitarian value, content sensory attribute beliefs have a greater influence on hedonic value.\nOriginality/value: The findings of this study can serve as a reference for RTD coffee beverage companies to develop new products and communication strategies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Action reflection learning: a learning methodology based on common sense	[ "Action learning", "Learning methods", "Adult education" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: There are two different worlds in adult learning. One is originated in scholarly research and review of existing literature; conceptual frameworks and theories are developed to understand and explain the practice and improve the results of learning approaches. The other is the world of practitioners. Adult educators face their daily challenges using their best judgement with a combination of information, conceptual input, intuition and experience, They seldom follow the theoretical recommendations literally. At the same time, the practice is only occasionally converted back into a theoretical framework, leaving a gap between what \"real life practitioners\" do and what researchers and academic authors develop. Action reflection learning is an example of a practitioner grounded learning methodology which only recently has been formally coded.\nThe origins of ARL: In the late 1970s, a group of academics from the University of Lund, Sweden, began to question the approach and method used in management training. They formed a group with a number of managers, consultants and professionals in the HR arena working in Swedish organizations and created a movement protesting the current management development practices at the University of Lund. Out of this movement was created the MiL Institute.At that time management training was focused on teaching concepts, techniques and theories, and the preferred method was lectures and classroom courses. As Lennart Rohlin, President of the MiL Institute explains it, \"Our ambition was to put leadership (instead of merely management) and learning (instead of teaching) in the forefront\" (Rohlin, 1996). The group focused on what was taught to executives as well as on the best process to teach the new contents.They observed that corporations needed leaders more than just managers to address the changing demands of their business context. They realized that the understanding of what it is like to work with people, not merely with processes, equipment and systems was missing from the development programs. The group reflected on what contents had to be learned, observing that it was more important to develop new behaviours and attitudes than teach facts and theories.At the same time, they realized that developing new behaviors required that they review their values and assumptions underlying current leadership practices, assessing contradictions and addressing dilemmas: is leadership based on authority or. influence?, should we promote control or empowerment?, should majority rule or consensus be used for making decisions?While identifying and analyzing the new competencies they thought should be learned, they realized that it required individuals to learn how to act differently, how to behave, to think differently, something for which the classical teaching model was simply inadequate. This avant-garde group came up with a different way to foster learning. They brought together groups of managers to work on real, organizationally significant projects, using the experience thus gained as the vehicles for developing new behaviours and mindsets. Attracted by this innovative approach, strategic partners like Ashridge Management College, London Business School, INSEAD and IMEDE (now IMD) joined MiL in the initiative.The new model aimed at developing value-based leadership which transformed managers into strategic \"actors\" (leaders) who could generate their own theories of leadership through individual and group reflection.The \"MiL Model\" was based on the action learning approach developed by Reg Revans in the 1940s, where a group of people meet periodically to solve problems related to work. Each individual brings his own problem and the group members ask questions that help the individual to find his own answers (Revans, 1982). The main differences between Revans' approach to action learning and the \"MiL Model\" in the 1980s was the role of a project team advisor (later called learning coach) - which Revans advised against and the use of team projects rather than individual challenges and the duration of the sessions, which is more flexible in ARL designs.The MiL Model evolved organically as practitioners responded to diverse clients' and participants' needs and restrictions, In an experiential learning mode, MiL practitioners varied the number and duration of the sessions, the type of project selected, the role of the learning coach and the style of his/her interventions. By the mid 1980s, the MiL Institute and its sister consulting firm LIM, founded in the USA, decided to jointly call this approach action reflection learning in order to validate and stress the importance of reflection in heightening awareness and in developing new frameworks for thinking (Rohlin et al., 2002). In hindsight, they may have been trying to give a new name to a new practice that at that time was no more fitting the original action learning settings and specifications.MiL and LIM continued the experiential learning mode, applying ARL to different contexts: in academic environments such as a management development program at the Master's level for graduates of the University of Lund, Sweden, and the University of Belgrano, Argentina; in open programs for member corporations of MiL and in-company programs.The ARL approach was also used to achieve a wide range of different outcomes including: helping teams perform more effectively; creating a range of interventions aimed at post merger integration; coaching individuals; designing programs for young high potentials; mentoring programs; supporting leaders transitioning into new teams; organizational change programs; training managers in specific competencies; developing leader-coaches; designing and facilitating performance appraisal processes; helping task forces to work on a crisis; developing synergy across regional teams; developing learning coaches.By using ARL principles beyond the original leadership development focus, ARL transitioned into a powerful learning methodology with applications in a wide variety of learning arenas.\nARL: a learning methodology: ARL evolved organically through the choices and savvy intuitions of practitioners, who informally exchanged their experiences with each other. It became a somewhat shared practice, which incorporated elements of design and intervention that the practitioners adopted because of their efficacy. A research conducted by Rimanoczy (2005) with 23 practitioners from Scandinavia, North America and Latin America revealed 17 common elements. This was the first attempt to code the practice. A conceptual framework developed by Drizin and Rimanoczy (see Roberts et al., 2006) indicated further how those elements were actually rooted in theoretical frameworks, and in established bodies of knowledge that could be found in the literature of other related disciplines. For example, one of the elements used by learning coaches in their designs and interventions is \"questioning\". This element is rooted in a principle that can be described as \"Knowledge lies within yourself\" (referred to as the principle of \"Tacit knowledge\"), which has a long and established intellectual history going back to Socrates. That principle is what makes the element \"questioning\" effective. The assumption behind the principle is that individuals store experiences and information from which valuable lessons can be extracted to be used in present situations. By asking questions, individuals are encouraged to explore within their own mind for possible answers, starting a process of retrieving the stored data. Another assumption is that one's own answers are in certain circumstances more applicable than the advice of experts, as they are grounded on a broader knowledge of the context. Anyone who has given expert advice, only to observe that it was rejected, can testify this.\nThe 17 elements of ARL and the underlying assumptions: The research revealed 17 elements that the surveyed practitioners used in a rate of above 97 per cent of the cases:1. Taking ownership for one's learning.2. Just in time intervention.3. Linking.4. Balance task/learning.5. Questioning.6. Guided reflection.7. Feedback.8. Unfamiliar environments.9. Exchange of learnings.10. Appreciative approach.11. Safe environments.12. Holistic involvement of the individual.13. Learning and personality styles.14. Coaching one on one.15. Sequenced learning.16. Learning coach.17. Five system levels.After analyzing those elements we asked ourselves: Why do practitioners help the participants to own the learners? Why do they involve the learner in setting the learning goals and recommending contents? Why do they choose to wait to introduce a concept or a process until the individuals are struggling? Why don't the coaches teach first and then help individuals apply what they have heard? Why do coaches stop the flow of the task and switch to focus on the process, and then back again? Why do coaches use so many questions, and are so reticent to share their expert answers? Why do they create situations where the individuals are faced with the unknown which generates anxiety? Why do they orchestrate so many activities where the participants have to tell each other their thoughts, as opposed to jointly listen to what the expert has to teach? Why are they highlighting the strengths and not focusing on the weaknesses? Why are they going beyond the cognitive skills into the domain of feelings, personal lives or spirituality? Why do they design their programs in modules spread over a period of time? Why do the project teams need a coach? Why do they introduce psychological instruments to discover personality and leadership preferences and learning styles? Why do they make a point to have personal contact with the participants prior to the start up of a program? Why do they design programs with outcomes at five levels - the business, the organization, the team, professional and personal?The answers can be found in the following underlying assumptions, which in turn, were related to a variety of research based theories and concepts (see Rimanoczy, 2006).1. Taking ownership for one's learning\nFinal remarks: Having outgrown its original purpose as a learning design for leadership training, ARL has become a learning methodology rooted in the common sense of practitioners. It has become a practice that brings together a number of valuable conceptual frameworks that had not been articulated conceptually together before although they exist in separate models. It is improbable that any respected scholar would propose a learning methodology that mixes and combines many different learning models, in some cases with contradictory paradigms.The recent codification of the practice into elements and principles is valuable for practitioners to make more conscious choices when using tools, and to guide the design process for a variety of learning interventions. By creating awareness of the underlying assumptions, practitioners are able to test, challenge and innovate and transfer this conceptual framework.That said, it is interesting how a practice can exist for almost thirty years at the time of this article, with little formal conceptualising, yet enough sharing of practices to maintain cross geographical use of common elements. It makes one question the value of knowledge presented in sophisticated conceptual frameworks. Knowles (1980), one of the most influential authors in adult education, observed that many of the successful teachers who wrote for the Journal of Adult Education from 1929 to 1948 \"had no theory to support their practices; they were simply being pragmatic and following their intuitions\" (p.41). We assume that scholars study the practice to understand it better and formulate theories that explain it so that it can be passed on to other practitioners. Yet practitioners can thrive with little reference to models. So may be it is time to explore where the connection between theory and practice gets lost.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to describe the origins and evolution of action reflection learning, a methodology of learning developed over the last 30 years by practitioners working with the MiL Institute in Sweden and LIM, Leadership in International Management LLC.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper is based on a descriptive exploratory qualitative study conducted by the author to explore the principles and elements of ARL. The research included a literature review, a survey and interviews with 23 ARL practitioners from Europe, USA and Latin America. The paper presents the elements identified in that study and the assumptions on which the ARL approach is grounded.\nFindings: - While the elements can be related to a broad body of knowledge and conceptual theories, the ARL practice has evolved almost oblivious of scholarly models, raising interesting questions about the usefulness for adult educators of theoretical frameworks, as well as the development process of what is called \"common sense\".\nOriginality/value: - This paper highlights the value of practitioners' judgment, and questions the connection between theories and practice, when theoretical frameworks are not applied as academics would like to see them used. Teachers, instructors, facilitators and other professionals involved with designing and implementing learning scenarios will find a new perspective to their practice.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Integrated internal communications: a multidisciplinary perspective	[ "Communication systems", "Knowledge sharing", "Multinational companies" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Internal communications has an important role in organisations given the evidence that companies with effective communications strategies are usually successful, while others tend to fall short of optimal performance (Argenti and Forman, 2002; Tourish and Hargie, 2004a). However, simultaneously, an imbalance exists between the perceived importance of communications and the actual attention and resources given toward it (Argenti and Forman, 2002; Tourish and Hargie, 2004b). Furthermore, Oliver (1997) points out that communications are rarely recognised as a required principal competency. Therefore, a paradox exists because, although increasing awareness concerning the importance of communications to organisations exists, that knowledge appears to have rarely translated into practice.It is proposed in this article that an integrated view to internal communications is advantageous if the benefits of internal knowledge sharing want to be fully enjoyed. Here, integrated internal communications are seen as being composed of all the academic disciplines or domains that Miller (1996) identifies as meeting at the cross-section between communication and organisational life, i.e. business, organisational, management, and corporate communication. Furthermore, integrated internal communications are not limited to the formal tasks performed by the corporate communication function; instead all formal and informal communication taking place inside an organisation is included.The goal of this article, then, is twofold. The first goal is to understand the complex and multidisciplinary nature of integrated internal communications, which is challenging due to the multiplicity of inconsistently-used terms and sometimes too tightly defined boundaries (e.g. Shelby, 1993; Reinsch, 1996). The second goal is to comprehend the strategic impact of internal communications by assessing how integrated internal communications manifests itself within the multinational company (MNC) context and how that in turn enhances knowledge sharing. Evaluating the knowledge sharing function of internal communications is important as many notable scholars stress that the ability to effectively share knowledge internally is fundamental for maintaining a competitive advantage (Doz et al., 2001; Grant, 1996; Kogut and Zander, 1993; Spender, 1996).The remainder of this article is divided into five sections. First, the complex nature of communication(s) is explored by looking at different definitions and discussing certain key features. Second, the multidisciplinary approach to integrated internal communications is discussed, drawing from the domains of business, organisational, management, and corporate communication. Third, the methodology is described. Fourth, empirical findings from 12 qualitative interviews, conducted at a world-leading multinational high-tech company, are presented. Fifth and last, the central findings and most important contributions of this article are highlighted.\nComplex nature of communication(s): The nature and role of communications are rarely the focus of research or discussion because they are taken to be self-explanatory (e.g. Tourish and Hargie, 2004b). However, the role of communication within organisations is far from clear, and the large array of academic terms in usage has made it difficult to establish \"common cognitive ground\" (a term introduced by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995, p. 14)). After all, who are \"us, communications professionals\" - a term one often hears being used in academia and business?Defining communication(s)\nThe multidisciplinary approach: One of the goals of this article is to produce a multidisciplinary[1] look at internal communications in the light of business, management, corporate, and organisational communication. These particular domains of communication[2] were chosen because they are at the crossroads between communication and organisational life (Miller, 1996). Each of the four communication domains have certain unique features, and hence bring different perspectives to the study of internal communications. At the same time, each may be argued to display features of both practical and theoretical knowledge, have some areas that focus on dyads and others focusing on larger groups, and also include functions of both internal and external communications (e.g. Argenti, 1996; Mumby and Stohl, 1996; Reinsch, 1996; Shelby, 1993, 1996; Smeltzer, 1996).Review of the four communication domains\nMethodology: The methodology appropriate for this study was deemed to be thematic qualitative interviews, which are part of a more extensive, multi-phase case study being conducted at a world-leading, high-tech, MNC. This particular case company was selected because it provided an appropriate real-life context where the contemporary phenomenon of integrated internal communications could be studied (Yin, 2003). Furthermore, due to the researcher's previous work experience at the case company, access to people and sensitive information not in the public domain was made easier. Gummesson (1991) and Johns (2001) argue that different roles played by the researcher within the research process can produce sound contextualisation of the research phenomenon. Hence, the observational material, together with the interviews, forms an important part of the data.A total of 12 interviews were conducted in 2002, with a focus on communication practices and organisational social capital. Knowledge sharing was not one of the themes to be discussed explicitly but the theme emerged throughout the discussions, hence it has been raised in this article. There was a bias towards Finnish interviewees, but the sample was representative of senior managers within the studied functions. Interviews were conducted in English and Finnish, and verbatim quotations in Finnish have been translated into English by the author. Due to confidentiality concerns, the company and individual identities have been made anonymous. Since the sample size is small, interviewees are only identified by a number (in parentheses after each quotation); this approach avoids recognition but makes the data more transparent to the reader. Table I summarises the interviewee information.Each interview was recorded and lasted about an hour, following which it was transcribed. The interviews were analysed according to Dey's (1993) \"Circular Process\" for qualitative analysis, which consists of three different stages: describing, classifying, and connecting. Dey (1993, p. 30) himself explains that, \"[d]escription lays the basis for analysis, but analysis also lays the basis for further description\". This is a process that happens over and over again in a spiral-like shape. The emphasis is on description, and then on splicing and splitting the data in order to form new and more comprehensive categories gathered under a common theme. The results are presented in the following section.\nFindings: The findings section has been divided into two sections. The first addresses the nature of integrated internal communications within the MNC context, and the second views knowledge sharing as a function of integrated internal communications.Nature of integrated internal communications within MNCs\nConclusions: This article has examined the multidisciplinary nature of internal communications, and showed that an integrated perspective can be observed within the MNC context. That is a perspective, which is also beneficial for enhancing our understanding of knowledge sharing within organisations. Therefore, if we adopt the view that the employee is the most valuable asset of the corporation (Argenti and Forman, 2002) or possibly even the only sustainable source of competitive advantage (Englehardt and Simmons, 2002), then the integrated view helps us comprehend that we need to incorporate all employees to our analysis of internal communications and knowledge sharing.It is suggested here that in order to adopt a more strategic perspective to internal communications, there are two main issues to be considered. First, this article has presented a novel way of looking at internal communications through an integrated lens, enabling us to see it as all formal and informal communication taking place internally at all levels of an organisation. Second, viewing knowledge sharing as a function of such integrated internal communications may help us to understand how communication contributes to the organisation's competitive advantage. This warrants further research to be conducted.One of the limitations of this study is that the results are from the first phase of a multi-phase study conducted within one multinational corporation. Therefore, the results presented in this article may be taken as indicative but will need further testing and a wider sample before final conclusions can be drawn.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This article's purpose is to explore the multidisciplinary nature of internal communications, and argue that an integrated approach to internal communications is beneficial when assessing knowledge sharing in organisations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This article presents a review of relevant current literature, and explores the issue through qualitative interview data from a world-leading multinational companies (MNC).\nFindings: - The empirical data provide support for the integrated view, and also enhance our understanding of knowledge sharing as an important and strategic function of integrated internal communications.\nOriginality/value: - The integrated perspective here contributes to the understanding of internal communications in two ways. First, it draws from the domains of business, management, corporate, and organisational communication, which together incorporate both practical and theoretical knowledge. Second, it includes all formal and informal communication that take place inside an organisation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A Clark-Wilson and ANSI role-based access control model	[ "Access control", "Role-based access control", "Attribute-based access control", "Clark-Wilson", "Security", "Privacy", "Electronic health record" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The digitisation of patients' medical records has led to the adoption of the electronic health record (EHR), which is a longitudinal electronic record of a patient's information (Deloitte, 2015). The use of the EHR results in a key benefit that is the sharing of patient information between points of care (Department of Health, 2012). Although the longitudinal characteristic of the EHR has its benefits, it also has security and privacy implications. If these are not addressed effectively, this may result in patients' EHRs being compromised, leading to a loss in patient trust (Alhaqbani and Fidge, 2007). The security and privacy of patients' EHRs are at risk owing to the sharing of the EHRs with an increasing number of clinicians, who would require EHR access to treat the patient. Moreover, sharing patients' EHRs between points of care, without adequate security, places patients' EHRs at risk of being accessed for reasons other than treatment, which may lead to the unauthorised disclosure or modification of patient information. Hence, it is important to secure the EHR to prevent unauthorised access.\n2. Research methodology: This study conducted a systematic literature review based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram, as illustrated in Figure 1 (Moher et al., 2009). The search query consisted of the following keywords: \"access control\" and electronic health record and was limited to journal papers only. These keywords were chosen because they represent the main themes of this study. Conducting the systematic literature review resulted in the collection of secondary data in the area of access control and the EHR. The secondary data was later analysed using the content analysis method with the results serving as a guide for the discussion presented in this paper. Content analysis is a method for making replicable and valid inferences from texts (Krippendorff, 2013). This method entails interpreting the meanings from textual data using either quantitative or qualitative analysis (Wahyuni, 2012). In this study, certain parts of the qualitative data were tagged using codes, after which the number of occurrences of these codes throughout the data was quantified.\n3. Results: The content analysis resulted in the creation of a total of 2,856 tags with 62 unique codes. Codes that represented the same terms such as single sign-on (SSO), were merged. Table 1 presents the top 20 codes before categorisation and the number of times they were tagged in the sample. The codes were further reduced by merging similar codes into categories. Table 2 depicts the 62 codes after the reduction process, where some categories were expanded to emphasise the IAAA and the different authentication and authorisation methods that were tagged throughout the sample. The reduced categories are represented as a hierarchical structure, as indicated in Figure 3. All codes were categorised under the parent \"access control\" category, which consists of the following subcategories, namely, identification, authentication, authorisation and accountability. Codes that did not form part of the IAAA were merged with the \"access control\" category. The number of codes includes the category because a category is also a tagged code. Table 2 indicates the frequency of the sub-codes according to the number of times they were tagged in the sample. For example, the most tagged authorisation method is \"RBAC\" while \"biometrics\" is the most tagged authentication method. The frequency of a code does not indicate that it is more effective compared to other codes, which is evident when comparing the number of tags for the password and the two-factor authentication codes. Finally, Figure 4 represents the reduced categories and sub-codes as a word cloud, with the most tagged categories/codes appearing the largest in the word cloud. In the next section, this paper compares and contrasts some of the codes, which form part of the IAAA.\n4. Access control: When patients receive treatment, their EHRs have to be accessed by clinicians and subsequently read or updated. However, it is important that only authorised clinicians have access to their patients' EHRs. Additionally, authorised clinicians should only have access to those parts of the EHR that would help them treat the patient. In this section, the use of access control for securing the EHR is covered in terms of identification, authentication, authorisation and accountability, i.e. IAAA. Access control relies on each component of the IAAA (Whitman and Mattord, 2016). By following the IAAA, access control can be used to address the security and privacy issues that patients' EHRs are susceptible to. The next section discusses the first two components of the IAAA, namely, identification and authentication.\n5. Proposed model for securing the electronic health record: In the previous section, various access control models that can potentially be used to secure the EHR were examined. Based on the assessment of these access control models, it was found that the following access control models were relevant for securing the EHR, namely, RBAC, ABAC and the Clark-Wilson model. The use of RBAC in healthcare is appropriate because user roles are linked to an organisation's structure (Gregg, 2017). ABAC is also relevant for securing the EHR because it enables dynamic authorisation using contextual information such as the location of care (Fernandez-Aleman et al., 2013). The Clark-Wilson model was created to ensure integrity in a commercial environment. However, its key concepts, such as well-formed transactions, authentication, separation of duties and auditing, are also applicable for securing the EHR. Other important concepts such as the transformation procedure (TP), integrity verification procedure (IVP), constrained data item (CDI) and unconstrained data item (UDI) are also applied to the EHR context in this section (De Capitani di Vimercati and Samarati, 2011). Additionally, ensuring the integrity of the EHR is important. Thus, this section proposes a model for securing the EHR using a combination of RBAC, ABAC and the Clark-Wilson model. The operation of RBAC and ABAC in the proposed model is based on the ANSI RBAC standards (ANSI INCITS 359-2012 and ANSI INCITS 494-2012), which were discussed in Section 4.2.1.\n6. Advantages and disadvantages of the proposed model: As discussed in Section 5 the proposed model uses a combination of RBAC, ABAC and the Clark-Wilson model for making access control decisions. As a result, the proposed model inherits the advantages and disadvantages of RBAC and ABAC (which were depicted in Table 4) and the Clark-Wilson model. Additionally, the proposed model is influenced by the GST as a metatheory. An advantage of the Clark-Wilson model is that it achieves all three goals of integrity, namely, preventing unauthorised users from modifying data, preventing unauthorised modifications of data by authorised users and ensuring that data remains in a consistent state (Jin and Shen, 2012). Unlike other security models such as the Biba model, in the Clark-Wilson model, an administrator is not required for upgrading the integrity of data, but instead certifies TPs that transform UDIs into CDIs (Garnaut and Thompson, 2011). However, Garnaut and Thompson (2011) state that the Clark-Wilson model places greater responsibility on the administrator for determining sufficient separation of duties in the system, which can lead to errors. Another disadvantage of the Clark-Wilson model is that it does not ensure the confidentiality of information (Jin and Shen, 2012). However, because the proposed model is based on more than one access control model, this combination can be used to take advantage of the strengths of all three models while also addressing some of the disadvantages of the individual models. For example, while RBAC does not provide dynamic authorisation, this is addressed by ABAC. On the other hand, RBAC addresses the limitation of ABAC where management of permissions are difficult by simplifying the management of permissions. Although the Clark-Wilson model does not protect the confidentiality of information, this is addressed by both RBAC and ABAC. Additionally, the Clark-Wilson model enhances the proposed model by ensuring that all three goals of integrity are addressed as discussed previously in this section. The next section covers the evaluation of the proposed model via the expert review.\n7. Evaluation of proposed model by expert review: The proposed model was evaluated via an expert review. An expert review is a method that is conducted to receive feedback from experts (Angkananon et al., 2013). Feedback was received from five security experts, who answered questions that were based on Weber's (2012) evaluation framework. The evaluation framework can be used to evaluate the quality of theories and models. In total, two perspectives, which are the focus of this framework are the \"parts\" and the \"whole\". For the first perspective, the evaluation focuses on the quality of the components that constitute the model. The \"parts\" consist of constructs, associations, states and events. Associations, states and events are not applicable to the proposed model because its constructs (security and privacy attributes) are not quantifiable, which is a requirement for the evaluation against the aforementioned three criteria. However, as discussed in Section 5.2, the GST is applicable to the proposed model. Thus, the proposed model comprises parts, which interact to ensure that the EHR is secured through access control. These parts together constitute the overall system or \"whole\". The focus of the second perspective is on the quality of the model as a whole and can be used to evaluate the proposed model qualitatively. The \"whole\" consists of importance, novelty, parsimony, level and falsifiability. Weber's (2012) evaluation framework is applicable to the proposed model because it is a representation of a theory and consists of parts and a whole. This is supported by Frigg and Hartmann (2018) who state that a model can represent a theory where it interprets the laws and axioms of the theory, which correspond to the theoretical foundation of RBAC, ABAC and the Clark-Wilson model. The five criteria of the \"whole\" were included in the expert review questions and were used to evaluate the proposed model.\n8. Future research and limitations: A limitation of the study was that it did not focus on the implementation of the proposed model. Future research can involve the implementation of the proposed model in a local health facility. While the proposed model focused on the authorisation of the EHR, a limitation is that it did not cover authentication in detail, with two-factor authentication being suggested comprising SSO and iris recognition. Future research can also include the use of multi-factor authentication for securing the EHR while reducing the impact on usability. The paper is concluded in the next section.\n9. Conclusion: The use of the EHR has led to a number of benefits such as the sharing of patient information between points of care. Although this benefit can improve the delivery of healthcare, it creates security and privacy risks to patients' information. This paper proposed a model for addressing these security and privacy risks by using a combination of RBAC, ABAC and the Clark-Wilson model. Prior to the introduction of the proposed model, access control was discussed in detail in terms of its components, namely, identification, authentication, authorisation and accountability. The discussion was informed by the results of a systematic literature review and content analysis. The different types of authentication and authorisation were compared and contrasted. With regard to authorisation, RBAC was selected for granting EHR access based on the clinician's role, while ABAC was chosen for granting exceptional access based on dynamic attributes such as purpose of use. This selection was based on two RBAC standards (ANSI INCITS 359-2012 and ANSI INCITS 494-2012). In addition, key concepts of the Clark-Wilson model, such well-formed transactions, authentication, separation of duties and auditing, were included in the proposed model for securing the EHR. The advantages and disadvantages of the proposed model were covered in terms of its components, i.e. RBAC, ABAC and the Clark-Wilson model. The proposed model was also evaluated using Weber's (2012) evaluation framework and followed an expert review approach.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: An electronic health record (EHR) enables clinicians to access and share patient information electronically and has the ultimate goal of improving the delivery of healthcare. However, this can create security and privacy risks to patient information. This paper aims to present a model for securing the EHR based on role-based access control (RBAC), attribute-based access control (ABAC) and the Clark-Wilson model.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review was conducted which resulted in the collection of secondary data that was used as the content analysis sample. Using the MAXQDA software program, the secondary data was analysed quantitatively using content analysis, resulting in 2,856 tags, which informed the discussion. An expert review was conducted to evaluate the proposed model using an evaluation framework.\nFindings: The study found that a combination of RBAC, ABAC and the Clark-Wilson model may be used to secure the EHR. While RBAC is applicable to healthcare, as roles are linked to an organisation's structure, its lack of dynamic authorisation is addressed by ABAC. Additionally, key concepts of the Clark-Wilson model such as well-formed transactions, authentication, separation of duties and auditing can be used to secure the EHR.\nOriginality/value: Although previous studies have been based on a combination of RBAC and ABAC, this study also uses key concepts of the Clark-Wilson model for securing the EHR. Countries implementing the EHR can use the model proposed by this study to help secure the EHR while also providing EHR access in a medical emergency.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Determining value in a complex service setting	[ "Customer perceived value", "Value-in-use Costs", "Benefits", "Credence service", "Value dimensions", "Time" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Customer perceived value is a pillar of marketing theory. A position of high customer perceived value leads to customer fulfilment and is viewed as critical for firms to attain competitive advantage and capitalize on their market position, in turn leading to long-term firm success (Woodruff, 1997). While a number of research studies have examined this important construct, our study presents a revised conceptualization of customer perceived value in the light of recent service literature, in particular the discourse around value-in-use and value co-creation.\n2. Background: 2.1. General conceptualization and critique of previous research on customer perceived value\n3. Method: 3.1. Context\n4. Results - customer perceived value: In line with the definition of customer perceived value in the literature, financial planning clients clearly identified a trade-off between what is provided by the financial planning service and the perceived costs that have been incurred. Six benefit and four cost dimensions emerged from the data, including value dimensions of expertise, education, motivation, support, relationship and convenience, as well as cost dimensions of monetary, time and effort, emotional and lifestyle. It should be noted that the dimensions outlined below reflect the views of both FPs and clients. Given the similarities between the two groups of study participants, results are outlined jointly with quotations from both groups integrated where relevant.\n5. Discussion: The dimensions of perceived value that we identified in this study align with the existing conceptualizations of value perceptions in service settings (e.g. Maas and Graf, 2008; Petrick, 2002; Pura, 2005; Sheth et al., 1991) yet suggest the usefulness of taking a detailed and context-specific approach. Cost dimensions, in particular, benefit from a more precise and itemized conceptualization and measurement. While authors have recognized sacrifices customers consider in their value judgments (e.g. Wang et al., 2004), conceptualizations have remained limited to monetary and non-monetary costs, measured through a positive rather than negative valence, such as \"value for money\" (Petrick, 2002).\n6. Conclusion, implications, limitations and future research directions: This qualitative research contributes to the conceptual development of value perceptions as multi-faceted and dynamic. Specifically, it identifies and defines the relevant dimensions of value perceptions in a complex service context, that of financial planning. Six benefit dimensions (expertise, education, motivation, support, relationship, convenience) and four cost dimensions (monetary, time and effort, emotional, lifestyle) were identified, providing insight into changes in the relevance of dimensions over time and their impact on clients according to a variety of situational factors. Furthermore, this study contributes to the value co-creation literature by framing the benefit and cost dimensions of customer perceived value in the Service Logic value creation spheres framework.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to capture the richness of customer perceived value by determining its benefit and cost dimensions in a complex service setting. Perceived value is argued as equivalent to value-in-use; that is value that emerges for or is created by the customer.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A series of in-depth interviews was conducted with a diverse group of clients of financial planning services as well as with financial planners in Australia.\nFindings: Six benefit and four cost dimensions of complex service are identified, namely expertise, education, motivation, support, relationship and convenience benefits, as well as monetary, time and effort, emotional and lifestyle costs. The results also indicate proposed outcomes of these dimensions, along with relevant moderators, leading to a broad conceptual framework for future empirical validation.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the sparse conceptual development of value perceptions, or value-in-use, in a complex service context. In particular, the authors identify the benefit and cost dimensions, specifically addressing aspects of value that are linked to the long-term relationship between provider and customer. The authors also develop a conceptual model of value, including both outcomes and situational moderators of the various value dimensions. Finally, the conceptualization of perceived value is discussed with respect to the value co-creation literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Cross-sectional effects in community disclosure	[ "Research", "Disclosure" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The empirical literature in social and environmental accounting arises from a community of researchers in the exploration not only of the definition of social and environmental disclosure but also of how to resolve meaning and reporting intent from such disclosures. The latter of these two concerns is reflected in the debate over methods of content analysis, whilst the former in the various categories and types of social and environmental information that have been captured in previous empirical studies.The content analysis literature reflects a debate on how best to code and count the various types of social and environmental disclosure. Coding decisions (Milne and Adler, 1999) are concerned with how to identify a disclosure type from a narrative source, while measuring (or counting) decisions are concerned with how to assign value to such disclosures once they have been coded for meaning. Commonly used measurement methods have included word count (Deegan and Gordon, 1996; Deegan and Rankin, 1996; Wilmshurst and Frost, 2000; Campbell, 2003, 2004), sentence count (Milne and Adler, 1999; Deegan et al., 2000); summed page proportions (Guthrie and Parker, 1990; Gray et al., 1995; Campbell, 2000), frequency of disclosure (Cowen et al., 1987; Ness and Mirza, 1991) and \"high/low\" disclosure (Patten, 1991).Arguments over the meanings of the terms \"social\" and \"environmental\" are reflected in the different categories of these terms that have been used in content analysis. Environmental disclosures are the most commonly captured in the empirical literature (for example Patten, 1992; 1995; Deegan and Rankin, 1996; Deegan and Gordon, 1996; Wilmshurst and Frost, 2000; Campbell, 2003; 2004), although not all of these have attempted to disaggregate disclosures into \"types\" of environmental disclosure (see Gray et al., 1995, for such a disaggregation). Similarly, some have captured \"social disclosure\" as a whole (Campbell, 2000) whilst others have disaggregated this into \"types\" of social disclosure (such as community disclosure). Cowen et al.(1987) and Patten (1995) are examples of studies that disaggregated disclosures into sub-types (Cowen et al.'s categories, for example, were environment, energy, fair business practice, human resources, community involvement, product safety and \"other\").This study examined one particular category of social disclosure, namely community disclosure. This was described by Patten (1995) as that disclosure which \"includes disclosures related to community activities, health-related activities, donations of cash, products or employee services to education or the arts, or other community activity disclosures\" (Patten, 1995, p. 280) - essentially a wide range of concerns of general interest to society as a whole and not to any narrowly-defined stakeholder group.Despite its importance as a broadly conceived stakeholder group (Clarkson, 1995), only a small number of previous studies have examined community disclosures and findings have hitherto been inconclusive. Cowen et al. (1987) included community disclosure in their study, finding that it responded to company size and industry type although response to industry type (using a frequency-based method) did not appear to follow any discernable pattern. In terms of disclosure by volume, Patten (1995) found community involvement information to be lower in volume than other categories such as environment and employee disclosure. Other than these findings, however, little has been researched and hence little is known about the motives for, and longitudinal and cross sectional behaviour of, community disclosure.The paper seeks to address a gap in the understanding of this category of disclosure by reporting on a survey of community disclosures by UK based companies over a 27 year period for a cross sectional sample of ten companies in five sectors. In order to enrich the data analysis and in an attempt to provide a richer set of conclusions upon which to comment on existing theory, both volumetric (word count) and frequency-based content analysis methods were used.The rest of the paper proceeds as follows. In the next section, the literature is reviewed as it relates to disclosure studies in general and cross-sectional studies in particular. A hypothesis is presented and the suppositions underpinning the hypothesis are made explicit as two \"propositions\". Method is then described and findings are presented. Finally, the findings are reviewed in the light of current explanatory theory and conclusions are drawn.\nDisclosure studies and cross-sectionality: Previous empirical studies and differential vulnerabilities\nHypothesis and propositions: Given the above discussion, the following hypothesis is proposed:Volume and frequency of community disclosure in annual reports will be positively associated with public profile when a sample is controlled for sizeTwo propositions underpin this hypothesis.Proposition 1\nSample and method: Sample\nFindings: Narrative content\nConclusions: The hypothesis is supported by both the volumetric and frequency-based analyses. By volume, community disclosure, when a long time period is sampled, does respond by sector according to public profile. The frequency-based observations suggest that community disclosure is of higher priority as a reporting item in the annual reports of the higher profile companies whilst some lower profile companies chose very rarely to disclose any community information at all over the 27 year period of the study.This study has thus demonstrated a cross sectional effect in community disclosure in response to public profile. In this regard, community disclosure has been shown to be responsive to the structural vulnerability of a company with regard to potential criticism or scrutiny by the general public. Patterns of disclosure are approximately in accord with the likely or potential demand for community information by or relating to the general public. This finding is consistent with patterns of reporting behaviour found in other categories of voluntary disclosure, where disclosure has been found to be associated with the information demands of a company's specific stakeholders.The contribution of this paper has thus been to show that a hitherto less-analysed category of voluntary social disclosure (community disclosure) is cross-sectionally responsive to the structural vulnerability of companies to issues associated with \"general\" social concern. The higher public profile companies, having more reason to disclose community information because of their greater need to manage their social reputations, and because the general public in its various guises can collectively cause harm to those companies with which they directly interact, do make significantly higher volume and more frequent community disclosures. The lower public profile companies, having lower structural vulnerability and being less likely to suffer harm, disclose significantly lower volume community disclosures and at a lower frequency.It should be noted that the observations made in this study are also supportive of a legitimacy-based understanding of the decision to disclose voluntary information in an annual report. Insofar that legitimating disclosures can be made in order to close or reduce the risk of the opening up of a legitimacy gap (Lindblom, 1994), community disclosures can be seen as a part of companies' management of the stakeholder pressures exerted upon them as a result of their particular structural exposures. This exposure, in turn, has been shown by this study to correspond approximately to companies' public profile. Those more likely to experience stakeholder claims and pressures from the \"general public\" (the higher profile companies in this sample) have been found to make higher volume and more frequent disclosures of information relevant to their claims, as legitimacy theory predicts.Further areas of research are suggested by these findings. In addition to pointing to the potential value of examining community disclosure patterns in other contexts (e.g. in other sectors and other national situations), and in other media (e.g. internet studies), the findings in this study suggest there may be value in exploring the ways in which voluntary disclosure responds to other external structural variables.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper seeks to address a gap in the literature in that it explores community disclosures in annual reports examining annual reports for 5 UK FTSE 100 sectors between, 1974 and 2000.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The sample was bifurcated into types - those with higher public profile and those with lower public profile based on a measure of \"proximity to end user\". Two approaches were adopted in the paper: longitudinal volumetric word count mean and frequency of disclosure by company.\nFindings: - The two approaches demonstrated that community disclosure was positively associated with public profile. The findings are consistent with reporting behaviour found in other categories of voluntary disclosure, where disclosure has been found to be associated with the presumed information demands of specific stakeholders. Additionally the research supported a legitimacy theory-based explanation of cross-sectional variability in community disclosures. Illustrative disclosures from a number of companies are also presented in the paper.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Further areas of research are suggested by these findings. In addition to articulating the potential value of examining community disclosure patterns in other contexts (e.g. in other sectors and other national situations), and in other media (e.g. internet studies), the findings in this study suggest that there may be value in exploring the ways in which voluntary disclosure responds to other external structural variables.\nOriginality/value: - The contribution of this paper has been to show that a hitherto less-analysed category of voluntary social disclosure (community disclosure) is cross-sectionally responsive to the structural vulnerability of companies to issues associated with \"general\" social concern.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Age, gender and work experience as predictors of success	[ "Leadership", "Hospitality management", "Success", "Academic achievement", "Internship" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: This exploratory study examines the influence of age, gender and pre-programme work experience on success in year one of a hospitality management (HM) undergraduate programme. In turn, the relationship between success, as measured by students' initial leadership programme (LP) achievement and their end-of-year cumulative grade point average (CGPA), and their subsequent internship performance is evaluated. Consequent on the tightening of accreditation requirements and internationalisation, on-going curriculum review and revision have become necessities. Recent industry-focused research has uncovered the importance of leadership skills that have been linked to HM professional success (e.g. Barron, 2008; Christou, 2002; Dopson and Nelson, 2001, 2003; Raybould and Wilkins, 2005). Taking account of the importance of developing both cognitive and behavioural transferable skills and leadership attributes (cf. Amagoh, 2009; Burke and Collins, 2005) in HM students, the LP under study was established in 2006. Its development focused on three areas (academic; social/personal; and professional), reinforcing the link between theoretical knowledge and practical experience. The LP competencies are developed through dedicated workshops and the teaching programme, including assignments and projects, to improve proficiency in areas that research has shown to be essential for graduates not only to work in HM but also to ensure career progression.\n2. Literature: 2.1 Leadership and leadership education\n3. Methods: Deductive reasoning was employed to develop eight hypotheses from the literature. The sample frame comprised all year one students who had completed terms one, two and three of an undergraduate HM programme, and therefore had followed the LP, in a Swiss higher education institution. To ensure a representative and sufficiently large sample, eight intakes from January 2006 until January 2008 were included. The resultant sample comprised 349 students. Secondary, historical and verifiable (Singleton and Straits, 1999) data were collected from internally reliable (cf. Saunders et al., 2007) sources, predominantly student admission files and records. The students' ages on entry, gender and pre-programme work experience were cross-checked against the curriculum vitae (CVs) prepared by the students (cf. Cowton, 1998). The CGPAs were taken from the student transcripts and the LP achievement profile was taken from internal records; for coding purposes, the LP results were subdivided into two subgroups:\n4. Results and discussion: 4.1 Demographic profile of sample\n5. Conclusions: 5.1 Summary and implications of key issues\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictive value of age, gender and work experience in relation to hospitality management (HM) academic success, as measured by year one leadership programme (LP) achievement and cumulative grade point average (CGPA). The association between LP and CGPA success and internship performance is also evaluated.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The sample comprised 349 international undergraduate HM students. Secondary data were compiled and analysed using SPSS. Eight hypotheses, developed from the literature were tested using kh2, t-tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests as appropriate.\nFindings: Although age was not a predictor of success, males significantly outperformed females. Pre-programme work experience was not a predictor of LP performance but length of paid work experience and supervisory work experience were linked significantly to mean CGPA. LP achievement was positively associated with CGPA and with successful internship completion.\nResearch limitations/implications: Although the student sample was international and spanned three cohorts, the data collection was limited to one institution.\nPractical implications: Pre-programme work experience, in particular supervisory experience, and the incorporation of management competency-linked LPs into first-year HM curricula are recommended.\nOriginality/value: The paper contributes to the under-researched predictive value of age, gender and pre-programme work experience in relation to HM academic performance, in particular in an LP context. An additional innovative finding is the positive association between LP achievement and success in HM professional practice.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The four Rs performance indicators of water distribution networks: A review of research literature	[ "Reliability", "Resilience", "Redundancy", "Robustness", "Water distribution networks" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Water distribution networks (WDNs) consist of multiple interconnected components that collect, treat, store and distribute water between sources and users. High interdependency and nonlinear interactions makes such system fragile, so that a small perturbation propagates in numerous ways and causes the cumulative impact on system failure (Venkatasubramanian, 2010). Viewed from this perspective WDNs serve as a good example of complex systems. Disruption and dysfunction of WDNs would have debilitating effects on safety, economic security, public health and social well-being.\n2. WDN performance indicators: The performance indicators of WDNs have been widely studied in the literature with the goal of assessing the system performance. Though the concept of each indicator is nebulous due to various number of different interpretations over the years, these all demonstrate useful indications of the system performance. This section presents some popular definitions of the key indicators. The list of papers which have been reviewed in this respect are listed in Table I.\n3. Quantifying the performance: This section presents a collection of metrics which have been introduced in the papers to evaluate the performance of the WDNs drawing on the indicators described in Section 2. Table II summarizes the mathematical expression of these metrics and indicates which property is being assessed through each metrics.\n4. Conclusions and research directions: 4.1 Limitation of review\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the different interpretations of four key performance indicators of water distribution networks (WDNs): reliability, resilience, redundancy and robustness. It then addresses a range of metrics which have been developed to assess the performance of critical infrastructures, in particular WDNs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper provides a comprehensive review and categorization of performance indicators of WDNs. The main focus is on papers addressing performance indicators of water distribution systems, additionally papers on application of complex system approach to critical infrastructures are also included.\nFindings: Due to this complexity, a wide range of interpretation of WDNs performance indicators exists in the literature. This represents a significant impediment toward universally accepted interpretation of these indicators Accurate assessment of WDNs' performance depends on clear definition of system performance indicators as well as accurate quantifying of these indicators. The application of 18 metrics as a basis for assessing the system performance have been reviewed in this paper and none are particularly significant as standalone values. Combination of these indicators are required to accurately indicate the performance of WDNs.\nOriginality/value: The authors believe that this paper can be a valuable source of information for academic researchers and practitioners and suggests a roadmap for future works.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Marketing in SMEs: a "4Ps" self-branding model	[ "Marketing", "SMEs", "Owner-manager", "Self-branding" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a vital part of the local and world economy and research suggests that marketing within SMEs is an important business activity (Walsh and Lipinski, 2009; Deakins and Freel, 2009) but there is a need for further research to identify what marketing means (McCartan-Quinn and Carson, 2003) and how it is practised (Fillis, 2007; Blankson and Stokes, 2002). The UK Government and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has recognised that the SME sector has the potential to make a significant impact on economic growth; the sector currently accounts for 99 per cent of all UK private enterprises, 59.1 per cent of private sector employment and 48.7 per cent of private sector turnover (BIS, 2013; House of Commons, 2012) and marketing has an important role to play within the sector. However, studies suggest that established academic definitions of marketing are not always useful for SMEs (Gamble et al., 2011; McCartan-Quinn and Carson, 2003) as mainstream marketing theories (e.g. Jobber, 2009; Kotler et al., 2008; Brassington and Pettitt, 2007) focus on aspects such as planning, marketing research, advertising and the implementation of the marketing mix, which are more typically designed for large organisations where financial resources and marketing expertise are readily available (Hulbert et al., 2013). The transfer of large organisation marketing models to SMEs has been criticised (for example, Gamble, et al., 2011; Gilmore et al., 2001) as SMEs have their own unique characteristics and context and their marketing activities are often restricted by limited resources and lack of marketing expertise (Reijonen, 2010). The owner-managers themselves may be obstacles to marketing since a review of the wider literature reveals that owner-managers of SMEs often pose major difficulties to strategic implementation in which marketing can play an important part (Reijonen, 2008; Ramsey et al., 2003) as the level of engagement an owner-manager has with marketing often determines whether the business will implement any kind of marketing strategy (Dobbs and Hamilton, 2007). It is also acknowledged that the marketing activity of the firm is \"influenced by the personality of the owner-manager\" (Gamble et al., 2011, p. 238) and that the personality of the SME is connected to the owner-manager (Deacon, 2002 in Morrish et al., 2010).\nAims and objectives: The literature suggests that within the SME sector, marketing practice and the owner-manager appear to be irrevocably linked and the aim of this study is to explore the extent to which traditional marketing theory and practice can be applied in SMEs and consider how owner-managers perceive their own role in marketing within a small business setting.\nLiterature review: Characteristics of SMEs\nResearch methods: The study used a qualitative, exploratory approach as this places emphasis on examining participant interpretations and takes account of the research context (Bryman, 2008; O'Donnell and Cummins, 1999). Qualitative research enables the researcher to gain a detailed understanding of the complex phenomena to be investigated in order to build theory (Webb and Lambe, 2007) and is often regarded as more effective when researching marketing phenomena within SMEs as it offers opportunities to listen to the participants and allow engagement in a dialogue (Hill, 2001b; Hill and Wright, 2001).\nFindings: Data gathered from the sample of 20 SMEs (see Table I) indicated that the companies had been established for an average of 12.5 years ranging from a start-up SME operating for less than two years to a mature business in operation for 48 years. The average number of people employed was 18 and the average annual turnover of the companies was PS1.5million classifying the sample as that of small SMEs. The companies operated on either a regional, national or small international basis with six SMEs classifying themselves as goods based and 14 services based businesses. The gender ratio of the sample was 11:9 male/female and the average age category 45-54 years. The interviews were analysed and four categories emerged from the analysis:\nDiscussion: Extant literature suggests that the approach of SMEs to marketing is different from those of large organisations and the findings in this study support this view. Marketing in SMEs takes into account the unique business environment in which it operates, the characteristics of owner-managers (such as skills and abilities) and resources (O'Dwyer et al., 2009). In this study, marketing in SMEs is identified as an orientation through engagement with customers, matching customer needs, networking (Gilmore et al., 2001) and relationships with customers (Day et al., 1998). These characteristics comply with Hills and Hultman (2006) definition of small business marketing in that all the businesses were small in size, marketing actions are controlled by the owner-manager and marketing is seen as a part-time activity (Hills and Hultman, 2013, p. 438). The key finding from the study was the focus on the self- branding of the SME owner (Shepherd, 2005; Ward and Yates, 2013) reflecting the view that SME owners themselves personified \"the marketing\" and too much emphasis placed on impersonal marketing activities detracted from their unique contribution to the business, such as the use of their technical or specialist industry knowledge or their special relationship with their customers. Traditional marketing activities were viewed as potentially damaging to business credibility in that there was an inherent mistrust of its credentials and an insincere fit with planned and more defined marketing activities perceived as a potential threat to their control of the business.\nConclusions: Our research found four attributes frame a SME self-branding model. The personal brand of the owner-manager becomes the identity for the business through a unique set of skills, often honed to suit his/her particular market context and customer set. SMEs co-produce their business with their customers with much of their work shaped to exact customer requirements such as bespoke IT systems or specific ranges of goods. SMEs focus on the practice of the business in hand rather than spending time planning or formulating strategies and SMEs persevere with their businesses and build long-term customer relationships through networking and a high degree of customer contact and interaction.\nFuture research: We have identified four tentative attributes with the potential to help us understand and inform future marketing practice in SMEs. Nevertheless, large scale studies across different populations and samples can be used in future research to strengthen and develop our tentative findings and this may lead to overall generalisability. Further research is proposed in two areas. First, to explore the views of customers of small businesses to ascertain how they view the role of the SME owner-manager in the marketing of the business and in particular the notion of the owner-manager as the \"brand\". This is an under-explored area and would further extend our knowledge and understanding of marketing within SMEs. Second, to develop a comprehensive understanding of the framework such that each element is properly deconstructed into their constituent parts and properly delineated so that they may be taught to existing and potential new owner-managers as well as in various educational institutions. Such an approach should follow the traditional academic route of finding out what works in practice and then emphasising and strengthening this approach so that it can be formally taught and then all SMEs can benefit from this work. This inductive approach may hold out opportunities for further developments in this area of SME marketing practices.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which traditional marketing theory and practice can be applied in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and consider how owner-managers perceive their own role in marketing within a small business setting.\nDesign/methodology/approach: -A qualitative exploratory approach using semi-structured in-depth interviews amongst owner-managers of SMEs in the UK.\nFindings: SME marketing is effective in that it embraces some relevant concepts of traditional marketing, tailors activities to match its customers and adds its own unique attribute of self-branding as bestowed by the SME owner-manager.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study was limited to the UK and to a small sample of SMEs and as such the findings are not necessarily generalisable.\nOriginality/value: A \"4Ps\" model for SME self-branding is proposed, which encompasses the attributes of personal branding, (co)production, perseverance and practice.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Mission impossible: Understanding the ROI of international assignments	[ "International assignments", "Cost management", "Return on investment", "Expatriation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nReview: It is often the highlight of someone's entire career. After years of moving around the same offices or the same town, they finally get tapped on the shoulder and asked if they could share their expertise with the London office or get embedded in Delhi for the while the new plant gets up and running. Suddenly, the humdrum daily grind is thrown out of the window, and an entirely new experience is ready to be digested and enjoyed.\nThe cost everything and the value of nothing: But what does the company itself understand of expatriate activity? It knows it must send someone overseas, usually to sort out a problem of some kind, and it also knows what the plane, apartment, and expenses might cost, as well as any additional compensation. But what about the opportunity cost of the expat being overseas and not doing their regular job? And how can a firm assess the net return on investment (ROI) of the whole international assignment?\nThrowing the dice: For many firms, understanding eROI is not even on their agenda. Small firms may not be sophisticated enough in their planning or accounting, and large firms may have given up trying to track the overall cost of sending people jetting round the globe. And most firms will have a tendency to think operationally rather than strategically, and simply send Jeff from Logistics or Jennifer from HR to Adelaide or Zanzibar simply because there is a perceived business need for them to be there.\nWill 2 + 2 = 4 for expats?: Almost inevitably, complex equations and sophisticated cost management plays a major role in working out eROI, and there are a number of phases to this. However, as a basic methodology for accounting, the activity-based costing (ABC) is used to gain as accurate picture as possible of what is happing with expats for the whole period under scrutiny. In brief, the following factors are taken into full account:\nPractical application: To any executive contemplating sending one of their key people abroad, then one word will come timing after taking into account all these fixed and variable costs: expensive. Putting some numbers on these formulas for assessing eROI, Now and Linder give an estimate for a German engineer moving to China for two years after a selection process. Costs included before expatriation totaled $60K, leaving the country was $20K and working overseas was over $320K, and the grand total came to $432K.\nComment: There are a few academic articles which genuinely shine a light on problems and present solutions, and the article \"Do you know how much your expatriate costs? An activity-based cost analysis of expatriation\" by Nowak and Linder (2016) is one of these. It shows exactly how ROI can be calculated by looking objectively at costs and benefits of expatriation, and the resulting tool should be of huge benefit for those firms seeking answers to one of the most difficult questions they face when looking to invest in their people working overseas.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints 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: It is often the highlight of someone's entire career. After years of moving around the same offices or the same town, they finally get tapped on the shoulder and asked if they could share their expertise with the London office, or get embedded in Delhi for the while the new plant gets up and running. Suddenly, the humdrum daily grind is thrown out of the window, and an entirely new experience is ready to be digested and enjoyed.\nPractical implications: Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.\nOriginality/value: The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Weather and supply chain performance in sport goods distribution	[ "Weather", "Demand variation", "Seasonal products", "Supply chain management and performance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Due to their multi-level structures, many events can disturb supply chain performance in several ways. Unplanned events may affect value and product processes, assets and infrastructures, inter-organizational networks through man-made and environmental causes (Peck, 2005). The more complex the supply chain is the more vulnerable it is to risks emerging from the supply and demand side, as well as catastrophic risks like natural hazards (Wagner and Bode, 2006). Major events or catastrophes make the news headlines and have significant consequences on societies, businesses and individuals. Along with the most memorable events, there have been severe but less extent incidents, such as European heat waves in 2003 and 2006, which were devastating and destroyed crops and affected businesses and their value chains. These and similar events surely had a negative impact on supply chains, yet for some reason they seem to be within normality in their occurrence, and companies and people are expected to cope with them.\n2. Literature review on weather affecting operations and supply chain management: Disruptions and process variance lead to poor supply chain performance. There is ample literature including case studies, models and surveys on the costly consequences of dysfunctional supply chains. In their seminal study, Hendricks and Singhal (2003) show that companies reporting problems in sourcing and delivery, product quality, etc., are associated with an abnormal decrease in shareholder value by 10.28 per cent. These problems refer to a vast multitude of incidents embedded in modern supply chains and researchers have classified and modelled these causes for poor supply chain performance in many ways.\n3. Research hypotheses, data and methodology: Based on the existing literature, academics have paid limited research interest to weather and its impact on supply chain performance. On the one hand strong evidence supports the fact that weather affects demand and consumer shopping behaviour (Murray et al., 2010; Parsons, 2001), and on the other hand, fluctuations in demand affect supply chain performance (e.g. Beamon, 1999). But the overall chain of reasoning from fluctuations in weather affecting demand variation leading to variance in supply chain performance has been less studied. Although this effect is observed in some cases, it is not possible to establish such a general straight hypothesis. Therefore, this research aims to fill the gap in the current supply chain body-of-knowledge by studying ways in which weather affects demand in different market locations and different customer and product segments.\n4. Further results and hypothesis validity: We start with a preliminary empirical analysis to determine whether changes in weather (temperature, precipitation) have an effect on supply chain load (delivery volumes measured in local currency), and whether this in turn has an effect on supply chain performance (punctuality). Figure 4 illustrates this in Zurich for a specific period of the year, product type and customer size. The left panel shows that sunshine has an effect on order volumes, while the middle panel shows that order volumes have an impact on delays and, finally, the right panel shows how supply chain delays are affected by sunshine.\n5. Discussion and future research: We analysed how weather conditions and customer locations affect demand and especially supply chain performance. We used detailed transactional data on sales orders and deliveries combined with local weather data over a decade in Switzerland. We found two major results; first, weather at customer locations has a significant effect on order volumes and this effect differentiates the type of product and the location and size of the customer based on the season. Second, the order volume in monetary value, which corresponds to the load in the supply chain, has a significant effect on supply chain performance (punctuality in terms of delay). This means that weather affects supply chain performance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study how variations in weather affect demand and supply chain performance in sport goods. The study includes several brands differing in supply chain structure, product variety and seasonality.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Longitudinal data on supply chain transactions and customer weather conditions are analysed. The underlying hypothesis is that changes in weather affect demand, which in turn impacts supply chain performance.\nFindings: In general, an increase in temperature in winter and spring decreases order volumes in resorts, while for larger customers in urban locations order volumes increase. Further, an increase in volumes of non-seasonal products reduces delays in deliveries, but for seasonal products the effect is opposite. In all, weather affects demand, lower volumes do not generally improve supply chain performance, but larger volumes can make it worse. The analysis shows that the dependence structure between demand and delay is time varying and is affected by weather conditions.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study concerns one country and leisure goods, which can limit its generalizability.\nPractical/implications: Well-managed supply chains should prepare for demand fluctuations caused by weather changes. Weekly weather forecasts could be used when planning operations for product families to improve supply chain performance.\nOriginality/value: The study focuses on supply chain vulnerability in normal weather conditions while most of the existing research studies major events or catastrophes. The results open new opportunities for supply chain managers to reduce weather dependence and improve profitability.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
NILDE: developing a new generation tool for document delivery in Italy	[ "Resource sharing", "Document delivery", "Interlending", "Learning organizations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The document delivery (DD) service plays an important role in Italian public research and university libraries, but the overall picture is more fragmented than that of any other European country. The Register of Libraries in Italy shows about 12,000 records (http://anagrafe.iccu.sbn.it/iccu/abi). The main internet services for the sharing of resources are the Archivio Collettivo Nazionale dei Periodici (ACNP, the National Union Catalogue of Periodicals) which includes about 1,500 (http://acnp.cib.unibo.it/cgi-ser/start/it/cnr/co-p.tcl) active libraries, mainly from universities and research centres, which regularly update their holdings, and the Sistema Bibliotecario Nazionale (SBN, the National Library System Catalogue) in which about 3,000 (www.iccu.sbn.it/genera.jsp?s=5&l=en), mainly public, libraries participate, grouped geographically. As ACNP is a specialized serial catalogue, it is considered to be the most authoritative Italian resource for DD.As well as the two centralized national services a repository of the Italian OPACs is managed by the Association of Italian Libraries (AIB), which also provides meta-search facilities through the Italian Azalai MetaOPAC (MAI). Presently there are almost 900 registered OPACs, 250 of which are connected through the meta-search engine (www.aib.it/aib/opac/att06.htm).In the last decade, the large increase in DD mutual requests has confirmed a general trend that has led to the need for the reorganisation of services in libraries, through a rethinking at a broader national level. In fact, as noted during the 45th National AIB Congress, there was a maze of DD internal rules, both written and unwritten, and the percentage of unfulfilled requests was cause for concern, i.e. higher than 25 per cent (Minetto, 1999). A proposal for a national \"DD and ILL Customer charter\" was issued (Mazzitelli, 2000), aiming to establish general criteria for efficient DD management, specifically:* visibility of holdings;* transparency of terms and conditions;* promptness of response; and* completeness of data to start a DD/ILL request.The great differences present among so many types of libraries and their \"customs\" were considered to be the principal obstacles; in fact, the only successful cooperative projects involved a restricted number of Italian libraries generally belonging to the same disciplinary field. Solving the problem of \"payment for services\", given the huge variety of existing rules and the many accepted means of payments, appeared to be the main task.Given this scenario, it is easy to understand how low management costs and short turnaround times in satisfying library and end-user document delivery requests were unattainable.The Network Inter-Library Document Exchange (NILDE) application was initially developed at the Italian National Research Council (CNR) Bologna Research Area Library in order to take advantage of new Internet technologies and to promote cooperation among CNR and Italian university libraries (Mangiaracina et al., 2001; Mangiaracina, 2002).NILDE was inspired by Mary Jackson's pioneering study, the results of which identify characteristics of successful high performance document delivery services (Jackson, 1998). Jackson's results had actually marked the starting points in the design of the NILDE software requirements. The initial vision for NILDE in the year 2000 was:* To create software to computerize the entire DD workflow, reducing library operator working time and avoiding highly-repetitive tasks, such as manual data input and photocopying.* To integrate in the automation software DD performance indicators, such as cost, fill-rate and turnaround time.* To allow secure electronic transmission of documents in the same software package.* To promote a cooperative model based on quality of service, that libraries might pursue on a national, regional or discipline specific base.* To start a virtuous interactive cycle in Italy. If each library has the chance to measure its lending turnaround time and compare it with the performance of other participants, it has been demonstrated that this will stimulate libraries to improve their service. As a consequence, not only will the requesting libraries have benefited, but so, eventually, will the overall system and the end-users.* To propose a unified DD payment system.\nA short history of the NILDE project: The first prototype of the NILDE software was tested during 2001 and presented to the librarian community in Rome at the First Italian Workshop on \"Internet Document Delivery and inter-library cooperation\", where all the attending libraries were invited to join the pilot testing.In 2003 the Second Italian Workshop on Internet Document Delivery was held in Bologna. Results of the two-year experiments, relating to 14,000 documents provided by 79 Italian libraries, were presented and discussed. For the first time it was possible to compare the performance of libraries with a wide range of characteristics and exchange volumes, since all requests were processed through the same system. Since NILDE automatically saves request and delivery dates, the turn-around times could be compared; it was demonstrated that participating libraries had improved their service performances during the two-year experiments (Mangiaracina, 2003). However, the workshop highlighted a lack of balance between \"providing libraries\" (79) which had actively joined the project, and \"requesting libraries\" (400). It was clear that libraries often saw the advantages of the requesting side of the DD service, but easily disregarded the lending side of the same service. Reasons for this may vary: small and specialized holdings, one-person libraries, not yet belonging to the union catalogues, not having an OPAC, etc. ... However, resource sharing may work only when all libraries participate at the same level. A very intense mailing list discussion followed the Second Workshop, focusing on the need to establish a policy of reciprocal exchange and eventually leading to the decision to establish a set of \"best practice\" rules to be shared among all.In 2004 the NILDE Rules and Regulations became effective (http://nilde.bo.cnr.it/index.php?st=11). These assert that \"NILDE aims to promote reciprocal exchanges among libraries and to facilitate the use of consistent quality standards, in order to develop inter-library cooperation in document delivery services\". The establishment of the Rules and Regulation has truly sped up the growth of the NILDE network, open to any publicly funded or not-for-profit institution wishing to join it. A mailing list was set up devoted to the exchange of ideas, problems and solutions and to keep participants informed about ongoing improvements and developments in the software.In 2005, the Third Italian Workshop on Internet Document Delivery was held in Pisa, focused on \"Quality at the service of cooperation\". The new NILDE End-Users module was launched, allowing library end-users to forward a document delivery request from any OpenURL-compliant database (e.g. Web of Science, PubMed, etc. ...) and to check the status of their requests. More than 250 librarians attended the workshop, proving that NILDE was no longer only an \"application\", but also a wide \"library network\". Integration with the ACNP national catalogue and ease of use for library staff are determining factors for the success of NILDE. Training courses have been arranged periodically.Since 2006 NILDE has become a national service managed by the CNR Bologna Research Area Library, based on an economically sustainable model: annual NILDE maintenance costs are shared among all participant libraries. The Fourth Italian Workshop on Internet Document Delivery in May 2006 was held in Naples, focusing on the latest developments in the NILDE service. These were the relationship of DD to electronic resources and on copyright issues, and the workshop was aimed at encouraging collaborative discussion among libraries, consortia and publishers.\nSuccessful key factors: The evolution of NILDE, thanks to the rapid and ongoing growth in membership (Figure 1 and Tables I-III show current figures for the NILDE network) has proved how great the need was in Italy for the adoption of standardized and structured processes for DD services by means of the implementation of best practices in order to share library holdings.As in any organization what matters are the abilities and the degree of participation by the components: \"human capital is created by changes in personas that bring about skills and capabilities that make them to act in new ways\" (Coleman, 1988). It should be noted that participation in the NILDE network has been acknowledged by the libraries as a real sense of belonging to a community to which the each member's contribution is useful and necessary in forwarding the interests of all.It is worth highlighting similarities with the open source software (OSS) community organizational structure. First of all, the NILDE case study demonstrates two factors essential to the success of OSS: quality and degree of personalization, due to the consumers also being the producers. Despite the fact that they are not real \"software developers\", libraries do feel like the protagonists of system development. According to Linus' Law (Raymond, 1998), NILDE has become a successful tool because it has been able to listen to and incorporate feedback coming from a community that has proved to be active and keen to improve the system.Analysis of the evolution of NILDE leads us to identify the key factors in its success. These fall under two headings:1. the policies, i.e. the rules the community has imposed on itself; and2. the processes: the procedures through which the libraries provide services using tools supplied by NILDE.NILDE's policies\nOngoing developments and new features: NILDE is presently used by about 600 libraries (http://nilde.bo.cnr.it/index.php?st=2) as well as more than 5,000 registered end-users whose number is growing. Thanks to integration via OpenURL with most electronic resources, NILDE has indeed become a very simple and direct tool for end-users the expectations and behaviour of whom are definitely changing in the Internet era. In this context it makes sense to wonder what difficulties will be faced by libraries in offering end-users a quality DD service and which opportunities will arise from integration with other library services.Given all these reasons, the overall architecture of the NILDE system has been rethought, not only to guarantee future scalability and high performance operations, but also to add new features:* management of ILL (loans) requests in addition to DD (copies) requests;* compliance with the SRU/SRW protocol (Sanderson et al., 2004) in order to implement a standard way of communication with OPACs;* reference management added to the NILDE end-user module, making it an even more user-oriented and friendly tool for document delivery and scholarly work;* federated end-user authentication support via Shibboleth, in order to provide inter-institutional Single Sign-On and federated identity management to those organizations belonging to the network;* design of new user-interaction styles, based on new graphic design, a new logo, and increased usability; and* multilingual support and compliance with W3C guidelines for an accessible and usable web development.In the following paragraphs the new end-user reference manager module, federated authentication and the new user-interface are presented.NILDE reference manager for end-users\nConclusion: In this paper we have presented the key factors that have made NILDE a successful tool and a \"de facto\" standard for document delivery among Italian libraries. Such key factors fall under two headings: the policies, i.e. the rules the community has imposed on itself, and the processes, i.e. the procedures through which the libraries provide DD services using NILDE.The development of the system has been driven by the needs of the library community, thanks to its proactive participation and to the will to set up collaborative relationships among different organizations. The ongoing and steady growth of the network has allowed the establishment of trusted relationships, based on commonly accepted rules whose formalization ensures the correct implementation of the activities. This has been generating a virtuous cycle thanks to which average network service quality has been improving continuously.The NILDE community's openness to new suggestions and feedback has demonstrated the extent to which cooperation is fitting in order to achieve common aims such as resource sharing, quality of service, and recognition of Secure Electronic Document Delivery in licensing.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper presents the most recent progress and implementation of the Network Inter-Library Document Exchange (NILDE) system, a web based document delivery (DD) software for libraries and end-users. NILDE allows libraries to manage the entire workflow of DD activities, both borrowing and lending, through the provision of synthetic and analytical statistics, DD performance indicators such as \"fill-rate\" and \"turn-around time\", and support for secure electronic delivery. New technologies, referred to as Web 2.0, have been incorporated into NILDE, making it an even more user-oriented and friendly tool for document delivery and scholar work.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper presents the key factors that have made NILDE a successful tool and a \"de facto\" standard for document delivery among Italian libraries: the policies, i.e. the rules the community has imposed on itself, and the processes, i.e. the procedures through which the libraries provide DD services using NILDE.\nFindings: - The rise in NILDE users has allowed the building of a cooperative network to promote resource sharing based on a degree of standard quality of service and fair behaviour. It was found how, by adhering to these principles, libraries start up a virtuous cycle within the NILDE network, increasing its own value.\nOriginality/value: - The paper will be of interest to librarians wanting to start a successful cooperative network and all those with an interest in developments in resource sharing in Italy.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Sri Lanka textile industry's public private partnership project: a case study	[ "Public private partnerships", "Wicked problems", "Organizational development", "Sri Lanka", "Textiles" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The purpose of this organization development project was to find a way for three separate stakeholder groups in Sri Lanka to work together in human resource development for the nation's recently restructured apparel and textile industry. The three stakeholder groups are:1. the apparel and textile industry, represented by their Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF);2. the education and training institutions (Univ.); and3. the national government, education, commerce and industry (Govt.).People and their technology innovation are key ingredients to any successful work enterprise, whether in the private sector or in the public sector.The World Trade Organization announced in 2002 that it would be removing the quota restrictions on apparel and textiles by 2005 and would later be removing the China quota restrictions in 2008. Global apparel and textile manufacturing firms realized that after 2008 they would have extreme difficulty in competing on price in the global market for manufacturing apparel and textile goods. Therefore, a group of apparel and textile firms in Sri Lanka organized JAAF to address this major change in the global export of apparel and textile products. \"The formation of JAAF could be considered an innovation in organizational methods given that it fundamentally changed how firms interacted with one another and became the vehicle through which industry interests are now voiced and promoted\" (Wijayasiri, 2008, p. 14).Every economy has vast potential institution development choices in both the public and the private sectors to keep itself economically robust. In the case of Sri Lanka the apparel and textile industry brings in 45 percent of export revenues and produces some 4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), as depicted in Figure 1. The sustainability of the apparel and textile industry has a degree of national interest. Therefore, the national government's Ministry of Textiles and Industry secured funds to help JAAF complete its Human Resource Development plan to create the College of Apparel and Textiles (COAT) for its new industry positioning.COAT as a college was envisioned by JAAF as a consortium of private sector training and academia education organizations, with public sector support, to focus on expanding training, education, and technology innovation for the apparel and textile industry in the private sector, newly restructured to meet changing global markets.The three stakeholder groups - i.e. JAAF, Univ., and Govt. - were having irreconcilable problems in working together to determine how to organize and manage COAT as a college for Sri Lanka. Clearly, many of these training and technology innovation factors have been addressed individually by many of the firms in the apparel and textile industry. Nevertheless, it is not unreasonable to assume that human resource development and innovative garment industry technology research cannot be accomplished by the private sector apparel and textile industry alone. Government, academics and the garment industry, and individual education and training institutions, would need to work together in order to accomplish effective human development programs for Sri Lanka's new global apparel and textile industry. The national government had set aside significant government funds to build COAT as a functioning college to assure that citizens of Sri Lanka will have the opportunity to develop their human resources to become effective participants in Sri Lanka's growing competitive global apparel and textile industry. Was this a potential public private partnership situation?\nMethodology: minding the gap in wicked problems: The author, as OD Consultant, was given open access to all the apparel, textile and other firms that comprised the apparel and textile industry in Sri Lanka. Instead of localizing the factories in the capital city of Colombo they were scattered around the island villages in order that employees could remain in their villages while working in the industry. Therefore, the research included various vocational training institutes and universities, as well as meetings with units in the Ministry of Textiles and Education. The plan was to listen to what these people had to say about the COAT as an idea of a college, as a practical thing for Sri Lanka to undertake, and listening as to what requirements it must meet.The author used the gap analysis probe (GAP) approach to identify any subset of dysfunctional gaps among the three stakeholders involved in the wicked issue's problem context. A gap refers to a natural separation between entities that serves to differentiate them from each other. It is this natural separation or gap that gives rise to our sense of reality of the individual things in our environment.Once identified, the dysfunctional discontinuity gaps found in the wicked issue context can be expected to point to a subset of tame problems and opportunities that can subsequently be solved by traditional rational problem-solving and project management methods. This approach reads the situation's holistic context in search of gaps in the fabric of the context as an approach for self-reorganizing.The dysfunctional in the gaps are the unit of analysis for the COAT issue. Therefore, it is important to present in some detail just what is included in this concept of the gap. Gap is commonly defined as an opening, separation or fissure in what one would normally expect to be a continuous structure. Gap indicates a discontinuity where we expect discontinuity ought to be. It is a virtual boundary. At the same time gap refers to a \"pass-through\" that allows passage through or over opposing forces. These basic gap dimensions are useful in our gap analysis. The useful levels in gaps for identifying the key dysfunctional gaps in their complex inter-reactions involved in providing human resource development services are:* realm;* scale; and* transform.The \"realm\" dimension depicted in Figure 2 refers to gaps that occur in the inter-reaction between regions, due to differences between individuals, cultures, norms, ethics, terminologies, values, demographics, domains, technologies and other mutually exclusive social or political aspects. For example, there is a three-way realm gap between JAFF and Univ. and Govt. Realm gaps are usually gaps of differentiation and identity, involving different general value systems. Finally, the gap between the public sector and the private sector gap arises between the public sector's bureaucracy and the private sector's entrepreneurial business.The \"scale\" dimension refers to the micro/macrocosm or hierarchal scalar shift of focus or point-of-view within the same realm and/or inter-reacting realms. For example, the gap in the relationship between an employee, and a supervisor, or management is in scalar gaps. The difference in the nature of the functions of a citizen as a person and the person's participation as a citizen in the state is mainly a scalar gap. In Sri Lanka's case, scalar gaps occur relative to which group is the regulator of action relative to the group that is to be the doer of human resource development.The \"transform\" gap refers to the differences in work process or development between entities within a realm and/or entities in inter-reacting realms. There is also the difference between the university's technical department curriculum of education and the private industry firms' need for new students and employees trained in new technology.In each case the differentiating gap may involve a preponderance of one or more of the three realm dimensions as well. All three levels are not only present to some degree, but also in constant change. A dysfunctional gap among multiple players is often what makes an issue wicked. If one tries to solve one dysfunctional gap as a problem, it can easily increase the other gaps as a result, hence \"wicked\". The more one gap is worked upon to be solved the more wicked it becomes for the situation.\nMinding the gaps for the COAT college project: Through interviews of the people from each of the player organizations we were able to fill in the map as depicted in Figure 3. Although the interface at the realm level of gaps was fairly traditional, they were engendering a wicked issue among the three major players.Key dysfunctional realm gaps\nCOAT - organization basic requirements: The COAT initiative did not envision actually erecting a \"bricks and mortar\" College of Textiles. Rather, it sought to become a viable human resource development organization that could effectively integrate the nation's current apparel and textile industry education, training and technology innovation research resources. COAT would create a plan to organize together to initiate fundable projects that will keep the development of human skills, knowledge and abilities up to the standard needed for apparel and textile firms to remain competitive in the global market place.Nevertheless, whatever institutional structure that was to be considered for COAT must be compared and evaluated by the following basic requirements:* open and inclusive to all stakeholders affected who wish to be involved;* provide leading-edge education and training in the functions and global business and innovative technology of the apparel and textile industry;* facility programs should be open to qualified students in Sri Lanka;* organization structure to be accepted and agreed by the participating stakeholder partners;* transparent decisions and activities throughout the operation of the organization;* develop consensus on mutually held interests and responsibilities regarding education, training and technological research in the apparel and textile field;* ready access to support private and public funding by developing professional transparent project proposals that include viable action plans, milestones and accountability;* provide a variety of support services to members (for a supporting fee);* sustainable support and funding for the organization and appropriate staff;* ready communication access to all stakeholder principals;* develop, set and maintain industry requirement standards for education, training, and technology innovation research; and* links the industry, education, training, and technology research for innovation into an integrated whole that will be available to citizens of Sri Lanka, namely employees and students to continually develop themselves as valuable partners in the apparel and textile industry in general and in their own personal development in particular.These requirements were used to evaluate the three alternative approaches to resolve the dysfunctional gaps creating the three key stakeholders' wicked issue of establishing COAT to be an effective, education, training, and innovation resource development technology.\nCOAT: a symposium of the three stakeholder groups: First and foremost, the stakeholders would need to develop the structure of COAT together as an integrated collegium of apparel, textile, and innovation technology research human resource development institutions.The purpose of this research approach was to formulate a tentative organization structure that would enable the long-term sustainability of COAT. This structure took the form of a temporary COAT of equal partners from each of the three areas of shared concerns for upgrading human resource development for the apparel and textile industry, namely JAAF, Univ., and Govt. as depicted in Figure 4:* create a public private partnership to develop human resources for the apparel and textile industry;* create a NGO human resource development institution for apparel and textiles;* the apparel and textile industry should do the research and training for their industry; and* the stakeholder groups develop their own a cooperative structures to work together.This symposium of a Council of Apparel and Textiles was conducted by professional change facilitators hired from Sensei International, a Sri Lanka firm selected by JAAF for facilitating the symposium. The symposium was designed to gather stakeholders from the apparel and textile industry, education, training, and innovation technology research institutions, and government ministries to chart a path to develop their combined program to integrate their efforts to build more effective human resource development for the industry. The premise was to assemble the stakeholder groups as an initial informal Council of Apparel and Textiles for them to exchange their concerns and aspirations about the means of working together to assure the success of a modernized human resource development program for the industry.The stakeholder symposium began with an introduction by Mahesh Amalean, Chairman of MAS Holdings, and a brief PowerPoint presentation sharing the results of his research and impression of the issues in previous discussions with the stakeholder group's members. Next, the two Sensei professional process facilitators formed the some 35 stakeholder participants into mixed groups at separate tables. Each group had an even mix of industry, education and government stakeholders. The facilitators explained the following group process; they were given a chart of the ten COAT organization requirements. The three models that were identified in this report as viable organizations for COAT were arrayed in a column matrix for the mixed groups to evaluate against the ten COAT organization requirements. They discussed the requirements and models together for an hour. The stakeholders were also instructed by the facilitators to come to a consensus in the group as to how they ranked the three alternative models as to the models' expected ability to perform each of the ten requirements. The facilitators explained that this was not a decision model, but a means of developing a group consensus about the models' relative strengths and weaknesses.Next, a spokesperson from each group reported their discussions and consensus results to the assembled participants. As each group presented their results, the facilitators tallied the ranking scores in a spreadsheet projected on the screen. The facilitators then led the group to form a working group called Human Resource Development to meet within a week to chart out the next steps to bring the development of COAT to the next level of institution building. They were then invited by the facilitators to a buffet and cocktails for a more social setting for exchanging their reactions, ideas, and concerns for the future COAT. The results of the symposium were the de facto origination of COAT where the stakeholders from the three areas of concern came to their first consensus to plan together.\nFindings: bridging the dysfunctional gaps: The symposium's temporary council proved a template to guide the three stakeholder groups to set up informal alternative informal associations to work together to create effective communication ties to provide a comprehensive, quality, and innovative resource for the nation's economy without setting up a formal Council of Apparel and Textiles. A public-private partnership was used for human resource development for Sri Lanka's college of the apparel and textile industry.Bridging dysfunctional realm gaps\nConclusions: Sri Lanka shows that there are many fruitful areas for partnering common interests between apparel and textile industry institutions, education, training, and innovation technology research institutions, and government ministries. Perhaps the most valuable contribution of this case study is to share how countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas, for example, can involve informal institutions of public and private partnerships-to-partnerships where the people involved in the prospective partnership can themselves work together to manage common interests by developing fruitful working relationships, whether they become permanent, informal, or temporary. In the case in Sri Lanka, the apparel and textile industry, the government, and academic intuitions, by bridging across gaps, natural or dysfunctional, discovered where many of their interests converged into finding several partnership processes to communicate more regularly with each other in order to coordinate the industry's human resource development needed in order to retain and grow the industry's share of the ever-changing global economy.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this organization research project was to focus on finding effective methods for the stakeholder group of private firms in the apparel and textile industry in Sri Lanka to work together as partners with government and academic institution stakeholder groups to raise the level of human resource development in education, training and technology innovation resources in the apparel and textile industry.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Organization development, action research and training methods were used to help the various groups examine their needs and issues, and the consultant's gap analysis was used to identify any dysfunctional barriers along three levels of realm, scale, and transform that formed a wicked problem situation that kept the stakeholder groups from organizing themselves to work together on the common cause.\nFindings: - The three stakeholder groups were able to make use of a variation of the public private partnership model in developing a virtual college of apparel and textiles.\nPractical implications: - The three stakeholder groups were able to use formal and creative informal forms of a partnership of partnerships approach by cross sharing of board members. Sri Lanka's apparel and textile industry was able to successfully upgrade its human resource development efforts to retain its strong position in the following years of global market change.\nOriginality/value: - Using organization development's wicked problem resolution methods can be useful in any country that needs to bring large diverse groups of public and private organizations together to work on common interests while assuring that their differing missions can be pursued effectively.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Electronic word-of-mouth generation and regulatory focus	[ "Regulatory focus", "SNSs", "EWOM motivations", "Platform assistance", "Review sites" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Word of mouth (WOM) has long been a vital area of research among practitioners and researchers for its significant effect on purchase behavior (Chong Lim and Chung, 2014; Dinh and Mai, 2016; Fu et al., 2015; Tercia and Teichert, 2016). It is a prevailing factor in the market and the perfect tool to study customer relations (Bendapudi and Berry, 1997). The internet and the subsequent popularity of customer opinion websites lead to the emergence of WOM in an electronic format, or electronic word of mouth (eWOM). eWOM is considered to be a more influential, prompt and convenient process than traditional word of mouth (tWOM) (Sun et al., 2006). However, the earlier form of eWOM lacked characteristics such as an interpersonal nature (De Matos and Rossi, 2008) and face-to-face conversation (Jeong and Jang, 2011), which make WOM influential. Anonymous reviews make it challenging for potential customers to determine informational credibility (Park and Lee, 2009) because such information may be generated by the merchant or another related entity (Jeong and Jang, 2011).\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses: The evolutionary nature of the internet has transformed tWOM into eWOM. Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004) defined eWOM as \"any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former customers about a product or company, which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the internet.\" eWOM communication can take place on various online media platforms, for example, blogs, online review sites, discussion platforms and SNSs (Goldsmith and Horowitz, 2006). It allows customers to exchange information rapidly and conveniently (Cheung and Lee, 2012).\n3. Research design: 3.1 Methodology\n4. Discussion and conclusion: This empirical study revealed the relative importance of various factors and their effects on customers' intention to spread eWOM. The outcomes significantly contribute to existing eWOM communication literature. The study found that self-enhancement and social benefits are positively associated with promotion focus and negatively associated with prevention focus. In contrast, vengeance and anxiety reduction are positively correlated with prevention focus and negatively associated with promotion focus. These results are consistent with the observations of previous studies, which proposed that customers with higher levels of self-enhancement tend to share positive eWOM (Chu et al., 2019; Gvili and Levy, 2018; Reimer and Benkenstein, 2016). Another motivation that persuades individuals to share their consumption experiences with others in online groups is social benefits (Gorman et al., 2012). However, customers with negative consumption experiences are generally motivated to prevent others from experiencing the same losses (Johnson and Chang, 2008), and tend to vent their negative feelings and lessen their anxiety by sharing their bad consumption experiences (Sundaram et al., 1998).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) motivations of regulatory-focused customers with positive and negative consumption experiences.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An online survey is conducted in Beijing and Shanghai. A random sampling technique is used to collect data from 854 respondents. Two scenarios of eWOM communication - positive and negative consumption experiences - are randomly assigned to each respondent. This study employs the structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis techniques. However, it uses ordinary least squares and logistic regression to analyze 137 participants in the experimental study.\nFindings: Promotion-focused customers that aim for self-enhancement and obtaining social benefits are motivated to spread positive eWOM on social networking sites. However, prevention-focused customers are driven by vengeance and anxiety, revealing higher intentions to post negative eWOM on review sites. eWOM generation is subject to gender, as promotion-focused male customers spread it more than both prevention-focused and promotion-focused female customers. Moreover, platform assistance (PA) has a significant positive impact upon regulatory-focused customers and eWOM (positive vs negative) relationships.\nPractical implications: This study provides a deeper understanding of motivational factors of eWOM communication. Specifically, in case of product or service failure, negative consumption experiences drive prevention-focused customers to generate negative eWOM. Thus, using various tactics, marketers need to shift customers from focusing on prevention to focusing on promotion. For example, redeemable free coupons can shift customer attention and generate positive eWOM.\nOriginality/value: This study provides unique insights about eWOM motivation across genders. It examines regulatory focus, positive vs negative consumption experiences and moderation of PA.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Benchmarking performance indicators for banks	[ "Benchmarking", "Performance measures", "Banks", "Financial reporting", "Australia" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: If the management of enterprises could conduct their own measurement or diagnosis of the enterprises at regular intervals, management most likely would gain a better understanding of how effectively they have used their resources. The result of this performance evaluation could serve as reference for them in their future allocation of resources for the enterprise. Benchmarking is undoubtedly a very important tool for enterprises and consultants for establishing their goals, developing methods for achieving the goals, and measuring system performance (Tapas, 1998). Therefore, effective benchmarking performance evaluation for enterprises could definitely contribute to effective management.Performance evaluation of financial institutions, particularly commercial banks, has received increased attention over the past several years (Seiford and Zhu, 1999). Also, most previous studies concerning bank performance evaluation focus merely on operational performance. Stock performance, however, which might directly influence the decision-making of investors, is usually ignored. As a result, this paper tries to construct a performance evaluation for Australia's three major banks with the stock performance taken into consideration.The evaluation of operational performance has always been a major concern for industries, governments and academe. Operational performance not only serves as a basis for organizational improvement and criteria for detecting problems in enterprises, but also as a policy determinant for governments in mapping out relevant measures. However, choosing a viable method for effective evaluation of performance is not an easy task. There is a substantial body of literature discussing different research methods applied to performance evaluation. These methods include:* multivariate statistical analysis (Huang, 1986; Fielding et al., 1985);* data envelopment analysis (Seiford and Zhu, 1999; Lin, 1998; Grosskopf and Valdmanis, 1987);* analytic hierarchy process (Lin, 2000; Shih, 2000);* fuzzy set theory (Shih, 2000; Tsai, 2000);* grey relation analysis (GRA) (Tsai, 2000);* balanced scorecard (Maisel, 1992); and* financial statement analysis (FSA) (Collins, 1980; Pantalone and Platt, 1987; Espahbodi, 1991).Some of the methods may have already been known to the public. Other methods were simply borrowed from the domain of industrial study and applied to commerce. Some are still in the embryonic stage.Each of the above seven methods can be independently applied to evaluating performance. However, no one of them is perfect. Researchers can only choose a method to evaluate performance that has the least amount of drawbacks for that study's particular situation. Therefore, a viable method for effective evaluation of performance is aimed at providing solutions for issues with multiple variables and targets. In studying Australia's major banks, financial data are often incomplete or unclear, and this paper, therefore, is bound by realistic limits, confining itself to a situation where the amount of data are small and its significance indefinite. Given these considerations, GRA may be the best method for this study, and will be used to retrieve ratios most commonly used in financial analysis to tackle the problems of sample size and distribution uncertainty. Furthermore, TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution) is used to conduct ranking on the subject of study in order to find the relative performance of the companies under scrutiny.The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Methodology: relation analysis section introduces GRA. The following section is an empirical study using the example of Australia's three major banks. The next section compares GRA results to the financial statement analysis. The conclusions and suggestions for future investigation are discussed in conclusion and future research section.\nMethodology: grey relation analysis: The purpose of using GRA\nEmpirical study: Data and sample\nComparing GRA to financial statement analysis results: In order to compare the results from using GRA, this paper used FSA to evaluate the performance of the three banks. Within the banks, 59 financial ratios were used to conduct a financial statement analysis. These financial ratios, as stated previously, include six dimensions: liquidity, asset utilization, leverage, profitability, growth and stock performance. The analysis and result of FSA are shown in Table I.From the result of FSA, the rankings of the three banks are the same as using GRA. This result indicates that GRA has been successfully used in retrieving the representative indicators. This result also indicates that GRA approach is better than FSA approach in the empirical study, because GRA has retrieved the representative ratios from original 59 ratios into 23 ratios. The reduced rate of performance indicators by using GRA is (59-23)/59=61.02 per cent [3]. Table V shows the difference and comparison between FSA and GRA.\nConclusions and future research: This paper introduced a new approach for performance evaluation, GRA. GRA is a concept borrowed from the study of industry and increasingly applied to commerce. This study also identified a ranking system that is applicable to the evaluation of performance with small sample size where the distribution of data is unknown. Finally, the study yielded expected results in an empirical study on three Australia's major banks. The conclusions are as follows:* To overcome the limitation of sample size and distribution type, GRA retrieved financial ratios that could represent the cluster to which they belonged. This could avoid the waste of resources due to the uncertainty of relations among the ratios when using them for analysis.* TOPSIS has been used for the ranking of the subject of the study. By considering the performance of the banks relative to each other, this method can assist bank managers in understanding the current situation of their companies, so that they can plan action for improving performance.* Comparing the GRA results with FSA, the result indicates that GRA approach is better than FSA approach in the empirical study, because GRA has retrieved the representative ratios from original 59 ratios into 23 ratios. The reduced rate of performance indicators by using GRA is (59-23)/59=61.02 per cent.The major contribution of this paper is the use of GRA methodology to retrieve ratios most commonly used in financial analysis to tackle the problems of sample size and distribution uncertainty. This could avoid the waste of resources due to the uncertainty of relations among the ratios when using them for analysis. From the empirical study done in this paper, the result indicates that GRA approach is better than FSA approach, because GRA has retrieved the representative ratios from original 59 ratios into 23 ratios.When the results of GRA are compared with those of FSA, the same outcome findings emerge. Having the same result is interesting and meaningful, particularly with respect to the reduced rate of performance indicators by using GRA. GRA has retrieved the representative ratios from original 59 ratios into 23 ratios. As Table III shows, 59 ratios can be divided into 23 clusters and can be seen that any one of the six categories of indicators can be replaced by another or can stand independent of another. Future research could continue to explore or discuss the relationship between these indicators. For example, within A-III cluster, A5, A7 and A10 (as Table III shows) are represented by A10 in the empirical study. If so, is A10 strictly speaking providing us with the same information as A5, A7 and A10? In other words, there are some ratios are redundant within A-III cluster. If so, it would be a meaningful task to find these ratios out in the future.This paper conducted a review of literature and five-power analysis to aggregate financial ratios appropriate for the analysis. This method may result in incompleteness in the aggregation of ratios, and requires adjustment when other issues for analysis are involved. Future research could set up a specific model for the preliminary selection of financial ratios with a new to make studies of this kind more complete.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The aim of this paper is to construct a performance evaluation of banks with the stock market taken into consideration.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Grey relation analysis (GRA), a concept borrowed from the study of industry and increasingly applied to commerce, is used to evaluate the relative performance of three major banks in Australia. The purpose of using GRA is to reduce the number of financial indicators by selecting representative indicators from financial statement analysis.\nFindings: - Benchmarking performance indicators are essentially finding the representative indicator from the existing ratios most commonly used in financial analysis to assess business operational performance. The paper compares the GRA results from the financial statement analyses and shows the same result can be obtained.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This paper conducted a review of literature and five-power analysis to aggregate financial ratios appropriate for the analysis. This method may result in incompleteness in the aggregation of ratios, and requires adjustment when other issues for analysis are involved. Future research could set up a specific model for the preliminary selection of financial ratios with a new to make studies of this kind more complete.\nOriginality/value: - This paper introduced a new approach for performance evaluation - GRA. The major contribution of this paper is the use of GRA methodology to retrieve ratios most commonly used in financial analysis to tackle the problems of sample size and distribution uncertainty. This could avoid the waste of resources due to the uncertainty of relations among the ratios when using them for analysis.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Balanced Scorecard - a strategic management system of the higher education institution	[ "Indicators", "Measures", "Balanced Scorecard", "Projects", "Parameters", "Academic Scorecard", "Perspectives" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Balanced Scorecard is a strategic management system that translates a higher education institution's mission and strategy into a comprehensive set of performance measures that provides a framework for a strategic measurement and management system (Kaplan and Norton, 1996, p. 10). Proving its efficiency in business Balanced Scorecard is used in a process of strategic management of higher education institutions. In light of the current and future expectation, higher education organizations require examples of successful implementation and adaptation of management strategies that address the need to become more productive, accountable and efficient. The Balanced Scorecard, which utilizes measures beyond financial performance, is a tool that can assist higher education organizations to become more efficient and accountable (Rollings, 2011).\nThe results of the research: Way of presenting the Balanced Scorecard of the higher education institution\nConclusions: The results show that Balanced Scorecard provides a systemic view on the strategy of higher education institution. It ensures a full complex framework for implementation and controlling of the strategy and sets a basis for further learning in the process of the strategic management of the higher education institution according to the scheme \"plan-do-check-act\".\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on the comparative analysis of the Balanced Scorecards of four higher education institutions and aims to define the general framework of the Balanced Scorecard for the higher education institution which concerns: the structure and elements of the Balanced Scorecard; development of the Balanced Scorecards on the different levels of the management system of the higher education institution; definition of the main functions of the Balanced Scorecard which it performs in the process of the strategic management of the German higher education institutions. Balanced Scorecard is analyzed as a strategic management system that translates a higher education institution's strategy into a comprehensive set of performance measures that provides a framework for a strategic measurement and management system.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The comparative content analysis of the Balanced Scorecards of one Austrian and three German higher education institutions - Johanes Gutenberg University Mainz, Munster University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule Munster), Cologne University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule Koln), Montan University Leoben.\nFindings: Using a comparative analysis of the Balanced Scorecards of four higher education institutions this paper argues that Balanced Scorecard provides a systemic view of the strategy of a higher education institution. It ensures a full complex framework for implementation and controlling of the strategy and sets a basis for further learning in the process of the strategic management of the higher education institution according to the scheme \"plan-do-check-act\".\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper provides a basis for the substantial further work on the development of the general framework of the Balanced Scorecard for the higher education institution.\nPractical implications: The framework presented in this paper can be used as the basis for the development of general framework of the Balanced Scorecard of the higher education institution.\nSocial implications: The framework presented in this paper can be used as the basis for the development of general framework of the Balanced Scorecard of the higher education institution.\nOriginality/value: This paper indicates the particularities of the structure and elements of the Balanced Scorecard, its development in the different levels of the management system of the higher education institution.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The provision of delivery information online: a missed opportunity	[ "Internet shopping", "Electronic commerce", "Delivery", "United Kingdom", "Czech Republic", "Hungary" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Retailing today involves selling not only in stores, but also through the web and other non-store electronic channels, termed e-services or e-retailing (Mathwick et al., 2002). According to Forrester (2004), more than 60 million Europeans shopped online in mid-2004, an increase of 50 per cent from early 2003. The Internet Media Research Group (IMRG, 2005) more recently reported that in the UK alone, consumers purchased PS1.5 billion worth of goods on the internet in May 2005, 36 per cent more than they did in 2004. Although these statistics present a positive picture of B2C online retailing in Europe, industry analysts warn that dissatisfaction with delivery services is costing the online retailing industry a significant loss of orders (IMRG, 2005). In essence, home delivery remains the Achilles' heel of online retailing.Earlier researchers have highlighted the impact of delivery and fulfilment on customer evaluations of service quality, service satisfaction and purchase intent in traditional retailing (Douglas et al., 1998) but these studies neglect empirical investigation with respect to online retailing. To fill this need, industry analysts have identified that online shoppers have many questions about the delivery costs, shipping, returns and privacy of online purchases (Forrester, 2005). Despite this apparent concern on the part of consumers for matters relating to delivery, consumers online often have to settle for a \"take it or leave it\" approach to delivery services. This is evinced by a review of five major US online retailers in which none of the retailers were able to answer all the questions posed online about delivery (Forrester, 2005). Another industry review of 100 prominent UK retailing sites revealed that: 80 per cent did not make it possible for the customer to specify delivery instructions; 46 per cent offered no delivery time options; 75 per cent did not let customers choose a delivery date or offer Saturday delivery; 26 per cent made the customer register or log-in before delivery costs were shown; and 54 per cent did not make it clear if a signature would be required at point of delivery (IMRG, 2005). All these accounts of vague delivery times, uncertain delivery costs and sketchy delivery information appear to be deterring millions from shopping online and inhibiting future repeat purchase activity.This paper provides a brief review of consumer trust and uncertainty in online retailing and the importance of information, specifically delivery information for building consumer trust online. Following this review, an empirical study of consumers and web retailers from Western and Central Europe is presented, examining the importance consumers ascribe to the provision of delivery information and the extent to which online retailers make this delivery information accessible to consumers prior to purchase.\nLiterature review: Despite growth in the penetration of the internet in households throughout Europe, and recent growth in B2C e-commerce, there are elements in online retailing that could occasion feelings of uncertainty amongst consumers and impact on consumer perceptions of service satisfaction, trust and perceived risk. These factors, in turn, could influence future customer purchase intentions, loyalty and word-of-mouth communications. It is crucial, therefore, to understand what creates a satisfying and quality customer service experience online (Szymanski and Hise, 2000; Srinivasan et al., 2002; Pavlou, 2003). Here we focus on consumer perceptions of trust in online retailing. Previous research shows that trust directly or indirectly influences e-retailing adoption (Lee and Turban, 2001; Palmer et al., 2000); online purchase intentions (Grazioli and Jarvenpaa, 2000); repeat transactions (Jarvenpaa et al., 2000); web site traffic and visits (Pan et al., 2002); perceived service quality as well as loyalty and satisfaction (Gefen, 2002; Gummerus et al., 2004; Ribbink et al., 2004).Perceived risk is a basic tenant of trust, if there was little risk and complete certainty of transaction performance online, trust would not be needed. Uncertainty in online purchasing may be driven by:* defects in the system (i.e. system dependent uncertainty); and* actions of the parties (e.g. retailers) involved in the exchange (i.e. transaction specific uncertainty) (Lee and Turban, 2001; Bart et al., 2005).There is much research that discusses the role of security and privacy on determining trust in e-retailing, as a result of system performance (Bhimani, 1996; Benassi, 1999; Warrington et al., 2000; Yousafzai et al., 2003). This research shows that retailers can have a substantial influence on reducing system-based uncertainty by ensuring that the electronic infrastructure performs as consumers expect (e.g. through encrypted transactions, installing firewalls, utilizing authentication mechanisms, etc.). However, Bart et al. (2005) specify that online retailers need to go beyond privacy and security as influential drivers of trust and especially trustworthiness of an online retailer. The following have been identified as antecedents of retailer trust: virtual advisors, unbiased information, keeping promises and reliable order fulfilment (Urban et al., 2000); web site appearance, recognition of company, extended warranties (Warrington et al., 2000); site reputation, information (Zeithaml et al., 2000); and structural assurance, site reputation and quality (McKnight and Chervany, 2002). Of particular interest here are the findings of Urban et al. (2000) who identified that the quantity, quality and timeliness of information provided to consumers online can enhance trust in an online vendor.In an offline service context, it has been found that consumers will seek out information to reduce the risk probability of purchase (Murray, 1991) and that making informed decisions can increase the probability of purchase satisfaction (Glazer, 1991). In an online context, the findings are not that much different. Access to product information online results in consumers making better quality decisions (Cook and Coupey, 1998) and significantly influences consumers' e-satisfaction (Szymanski and Hise, 2000; Ballantine, 2005). Industry analysts further advise that to build trust, e-commerce sites need to provide answers and information to the specific questions shoppers have at each step in the buying process (Forrester, 2005). This is supported by Ha (2004), who in the context of online book retailers, found that retailer trustworthiness (i.e. brand trust) was significantly influenced by the quality of the information offered by the retailer's web site. Of interest to this study is the importance and accessibility of delivery information on retailing sites.With respect to offline purchasing, where home delivery is required, timely and accurate order and delivery information are viewed by consumers as essential part of customer service (Bowersox and Closs, 1996). With specific reference to online retailing, fears associated with delivery fulfilment rank fairly high in a list of dimensions of online purchase risk (Cases, 2002). Through the provision of delivery information, online retailers may mitigate the perceived risk of shopping online and delivery in particular (Burt and Sparkes, 2003). This position is supported by the recent work of Bart et al. (2005) who identified that for purchase-orientated sites (e.g. travel and e-retailers), from a list of 12 site characteristics, the most influential on online trust was order fulfilment and privacy. However, despite its importance, little research has been undertaken to examine the specific types of pre-purchase delivery information that consumers rank as important and also, the delivery information that online retailers are providing.The aim of this study is to explore the importance and accessibility of delivery information online and specifically examine:* The importance consumers ascribe to differing types of pre-purchase delivery information provided online.* The types of pre-purchase delivery information web retailers currently make accessible to consumers online.\nMethod: As electronic retailing becomes more international throughout Europe and as countries in Central Europe engage in increased trade with Western Europe, there is a growing need to profile European online retailing activities and national market expectations. Of interest to this study is the Western European country of the UK (Britain) and the Central European countries of Hungary and the Czech Republic. These countries were selected because of economic (EB, 2005) and cultural differences (Kolman et al., 2003; Tse et al., 2004), and differing rates of national internet penetration and e-commerce adoption (Table I).Consumer survey\nResults: Importance of delivery information online\nConclusion: Delivery service is a vital component of customer service as customer expectations relate to both the goods delivered and the delivery service received. Nowhere is this more evident than online. For customers on the web, expectations of reliable product delivery are key and delivery information available prior-to-purchase strengthens customer service confidence and perceived retailer trustworthiness. The provision of delivery information through retailing web sites is one way by which online retailers can help to manage consumer delivery expectations and build trust before purchase even occurs. However, e-retailers in Western and Central Europe not only significantly differ in the delivery information they provide to consumers, but consumers in these countries differ in the delivery information they perceive as important. Common to all three countries is the fact that online retailers are failing to match consumer expectations concerning the delivery information that should be available online.In this study, the results indicate that consumers rank delivery pricing guides, delivery guarantees and delivery schedules as the three most important types of delivery information they expect to have access to online. However, what is surprising is that very few online retailers, especially in the UK and the Czech Republic, provide consumers with the necessary information about how they guarantee product delivery. Online retailers in Hungary, provide consumers far more with the delivery information they expect to aid the buying process. Consumers expect their goods to be delivered wherever they are, whenever they need it. However, the uncertainty of online shopping is a major inhibitor of e-retailing adoption. Delivery service guarantees - a written assurance that the products purchased will be delivered according to that specified by the retailer and the responsibility assumed by the retailer if problems in delivery occur - may be one way to increase consumer confidence in online shopping. Previous research suggests that a service guarantee is a helpful positive cue that may enhance the certainty that a service will perform as expected (Boshoff, 2003), especially in situations with greater service heterogeneity and risk (Boshoff, 2003; Ostrom and Iacobucci, 1998). However, it should be noted, that research also suggests that the effectiveness of a guarantee in reducing uncertainty is co-dependent on characteristics of the product, the consumer and conditions of the offer (Heiman et al., 2001). Since, factors relating to delivery from retailers online are perceived to be high risk (Cases, 2002), and consumers in this study from both Western and Central Europe rate delivery information as \"very important\" prior to purchase, online retailers need to go beyond consumer perceptions of privacy and security and also focus on consumer expectations of delivery information as influential drivers of retailer trustworthiness - reducing the transactional uncertainty of purchasing online.This study brings to the forefront further questions for investigation about the role of web sites in the provision of delivery information as a means to manage consumer expectations and satisfaction with online retailing. Future research might focus on the role of order and delivery information as a dimension of e-retailing service quality; a more in-depth study might examine one category of online retailers (e.g. bookstores) and a matched sample of customers to further explore the types of delivery information relating to e-trust, purchase intent and e-loyalty. It also raises questions about the temporal effect of e-retailing quality and satisfaction and the stage at which it is measured in the purchase process (i.e. prior to purchase or at point of delivery).However, every study is not without its limitations. In the study reported here, a student sample was used which may not be representative of the general population of online shoppers in the UK, Czech Republic and Hungary. Thus, the results presented may be limited in generalisability. Further research should apply the research questions investigated here to a more representative sample of the online user population. Secondly, site selection for the CA was limited to retailers with prominent site listing on leading web search tools, and thus might not be representative of the information provision activities of the retailing industries in each respective country. In future research, use of independent traffic rankings, like that provided by Alexa Internet services (www.alexa.com), might result in a more accurate snapshot of web site activity. Thirdly, the samples collected were in the UK, the Czech Republic and Hungary and thus generalisability to other countries may be limited.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to investigate Western and Central European consumers and web retailers with respect to the importance and accessibility of delivery information online prior to purchase.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - To investigate the importance and accessibility of delivery information online, a survey was conducted of 715 internet consumers from the UK, Hungary and the Czech Republic to explore how important they rate online delivery information. In addition to this, retailing web sites from leading retailers in the UK, Hungary and the Czech Republic were content analysed in order to establish the extent to which they provided online delivery information.\nFindings: - The research identifies that consumers rate delivery pricing guides, delivery guarantees and delivery schedules as the most important delivery information they expect online prior to purchase. However, content analysis of retailer web sites reveals that many retailers do not adequately provide information about how they \"guarantee product delivery\".\nPractical implications: - It is recommended here that prior to purchase online retailers should make detailed delivery information more accessible to consumers (e.g. pricing guides, timing schedules, etc.) and should consider using delivery service guarantees to assure consumers of delivery service standards and retailer responsibilities.\nOriginality/value: - This paper makes a decisive contribution to e-shopping behaviour and online retailing by providing insight into why visits to retailing web sites may not be followed up by purchase. This insight results from an examination of an often neglected area of the online buying process, namely \"order delivery and fulfilment\". By examining the expectations of e-consumers across Europe it investigates the role access to delivery information can have in managing customer delivery service expectations and in building trust in online retailers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Celebrating our diversity: creating an inclusive climate in a US university	[ "Equal opportunities", "Higher education", "Universites", "Social inclusion", "Change management", "United States of America" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Diversity. Whatever its source - age or gender or race, religious convictions or economic class or national origin - it is both delight and challenge. With respect for individuals and readiness to learn, such diversity can enrich students' educational experience inside and outside the classroom, on and beyond the campus. This is diversity's inviting but not inevitable potential. It is the invitation Saint Xavier University has accepted, a potential it hopes to realize. Sister Joy Clough RSM. (Clough, 1997, p. 309)Saint Xavier is a Catholic university sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Located in Chicago, Illinois, in the USA, the university serves a diverse population of over 5,700 students and offers 38 undergraduate degree programmes and over 30 graduate degree programmes options. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1846 and chartered in 1847 as Saint Frances Xavier Academy for Females, Saint Xavier (SXU) inaugurated college classes in 1915, became co-educational in 1969 and gained the status of a university in 1992. From the time, Saint Xavier began offering college courses in 1915 until the late 1960's it served mostly White Catholic females. Despite large non-White populations living in close proximity to Saint Xavier, attracting non-White students was somewhat challenging, as the campus was located in a predominantly White area that was particularly hostile to Black/African-American students. In 1972-1973, the non-White student population at Saint Xavier was 10 per cent; in 1990, it was 12 per cent; and in 1996 it was 19.5 per cent. In 2007, the US News and World Report recognized SXU as one of the most diverse campuses in the Midwest region of the USA. At the time, the student body consisted of 17 per cent Black/African American students, 12 per cent Latino/Hispanic; and 2 per cent Asian.Given our diverse student body, the university leadership acknowledged the importance of taking a focused approach towards becoming a campus that values and celebrates diversity and inclusion, and formally began the journey in 2005. This article provides an overview of the multicultural organizational development model (MCOD; Jackson and Hardiman, 1994), discusses its application at SXU and the findings related to the climate on campus. In addition, as members of the change team, we provide our reflections on the experience including barriers encountered and recommendations for institutions who chose to implement a formal process for developing a more inclusive and equitable community.\nMulticultural organizational development model: The MCOD developed by Jackson and Hardiman (1994) was utilized in executing this change effort. MCOD is a long-term complex organizational change process that aims at reducing oppression that exists in institutions through a fundamental transformation of the culture (Jackson and Holvino, 1988; Gutierrez and Nagda, 1996). Jackson (2005) describes a multicultural organization as a \"system that seeks to improve itself and enhance its ability to reach its mission by advocating and practicing social justice and social diversity\" (p. 9). Social justice focuses on the elimination of racism, sexism, etc. present within the organization. Social diversity concentrates on building a culture that is inclusive of people from various identity groups (Jackson, 2005). At SXU, the MCOD model was selected as a means for supporting our goal of becoming a campus that values and celebrates diversity and inclusion for three reasons.(1) It represents a developmental approach with a process which provides for ongoing continuous improvement and a self-renewing approach.(2) It had garnered the trust of key people in the institution who attended the National Conference for Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education.(3) The MCOD model has been utilized in higher educational settings, and represents a set of practices for change agents working with organizations seeking to create a multicultural inclusive environment. The following describes each element of the process and how these were operationalized on this campus.The multicultural organizational development goal\nFindings and results of assessment: The results of the survey data were organized by the four social identity groups: race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation. The survey was designed to map each question onto one of the six MCOD developmental stages. Based on a scale 0-4, with 4 being most like the campus, the results tabulated reflect how the campus is viewed on each stage. The findings indicate that as it relates to race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation, the respondents for all three groups (faculty, staff, and students) feel that the campus is only slightly like an exclusionary campus, as the average scores ranged from 0.19 to 0.44. On the other end of the continuum, where we would like the scores to be the highest, the three groups of respondents feel that the campus is somewhat like the multicultural campus for all four social identity groups as the average scores ranged from 1.80 to 2.71. The student group, which is the most diverse, assessed the campus as the highest in the multicultural stage, however, they also view the campus as more exclusionary, more of a Club culture and compliance focused than faculty and staff. Additionally, while female students' assessments are almost identical to their male counterparts; female staff view the campus as slightly more multicultural than male staff; and female faculty perceive the campus as less multicultural than male faculty. With respect to race, the results for all three groups indicated that White/Caucasian faculty, students and staff, feel that the campus is less exclusionary and more multicultural than people of color. The results for religion indicate that participants who identified themselves as Catholic, felt the university was more multicultural than did non-Catholic Christians or those with other religious affiliations. The participants with other religious affiliations in both faculty and staff groups have much lower perceptions of being a multicultural climate than Catholics and non-Catholic Christians. With regards to sexual orientation, heterosexual faculty feels more positive about the campus climate in all six stages. Similarly, heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual students assessed the campus low on being hostile or exclusionary; however, homosexual and bisexual students do not view the campus as multicultural. Staff responses indicate that homosexual and bisexual staff members view the campus as both more exclusionary and slightly more multicultural than heterosexual staff[1].All groups suggested that the university is trending in a positive direction in that the lowest scores were in the exclusionary hostile stage and the highest in the multicultural stage. These findings provide the baseline from which to begin shifting towards the strategic directions of the university. This requires taking action that will contribute towards lowering the scores on the first three stages: exclusive, club and compliance, and increasing the scores on affirming, redefining, and multicultural.The information from the open ended questions provided additional insight into the perceptions of the campus climate. Student organizations were the only units identified by all three groups as both promoting diversity, and needing to become more supportive of diversity and social justice. Of the 86 staff, 33 faculty, and 141 students who answered these questions, 54, 60, and 50 per cent, respectively, reported that they have had or witnessed a negative experience related to race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.The overall findings from the campus assessment provided information demonstrating that a gap exists between where the university aspires to be as a diverse and inclusive campus and the stage it is currently in with respect to each social identity area. While these findings were generally not surprising, they provided greater insight as to our inclusive culture. They helped to challenge some of the thinking on campus and helped raise awareness that there are different views held by those who are not in the majority. In one meeting on campus, some people in the majority were quite surprised that the views of minority groups were different and not as positive as they would have expected. These findings are consistent with prior research that has found different views held by majority and minority group members. For example, Kossek and Zonia (1993) found that White men believed that women and racioethnic minorities had an equal or better chance of receiving support from their institutions, while racioethnic minorities felt they did not. In addition, White women reported that there was equal support for racioethnic minorities, while racioethnic minority women did not feel the same. Our results forced us to ask ourselves what was occurring on our campus that was not fostering the climate we wanted to work, learn, or live in.Upon completion of the assessment phase, several forums were held to present feedback to the campus community, including a university-wide open session as well as meetings with individual units. These sessions were intended to inform, raise awareness of issues and provide a basis for planning. Each unit was challenged with examining the data as well as developing change plans required for moving the unit towards the goal of becoming multicultural and inclusive.A structured approach for developing the change plans was provided to guide the process. This format required a review of the unit demographics and assessment results, identifying areas to celebrate; issues and challenges; outlining diversity goals to be accomplished with a two year timeframe; metrics to measure the degree to which each goal is accomplished; and the resources required to accomplish the goals. The leadership team presented the change plans approximately 22 months after the inception of the change process. The expectation was that the institution would begin implementation of the change plans, subsequently reassess and renew its diversity commitment, develop the next set of change plans, and implement them. With each cycle completion, the MCOD process becomes internalized within the organization and its culture.\nReflections of the diversity action team: Obstacles and challenges: viewpoint and recommendations\nWhere are we now: From the action plans that were presented and approved by the leadership team, three common themes were identified and endorsed as institutional priorities. These include:* recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff, a review of hiring policies and procedures, and development of diverse applicant pools;* diversity training and development including awareness and skill building; and* student learning and development including integrating diversity into the curriculum and pedagogical strategies.As a result, specific efforts that have and continue to take place at Saint Xavier reflect progress on all three themes. We have sponsored campus-wide training on diversity for creating an inclusive and welcoming environment. The four schools within the university have held workshops and implemented plans for more inclusive promotion of positions and expansion of applicant pools. Both the number of female and minority candidates from underrepresented groups recruited and selected demonstrate improvement over prior years. In terms of curricular and pedagogical development, all undergraduate students are required to take at least two courses related to diversity. These actions were encouraged and enhanced by the formal diversity effort. Each year all units submit a report to update their progress towards the objectives outlined in the action plans.\nConclusions: There are many institutions that will choose to go beyond what is required for compliance by engaging in a systematic process towards becoming multicultural and inclusive. It is almost guaranteed that each will face unexpected challenges. We believe that if the leadership and change teams are well prepared and can anticipate challenges, then responding to these challenges will be more manageable and result in positive interventions and resolutions early in the process. Organizational change strategists have spent decades studying organizational change and why transformations fail. From our experience, we recognize that having a more thorough understanding of the change process would have allowed us to more effectively execute the process, to have been better prepared to influence change, and to have had a more positive experience as members of the change team. We encourage members of institutions who begin their diversity change effort to thoroughly prepare, pre-plan and pre-assess. It is critical to communicate the vision, involve members across the institution, provide transparency of resources available, and train and develop the leadership team, change team members, and the community. Additionally, it is important to map out the timeline in order to stay on track, promote and celebrate the work of the change team, define the role of leadership and the change team; reward and recognize the change agent team; track, acknowledge and celebrate all wins immediately.In 2008, DiversityInc. conducted a survey of colleges and universities in the USA regarding their diversity management practices. Out of over 600 institutions, only 15 participated and five were recognized for their high-level commitment to diversity. According to Frankel (2008), many stated that they \"either didn't have the data or felt that their answers were so paltry that they could not enter them\" (p. 71). We believe that to a degree, this reflects that status of formal diversity and inclusion programmes in institutions of higher education. It is our hope that this article provides an approachable data-driven, evidence-based process that colleges and universities will consider in order to implement and measure their diversity focused efforts.\nNote: 1. Details on subgroup differences are available upon request.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to provide insight and reflections on the experience of initiating a diversity effort from the perspective of members of a university change team. The process, challenges, and recommendations for institutions that may embark on a formal initiative towards becoming a more inclusive and equitable community are discussed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The multicultural organizational development (MCOD) model is operationalized at this university. MCOD is a long-term, complex, organizational change process that aims at reducing oppression that exists in institutions through a fundamental transformation of the culture.\nFindings: - Based on the findings of the assessment, the results indicate that the university climate is trending in a positive direction. However, a gap exists between where the university aspires to be, as a multicultural campus, and the stage it is currently in with respect to four social identity areas: race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation.\nPractical implications: - Recommendations for helping with a successful implementation of an organizational change initiative and assisting institutions to navigate through the process more effectively are provided.\nSocial implications: - This paper provides an approachable, data-driven, evidence-based process for colleges and universities to consider to implement and measure their diversity efforts.\nOriginality/value: - This paper draws from the unique experience of members of a change team and the utilization of the MCOD model in a faith-based university setting, and highlights the process and the challenges that many institutions still face while implementing a diversity change effort.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Innovation through tradition in design-intensive family firms	[ "Design", "Innovation", "Family firms", "Open innovation", "Innovation through tradition" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Design is acknowledged as a strategic source of competitive advantage (Capaldo, 2007). As such, academic research has increasingly looked into the interplay between design and innovation strategies (Brown, 2008; Verganti, 2009), and how such interplay can be managed to produce enduring competitive advantage (Magistretti and Dell'Era, 2019). Moreover, scholars have outlined that design can help companies envision innovative scenarios and new products (Ravasi and Lojacono, 2005), and may also offer the unique opportunity to link novel solutions and approaches with historical artifacts, hence, strengthening the company's identity (Karjalainen and Snelders, 2010).\n2. Theoretical background: In the following, we first summarize the main contributions regarding product design and identity. Then, we explore the literature on tradition and its relationship with innovation in knowledge management.\n3. Research methodology: 3.1 Conceptual framework\n4. Empirical results: Several events over the history of a company can challenge its identity. Even if tradition can be conceived as a cumulative asset that can be exploited over the firm's history, the growth of this cumulative asset can be \"interrupted\" by pivotal events (such as succession, changes in ownership, brand repositioning, paradigm shifts in the industry and so on) that may make tradition more or less \"exploitable\" to renew its identity. To investigate how the product strategy based on the use of knowledge from the past can change over time, we identified specific pivotal changes in ownership that challenged the identity. In particular, as reported in the literature, when the focus is on family firms, one of the most significant changes is generational succession and change in ownership control from a family to a fund (De Massis et al., 2008; Magistretti et al., 2019). Moreover, these changes affect innovation and especially the creation of the cumulative asset that is tradition (De Massis et al., 2016a). Thus, the two changes considered are: control, indicating the entity that financially owns the firm, which may be the family or a fund; generation, indicating the generation of the family that manages the firm.\n5. Discussion and conclusions: As previously mentioned, our research is grounded in the innovation management field, particularly in the stream that considers design as the main driver of innovation, offering, however, a number of implications into the knowledge management field. Indeed, our intention was to explore how traditional and old knowledge participates in new product development, hence, contributing to explain the strategic role played by knowledge maturity (Kruger and Johnson, 2010; Capaldo et al., 2017; Marques et al., 2019). We focused on a specific type of firm (family business), as these are the most likely to value tradition in the innovation process. We observed that these firms alternated phases of family and non-family control. However, how family firms manage innovation through tradition has scarcely been investigated or how different ownership profiles influence this process. We analyzed design-intensive firms where design is not a complementary element but the focus of their activities.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Several studies show that identity is a critical success factor in design-intensive industries, leading managers and executives to identify solutions that enable firms to simultaneously innovate while preserving their link with the past. Accordingly, scholars have recently revealed the role of the so-called innovation through tradition strategy. Thus, the purpose of this study/paper is to understand how design intensive firms may exploit knowledge pertaining to the past.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research contributes to this line of inquiry by conducting a longitudinal analysis of two leading Italian design-intensive firms, B&B Italia and Cassina S.p.A. Specifically, through almost 30 h of interviews with 11 key informants and the analysis of various secondary sources, a unique database of over 900 products covering the period of 1960-2016 was developed.\nFindings: The findings reveal that both firms leverage knowledge from the past mainly to preserve firm identity, as indicated by the two indicators used to capture the use of knowledge pertaining to the past (i.e., design tradition intensity and design tradition depth). In addition, the study shows that the values of these indicators significantly increase when ownership control shifts from family-based to fund-based.\nOriginality/value: The paper looks at design artifacts as a source of knowledge, exploring how they can support firms in reinforcing their identity. The original contribution to the design through traditional literature is in unveiling the product signs dimension of this particular innovation strategy.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Survey concerning electronic textbooks: Assessing student behavior and environmental considerations	[ "Survey", "Electronic books", "Ecological footprint", "Student technology", "Textbooks" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Context for the research: 1.1 The changing textbook market\n2 Assessing textbook use at MSU - survey methodology: Modern students have many options when it comes to purchasing textbooks, and the freshmen (less than 30 credits completed) and juniors (60-90 credits) of MSU were surveyed to better determine student awareness and usage of different textbook options. 12,490 students were sent a link to an online questionnaire by e-mail - 6,112 freshmen and 6,378 juniors. These students represented 88.8 percent of MSU's 6,880 total freshmen and 74.2 percent of MSU's 8,597 total juniors enrolled in the spring of 2010. Logistics, the availability of registrar data, and a desire to sample relatively equal numbers of freshmen and juniors determined the number of students sent e-mail surveys. The survey was sent out just after the 2010 spring semester ended, and responses were collected throughout the summer period. The survey relied upon voluntary participation without a reward. The results section of this paper describes both the survey questions and the responses.\n3 Survey results: 3.1 Survey results: student textbook shopping\n4 Discussion of findings: 4.1 Print textbook market status quo and implications\n5 Conclusion: e-textbooks, textbook market change and environmental considerations: The only e-device used by most surveyed students was the laptop and, as e-textbooks were not popular, the results suggest that other e-devices must become commonplace for e-textbook market success. Two notable new e-device releases at the time of writing were the Apple iPad Mini and the Microsoft Windows 8 e-device operating platform. If these or other upcoming e-devices increase e-textbook popularity, universities must ensure that students are fully aware of how to maximize the environmental benefits of e-textbooks by minimizing unnecessary e-waste. The results suggest that if e-devices or e-textbooks become popular on the university campus, change will be rapid and remarkably widespread throughout all majors and years-of-study.\nAcknowledgements: Project support was provided by the MSU Office of the Vice President for Finance and Operations through the Environmental Stewardship Initiative, with particular thanks going to former MSU Assistant VPFO Kathryn Lindahl and Assistant Director for Campus Sustainability Jennifer Battle. Any opinions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor. Jill Hardy at the MSU Institute for Public Policy and Survey Research arranged the technical aspects of the e-mail survey. Alex Blehm assisted with monitoring developments in the e-device market and assessing e-device potential, and providing technical edits on the article manuscript. Marc Allen helped to draft the survey tool, and Masaki Takahashi aided with comment analysis. Director Gabriel Dotto of the MSU Press provided invaluable advice regarding the textbook industry.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: A survey of students in different undergraduate majors and years asked where they bought their textbooks, the types of electronic devices they used, and their post-class use of textbook material. The research goal was to determine the groups of students likely most receptive to e-textbooks and to assess the potential environmental benefits of e-textbook adoption. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The student population of freshmen and juniors registered at Michigan State University were surveyed via e-mail/online in summer 2010. 477 freshmen (7.8 percent of surveyed) and 652 juniors (10.2 percent of surveyed) responded. Responses were grouped together into seven categories by student major.\nFindings: Surveyed students used far more print textbooks than e-textbooks. Laptops were the dominant student device and their future promise for e-textbook use is limited. The higher-than-expected rate of e-waste generation by students indicates that the environmental benefits of e-textbook adoption may be limited without improvements in e-waste management. However, results suggest that students from all majors and years were willing to experiment with different textbook vendors, so if functionality and cost incentives are improved, e-textbook adoption will likely be a widespread campus phenomenon.\nOriginality/value: Research on e-textbooks often focuses on educational value or student preference; this research instead provides results assessing whether current e-device use on campus will support e-textbooks and whether adopting e-textbooks will have an environmental benefit over print textbooks. The study also reveals that many students learn to adapt their purchasing behavior with experience, and that this trend is widespread throughout all majors.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A case study of the successful implementation of workload control : A practitioner-led approach	[ "Make-to-order", "Implementation", "Case study", "Workload control" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Workload control (WLC) is a Production Planning and Control (PPC) concept primarily developed for high-variety, low-volume products produced on a make-to-order (MTO) basis. It has been identified as the leading PPC concept for MTO companies, and as being particularly appropriate for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited financial resources (Stevenson et al., 2005; Land and Gaalman, 2009). A core feature of WLC is the use of a pre-shop pool, which decouples order entry from order release. Jobs are held back in a pre-shop pool and the input of work to the shop floor is regulated in accordance with workload limits or norms. In addition to order release, the most comprehensive WLC approaches also incorporate control at the customer enquiry stage to stabilise the level of work-in-process (WIP) and regulate lead times, enabling competitive prices and due dates to be quoted (Thurer et al., 2014).\n2. Literature review: empirical WLC literature: Before describing the focal case study in detail, we will first provide a brief review of the most relevant prior WLC studies - the empirical research on WLC. Some empirical research on WLC reports successful cases of implementation in practice, considering both the customer enquiry and the order release stage of the WLC methodology. Key examples are the papers by Wiendahl et al. and Bechte (1988), where the before and after situation is presented and improvements in performance measures like lead times and WIP are discussed. In other cases - like Hendry et al. (1993) - the results of implementation are less conclusive. Nevertheless, such papers contribute to the body of knowledge by highlighting practical problems and barriers to successful implementation. There are also examples of implementations of only one of the WLC stages, like Fry and Smith (1987) where only the order release stage was implemented. On the other hand, Park et al. (1999) and Riezebos et al. (2003) outline implementation cases of the customer enquiry stage only, maintaining the order release policy already used in the company, thus presenting a hybrid PPC system.\n3. Method: practitioner-led approach with researcher intervention: 3.1. Sequence of key exchanges between practitioner and researchers\n4. The case study company: The case study company produces aluminium rails (e.g. for the construction industry) in a MTO environment, where the production of a given lot of rails only starts after a customer order has been received. The product structure is simple or low in complexity: some of the products are made from a single material (an aluminium rail), while others require an assembly operation, e.g. to bring two different rails together, separating them with a plastic polyamide component to improve thermal insulation.\n5. Aspects of the WLC approach implemented in the company: Next, the planning processes of the company and the aspects of the WLC concept implemented in the company are presented. The negotiation process with customers - including the use of the customer enquiry stage of WLC in the company - is described in Section 5.1. The production planning stage is then presented in Section 5.2, where the order release mechanism is considered.\n6. Discussion: It was concluded from the 2011 semi-structured interview that the implementation of WLC had been successful, although only limited quantitative data to confirm this is available (see Section 3.2). Besides, we already know from the literature, as reviewed in Section 2 of this paper, that when WLC is implemented successfully, it leads to improvements in MTO performance. Instead, the main emphasis of this paper is on the elements of WLC that were adopted and how they had to be refined. Nevertheless, the methodology has been in operation within the company for several years and P.P. has confirmed that: \"we are very satisfied with the production planning method implemented\". The case study reinforces the need to increase awareness of WLC in practice, as suggested, e.g. by Stevenson and Silva (2008) and by Hendry et al. (2013). It shows that a practitioner with very little help from researchers has been able to implement the WLC concept in his company mainly using a simple Excel(c) workbook (although, admittedly, the company had access to an ERP system to support other parts of the business). This is a significant message that confirms the simplicity of the WLC concept; if more practitioners were aware of the concept, e.g. by incorporating it in university curricula and executive education, its widespread adoption should be possible. Given the large number of MTO companies, it is probable that once the concept and its usefulness for this kind of company were understood, the number of implementations would increase significantly. When asked why he decided to implement WLC in the company, P.P. answered: \"after reading about Workload Control, it seemed to me to be the only method suitable for solving my production planning problems\".\n7. Conclusion: This paper has described a successful implementation of WLC in practice led by a practitioner, with primary emphasis on assessing the elements of the concept that were implemented and how they had to be adapted. While the emphasis has been on the implementation process - with plenty of evidence in the literature already that WLC improves performance when implemented successfully - it should also be noted that the concept has been used and sustained now for several years. Moreover, implementation has been linked to making more money with fewer resources; and, to surviving the global economic downturn. The practitioner-led element of the paper is novel in the WLC literature providing evidence that WLC can be implemented by practitioners with only limited intervention from researchers (or any expert with prior knowledge of the concept). This suggests that the widespread implementation of WLC across a larger number of MTO companies should be possible. This is an important finding as it is likely that a practitioner-led implementation is more likely to lead to success long term than a researcher-led implementation as the need to change comes from within the organisation, top management is more likely to be committed to championing the implementation and taking on ownership of the solution, the implementers have more power and authority over other actors within the organisation, and so on.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Workload control (WLC) is a Production Planning and Control concept of particular relevance to small and medium sized make-to-order companies. Despite the simplicity of its core principles, few successful implementations have been reported, and both understanding and awareness of the concept amongst practitioners is limited. The authors describe a rare successful implementation of WLC in which elements of the concept were embedded in a company to support both customer enquiry management and order release. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implementation process itself rather than the impact on performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A particularly novel aspect of the case is that the implementation was practitioner (rather than researcher) led. A manager chose to read up on and implement the concept, creating a strong in-house commitment to the initiative. The researchers played a facilitating role, e.g. intervening where necessary to answer questions and advise. A factory visit/tour and interview were also conducted post implementation to reflect on the process.\nFindings: The authors identify the elements of WLC implemented by the practitioner and how they were refined to meet company requirements, with implications for improving the alignment between theory and practice. The paper also informs the implementation process, for example, by highlighting the importance of managerial championing for implementation success and how WLC can be implemented based on a reasonably simple Excel(c) spreadsheet.\nResearch limitations/implications: More empirical evidence is required to assess the generality of some of the adaptations made by the practitioner; and to collect longitudinal quantitative evidence on the performance of WLC over time. Simulations could also be conducted to confirm the effectiveness of adaptations observed in the study.\nPractical implications: The case has implications for the process of implementing WLC and may provoke a rethink in terms of the range of companies for which the concept is thought to be appropriate - the case described is of a larger, higher volume company than most previous WLC implementations.\nOriginality/value: A rare case of a successful implementation of WLC at both the customer enquiry management and order release levels; the only practitioner-led implementation of WLC reported in the literature to date.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Trends and implications for Spanish wine sales in the US market	[ "Wines", "Spain", "Pricing", "Market segmentation", "United States of America" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Spanish wine sales in the USA have increased dramatically in the past few years - growing as much as 61 per cent in volume between 2001 and 2005 (ACNielsen, 2005). This positive trend has been spurred by a variety of variables, including an increase in wine consumption by Americans from 1.77 gallons per person annually in 1995 to 3 gallons per person annually in 2005 (Wine Institute, 2005). In addition, the growing popularity of Spanish food served in the multitude of tapas restaurants opening up in most American cities has contributed to the rise in popularity of Spanish wines. Finally, the increased quality of Spanish wines, as well as the positive press from acclaimed wine critics such as Robert Parker, declaring their great value, have prompted positive sales.So what is the future of Spanish wine sales in the US market? Will they continue to grow at a steady pace, or will they even out or decline as seen with sales of French wine in the US market? The purpose of this paper is to explore these questions in more detail in order to determine trends and implications for Spanish wine sales in the USA. In order to do this, the paper will begin with an overview of wine consumption patterns in the US market. This will be followed by an economic analysis of Spanish wine sales trends based on ACNielsen Scan data. Next, general information on US consumer perceptions of Spanish wine will be provided. Based on this, implications regarding opportunities for continued growth in Spanish wine sales will be discussed. This analysis should be useful to wine economists and wine marketing professionals who are interested in analyzing and, potentially, increasing wine sales in the US market.\nWine consumption patterns in the USA: Estimates indicate that there are approximately 295 million people in the USA, making it the fourth largest nation in the world after China, India, and the European Union, respectively (CIA, 2005). Of this population, approximately 212 million are of legal drinking age, being at least 21 years of age or older. However, according to the Wine Market Council (2005) only 32.6 per cent, or approximately 69 million people in the USA, consume wine. The remainder of the population consumes other alcoholic beverages besides wine, such as beer and/or spirits (24.7 per cent) or do not drink alcohol for religious, health or other personal reasons (42.7 per cent).Demographics of US wine drinkers\nTrends in Spanish wine sales in the USA: Spanish wine sales have been very positive in the USA over the past few years. According to the US International Trade Commission, Spain is the fifth largest wine import country to the USA after Italy, Australia, France, and Chile, respectively. Furthermore, Spanish wine imports have increased at an average rate of 12 per cent each year since 1997 (ITC, 2005). Indeed, the percent change from YTD 2004 and YTD 2005 for Spanish wine imports was 13.1 per cent - higher than Italy and Australia, which was averaged 10.5 and 6.8 per cent, respectively (ITC, 2005).Spanish wine sales by price point\nConsumer perceptions of Spanish wine in the USA: In general, the American perception of Spanish wine is very positive. It is not perceived as \"cheap\", but has a reputation for quality and value. This is an important differentiator in the US market, because once the wine from a certain country is perceived as \"cheap\", it is difficult to change that image. Chile has encountered this problem in the US market (Gugino, 2003). Australia has managed to avoid it, because they utilized a multi-segment approach when entering by selling good wine at all price segments.Americans have also embraced many of the fruity-forward crianzas coming out of Spain, and connoisseurs have praised several of the \"vinos de alta expression\". The use of new technology, less restrictive wine-making methods, less oak, and more fruit-forward and higher alcohol wines has been praised by many wine critics. On the other hand, there has been some concern from other American wine writers and connoisseurs that Spanish wines are starting to lose their authenticity and heredity (Passmore, 2005; Wright, 2005). Spain is the only country in the world that is known to make red wines from tempranillo, using traditional aging techniques, and creating unique treasures from some vintages. If the majority of Spanish wine makers were to start adopting the new international wine styles and lose the artistry of their traditional methods, that would be distressing. Therefore, some type of compromise of marrying the old traditions with the new technology could be in order.In terms of regions, the La Rioja region is the most well-known region of Spain for most Americans. It is also regarded as a part of Spain that makes very high quality wine - similar to the perception of Napa in the USA. However, this perception is being challenged by new wines coming from Priorat, Toro, and Ribera Del Duero. In addition, the albarinos from Rias Baixas have gained large popularity in recent years. Figure 9 below illustrates the top ten selling Spanish wine brands in the US market over the last four years, based on a mean of price point times volume.Reasons for increased American interest in Spanish wine\nOpportunities for increasing Spanish wine sales in the USA: In examining all of the data described in this paper, there appear to be several opportunities for both maintaining and increasing Spanish wine sales in the US market. These are listed in Table III below, and described in the following paragraphs.There are several activities which Spanish wineries and importers are currently doing very well and should continue. These include efforts made in the past few years to maintain and enhance the quality levels of Spanish wine. Much capital and other resources have been poured into the Spanish wine industry, including upgrades in technology and production techniques. These have paid off in the creation of higher quality wines, and therefore, these types of efforts should continue.In addition, many Spanish wines have received very positive ratings from Robert Parker, the Wine Spectator, and other recognized authorities in the American market. These types of tributes to the high quality of Spanish wines, as well as the great values, have contributed much to the increased sales and recognition of Spanish wines in the US - especially to the wine collectors and connoisseurs who are willing to pay higher prices for great wines. Therefore, Spanish wineries should continue to promote their highly rated wines - especially the higher-priced \"icon\" wines so that Americans recognize that not only value-priced wines are produced in Spain, but some of the most sought-after and expensive wines in the world.Related to this issue is the controversy of producing traditional wines verses \"vinos de alta expression\". As previously mentioned, there are some wine critics in the USA who are concerned that Spain may abandon its traditional wine-making style to pursue the highly lucrative market of producing international style wines. This is similar to the wine-making controversy that has occurred in Italy with \"Super Tuscans\" competing with traditional Chianti styles - and reflects the debate over old and new world wine styles. For Spain, it is suggested that pursuing both styles is beneficial. The positive press received by the \"vinos de alta expression\" is one very clear reason for this recommendation; however Spain also continues to receive high accolades for its traditional styled wine, especially from La Rioja. Therefore, both wine styles should be continued, and used as a market differentiator when advertising the merits of each approach.A basic tenant of exporting any type of product around the world is the quality of relationship between the exporter and importer. This is especially true with wine exporting (Spawton and Lockshin, 2004). In the case of Spanish wine exports to the USA, one of the main reasons they are reported to be so well received is because of the efforts of passionate Spanish wine importers such as Jorge Ordonez with Fine Wine Estates and Eric Soloman of European Cellars (Thach, 2006). These importers attempt to have their wines evaluated by Robert Parker and other influential wine critics; they describe the old vines and unique soils of Spain; as well as the new technology which is being used. They do extensive relationship marketing with key distributors and retailers in fine wine shops and restaurants. These types of efforts are required to succeed in the US wine market, and therefore it is in Spain's best interest to continue to support these types of importers, as well as develop others.Related to this is the need for Spanish wineries to continue to develop positive relationships with US distributors, retailers, and wine critics. Scheduling time for the Spanish wine maker or winery representative to visit the USA, call on key accounts; conduct wine-tastings and wine dinners; and communicate the benefits of their products is crucial. In a recent wine distributor survey in the USA, three of the top five reasons a distributor elects to carry a wine in his/her portfolio has to do with positive working relationships with wineries (Thach and Olsen, 2006). The other two reasons had to do with the taste and price of the wine.In regards to new opportunities, Spanish wine makers should consider conducting flavor profiling research into key segments of the US population which they want to target. The Australian wine industry was able to glean much useful information from similar research and produce wines to meet the needs of consumers. Obviously this technique would not be applicable for current strong brands, but for launching new brands in the future, this type of data is invaluable.Two fast-growing wine consumers segments have been identified within the US population - both the Millennials and the Hispanic segment (Gillespie, 2005; Thach, 2005). Both of these are potential targets for Spanish wine. The Millennial generation, with over 76 million consumers, is currently drinking a lot of red wine. They have a tendency to prefer the fruit-forward wines of Australia and the USA. They also are attracted to fun, quirky labels with easy to pronounce names and clever branding. They generally spend around $10 per bottle. This appears to be a good audience to target for the introduction of a new crianza which is designed to meet the desires of Millennials.A more focused segment within the US population is the Hispanic segment which is currently 39 million strong and is considered to be the largest and fastest growing minority population in the USA (Jung, 2005). It is predicted that by 2020, one in five Americans will be of Hispanic decent, and 29 million Americans currently speak Spanish (US Census Bureau, 2004). They have very strong buying power which has tripled since 1990 to over $650 million in 2003 (Jung, 2005). Currently 22 per cent of Hispanics drink wine, and they are 96 per cent more likely to spend $20 or more per bottle compared to other Americans (Stallcup, 2004). However, only a few wineries in the USA are targeting this population. There is an opportunity to create a Spanish advertising campaign promoting Spanish wine to this segment. In order to do this well, it would be important to contract with a good Hispanic marketing firm to conduct market research and develop an ad campaign. The fact that the Hispanic segment is composed of multiple ethic backgrounds is an important consideration. According to the US Census Bureau (2004), the current composition is Mexican (67 per cent), Central and South American (14 per cent), Puerto Rican (4 per cent); and Other (15 per cent). Each of these segments has different needs and concerns which would need to be identified regarding wine consumption. California, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas are the largest Hispanic states by population. Both California and Florida are two of the largest wine consuming states, making either state a potential target for a new product launch.Another opportunity to gain access to more American wine consumers is through partnerships with large US based wineries. This could be accomplished through traditional export strategies such as strategic alliances and/or joint-ventures. A different tactic is to gain access to wine clubs which sell directly to consumers. This could be accomplished through a partnership with the winery or with one of the many retailers which establish private wine clubs consisting of multiple brands.Finally, two other opportunities are to promote Spanish wine and food events and to promote Spanish wine tourism. The first activity could be accomplished through establishing promotions with television/radio stations and magazines which could feature Spanish foods and wines, and introduce consumers to the unique varietals of Spain. Related to this is the need to sponsor more Spanish wine tastings events at restaurants, wine shops, trade show events, and other venues. Establishing a Spanish wine promotion vehicle that encourages Americans to visit Spanish wine tourism areas could also be beneficial.\nConclusion: In conclusion, Spanish wines appear to be well received in the US market. Growth in volume and sales dollars is mounting, driven by the increasing quality and perceived value of Spanish wines, a new American interest in regional food and wine, the growth of tapas bars, and positive ratings from critics. There are many opportunities and some cautions for Spanish wine in the USA, but, in general, they seem posed for positive growth and increased acceptance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Spanish wine sales have grown quite rapidly in the US market during the past few years. The purpose of this paper is to examine this trend, discuss potential reasons, and identify opportunities for maintaining and increasing Spanish wine sales in the US market.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The objectives are achieved by analyzing ACNielsen scan data from 2002 to 2005 and other secondary data on US wine consumers and trends.\nFindings: - The results indicate that Americans perceive red Spanish wine quite positively and are moving up in price point expenditures. However, sales of Spanish white wines remain rather fixed at specific price points. In addition, Spanish wine is losing market share to other imported wines, except for certain price points, but is performing well against US wines.\nPractical implications: - This paper suggests ten opportunities for maintaining and/or increasing Spanish wine sales in the US market. Many of these suggestions are also useful for other countries desiring to export wine to the US.\nOriginality/value: - This paper is one of the first of its kind to provide an in-depth analysis of ACNielsen Scan data on Spanish wines sales in the USA. In addition, it provides extensive information on the US wine market, trends, and new market segments such as the Millennial and Hispanic markets.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Taxation of robots - what would have been the view of Smith and Marx on it?	[ "Taxation", "Adam Smith", "Robots", "Automation", "Karl Marx" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: 1.1 Where will automation will play a role?\n2. Adam Smith: 2.1 About the importance of innovation and machines for economic growth\n3. Karl Marx: 3.1 What it is a machine - what is automation?\n4. Conclusion: Once more, we need to remind ourselves that the ideas of Adam Smith and Karl Marx are centuries old, and it is important to link the works of both authors to their historical context. Smith lived during the very early stage of industrialization, and enthusiastically observed productivity gains achieved in industry. His writing style is to a large extent descriptive. Marx, on the other hand witnessed the negative effects of the industrialization on the labor force, and mixed his descriptive with a prescriptive writing style. It is unlikely that Smith would have been so enthusiastic and only modestly critical about capitalism had he lived a century later. Similarly, Marx would not likely have been able to describe the exploitation of the workforce had he not lived during the period of Manchester capitalism.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to approach the issue of taxation of robotic process automation (RPA) through an interpretive lens provided by both Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Both scholars have affected the understanding and attitudes of generations of economists, and their ideas have considerable influenced modern economic policy. It will be argued that Smith and Marx have much to offer to help contemporary economists understand the taxation of RPA, and their writings on machines, automation, and their impact on the human labor force will be discussed from their primary texts.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper interprets the works of Marx and Smith in relation to contemporary debates on automation, particularly, proposals to tax technological innovations to offset the social costs of automation's displacement effects.\nFindings: In the case of Adam Smith, there is not enough evidence to suggest that he would support a specific taxation of RPA; however, he very well might agree with a modest taxation of capital goods. Marx would very likely support a taxation in the short-run, however, would be inclined to caution that the ownership of robots should in the long run be transferred to society.\nOriginality/value: This paper uses primary texts from the discipline of history of economic thought to spark a discussion about compensating the externalities of technological innovation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Regional regulation analysis of performance in Spanish retailing	[ "Organizational performance", "Regulation", "Retailing", "Spain" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The retailing industry in Spain has experienced a rapid transformation in recent decades. At the same time, this subject is becoming of more interest to the general public[1]. As Cruz Roche et al. (1999) point out, the retail sector could be considered a monopolistic market. In the USA, there are small entry barriers, and entrants differ in terms of their sizes (Bresnahan and Reiss, 1991). For the UK, Dobson and Waterson (1996) estimate a large number of retail markets exist with an oligopoly structure. Market power and profits are both important. For the Spanish case, recent information[2] shows a strong market concentration in favor of supermarket firms, with 65.3 percent market share in 2004 compared to 42.5 percent in 1994.With this environment, in this current work, we analyze the impact that the Retail Trade Act of 1996[3] may have had on firms' efficiency in the Spanish retail distribution sector in the period 1994-2002. The regulator's motivation, as is reflected in this act, was to optimize distribution, by means of the efficient allocation of resources through the operation of free competition. The efficiency of individual retail stores is a key issue in retailers' competitiveness, since the global profitability of any chain enterprise depends on the profitability of its constituent parts (Barros and Alves, 2003). As Thomas et al. (1998) note, there is a paucity of research into this aspect of chain store management. Recent exceptions are Athanassopoulos (1995, 2003), Barros and Alves (2003), Thomas et al. (1998), and Donthu and Yoo (1998).As we mentioned before, we study the distortions to industrial organization caused by entry regulation. We take advantage of heterogeneity across countries/regions to examine whether some regions are differentially affected by high/low levels of entry regulation. Economists have offered two contrasting views of government regulation of economic activity. Under the public choice view (Stigler, 1971), regulation is assumed by industries, and is designed and operated for their benefit, through the increased market power that regulation allows. By contrast, the public interest perspective, as initially suggested by Pigou (1938), holds that industry will be fraught with inefficiencies stemming from market failures of all kinds if left to its own devices (Fisman and Sarria-Allende, 2002). In this respect, authors such as Joskow and Rose (1989) indicate that the regulator's intervention could provoke inefficiencies in the allocation of resources, leading even to delays in technical change in some activities. Some of the reasons for these inefficiencies could be related to the idea that the regulators do not always have the objective of maximizing social welfare, and at the same time have probably not had sufficient information to carry out the process. On the other hand, as Hoj et al. (1995) suggest, the widely-accepted idea that the traditional forms of regulation can generate important efficiency losses has encouraged a change of approach in regulation policy towards favoring competition.Boylaud and Nicolety (2001), in a study of the retail sector in OECD member countries, indicate that the consequences of regulation can be seen in the restricted access to the markets and in the operation of the firms within the markets. With respect to market access, the distribution sector has a large number of entries and exits, and there are, in most cases, few regulations on entry. The main restrictions are to do with requirements for setting up and opening businesses, which include entry formalities (trade register), regulations on the establishment, extension and location of commercial premises, regulations on specific operations and products, the existence of local monopolies for some products and legal impediments to the establishment of large outlets. Carree and Nijkamp (1999) investigate the effects of the 1993 deregulation for the Dutch retail sector. They find an increase in the equilibrium number of firms per local market (for both food and non-food store types). Bosma and Zwinkels (1999) provide data for 1996, showing that for the retail sector as a whole entries decline from 1995 to 1996, while exits grow to a certain extent. Finally, Bertrand and Kramarz (2002) look in a much more focused way at the effects of entry regulation on employment in the French retail sector, taking advantage of regional and temporal variations in the stringency with which entry regulation is applied. They find that entry regulation decreases retail employment, partly due to the increase in concentration and the ensuing price upturns.The remaining parts of this study are organized as follows. In Section 2, we describe the contextual setting, characterize the Spanish retail sector and present our hypotheses. Section 3 is concerned with measurement and estimation issues. It describes the data for the study and presents the empirical model to be estimated. The methods followed for the different analyses make use of the nonparametric approach and graphical tools. Section 4 concludes with the implications of our results.\n2 The retail industry in Spain and hypotheses: The Retail Trade Act of 1996 coexists with the regional governments' exclusive responsibilities in the area. The regions define in each case what in their judgment is a large retail outlet. In 1996, the regions were authorized to award licenses essential for opening any major retail outlets, after evaluating the real needs of each locality. This does not affect the license that the local councils continue to require.What has occurred since 1996? In Figure 1, we can see some relevant data. The total number of premises has fallen (by 29 percent), and this decline is most marked among traditional stores (42 percent). On the other hand, the size of the stores has increased. The number of hypermarkets has increased (by 27.9 percent), as has the number of supermarkets and self-service stores (by 14.9 percent), and the discount stores have made a strong appearance (42 percent).In Figure 2, we report the evolution in market shares of the different types of store. Traditional stores have lost 4.5 percent market share in pre-packed food, hypermarkets meanwhile have lost 6.6 percent. In contrast, supermarkets of between 400 and 2,499 m2 have gained ground. This growth trend in Spanish retailing, at the same time as the concentration effects, has been mirrored by similar behavior in Europe (Aalto-Setala, 2002).In order to determine the impact of the Retail Trade Act of 1996, we suggest the following hypotheses:H1. The Retail Trade Act of 1996 affects the technical efficiency of retail-industry firms over time. This law may not have the same influence on firms of different sizes.\n3 Measurement and estimation issues: 3.1 Data\n4 Summary and conclusions: This research has analyzed the impact that the Spanish Retail Trade Act 1996 may have had on the efficiency of firms in the sector between 1994 and 2002. The main results obtained are as follows: firms' level of technical efficiency is similar before the 1996 law and decreases in the post-regulatory period. The efficiency distribution patterns are quite different over time before and after the 1996 law. In particular, we have investigated if there has been a convergence (divergence) or concentration (dispersion) of the sample of retail-sector firms in relation to the efficiency levels of the sector. With this aim, we have used nonparametric analytical techniques such as stochastic kernel analysis and the KS test, along with graphical tools, to examine the dominance of the cumulative distributions of efficiency in an intertemporal analysis.Analyzing the firms by size, and hence approximating them to the different types of competition (i.e. firms in first percentile of fixed assets: traditional stores; firms in second percentile: small supermarkets; firms in third percentile: medium-sized or large supermarkets; firms in fourth percentile: very large supermarkets and hypermarkets), the behavior of the technical efficiency distribution differs considerably between the groups in the period of analysis. The firms in the first and second percentiles have experienced a process of divergence to lower efficiency levels from 1994 to 2002. However, for firms in the third and fourth percentiles, the distribution patterns are not the same as for the smaller firms. There has been a shift of the density functions (the level of concentration of the firms shifts towards higher efficiency levels), with the same pattern holding in the fourth percentile and different in the third (two modes, one around the middle-high efficiency level and another less intense mode in the high efficiency zone).With regards the graph and comparing by size (percentiles) and years the patterns are very clear. For 1994 and 1996 the efficiency distribution functions are at high efficiency levels and are multi-modal in form. However, for 1998 and 2002 (after the regulation) there has been a shift of the density functions across the sizes (the level of concentration of the firms shifts towards higher efficiency levels by percentiles).The difference in the efficiency of the firms between 1994 and 2002 demonstrates a greater predominance of the cumulative distribution for the first year. This implies that the firms have not improved their efficiency in the whole range of the distribution.On the other hand, the dynamic analysis (analyzing the mobility and transitions of the firms from any efficiency level in 1994 to a different level in 1996 before the 1996 law, or 1996-2002 after the law, has demonstrated a high level of persistence between the sample firms. But the transition in efficiency from 1994 to 2002 shows that most firms shift to lower efficiency levels.In the analysis by Autonomous Communities (i.e. regions), which aimed to determine if there were efficiency differences between the firms depending on the varying legislations applied in the area of retail regulation by the regions, the results indicate that regions with either a strong or a weak regulation have gained in efficiency between the year the Retail Trade Act came into force (1996) and 2002. In contrast, the Autonomous Communities with an intermediate level of regulation show no statistically significant differences, probably due to their intermediate situation.From the point of view of regulation policy, and in particular with regards the retail trade sector in Spain, this law has favored medium and large firms. On the other hand, there has been a decline in efficiency for small firms, perhaps because of their disadvantages in terms of economies of scale and scope. It might be of interest in future research to analyze the behavior of firms managed by freelance workers, and thereby add this significant group of workers to the analysis. The main problem in this case would be to obtain the necessary data. On the other hand, more regional analysis is also needed. In this sense it would be interesting to consider the region within which the firms operate, and hence take into account the differences in regulatory processes in each region by size or more precisely by outlet type.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact on Spanish retail firms' efficiency of the regulatory process experienced in the period 1994-2002. In particular, the paper aims to study the influence of the Retail Trade Act of 1996, by means of which the Spanish state transferred authority to concede licenses for opening commercial establishments to the regions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The objectives have been achieved by non parametric methodology of analysis of efficiency at static and dynamic level (kernel density).\nFindings: - The results confirm a decrease in firms' technical efficiency in the post-regulatory period between 1996 and 2002. The different patterns of convergence/divergence in the distribution of technical efficiency depend on firm size. Small firms experience a process of divergence to lower efficiency levels from 1994 to 2002.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Perhaps more regional analysis is also needed. In this sense, it would be interesting to consider the region within which the firms operate, and hence take into account the differences in regulatory processes in each region by size or more precisely by outlet type.\nPractical implications: - It is necessary to consider the implications that the regulatory processes can have for management in the environment of the retail industry.\nOriginality/value: - The analysis of the efficiency with features of density kernel. As well as the usage of stochastic kernel. This has enabled dynamic effects in the analysis.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Adding value to service providers: benchmarking Wal-Mart	[ "Best practice", "Supply chain management", "Health services sector" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Benchmarking is defined as:[...] an improvement process in which a company measures its performance against that of best-in-class companies, determines how those companies achieved their performance levels, and uses the information to improve its own performance (Bemowski, 1992).Wal-Mart is considered a \"best-in-class\" company for its supply chain management (SCM) practices. These best practices have enabled it to achieve leadership in the retail industry through increased efficiency in operations and better customer service.Past research indicates that benchmarking has become an intrinsic part of most developed healthcare systems (Wait and Nolte, 2005). Some research concludes that there are limits to the rapid or broad implementation of benchmarking principles in healthcare services because patients and their expectations are not considered (Pinar, 2005). Overall, most benchmarking activity in the healthcare industry has been confined to the healthcare industry. Thus, this paper demonstrates that service providers, like the healthcare industry, can learn not just from other healthcare providers but also from Wal-Mart's best practices.\nWal-Mart background: Since its inception in 1962 by Sam Walton, Wal-Mart has been a highly successful supply chain enterprise. New stores opened at a fairly steady rate of a few stores a year, all initially centralized around the Bentonville, Arkansas area. A second supply distribution center opened in 1975 as the store counts passed the 100 mark. By 1979, the company had switched to an inventory system that tracked items at the individual level, and net sales grew from $975,000 in its first year of business (Slater, 2003) to passing the $1 billion level. Rapid growth continued into the 1980s. In order to fuel even further growth, Wal-Mart became a publicly traded company (NYSE:WMT). The Initial Public Offering was held in October 1970. In 1984, the first three \"Sam's Club\" warehouse stores were opened and full Universal Product Code implementation followed in 1985. By 1987, a satellite network was completed to the point that sales data sent to headquarters could be updated on a real time basis, and the store totals reached the 1,000 mark (Figure 1). In 1988, Sam Walton officially handed over the CEO spot to his chosen successor, David Glass. That same year the first Wal-Mart \"Supercenter\" opened, and net sales continued to steadily increase (Figure 2).Founder Sam Walton died in 1992, the same year Wal-Mart started its international supply chain expansion efforts. The Wal-Mart.com web site was launched in 1996; and in 2000, when Lee Scott was named CEO, Wal-Mart focused on implementing radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in order to increase the visibility of its supply chain to reduce further inefficiencies and costs.The fundamental principle behind Wal-Mart's strategy is to sell high volumes of discounted products. One of the strongest drivers of Wal-Mart's financial success is its focus on efficient and effective SCM. This paper analyzes Wal-Mart's SCM best practices in SCM. The benefits of an efficient SCM system include reduction in lead time, faster inventory turnover, accurate forecasting of inventory levels, increased warehouse space, reduction in safety stock and better working capital utilization (Mohan, 2003). These practices are categorized into four segments: strategic concepts, logistics and distribution, information technology, and supplier collaboration. The objective of the paper is to demonstrate what other industries might learn from Wal-Mart's strategy, and how others could apply Wal-Mart's concepts to add value to their own businesses.Wal-Mart's supply chain management best practices\nConclusions: lessons learned for service providers: By thinking beyond the standard practices of business, Sam Walton managed to establish a very successful business model, which has since revolutionized entire industries and experienced exponential growth. A key facet to this success is the strength of Wal-Mart's SCM. There are lessons to be learned from each of the areas examined for many different types of businesses as previously illustrated by a services provider, the health care industry.For the strategic alignment aspect of Wal-Mart's best practices, it is important for every company to examine its industry and its own business strategy in order to determine if a SCM technique will support its goals. \"Always Low Prices\" lends itself to striving for economies of scale and other practices that would not necessarily be appropriate for a high-end service company like a luxury hotel and spa. When any company is making decisions about its supply chain, the focus should be on the end goal and all actions should be examined in relation to this objective.Established practices should be challenged if they conflict with the company's goal. For instance, EDLP would not work well for the travel and hospitality industry. The fluctuations in demand are not due to market influences like sales and promotions in the retail sector. The travel and hospitality industry must deal with events that they cannot control like holidays, seasons and weather. Trying to imitate Wal-Mart's success with EDLP would only magnify the fluctuations in demand for hotels and airline flights instead of smoothing the bumps. The airline and hotel industries have better strategic fits with their current methods of peak period pricing and off season discounting as a means of smoothing demand fluctuation and maximizing profit.From the perspective of logistics and distribution, Wal-Mart has learned that flexibility is important in minimizing risk, especially in light of the increased dependence on imports. Recent world events, such as natural disasters and acts of terrorism, have indicated that it can be helpful to have a back up plan for all areas of business. Also, not relying on one logistics model and exploring alternatives can result in many benefits. For example, Wal-Mart's practice of reoptimization of the distribution network indicates that the company is always examining its system for continuous improvement. The decision to operate its own truck fleet, contrary to the normal business practices at the time, resulted in many benefits like control over the distribution system.The main lesson learned from Wal-Mart's use of information systems and technology is how it has applied these tools to inventory and collaboration. The increased visibility of items as they pass through the supply chain has allowed for more accurate data. And with this data, better tracking, more control over inventory levels, and incredibly accurate forecasting have resulted. The company and suppliers can spot trends and patterns in sales data and use this information to better serve customers and increase sales. It is important to note that these levels of collaboration have only been possible because of the establishing of information standards, so that all parties involved could share data based on the same assumptions.Another lesson from Wal-Mart's collaboration with suppliers is that by examining the supply chain as a whole instead of only the links, efficiencies can be magnified. The total system perspective can benefit all players when the partnership is approached for mutual benefits. This lesson is especially relevant in outsourcing agreements and is part of the reason that they frequently fail. Many companies mistakenly view business process outsourcing as simply a way to reduce costs. However, it is vitally important to ensure that the company providing the service is benefiting as well, or the quality of the service received may deteriorate. In extreme cases, the outsourcing company can go out of business. Then, the originating company will need to find another place to outsource the process or take it back in-house. Both are options that are time consuming and costly, and can cause disruptions to business and inconvenience customers.Overall, Wal-Mart prides itself on providing value to its customers by having superior SCM practices. These practices have resulted in increased efficiency in operations and better customer service. For example, by having their own transportation system, their transportation costs are about 3 percent of total costs compared to 5 percent for their competitors and they can replenish their shelves four times faster than their competitors (Mohan, 2003). Further, bar coding and RFID technologies have enabled the correct distribution of products to stores. These are only a few of Wal-Mart's examples of success in SCM.In short, Wal-Mart can attribute its success in SCM to its innovative and early applications of technology, its lower prices, and its deep partnerships with suppliers. If service providers can learn from Wal-Mart how to achieve these benchmarks then they can become more competitive and add more value for their clients.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world, and one of its drivers of financial success is its focus on efficient and effective supply chain management (SCM). The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate what service providers could learn from these SCM best practices.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Wal-Mart's best practices in SCM were investigated through a literature review of secondary data.\nFindings: - Wal-Mart's best practices in SCM were categorized into four segments: strategic concepts, logistics and distribution, information technology, and supplier collaboration. These practices were then applied to the healthcare industry.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Wal-Mart's best practices were only applied to one service industry (the healthcare industry). Future research could apply these practices to other service industries such as higher education and the airline industry.\nPractical implications: - Most service providers can add value to their services by learning from some, if not all, of Wal-Mart's best practices in SCM.\nOriginality/value: - Very little past research has focused on applying the best practices in SCM of a traditional retailer or product provider to service providers. Insight into Wal-Mart's best practices can add value to many service providers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Development idiosyncratic deals and career success	[ "Careers", "Organizational behaviour", "Social capital", "Skilled workers" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Despite the shift to protean careers in which individuals manage their own careers (Hall, 1996), organizations may still be willing to facilitate their employees' career success. Career success, defined as the accumulated outcomes resulting from work experiences (Judge et al., 1995, p. 486; Seibert et al., 2001a, b), is indeed likely to contribute to organizational success (Judge et al., 1999), for example by facilitating the motivation and retention of valuable employees (Martin and Schmidt, 2010). One way for organizations to foster employees' career success is to provide them with assistance and support for career and skills development, a practice known as organizational sponsorship (Ng et al., 2005; Ng and Feldman, 2014).\nLiterature review: Connecting development i-deals to the sponsored-mobility perspective\nMethod: Sample and procedure\nResults: Descriptive statistics\nDiscussion: This study aimed to connect development i-deals to career success. In line with the perspective of sponsored-mobility (Turner, 1960), we posited that development i-deals can be conceptualized as an example of an organizational sponsorship practice, and developed a theoretical model with career planning as an antecedent of development ideals, along with four measures of career success as outcomes. Our hypotheses were validated among a sample of 325 engineers. We now discuss the implications of this research for theory and practice.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to rely on the sponsored-mobility perspective of career success (Turner, 1960) to explore the antecedents and consequences of development idiosyncratic deals (i-deals). The authors position career planning as an antecedent of development i-deals, and subjective and objective measures of career success as an outcome.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors led a two-wave study among a sample of 325 engineers to test the research hypotheses.\nFindings: Results support the hypotheses. Development i-deals are positively related to three objective measures of career success (e.g. promotions, hierarchical level, and salary) and one subjective measure of career success (e.g. career satisfaction).\nPractical implications: The results offer new perspectives to practitioners who want to better manage the careers of their talented employees by highlighting the positive effects of development i-deals on career success.\nOriginality/value: This paper relates i-deals to the field of careers.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Examining the use of interactive video to enhance just in time training in the workplace	[ "Motivation", "Workplace learning", "Interactive video", "Self-paced learning" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction and context: In 2004 the UK government introduced legislation that required all properties for sale to be sold with an accompanying Home Information Pack (HIP), with implementation of the legislation completed by 2008 (Wilson, 2010). A HIP contains information about a property such as; the land registry certificate, energy performance certificate, local land charges certificate, and home condition report. Construction of these packs involved the input of many stakeholders such as; the land registry, solicitors and estate agents, and ratings agencies. For this reason, by 2008, specialised administration organisations had begun setting up operations specifically designed to facilitate the creation and quality checking of HIPs. Once such organisation was MMA (name changed for confidentiality reasons).\n2. Methodology: 2.1 Sample\n3. Findings and discussions: Key themes and findings are now presented using qualitative responses and extracts from quantitative data, to address the two themes outlined previously. Extracts from the author's journal will also be used to provide an additional perspective to the inquiry. This is followed by overall conclusions and recommendations.\n4. Conclusions and recommendations: The use of interactive video in workplace training environments has largely been ignored in literature. Issues relating to its effectiveness as a training tool in regulated industries are largely non-existent. The purpose of this paper was to examine the impact of interactivity on the quality of JIT training provided in one organisation. Findings indicate that interactive video can support the delivery of JIT in organisations. When designed correctly, staff can navigate and complete content at their own pace, in their own time, and throughout their busy working days. Interactive video appears to be particularly useful in providing rich content that staff can use repeatedly to examine information in more detail or simply revise content when needed. The use of decision trees and interactive elements appears to encourage staff to engage fully with the content, thinking more deeply about the material, their options, and the consequences of the choices they make. Finally, the use of images and graphical elements can evoke emotional responses from staff, which can in some ways humanise what could otherwise be quite a technical exercise. It appears that interactive video can be a powerful tool in providing seamless integration of high quality, cost effective training to staff, who seem willing to adopt this approach.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the development and implementation of interactive video in an organisational setting, with a view to enhancing the quality of just in time training provided.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper uses a small but focused research approach which builds on current literature to inform the design and implementation of interactive video. Qualitative data is used to evaluate staff perceptions of training materials.\nFindings: Findings indicate that the use of interactive video can greatly enhance the quality of training in the workplace.\nPractical implications: Findings reinforce previous research on interactive video, demonstrating its ability to provide worthwhile and engaging content. This study demonstrates that investing in innovative and learner focused approaches to training can increase the effectiveness and flexibility of training materials.\nOriginality/value: While the use of video in education is widely researched, there is a comparative lack of literature around the use of interactive video in workplace training environments. This paper provides a unique look at the implementation of interactive video in a workplace setting and the staff perceptions of its impact. The study also provides an insight into the use of just in time training to solve a specific training problem.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The ethics of corporate governance: Global convergence or divergence?	[ "Corporate governance", "Business ethics", "Africa", "Asia", "Europe", "North America" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The four regional perspectives presented in the previous four articles display a rich variety that demonstrates that there is no dull homogeneity on the global corporate governance landscape. To the contrary there are a rich variety of factors that influence and shape the formal and informal contours of corporate governance regimes in different regions of the world.In concluding this special issue, a brief characterization of the four regional perspectives in terms of the distinctions introduced in the first article in this issue (The ethics of corporate governance: crucial distinctions for global comparisons) will first be given. Then the question about whether there is a global convergence or divergence with regard to the ethics of corporate governance will be introduced. Based on the four regional perspectives presented in this issue, some conclusions with regard to the convergence-divergence debate will be drawn.\n2. Regional perspectives on the ethics of corporate governance: In the first paper in this special issue a number of distinctions were introduced that are helpful in making comparisons on a global scale when dealing specifically with the ethical dimension of corporate governance. The three distinctions that were introduced were the ones between: the ethics of governance and the governance of ethics; internal and external corporate governance; and shareholder and stakeholder orientations to corporate governance. When these distinctions are applied to the four regional perspectives the following picture emerges.In the North American perspective, Stephen Young paints a picture of a corporate governance landscape where the ethics of corporate governance is coloured by a strong shareholder orientation, with the expectation that other stakeholders will indirectly benefit from the active pursuit of shareholder interests. This prioritization of shareholder interests is protected and reinforced on the external corporate governance level by corporate law and financial regulation, but also by an active market for corporate control via take-overs and acquisitions. On the internal corporate governance level this corporate governance regime tends to treat stakeholder interests in an instrumental manner, i.e. the interests of non-shareholding stakeholders are mainly perceived and treated according to how they strategically impact on the best financial interests of shareholders.Across the Atlantic, Peter Koslowski paints a picture of corporate governance in Continental Europe mainly as perceived through the looking glass of the co-determination corporate governance dispensation in Germany. A view of a corporate governance regime unfolds that is more orientated towards a stakeholder approach, in the sense that employees are also included in the internal governance process. The two-tier board system provides workers of corporations with the opportunity to present their views on the second board (or advisory board) level. This somewhat more stakeholder orientation is supported on both the external corporate governance level through corporate laws and regulation, but also on the internal corporate governance level through the participation of employee representatives in the decision-making structures of firms. Although the opportunity for external governance through the market for corporate control remains an option, it is much less active and effective than in the USA. An image of the firm thus emerges in which not only the interests of shareholders are pursued and protected, but where at least the interest of employees enjoy formal recognition in the board-structures and decision-making processes of companies.From the East, YKR Reddy presents a view of corporate governance in Asia (more specifically South and South East Asia) in which an ethic of corporate governance comes to the fore that he labels as \"expansive\". This expansive ethic represents a mid-position between a shareholder approach and a stakeholder approach to corporate governance. Reddy emphasises that it is not a trade-off between the two approaches, but rather a synthesis between shareholder and stakeholder interests. Part of the explanation for the lesser prominence of shareholder concerns is that many enterprises in Asia are either state-owned or small and medium enterprises where shareholder concerns are less eminent. Informal external corporate governance through societal norms, practices and values are often more influential than the formal external corporate governance mechanisms of laws and regulations. These societal norms, practices and values find expression in a relationship-based form of corporate governance. Consequently internal corporate governance plays an important role in the sense that boards and managements of companies adhere to these societal norms in corporate decisions and actions. A further reason for the importance of internal corporate governance is that corporate governance standards in Asia often take the form of voluntary corporate governance codes (such as, for example, the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance) that are applied in companies in a self-regulatory and voluntary manner.In the only perspective from the Southern hemisphere, Andrew West provides a South African perspective on the ethics of corporate governance, while also referring to the ethics of corporate governance in some other countries on the continent. In South Africa an inclusive ethic of governance is prevailing. The same inclusive approach to corporate governance is also being followed by all African countries who have issued codes of corporate governance (with the exception of Nigeria). The inclusive approach to corporate governance signifies an explicit commitment to serve both the interests of shareholders and other non-shareholding stakeholders. This commitment to a stakeholder approach to corporate governance is partly informed by African values that emphasises the importance of community, coexistence and inclusion, partly by a strong developmental agenda on the African continent from which business is not excluded, and partly from the strong presence of state owned enterprises that pursue both social and economic objectives. Since external corporate governance regimes are generally poorly developed and exercised on the African continent, there is a strong reliance on internal corporate governance. National codes of best corporate governance practice are issued and companies are expected to apply these standards on a comply-or-explain basis. A significant number of these codes of corporate governance also explicitly address the governance of ethics.Against the backdrop of the above characterization of the corporate governance regimes in North America, Continental Europe, Asia and Africa, we will now turn to the question whether there is divergence or convergence with regard to the ethics of corporate governance amongst these four regions of the world.\n3. The convergence-divergence debate: Hansmann and Kraakman (2001, p. 439) made a provocative contribution to the convergence-divergence debate when they claimed in an article titled, \"The end of history of corporate law\", that the world is converging towards a \"shareholder-centered ideology of corporate law\". They were not alone in this assessment. Other scholars, like Reed (2002, p. 243), Garrett (2004, p. 148) and to some degree also Coffee (1999, p. 707), supported this convergence thesis. Not all, however, are convinced that the world is moving towards an ethic of corporate governance where the interest of shareholders will dominate. Several factors that militate against such a global convergence towards a shareholder-centred ethic of corporate governance have been identified. Branson (2001), for example cautions against the idea of a global convergence in corporate governance by pointing to the significant role that cultural values play in corporate governance in different regions of the world. Bebchuk and Roe (1999, p. 168-9) have earlier voiced a similar sentiment by also pointing to the definitive role played not only by cultural values, but also by political ideologies (1999, p. 137). Recently Rossouw (2008) also cautioned that, on the basis of his global comparative analysis of corporate governance practices, there is no conclusive evidence that there is a convergence towards a shareholder-centred ethics of corporate governance.The clashing views in the convergence-divergence debate in the scholarly discourse on comparative corporate governance are also reflected in the regional perspectives that were offered in the preceding four articles. While Young believes that there is indeed a convergence towards the North American shareholder-orientated approach, Koslowski denies such a convergence and rather expresses the hope for a synthesis between the North American shareholder approach and the Continental European employee participation approach. Reddy, on the other hand warns that one should not be to easily misled by an apparent convergence towards a shareholder primacy approach in Asia. A deeper analysis of the Asian context reveals that while the shareholder primacy view might be officially endorsed in voluntary corporate governance codes either under the influence of global financial and economic institutions like the World Bank or the OECD, or because such endorsement might give Asian companies access to investment capital in shareholder dominated markets, the real corporate governance practice within companies tells a different, much more relationship based and stakeholder orientated story. West, in his African perspective also points out that the socio-political agenda of economic development in combination with society-centred African values diverge from the shareholder orientated approach. Despite this apparent divergence from the Anglo-American shareholder primacy he, however, draws attention to the fact that board structures and corporate governance agendas nevertheless remain very Anglo-American in character.\n4. Converging and diverging factors: An analysis of the four regional perspectives makes it clear that the ethics of corporate governance is influenced by a number of factors, such as patterns of ownership, the prevailing view of the role of the firm in a society, cultural and societal norms, and socio-political priorities. The fact that a specific kind of ethics of governance prevails in a given region is thus not so much an indication of its superiority as contenders for convergence tend to argue, but rather an indication of its fit with the above mentioned factors. Each of these factors that potentially may have an impact on the ethics of corporate governance will be discussed below.4.1 Patterns of ownership\n5. Conclusion: The regional perspectives on the ethics of corporate governance offered in this special journal issue was generated in response to the question whether there is an underlying ethic of corporate governance that is gaining the upper hand on a global scale, or whether there is a global divergence in this regard. An analysis of the perspectives offered from Africa, Asia, Continental Europe and North America, made it clear that there is divergence rather than convergence. Expectations of a global convergence towards either a \"shareholder centered ideology\", as Hansmann and Kraakman (2001, p. 439) predicted cannot be supported on the basis of the regional perspectives on the ethics of corporate governance offered in this special journal issue. Nor does it find support in other recent studies on the ethics of corporate governance (cf. Rossouw and Sison, 2006; Rossouw, 2008). The divergence that prevails should, however, not be regarded as a sign of immaturity of the field of corporate governance, nor as an indication that confusion prevails in international corporate governance. The divergence should rather be appreciated as an indication that corporate governance and the underpinning ethics thereof are influenced by a variety of factors that are context-specific such as patterns of ownership, the prevailing view of the role of the firm in a society, cultural and societal norms, and socio-economic priorities. Bransons verdict that significant cultural and contextual differences between nations and regions not only make the idea of convergence unlikely, but also unwanted, still remains worthy of serious consideration (cf. Branson, 2001, pp. 324-7).\nNotes: 1. In her analysis of the ethics of corporate governance in North America, where she compared the situation between Mexico, USA and Canada, Ryan (2005) identified significant differences between the corporate governance dispensations of the USA and Canada that Young tend to gloss over in his North American perspective.2. Cf. The Ethics of Corporate Governance: The North American Perspective, in this special issue.3. Cf. The Ethics of Corporate Governance: An Asian Perspective, in this special issue.4. Cf. The Ethics of Corporate Governance: An African Perspective, in this special issue.5. Cf. The Ethics of Corporate Governance: A Continental European Perspective, in this special issue. Wieland (2005) draws a number of finer distinctions with regard to the corporate governance regimes in Europe that is not reflected in Koslowski's Continental European perspective.6. Cf. Rossouw, The Ethics of Corporate Governance: Crucial Distinctions for Global Comparisons.7. Cf. The Ethics of Corporate Governance: An Asian Perspective, in this special issue.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there is a global divergence or convergence with regard to the ethics of corporate governance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Regional perspectives on the ethics of corporate governance from four regions, namely, Africa, Asia, Continental Europe and North America are first briefly introduced and characterized in terms of distinctions between the ethics of governance and the governance of ethics, internal and external corporate governance, and shareholder and stakeholder orientations to corporate governance. Thereafter these regional perspectives are compared in order to determine whether there is a global divergence or convergence with regard to the ethics of corporate governance amongst these four regions of the world.\nFindings: - There are four factors that potentially may have an impact on the ethics of corporate governance, namely, patterns of ownership, the prevailing view of the role of the firm in a society, cultural and societal norms, and socio-political priorities. The influence of these factors makes a global convergence on the ethics of corporate governance neither likely nor desirable.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Not all regions of the world were included in this comparative study. Regions that need to be included in future studies are Latin America, Central Asia and the Middle East.\nPractical implications: - The main finding, namely, that a global convergence on the ethics of corporate governance is neither likely nor desirable, should be taken into consideration by promoters of global corporate governance standards.\nOriginality/value: - Based on regional perspectives from Africa, Asia, Continental Europe and North America, the paper provides a global perspective on the question of whether there is global divergence or convergence with regard to the ethics of corporate governance amongst these four regions of the world.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Is gold a hedge or a safe haven? An application of ARDL approach	[ "ARDL", "Oil price", "Gold price", "Islamic stocks" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Despite the recent fall in the prices for general commodity, investing in commodities has a benefit that is better than most other financial assets, when considering the fact that commodities are divided into two types, hard and soft commodities. The hard commodities are natural resources that must be mined or extracted (such as oil, rubber and gold), while soft commodities are agricultural products or livestock (such as corn, wheat, sugar, coffee, soybeans and pork). According to researchers, diversification benefits can be achieved through investing across sectors and across countries; however, in the current homogenization and co-movement of global financial system, investors must be alert that the correlation among the sectors is dynamic, which can change sharply with a certain event. Therefore, it is better to invest in an asset that ideally contained either low or negative correlations with each other. In the case of an investment, we do not know the interest rates in the future, which can be either high or low. Similarly, we do not know which asset category, i.e. real estate, gold, stocks or bonds, will outperform or underperform in the future. Which business industry or sector will outperform in the future? Will mining and oil stocks outperform or will it be utilities, pipelines and communications? Because of these unknown circumstances, to make an investment effective, a portfolio must be carefully planned. The portfolio plan should note that the future will not at all the times unfold as expected; the methodology must be flexible enough to enable adjustments according to circumstances.\n2. Literature review: In the case of making investment in commodities as this paper is trying to suggest, according to Bhardwaj and Dunsby (2013), researchers that support commodity investment typically refer to its overall low correlation with other asset classes, which is one of the main three benefits of investing in the commodity market. The other two benefits are its similarity with equity in the case of returns and its positive correlation with inflation. In the most recent 50 years, the stock-commodity correlation has been near zero, in which their annual correlation ranged from -0.39 to 0.76.\n3. Methodology: The paper depicts the nature of the relationship of gold price in Saudi Arabia with key determinants such as the Shariah-compliant stock market index, oil price, exchange rate, interest rate and consumer price index by applying the ARDL analysis on monthly time series data from 2011 to 2015.\n4. Findings and interpretations: 4.1 Unit root test\n5. Conclusion: We have depicted the gold prices in Saudi Arabia and shown it to have a long-time relationship with the interest rate, the CPI and oil prices. Gold prices are negatively related to oil prices, which indicate the role of gold as a hedge. Gold prices go up when the Saudi Riyal is weaker, implying that gold is a good hedge against the dollar. When returns from investing outside the country are high, gold prices in Saudi Arabia are low. Finally, gold acts as a good inflation hedge, as it moves in the same direction as CPI. Because gold seems to be a useful portfolio hedge and an inflation hedge, government policies to curb the import of gold may be futile. Our research suggests that policies that directly address the causes of inflation and provide alternative investment opportunities for retail investors may better serve the objective of bringing down gold imports.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The argument whether gold is a hedge or haven is a debatable issue. Mainly, hedge is a class of asset that is negatively correlated with another asset or portfolio on average. On the other hand, a safe haven is an asset or portfolio which is negatively correlated with another asset or portfolio at the time of market turmoil. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to take Saudi Arabia as an example to examine the relationship of gold price in Saudi Arabia with key determinants such as the stock market index, oil prices, exchange rate, interest rate and consumer price index (CPI) by application of the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL).\nDesign/methodology/approach: The ARDL analysis was employed by using six variables based on the application of monthly time series data that were collected from 2011 to 2015.\nFindings: From the present analysis, it has been discovered that gold is useful as a portfolio hedge and as a hedge against inflation because it is not affected by the CPI. External factors, for example, financial crisis, may be harmful to the CPI, thus adding a certain percentage of gold in the investment portfolio may assist in decreasing the level of risk at the time of financial turmoil.\nOriginality/value: Because gold seems to be a useful portfolio hedge, as well as an inflation hedge, government policies to curb the import of gold may be futile. The present research suggests that policies that directly address the causes of inflation and provide alternative investment opportunities for retail investors may better serve the objective of decreasing gold imports.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How can a group of procurement experts select suppliers? An approach for group decision support	[ "Group decision making", "Multi-criteria decision making", "Supplier selection", "Decision support", "Vendor selection", "Analytic hierarchy process" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Effective supply chain management impacts the overall competitiveness of a firm (Hassini, 2008). Therefore it is critical to optimize important activities in the supply chain using systemic approaches. Thus complex activities like procurement management in general and supplier selection in particular have substantial literature highlighting the application of decision support theories (Schoenherr and Tummala, 2007).\n2. Brief literature review: 2.1 Decision support and the supplier selection problem\n3. Research focus and scope: While decision support studies for the supplier selection problem has been a classic area of research and has a plethora of literature, a relatively nascent area is the application of decision support theories for group decision making. To address this gap, the current study demonstrates the application of theories for consensual group decision making using the AHP for supplier selection.\n4. Theoretical grounding of the computational approach: In any ranking exercise involving group decision making, a series of sequential logical steps are followed. First the criteria for evaluation need to be established. Then the preferences of individual decision makers in prioritizing these evaluation criteria need to be estimated precisely. Then these preferences need to be combined in such a way that consensus is achieved among the group of decision makers. Then the scores of the participants being evaluated, needs to be collected and standardized across the different evaluation criteria. Finally the participant scores need to be mapped to the group preferences to bring out the total scores for all the participants, based on which the final ranks are established. This logical approach using AHP theory follows a five step process, which has been described diagrammatically in Figure 1.\n5. Case study: data collection and analysis: A case study was conducted in an iron and steel manufacturing multi-national company to evaluate the discussed theories and to compare the difference in outcome among different approaches. First interviews were conducted among all the eight management executives of a procurement group. The interviews established that seven criteria were used for the evaluation of suppliers. These criteria were product quality, delivery compliance, price, technological capability, production capability, financial strength and electronic transaction capability (refer Braglia and Petroni, 2000; Bottani and Rizzi, 2005 for detailed definitions).\n6. Results: Based on the supplier's scores, the rank for each supplier was computed, such that a supplier with a higher score had a better (lower) rank. The results of the total score computation and ranking exercise using different approaches are illustrated in Table VI.\n7. Discussion: The major focus of this study was to explore the applicability of the group decision support theories for supplier selection. This study demonstrates how different decision support theories based on the AHP may be applied for group decision making. Since decision making of a group of experts in consensus is often more effective and reliable than the decision making of the same experts in isolation for complex tasks; extending decision support theories for consensual group decision making is an important contribution of this study.\n8. Conclusion: While the main focus of this study was to explore the applicability of group decision support theories for supplier selection, few related issues have been explored in this study, as was described in the introduction section. The contributions of this study based on the results obtained from the case analysis, are summarized briefly as follows:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The application of theories on group decision support is yet to be explored extensively in supplier selection literature, although the literature in both domains is extremely rich, in isolation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of group decision support theories for supplier selection.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The row geometric mean method (RGMM) of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been used in this study for the prioritization of group preferences under consensus. A case study was conducted to test the theories of consensual group decision making and compare it with other approaches based on AHP.\nFindings: The study establishes that the application of decision support theories for group decision making can improve the supplier selection process. Findings further imply that RGMM is more effective than eigen value method, for group decision making under consensus.\nResearch limitations/implications: Methodologically, the study highlights the greater regularity in outcome of group decision making, vis-a-vis individual decision making, for the same decision-making context. Also, it highlights how RGMM is more effective since it preserves reciprocal properties and diversity in preferences better.\nPractical implications: The study establishes that firms can improve supplier selection processes by leveraging on the collective expertise of a group rather than depending on individual decision-making expertise.\nOriginality/value: This study explores the application of different theories based on AHP for consensual group decision making. It compares different approaches based on AHP and establishes that RGMM is a superior approach for supplier selection.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Top management commitment and involvement and their link to key account management effectiveness	[ "Top management", "Empirical study", "Key accounts" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Key account management (KAM) has emerged during the last decades as one of the most important concepts in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. A key account is a customer identified by the supplier to be of strategic importance (Millman and Wilson, 1995). KAM is a systematic process for managing relationships with key accounts (Millman and Wilson, 1995). Because of their importance, suppliers cannot afford to lose these customers without getting into serious difficulties (Zupancic, 2008). This leads suppliers to manage KAM relationships in such a way that they can achieve greater levels of partnership and commitment with their accounts (Piercy and Lane, 2003).\nThe role of top management in KAM relationships: Top management has an important role in shaping organizations. Researchers on strategy implementation suggest that organizational strategies reflect the characteristics and interests of the top managers of the firm (Hambrick and Mason, 1984), while market orientation literature empirically supports the idea that top management emphasis positively relates to market orientation (Jaworski and Kohli, 1993). The importance of top management in managing customer relationships has also been recognized in KAM literature (Workman et al., 2003; Napolitano, 1997; Millman and Wilson, 1999). With the increasing recognition that key accounts are not just a source of revenue, suppliers have paid a lot of attention and invested vast sums in the development of KAM programmes aiming to develop long-term relationships (Spencer, 1999; Ivens and Pardo, 2008). A lot of emphasis is given to, and sophisticated methods used in, defining where investment should be made (Francis, 2004). Suppliers also focus on how to accommodate the cross-functional demands of KAM (Homburg et al., 2002). It is not surprising then that top management plays an important role in the design, implementation and review of KAM programmes.\nResearch framework and hypotheses: In this section, we develop the research model of the study, as shown in Figure 1. Specifically, this study examines how top management commitment and top management involvement affect relationship quality, and how they relate to each other. This study also attempts to show that top management involvement may serve as a mediator in the relationship between top management commitment and relationship quality. Finally, the study examines the potential effect of relationship quality on financial performance.\nMethod: Sample and data collection\nResults: Measures evaluation\nDiscussion and implications: The present study provides insights into the role of top management in managing effective KAM relationships. The study examines the effect of top management commitment and top management involvement on relationship quality and, in turn, how relationship quality relates to financial performance. Moreover, it examines the mediating effect of top management involvement in the relationship between top management commitment and relationship quality.\nLimitations and future research: Our study has some limitations that offer opportunities for future research. First, the study focuses on the effect of top management commitment and involvement in KAM. However, there may be other factors and moderators that affect the strength of their relationship to KAM effectiveness. Future research that considers top management's role simultaneously with either internal characteristics, such as organizational culture, market characteristics, such as competitive intensity, or customers' characteristics, such as customer purchasing strategy, and explores their potential interaction, would contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the antecedents to effective KAM.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine the role of top management in effective key account management (KAM) relationships, making a distinction between top management commitment and top management involvement.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study uses data from 304 suppliers from different sectors to test the research model and hypotheses developed. Data were collected by means of personal interviews. The survey instrument was a structured questionnaire.\nFindings: Results show that top management commitment positively affects top management involvement. In addition, top management involvement totally mediates the relationship between top management commitment and relationship quality. Finally, relationship quality positively relates to financial performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study focuses on the role of top management in KAM. Future research that considers the top management's role simultaneously with other internal or external factors would provide a more comprehensive understanding of the antecedents of effective KAM. Future studies can also examine the potential detrimental impact of top management involvement in KAM.\nPractical implications: Top managers should get actively involved in KAM. The study provides managers with guidance concerning how top management can have the greatest effect on KAM effectiveness.\nOriginality/value: The study adds to our understanding of the role of top management in KAM. The study provides an integrative empirical examination of the influence of top management in KAM and offer insights on which ways top management determines KAM success.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Introducing a transdisciplinary approach in studies regarding risk assessment and management in educational programs for environmental engineers and planners	[ "Risk assessment", "Risk management", "Environmental engineering", "Environmental and safety engineering", "Emergency measures", "Italy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The aim of this article is to discuss how risk issues related to natural and technological hazards can be addressed by higher educational programs for planners and engineers.Two fields of interest are considered: the first concerns the best way to prevent damage with ordinary plans and projects to develop and transform settlements and infrastructures; the second concerns the question of how to prepare experts and professionals to deal with emergencies once a disaster has occurred.According to the view presented in what follows, a risk situation arises whenever a vulnerable system is exposed to the potential impact of a hazard, which may be considered - albeit with a certain amount of simplification - external to the exposed system. The hazard may be technological, in which case the threat consists in a man-made plant or technological device that may cause an accident or it may be a natural phenomenon like a hurricane, earthquake, or volcanic eruption. The existence of a particular hazard, however, is not enough to create a risk (see the terminology provided by the ISDR, 2004), which results from the combination of hazard and exposed vulnerable systems.Technological hazards may have been created in a given area either before or after the development of urban systems; in the case of natural hazards, instead, a risky condition is created whenever settlements have been developed in dangerous zones. In some particular instances, human action may exacerbate or even create a hazard (through deforestation, for example).This complex definition entails that different disciplines are required to assess risks by addressing factors to do with both hazards and exposed settlements. As regards hazards, various kinds of experts, but mainly engineers and geologists, have produced analytical and assessment tools. These experts must integrate their findings especially in cases when a given city or settlement is exposed to multiple hazards simultaneously. Consider, for example, water contamination resulting from floods or provoked by earthquakes as a secondary effect. Already in the first phase of analysing the hazard component, different experts must work together in order to present a satisfactory model of the event and its temporal evolution.When considering the second term of the risk relation - the vulnerability of exposed systems - the range of expertise necessary widens indefinitely: not only must the resistance capacity of various structural objects be considered (in which case engineering is perhaps still the main disciplinary domain involved), but also (or perhaps mainly) the response capacity of an entire urban and regional system. Required in this case is not only the technical expertise of geologists and engineers but also that of planners, psychologists, sociologists, and economists.Nevertheless, this is not only a matter of integrating different disciplinary perspectives in a way that is rarely sought; it also concerns the capacity to produce a single and commonly agreed-upon result. The latter could be presented, for example, in the form of a scenario (Ringland, 1998) showing how a territorial system's response to a hazard impact may change with or without the introduction of preventive measures.Achieving this result requires the participation of the community affected as well. voluntary associations, interested organizations and individuals often know much more than is commonly believed about the risk threatening their community; such knowledge cannot be simplistically reduced to \"risk perception\" as it was usually termed in the past. In regard to hazards like floods, volcanoes and hazardous plants especially, local residents have learned to interpret the early warning signs and \"symptoms\" of a crisis in a way that is often much more accurate and context-related than the analyses of experts.This type of local knowledge is difficult to incorporate into risk analysis and assessments, especially when the latter are produced by structured and closed models. Competences pertaining to the legal arena are required (Salter et al., 1988), and these may often reverse what would be an obvious result from a purely scientific point of view - that is, when only the technical aspect of the questions at stake is considered.It has been argued until very recently that the views of the lay public and experts can be assigned to two different phases: risk assessment and risk management (Williams and Thompson, 2004), where the experts address mainly the question of the \"acceptable level of risk\".The point is that an increasing number of experts recognise today that those two phases cannot be easily distinguished, because the way in which risk is assessed significantly influences the decision phase: the damage mitigation and reduction measures envisaged depend on how the expected losses are estimated and presented.Discussed thus far has been why a transdisciplinary approach is required in risk issues as in most environmental studies (Klein et al., 2001; Scholz and Tietje, 2002). Now to be specified is the kinds of educational programs that can be envisaged.Three areas of interest can be mentioned: the design of safe structures for which a satisfactory safety coefficient is sought; urban and regional planning which ensures that urban functions are sited so that their vulnerability is minimised; and emergency preparedness. Common to these three areas is their definition of risk in terms of the probability that a given damage may occur as a result of a natural calamity or an industrial accident.In the first field of expertise, the purpose of the safety coefficient is to achieve reliable systems, especially in highly hazardous plants; in the second case (which has been recognised more recently than the first one, traditionally considered in engineering studies), the aim is to identify land uses compatible with existing hazards and to reduce the vulnerability of already exposed systems; in the third and last case, the goal is to prepare organisations so that they make the best possible use of available resources and technologies in order to mitigate the effect of a disaster.In each of the three cases, the probability is more a degree of ignorance than a statistical frequency and concerns not only the possibility of a failure but also its consequences on other related systems. In other words, as shown by De Marchi et al. (1993), the uncertainty involved in risk situations is not mono-dimensional because it pertains to distinct aspects. The data used as inputs to various models are not always as precise and reliable as would be desirable, and they have sometimes been gathered for completely different purposes. In many cases uncertainty is due to a lack of adequate knowledge about the hazard or vulnerability components, or about the correctness of the model used to represent the urban or regional system under consideration. As discussed by Oreskes et al. (1994), models used in risk analyses suffer from varying degrees of uncertainty and under-definition of crucial variables and are consequently impossible to \"validate\" in strictly \"scientific\" terms. Although Oreskes et al. furnish examples related to hydrogeological risks, their observations can be easily applied to other risks as well, both natural and technological.Furthermore, as pointed out by De Marchi et al. in the paper cited above, consideration should be made of other types of uncertainties which are much more difficult to model, for instance the legal, situational and social uncertainties related to the way in which society will perceive the action of the organisations responsible for dealing with risks. As Huber (1995) has demonstrated, the risks considered here are more collective and public than private and individual, with the consequence that responsibilities and liabilities are much more difficult to assign. Only very rarely and artificially can failures and damages due to public risks be imputed to a single person or to a single factor; in most cases, various causes and individuals share responsibility for a disastrous outcome.This article discusses only the second and the third areas of interest, those related to long-term prevention achieved through land use and environmental planning on the one hand, and emergency preparedness on the other.\n2 Urban and regional planning and management: Land use planning and urban and regional policies adopt what are generally referred to as non-structural and long-term preventive measures. They are non-structural in the sense that they do not correspond to physical engineering works but rather to norms and regulations intended to reduce existing or future levels of exposure and vulnerability. These norms produce the desired result only after a rather long period of time (generally longer than required for the effect of structural measures to be apparent).Although this statement can be considered generally valid, in some instances planning decisions may generate an immediate negative outcome in cases when a dangerous area is developed, or a positive one when relocation is the preventive measure selected.Broadly speaking, whilst the main purpose of emergency plans and programs is to reduce organisational and systemic vulnerabilities, land use, urban and regional plans can achieve effective damage reduction, including physical damage to infrastructures and buildings.2.1 The expertise to develop in planners and environmental engineers so that they are competent in addressing long-term prevention\n3 Preparing technical experts able to manage and work in crises: While courses on risk analysis and assessment have been gradually introduced into university engineering and planning programs, emergency preparedness is still not a subject of academic study in Italy, with few exceptions. This particular subject is not considered suitable for higher educational programs: it is regarded as mostly practical and therefore not as requiring a theoretical background, despite increasing demands arising from the professional and administrative world. Fire services and civil protection authorities increasingly request academia to provide high standard professional training modules for both managers and technical experts, given that contemporary emergency, especially when they involve large and complex metropolitan areas requiring far more than just training and improvisation capabilities. A wide range of engineering notions are required: in chemistry when chemical emergencies must be dealt with, and in traditional building structures in order to decide whether or not to enter a partially collapsed building.Contingency management is no longer the task of volunteers alone, because it involves specific competences and expertise. It does so in the private sector as well, with multinational companies concerned about local crises that may provoke larger problems, as regards both business continuity and accidents or failures that may dramatically impact their image.The Politecnico di Milano is at present considering the feasibility of a two-year post-graduate course, possibly leading to a master degree program in risk prevention and civil protection. This educational project is grounded on two previous initiatives: a one-year master course on civil protection run since 2003 in the city of Lecco with 18 attendees (some of them directly involved in civil protection: a fireman, a policeman, and a manager of a medical emergency unit) and two cycles of the Community Mechanism course[2]. The latter has been recently introduced by the European Commission in order to train civil protection servants to represent the European Union in case of extra-European disasters, such as the earthquake in Bam, Iran, in December 2003 and the more recent tsunami in December 2004.3.1 The abilities that civil protection officials must develop\n4 Preliminary conclusions: The article has discussed the question of whether and how courses on civil protection and major risk prevention can be introduced into university programs for planners and engineers.This has already happened in some instances, also under pressure by the professional world, which presses for continuing education in a field that has undergone significant changes in recent years.One of the obstacles to be overcome is the low level of interdisciplinarity that still characterizes the majority of university programs, at least in the fields of engineering. The article has stressed the importance of a transdisciplinary approach able to include the views of the people exposed to risk in a given area. However, it should be recognised that in many cases even less ambitious interdisciplinarity falls far short of what is necessary to develop professional expertise in environmental themes.Disciplinary experts still work sectorally, and many risk analyses simply assemble their contributions to form the final report, rarely integrating them to meet a single and common objective.This is not to say that such experiences are non-existent; rather, that they are still pilot projects or prototypes that do not pertain to current practices. Exactly the same occurs in universities, where this type of integrated and transdisciplinary work is best carried out on special programs (like postgraduate courses in Italy) and not in ordinary educational formats.At the time of writing, a new international program is under way. Funded by the European Alfa Program and involving three Central American universities (Nicaragua, Mexico and El Salvador) and three European institutions (Spain, the coordinator of the project, France and Italy), the program, named Centralrisk (Contr. N. II-0334-FA), aims at training experts able to cope with major risks and emergencies affecting the Latin America countries. The program, which is somewhat similar in its organisation to the one described earlier (the \"Cities, Health and Safety\" master course), is based on the development of case studies with local tutors and institutions in Central American states. It is too early to report its results because the Maestria (as it is called in Spanish) is still under way; but it does manifest the greater concern of university institutions and also international bodies to develop this kind of program on risk reduction and mitigation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to discuss how long term risk prevention and civil protection may enter in university programs for environmental engineers and urban and regional planners.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - First the distinction between long term risk prevention and emergency preparedness is made, showing that while the first has entered in university programs the second is still considered too practical. The opposite is sustained by the author, providing as an argument the demand coming from the same civil protection officials who are aware of the capabilities that are required to face large emergencies. They want to learn how to make recourse to the large knowledge acquired in risk studies and to experiences and models so as to forecast the event's potential development.\nFindings: - The paper describes how this expertise has been enacted in special programs designed for EU and Italian professionals in the field of civil protection. The development of an external emergency plan for a hazardous installation in the vicinity of Bergamo (Italy) has been also described as a good example of training and knowledge acquirement in the field.\nPractical implications: - The examples provided above show the importance of matching practical experience gained on the ground with theoretical approaches, enhancing the capabilities to recognise links among various systems as well as value different types of knowledge in a transdisciplinary fashion.\nOriginality/value: - The inevitable link between risk related issues and transdisciplinary approaches is discussed, indicating how a relatively new field of study may enter the academic arena, opening to new types of expertise and new forms of teaching.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Cross-cultural challenges for a global maritime enterprise	[ "China", "National cultures", "International business", "Business analysis", "Cross‐cultural considerations", "Cross‐cultural leadership" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Case description: The primary subject matter of this case involves the appointment of the senior executives to administer the New York City and Malmo, Sweden offices of a Chinese state-enterprise and its publicly-traded Hong Kong subsidiary. Issues include national cultural considerations addressing the appointment of senior executives for foreign offices. The case study analysis is based on Hofstede's cross-cultural research and culturally influenced leadership styles and control paradigms as well as the nationality of prospective senior executives. The case is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students. The case is designed to be discussed during a one-hour class session. The student requirement is to submit an individual (or if the instructor prefers a group) written report and prepare a classroom presentation. It is expected to require substantial preparation by students outside of the class sessions. A supplemental bibliography is provided at the end of the case study to assist students to develop a sophisticated understanding of national cultural influences on business decision making. The case is designed for use in the international business, international management and management courses.\n2 Case synopsis: A Chinese state-enterprise and its publicly-traded Hong Kong subsidiary engaged in the maritime business sector are profiled. The Hong Kong subsidiary is directed to establish offices in New York City and Malmo, Sweden. The Hong Kong senior management team has appointed a rising subordinate as the lead person to analyze how the firm should proceed to fill the senior executive position for each foreign office. Students are asked to assume the role of the subordinate to review and analyze Hofstede's cross-cultural research, leadership styles and control paradigms to identify the appropriate nationality of the prospective senior executive to be appointed to administer the New York City and Malmo offices. Students are required to work either independently or in groups, at the instructor's preference, to prepare the following case deliverables:* a written report to the Hong Kong senior management recommending the appropriate leadership style, control paradigm and nationality of the senior executive for the New York and Malmo offices; and* an oral presentation to the class based on the written report.\n3 The company: This case study presents China International Shipping (CIS), a state-enterprise engaged in the maritime sector, and its publicly-traded subsidiary, Hong Kong International Shipping (HKIS). HKIS has been directed to establish two regional divisions to enter the short-sea shipping sector of merchant shipping. One regional division will be located in New York City to direct North American short-sea shipping operations. The other regional division will be located in Malmo, Sweden to direct Northern European short-sea shipping operations. The following public information about the parent enterprise and the Hong Kong subsidiary is provided for review.A. China International Shipping\n4 The short-sea shipping initiative: Given the success of HKIS's East Asia short-sea shipping venture, the subordinates approached senior management with a potentially interesting proposal to develop short-sea shipping in other promising locations. The subordinates recognized that short-sea shipping from the port of New York/New Jersey to other Atlantic east coast ports (both in the USA and Canada) and from the port of Malmo, Sweden to other North and Baltic Seas ports in various countries were possibly commercially viable extensions of the enterprise's North Atlantic container service.The short-sea shipping proposal, in effect a business plan, was reviewed for its financial soundness by the HKIS subordinates who provided a written analysis that it would return a profit margin of 9.7 per cenet based on its capital needs. Given the capital reserves of both CIS and HKIS the financial resources were available within the enterprise. This situation was quite attractive to the CIS and HKIS senior management teams as it meant that a petition for additional national government funding was unneeded and, as the HKIS senior management explained to the CIS senior management, an additional stock offering was also unneeded thus the investors would not feel that their equity in the subsidiary would be diluted. Also, untapped lines of credit with their commercial bankers could be used for other projects.As a result, HKIS senior managers recommended that the CIS senior management team approve the initiative. The CIS senior management also recommended to the national government ministries that the proposal be approved. The Chinese Ministry of Communications, the lead government agency overseeing CIS acquired the support of all appropriate government agencies and approached the leaders of the government with the proposal who, in turn, approved the initiative.The HKIS senior management team, although not business experts, were quite aware that due to the different national cultures and business practices in various countries, the management of the two regional offices (in both New York City and Malmo) and the relationships between each regional office and the home office in Hong Kong were delicate issues that would influence the profitability of the initiative. The senior managers held a series of discussions regarding the management of the initiative. They came to the conclusion that Director of Ocean Shipping Practices Jia Weiming, a subordinate who was particularly promising for advancement due to his work during his years of employment at HKIS, should take the lead for the project. Concern was apparent in that the individual was quite young, being only 31 years old. However, Director Jai seemed to be the right candidate for assignment. He graduated from Shanghai Maritime University with a Bachelor's of Science in Navigation Technology, sailed in the Chinese merchant service for five years, completed a Masters of Business Administration from a prestigious university in the USA and earned a Masters of Science in Shipping Management from the World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden. The senior managers thought Director Jai was an intelligent and dedicated employee and rated his performance as outstanding. Further, by virtue of his foreign education and living abroad he was well acquainted with the Unites States and Swedish national cultures, languages and management practices.Director Jia Weiming was summoned, without explanation, to the executive conference room and when he arrived the senior managers were seated around the conference table. Director Jia was informed of the short-sea shipping initiative, told that he would lead the project, directed to speak with the financial analysts regarding the budget and the human resource director concerning recruiting and hiring practices and ordered to submit a proposal in 45 calendar days.Director Jia left the conference room knowing immediately that he was given a choice assignment; but one with high visibility and many risks. If he succeeded he would advance his career; if he failed he would be looking for a new job.\n5 Director Jia Weiming's challenge: Director Jia sat at his desk and began to ponder the task at hand. He considered the project in its entirety and realized that the complexity was such that he should identify the major components and their interrelationships. Jia knew that he had limited time to prepare his written report and oral presentation to the senior management team. He also understood that given the senior managers' experiences and expertise a written report and oral presentation should not provide business jargon.Jia considered his educational experiences in China, the USA and Sweden and his professional experiences sailing as a mariner and working shore-side for HKIS. He then identified the major issues, in the sequence that he thought most appropriate, that should be addressed for each office:* implications of national culture on the organizational culture;* preferred leadership style;* preferred management control paradigm;* preferred nationality of the senior executive; and* recruitment announcements.Jia knew that a rigorous approach to preparing his report would require that he supplement his anecdotal experiences, both in China and abroad, with a more scientific understanding of national cultures. He also knew that the HKIS senior management would appreciate a concise written report and presentation. He decided that he would develop a series of exhibits in a condensed written report.Director Jia recalled that in his graduate business studies he was introduced to the work of Hofstede regarding national cultures. Upon further contemplation he came to the conclusion that Hofstede's research was the appropriate initial point for preparing his report to the senior management team. Jia acquired a copy of Cultures and Organizations by Geert Hofstede published by McGraw-Hill in New York during, 1997. He read and reread the book and took extensive notes paying particular attention to the passages that focused on Hong Kong, the USA and Sweden. As he reviewed his extensive notes he realized that to reduce confusion and provide an understandable presentation to the senior managers he should codify the information and prepared Table I.Director Jia then decided to supplement Table I with information indicating various leadership styles that should be considered for appropriateness in each foreign office. He reviewed the leadership research that was presented in his graduate business studies and decided that the Leadership Grid would serve as the basis for analysis. Jia prepared Figure 1.Jia recognized further that management control would be a highly important issue to the HKIS senior management team. He considered what he had learned concerning this crucial topic and decided to review more current management textbooks used in graduate business programs in the United States. During his review, he obtained a copy of Management by Richard L. Daft and found an exhibit in the textbook a perfect presentation for his project report to the senior management team. Jia then replicated the information found in Exhibit 19.6 in the Daft textbook and revised the presentation format so it would be easier for the HKIS senior managers to understand. Jia's effort is presented in Table II.Director Jia then turned his attention to the last component of his analysis which was the nationality of the individuals to be appointed to the New York City and Malmo offices. He recalled one of his graduate school professors lecturing on the topic of the benefits and drawbacks of hiring home-country, host-country and third-country nationals for senior foreign assignments. He consulted his notes from his graduate business studies and prepared Table III.Director Jia used the four tables to analyze HKIS. It was obvious that the ethnicity and nationality of the leadership of his organization was Chinese. Upon examination he realized that the senior management followed a team management (9,9 on the leadership grid) style and the decentralized control paradigm currently. Upon reflection, Jia remembered that when he joined HKIS the senior management followed an authority-compliance management (9,1 on the leadership grid) style and the bureaucratic control paradigm. Subsequently, the senior management recognized that their expertise involved understanding the national and political policy goals of the Chinese government although their business acumen was limited. The senior managers relied on subordinate or second-level management contributions to provide HKIS with a team-oriented approach to the two distinct demands (Chinese government policy and market-place business strategy goals) on the organization. The Bureaucratic control paradigm was in place originally; but the senior managers realized that HKIS was established by the state-enterprise CIS and its customers were not other state-enterprises but rather commercial firms. The younger, business educated subordinates were hesitant to deviate from prescribed operating procedures and their job descriptions, challenge poorly made decisions and volunteer information. Thus, in preparation for the October 2009 IPO, the HKIS senior management tasked their subordinates to develop the appropriate control paradigm to compete profitably in the market. The senior managers were convinced that the original leadership style and control paradigm were the correct choices for the newly created HKIS and believe that the merits of these approaches outweigh any identified detractions for newly created organizations.Director Jia was now satisfied that the four tables were essentially the core of his written report and oral presentation to the senior managers. He knew that the difficult part of his assigned project now had to be addressed. Jia pondered as he reviewed the assembled information as to what his analysis would lead to in terms of his recommendation for appointing the senior executives in the New York City and Malmo offices.\n6 Requirement: Students, either individual or in groups at the instructor's preference, will prepare a written report to the HKIS senior management team analyzing the information found in the case and supplemented with appropriate external research that provides a recommendation as to the leadership styles, control paradigms and nationality of the senior executives for the New York City and Malmo offices. The written report should include the following information pertaining to the senior executives for both the New York City and Malmo offices:* national cultural influences and the resultant impact on the organizational culture in each office as detailed in Table IV;* preferred leadership style;* preferred management control paradigm;* preferred nationality; and* recruitment announcements.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to present a hypothetical case study which provides an opportunity for students to conduct realistic business analysis applying subject material related to cross-cultural issues presented in the international business, international management and management courses.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The hypothetical case study requires students to review and analyze cross-cultural issues related to the appointment of the senior executive for a foreign office of a global business enterprise. A hypothetical Chinese maritime enterprise and its publicly-traded subsidiary are profiled. Cross-cultural considerations come into play as the senior executive for two foreign offices must be appointed.\nFindings: - The case reflects refinements based upon its use during the past few years. Students are provided a realistic experiential exercise. Student feedback indicates a heightened sensitivity to cross-cultural considerations that transcends their assigned textbook readings and traditional testing.\nResearch limitations/implications: - As with any classroom exercise, differences do exist with \"real-world\" business practice. Students do not fully appreciate the pressures and tensions experienced by business professionals with respect to recruiting, selecting, appointing and developing a senior executive for a foreign office assignment.\nPractical implications: - The case study provides an experiential exercise for students to apply theories and concepts learned from the textbook and the instructor's lectures.\nOriginality/value: - The case study offers a complex view of myriad cross-cultural considerations inherent in an international business firm, providing value to instructors and students as it reinforces discipline theories and concepts in a meaningful way, creating an active learning environment fostering academic excellence.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Does humility facilitate knowledge sharing? Investigating the role of humble knowledge inquiry and response	[ "Knowledge sharing", "Humility", "Dyadic", "Humble inquiry", "Humble response" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Knowledge is a critical resource in economies (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) and one of the few assets that tends to grow when shared (Quinn, 1996). For organizations to capitalize on this asset, it needs to be shared amongst employees (Brcic and Mihelic, 2015) to transform individual knowledge into organizational knowledge (Foss et al., 2010). Furthermore, while working in firms, people often face complex or ambiguous challenges, requiring the exchange or sharing of knowledge which leads to knowledge creation and innovation (Jones and Mahon, 2012; Zhou and Li, 2012), team creativity (Kessel et al., 2012), sustainable competitive advantage (Alavi and Leidner, 2001; Ardichvili et al., 2003) and organizational success (Smith, 2001; Wang et al., 2014). Knowledge sharing is often a cornerstone in the knowledge management strategy of many firms (Riege, 2005). However, although employees interact and communicate with, and depend on, others for work-related knowledge, not everyone in every situation is willing to share their knowledge (Anand and Walsh, 2016), and not sharing knowledge has been considered an unethical practice in many organizations (Panda, 2012; Baskerville and Dulipovici, 2006). The literature on knowledge sharing (KS) has investigated many antecedents of KS. Examples include Razmerita et al. (2016) from an individual perspective, Ipe (2003) on motivation, Bock et al. (2005) on attitude, Kankanhalli et al. (2005a, 2005b) on self-efficacy, Levin and Cross (2004) on the strength of ties, Chiu et al. (2006) and Wasko and Faraj (2000) on trust and reciprocity norms, and Mueller (2015) on culture at the individual level . However, there is very little evidence for the construct of humility and how it could foster KS. Humility is considered an ethical value in individuals (Jennings et al., 2005), an ethical requirement for managers (Argandona, 2017) and one of the ethical duties of a leader (Caldwell et al., 2017), but appears to be neglected, or at least not highlighted as a primary virtue, in the business world (Argandona, 2015). Therefore, while being widely accepted as a virtue, humility has received little attention from organizations (Frostenson, 2015), especially in the field of KS. This raises the following questions:\n2. Methodology: Undertaking a systematic literature review requires a methodological approach and defined keyword protocol to identify texts related to humility.\n3. Knowledge sharing and humility: In this section, we first define and explain the KS process from an organizational, individual and interpersonal perspective. This leads us to highlight humility as an individual characteristic with possible significance in the KS process.\n4. Proposal of a new model: Combining the literatures on KS and humility leads to the two concepts of humble knowledge inquiry and humble response, which have started emerging in the broader literature but have not been properly defined or investigated in depth in relation to KS. We attempt to fill this void. We propose different KS scenarios and introduce a new conceptual model of the KS process facilitated by humility in both knowledge seekers and providers.\n5. Conclusion: This study makes a theoretical contribution to knowledge management - and in particular knowledge sharing - research. The growing attention on KS as a critical success factor of knowledge management (Dezdar, 2017) motivated this paper in an effort to understand whether humility, often considered as an ethical value in individuals, is in fact an important factor for KS in a dyadic relationship, and what individual and organizational specificities, if any, facilitate humble knowledge seeking and humble knowledge providing. Through an extensive review of diverse literatures, our findings highlight that there are various factors that help both individuals and organizations to adopt different facets of humility in the KS process. We found that the knowledge seeker's role is essential in this process, as the seeker's humble approach can motivate the knowledge provider to share their knowledge and to do so with a humble response. Humility is driven by individual dispositions and situational constraints, which may lead to true or false-pretense humble behavior.\n6. Limitations: This paper, along with the proposed model, has limitations but also opens up many avenues for future research and contributes to the current body of literature on humility and KS. Humility remains a relatively new, poorly understood, and often neglected construct in organizational research (Oc et al., 2015) and even more so in the KS context. One obstacle to an empirical approach to humility is the basic conceptual question of what humility actually is (Meagher et al., 2015); there is therefore a need for researchers to seek greater consensus in their definitions of humility, particularly in the context of KS. One challenge that remains is to fully understand the intention behind a seemingly humble attitude. Might it be false-pretense humility driven by selfishness, opportunism, political motivations or self-promotion? A person may choose a humble approach based on the situation, but its success depends on how the knowledge seeker's behavior is interpreted by the knowledge provider. This further depends on the provider's traits or history of KS activities with a given seeker and requires further investigation. In our proposed model, we considered mostly one possible type of KS, where knowledge is recognized as needed by the knowledge seeker. Yet KS may also be initiated by a knowledge provider toward recipients who are not actively seeking knowledge. Hence, these recipients might not recognize the importance and usefulness of the knowledge that is shared with them (e.g. when a professor teaches passive students who do not want to learn). In this case, a different process model would have to be proposed.\n7. Study implications and future research: This study provides practical implications for both managerial and organizational practices. For instance, to boost KS practices, firms could aim to nurture humble environments and promote humility through the appointment of humble managers. Managers/leaders often act as knowledge providers; employees who rate their managers as humble feel more engaged and less likely to quit, more committed to the leader's vision, and more trusting of and receptive toward their ideas (Feder & Sahibzada, 2014). Thus, humble and empowering leadership can help firms to nurture humility among employees at an organizational level (Owens, 2013). Furthermore, adopting humility as a core value in organizational mission and goals can attract employees who would be more inclined and motivated to work with humility.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Despite the strong focus on virtues in firms, humility is little recognized in the management literature and, more particularly in the literature about knowledge sharing (KS). Despite efforts to foster KS among employees in firms, the effectiveness of this process narrows down to the dyadic relationship between the knowledge seeker and provider within firm. This paper aims to investigate the role of humility in the KS process in dyadic activity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors undertake an exploratory investigation to fill some of the gaps found in the literature. The paper draws insights from psychology, history, religion, current events and management literature.\nFindings: The authors identify several individual propensities that help predict humility towards sharing knowledge from seeker (humble knowledge-inquiry) and provider perspectives (humble response). They propose a new conceptual process model of KS with humility as an important variable to consider. This work highlights several promising directions for future research.\nOriginality/value: As per the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper that investigates the role of humility in knowledge sharing from dyadic perspective. The authors also introduce concepts of humble knowledge inquiry and humble response in a dyadic context for effective knowledge sharing process.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Against history: the role of history in current Dutch society	[ "History", "The Netherlands", "Society", "Learning" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In societies that have more memories than dreams, too many people are spending too many days looking backward. They see dignity, affirmation, and self-worth not by mining the present but by chewing on the past. And even that is usually not a real past but an imagined and adorned past. Indeed, such societies focus all their imagination on making that imagined past even more beautiful than it ever was, and then they cling to it like a rosary or a strand of worry beads, rather than imagining a better future and acting on that (Friedman, 2006).\nThe attention to history in The Netherlands: History is a fashionable subject in The Netherlands. Or, to use a more modern parlance: retro is hot. The Dutch media are filled with thoughts on how (good) things used to be and how important historical knowledge is. The Netherlands has the largest number of museums per capita in the world and Dutch television is filled with nostalgic programs.In other areas there is also an increasing interest in history. Genealogy has become a popular hobby, as have reenacting historical battles, visiting historical archives and regression therapy allowing people to know who they were in their previous lives. In addition, it has become fashionable to build in historical styles (\"historical construction\"), and architects are no longer fazed by the kitsch elements involved in such a development.As far as Dutch politics are concerned, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and his loyal assistant the Minister for Social Affairs Piet Hein Donner, display firm historical roots. Both these gentlemen represent a Christian political movement that puts greater faith in the Christian values of the yesteryear than in more modern ideas concerning right and wrong. A fine example of looking back was the happy message delivered by Balkenende in 2006: \"Let us be happy! Let us be optimistic! The Netherlands can once more do it! The VOC mentality to look across the frontiers is back! Dynamics!\" Especially the reference to the VOC (United East India Company - seventeenth and eighteenth centuries) moved many a Dutch parliamentarian. Balkenende's remark concerning the VOC was criticized by pointing out that the VOC represented much more than entrepreneurship and progress alone: slavery, exploitation and repression. The influence of history on Dutch politics was very clear in 2006. The four parties that gained seats (the CDA[1], the ChristenUnie[2], the SP[3] and the PVV[4]) all had a conservative slant, whereas the progressive parties (PvdA[5], D66[6], Groenlinks[7] and VVD[8]) all lost seats. Another area where politics showed a keen interest in history was the plan to create a (new) canon of Dutch history. The Education Minister Maria van der Hoeven set up a new committee to write a new \"Dutch history\", in other words a historical canon containing the things every Dutch citizen ought to know about the history of The Netherlands.Recent developments concerning intended political or democratic reforms indicate that history plays an actual role in political decisions. Many proposals to update the Dutch democracy, for instance the election of mayors and prime ministers, as well as corrective referendums, falter on ancient political structures like the constitution, which appears to be cast in stone. Although this may be necessary to curb day-to-day emotions, it also means curtailing the much-needed modernization of our politics, legislation and society. Thanks to the Dutch constitution, the most powerful politician of the early twenty-first century is still Mr Thorbecke (1798-1872), the liberal who drew up the constitution in the first place. Talk about governing from beyond the grave ...Poignant proof of the \"historisation\" of our society comes from an unexpected corner. Various trend watchers regularly point to the growing interest in the past. The Dutch trend watcher Hilde Roothart, for example, has indicated that \"the past is not over yet, and we do everything we can to make it last as long as possible\" (Roothart, 2006). According to Roothart, more and more people \"long for the recognizability, smaller scale and simplicity of the past\", in a world that is changing and becoming more complex by the minute. This means that the growing interest in history can be seen as a response to developments like modernization, individualization and globalization that make people feel uncomfortable. Not knowing how to deal with the dynamics that surround them, people go back to the community in which they feel at home and secure, and over which they can exert some level of control: their own community, the family, the neighbourhood. This harking back is not only a geographical, but also a time-related phenomenon: people return to earlier times. Times that were, times that cannot be influenced by anything modern, times when things were the way we wanted them to be. Love of the past is being used to stem the flood of change.In short, history in The Netherlands is not dead. In fact, it is in better health than it has ever been. Reminiscent of the way extinct species were resurrected in Jurassic Park, attempts are being made to resuscitate the past. We seem to be hysterical when it comes to history, and are proud of the traumatic impression we make on others. At the same time, there are many complaints about our sense of history. However, generally speaking one would imagine these complaints to be inaccurate. It may be that not every Dutch citizen, in particular the younger ones, knows exactly what happened when. This does not automatically imply that there is a lack of historical interest, nor does it mean that there are no tools with which people can avail themselves of the country's history. Any possible lack of a sense of history probably has more to do with the way and quality of the way history is being presented, than with the \"quantity of history\" to which the average Dutchman is exposed. Dutch people are no longer ashamed when they know something about their history. Whereas in the past knowledge of one's own history was often seen as a stepping stone to nationalism or misplaced patriotism, nowadays such knowledge is not only considered a vital indicator of a person's cultural development, it is even seen as an important element of international business, good diplomacy and the integration of foreigners in Dutch society. Dutch people are addicted to history.\nThe value of historical knowledge: The growing attention to history is not only caused by a conviction that history possesses a certain beauty. Another important motive for the supporters of (more) history is that a better awareness of historical developments allows us to make better decisions for the future. This argument is based on two assumptions:1. history repeats itself; and2. we can learn from history.In this paragraph I will discuss these two assumptions and demonstrate that at our current point in time they are extremely fragile.\"History repeats itself\"\nTowards a future-oriented society: Below, I formulate four recommendations that will enable Dutch society once again to face the future. Of course, these recommendations are not the ultimate answer to the question as to how The Netherlands can (once again) become future-oriented, but I believe they provide a good place to start.1. Make \"the future\" a subject in schools\nConclusion and discussion: The message of this article is that history does not repeat itself and that, as a result, we cannot learn from history, which means that it makes more sense to cast our eyes to the future. As becomes a good futures researcher, I have thought about and anticipated the possible objections people might have after reading this article. First of all, I can imagine that people will use the \"it-is-not\" argument. People start shouting that history does not receive a great deal of attention at all (so in fact not nearly enough) and that history does repeat itself and is therefore extremely educational. I have sufficiently demonstrated that this argument does not hold. Never in the course of history has history been this popular, as even historians underline.In addition, it is possible to argue that history and the future are not two mutually exclusive categories, but that they are in fact complementary (the complementarity argument). In this vision, history and future need each other and are two sides of the same coin, whose edge contains the present. A variation of this argument is that past and future move ever closer together, and in effect blend together in the present. The application of DNA technology, for example, and the use of DNA evidence have led to a reopening of old cases and a discussion as to the limitation period in criminal cases. On the other hand, DNA technology provides us with increasing insight into the medical course of a person's life. I reject this argument. I have demonstrated that history does not repeat itself, and that history and the future are not two sides of the same coin. There is a reason historians talk about a historical event when they refer to something that has (definitely) changed the world. History shows that change is the only constant.Finally, it is possible that people will interpret this article as an indictment of historians. Reducing the educational value of history would amount to denouncing historians, who are after all the staunchest supporters of the \"history is good\" thesis. I want to emphasize that my opinions are in no way directed at historians personally. In fact, I can imagine that many historians will agree with me when I argue that history does not repeat itself, and that history is far less pretty than all those modern romantics would have us believe. One thing for which I do hold historians responsible is that, in spite of these self-imposed restrictions, at certain points they talk about future developments. Needless to say, everybody is entitled to their opinion about the future, but if historians also start dominating the future debate, something is going wrong, taking into account the fundamental difference between historical events and future possibilities. Stick to what you know, as the saying goes.\"The future is not what it used to be\", the French philosopher Paul Valery once said. And indeed, times have changed. The fact that it is a cliche does not make it any less true. Not only are fewer and fewer subjects considered sacred, but it also appears as though fewer and fewer subjects and events are timeless. People may find that disappointing or they may disagree, but the current social, economic and technological dynamics are here to stay. Closing one's eyes is unwise and those who choose to do so will be quickly overtaken by time. Much like it is futile to try and resist history or the weather, it is pointless to oppose the future.Sticking one's head in the sand or seeking solace in history is not a viable option for Dutch politicians, governments and businesses. Nor will it work for individual citizens. What the country needs is not a historical awareness, but an awareness of the future. We need to think about the future, and we need to want to understand the consequences of what we do today for the future. Anyone who is oblivious to the signs of the times will have no future. And without the future, there is no past.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how Dutch society is dealing with its history and why the past is a bad guide to the future.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper is a desk research based on newspaper articles and other literature.\nFindings: - The paper finds that Dutch society is strongly influenced by its history but past solutions for current societal problems that are based on historical analogies are wrong and even dangerous.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This paper is focused only on Dutch society. It would be interesting to see whether the Dutch situation is also applicable to other Western European countries.\nPractical implications: - To make the Dutch society more future-oriented there are four recommendations: make \"the future\" a subject in schools; extend the Dutch government mandates to eight years; force managers and politicians to measure their investments, plans and ideas against future developments; and the foundation of a future museum and a canon for the future.\nOriginality/value: - Most futures researchers do not oppose history as a guide to the future because they often (wrongly) see the past as a source of information and knowledge that can serve the future.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Performance evaluation of a coagulation laboratory using Sigma metrics	[ "Coagulation", "Quality assurance", "Sigma" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Clinical laboratories are pivotal in diagnosis and management of the patients. More than 60 percent of all the clinical decisions are based on laboratory analysis (Forsman, 1996). For providing quality patient care and their safety, correct test results are imperative. For achieving this target, concept of quality assurance (QA) was introduced. This is an overall program that controls the entire process from blood draw to reporting of test results. Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988 are US federal regulatory standards that apply to all clinical laboratory testing performed on humans in the USA, except clinical trials and basic research (available at: www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/CLIA/index.html?redirect=/Clia (accessed February 6, 2018)). It specifies ten standards in a laboratory's QA program. These are: patient test management, quality control (QC), proficiency testing (PT), method comparison, clinical sensitivity, competency assessment, appropriate communication, investigation and follow-up of complaints and record keeping. Because of sophisticated instruments and quality management software, analytic accuracy and precision are closely monitored. However, extra-analytical monitoring of a test process is equally important in achieving the desired accuracy and precision (Rattan and Lippi, 2008).\nMethods: Study setting\nResults: Test volumes\nDiscussion: Good laboratory practice symbolizes a set of principles that ensure generation of high quality and reliable test results. CLIA regulation stresses upon quality improvement in all phases of analysis. Quality indicators quantify the quality and overall performance of a laboratory leading to identification of on-going errors and their rectification (Lippi, Becan-McBride, Behulova, Bowen, Church, Delanghe, Grankvist, Kitchen, Nybo, Nauck, Nikolac, Palicka and Plebani, 2013). The adoption of quality indicators in clinical laboratory has led to a significant decrease in analytical error rate over the last few decades. Therefore, there has been an ever increasing emphasis to monitor pre- and post-analytical phases of testing process by QIs as well (Plebani et al., 2014; Downer, 2005).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Two-thirds of medical decisions are based on laboratory test results. Therefore, laboratories should practice strict quality control (QC) measures. Traditional QC processes may not accurately reflect the magnitude of errors in clinical laboratories. Six Sigma is a statistical tool which provides opportunity to assess performance at the highest level of excellence. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate performance of the coagulation laboratory utilizing Sigma metrics as the highest level of quality.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Quality indicators of the coagulation laboratory from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2015, were evaluated. These QIs were categorized into pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical. Relative frequencies of errors were calculated and converted to Sigma scale to determine the extent of control over each process. The Sigma level of 4 was considered optimal performance.\nFindings: During the study period, a total of 474,655 specimens were received and 890,535 analyses were performed. These include 831,760 (93.4 percent) routine and 58,775 (6.6 percent) special tests. Stat reporting was requested for 166,921 (18.7 percent). Of 7,535,146 total opportunities (sum of the total opportunities for all indicators), a total of 4,005 errors were detected. There were 2,350 (58.7 percent) pre-analytical, 11 (0.3 percent) analytical and 1,644 (41 percent) post-analytical errors. Average Sigma value obtained was 4.8 with 12 (80 percent) indicators achieving a Sigma value of 4. Three (20 percent) low-performance indicators were: unacceptable proficiency testing (3.8), failure to inform critical results (3.6) and delays in stat reporting (3.9).\nPractical implications: This study shows that a small number of errors can decrease Sigma value to below acceptability limits. If clinical laboratories start using Sigma metrics for monitoring their performance, they can identify gaps in their performance more readily and hence can improve their performance and patient safety.\nSocial implications: This study provides an opportunity for the laboratorians to choose and set world-class goals while assessing their performance.\nOriginality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge and belief, this study is the first of its kind that has utilized Sigma metrics as a QC tool for monitoring performance of a coagulation laboratory.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Qualitative validation of a financially affordable Islamic home financing model	[ "Waqf", "Islamic banking", "Cash waqf", "Islamic home financing", "Mushārakah Mutanāqiṣah", "Financial cooperatives" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Islamic home financing (IHF) is one of the primary functions of Islamic commercial banks (ICBs). In Malaysia, it is typically based on murabahah-variants (cost plus mark-up) such as bay' bi thaman ajil (BBA) (sale contract based on deferred payment) and tawarruq (commodity murabahah). It is one of the largest asset classes in the Malaysian Islamic commercial banking industry's portfolios, recording a compounded annual growth of 24.84 per cent per annum vis-a-vis the 9.41 per cent growth of conventional home loans from June 2008 to June 2018. Specifically, from RM14.97bn in June 2008, IHF products reached RM137.67bn in June 2018, a 27.24 per cent share of total home financing (BNM, 2018).\nModel specifications: As discussed above, a potential joint venture between CWIs and FCs can be utilised as an alternative in providing a financially affordable IHF solution. Building on the MM arrangement, this research proposes the use of MM under joint CWI-FC initiatives.\nResearch methodology: The aim of this study is to collect extensive data, first, regarding the issues faced with the current IHF institutional framework, and second, regarding the suitability, applicability and prospects of the CWFCMM model for implementation in Malaysia. The questions presented in the interviews were designed to answer the following questions:\nFindings: This section presents the study's empirical findings. First, the issues with the current institutional framework of IHF in Malaysia are outlined. Second, this section discusses findings on the viability, prospects and challenges of the CWFCMM model as a viable alternative to the current institutional framework in offering affordable IHF.\nDiscussion: The findings from this study are novel in that they are a description of the applicability, suitability and sustainability of the potential venture between CWIs and FCs towards achieving an affordable IHF provision. The narratives in this study also showed that even the ICB practitioners share the same sentiments on the prevailing issues and problems that have been \"plaguing\" the overall IHF institutional framework. A case in point, most informants have noted the same \"mirror effect\" of IHF instruments to their conventional home loan counterparts, especially the BBA-tawarruq home financing, which is widely discussed in the literature. For example, as argued by Mydin Meera and Abdul Razak (2009, p. 3):\nConclusion: This study assessed the suitability of a potential venture between CWIs and FCs in the provision of financially affordable IHF in Malaysia. This study contributes theoretically to the FC and Islamic finance literature by demonstrating their unique value proposition in helping the marginally excluded low- and middle-income Malaysians to affordably own a house. Despite its huge potential, this research has managed to shed light on the various potential challenges that might arise out of this model. FCs have a long way to go in proving themselves as a viable alternative to the current institutional IHF framework. FCs need to be operated via the correct business model, implement good governance structures, acquire the right tools and employ the right people for the job at hand. On the other hand, CWIs need to continuously work on their accountability-governance-positive image issue. One of the best ways for them to do so would be to publish their audited accounts in the mainstream newspapers, much like what is being done by one of Malaysia's well-known non-governmental organisations - the Malaysian Medical Relief Society (MERCY Malaysia)[5]. Future studies should use more samples (preferably mixed methods) for generalisation purpose because this study used a small sample, and therefore, generalising its findings will be restricted.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to validate a potential synergistic venture between cash waqf (Islamic endowment) institutions (CWIs) and financial cooperatives (FCs) in the provision of affordable Islamic home financing (IHF) in Malaysia.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study adopted semi-structured interviews with ten experts to validate the cash waqf-financial-cooperative-musharakah mutanaqisah (CWFCMM) model. Thematic analysis technique was used to analyse the verbatim texts.\nFindings: The findings show that the majority of the informants have positive perceptions of the potential of the CWFCMM model to provide financially affordable IHF products in Malaysia. Nevertheless, this study sheds light on the varying degrees of latent issues and challenges that might arise in the implementation of this model. For example, FCs need to practice the correct business model, implement good governance structures and employ the right people. Meanwhile, CWIs need to work on their accountability issues by publishing their audited accounts in mainstream newspapers, much like what is being done by non-governmental organisations such as the widely recognised Malaysian Medical Relief Society (MERCY Malaysia).\nResearch limitations/implications: This study interviewed a small, industry-specific number of informants in generating its findings. Time and budget constraints are some of the limiting factors in carrying out the study. Because of these factors, the generalisation of the study's findings will be limited.\nPractical implications: First, the CWFCMM model offers an alternative, financially affordable IHF instrument to low- and middle-income households in Malaysia. Second, the involvement of third-sector institutions such as FCs and CWIs in the provision of IHF will reduce the burden of the government in its spending on home financing solutions for civil servants. Third, this model will harness the potential of waqf-based financing beyond the contemporary limited applications to mosques, graveyards and tahfiz (Qur`an memorization) schools.\nOriginality/value: This study presents an alternative IHF model that transcends the current institutional framework that is heavily dominated by Islamic commercial banks and government-owned home financing institutions. The study does not focus on a single third-sector institution but on an integration of at least two of them, CWIs and FCs, in implementing the IHF model.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Individual factors affecting entrepreneurship in Hispanics	[ "Cultural values", "Entrepreneur", "Entrepreneurial process", "Business success", "Hispanic", "Individual factors" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Hispanic-Americans (Hispanics[1]) are the fasting growing ethnic group in the USA, and currently make up more than 16 percent of the population (US Bureau of Census, 2012). Estimates indicate that they will comprise 25 percent of the population by 2030 (Pew Hispanic Center, 2010). Furthermore, the number of Hispanic owned businesses has increased at a very rapid rate, and there are more than two million Hispanic-owned businesses in our nation. One reason for the increase is that entrepreneurship often provides a springboard for economic advancement and social integration of minorities (Wang and Li, 2007). Despite this growth, relatively little theory and research has focussed on the factors affecting the behavior of Hispanic entrepreneurs (e.g. Dana, 2007; Smith-Hunter, 2006). However, results of recent research revealed that minorities are more likely to start small businesses, but less likely to be successful than Anglo-Americans (Anglos) (Sullivan, 2007).\nPurposes of the present paper: Given the rising number of HEs in the USA, and the importance of new ventures to our society, research is needed to understand the factors that affect their behavior. Considerable research examined the effectiveness of entrepreneurs, but relatively little research has assessed the factors that influence HEs' behaviors (e.g. Peterson and Roquebert, 1993; Verdaguer, 2009). Furthermore, much of the research on the topic has been atheoretical and fragmented. Therefore, the purposes of the present paper are to: modify an existing model of entrepreneurship to explain the individual factors that influence HEs' behavior; review the extant literature; identify needed research; and offer directions for future research and practice. It merits emphasis that we used the model to structure our discussion, and limited our review to individual factors. We did not consider other issues (e.g. economic, environmental, socio-economic status (SES), gender) because of space limitations, but believe that additional research is needed to examine these important aspects.\nDiscussion: In order to foster additional research on HEs we modified an existing model of entrepreneurship (Baron and Henry, 2011) to explain the unique factors that affect HEs' motivation to become entrepreneurs, opportunity recognition, and acquisition of resources. We argued that a one size fits all model of entrepreneurship may not consider the distinct individual factors associated with HEs including their cultural values, skill levels, and social networks. Our modified model was used to generate hypotheses to guide future research on these issues. It is our hope that the current paper will foster additional research on HEs, and identify the factors that can be used to enhance their effectiveness. The current paper also has important implications for theory, future research, practice, and society as a whole.\nConclusion: This paper presented a model of individual factors affecting the behavior of Hispanic entrepreneurs, and offered hypotheses to guide research and practice. It is our hope that the model will promote additional research on HEs, and enhance their overall success rates.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Although there has been considerable research on entrepreneurship (Rauch and Frese, 2000), there has been limited research on Hispanic entrepreneurs (e.g. Peterson, 1995; Shinnar and Young, 2008; Zarrugh, 2007), and much of the literature has been atheoretical or fragmented. Therefore, this paper uses an existing model of entrepreneurship (Baron and Henry, 2011) to understand and explain the factors related to the behaviors of Hispanic entrepreneurs. The purpose of this paper is to consider the literature on Hispanic entrepreneurs relevant to each stage in the model, and presents testable hypotheses to guide future research on the issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In order to uncover the research on Hispanic entrepreneurs several databases were searched including ABI Inform, PsyArticles, and ProQuest. In addition, a review of key entrepreneurship and Hispanic journals (e.g. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science) was conducted. Relevant papers from 1980 to date were included.\nFindings: Significant research on ethnic entrepreneurship has been conducted, especially on the personal characteristics of entrepreneurs. The extant literature, however, has been primarily atheoretical and lacks empirical evidence to support a consensus regarding the findings. The authors provide a model to guide research on Hispanic entrepreneurs.\nPractical implications: Research revealed that Hispanics may be more likely to start new businesses, but also more likely to fail than Anglos (Sullivan, 2007). As a result, this paper highlights the potential obstacles affecting the behavior of Hispanic entrepreneurs, and considers a number of practical implications for enhancing their success rates.\nSocial implications: Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the USA, and entrepreneurship often provides a springboard for their economic advancement and social integration (Wang and Li, 2007). As a result, the present paper has important implications for increasing the success rates and integration of Hispanics in US society. It may also have key implications for policy makers who are trying to identify strategies for increasing the number of Hispanic new business ventures in our society.\nOriginality/value: The authors believe that this paper adds value to the literature because it uses a theoretical model to explain the factors thought to affect the behavior of Hispanic entrepreneurs. Also, it identifies a number of avenues for future research on the topic. Even though there has been some research on Hispanic entrepreneurs, the authors believe that the current framework will identify the key gaps in the literature and foster additional research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
High commitment human resource practices and employee behavior: a multi-level analysis	[ "Affective commitment", "Turnover intention", "Organizational trust", "Cooperative labor–management relations", "High commitment human resource practices" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Given the importance of human resources in fostering greater productivity and profit, a growing body of research suggests that human resource practices need to be congruent with organizational strategies to enhance competitiveness. This stream of academic research, labeled strategic human resource management (SHRM) research, has been attracting increasing researcher and practitioner interest. These studies provide organizations with evidence that human resource practices affect employee behaviors and attitudes, and eventually organizational outcomes (Huselid, 1995). An SHRM researchers suggest that so-called high performance work practices, such as incentive compensation, training, employee participation, selectivity and flexible work arrangements motivate employees to use their knowledge, skills and abilities for the organization's benefit (Evans and Davis, 2005). This leads to higher job satisfaction, lower employee turnover, higher productivity and better decision making, all of which help improve organizational performance (Delery and Shaw, 2001).\n2. Theoretical background: 2.1 High commitment human resource practices\n3. Research model and hypotheses: Based on the SET and commitment-trust theory, this study builds a theoretical model to examine the relationship among HCHRPs, OT and employees' attitudes including AC and TI. The moderating effect of CLMR in the relationship between HCHRPs and OT was also tested through the proposed model. Figure 1 shows the research model of this study.\n4. Research methodology: 4.1 Research design and sample\n5. Results: Table I shows the descriptive statistics, including the means, standard deviations and correlations for this study. For the substantive variables, most of the correlations between the HCHRPs and main variables (OT, AC and TI) were significant at the 0.01 level. However, CLMR was not significantly correlated with OT, AC and TI.\n6. Discussion and conclusion: 6.1 Implications and contributions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between high commitment human resource practices (HCHRPs), conceptualized at the workplace level and employees' attitudes, including affective commitment (AC) and turnover intention (TI). The study also tests the moderating role of cooperative labor-management relations (CLMR) between HCHRPs and organizational trust (OT).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on social exchange theory and trust commitment theory, the authors build a research model that explains employee behavior and empirically prove the model by using samples of 407 employees from South Korea. This study uses hierarchical linear regression and cross-level hypotheses based on hierarchical linear modeling.\nFindings: The results demonstrate the positive impact of HCHRPs on an AC and TI, through OT. However, no moderating effect of CLMR between human resource management (HRM) practices and OT is observed.\nOriginality/value: Few theory-based studies test the direct linkage between HRM practices and outcomes. This study is designed with a multi-level research method to provide a conceptually comprehensive and deeper understanding of how HRM practices work in an organization by testing the relationship between organizational practices and employees' outcomes.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The impact of team empowerment on proactivity: The moderating roles of leader's emotional intelligence and proactive personality	[ "Team empowerment", "Team proactivity", "Emotional intelligence", "Proactive personality", "Team working", "Turkey", "Medical personnel" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Scholars and management consultants, researching the importance of work teams for organizations (Greenberg et al., 2009), have made many claims in recent years. More specifically, teams are said to contribute to better outcomes for business organizations because of improved performance of employees (Prati et al., 2003), productivity (Glassop, 2002; Hamilton et al., 2003) or organizational responsiveness and flexibility (Friedman and Casner-Lotto, 2002). These benefits are often attributed to the positive impact of teams on employee attitudes such as morale and job satisfaction (Stewart et al., 2000), as well as organizational commitment (Mitchell et al., 2001).As both the use of work teams in industry and the amount of research on teams have increased, scholars have paid more attention to employee empowerment (Fernandez and Moldogaziev, 2011; Kirkman and Rosen, 1999). Empowerment involves employees taking the initiative to respond autonomously to job related challenges with the encouragement and support of management (Raub and Robert, 2010). Research conducted in the healthcare context shows that empowerment plays a significant role in increasing employee job satisfaction (Laschinger et al., 2001; Ugboro, 2006; Upenieks, 2003) and organizational commitment (Kuokkanen et al., 2003; Laschinger et al., 2001).Interestingly, there has been little scholar attention to the interaction of empowerment and work team membership - that is, to empowerment at the team level of analysis. The literature on empowerment reveals that it has been conceptualized and empirically examined primarily at the individual level of analysis (Kirkman et al., 2004; Liden et al., 2000). Thus, more academic research is needed on the empowered teams (Greenberg et al., 2009).Empowerment researchers have devoted their attention primarily to employees' personal empowerment (Somech, 2005), which is defined as intrinsic task motivation manifested in four cognitive dimensions (meaningfulness, self-efficacy, autonomy and impact) reflecting an employee's orientation to his or her work role (Avolio and Bass, 2004). At the team level, Kirkman and Rosen (1997) proposed a model that parallels the dimensions of empowerment that have been specified at the individual level of analysis (Chen et al., 2007). Kirkman and Rosen (2000) argued that team empowerment is as important as personal empowerment. They found that individuals who perceived their team as highly empowered were willing to contribute and to make individual sacrifices for the team's success.The aim of this study is to examine the moderating effects of emotional intelligence and proactive personality on the relationship between team empowerment and team proactivity in healthcare industry. This study makes several contributions to the proactivity literature. First, it is a response to the call for more research on organizational and interpersonal factors and individual difference variables that may serve as moderators to proactive behaviors (Crant, 2000; Gerhardt et al., 2007). Second, given that contextual and personality factors are central to team proactivity (e.g. Williams et al., 2010), it is important to examine the direct and moderating effects of personality factors in a single study. To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the moderating effect of individual difference variables on team proactivity in a single study.\nTheory and hypotheses: Team empowerment defined\nMethodology: Sample\nResults: Table I shows the means, standard deviations and correlations for the study variables. H1 was tested with hierarchical regression analysis (Table II). In step 1, the control variables were entered and in step 2, team empowerment. As can be seen in the section of the table showing the values yielded by step 2, team empowerment was significantly, positively related to proactive behavior (b=0.42, p=0.01), a finding that supports H1.The H2 and H3 in the study were tested by using moderated hierarchical regression, according to the procedure delineated in Cohen and Cohen (1983). The significance of interaction effects was assessed after controlling for all main effects. In the models, gender, age, job tenure and team size were entered first as control variables; potency, team meaningfulness, team autonomy and team impact, predictor variables, were entered in the second step; the moderator variables (i.e. emotional intelligence and proactive personality) were entered in the third step; and the interaction terms, in the fourth step. In order to avoid multicollinearity problems, the predictor and moderator variables were centered and the standardized scores were used in the regression analysis (Aiken and West, 1991).As can be seen in the step 4 results from Table III, the interaction effect for team empowerment and emotional intelligence was significant for team proactivity, supporting H2 (b=-0.36, p<0.001).H3, which states that proactive personality moderates the relationship between team empowerment and team proactivity, received strong support (see Table IV). The interaction effect for team empowerment and proactive personality was significant for proactivity (b=0.43, p<0.001).Figures 1 and 2 graphically show the interactional team empowerment - team proactive behavior relationship as moderated by emotional intelligence and proactive personality, for which high and low levels are depicted as one standard deviation above and below the mean, respectively.As predicted, when a team leader had high emotional intelligence, the relationship between team empowerment and team proactive behavior was stronger. Similarly, it was found that proactive personality strengthened the positive relationship between team empowerment and proactivity. As presented in Figure 2, the positive relationship between empowerment and proactivity was more pronounced when a team member's proactive personality was high.\nDiscussion: The present study was designed to determine the effect of team empowerment on proactivity and the moderating roles of team leader's emotional intelligence and team member's proactive personality in this relationship. The results of this study indicate that team empowerment was positively related to proactivity. The most interesting finding was that individual difference variables, emotional intelligence and proactive personality moderated the positive relationship between team empowerment and proactive behavior. The results reveal the importance of empowerment and individual difference variables to stimulate proactive behavior in an organization.Consistent with previous research (Crant, 2000; Gore, 2006; Gibson and Vermeulen, 2003), team empowerment increased team proactivity in the study. In order to achieve team proactivity, team empowerment perception can be increased if teams set their own goals and rules, design their own work, devise and embrace rules for appropriate member behavior, are trained to communicate collaboratively and when decision making is typically democratic and leadership is participative.Moreover, the findings of the current study are consistent with those of Rahim et al. (2006), Barling et al. (2000), Gardner and Stough (2002), Leban and Zulauf (2004), Mandell and Pherwani (2003), Palmer et al. (2001), Parker et al. (2006), Seibert et al. (2001), Parker and Collins (2010) and Williams et al. (2010) who found emotional intelligence and proactive personality have moderating effects on proactivity. The emotional intelligence of the team leader is important to the effective functioning of the team (Prati et al., 2003). The leader serves as a motivator toward collective action and facilitates supportive relationships among team members. The emotionally intelligent team leader also provides a transformational influence over the team. Through adhering to team standards, empowering team members and encouraging team identity and pride, the leader is able to create an atmosphere of urgency to improve oneself and team processes for the collective good. Similarly, a team member with a proactive personality is more likely to identify and act on opportunities, show initiative, and perseverance (Seibert et al., 1999). Rather than be hindered by situational constraints, a proactive team member is empowered to engage in behaviors that he or she believes will lead to desired outcomes (Cunningham and De La Rosa, 2008). Thus, proactive individuals feel the need to have a sense of control or have the ability to manipulate their environment (Bateman and Crant, 1993). In contrast, less proactive people tend to be passive and reactive, maintaining status quo rather than acting to change their environment.The results in this study suggest that researchers should continue to investigate emotional intelligence, proactive personality and other personal/interpersonal factors such as a leader's personality (O'Reilly et al., 1991) and a leader' power bases (Perry et al., 1994; Dienesch and Liden, 1986), in explaining perceptions and behaviors. It is plausible that a leader's emotional intelligence and a team member's proactive personality were relevant personal variables in this setting because they were the main sources of macro variation across hospitals. In other words, the findings in this study may be sample-specific and in need of replication. In different settings, other personal factors, such as personality or social power bases, might become relevant. In developing theoretical explanations for the role of personal factors, researchers are encouraged to consider aspects of the context that are most important to the population under investigation. Identifying personal factors, affecting the way employees view their relationships, seems to be a promising research area.This research has implications for those organizations that wish to increase the level of personal initiative and team proactivity in the workplace. In encouraging team proactivity, leadership and team members' personal characteristics do matter. Specifically, the results suggest that leadership has the capacity to influence positively team empowerment, an element of importance in affecting proactive behavior. Team leaders who have high level of emotional intelligence can inspire and motivate teams to perform at their best (Shamir et al., 1993). These leaders in particular set a clear direction and purpose for followers and work on establishing an environment of mutual trust and respect in which employees value their team membership (Paul et al., 2001; Avolio and Bass, 2004). Most significantly, this type of leaders seem to raise the chances of facilitating cooperative team behaviors that promote team proactive behavior even during a very challenging period of major restructuring. Team leaders, therefore, need to be aware of the importance of effective group processes and need to be active in promoting effective communication and discussion. Leaders, having high emotional intelligence, seem to have more influence in determining that their team processes will be translated into more innovative outcomes. Moreover, proactive personality level of a team member is important to enhance team proactivity. Thus, a proactive disposition may be a useful tool for healthcare administrators seeking to enhance team proactivity levels by selecting people with proactive personalities to work in teams in a hospital.Strengths and potential limitations\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between team empowerment and team proactivity and the moderating roles of a team leader's emotional intelligence (EI) and a team member's proactive personality.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - To provide a rigorous test of the hypotheses, a field study from a sample of 910 certified nurses in 82 teams from 12 university hospitals in Turkey was conducted.\nFindings: - The results reveal that proactivity is positively associated with team empowerment. In addition, team leader's EI and team members' proactive personality influence the relationship between team empowerment and team proactivity. Specifically, teams exhibit the highest proactivity when team leaders' EI and team members' proactive personality are high.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The main strength of the investigation in this study was its multilevel research design. Most research on proactivity and empowerment has been conducted within single organizations, precluding an assessment of the way in which individual difference variables influence empowerment or proactivity. The multilevel design incorporated in this study, however, was capable of capturing the complexity of individual behaviors by considering different contexts.\nPractical implications: - In encouraging team proactivity, leadership and team members' personality characteristics do matter. Identifying individual difference variables such as team leader's EI, leader-member exchange, locus of control or team members' personality help to advance the theoretical understanding of the team proactivity. This study provides evidence of the positive relationship between team empowerment and team proactivity. Such knowledge may help to search for continuous improvement and innovative solutions to work problems employed by healthcare administrators and potentially reduce the costs associated with losing high-potential nurses.\nOriginality/value: - This is one of the first studies to provide evidence of the moderating roles of the team leader's EI and team members' proactive personality levels on the relationship between team empowerment and team proactivity in university hospitals that formally implement work teams.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Insights from the later stage of the new product development process: findings from Turkey	[ "Innovation", "Emerging economies", "Turkey", "New product development", "Exploitation stage", "New product commercialization" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: One of the most critical steps in the process of innovation, or more precisely in the process of new product development (NPD) is the introduction of new products or services in the market (Trott, 2017). The NPD process has been studied frequently (Ragatz et al., 1997; Hultink et al., 2000; Rothaermel and Deeds, 2004). Thereby the exploitation (commercialization) part of the NPD process/innovation process seems to be less developed than the exploration (R&D) stage (Lee et al., 2010); the latter is about testing, launching, and marketing the new products (Tidd and Bodley, 2002). Additionally, existent research is still dominated by a developed economy perspective (Ernst et al., 2015), thus, the generalization of NPD findings is to some extent limited to the specific context of developed economies (Sok et al., 2016), which in turn is very likely to influence the NPD process undertaken (Wright et al., 2005).\n2. Literature review and hypotheses: The entry of large foreign firms, the opening of new markets, highly competitive environments, and the globalization phenomenon put pressure on companies from emerging economies, in particular (Heirati and O'Cass, 2016). Using innovation can be a respond to these challenges and improve business performance in these economies (Forsman and Temel, 2011). Turning product ideas into commercial use is not an easy task (Millson, 2013), and requires other resources, skills, and capabilities than in earlier NPD stages (Wheelwright and Clark, 1992), e.g., market know-how, access to networks, and increased financial resources. Prior research has shown the influence of internal factors on the NPD process as well as different phases such as innovation capability (Cooper and Kleinschmidt, 1996; Millson and Wilemon, 2002; Rosenthal and Capper, 2006), teams (Edmondson and Nembhard, 2009), human capital (Shane, 2003), leadership (Elkins and Keller, 2003), learning and market orientation (Kaya and Patton, 2011), marketing capabilities (Drechsler et al., 2013), access to knowledge (Santarelli and Tran, 2013), strategic alliances (Shan et al., 1994; Baum et al., 2000), innovation strategy (Revilla and Rodriguez, 2011), and culture (Naranjo Valencia et al., 2010). This research has in common that it has mainly been conducted in companies from developed economies. In the case of emerging economies, only a few papers are available, and they are emphasizing companies in China (Lu and Yang, 2004; Yan and Kull, 2015).\n3. Data and method: 3.1 Research setting\n4. Results: Table II presents the means, standard deviations, and correlations among the variables. The control variables are not significantly associated with new product commercialization neither in domestic markets nor in international ones. This is surprising against the findings of prior research, which showed the high relation between the exploitation phase and human or financial capital of the organization, which, in turn, is affected by the age and size of an organization (Nellore and Balachandra, 2001; Perry-Smith and Vincent, 2008; Revilla and Rodriguez, 2011). However, due to the interrelation of the control variables and their strong relation to the independent factors, we controlled for their effects when applying multiple hierarchical regression analysis.\n5. Discussion: The aim of this paper was to provide an empirical investigation of how a number of organizational factors of Turkish companies affect the exploitation stage of the NPD process. More precisely, we were interested in empirically testing the influence of leadership, well-trained human capital, marketing capabilities, and networks on new product commercialization in different markets from the perspective of firms from an emerging economy.\n6. Conclusion: The contributions of this paper are manifold. Using the constructs of human capital, networks, leadership, and marketing capabilities, this paper provides an empirical investigation of the exploitation phase of the NPD process in Turkish firms. Thus, the paper aims to contribute to the slowly growing research that studies innovation by companies in emerging markets (Zeschky et al., 2011). In addition, using primary data from Turkey, this paper contributes to the study of the later stages in the NPD process taking the perspective of an emerging economy other than China (Subramaniam et al., 2015), India and Russia (Fey et al., 2016) and thus, offers the opportunity to expand our understanding of the topic in different parts of the world. The findings show some particularities of Turkey, which might be extrapolated to other countries at a similar stage of experience regarding new product commercialization. Finally, by having data that comprises both large and small companies the study goes beyond existing research that normally investigates multinational corporations from emerging markets (Ignatius et al., 2012; Subramaniam et al., 2015; Fey et al., 2016; Kotabea and Kothari, 2016). In sum, we believe that our study contributes to the further development of the NPD literature by focusing on the later stage of this process addressing firms in emerging markets.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The understanding of the later stage (i.e. the exploitation phase) in the new product development (NPD) process by companies from emerging markets is underdeveloped. The purpose of this paper is to address this lack and, by drawing upon a data set from Turkish firms, explore how different factors affect the exploitation phase of the NPD process.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were carried out on a sample of 671 Turkish firms operating in five industries (i.e. information and communication technologies, biomedical, machinery, chemical and plastic, and food and beverage) in the Izmir region (Turkey) to test the hypotheses.\nFindings: Results reveal major differences regarding human capital, leadership, marketing capabilities, and business and institutional networks in terms of the commercialization of newly developed products in domestic and international markets.\nOriginality/value: By focusing on the exploitation stage, this paper extents the growing research efforts to study the NPD process of companies in emerging economies other than China by using primary data from Turkey.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Do altmetrics correlate with citations? A study based on the 1,000 most-cited articles	[ "Social media", "Bibliometrics", "Altmetrics", "Nature", "Alternative metrics", "Highly cited articles" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Today a diverse and rich set of indicators for measuring the quality of research is emerging from classic metrics to promising new online ones (Harnad, 2008). Over the years, in the field of bibliometrics and scientometrics, citation indicators have been used as one of the most common and important indicators of the performance appraisal of individuals, institutions, countries and documents. Citation studies are based on the opinion that a work that is more cited by other researchers is more effective, and important scientific output plays an important role in the formation of ideas and other researches (Moed and Halevi, 2016; Sud and Thelwall, 2014). Although these citation-based indicators are among the most accepted and important indicators for assessing performance and scientific efficacy, but the great dependence of citation-based studies on time is one of the mistakes that the scientific community has always posed (Thelwall et al., 2013), because citation studies are highly dependent on time, and it takes a long time before a citation review of them (Zahedi et al., 2014). Such studies also require access to the Thomson Reuters and Scopus, and citations which have not been indexed in these sources are not considered (Mas-Bleda et al., 2014). On the other hand, the benefits of the Web, including the spread of social media, have changed the behavior of researchers, and has made the researchers use this space to share their works and increase the visibility of their scientific products (Mas-Bleda et al., 2014). Therefore, considering these issues as well as the constraints of the citation method in calculating the scientific effects, social web indicators (altmetrics) have been developed to compute scientific effects (Wouters and Costas, 2012).\nLiterature review: With the advancement of technology especially Web 2.0, social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Wikipedia, Mendeley, Citeulike, Connotea and Reference Management Tool help researchers to share and manage information in more reliable ways. These ways are different and clear than ever. To measure new social media behaviors traditional ways and indicators are not no longer useful. Altmetric indicators are emerging as new indicators to measure these social media academic behaviors.\nMethodology: In this descriptive research, altmetric indicators were used. The research sample consists of 1000 Nature articles. Data collection was done manually in February 2019. First, from the Scopus database, bibliographic information of 1000 Nature articles has been extracted in CSV format. The bibliographic information of the articles included the title of the articles, the authors, the year of publication, and the number of received citations. Then, Altmetric Institute data (www.altmetric.com/) was used to extract altmetric indicators. The institute was founded in 2011 by Euan Adie, and released its first standalone in February 2012. Altmetric has stated its main mission as follows:\nResults: To be in different social media\nDiscussion: In this study, the presence of Nature's articles in social media was studied using altmetric indicators. The results showed that, based on Altmetric Institute from a total of 1,000 articles, 989 articles were mentioned at least once in social media websites and tools.\nConclusion: The results showed that highly cited articles are shared through social media such as Twitter, Blogs, Facebook, News, Wikipedia, Mendeley, Citeulike, and Connotea. The presence of articles on social media increases the amount of citations they receive. Therefore, it is recommended that journals, authors, and researchers use social media to increase the visibility of their articles and to receive more citations. The present study is one of the first altmetric studies on highly cited articles.\nLimitations: The first limitation of this study is that the desirable data from the Altmetric Institute were used. Future studies can compare the results of this study with the results of the respective data from other altmetric information providers such as Plum Analytics Categories. The study of only 1,000 articles of Nature in social media is another limitation of the study. Nature is one of the most reliable and highly cited scientific journals in the world. This journal has a high impact factor and articles in this journal often receive a lot of citations and have a high presence on social media. Accordingly, it is recommended that more studies of other journals with lower impact factor and usually less citations be reviewed and compared with the results of this study. Generally, there is not much time left to present the concepts and indicators of altmetric, and studies in this area are at the forefront. As a result, more altmetric studies on different publishers' articles are needed.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the presence of highly cited papers of Nature in social media websites and tools. It also tries to examine the correlation between altmetric and bibliometric indicators.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This descriptive study was carried out using altmetric indicators. The research sample consisted of 1,000 most-cited articles in Nature. In February 2019, the bibliographic information of these articles was extracted from the Scopus database. Then, the titles of all articles were manually searched on Google, and by referring to the article in the journal website and altmetric institution, the data related to social media presence and altmetric score of articles were collected. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS.\nFindings: According to the results of the study, from 1,000 articles, 989 of them (98.9 per cent) were mentioned at least once in different social media websites and tools. The most used altmetric source in highly cited articles was Mendeley (98.9 per cent), followed by Citeulike (79.8 per cent) and Wikipedia (69.4 per cent). Most Tweets, blog posts, Facebook posts, news stories, readers in Mendeley, Citeulike and Connotea and Wikipedia citations belonged to the article titled \"Mastering the game of Go with deep neural networks and tree search\". The highest altmetric score was 3,135 which belonged to this paper. Most tweeters and articles' readers were from the USA. The membership type of the tweeters was public membership. In terms of fields of study, most readers were PhD students in Agricultural and Biological Sciences. Finally, the results of Spearman's Correlation revealed positive significant statistical correlation between all altmetric indicators and received citations of highly cited articles (p-value = 0.0001).\nPractical implications: The results of this study can help researchers, editors and editorial boards of journals better understand the importance and benefits of using social media and tools to publish articles.\nOriginality/value: Altmetrics is a relatively new field, and in particular, there are not many studies related to the presence of articles in various social media until now. Accordingly, in this study, a comprehensive altmetric analysis was carried out on 1000 most-cited articles of one of the world's most reliable journals.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
College clinic service quality and patient satisfaction	[ "Satisfaction", "Service quality", "Students", "Questionnaires", "Clinics", "Patients" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Indian healthcareis a US$65 billion industry and expected to reachUS$100 billion by 2015 (Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre, 2012). The Indian government will spend 2.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product on healthcare during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017), up from 1.4 percent today (OIFC, 2012). However, Indian healthcare is in a nascent development stage compared to other countries. Every Indian consumer has several choices where services are concerned; e.g., college students may use college clinics for treatment and shift to private clinics if college services are unsatisfactory. Thus, it is essential for campus clinic staff to provide quality services to students and campus residents to retain their customers.\nHealthcare service quality: Cardozo (1965) conducted the first consumer satisfaction study. Since then, several related articles have been published in trade and academic journals (Peterson and Wilson, 1992). Customer satisfaction studies gained pace in healthcare after the UKNHS Management Inquiry (1984) focussed on involving consumers in healthcare processes (Sharma et al., 2011). Customers are more concerned with perceived quality compared to objective quality as they value a product using what they receive (product volume, convenience, quality) and what they give (money, time) (Zeithaml, 1988). In healthcare, perceived is more important than objective service-quality as patients judge healthcare providers on what they observe or perceive. With many options available, consumers can easily switch to different providers if they are not satisfied with the current service. Customer satisfaction is preceded by service quality, which has a significant impact on customer intentions to purchase more (Cronin and Steven, 1992). Happier and satisfied employees lead to satisfied and loyal patients who then return to the same clinic (Atkins et al., 1996). As health care providers increase, service quality and patient satisfaction become crucial. Patients recommend a healthcare provider only if they are satisfied and feel that employees empathise with them (Ioannis and Lymperopoulos, 2009). Patient satisfaction is among any healthcare providers' top priorities; i.e., ways to enhance patient loyalty and satisfaction. Physicians, for example, can augment user satisfaction by increasing the time they spend with patients, talking about non-medical issues and answering questions after they explain test results (Gross et al., 1998).\nHospital and clinic service quality: College clinic staff must maintain service quality or risk losing their significance in the college if service quality is poor. Before we developed our service quality dimensions, we reviewed other hospital/clinic dimensions and held extensive talks with clinic staff. Items were added after questioning students about clinic notices and opening hours. Following our literature review and discussion with students and clinic staff, seven constructs and 43 items were generated (Table I).\nMethodology: Our study was conducted between January and February 2012. The authors developed the questionnaire and selected a convenience sample; i.e., only those students using clinic facilities at least twice were nominated, since one visit would have been insufficient for users to have a denite opinion about clinic services. The objectives were explained to the respondents, privacy and condentiality were assured. Reluctant or unwilling students were not included. Any doubts among respondents were clarified on the spot to ensure maximum quality response. Consequently, questionnaires were given to 500 students. Each was checked and 445 fully completed questionnaires were retained. We used a ve-point Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree and the questionnaire concluded with one open-ended question about ways in which clinic service quality could be improved. These open-ended questions provided an opportunity for respondents to voice their concerns about other areas not covered in the instrument. We used SPSS 16.0 to analyze our data.\nFindings: Descriptive analysis\nConclusions: We infer that most respondents are satisfied with staff professionalism; however, staff can improve service quality by responding promptly to patient requests. Although more than 50 percent rated their college clinic and its services reliable, half did not feel that services were excellent. Every patient wants to be heard whenever s/he visits the clinic, which forms a crucial aspect of patient satisfaction. Thus, it is important for healthcare providers to respond to patient requests. Such improvements can advance patient satisfaction. Half the respondents did not approve clinic facilities; i.e., patients felt that clinic equipment was not up-to-date or visually appealing. Old equipment and inadequate beds created a negative impact. Some students used healthcare providers outside the campus whenever they could as they did not have faith in clinic equipment. Upgrading equipment, therefore, is imperative as staff must win the students' trust.\nFurther study: College clinic studies can be useful for college administrators, who can use conclusions to improve clinic standards. Moreover, such studies can be conducted at state, country and international levels to compare campus clinic facilities and outcomes can be compared with this study, which may lead to enhanced college clinic standards and better treatment. Our questionnaire can be used to develop instruments for other clinic-based research.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the service quality dimensions that play an important role in patient satisfaction in campus clinics in Delhi; assess student satisfaction with service; and suggests ways to improve areas of dissatisfaction.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was distributed to students who had completed at least two consultations at the college clinic. Convenience sampling was used to approach respondents. The questionnaire uses modified SERVQUAL and other instruments, including original dimensions and those constructed through detailed discussions. Factor analyses, reliability tests and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy were conducted. The final sample had a total of 445 respondents.\nFindings: After factor analysis, the authors found that the dimensions affecting patient satisfaction are: staff professionalism; clinic staff reliability; clinic accessibility and basic facilities; tangibles; cleanliness; awareness of the clinic/diseases and how clinic staff deals with emergencies. Most students were satisfied with the professionalism of the clinic staff. More than 70 percent of the respondents reported that the clinic staff paid good attention to them. The campus clinic was deemed reliable by more than 50 percent of respondents. The students found the clinic's location convenient, with more than 50 percent supporting its location. However, there was dissatisfaction among the students regarding the tangibles of the clinic, with more than 50 percent favoring upgrading. There was satisfaction among the respondents regarding the availability of the doctor after clinic hours, but contact details for the clinic staff were not easily accessible on campus. More than 60 percent of respondents were satisfied with the cleanliness of the campus clinic. More than 50 percent felt that the campus clinic was not equipped to deal with emergencies efficiently. At the same time, 90 percent of respondents reported the availability of referral facilities in case of emergencies.\nOriginality/value: The authors believe that this is the first study conducted to assess patient satisfaction in the campus clinics of engineering institutes in Delhi region. This paper provides valuable information to college clinic administrators.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Use of games in training: interactive experiences that engage us to learn	[ "Game‐based learning", "E‐learning", "Training", "Development", "Learning methods" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nInteractive experiences that engage us to learn: When education or training feels boring, we are not being engaged. In other words, we are not really learning. \"Learning\" does not mean rote memorization or clicking through pages to complete a web course, it means acquiring new, or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values or preferences that may involve synthesizing new information.Training programs today do not benefit from dull, off-the-shelf training, or more time in the classroom. They need effective, interactive experiences that engage us in the learning process. That is where game-based learning comes in.The use of modern game-based learning in corporations is growing in popularity and provides many benefits to the learner.\nThe power of game-based learning: Tell me, and I'll forget. show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I'll understand (ancient Chinese proverb).\"Good game-based learning applications can draw us into virtual environments that look and feel familiar and relevant,\" according to Dr. Susan Ambrose, director of Carnegie Mellon's Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence. \"This is motivational because we can quickly see and understand the connection between the learning experience and our real-life work\" (Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence, n.d.).With game-based learning, we work toward a goal, take action, experience consequences of our actions and make mistakes in a risk-free setting. We actively learn and practice the right way to do something. This keeps us highly engaged in practicing behaviors and thought processes that we can easily transfer from the simulated environment to real-life.One of the human brain's most outstanding abilities is to recognize patterns. Filed away in our memories, the stories we know provide patterns we can use to compare against our own experiences. They become a reference library of sorts. Even when we are not consciously aware of it, we are recognizing patterns from stories. We are constantly measuring our own experiences against the stories we have filed away in our brains. Studies show that when facts and figures are wrapped up in a story, they have a much higher recall rate. This is due to the way our brain remembers stories.Game-based learning is the perfect way to tap into the power of a visually related story to engage an audience and to aid in important acts of recall. It puts active participation at the heart of the learning experience, making the learner more likely to retain and apply what they have learned in the real-world.\nUse and trends: Why are companies looking to game-based learning today? First of all, it is what many of your employees do in their spare time, on both computer and mobile devices. This is especially true for Generations X and Y (guess which demographic plays the most video games? I will give you the answer below). By delivering content and skills through a mechanism they already understand and enjoy, you are making learning easier for them (see Table I).As mentioned in the VIA brief \"Gaming: elearning for the corporate world,\" research has shown that gaming, in the right context, can be just as, if not more, effective than traditional e-learning. It improves problem-solving, creativity, risk assessment, and risk taking. Gaming also supports B.F. Skinner's Behavioral Theory: that behavior is a function of its consequences. As in real life, when most people have a negative consequence to something they do, they don't do it again. In gaming it is the same concept: you go through that particular door and fall down an elevator shaft and lose the game...are you going to do that again? Probably not (VIA Learning, 2013).Second, even if certain employees do not play electronic games at home, they all play games of some sort (cards, board games, charades), and understand that part of the challenge of a game is learning how to play it (oh, and it is men age 37 who play the most video games. Is that what you guessed?).The reduced cost to develop and deploy games is also an important factor, and due to new technology and tools it has become much easier and more cost-effective to support. Game-based learning is a great way to augment an existing program or series for as little as $5,000. Of course, more elaborate game-learning platforms are available with team play, leader boards, and the like. Systems and customer courseware can range in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.\nGame-based learning compared: When gauging game-based learning as an option against the alternatives, such as the instructor/classroom course and online \"off-the-shelf\" versions, you will need to individually consider how each stands to enrich the culture within your organization. Can it be deployed as part of a formal training given to all staff and be relevant? Can it be used as refresher learning or learning updates for your team? Can it be used to enrich your learning library with current engaging content or to enhance awareness by supporting discussions, exchanges, and chatter?When compared to online \"off-the-shelf\" courses, game-based learning and instructor lead programs tend to be more expensive, but both will do a much better job in delivering the message and encouraging a high level of engagement from the learner, both leading to a high-level of retention. Game-based learning allows the flexibility to deliver globally, while maintaining relevance. It naturally contains elements that allow for immediate feedback, and measuring and tracking of user engagement, which allows game-based learning to stand apart from the alternatives (see Table II).As you consider game-based alternatives to supplement your training, keep the following in mind:Focus simulation scenarios around specific needs.Keep scenarios relevant and real-world.Take inventory of browser and device types in early design stages to ensure a good user experience.Use game-type templates where possible to reduce cost.If supporting multiple geographies and cultures, design the game up front for translation and localization.\nMeasuring and evaluating: As with any learning program, game-based learning needs a clear set of metrics if success is going to be measurable. As you assess the learning gaps within your organization and the opportunities to improve performance, consider your own definition of success. What do you want to accomplish? Will you measure increased engagement and consumption, completion, retention and/or a combination thereof? Offering game-based learning in conjunction with other program elements followed up by assessment is a great way to evaluate. These goals are different for every organization.\nGame examples: When considering your game options, realize that not all games will be equally effective at all levels of learning. For example, Jeopardy-type games, often used in the classroom, are likely to be best for promoting the learning of verbal information (facts, statistics, etc.). Adventure games, which are story-driven, fluid learning environments, are likely to be best for supporting theory testing and problem-solving. Many games can incorporate all these benefits, blending strategy with action and role playing (see Figure 1).\nSumming it up: As corporate learning programs face increasing pressure to improve quality and engagement, game-based learning proves a powerful vehicle for augmenting programs. Games allow employees to understand the connection between the learning experience and the real-world. So, should gaming be incorporated into the training world? Absolutely. As noted in the VIA brief \"Gaming: elearning for the corporate world,\"gaming:augments existing learning programs by reinforcing key messages;increases learner adoption and retention;is fun when developed with stories, continuous challenges, rewards and competitive winning; and*works for the multigenerational workforceTry it. You might just like it (VIA Learning, 2013).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this article is to introduce the benefits of game-based learning in the corporate business environment. Corporations and other organizations around the world are recognizing that games promote cognitive reasoning and information retention. These days, games are much more advanced, immersive and engaging.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - VIA Learning works with global Fortune 500 companies. The article is based on customer needs and technical expertise of VIA Learning instructional designers.\nFindings: - Game-based learning is a viable option for global businesses.\nOriginality/value: - The article introduces the benefits of game-based learning in the corporate business environment.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Self-esteem and counterproductive work behaviors: a systematic review	[ "Counterproductive work behaviour", "Meta-analysis", "Self-esteem" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The study of counterproductive work behavior (CWB) has grown in importance in the organizational literature because of its relationship with job performance, the costs it can incur upon organizations, and the harm it may cause people. Both consistency theory and ego-defense theory have placed self-esteem as an antecedent to CWB; however, consistency theory and ego-defense theory pose different directions for the expected relationship. Our research seeks to estimate the empirical validity of consistency theory and ego-defense theory with respect to their alternative predicted relations between CWB and self-esteem. Based on the empirical evidence, we hope to offer guidance concerning which theoretical approach is more appropriate for management research and offer some implications for managers and organizations at large.\nCWB: CWB is defined as any intentional behavior on the part of an organizational member viewed by the organization as contrary to its legitimate interests (Gruys and Sackett, 2003). CWB can affect the performance and well-being of the person engaging in CWB, the individuals interacting with the person engaging in CWB, and the organizations in which CWB is taking place. Researchers have referred to CWBs as a \"pervasive and expensive\" problem (Bennett and Robinson, 2000). Estimates for the cost of CWBs to organizations are in the billions of dollars across a variety of domains and leads to lower levels of organizational effectiveness (Dunlop and Lee, 2004). Beyond organizational costs, CWBs at work can also harm the people who are victims of CWB. In the extreme, CWB can involve acts of physical aggression and violence against other people in the work environment. Between the years 1997-2008, 1,260 people were killed by work associates in the USA (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). Victims of less severe forms of CWB, such as harassment, can suffer from decreased well-being (Duffy et al., 2002), life satisfaction, and job satisfaction and increased occurrences of depression and anxiety (Bowling and Beehr, 2006).\nSelf-esteem: It is likely that self-esteem has always been important to the study of humans. Self-esteem has been viewed as an evolutionary adaptation which provides information concerning social standing within a group (Campbell and Foster, 2006). James (1890) viewed self-esteem as self-appreciation that was determined by feelings toward the self. Building upon James, we define self-esteem as the overall positive or negative evaluation of oneself (Brown, 1993).\nTheoretical confusion: There have been two distinct lines of reasoning which have been put forth as to why there should be a significant relation between self-esteem and CWB: consistency theory and ego-defense theory. These theories have emerged from the literature to pose different motivations for acting in a counterproductive manner depending on an individual's level of self-esteem. Not only does the literature reflect two separate theoretical arguments surrounding self-esteem and CWB, but there also exists empirical results supporting both of these theoretical frameworks (Baumeister et al., 2003; Ferris et al., 2009b). Because of the varying theoretical arguments and empirical results, this paper seeks to compare the two theoretical approaches and provide a meta-analytic estimate of the empirical relation between CWB and self-esteem. In so doing, we hope to lend empirical support to either consistency theory or ego-defense theory and to provide guidance to researchers examining self-esteem and CWB concerning the theoretically appropriate lens to use. In addition, we examine the type of self-esteem as a potential moderator of this relation.\nTheoretical comparison and hypotheses: The main theory that purports to show a negative relation between self-esteem and CWB relies on consistency theory (Korman, 1970). Consistency theory grew from the proposal that people strive to confirm their self-conceptions (Lecky, 1945). Lecky supposed that there was a super-ordinate motive to preserve our current structure of ideas in the form of unity striving (Stevens, 1992). Thus, the self-concept is a single and self-consistent phenomenon. By striving for unity, an individual's behavior serves to minimize the need to reorganize their self-concept which results in more pleasurable emotions.\nMethod: Literature search\nResults: The studies contributing data to the meta-analysis are listed in Table I and the results from the meta-analysis are in Table II. This study used psychometric meta-analysis (Hunter and Schmidt, 2004) in which correlations were individually corrected for measurement error. We offer results based on the observed correlations and the individually corrected correlations (i.e. estimates of the population correlation from each study). Table II also addresses H1 (CWB and self-esteem) and H2 (self-esteem and OBSE). In Table II, column 1 identifies the group or subgroup being meta-analyzed. Columns 2 through 5, respectively, contain the total sample across studies, the total number of correlation coefficients, the average correlation of the observed distribution, and the standard deviation of the observed distribution. Columns 6 through 8 provide the psychometric results. Column 6 and 7 include the population mean correlation and standard deviations, respectively. Column 8 includes the 95 percent confidence interval. Note that this study did not correct for range restriction which likely has the effect of underestimating the magnitude of the population effect size in our results.\nDiscussion: Our research points to a negative relationship between self-esteem and CWB such that individuals with higher self-esteem would be expected to engage in fewer CWBs. Though the nature of our study does not allow us to make any causal assertions surrounding the observed empirical relation, we feel that our results have significant implications for theory, society, organizations, and the individuals working in them.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Consistency theory and ego-defense theory have been used to examine the relationship between counterproductive work behavior (CWB) and self-esteem; however, these two theoretical approaches pose different directions for the expected relation. In line with this, previous research concerning the relationship between self-esteem and CWB has found inconsistent empirical results. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the relation between self-esteem and counterproductive behavior at work and draw conclusions about the merit of the competing theories. This study also examines the type of self-esteem as a potential moderator to this relationship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors performed a psychometric meta-analysis of the relation between self-esteem and CWB using 21 correlations with a total n of 5,135.\nFindings: The estimated population correlation was -0.26. The moderator analyses showed that global self-esteem had a stronger relation with CWB than organization-based self-esteem.\nPractical implications: The relation between self-esteem and counterproductive behavior at work is important to organizations for two reasons. First, CWBs are very costly at all levels of the organization. Second, organizations and managers have some control over the level of their employee's self-esteem.\nOriginality/value: Previous research has used both consistency theory and ego-defense theory to make predictions concerning the self-esteem and CWB relationship. This paper provides support for examining this relation using consistency theory due to the negative correlation the authors found between CWB and self-esteem.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An agent based model for the subsidized LPG with a closed distribution system	[ "Agent based model", "Closed distribution", "Inventory", "Service level", "Simulation", "Subsidized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)", "Supply chain management", "Distribution", "Liquefied petroleum gas" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Energy subsidies constitute government actions that lower the cost of energy production, raise the revenues of energy producers, or lower the price paid by energy consumers (IEA, OECD, OPEC, World Bank, 2010). In year 2007, the Government of Indonesian enacted a new policy of converting the use of kerosene to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to reduce the kerosene subsidy. The program provides a free start-up package and LPG price subsidy for households and small enterprises.\nLiterature review: A supply chain is a series of units that transforms raw materials into finished products and delivers the products to customers (Mabert and Venkataramanan, 1998). There are five typical supply chain stages involved in fulfilling customers' requests, i.e. raw materials, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors, retailers, and customers (Chopra and Meindl, 2010). There are two types of supply chains such as forward and reverse supply chain. While a forward supply chain is a series of activities required to produce new products from raw materials and distribute them to consumers, a reverse supply chain is a series of activities required to retrieve used products from consumers and re-process (recycle/remanufacture) them to recover their residual market values (Gupta and Pochampally, 2004). In a forward supply chain, the customer is typically the end of the process. However, a closed-loop supply chains include traditional forward supply chain activities and the additional activities of the reverse supply chain (Guide et al., 2006). Some industries have implemented closed-loop supply chain in their system, for example automotive parts have long been remanufactured by third parties, mineral water plastic bottles have been recycled by the producers, and the refill system has been imposed by soft drink companies or LPG distributors to minimize disposable packaging.\nResearch method: Research method is systematically arranged, and it is directed to answer research questions and objectives. A conceptual framework of this research consists of five stages as shown in Figure 1, namely preliminary study, descriptive study, findings analysis, modeling and simulation, and recommendation.\nAgent based modeling and simulation: Agent based modeling is a research method that can be used to assess a system that has two characteristics, i.e.:\nResults and discussion: There are six experiments conducted in this research. The first experiment aims to test simulation external validity while the next experiments aim to test the ability of this configuration in anticipating some possibilities beyond the normal condition prevailing in the community.\nConclusions: In this study, the agent based model for subsidized LPG with a closed distribution system in Bandung that was built can mimic the real condition with the accuracy of level of 2. This conclusion can answer RQ1 on how agent based modeling and simulation mimics the real system. It can provide quantitative agreement with empirical macro structure to predict the trends happen in each transaction, whether each demand can be fulfilled by the previous distribution chain. The specific service level can only be obtained from advanced calculations of quantitative data simulation results.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to explore major causes of the failure of the existing subsidized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution system and recommends alternative strategies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The analysis of subsidized LPG with a closed distribution system was carried out based on preliminary study, secondary data collection, and in-depth interviews to identify the root causes of the failure in achieving the desired service levels. In this research, agent based modeling and simulation was used to explain the phenomena occurred in the closed distribution system represented by three types of agents, namely selling agents, sub-selling agents, and end-users.\nFindings: Agent based modeling and simulation was successfully applied to describe the undesired symptoms in the closed distribution system. The simulation shows that the distribution system provides a service level of 81.61 percent by selling agents and 97.38 percent by sub-selling agents. The root cause analysis indicates that service and inventory levels in the LPG distribution system are strongly influenced by end-users demand variations, rationing system, and the occurrence of inventory leakage. To enhance the system quality, the Indonesian Government needs to implement the LPG with a closed distribution system using control card in real practice so that monitoring system can be significantly improved and ensure well-targeted subsidy.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research is limited to the discussion of inventory level and availability. It does not include the issue of pricing, speculation, and targeting accuracy, because of the limitation of the existing data.\nPractical implications: This research will assist stakeholders involved in the distribution system such as selling agents and retailers to better understand the true potential of the LPG closed distribution system in preventing shortages.\nOriginality/value: This paper describes that agent based modeling and simulation is very useful, especially to gain insights for improving the LPG closed distribution system.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Performing hackathons as a way of positioning boundary organizations	[ "Organizational culture", "Boundary organization", "Hackathon", "Opening production" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: With the expression \"opening production\" this paper refers to an emerging modality of organizing processes of value creation, where openness and collaboration play a central role. Openness implies a broader possibility of participation in production processes, either through the creation of dedicated platforms and procedures, such as in open innovation practices (Chesbrough, 2003) or by making freely available resources and outputs of production, as it happens, for example, within open-source software (Benkler, 2006). Collaboration refers to the way in which such processes are organized, either through horizontal peer-to-peer mechanisms as in open-source software (Bauwens, 2008), or through the development of new forms of relationships between producers and users, where the latter are taking an active role in production processes (Bruns, 2008).\n2. Literature review: The idea of boundary organization has been developed in organizational studies to describe organizations interfacing research and policy communities and facilitating communication and collaboration between them (Guston, 2001). This paper refers to a further development of the notion of boundary organization (O'Mahony and Bechky, 2008), which is looking at what kind of organizations could facilitate the collaboration between divergent communities with convergent interests, specifically between the open-source software community and commercial companies developing software.\n3. Research framework: In the last few decades, the investigation of the cultural dimension of organizations has been an important element in organizational studies (Dandridge et al., 1980; Schein, 1985; Schultz, 1995; Jones, 1996; Hatch, 2006). Also based on different concepts and definition of culture, different empirical frameworks have been suggested. More specifically, in the symbolic-interpretive theoretical framework we decided to apply it is quite common to find studies that rely on data collected across long periods of time - typically using ethnographic participant observation - and where the collected material is explained by the researchers through interpretative processes (Schultz, 1995). The application of an ethnographic approach with the direct involvement of researchers in the field has proven to be a common element of a good number of recent studies on organizational culture (Czarniawska, 2012).\n4. Fabriken and connectivity lab as boundary organizations: O'Mahony and Bechky conclude their analysis on boundary organizations between communities of open-source projects and firms by stating: \"Boundary organizations enabled collaboration not by blurring boundaries but by reinforcing convergent interests and articulating how interests diverged\" (O'Mahony and Bechky, 2008, p. 450).\n5. An account of the two hackathons: performing cultures of opening production: The paper now provides an ethnographic account of the two hackathons, distinguishing between the expectations and original plan of the organizers and the actual unfolding of the two events.\n6. Discussion: Both the events were organized following a hackathon format. Hackathons are generally characterized by horizontal and self-organized patterns, intense collaboration between participants, sharing of tools and materials with the final aim of creating something (Plates 5 and 6). Hackathons can be performed as gatherings of people exploring alternative production modalities, but also as events used by start-ups, companies, venture capitalists as a way to locate new areas for innovation and funding[8]. Different models of hackathons reflect different views on opening production.\n7. Conclusions: This paper, by comparing two cases, discusses how a boundary organization can try to establish and communicate its boundaries through an event in the format of a hackathon. Specifically, the two cases refer to two Swedish labs for opening production and the events represented their public opening.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare two boundary organizations situated in Malmo (Sweden) and oriented toward opening production. Particularly, it looks at how the two organizations tried to establish and communicate their boundaries during their official opening events, which were structured according to the format of hackathon.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors adopted an ethnographic approach and followed the two events, observing and interacting with organizers and participants. The findings reported here draw upon data collected through direct observation, the authors' experience as participants, unstructured conversations, e-mail exchanges.\nFindings: This paper analyzes the two events in order to show how different cultures of opening production lead to different ways of performing hackathons and, consequently, how these events affect the process of establishing and communicating the organizational boundaries.\nOriginality/value: The paper looks at the potential of events structured according to the format of hackathon as a way for boundary organizations to position themselves.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
To adjust or not to adjust in the host country? Perspective of interactionism	[ "Promotion focus", "Prevention focus", "General adjustment", "Work adjustment", "Interaction adjustment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In an increasingly globalized world, an important component of international human resource (HR) management in multinational companies (MNCs) is the expatriation of employees to foreign countries (Froesea and Peltokorpi, 2011). As is pointed by Templer (2010), the expatriation is rather challenging. The cost is very high both for expatriates and the organization. As many as one out of four managers leave, or intend to leave their employer within one year of repatriation (Black et al., 1999; Selmer, 1999). Therefore, international enterprises should confront the issue of failed expatriation.\nLiterature review: Expatriate adjustment\nMethods: Participants and sampling methods\nResults and discussion: The means, standard deviations, and bivariate correlations among the variables are reported in Table I.\nDiscussion: H1 partially supported is partially consistent with the argument of RFT. Prevention focus is helpful for expatriates to adjust general environment. Surprisingly, promotion focus has a negative and no significant effect on expatriate general adjustment. A possible explanation is that lack of enough cultural knowledge resulted in promotion-focused expatriates' bad adjustment in the local life. H2 supported is consistent with the argument of RFT. That is to say expatriates' promotion focus and prevention focus can enhance their interaction adjustment. H3 supported is consistent with the argument of RFT. The results showed that expatriates' promotion focus and prevention focus can enhance their work adjustment. H4 partially supported is partially consistent with interactionism perspective. The results revealed that psychosocial support function negatively moderates the relationship between promotion focus and expatriate general adjustment. Unfortunately, psychosocial support function failed to moderate the relationship between prevention focus and expatriate general adjustment. The likely explanation for this phenomenon is that prevention-focused expatriates try their best to adjust to general environment, high psychosocial support function or low psychosocial support function make no difference to these expatriates. H5 unsupported is inconsistent with interactionism perspective. That is, role modeling function failed to moderate the relationships between regulatory foci (promotion focus and prevention focus) and expatriate interaction adjustment. Another possible explanation is that promotion-focused expatriates and prevention-focused expatriates possess strong social skills and they can get along well with local colleagues, high role modeling function or low role modeling function make no difference to these expatriates. H6 supported is consistent with interactionism perspective. This means that career development function can negatively moderate the relationships between regulatory foci (promotion focus and prevention focus) and expatriate work adjustment.\nConclusion and suggestions: Conclusion\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of regulatory foci (promotion focus and prevention focus) to expatriate adjustments (general, interaction, and work adjustments) and explore whether mentoring functions (psychosocial support, role modeling, and career development) moderate the aforementioned relationship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using 141 questionnaired primary data (response rate 32.25 percent) gathered from at least six months experienced expatiates of multinational companies in six industries, this study adopts regression method to examine the moderating effect.\nFindings: This study found that promotion focus was positively related to the interaction and work adjustment, respectively; prevention focus was positively related to the general, interaction, and work adjustment, respectively. Psychosocial support function moderates the relationship between promotion focus and general adjustment. Career development function moderates the relationships between promotion/prevention foci and work adjustment.\nOriginality/value: According to the interactionism perspective, behavior is a result of the interaction between personality and situational influences, has a long history in social and personality psychology. This study extends this perspective to the interactive effects of mentorship (situational factor) and expatriates' regulatory foci (personality factor) on expatriate adjustment.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Determining the core activities in the order fulfillment process: an empirical application	[ "Value", "Internal and relational capabilities", "Core", "Order fulfilment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In today's new competitive framework, organizations require a new vision of the company in terms of transforming organizational structures by analyzing the processes (Harrington, 1993), and the relationships between firms within a single network (Webster, 1992; Morgan and Hunt, 1994). In addition, there must also be a closer relationship with intermediaries and supply companies that enables unique relational capabilities to be obtained. The problem for firms and networks lies in defining and applying a design or redesign of the operational processes in order to improve them to the point where sustained competitive advantage is achieved. In that context, the objective of this study is to provide a practical methodology by analyzing the processes from an overall perspective with the aim of improving the competitiveness of firms by creating value to the consumer. To that end, two theoretical perspectives are analyzed, namely the resource based view and the relational view of the firm. While other, significant works in the literature study the relationship between relational performance and customer satisfaction (Vickery et al., 1993). This paper analyzes the influence that the internal and relational capabilities of a process and its activities have on the creation of value to the end consumer.\nInternal and relational views of capabilities in the analysis of processes and activities: Core competences\nResearch hypotheses: The review of the literature enables us to propose two hypotheses that relate internal and relational capabilities with value to the consumer, as well as to identify the core and non-core activities (Figure 1).\nMethodology: Area of research and sample\nAnalyses and results: In order to carry out the data analysis, the average score for each question for the 13 activities was calculated, thus measuring the propensity of each responding firm to create value, to create internal capabilities and to strengthen relational capabilities. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) as well as the correlation matrix are presented in Table II. Once those averages had been calculated, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted prior to testing the hypotheses.\nConclusions: The results indicate that the two types of capabilities influence the creation of value to the end consumer. Although internal capabilities have a greater effect on the creation of value, relational capabilities complement them and help increase value to the consumer. In that respect, it means that the consumer will always benefit from close inter-organizational relations that strengthen internal capabilities in order to obtain a competitive advantage. A firm's strategy is defined first by an analysis of its resources and capabilities in which its strengths are defined and, second, by an evaluation of the level of relations with other firms. This internal and external assessment of the level of relations is conducted in order to reinforce the firm's strong points and develop relational capabilities in those aspects where the firm is not so efficient and effective. This increase in capabilities will give consumers better value by supplying products that meet their expectations (received quality). This indicates that internal and relational capabilities will lead to greater efficiency by reducing costs through process improvement and integration. To achieve that objective, there must be an overall view of the process, close cooperation among the firms in the network, intensive use of shared information technology, and the creation of joint work teams to design new ways of conducting the process.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This work examines the relationship between internal and relational capabilities and the creation of value to the end consumer in the case of the process of receipt, manufacture, and delivery of orders within the supply chain. This work develops a methodology to identify operations that generate core competences and those that do not, with the aim of improving the management of the supply chain.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This work analyses the order fulfillment process in a representative sample of firms operating in a region of Spain. To accomplish the research objectives, a personal survey was conducted using a questionnaire to evaluate 13 activities of the order distribution process in the supply chain.\nFindings: The results of the study reveal that internal and relational capabilities explain the creation of value to the consumer. They also identify two groups of operations in line with their ability to be sources of relational or internal competitive advantage. With regard to the activities, it was shown that there are some activities that form part of the core competences, while others constitute non-core competences. This work demonstrates that the core activities generate higher value to the end consumer; however, it also shows how important the non-core activities may be to the creation of value.\nPractical implications: The work offers orientation as to how the analyzed process should be redesigned to obtain a competitive advantage. Thus, this higher value to the end consumer will enable the firm to reduce prices or at least maintain them, in which case the firm will be able to offer additional services that differentiate it from the competition.\nOriginality/value: Finally, although the literature contains some works that analyze capabilities or relational performance, none to date have used variables such as activity simplification, integration and relational competitiveness in the framework of relational capabilities in the order fulfillment process. Another significant innovation of this work is the analysis at operation level, in which 13 activities belonging to an important process in the supply chain are analyzed.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Perceptions of justice and organisational commitment in international mergers and acquisitions	[ "Japan", "Commitment", "Entry modes", "Mergers and acquisitions", "Organizational justice/fairness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Although a significant amount of research has been devoted to the study of international entry modes, it was more recently that scholars started paying particular attention to understand the role and implications of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) as one of the main means for internationalisation (Ahammad and Glaister, 2013; Brouthers and Hennart, 2007; Canabal and White, 2008). While most studies have devoted their attention to understand performance implications of other entry modes such as export (Cadogan et al., 2012; Calof, 1993; Oliveira et al., 2012), several studies have provided great insights into the link between the performance of this entry mode, i.e. M&A, and employees' commitment suggesting a significant and positive association between the two (Ahammad et al., 2012; Chatterjee et al., 1992; Ahammad et al., 2016; Gomes, Weber, Brown, and Tarba, 2011; Mathieu and Zajac, 1990; Weber and Schweiger, 1992; Weber et al., 1996, 2010). This line of research underscores the importance of preserving loyalty and commitment after the acquisition. As noted by Monin et al. (2013, p. 256) \"(during post M&As integration process) perceptions of organizational justice help people to accept the planned changes and their implications, whereas perceptions of injustice exacerbate organizational problems\". Organisational justice refers to the extent to which employees perceive acquisition implementation procedures as being just and fair (Taylor and Lobel, 1989). Despite the compelling evidence about the importance of post-M&A commitment (Monin et al., 2013), little progress has been made in understanding the antecedents of commitment in cross-border M&As. This missing link is important. By understanding what influences commitment also helps in understanding what affects cross-border M&As' outcomes. In this study, we examine the effects of procedural and interactional justice perceptions on employee's commitment in a cross-border acquisition.\nBackground literature and hypotheses development[1]: M&As have been an important entry mode for firms into international markets (Lee and Lieberman, 2010). Significant number of studies have identified a host of antecedent factors that leads to the choice of M&As as an entry mode (for a meta-analysis please see Morschett et al., 2010). The focus of this study is, however, on post-acquisition strategies of firms that have used M&As as a mode of foreign market entry. According to Angwin and Meadows (2015), while post-acquisition strategies are widely acknowledged to be critical in the success of M&A activities of firms, research on post-acquisition strategies still remains fragmented without a widely recognised framework.\nMethods: The empirical study was carried out in a Japanese organisation that was taken over by a global firm. The acquired organisation (ABC corp.) as well as the acquirer (XYZ corp.) are in the business of providing information services and offer data and analytical tools to customers. The rationale behind the acquisition was largely to extend geographic reach, a strategic move that would not only create presence in Japan but a decision that would also expand XYZ corp.'s principle activity of marketing services. The acquisition offered the opportunity for XYZ corp. to capitalise on the innovative digital marketing activities that ABC corp., had already established as well as the client base that they had built. The acquisition of successful innovative firms such as ABC corp., has been acknowledged in previous studies as a key success factor in M&As (Sorescu et al., 2007). The firm was already accomplished in the market a strong client base that would enable XYZ corp.'s profile to be raised amongst the existing clients throughout Japan. The company's decisions to undertake acquisitions in unexplored markets are largely driven by a strategy to expand international presence worldwide.\nAnalysis and results: The data were analysed through the partial least squares methodology, which was implemented through SmartPLS (Ringle et al., 2005). The PLS methodology has been extensively applied across the different research streams in management and strategy in the recent past (Henseler et al., 2009). The PLS methodology uses a component-based approach to analyse path coefficients between constructs. Further, PLS methodology places minimal restrictions on measurement scales, sample size and residual distributions (Pavlou and Fygenson, 2006). Responses from a total of 118 employees were analysed.\nDiscussion: This study examined the link between perceptions of justice and commitment in a cross-border acquisition. Specifically, the study investigated the association between procedural and distributive justices and calculative and affective commitments. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on the antecedents of commitment in cross-border mergers. To our knowledge, this is one of the few studies examining the link between perceptions of justice and commitment in this type of international entry mode, as this small research strand has mostly focussed on a single country context (Ellis et al., 2009; Klendauer and Deller, 2009; Lowe and Vodanovich, 1995; Monin et al., 2013).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Although there is substantial and accumulating evidence on the link between market entry modes and performance, evidence regarding their impact on employee's perceptions and thereby their commitment is scarce. This is more so in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) where employee's commitment has a significant impact on post-entry performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between perceptions of justice and organisational commitment in cross-border M&As.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors draw on market entry and M&As' literature and studies on the link between perception of justice and commitment to develop the hypotheses. The authors test the hypotheses with survey data from a merger of two culturally different partners - British and Japanese. A total of 128 responses were received, out of a sample of 151 non-managerial employees within the firm.\nFindings: The results show a strong association between employees' perceptions of justice during the merger and commitment to the new organisation. Surprisingly, the results do not support the widely reported interaction effects between different organisational justices and employees' commitment.\nResearch limitations/implications: Obtaining data from a single M&A is a potential limitation of this study.\nPractical implications: The study underscores the importance of post-market entry. The results suggest that particular attention needs to be paid to the way employees of the acquired firm are treated during their interactions with their counterparts.\nOriginality/value: The link between market entry and performance is well documented. However, little progress has been made in understanding the antecedents/factors that influence commitment in foreign market entry and in particular cross-border M&As. This study helps close this gap.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Knowledge management, organizational commitment and knowledge-worker performance: The neglected role of knowledge management in the public sector	[ "Knowledge workers", "Public sector organizations", "Knowledge management", "Organizational commitment", "Employee performance", "Knowledge-worker performance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The knowledge-based view of HRM, a relatively recent extension of knowledge-based view of the firm theory, considers the human capital factors and knowledge resource of knowledge workers crucial for the sustainable innovation performance (e.g. Grant, 1996; Zack et al., 2009; Sergeeva and Andreeva, 2016). Knowledge workers in contrast to the manual workers/blue-collar employees are the workers who have higher education and are characterized by knowledge work that, in turn, requires the generation and application of knowledge. In this context, Kianto et al. (2016) stated a quite interesting fact that the individual soft performance issues of HRM (e.g. employee satisfaction, engagement and employee performance), the most critical behaviors in organizational behaviors, have not been addressed from knowledge-based perspective and knowledge management in the literature. The performance of a knowledge worker has rarely been addressed from knowledge-based view perspectives, while it has been addressed from other perspectives like HR practices and strategy at large (e.g. Chi et al., 2010; Mustapa and Mahmood, 2016). However, the wide ranges of empirical studies, meta-analyses and systematic literature reviews (e.g. Wright and Bonett, 2002; Meyer et al., 2002; Chen et al., 2002; Keller, 1997; Mathieu and Zajac, 1990) suggest that one of the closely related issues of the performance of workers is organizational commitment. Therefore, testing these issues of performance and commitment together from a knowledge-based perspective could be an interesting contribution.\n2. Theoretical background: 2.1 Knowledge-worker performance\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Data collection\n4. Results: 4.1 Measurement model\n5. Discussion: This study proposed that knowledge management practices could be the driver of organizational commitment and knowledge-worker performance with special reference to the neglected role of knowledge management in the public sector. Therefore, the mediation of organizational commitment between knowledge management practices and knowledge-worker performance was postulated. The results confirmed the partial mediation of organizational commitment, thereby indicating that knowledge management practices could be the driver of higher organizational commitment and knowledge-worker performance. The results are discussed in details as in the following.\n6. Conclusion: Knowledge management in the public sector is a relatively unexplored area of research and practice with special reference to the developing countries and Asia. Knowledge management practices and initiatives like KMU have been implemented in the Health Department of Punjab Province, Pakistan, to lower the turnover rate and foster knowledge-work performance. Therefore, the study proposed that knowledge management practices could be the toolkit to increase the organizational commitment and knowledge-worker performance with special reference to knowledge management in Health Department, a public sector department of Punjab Province, Pakistan. The data were gathered from the 341 knowledge workers of the Health Department of Punjab, Pakistan. The findings support the case of partial mediation of organizational commitment between knowledge management practices and knowledge-work performance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Knowledge management in the public sector is relatively an ignored avenue of research and practice that has recently been given attention. Knowledge management initiatives in the public sector are now not limited to the developed countries anymore. The public sectors of various developing countries including Pakistan have developed knowledge management functions to address the problems of low organizational commitment (higher turnover rates) and knowledge-workers' performance. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediation role of organizational commitment in the relationship between knowledge management practices and knowledge-worker performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The data were gathered from 341 knowledge workers of the public sector health department of Punjab Province, Pakistan, where knowledge management unit initiative has been taken. It was then analyzed using the structural equation modeling.\nFindings: Organizational commitment partially mediates the relationship between knowledge management practices and knowledge-work performance.\nPractical implications: The public sector policy makers are strongly advised to implement knowledge management units and practices in order to enhance knowledge-work performance as well as organizational commitment.\nOriginality/value: First, the model on the mediating role of organizational commitment has never been examined before. Second, the data collection from the public Health Department of Pakistan, a developing country, is relatively rare because the public sector knowledge management studies have mostly been conducted in developed countries. Finally, this study extends the literature on knowledge management in the public sector that is the developing theme in knowledge management discipline while adding knowledge management as a toolkit to enhance knowledge-workers', organizational commitment and knowledge-work performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Interview with Richard Donkin, author of The Future of Work	[ "Human resources", "Human resource management", "Diversity", "Employee engagement", "Legislation", "Human capital management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Richard Donkin is an award-winning author and columnist based in Woking, UK. He wrote a popular column around the topic of work for the Financial Times from 1994 to 2008. His latest book, The Future of Work, won the inaugural Chartered Management Institute's management book of the year award in the digital books category (2011), and has met critical acclaim both in the USA and the UK.\nWould you mind telling me a bit about your background, how you came to write The Future of Work, and your current pursuit of free agency?: For most of my career I was a full-time journalist, joining the Financial Times in 1987, working initially on financial investigations before I joined the employment reporting team and began to write the FT employment column. From the off I expanded it to include all aspects of work from psychometrics to management. In 1994 when I took over the column HR was still more readily identified as Personnel Management in the UK.I became interested in concepts such as Portfolio Working (as described by Charles Handy), tele-working and free agency but what really led me to pursue this lifestyle was my first book, The History of Work (first published as Blood, Sweat and Tears: The Evolution of Work). I thought that work was so central to the human condition that it demanded its own history and I couldn't find one anywhere. It seemed that the time was ripe to undertake such a book since work seemed to be undergoing another great sea-change as significant as the industrial revolution. I asked the editor of the FT if I could take a year of unpaid leave to research and write the book and he agreed.Researching and writing that book was probably the best year of my life, exploring the realities of self-management. Some people assumed it would take a lot of discipline but good organization was the key, breaking the book down in to a series of research and writing tasks.I was asked to go back to the FT in to a new role creating an online start up business within the company looking after recruitment. I was editor in charge of content and all things editorial, creating something entirely new. The launch coincided with a downturn in the fortunes of FT.com and a decision to close most of these small start-up ventures. I had the option to return to editorial but instead negotiated a leaving package that included the promise that I could continue writing my column on a freelance basis. So this is what I did and I added presenting and column writing for other clients in to the portfolio.I'd intended to write a book on the future of work but did not begin until I was approached by Palgrave Macmillan who had seen the project mentioned on my website and said they were interested in publishing it. I shook hands on a deal, wondering how I would be able to fit it in with my journalism. But the very next week I heard that my FT column was being scrapped as a cost-saving exercise. This was a big blow to my regular income-earning but it did give me space to pursue a book-writing career which had been my intention when I'd left in 2002.The next big gamble was to write a novel and it's one so far that has not paid off. Writing fiction was a much tougher switch than I'd expected. But that first novel is finished and I'm awaiting some feedback from a literary consultant. Now, only this week, I have started work on a second novel. But I am also considering another book in the management sphere, looking at the difficulties managements and companies are having embracing the full implications of the digital age.\nEarlier in this issue, Peter Reilly, Director of HR Research and Consultancy at IES, argues that HR departments across large companies need to be afforded the autonomy to adapt to their social, cultural and geographical environment, as opposed to a standardized set of \"best practices\". Do you agree with this? Or is there an argument for consistency of approach?: I not only agree, I think it's vital for HR if it is not to be seen as a systemized discipline, performing specific functions rather like a component of a vehicle. If this is the case, employers might well ask why they simply don't buy in their HR like an off-the-peg suit. The commoditization of employment is happening everywhere and it follows, therefore, that there can be commoditization of HR. Some employers seem to like that but you can't expect a company that treats its functions and people as commodities to be capable of differentiating itself in the marketplace.\nIn your book, The Future of Work, you stress the significance of diversification - in terms of gender, ethnicity, age and geography - in shaping how businesses will operate in the future. What issues does this raise for HRM, and how can HR professionals adapt?: The challenge it raises for HR is to understand what diversity means. To date diversity tends to be approached in a legalistic way, i.e. what must the organization do to comply with discrimination legislation? There was a kind of pecking order in this approach - women, ethnic minorities, gays, disabled people, older people, in roughly that order. This is still the case although the best companies do at least try to reflect their customer base in their diversity policies. But companies need to stand back from diversity and ask themselves: why is this important? Why is it important to employ older people, young mothers, people with all kinds of disabilities (including those with learning difficulties)? Once you do that you begin to understand the company in a social sense rather than merely as a profit hub. This is pretty radical because it's asking the investment community to back away from the \"war for talent\" dogma that describes business as an eternal struggle for dominance. But that is to apply the wrong interpretation of Darwinian principles, defining \"survival of the fittest\" as survival of the strongest. Darwin didn't see it that way. He understood that diversity allowed the survival of those that were most fitted to their environment. Companies should be seeking to be the most fitted to their business environment and that's why understanding diversity is key. All of us live in a community and it's important that we relate to the needs of that community when doing business. You don't do that by creating corporate clones.\nThere is much legislation, past, present, and proposed, that intends to be inclusionary - the abolition of the compulsory retirement age, \"positive action\" allowed under the Equality Act - encouraging workplace demography to be reflective of society. Do you see such policy as entirely positive? Is a more organic approach possible?: Legislation is usually introduced when a voluntary approach has been ignored. If castor oil is good for you but you don't want to take it, then someone has to come along, nip your nose and shove the spoon in. In those circumstances, the best companies will research the merits of castor oil.Nearly all these policies are more complex than they are framed. It's no good telling employers that they must employ more older people when those same employers have been trying to rid themselves of older workers for one reason, and it has nothing to do with the work ethic, and everything to do with expense. The final salary pension was a great deal when it was funded by expanding workforces but it simply can't work with a contracting workforce so that needs to change. People need to get used to the idea that their pay may not go up if they are in a job where younger people, just as able, are doing the same job for far less money. Why should an employer keep on older heads who may have become a tad cynical since they have seen it all before, when there are young thrusters keen to do everything? The answer is to manage age like you manage everything else. If those older workers have seen it all before, shouldn't they be explaining that to managements who come up with a \"new\" old idea? Suggestions schemes for example, old hat, but they became fashionable a while back, for a while. On the other hand maybe this process of renewal and decay is as it should be.What is important is that any policy or legislation comes at the problem with eyes wide open, seeing it as everyone sees it rather than the idealists. Bags of maternity leave might seem a great idea, but what about the young women of child-bearing age who are refused work in small companies because the owner can't afford to lose them for months on end. That's discrimination under the law, yes, and it happens all the time. The same happens with older people - very hard to detect. Employers and legislators should put all their cards on the table and thrash out the issues instead of pretending that some things don't happen. And those campaigning for equality should take a long hard look and explore the underlying fairness of their campaign and the consequences of winning. Too often we see the consequences framed in career terms - promotion and pay rather than life outcomes - is this going to deliver happier lives for those involved? I know a lot of career women who despair at the tensions between bringing up families and pursuing their careers. I know men too who think they must work until they drop, providing for their families. Legislation and policies must be designed to attack these damaging life-path distortions. People need to be able to find the space to pursue fulfilling careers alongside the joys and demands of raising families, so they need choices over part-time and freelance working. Some legislation has provided important rights to ask for part-time work that employers must learn to deal with because ultimately it will be good for them. Flexibility implies elasticity at both ends of the chord.\nIn your book there is a sense that you feel working environments have become cluttered with empty \"reward\" schemes, and HR-introduced bureaucracy. Would you say that is a fair assessment? If so, how can HR departments modify their approach to the benefit of the workplace?: Yes to the first question. The answer to the second question is to be more imaginative. Sadly if you're looking for imagination in HR you're paddling in the shallows. How can they change that impression? They need to kick out some of the process. But how can they do that when legislation demands their presence? One way is to keep the compliance stuff and kick out the rest. Another is to change the way they work with their business-facing colleagues and become business and results-focused too.Here's an example. Managers should have the discretion to hire the people they want to hire. HR people should be there as consultants, ensuring that discrimination legislation is complied with, but they should not be the centralised gatekeepers of recruitment. That needs to be devolved. So HR should be there to keep managers honest, to ask tough questions and sometimes, literally, to lay down the law.Time and time again I've heard experienced managers say they have a desperate need for someone, they know someone who has the right skills but they can't hire them because there's a process and often a lengthy one at that. By the time the role is filled a great business opportunity might have been lost. The manager should have the facility to call HR and say \"I'm thinking of hiring so-and-so, is there any reason why not?\" A good HR professional would be out finding one or two more candidates fast to give that manager a choice. But it doesn't work like that because HR people don't see themselves as head-hunters for the good reason that most of them don't have a clue about the talent needed and where to find it. That needs to change if they are to win the respect of departmental managers. They need to examine where they really add value to the business and where they might be entrepreneurial - now that's a word that HR people might learn to use and understand.Finally they need to get rid of the appalling title - human resources. It is demeaning to the people and colleagues who they serve. In 50 years from now people will be shocked that companies ever used this dehumanizing term.\nYou were involved in the formation of the Human Capital Standards Group back in 2005. What were the significant findings from this, and how can HCM be incorporated into HR practice?: I've outlined the findings in the book. It's important to understand that I never envisaged the HCS Group as a research group. I wanted it to be a campaigning group. I don't think that suited everyone who came along to the meetings. The investment bodies got it but there were a few people intent on finding proofs that measuring this produced that. I don't think this is the most important aspect of measurement. Measurement is about meaningful comparison, hence a foot is roughly the length of someone's foot. Anyone can understand that. Even the metric system corresponds to very human understandings of measurement. The Roman mile corresponded to 1,000 paces, each pace, two steps of a Roman soldier. To have any power, measurements have to carry meaning and that has to be a common meaning. So the most important thing about measurements in HR (or anywhere) is that they are generic and that is why I was trying to muster support around standards. Unfortunately in the measurement of engagement there were at least two strong vested interests among consultants that prevented consensus. Finally the legislation around which the campaign was rallying - the OFR in company reports - was pulled by Gordon Brown.\nWhat projects are you currently working on?: I am writing an historical novel about an event in the North of England. I have just completed a futuristic novel using some of the ideas I discussed in chapter 12 of The Future of Work. A consulting editor is looking at the book just now and, depending on his recommendations, I will then begin to seek an agent/publisher.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this article is to provide an interview with award-winning author and columnist, Richard Donkin.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper provides an interview with Richard Donkin, author of The Future of Work.\nFindings: - In the interview, Donkin discusses what the future holds for human resource management, and how the human resources (HR) function must adapt in order to remain relevant.\nOriginality/value: - Donkin is critical of many current HR processes, and offers his opinion about the changes HR departments must make.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Online branding strategy for wine tourism competitiveness	[ "Social media marketing", "Content analysis", "Wines", "Cluster analysis", "Text mining", "Tourism management", "Web communication", "Online brand identity/online brand image convergence", "Wine tourism destination" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The growth of online platforms and virtual communities used by well-informed and demanding consumers has made social Web communication an important tool for constructing, defending and cultivating the image of a brand.\nLiterature review: Web communication and the value of information extraction\nResearch questions: According to the above-mentioned literature, this paper focusses on convergence between online brand identity and online brand image. It proposes an operative framework designed to extract information from the Web, process it by text-mining techniques and interpret it to monitor the level of convergence between online brand identity (communicated by the company) and online brand image (perceived by third parties).\nMethodology: The operative framework, called AWC, is based on three steps arising from the synergy of question answering and content analysis research techniques, as described below. It is applied in accordance with the case study approach (Malhotra, 1993; Gummesson, 2000; Yin, 2009). By way of exploration, we propose a paradigmatic case chosen by means of information-oriented selection. This type of case study is suitable for application of the operative framework because it makes it possible to explore a phenomenon with reference to a specific context whose key elements can be considered, by analogy, to adequately account for it (Eisenhardt, 1989; Siggelkow, 2007). Although this method does not allow generalisation of the results, it is argued to be suitable for generating a qualitative information flow, albeit linked to the context of reference, which can facilitate learning (Flyvbjerg, 2006).\nFindings: RQI. Is there a convergence between what I seek to communicate (the brand identity) and what is actually perceived and transferred by third parties (the brand image)? If there is no convergence, in which areas is the gap generated?\nDiscussion: The tools provided by Web 2.0 increasingly represent forms of communication in which identity and image converge and where bi-directional comparisons and the co-creation and sharing of content make both dimensions highly dynamic over time. In today's communications environment, a strong brand can be created and maintained by strengthening the linkage between identity and image (Nandan, 2005; Roy and Banerjee, 2008). The convergence between the messages communicated (identity) and their perception by consumers (image) is critically important for influencing customers' attitudes, knowledge and/or behaviour. By assessing the gaps between brand identity and brand image, managers can identify strategies to minimise incongruity and develop more powerful brands (de Chernatony, 2010).\nConclusions, limitations, practical implications and future research: In agreement with the literature that stress the importance of convergence between identity and image to the construction and enhancement of brand loyalty (Nandan, 2005; Davies and Chun, 2002; Roy and Banerjee, 2008), the paper propose a framework -AWC - designed to detect and analyse the online brand image and compare it with online brand identity. The contribution given to managerial studies is the ability of the framework to provide an operative vision of the importance of knowing the blogger's perception of the brand identity communicated by the company. The identification of the themes that characterise brand identity and brand image in the Web provides, in fact, a flow of information that, if interpreted according to the functional, holistic and sensitive perspective, transforms them into useful knowledge for decisional purposes. In spite of the limitation of the research, represented by the application of the operative process to a single case study (Napa Valley), the originality of this paper lies in the use of an operational framework that is applicable by any actor in any operational context, especially by smaller and less well-known destinations, because it allows them to increase the flow of information on which to build or strengthen the brand identity by aligning with the brand image.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The link between wine and tourism is increasingly important for the competitive advantage of the territory and its productions, and it must be adequately communicated, in particular, online. Therefore, monitoring the level of convergence between online brand identity and online brand image is increasingly important to implement an efficient strategy of recall of a territory. This paper thus aims to propose an operative framework - assessing Web convergence (AWC) - designed to detect and analyse the online brand image and compare it with online brand identity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The AWC framework is designed to extract information from the Web, process it through text-mining techniques - cluster analysis - and interpret it from three perspectives - functional, holistic and sensitive. The operative framework was applied to Napa Valley because it is the most frequently cited wine destination on the top 100 travel blogs.\nFindings: The empirical application shows that the proposed logical framework can yield important reflections even in cases such as Napa Valley's, a destination that already enjoys strong notoriety. In spite of the apparent qualitative homogeneity of the topics discussed, observation of their composition in terms of the three dimensions revealed the existence of a gap on some topics identified between what is communicated by the wine tourism destination and what is perceived and in turn communicated by bloggers.\nResearch limitations/implications: The limitation of the research is represented by the application of the operative process to a single case study (Napa Valley). The contribution given to managerial studies is the ability of the framework to provide an operative vision of the importance of knowing the blogger's perception of the brand identity communicated by the company. Testing the framework in other contexts will confirm that the protocol is generalisable.\nPractical implications: The identification of the themes that characterise brand identity and brand image in the Web provides a flow of information that, if interpreted according to the functional, holistic and sensitive perspective, transforms the themes into useful knowledge for decisional purposes.\nOriginality/value: The managerial literature has highlighted, as in today's communication environment, a strong brand can be created and maintained by strengthening the linkage between identity and image. The proposed framework may be considered an important protocol because it allows a tourism destination to increase the flow of information on which to build or strengthen the brand identity by aligning with the brand image. This could be particularly useful for smaller and less-popular destinations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring bloggers' switching toward microblogging	[ "Blog", "Microblogging", "Push–pull–mooring framework", "Inertia", "Status quo bias", "Affective commitment", "Social presence" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Concurrent with the emergence of new technologies, people often leave previously popular applications en masse. For instance, with the rise of Facebook and Twitter, blogs are slowly losing their foothold, especially among younger generation. Given the numerous bloggers who lost interest and have given up on regular updates (Li and Walejko, 2008), Microsoft's Windows Live Space shut down in 2011. Similarity, Facebook has also been experiencing shrinking user base in its post-IPO era. As competing social media choices emerge in the digital market, users can easily switch to alternative services. The success of online communities depends on a critical mass of active users, while user migration and the subsequent change in the market share of social media is a strategic issue (Xu et al., 2014). Investigating this phenomenon is important because it is closely related to the survival of technologies.From a relationship marketing perspective, marketing scholars have successfully employed the push-pull-mooring (PPM) framework to summarize previous findings (Bansal et al., 2005). This framework serves as an overarching paradigm for connecting different consumer switching antecedents within an integrated framework and assists researchers to reconcile contradictory conclusions and to recognize the nature of switching. By utilizing the PPM framework as a theoretical lens, more and more studies on IT switching have been conducted in recent years. However, several gaps require further investigation to enrich our understanding of IT switching.First, prior studies are concerned mainly with switching behavior within the same service, whereas user switching across different services has received limited attention. Among the few studies in this area, Hsieh et al. (2012) investigated bloggers who switch to social network sites (SNS). However, they view blogs and SNS in a substitutive relationship and use relative usefulness to represent the pull effect of SNS, assuming SNS is better than blogs. This assumption is in line with the traditional media richness theory, which argues that richness is an invariant property of media, and the use of richer media will lead to better communication. In fact, different kinds of social media have different properties and abilities, because people typically use various social media to serve different communication purposes (Dennis et al., 2008). For instance, blog is good for sharing expressive thought, whereas microblog is ideal for sharing spontaneous short messages.Second, push effects within the PPM framework are similar to the forces that motivate IT discontinuance, whereas pull effects are analogous to the forces that impel new IT acceptance. The PPM framework can be regarded as a theoretic bridge between IT adoption and post-adoption studies (Bhattacherjee and Park, 2014). However, few studies have proposed a theoretical explanation for mooring effects. In addition, extant studies have focused mainly on cognitive-based mooring factors, such as switching costs (Polites and Karahanna, 2012). Research on affective and subconscious components is still limited. The exact mechanism by which mooring factors hamper switching decisions has also not been investigated thus far.Third, most prior studies have used dissatisfaction and alternative attractiveness to represent push and pull effects, respectively (Hou et al., 2011). This focus is one of the main shortcomings of the current research on switching. Scholars and practitioners would benefit from a deep understanding of the specific factors that attract or pull away users (Bansal et al., 2005). Social media users are considered as technology users and community members who gather together to interact and socialize with others. Determining the factors related to the communal nature of social media is important to distinguish social media users from isolated users who make switching decisions individually.To address the above limitations, this study investigates social media users' cyber migration. Specifically, blog and microblogging are selected as research objects. To attract users, most companies adopt the \"more is better\" strategy. By providing new functions and features, social media have become increasingly complex and cumbersome. For instance, Facebook has offered many features since 2012, including mention tagging, privacy concern and trending. However, such efforts are not as effective as expected, since users are tired of frequent system updates and excessive functions.A blog is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (wikipedia.com). Instead of pursuing the large and complete pattern, microblogging, which differs from a traditional blog in that its content is much smaller (typically less than 140-280 characters), has attracted a lot of users. There is no great technical innovation between blog and microblogging, but microblogging's \"less is better\" strategy has achieved great success. Meanwhile, blog has faced a loss of active users. Based on this background, this study aims to explore two research questions:What factors influence users to switch from blog to microblogging?How do these factors influence user switching intention?Using the PPM framework as a general guideline, low social presence is posited to form the push effect of blog, whereas larger referent network size and relative ease of use work together to shape the pull effects of microblogging. For the mooring effects, we identify an encompassing set of antecedents (affective commitment, switching costs and habit) to inertia. Inertia is predicted to attenuate the main effects of pull and push factors. In addition, the effects of affective commitment, switching costs and habit on switching intention are proposed to mediate fully through inertia. To test the model, empirical data are collected from users who concurrently use blog and microblogging.This study has several research contributions. First, unlike isolated users who make switching decisions individually, we regard social media users as virtual community members who are woven together to seek affiliation and socialization. Thus, specific factors related to the communal nature of social media that affect user switching decisions are identified. Second, by inducing status quo bias (SQB) theory and the concept of inertia, we develop a better theoretical understanding of the mooring effects. Specifically, we expand the antecedents of inertia beyond cognitive determinants to include affective determinants, such as affective commitment, and explore mechanisms by which inertia operates in affecting switching intention. Finally, this study extends the applicability of the PPM framework to the context of user switching across different types of social media.\nTheoretical background: IT switching research based on the PPM framework\nResearch model and hypotheses: To reflect the communal nature of social media, we rely on social psychology and social media research to determine potential switching factors. Social cognitive theory (SCT) proposes that people are proactive self-regulators who evaluate the environment and reflect on their experiences, feelings and states, and use this information to drive their behavioral responses (Junglas et al., 2013). Extending this line of reasoning to the context of our study, user switching decisions are a self-regulative behavior affected by technological environment, virtual experience and personal state. The PPM model thus can be viewed as a specific instance of the broader SCT process for self-regulative behavior.Within the PPM framework, the push and pull factors are generally symmetrical and interchangeable. For instance, in terms of human migration, cost of living can be considered both a push and a pull factor, depending on its pertinence to the origin or destination (Xu et al., 2014). As described earlier, we portray users as proactive self-regulators. To achieve a balance between the predictive power and parsimony of the research model, we investigate PPM effects from the following three perspectives respectively: technological environment, virtual experience and personal state. Specifically, larger referent network size and relative ease of use capture the technological environment of microblogging, which work together to shape pull effects. Low social presence reflects the virtual experience of bloggers and is posited to form push effects. Furthermore, by introducing SQB theory and habit literature, affective commitment, switching costs and habit are regarded as important sources of inertia. Inertia is presumed to play a key role in mooring effects. Inertia negatively affects switching intention and attenuates the main effects of pull and push factors. More importantly, the effects of affective commitment, switching costs and habit on switching intention are fully mediated through inertia. As an important normative belief, subjective norm is viewed as a determinant of behavioral intention (Polites and Karahanna, 2012). We thus incorporate it as a control variable. Figure 1 illustrates the research model.To summarize, under the well-established SCT umbrella, our model contains technological environment, virtual experience and personal state as important determinants of behavior intention. We embedded these determinants in the PPM framework, and switching intention is regarded as a result of breaking the balance between inertial tendency (i.e. mooring effect) and change forces (i.e. push and pull effects).\nElement of pull effects: Relative ease of use\nElement of push effects: Social presence\nElement of mooring effects: SQB theory provides a theoretical foundation for explanation of the mooring effects. Based on the three categories of SQB, we suppose that rational and irrational behavior paradigms play a joint role in the development of inertia. Irrational behavior usually manifests more emotionality than rational behavior, and individuals may pursue a course of action only due to an emotional state (McCarthy, 2002). This emotional state can be termed as affect and has been proved to be a key factor in irrational decision making (Verhagen and van Dolen, 2011). Consistent with this view, one of the factors contributes to psychological commitment in SQB theory, namely, efforts to feel in control, emphasize the role of affect in maintaining the status quo. It is based on the standpoint that some people who lack of psychological resilience are reluctant to deal with the stress related to the change. Integrating this insight on the role of affect in shaping SQB, Polites and Karahanna (2012) conceptualize inertia as having three components, where affective-based inertia implies that an individual continues to use a system because it is stressful to change, or because they have developed a strong emotional attachment to the current way of doing things. However, affective factors have received little attention in prior SQB literature.To investigate the affective determinants described in the SQB theory, we postulate that affective commitment acts as an antecedent in the development of inertia. In addition to the conscious determinants of SQB, inertia may also has subconscious sources (Polites and Karahanna, 2012). Thus, we consider the role of habit in shaping inertia.Affective commitment\nResearch methodology: Research setting\nData analysis and results: Measurement model\nDiscussion and implications: Summary and findings\nTheoretical implications: Push effect\nPractical implications: This study points to several potential practical recommendations. Given that relative ease of use is critical in user intention to switch, to encourage retention, social media service providers should enhance the ease of use of their products by making the platform easier to use and by lowering the production costs of user-generated content. For example, in addition to text-based articles, blog service providers could focus on photos and videos that require little effort from writers and readers to offer easier user experiences. On the other hand, social media service providers should pay special attention to community building and the psychological connections of users with other community members because the low sense of social presence will encourage them to leave. They could offer innovative functions to increase social interactivity and create feelings of affection and belongingness among users, thus inducing a high sense of social presence.IT practitioners constantly face new challenges from new technologies, and they are pressured to exhibit the staying power of their products. Our findings indicate that switching decision can be discouraged by increasing users' inertia. Meanwhile, our results demonstrate that affirmative commitment, switching costs and habit facilitate the development of inertia. Practitioners may develop new sociability applications, such as social games to improve users' interest to socialize and embed them in a dense social network. By incentivizing frequent use, people's switching costs and habit can be added. In addition to general switching costs and habit, practitioners should understand the specific reasons behind user affective commitment, as well as ways to cultivate such affective commitment. For instance, non-adopters of smartphones may prefer long standby time and simple operations of their phones. These specific reasons point out directions to improve alternative products.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Built upon the push-pull-mooring framework, this study explores the factors that affect user switching from blog to microblogging. Low social presence is posited to form the push effect of blog, whereas larger referent network size and relative ease of use work together to shape the pull effect of newly emerging microblogging. Furthermore, adopting the status quo bias theory and habit literature as theoretical lens, affective commitment, switching costs and habit are regarded as important sources of inertia. Inertia is presumed to play a key role in mooring effects because it negatively affects switching intention and attenuates the main effects of pull and push factors. More importantly, the effects of affective commitment, switching costs and habit on switching intention are fully mediated through inertia.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An empirical study of 239 users who use blog and microblogging services concurrently was conducted in China.\nFindings: Our findings indicate that low social presence pushes bloggers away, whereas relative ease of use pulls them to the microblogging. Affective commitment, switching costs and habit are important sources of inertia. In the context of this study, inertia fully mediates the relationship between habit and switching intention, and only partially mediates the effect of affective commitment and switching costs on switching intention. Furthermore, inertia negatively moderates the relationships between social presence, relative ease of use and switching intention.\nOriginality/value: This study expands our understanding of online service switching mechanism, and identified key factors in IT switching, such as social presence, affective commitment and inertia. We believe that these mechanisms and key factors are not necessarily limited to online services, but are largely applicable to other contexts in which people interact with technology. This study builds a useful foundation for future research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Board of directors characteristics and performance in family firms and under the crisis	[ "Performance", "Family firms", "Corporate governance", "Board of directors", "Crisis", "G30", "G32", "C23" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent decades, a number of studies have pointed out that many of the world's listed companies are family firms (FFs) and that these play an important role in the economy (Prencipe et al., 2014). Anderson and Reeb (2003), Villalonga and Amit (2006) and Chen et al. (2008), respectively, found that 35, 37 and 46 per cent of their samples of US firms may be classified as family businesses. An analysis of 27 countries by La Porta et al. (1999) revealed that 50 per cent of the sample firms were family-controlled. Several other studies found similar evidence (Faccio and Lang, 2002; Sraer and Thesmar, 2007; Esterin and Prevezer, 2011; Culasso et al., 2012).\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses: The theories most relevant to corporate governance and family businesses are the agency theory (Jensen and Meckling, 1976) and stewardship theory (Davis et al., 1997)[1]. Agency theory provides a mixed perspective on agency problems in FFs (Setia-Atmaja et al., 2009). FFs tend to be characterised by less separation between ownership and control, leading to a closer alignment between the interests of owners and managers (Jensen and Meckling, 1976; Fama and Jensen, 1983) and to lower agency conflicts (Jensen and Meckling, 1976; Gonzalez and Garcia-Meca, 2014). However, the entrenchment effect forecasts that FFs tend to have greater conflict of interest between controlling and non-controlling shareholders (Fama and Jensen, 1983; Shleifer and Vishny, 1997; Anderson and Reeb, 2003; Siebels and zu Knyphausen-Aufsess, 2012), worsening the external agency conflicts. The stewardship theory suggests that managers often act with altruism for the benefit of their firms and its shareholders, and not for their own profit (Donaldson and Davis, 1991; Davis et al., 1997; Bammens et al., 2011; Siebels and zu Knyphausen-Aufsess, 2012). This theory will be especially prevalent in FFs because managers are family members or have emotional ties to the family (Miller and Le Breton-Miller, 2006). The literature remains undecided, as a whole, as to which effect is prevalent in the context of FFs.\n3. Data and methodology: 3.1 Family firms\n4. Empirical results: 4.1 Descriptive analysis\n5. Conclusion: This paper has examined the relationship between the nature of the board of directors and performance in family businesses and the extent to which FFs differ from NFFs in terms of the impact of corporate governance on firm performance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to examine the relationship between board of directors' characteristics and performance in family businesses. It offers evidence to the question of whether a family firm (FF) differs from a non-family firm and looks at the possibility of asymmetrical effects between periods of stability and economic adversity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A panel data approach was applied to a sample of Portuguese firms listed the on Euronext Lisbon exchange between 2002 and 2013.\nFindings: The results show that FFs are likely to have a lower proportion of independent members and higher gender diversity on their boards than non-family firms. FF performance is positively related to ownership concentration and gender diversity. There are performance premiums for family businesses, which have more gender diversity than their counterparts. These effects also depend on whether the economy is in recession. The evidence suggests that the presence of women on the board and the leverage and size of the FFs have a more significant impact on the performance in periods of economic adversity.\nResearch limitations/implications: One limitation of this study is the small size of the sample as it was drawn from the Euronext Lisbon exchange, a small stock exchange market.\nOriginality/value: This study provides input into the academic discussion on corporate governance and FF, an area which is in need of research. In addition, the authors examine this issue in conjunction with generalised economic adversity, focusing on the possible asymmetrical effects that the nature of the board of directors may have on performance in periods of stability and those of economic adversity. The role of board of directors is crucial to the understanding of corporate behaviour and the setting of the policy that regulates corporate activities.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Recovering co-created service failures: the missing link of perceived justice and ethicalness	[ "Justice", "Co-creation", "Service recovery", "Service failures", "Co-production", "Ethicalness", "Fairness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Customer co-creation of services - the customers' joint participation in the service production and delivery process - has become a ubiquitous marketplace phenomenon (Mende et al., 2017). With the current digital landscape, customers are co-creating everything from apparels to insurance policies to travel experiences. For example, since 2018, McDonald's has aggressively added self-service kiosks in every restaurant allowing customers to browse and customize their food options (MarketWatch.com, 2018). Other services, such as financial counseling and healthcare, demand high levels of customer co-creation, and their successful service outcomes depend heavily on the collaborative behavior of customers. Despite the pervasiveness of co-creation, researchers have shown that as customers get more involved with their own service delivery, inconsistent expectations along with mishaps increase, resulting in higher probabilities of service failures (Heidenreich et al., 2015). While such service failures are inevitable, effective service recovery strategies to overcome co-created failures are heavily underexplored by the academic community (Sugathan et al., 2017a).\nTheoretical background: Fairness theory\nCo-creation in service failure: coproduction intensity and its ethical outcomes: Co-creation in service delivery\nCo-creation in service recovery and its ethical outcomes after a service failure: Co-creation of service recovery\nStudy 1: testing the serial mediation from coproduction intensity to customer willingness to co-create in the future: the role of perceived justice and ethicalness: Design and sample\nStudy 2: testing the serial mediation from recovering a co-created failure to customer willingness to co-create in the future: the role of perceived justice and ethicalness: Study 2 expounds on study 1 in several ways. First, study 2 examines what happens after recovering a co-created failure. Thus, exploring the impact of a co-created service recovery on perceptions of competence, justice and ethics is the next rightful step to explore after a failed co-created service encounter. Second, study 2 investigates whether the effects from customer perceptions formulated in findings from study 1 will hold after the failure has been recovered. Hence, testing the hypotheses in study 2 using the same sample exposed to the failure stimuli will satisfy this objective. Moreover, drawing on a similar sample will rule out any confounding influences associated with the population and increase the realism of the findings. Third, given the serial mediating hypotheses, study 2 will provide evidence substantiating the underlying motivation for justice and ethical perceptions in consumers during failed versus recovered co-created service encounters, providing an accurate contrasting view of any effects found.\nGeneral discussion and implications: Research in service co-creation, while promising in practice, is still heavily under-investigated in academic studies. This study sought to shed new insights on co-creation relative to service failure and recovery. Service providers are bound to experience missteps and mistakes that result in service failures. However, little remains known about what happens when customers partake in the co-creation of their own service failures and recovery efforts. Even more pressing is the lack of research on the ethical perspective of co-created failures. For example, the most recent meta-analysis on customer participation in service recovery explicitly calls for investigation of \"other mediators than justice to better understand the effects of firm recovery actions on customer outcomes\" (Van Vaerenbergh et al., 2018, p. 478). Van Vaerenbergh and his colleagues show that the fairness component of justice intervenes in the process by which customer participation in service recovery impacts certain outcome variables, but the fairness dimension of ethicalness is completely ignored. This indicates that ethicalness has been neglected as an intervening variable in the co-created failure/recovery process, but it also highlights that the relationship between justice and ethicalness in underscoring the effect of co-creation in service failure/recovery on customer outcomes has not received enough research attention. This study fills this research gap.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Drawing on the fairness theory, this paper aims to propose a conceptual framework that investigates how co-creation in the failed service delivery (coproduction intensity) and co-creation in the service recovery affect customers' evaluation of the firm's competence, justice and ethicalness, and ultimately their willingness to co-create in the future.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Tax services were chosen as the research context. A consumer panel consisting of individuals who live in the USA and have used tax preparation services within the past year was recruited. The first study explores what happens to customers' ethical perceptions during a failed co-created service encounter. A secondary study investigates what happens to customers' ethical perceptions in the event that the failed co-created service is recovered.\nFindings: The findings show that customers' perceptions of the firm's abilities and ethics are impeded by coproduction intensity but favorably influenced by co-creation of recovery.\nPractical implications: A sense of ethicalness and fairness is violated when co-created service failure occurs, but fortunately, practitioners can count on engaging customers in the service recovery process as co-creators of the solution to positively alter perceived ethicalness and fairness.\nOriginality/value: Failed co-created services represent an under-researched area in the marketing literature. Current investigations of co-created service failures have largely approached the notion of fairness from a perceived justice perspective without referencing ethical judgments. However, fairness is grounded in basic ethical assumptions of normative treatment. This research is among the first to highlight the importance of perceived ethicalness in the context of co-created service failure and recovery.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Consumer motivation and willingness to pay for "safer" vegetables in Ghana	[ "Wastewater", "Choice experiments (CE)", "Safer vegetables", "Urban/peri-urban vegetable consumer", "Willingness to pay (WTP)" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Food quality and safety standards have become a major concern in Sub-Sahara African countries. Although, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) established a commission (Codex Alimentarius Commission) in 1967 to safeguard consumers' health through food quality and safety, its achievement in Ghana has been unsatisfactory (Abdulai et al., 2011). Majority of food producers in Ghana have limited training in food quality and safety standards. In addition, a greater proportion of the consuming public is not aware of food safety risks, and tends to consume foods on the market without paying attention to quality and safety implications. Over the past two decades vegetable production using wastewater has become an important enterprise for income generation for the urban poor in most Ghanaian cities. The growth in the use of untreated wastewater for vegetable production in urban areas of the country is driven by high urban population growth and its resultant demand for fresh vegetables for food as well as increased water scarcity and degradation (WHO, 2006). But this method of irrigation has huge health implications for consumers since wastewater used is heavily polluted and not appropriate for crop irrigation (Abdulai et al., 2011). Juxtaposing the growing demand for fresh vegetables for urban consumption and the attendant public health risks associated with wastewater use, it is critical that urban vegetable producers adopt safer irrigation practices. It is, however, obvious that adopting safer irrigation options will result in increased vegetable prices for the final consumer. It is therefore imperative to consider consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for safer vegetables if the adoption of safer irrigation options will be sustainable.\n2. Theoretical foundation and the CE approach: The basic economic framework of individual preferences is the standard microeconomic consumer theory of maximizing utility (Baron, 2004). It is worth noting that Miljkoviv and Effertsz has challenged the notion of the existence of a single acceptable behavioural model; for example rationale choice and goes on to suggests further research to delineate when rationality is useful for estimating behaviour and when it should be totally replaced with a different theory. In the context of maximizing utility, an individual consumer chooses a consumption bundle based on personal budgetary considerations. Thus, the consumer will exhibit a rational behaviour; choosing the bundle which is at least as good as any other among all the bundles. The individual is assumed to have a set of preferences over goods and services that can be ordered in a logical and consistent manner (Hanley and Splash, 1993; Baron, 2004).\n3. Methodology: 3.1. The CE approach\n4. Results and discussions: 4.1. Descriptive statistics of socio-economic variables\n5. Conclusions, recommendations and areas for further research: Ghanaian vegetable consumers' are aware of the health risks associated with vegetables produced by urban and peri-urban vegetable producers using wastewater and hence are concerned of the health risk of the vegetables sold in the markets. A majority of them are willing to spend a bit more of their household expenditure on vegetables for technology changes in urban and peri-urban vegetable production which will result in the reduction of pathogens and environmental quality improvement. It was found that on the average, a Ghanaian consumer is willing to pay GHC/ 4.70 ($ 4.61) to move from the current water application methods used, to improved technologies (non-treatment options of wastewater use) with their associated health and environmental benefits.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess consumer motivation and willingness to pay (WTP) for \"safer\" vegetables from the use of non-treatment options of wastewater use in urban/peri-urban vegetable production.\nDesign/methodology/approach: As a theoretical basis, consumer theory of maximizing utility being an indicator of individual preference was examined through choice experiment (CE) method to measure the WTP for value of safety within the context of health reduced risk (pathogen reduction) of illness. WTP was tested empirically using survey data from 650 households in the two largest cities in Ghana (Accra and Kumasi) that are characterized by a number of well-established vegetable producers who use wastewater in their production and a large urban and peri-urban vegetable consumer market.\nFindings: Experience of vegetable borne diseases drives the need for safer vegetables and income and gender are key demographic factors influencing WTP. It was further found that consumers are willing to pay an average amount of GHC/ 4.7 ($2.40) per month for a technology change that would result in the production of \"safer\" vegetables.\nResearch limitations/implications: Understanding WTP offers insight into consumer concerns, behaviour and their readiness to pay for safer vegetable options. However, a further consideration of the impact of the combinations of the various non-treatment options on pathogen reduction and the assessment of the financial viability of each option will collectively ensure an efficient and cost-effective implementation of the technologies.\nPractical implications: WTP insight gained has implications for vegetable production, marketing and public health policy. The understanding from the findings forms a solid basis to canvass for certification system for urban/peri urban vegetables. The information provided also helps to formulate effective public education on the safety of vegetables.\nOriginality/value: Measuring WTP for safer vegetables by Ghanaian urban/peri-urban consumers is novel. The CE approach is robust and the findings can inform vegetable production and marketing decisions as well as public health policy formulation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Managing resources in disaster recovery projects	[ "Indonesia", "China", "Australia", "Disasters", "Resource management", "Disaster recovery projects", "Resource availability", "Large‐scale disaster", "Post‐disaster reconstruction" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Resource availability and management is one of the key constituents to construction project success (Belassi and Tukel, 1996; Chua et al., 1999; Korde et al., 2005). Research on resource management in construction projects mainly deals with resource limitations and its impact on project delivery from such perspectives as dynamic modelling (Padilla and Carr, 1991; Park, 2005), logistical optimization (Agapiou et al., 1998a; Voordijk, 2000), and supply chain reengineering (Arbulu et al., 2003; Cheng et al., 2006). In disaster recovery projects, however, where the operational environment is uncertain, complex, and dynamic, the \"business as usual\" way of managing resources may not be fully applicable (Soderlund, 2002; Winter et al., 2006; Shenhar and Dvir, 2008). Evidence shows that post-disaster recovery projects are more likely to suffer resource shortages (UN-Habitat, 2005; Steinberg, 2007; Kennedy et al., 2008) and supply disruption (Jayasuriya and McCawley, 2008; Zuo and Wilkinson, 2008). These resourcing problems contribute to final recovery project failures such as cost overruns (Koria, 2009; Chang et al., 2010) and deferred delivery (Nazara and Resosudarmo, 2007; Boen, 2008). Subsequent problems as a result of scarcity of resources after an event, including \"Cost Surge\" (Rodriguez et al., 2007), profiteering (Nazara and Resosudarmo, 2007), and \"Dutch Disease\"[1] (Corden, 1984; Adam and Bevan, 2004) have a longer term adverse impact on the sustainability of local economy in the disaster-affected areas.For disaster recovery projects, according to the Project Management Institute (2005), there is no instance \"fix\", but order and progress can be achieved if parities involved in reconstruction have the appropriate knowledge and tools for managing these projects. Masurier et al. (2006) note that the disaster reconstruction differs from routine construction in terms of interrelated reconstruction challenges such as allocation of responsibility for coordination, scarcity of resources, and the application of legislation and regulations that were written for routine construction rather than post-disaster reconstruction. Despite this distinction, past experience has, however, demonstrated that disaster recovery is often carried out by modifying routine construction processes on an ad hoc basis (Zuo et al., 2006; Ahmed, 2008; Lyons, 2009). While this can work reasonably well for small-scale disasters, a continuum of studies by the \"Resilient Organisations\" (2006) revealed that the conventional construction management may not be able to cope with challenges in large-scale disaster recovery. Among these challenges, lack of resources and difficulties in resourcing have been recognized as being one of the most prominent issues confronting project participants and stakeholders (Russell, 2005; Singh and Wilkinson, 2008; Zuo et al., 2009). An understanding of critical factors that affect post-disaster resource availability is needed for construction practitioners to enhance their capability of managing disaster recovery projects.The study reported in this paper is part of ongoing research concerned with developing a methodology to improve the outcomes of resource availability for projects in post-disaster environments. The researchers took part in disaster field trips to Indonesia, China, and Australia during their recovery from natural disasters. By using case studies and a triangulation method, this study attempts to address the following questions:* What factors impinge upon the availability of resources in a disaster recovery project?* What are the common resource availability determinants across different recovery environments?The paper is structured as follows. A literature review on factors that affect resource availability in conventional construction projects is presented, followed by an analysis of factors affecting resource availability for recovery projects in disaster situations. A comparative case study using a triangulation data collection method is introduced in research methodology. The results of the questionnaire survey and a comparative analysis are then presented. Both common resource availability factors and the factors specific to each case are discussed around five components. This paper concludes by summarizing key findings and suggesting the implications of sharing the lessons learned from different disaster recovery projects. This study provides a basis for recovery managers and construction practitioners to understand potential resourcing vulnerabilities and opportunities in other disaster contexts.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Factors affecting resource availability for conventional construction projects\n3. Research methodology: The method of analysis in this investigation is a comparative case study. Between 2008 and 2010, a series of field trips were made by the researchers from the \"Resilient Organisations\"[2] to the disaster-affected areas of Banda Aceh in Indonesia, Mianzhu in China, and Marysville and Kinglake in Australia during their recovery from disasters. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, and the 2009 Victorian bushfires had significant impact on local communities. Comparing these three jurisdictions helps to show how the resource availability determinants vary across the three events and whether common resource availability factors exist under varied disaster reconstruction environments. Table I shows the background data of the three case studies.The quantitative evidence was collected through the pilot study and questionnaire survey to identify critical factors that impinged upon project resource availability in each disaster-affected area. A total of 33 attributes identified from the literature were included in the questionnaire. By using the content analysis method (Krippendorff, 1980), these factors were grouped into five major headings: construction market-related factors, transportation-related factors, reconstruction project-related factors, project stakeholders'-related factors, and operational environment-related factors. A pilot study was conducted in each case[3] to supplement the catalogue of factors in the questionnaire and enhance its suitability to the targeted area. Four factors, for instance, including pre-existing market structure, contractor inventory, supplier inventory, and community influence and participation were proposed, during the pilot study in Indonesia, to be added in the questionnaire. Some variations in questionnaire were made to the different cases as some of the questions apply to the specific country. Following the Indonesian case study, additional adjustments were made to data collection instruments for cases of China and Australia, allowing the researchers to probe emergent issues arising in a given situation.The survey population within each case was selected according to informants' experience and knowledge in project resourcing and their role in disaster recovery. The professional and educational attainment levels of the informants in each case also vary. In Indonesia, the selected sample comprised participants representing the international aid agencies and governmental constituencies involved in post-tsunami housing reconstruction in Banda Aceh. Specifically, in addition to the survey with resourcing-related professionals and decision makers in China, in December 2008 a focus group with 12 contractor representatives in Mianzhu city was also conducted. Apart from the representatives from the local government, the development and regulatory agencies, and the professional bodies, the selected sample in Australia also included representatives from trade associations and the relevant trade unions, who had been involved in the Victorian bushfire recovery and reconstruction. Table II outlines the survey information and the basic profile[4] of informants who participated in the questionnaire surveys.By using statistical calculation, the results of data analysis in terms of the significance of factors generated from the questionnaire surveys in the three cases are tabulated in Appendix 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Qualitative data on perspectives of the participants was captured in interviews in order to clarify and provide depth to the information yielded in the questionnaire. The qualitative data such as interview recordings and observation notes were managed using NVivo qualitative data analysis software. In the remainder of the paper, a comparative analysis is presented of the critical resource availability factors identified in the three examined cases.\n4. Result and discussion: The interrelated factors affecting resource availability in three examined cases are presented in Figure 1. Those factors that were identified as very important by the respondents are discussed in this section. In Figure 1, legislation and policy as a leading factor in cases of China and Australia, together with government support and assistance recognized as being significant in cases of Indonesia and Australia fall into one factor government response and intervention.Figure 1 demonstrates that the factors that affected resource availability in disaster recovery projects vary from one case to another. In general, apart from NGOs competence of resource procurement, community-related housing features in Aceh, Indonesia, including housing type, housing culture and customs, and community influence and participation, played a predominant role in resource procurement. Factors relating to project control and management including project schedule, project resourcing plan, competence of construction professionals, and resource procurement lead time, were more dominant for resourcing management in China, whereas, market-related factors including material price fluctuation, material production capacity, competition for resources from existing construction projects, and competition for resources among rebuilding projects largely affected resource availability in bushfire recovery in Australia. The generic factors identified across the three countries include competence of contractor/builder, and government response and intervention. Moreover, the cases of Indonesia and China share similarity in two factors namely resource procurement lead time and transportation; whereas the cases of Indonesia and Australia overlap in two factors: competition for resources among recovery projects and production capacity.According to the actual content and internal features of the identified variables shown in Figure 1, content analysis research tool which contains a conceptual analysis and a relational analysis (Krippendorff, 1980) was applied to categorize these factors into five principal groups with the following headings:(1) resourcing facilitator: government response and intervention;(2) resourcing platform: the construction market;(3) resourcing access: transportation system;(4) resourcing implementer: construction professionals; and(5) resourcing catalyst: specific local conditions.Figure 1 shows how each factor falls into these five categories, and how the five principal components, to a varying degree, contribute to successful resourcing practice post-disaster. The parallels and disparities in these resource availability determinants between the studied countries are, therefore, discussed around these five aspects. Management of these five resourcing components could reduce the impacts of resource availability on disaster recovery projects and recovery outcomes.4.1 Resourcing facilitator: government response and intervention\n5. Conclusions: Past disaster recovery and reconstruction practice shows that there is a need to study factors that impinge upon resource availability in post-disaster situations. Based on in-field surveys in countries of Indonesia, China, and Australia during their recovery from major disasters, this study identified the critical factors that affected resource availability for disaster recovery projects. Acknowledging the differences in resourcing approach between the three cases, this paper has focused on comparing the identified resource availability determinants in order to gain insights into how they vary between different disaster environments.The research findings show that the variations in resourcing problems and outcomes exist in their differing socio-economic environment, culture, and overall political agenda in the three countries. Despite disparities, two factors namely competence of construction professionals (contractors and builders), and government response and intervention in terms of legislation and policy, and government support and assistance, were identified as common constraints to the resourcing of disaster recovery projects. Moreover, the cases of Indonesia and China share similarity in two factors of resource procurement lead time and transportation; whereas the cases of Indonesia and Australia bear resemblance in two factors including competition for resources among recovery projects and production capacity.A comparative analysis of three cases provides a multi-perspective view of the resourcing issues in a post-disaster situation. As many problems faced in disaster recovery projects that relate to housing, resource availability intrinsically links to chronic conditions of vulnerability in existence prior to the disaster. As this paper reveals, the fundamental resourcing challenges across different disaster recovery environments are not unique but universal. The five components of successful resourcing practice thus has the potential to guide decision makers and construction practitioners to understand, visualize, coordinate, and effectively manage post-disaster housing resourcing issues.It is suggested that successful resourcing implementation in disaster recovery projects in the wake of a catastrophe requires a multi-stakeholder approach, incorporating capacity building in the construction sector, and facilitation from government. This study provides a basis for the construction professionals and stakeholders to understand the critical factors influencing resource availability in a post-disaster situation with a view to enhancing their capability of managing disaster recovery projects. The research results highlighted the importance of capacity building in the construction industry and of government response and intervention to disaster recovery and reconstruction. In large and complex disaster recovery operations, the availability of resources is bound to be limited. Identified resourcing problems are likely to be universal and can be anticipated and pre-planned for irrespective of the environment when a disaster happens.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to provide a basis for the construction professionals and stakeholders to understand the critical factors influencing resource availability in a post-disaster situation. The study reported in this paper is part of ongoing research concerned with developing a methodology to improve the outcomes of resource availability for projects in post-disaster environments. This study attempts to address the following questions: what factors impinge upon the availability of resources in a disaster recovery project and what are the common resource availability determinants across different recovery environments?\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The method of analysis in this investigation is a comparative case study. The researchers took part in disaster field trips to Indonesia, China and Australia during their recovery from natural disasters. By using case studies and a triangulation method, critical factors that affected resource availability in the three examined countries were identified and compared.\nFindings: - A comparative analysis shows that specific cultural elements, the socio-economic environment and the political agenda in the three countries influenced their resourcing problems and the solutions they adopted. Despite different resourcing approaches in the three cases, competence of construction professionals, and government response and intervention were identified as common determinants to resourcing disaster recovery projects.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The research findings contribute to the project management methodology to post-disaster reconstruction.\nPractical implications: - From this research, decision makers and construction practitioners can have a clearer direction for improving their resourcing effort in a post-disaster situation. This study provides a basis for the construction professionals and stakeholders to understand the critical factors influencing resource availability in a post-disaster situation, with a view to enhancing their capability of managing disaster recovery projects.\nSocial implications: - A comparative analysis of three cases provides a multi-perspective view of the resourcing issues in a post-disaster situation. As many problems are faced in disaster recovery projects, resource availability intrinsically links to chronic conditions of vulnerability in existence in the broader social system prior to a disaster. The five aspects of resourcing discussed in the paper show the key areas of recovery planning in relation to resource availability.\nOriginality/value: - In large and complex disaster recovery operations, the availability of resources is bound to be limited. Identified resourcing problems are likely to be universal and can be anticipated and pre-planned for, irrespective of the environment when a disaster happens. The paper provides a basis for the construction professionals and stakeholders to understand the critical factors influencing resource availability in a post-disaster situation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Food integrity: a market-based solution	[ "Collaboration", "Entrepreneurship", "Intelligence", "Communicative actions", "Food integrity", "KEDI" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Nomenclature\n1. Introduction: Food fraud, \"a dishonest act or omission, relating to the production or supply of food, which is intended for personal gain or to cause loss to another party\" (Food Standards Agency, 2016), has become a global phenomenon. In China, a series of food safety incidents resulted in the loss of public trust in the Chinese food industry (Shears, 2010). In Europe, the horse gate scandal of 2013 challenged consumers' ability to make informed decisions (Manning et al., 2016). In the USA, a recent debate on \"Real Food/Fake Food\" reveals adulteration in seafood, beef, olive oil, wine, and cheese, etc. (Olmsted, 2016). Consumers desire genuine food. However, assuring the integrity of food systems is not an easy task. Modern food systems are characterized by complexity, shaped by the dynamic interplays of numerous inputs, processes, outputs, and actors that can affect food integrity. In the USA, for example, every day more than one billion meals are consumed. Highly specialized suppliers collaborate and hundred thousands of food products are made from countless food or non-food ingredients (Hamburg, 2011). Extended and fragmented, food supply chains are increasingly vulnerable to fraud, which could occur anytime, anywhere, and in any form.\n2. Evolving definitions of food integrity: Food integrity refers to an evolving perspective of quality corresponding to the changing nature of food production, from conformance to requirements (Crosby, 1979), total quality control (Feigenbaum, 1983), customer expectations (Ishikawa, 1985), to an open-systems view of total quality management (Deming, 1986). A comparison of definitions suggests the need for a systems approach to accountability (Table I). Food quality and food authenticity are driven, respectively, by a supplier's conjecture and a purchaser's expectations and limited by two weaknesses: first, myopia and second, moral hazard. Both notions interpret the subject matter in terms of the composition of food products and neglect \"other aspects\" in the definition of food integrity. Opportunistic suppliers and even the so-called retail gatekeepers could take advantage of information asymmetry in complex food systems, failing to fulfill promises or to exercise good stewardship. Under such circumstances, food integrity is introduced as an encompassing concept to safeguard fragmented food systems through various means (Table II). On the one hand, food protection identifies hazards and enforces that food and/or the food supply is not tampered with in some way or accidentally. On the other hand, food assurance maintains a sustainable food supply that possesses the characteristics specified by food standards. Therefore, it represents a strategy to construct closed-loop supply chains so as to hold all stakeholders accountable for social responsibility.\n3. Communicative action: Jurgen Habermas' theory of communicative action explains how KEDI is achieved with both sense and sensitivity. Communicative action refers to \"the interaction of at least two subjects capable of speech and action who establish interpersonal relations. The actors seek to reach an understanding about the action situation and their plans of action in order to coordinate their actions by way of agreement\" (Habermas, 1984, p. 86). Central to the theory is the concept of interpretation that multiple actors negotiate definitions of a complex situation which would consequently admit of consensus. Language is given a prominent role in this process of collective interpretation. Nevertheless, Habermas' concept of the use of linguistic expressions for coordination is by no means subject to the negatively connoted unidirectional linear model or the passively reactive feedback model in Manning (2013, p. 615). Rather, it concurs with the notion of \"performatives\" in the theory of speech acts (Austin, 1962) and the collective acceptance theory of social institutions (Miller, 2003). By definition, performatives are \"invoked\" joint actions (Austin, 1962), \"sayings which are also doings [...] speech acts which bring about an outcome in the external world [...] the outcome depends on collective acceptance\" (Miller, 2012).\n4. Managerial implications: Indeed, human society is much more complicated than an ant colony. While ant behaviors are directed by robotic and programed reactions, it is argued that human behaviors are fundamentally, or at least partially, driven by self-interest. If conflicts exist between individual sub-goals and the collective goal, individuals would not be motivated to participate in communicative actions. Collaborative partnerships would deviate from the intended policy goal due to the free-riding problem. The free-riding tendency refers to the phenomenon that members of a group obtain benefits from group membership but do not bear a proportional share of the costs of providing the benefits (Albanese and Van Fleet, 1985, p. 244). Albanese and Van Fleet argue that free-riding behaviors, although not desirable, are, in fact, \"rational\", i.e., expectable, outcomes within group settings. The supply of a public good in this context will inevitably be \"suboptimal\" (assuming an optimal amount of such a good can be conjectured). Further, the shortage of the public good would be more severe as the group size increases.\n5. Theoretical implications: Although spontaneous, catallaxy is by no means an aggregation of thoughtless reflex. Rather, purposive actions are integral to its configuration. \"Its misfortune is the doubt one that it [the market mechanism] is not the product of human design and that the people guided by it usually do not know why they are made to do what they do\", as Hayek points out (Hayek, 1945, p. 527). In his conception, entrepreneurs, who \"constantly search for unexploited opportunities\" (Hayek, 2002; translated by Snow) keep the spontaneity anew and alive.\n6. Concluding remarks: If properly designed and managed, symbolic expressions can be sources of social influence to help assure food integrity because social cues from respected peers about task characteristics create a sense of task uniqueness and promote individual contributions (Albanese and Van Fleet, 1985). However, the strategy is a double-edged sword. Social cues deemphasize uniqueness and could cause opposite effects that result in free-riding or, even worse, selfish behaviors. Lest well-intended public operations adversely impact the prosocial spirit, prudent interventions are necessary for the involvement of collaborative partners. As an alternative public strategy to direct interventions, the strategic application of communicative interactions and systematic deployment of explicit and measurable indicators in the task environment invite prosocial outcomes. Ensuring accountability further allows the public agency to construct practical control signals, coordinate diverse interests, and drive system performance. Traceability throughout the course of communicative actions brings to the surface meaningful measures by creating a representation of tacit social dynamics that indicate conflict situations and promote self-organized checks and balances. Applications utilizing smartphones could provide immediate feedback and traceability from consumers to others in the food system as an important component of this conceptualization of food integrity. In Hayek's words, \"the problem is precisely how to extend the span of our utilization of resources beyond the span of control of any one mind [or central agency]; and, therefore, how to dispense with the need of conscious control and how to provide inducements which will make the individuals [suppliers, processors, retailers] do the desirable things without anyone having to tell them what to do\" (Hayek, 1945, p. 527). This alternative conceptualization upgrades the intelligence hub beyond the conventional function of a control device and transforms it into a beacon of food integrity in the increasingly complex food systems.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to proffer an alternative conceptualization of food integrity and a market-based food integrity intelligence system.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Food fraud is interpreted as a symptom of asymmetric knowledge. Consumer collaboration for knowledge exchange and diffusion of innovation (KEDI) safeguards food markets. The concept of communicative action is applied to conceptualize and analyze key elements for designing a collaborative food integrity intelligence system.\nFindings: The model of market-based KEDI consists of three dimensions: intelligence flows, organization memory, and social sensitivities. Decentralized control is crucial to effect system innovation.\nOriginality/value: The paper integrates managerial, marketing, and economic approaches and develops a model for managing food integrity intelligence.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
"Do your internal branding efforts measure up?": Consumers' response to brand supporting behaviors of hospitality employees	[ "Hospitality industry", "Consumer behaviour", "Brand performance", "Brand relationship", "Brand citizenship behaviors", "Internal branding" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: One of the most important traps for the hospitality organizations is to become alike when they find their businesses commoditized (Gilmore and Pine, 2002). It is for this reason that branding is especially important for hospitality industry because brand serves as a tangible clue for consumers and helps hospitality organizations to overcome the commoditization (O'Neill and Mattila, 2004). Furthermore, branding offers a source of differentiation in such a competitive industry and helps building loyalty to the hospitality brands through developing relationship with consumers (Kim et al., 2008).\n2. Literature: 2.1 Branding in hospitality services\n3. Methods: 3.1 Procedure\n4. Results: The hypothesized paths in the study were tested by the full structural equation model using Mplus v.6 by applying Satorra-Bentler procedure (Table IV). The statistics represented a good fit for the model to the empirical data (Hu and Bentler, 1999): kh2= 3,047.556 (136, N = 523), p = 0.00; (CFI) = 0.99; (TLI) = 0.99; (SRMR) = 0.02; (RMSEA) = 0.01.\n5. Conclusion and discussion: Because employees' and customers' intensive level of interaction in hospitality, customer-contact employees are crucial for the successful delivery of the company brand. Therefore, hospitality organizations have started to employ internal branding practices to turn their brand into reality for their customers (Brodie et al., 2009; King, 2010; Xiong et al., 2013). With the recognition of employees' role for the brand success, we propose that employee behaviors will help to enhancing consumers' relation with a service brand, and we try to understand how these behaviors affect consumers. To do this, a conceptual model was developed based on holistic internal brand management (Burmann and Zeplin, 2005; Burmann et al., 2009) by integrating employees and consumers within the same conceptual model. Even recent research has studied the role of employees; the question how hospitality employees contribute to branding activities still needs further investigation from consumers' perspective in the hospitality industry. Therefore, this study is the first to look empirically at how consumers respond to brand related behaviors of employees.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to understand the effect of brand citizenship behaviors of hospitality employees on customers' relation with the brand. A model, which links employee behaviors to customers' evaluation of brand performance, brand trust and brand commitment, is proposed to provide further insight into how customers form their relation with a brand.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from both customer-contact employees and passengers of a corporate airline company. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model by using both employee and customer data in the same research model.\nFindings: The results showed that even brand citizenship behaviors of employees did not affect brand commitment of customers directly; these behaviors explain customers' commitment to a brand through influencing perceived brand performance of customers and their trust toward a brand. Overall, this study provided support for the impact of employees' brand-related behaviors on consumers' relation with the brand.\nResearch limitations/implications: The results suggest that hospitality employees contribute to the brand success through their behaviors. This helps organizations to enhance brand-related behaviors of their employees to ensure long-term relationships not only with customers but also with their employees in a labor-intensive and high customer contact industry.\nOriginality/value: This research was one of the first to analyze the effects of employees' brand supporting behaviors on consumers by using both employee and consumer data in the same research model within the hospitality context.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A comparative examination of traditional and skill-based pay plans	[ "Pay", "Skills based pay", "Employee relations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Compensation systems play a significant role in promoting organizations' strategic goals (Gerhart and Milkovich, 1992; Gerhart et al., 1996; Gomez-Mejia and Balkin, 1992; Lawler and Jenkins, 1992; Milkovich, 1988). Traditionally, compensation systems were designed to be strictly job-based - employees were paid for the jobs they performed. In the last few decades, organizations have questioned this tradition and have experimented with increasingly varied forms of compensation based, for example, on the market or on employee skills. As a point of comparison, skill-based pay systems reward employees for the repertoire of skills they possess or the number of different jobs they can do. Two individuals doing the same job could have vastly different pay levels because one possesses more skills than the other, an approach that fundamentally differs from job-based compensation. Much heated debate has centered on the philosophical differences inherent in these systems and their purported benefits (Barrett, 1991; Dierdorff and Surface, 2008; Gupta and Jenkins, 1991; Lawler, 1991; Mahoney, 1991; Shaw et al., 2005), but few empirical examinations have focused on comparing pay structures and outcomes (Guthrie, 2000; Murray and Gerhart, 1998; Shaw et al., 2001). Gerhart and Milkovich (1992, pp. 511-2) noted \"[...] there is virtually no research on the consequences of skill-based and knowledge-based pay structures relative to more traditional job-based pay structures\". In this paper, we offer comparative evidence on the relationship between traditional and nontraditional pay structures and several workforce-level outcomes.\nBackground and approach: Clearly, compensation systems are varied. Most traditional is the job-based system, which rewards employees for the jobs they hold. Internal equity considerations (resolved through job evaluations) and external equity considerations (resolved through wage-and-benefits surveys) are incorporated into these systems. Over the years, a large body of research assessed and established the ideal mechanics and the outcomes of these systems (Hill et al., 1994; Milkovich and Newman, 2008). A somewhat similar approach to compensation determination is market-based pay, which treats internal equity considerations as subsidiary to external equity considerations; pay is largely, if not exclusively, determined through market assessments (Dulebohn and Werling, 2007; Milkovich and Newman, 2008). According to Dulebohn and Werling (2007, p. 202):[...] placing primary emphasis on the external market rather than internal job evaluation is a corollary to the dismantling of ILMs, organizational change, new approaches to the employment relationship by employers and responses to a more competitive environment.Allowing the market to price jobs appears to be the increasing trend (Dulebohn and Werling, 2007). Although downplaying internal equity and job evaluations, market-based pay systems are still job-based, in that the job continues to be the basis for pay determination. In other words, although research is relatively rare on the market-based pay system, it is essentially a variant of the traditional job-based pay system.A third, perhaps most radically different, pay structure is skill-based compensation. Skill-based pay systems are intended to encourage the development of a multi-skilled work force, and thus base pay on the number of different jobs an employee can do. The most common are horizontal skill-based pay systems in which employees learn (and are paid for) a variety of skills or skill units within a particular organizational echelon. About 50 per cent of large US corporations are estimated to use skill-based pay for at least some of their employees (Lawler et al., 1992; Ledford, 1995). Empirical research on the benefits of skill-based pay has been relatively rare (Al-Waqfi and Agarwal, 2006; Dierdorff and Surface, 2008; Guthrie, 2000; Murray and Gerhart, 1998; Shaw et al., 2001), although several studies have described its benefits (Gupta et al., 1986, 1992, 1987; Gupta and Shaw, 2001; Jenkins et al., 1992; Ledford, 1990; Parent and Weber, 1994).As we study the evidence, we find that comparative empirical information is limited regarding these pay plans (see Al-Waqfi and Agarwal, 2006; Guthrie, 2000; Murray and Gerhart, 1998; Shaw et al., 2001 for exceptions), particularly at the facility level. To address these deficiencies, it is important to develop a theoretical framework that allows us to assess the relative efficacy of each compensation structure. We propose a beginning toward that end. Below we outline the outcomes of interest as well as the contingencies for the effects to be evident.\nDevelopment of theoretical framework: Organizations use compensation plans to achieve many important strategic organizational outcomes, such as higher workforce productivity, superior workforce attitudes, and better membership behaviors (Dulebohn and Werling, 2007; Gerhart and Milkovich, 1992; Milkovich and Newman, 2008). According to Milkovich and Newman (2008), an organization's choice of a pay system (i.e. skill-based, job-based, or market-based) may be related differentially to these desired outcomes. The relationship between a type of pay plan and organizational outcomes is likely to be complex, however, and may involve various mediating and moderating processes[1] (Dulebohn and Werling, 2007; Milkovich and Newman, 2008). For example, a considerable body of compensation research suggests that job attitudes mediate the relationship between pay levels and voluntary turnover (Guthrie, 2000; Milkovich and Newman, 2008). In a similar vein, skill-based pay plans are often chosen to affect workforce productivity through enhanced workforce flexibility (Murray and Gerhart, 1998). Thus, as a first step, we develop and propose a theoretical framework to assess comparative effects of pay plans on workforce outcomes. Figure 1 shows our proposed framework.Pay plans and workforce flexibility\nMethod: Sample\nResults: Construct reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity\nDiscussion: This study represents an initial attempt to provide empirical evidence about the hypothesized benefits of skill-based pay systems. These compensation systems are believed to promote workforce membership behaviors and enhance employee performance, but empirical data on these claims have been virtually nonexistent. Our analyses show that, indeed, skill-based pay systems are at least perceived to produce superior outcomes. In some ways, this finding confirms the obvious, but it is important for research to validate the soundness of \"self-evident truths.\"Our results, however, suggest important roles of workforce attitudes and workforce flexibility in achieving desired relationships between pay plans and workforce membership behaviors and workforce productivity, respectively. Both workforce attitudes and workforce flexibility mediate the effects of pay plans on these outcomes. This suggests that if skill-based pay plans are not positively related to workforce attitudes or workforce flexibility, they might not produce desired membership behaviors or productivity. Future research should focus on clarifying conditions under which skill-based pay plans do not predict workforce attitudes or workforce flexibility.The results of the current study also point to at least three factors that strongly contribute to the perceived success of pay plans: higher workforce productivity, superior workforce membership behaviors, and better consistency of the pay plan with the facility's climate/culture.Arguably the most interesting result is that H7b is completely confirmed. We looked at the moderating role of work climate/culture on the relationship between workforce productivity and a pay plan's success. It appears that irrespective of the type of pay plan an organization intends to use, it is crucial that the pay plan must be vertically consistent with the organization's work climate/culture.While our results are based on analyses of data at facility-level, the findings have implications for the management of employees as well. Results suggest that, based on key-informants perceptions, skill-based pay plans do enhance employees attitudes, membership behaviors, and productivity.Practical, theoretical, and societal implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to make a comparative assessment of the relationship between types of pay plans and several workforce-level outcomes in 214 organizations. The plans include pay that is skill-based, job-based, and market-based. The types of workforce-level outcomes include workforce flexibility, attitudes, membership behaviors, and productivity. The paper also assesses the relationship between the success of pay plans and workforce productivity/membership behaviors.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Survey data from 214 organizations are used to test the hypothesized relationships using hierarchical regression analysis and partial least square techniques.\nFindings: - Results support a significant and positive relationship between skill-based pay plans, workforce flexibility, and workforce attitudes. Skill-based pay plans, when compared with market-based pay plans, are found to positively relate to workforce membership behaviors, and workforce attitudes mediate this relationship. Similarly, workforce flexibility mediates the positive relationship between skill-based plans and workforce productivity. The success of skill-based plans depends on significant improvements in workforce productivity and membership behaviors. The fit between the pay plan and the facility's climate/culture moderates the relationship between workforce productivity and the pay plan's success.\nPractical implications: - The results indicate that skill-based pay plans are superior for achieving several organizational and employee outcomes. The authors discuss the implications of these results for research and practice.\nOriginality/value: - Limited comparative empirical evidence exists on the effects of different types of pay systems on organizational outcomes. The paper seeks to address this gap.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Teaching urban facility management, global citizenship and livability	[ "Facility management", "Higher education", "Livability", "Urban management", "Global citizenship", "Urban facility management", "Education" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Around 2003, several papers were published about \"neighborhood management\" (Power, 2004) and \"new urban alignments\" (Roberts, 2004), which were a trigger for the then European Facility Management community to discuss whether facility management (FM) should play a role in urban management. This discourse led to the publication of Alexander (2006) in regarding the concept of \"community-based facilities management\" (CbFM). Alexander (2006) concluded that FM apart of performing on behalf of its client and focusing on own operations (Ure and Hampton, 2004) also has a shared responsibility for the social and community context. This resulted into the following definition whereby CbFM is described as \"[...] the processes by which all the stakeholders in a community work together, deliver and maintain an enabling environment, where the local economy can prosper, quality services can be delivered and natural resources protected, that citizens can enjoy a quality of life\" (Alexander, 2006, p. 264).\nResearch questions: The general aim of this ongoing research is to determine the influence of facility design on urban quality of life from a students' perspective. The objective is a better insight on the influence of FM on the quality of life of citizens in the city of The Hague and the livability.\nResearch method: Conducting research with novice bachelor students requires an appropriate research methodology with an emphasis on acquiring research skills. After all, it is applied research. For this reason, we have chosen the cycle for practice-oriented research and innovation by van der Donk and van Lanen (2016). In addition to this Nel Verhoeven (2018), developed an applied research framework for \"practice-oriented\" research. Within this framework, students are using a mixed-method approach: qualitative and quantitative research based on observations, shadowing, interviewing, questionnaires, document analyzes, desk research including analyzing audio and video material. The didactical principle is to allow students to construct their own research design provided the validity and reliability of the data are guaranteed. This method should allow the school of FM of THUAS to analyze the assembled data and to draw small conclusions.\nTheory: Anno 2020 cities are getting more crowded. The pressure on the spatial, urban environment is growing. As a result, many cities are confronted with pollution and mobility problems. Our experience at THUAS is that many students are worried about the livability in cities. They all have questions such as: \"What does my future have in store for me and how livable will it be? Will I have a job as a facility manager. Where will I find affordable housing? Where shall I settle down, get married, raise a family?\" It goes without saying: we do not want to trivialize there worries. After all, the man-made environment is the result of continuous, social and conflict-like processes (Wilterdink and Van Heerikhuizen, 2012).\nCity history: The cutting-edge research of Gordon Childe (1950) gave insight and knowledge on the rise of cities and the role of revolutionary technological and economic developments in human society concerning societal development. In short, Childe stated that from ancient times up to the present day, cities are \"just the resultant and symbol of a revolution that initiated a new economic stage in the evolution of society.\" The emergence of cities relates to economic growth.\nUrban planning/design: Recalling the statement of Winston Churchill which lessons regarding the sustainable city can be learned? The ecosystem of cities is fragile and vulnerable to exhaustion. As stated by the United Nations in 2014 growing cities and economic success are under greater scrutiny because the relationship between spatial friction and aggregate economic growth requires a spatial theory of cities. Also, the widely accepted assumption about the relationship between the size of the city and a country's economic growth does not hold true. The economics literature (Camagni et al., 2013; Glaeser, 2011; Castells-Quintana, 2017), refers to other factors, such as urban infrastructure, governance and industrial composition which play a non-neglible role in the economic fortune of cities, but has - with few exceptions - rarely been tested empirically to date (Frick and Rodriguez-Pose, 2017). Moreover, as seen by the decline of the Maya's and other disappeared cities, it becomes evident that the benefits of increasing city size are not without limits while urban growth seems endless. Scale often seems to play a role.\nUrban management: Initially, urban planning and design was typically defined in terms of architecture and town planning (Gosling and Maitland, 1994; Bentley, 1998). Its also approached as the \"interface between architecture, landscape architecture and town planning, drawing on the design tradition of architecture and landscape architecture and the environmental management and social science tradition of contemporary planning\" (Butina and Bentley, 2007). However, as a response to the appalling sanitary, social and economic conditions of rapidly-growing industrial cities other domains such as public health specialists, economists, sociologists, lawyers and at the beginning of this 21st century facility managers, started to interfere the debate as the complexities of managing cities came to be more fully understood. Supporting and recognizing that urban planning and design is not simply an interface but encompasses and sometimes subsumes a number of disciplines and activities as a participative process (Cowan, 2002). Urban management can be describes as a:\nRole of facility management: Over the centuries not only the private but also the public domain had some sort of urban facilities management. Despite the introduction of \"neighborhood management\" in 2004 by Roberts and \"CbFM\" by Alexander (2006), UFM is not a new phenomenon. Not only multiple archeological research of inter alia Gordon Child (1950) showed that ancient cultures created all kind of facilities within their erstwhile cities, but also as pointed out by Ytsma and Ytsma (2005), the Roman architect Vitruvius wrote about Roman thermae as multi-functional public facilities and \"mobile workplaces\" as a outsourced service. Furthermore, excavations of Byzantines' urbanizations, medieval cities and rapidly expanding urban sprawl during the late 18th century reveal traces of early public facilities and management. Hence, FM is an old profession that can be found in many different guises over the centuries. Its likely to place facilities management as a key factor in the delivery of facilitating objectives for centuries but not appointed as Ytsma and Ytsma (2005) conclude that \"FM,\" and its \"underlying principles and processes are immemorial\" but being formalized in the late 1970s as a long-standing key actor in the delivery of facilitating objectives (Ytsma and Ytsma, 2005; Michel, 2013; Lindkvist et al., 2019).\nUrban facility management: Either way, the wording UFM is appointed around 2004. UFM is as FM a longstanding urban process as discourse between the three-part dialectic of \"space, place and people\" (Lindkvist et al., 2019). UFM holds out the possibility to apply the basic principles of FM on the management of public infrastructure and associated services (Roberts, 2004). Between 2004 and 2008 research on UFM has been done by i.e. Kasim and Hudson (2006) and Alexander (2006). One of the outcomes is the significant role of the physical infrastructure and the social processes between users on micro-level (buildings) and on an urban precinct (macro) level (Michel, 2013). To identify UFM patrons, it requires a deep dive in the five dimensions of Pieterse (2010). Proper UFM is based on the physical, environmental, social and cultural dimensions and good governance. Which explains why the facility manager is an added value to enhance UFM as the professional partner to co-develop and cultivate the physical environment, to co-create the collective sharing of (limited) space and to facilitate the maintenance, exploitations and the use of the space (Wilterdink and Van Heerikhuizen, 2012) with the outcome: sustainable cities.\nResults: The overarching question is: \"what has 15 years of research with bachelor FM students yielded?\" The Hague, as part of an extensive urban area between Rotterdam and Amsterdam, called the \"Randstad\" with seven million inhabitants (Randstad Monitor, 2017), is the most the densely populated city of The Netherlands with +- 6,500 inhabitants per square kilometer (City of The Hague, 2018). It is also the most segregated city in The Netherlands where approximately 120 different nationalities do live spread throughout the city.\nConclusion: More than 2,000 bachelor FM students over the past years have been dispatched into the city to conduct small-scale, applied research on UFM. It provided data on changing neighborhoods resulting in numerous small-scale improvements initiated by the department of urban development, housing, sustainability and culture of The Hague. Apart from inner-city neighborhoods, empty churches, languishing office buildings and shopping centers were investigated with the help of students to find new destinations with which the quality of urban life is improved.\nLimitation and social debate: This position paper gave the school for FM at THUAS pause for thought. It made us realize that we have been doing meaningful research and of value to our commissioners. The lesson-learned is that we have failed to analyze the multi-year data. An omission, because precisely these data could have helped us into a better foundation of the term UFM. In addition, we have been debating the past years how FM should be made explicit in the neighborhood? In particular, the tangibility of the FM manager is an issue. What is the added value and on behalf of whom does it function? or does the strength lie in bundling the FM within organizations and companies so that they can collaborate in favor of the greater whole? We do not yet have an answer to this question and hope that a European debate can facilitate a better understanding and an opus operando for higher education of applied sciences. Our final point: which responsibilities does have an university of applied sciences in the \"building\"/forming of students? Then, how should education programs be organized to make a successful contribution to into global citizenship? This also requires a debate for a better world for all of us.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to explain the influence of facility design on urban quality of life from an educational perspective. The outcome of this paper is to determine the influence of facility management (FM) on the quality of life of citizens in the city of The Hague by actively using a facility design to positively influence the livability.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This current explorative study is a mix-method approach of qualitative and quantitative applied research based on observations, shadowing, interviewing, questionnaires, document analyzes, desk research including analyzing audio and video material. This applied research framework is based on the cycle for practice-oriented research and innovation by van der Donk and van Lanen (2016).\nFindings: More than 2,000 bachelor FM students over the past 15 years have been dispatched into the city to conduct small-scale, applied research on urban facility management (UFM). It provided data on changing neighborhoods resulting in numerous small-scale improvements. Besides, a better understanding of UFM, it contributed to a better awareness on global citizenship.\nResearch limitations/implications: Besides a better understanding of UFM to improve livability in neighborhoods, it also contributed into a better awareness in teaching global citizenship.\nOriginality/value: This long-running study supports the upcoming field of UFM and the debate how FM should be made explicit in the neighborhood.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Dear top management, please don't make me a cynic: intention to sabotage	[ "Nigeria", "Procedural justice", "Employee cynicism", "Service sabotage", "Intention to sabotage" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Cynicism is intellectual dandyism without the coxcomb's feathers (George Meredith).HR practitioners, specifically in the Nigerian banking and insurance industry, deal with employment-related issues every day. This could range from job insecurity, pay, recruitment, selection, promotions, payroll, holiday/sick leave issues, supervision process, service culture, compensation, social rights/entitlements, uplifting performance, to misconducts. Each of these factors has a different impact on the employee, varying from happy, indifferent, to disgruntled employees. Byrne and Hochwarter (2007) and Chiaburu et al. (2013) noted that breaching one of these psychological contracts may result in decreased work-related attitudes like organizational loyalty and work engagement; worse, it increases cynicism.\n2. Theoretical underpinnings and hypotheses: The Nigerian banking and insurance industry is bedeviled by corruption and perennial lack of transparency, as well as with communication issues coupled with reorganization (consolidation via mergers and acquisitions) of the industry as a result of the 2007-2009 global crisis to the oil price crash of 2015. According to Nwagbara et al. (2013), such practices in the Nigerian banking and insurance industry culminate in high employee turnover. Other employment-related issues triggered by the reform consist of realignment of employees, cultural conflicts, redeployments, salary reduction, and retrenchments. This transformation created HRM challenges in the banking and insurance industry, such as increased burnout, employee cynicism, turnover, demoralization, and reduced organizational citizenship behavior (Nwagbara et al., 2013). The aforementioned factors are known to affect employee welfare (Alaranta and Maarit, 2004; Barnett et al., 2005).\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Measures\n4. Results and discussion: All measures were subjected to CFA. The AMOS program was used to investigate the goodness of fit of the proposed model. The outcomes presented in Table II provided a good fit for both samples, as all the fit indices seem to conform to the equivalent criteria presented on the right hand side of Table II. The eight items to measure intention to sabotage loaded on one factor with high standardized loadings in two separate samples. In addition, Cronbach's a was above the cutoff point of 0.60 (Hair et al., 1998); likewise CRs were also above the cutoff point of 0.70. AVEs were above the cutoff level of 0.50 (Hair et al., 1998), except that of cynicism in sample 2. This does not seem to affect the validity of the measures, because Fornell and Larcker (1981) noted that if AVE is less than 0.5, and CR is higher than 0.6, then the convergent validity of the construct is still adequate. The standardized loadings were above the thresholds of 0.50 as suggested by Hair et al. (2006). Kline (2005) added that when the estimated correlation between the observed variables is below 0.85, discriminant validity is established. The observations in Tables II-IV for both samples suggested evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Potential threat of common method bias was tackled using a statistical approach. Harman's single-factor test explained 44 percent of the variance for sample 1 and 40 percent of the variance for sample 2; as such, the potential threat of common method bias seems not to be a problem (Podsakoff et al., 2003).\n5. Discussion and conclusion: Although service sabotage has received significant empirical attention, intention to sabotage in service context is poorly understood and under-researched. In our opinion, service sabotage is suitable for organization-wide research and not for service employees as claimed by Harris and Ogbonna (2012). The central argument of this paper is that the existing conceptualization of service sabotage failed to adequately tap the domain of interest. Blau (1998) and Kao et al. (2014) asserted that cross-sectional researchers alternately use turnover intention, because turnover is difficult to measure and is suitable for organizational-level studies, whereas turnover intention is suitable for individual-level or management-oriented studies (Cho and Lewis, 2012). A meta-analysis suggested 0.31 to 0.52 correlation between turnover intention and actual turnover (Dalton et al., 1999). Additionally, a comparative analysis suggested that turnover intention accounts for 9-25 percent of actual turnover (Cho and Lewis, 2012). The data in this study did not capture this directly, but based on the aforementioned evidence this paper argues that intention to sabotage will be suitable for management-oriented and individual-level research, and may also predict the actual service sabotage.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The conceptualization of service sabotage failed to adequately tap the domain of interest. Phenomena like turnover and service sabotage are difficult to measure and are not suitable for individual-level study. However, \"intention\" is suitable for individual-level or management-oriented studies. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A new scale (eight items) to measure the intention to sabotage was developed and tested using a sample of bank (n=313) and insurance (n=258) employees in Nigeria. Cynicism and the desire for justice are the roots of sabotage. As such, the inability to stabilize institutionalized work processes and procedures may cause employees to be overcome with the intention to sabotage service, prior to the actual sabotage. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this paper investigates the impact of employee cynicism on intention to sabotage as moderated by procedural justice.\nFindings: The analyses suggest that employee cynicism is related to the intention to sabotage, and procedural justice moderates the relationship between employee cynicism and intention to sabotage. The findings endorse the model of interest, and implications of this study for research and practice are discussed.\nOriginality/value: The study differentiated service sabotage from intention to sabotage, and developed and tested a scale to measure the intention to sabotage.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A multidimensional service-value scale based on Holbrook's typology of customer value: Bridging the gap between the concept and its measurement	[ "Hospitality", "Construct validity", "Value dimensions", "Higher-order measures", "Service value" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Since the start of academic marketing research, more than 50 years ago, understanding the process of creating and attributing value has interested scholars (Holbrook, 1999; Gallarza et al., 2011). However, despite its being a core concept, writers have long agreed on a lack of consistency concerning the nature of value, its characteristics, or its conceptualization (see e.g. in chronological order, Zeithaml, 1988, p. 2; Dodds et al., 1991, p. 307; Holbrook, 1999, p. xiii; Day and Crask, 2000, p. 42; Sweeney and Soutar, 2001, p. 204; Lin et al., 2005, p. 318; Boksberger and Melsen, 2011, p. 229; Helkkula et al., 2012, p. 60; Leroi-Werelds et al., 2014, p. 430). Accordingly, because the concept has remained fuzzy, its measurement has proven elusive, despite various concrete proposals for scaling perceived value (e.g. Mathwick et al., 2001; Sweeney and Soutar, 2001; Petrick, 2002; Martin-Ruiz et al., 2008). The concept has constantly been revisited; indeed, \"value is perhaps a chimera in the managerial and social sciences, but it has proved to be a compelling one\" (Arnould, 2014, p. 29).\n2. Perceived value in services: typologies and dimensions: 2.1 Value and services\n3. Method: 3.1 Study aims\n4. Results: 4.1 First aim: scales validation\n5. Conclusions: Consensus on the multidimensionality of value represents one of the few areas of agreement in the abundant conceptual research into that topic - a key concept in services marketing epistemology and in the strategic management of goods and services. However, though authors recognize that service value is multidimensional, there is no consensus on the number of types or the criteria for classifying and assessing them. In short, a gap between conceptual and empirical knowledge appears in this area.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: In the fertile line of research on consumer value from the services literature, a gap exists between theoretical and empirical knowledge, in particular regarding Holbrook's conceptual value framework. The purpose of this paper is to find construct validity for a multidimensional value scale based on Holbrook's proposal.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on a literature review, a qualitative phase, and consultation with an expert, eight value scales (efficiency, service quality, play, aesthetics, status, esteem, ethics, and escapism as an adaptation of spirituality) are tested on a sample of 585 hotel customers and are further analyzed with simple and partial correlations, multiple regressions, and structural modeling.\nFindings: Following the literature on the merits of Holbrook's value typology, results are presented in three concatenated phases: validation of Holbrook's eight value scales corresponding to his eight value types; interrelationships between these value types showing a predominance of the extrinsic-intrinsic and self-other dimensions; and construction of six indices based on the 2x2x2 matrix (self, other, extrinsic, intrinsic, active, and reactive) and a value index as a higher-order representation. The results support Holbrook's typology, thereby supporting construct validity for the multidimensional scales.\nResearch limitations/implications: Implications for further conceptual research on value are presented. Meanwhile, the empirical study is context-specific, i.e. related to a hospitality experience.\nOriginality/value: Although Holbrook's typology has gained widespread attention, to the best of the authors' knowledge, no previous research has tested all eight value types simultaneously in the same empirical work.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Strategic corporate governance for sustainable mutual development	[ "Corporate governance", "Strategic corporate governance", "Mutual development", "Sustainable development" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Corporate governance efforts are prominent in the business arena today due to its multidisciplinary nature and the promising scope for productivity with the successful implementation of such efforts. As suggested by numerous authors corporate governance efforts shed light on areas of the business world that were often silent in the past.\"During the 20th century business corporations evolved into major societal institutions in the developed countries\" (Carlsson, 2001), this significant shift in paradigm enhances the corporate entities, and subsequently their activities are more synchronized and conscious of consequences pre and post production or services. This effectively creates a comparatively hefty stage for the corporate entities to engage in a multitude of newly found corporate governance enhancement efforts.Corporate governance has been dubbed by many as the guiding facet of modern day corporate entities. However, the rate of success of the governance efforts are still unclear due to lack of development achieved via the corporate governance efforts. Though the efforts are exemplary in nature and have achieved most of its objectives it is high time that corporate governance efforts are integrated to accompany all aspects of the corporate entities as we know it and also encompass the corporations' most valuable assets, the public and its employees, as primary benefactors of the corporate governance efforts rather than them being mere observers and participants.The objective of this paper is to identify critical areas of inclusiveness especially for the employees and the impact of such an integrated effort on mutually developing the work force and the corporate entities. It is hoped that this paper would shed light on the prospective stance that need to be utilized for a successful sustainable growth of corporations while employing strategic corporate governance as a tool.\nRise and growth of corporate governance: There is no precise definition of corporate governance. OECD (2004) defines corporate governance as follows:Corporate governance is the system by which business corporations are directed and controlled. The corporate governance structure specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities among different participants in the corporation, such as, the board, managers, shareholders and other stakeholders, and spells out the rules and procedures for making decisions on corporate affairs. By doing this, it also provides the structure through which the company objectives are set, and the means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance.The history of corporate governance is path dependant process (Roe, 1996). The emergence of it differs from country to country and region to region. Likewise, the definition of it also varies from country to country depending on the background and the custom of the people (Farrar, 1999). The financial crises of Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat at the beginning of the twenty-first century have stirred up the debates on coherent governance of companies.It is not wrong to state that the mismanagement of corporation is the reason which led to the creation of corporate governance. Corporate governance can be described as the shield against the economic crisis. The main reason why the countries have adopted the principles of corporate governance is to enjoy economic benefits through out the economic ups and downs without the winding up of the existing corporations.\nThe imperatives of corporate governance efforts: Corporate governance is no longer optional for businessmen - it is vital (Davies, 1999). Modern discussions of corporate governance is exclusively dedicated on nexus linking ownership and management within joint-stock, limited-liability, publicly-held, predominantly large-scale enterprises (Herrigel, 2006). The \"concentrated ownership system\" has the feature of \"controlling blockholders, weak securities markets, high private benefits of control, and low disclosure and market transparency standards, with only a modest role played by the market for corporate control, but with a possibly substitutionary monitoring role played by large banks\"; whilst the \"dispersed ownership system\" is exemplified \"by strong securities markets, rigorous disclosure standards, and high market transparency, in which the market for corporate control constitutes the ultimate disciplinary mechanism\" (Coffee, 2001).The jurisdictions of the world can be categorized into concentrated and dispersed ownership distinction. However, it shall be noted the system of corporate property relations in each country is implanted in a wide set of social, institutional and power arrangements. Financial systems like bank- versus market-driven (Verdier, 2002); the governance role of stakeholders versus stockholders (Hansmann, 1996); and the political governance of the economy like state directed, associational, or market-driven (Hansmann, 1996) are the major three factors that shape the corporate property relations within institutional domains (Herrigel, 2006).The principles of corporate governance differ from country to country and region to region. For example, the South African King Report (2002) specifies seven basic features of corporate governance whilst the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) Corporate Governance Council's Principles of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice Recommendations (2003) identify ten essential principles of corporate governance.The South African King Report (2002) states discipline, transparency, independence, accountability, responsibility, fairness and social responsibility as the main components of corporate governance. One may say that these seven principles are too broad to facilitate the corporate governance of a corporation. But the explanation for each of these principles given in the Report proves that these principles are actually the real principles for successful and coherent corporate governance. And these principles are very much in line with the teachings of Islamic law.The ten fundamental principles of corporate governance stated in ASX Corporate Governance Council's Principles of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice Recommendations (2003) is laying solid foundations for management oversight, structuring the board to add value, promoting ethical and responsible decision-making, safeguarding integrity in financial reporting, making timely and balanced disclosure, respecting the rights of shareholders, recognising and manage risk, encouraging enhanced performance, remunerating fairly and responsibly and recognising the legitimate interests of stakeholders. These principles are mostly focused on the nature and the management of corporations.It can be concluded here that the basic principles of corporate governance varies according to the needs of the corporations and the society in which the corporation operates. Hence, corporate governance is a flexible mechanism that could and will change over the time.\nParadigm shift from incumbent efforts to strategic corporate governance: The conventional corporate governance efforts are almost all concentrated on strengthening governance and reinforcing the monitoring and evaluation aspects. Together with this limited focus and the peer pressure arising from the untimely fall of major organizations due to the lack of proper governance has led today's companies to a defensive position and are reactive in its nature with regards to governance. This stance may be detrimental to the sustainable growth of any corporate entity.The incumbent position taken by companies has indeed shown improvement from the traditional governance and monitoring schematics, which were either minimal or non-existent. It is high time that the companies employ a paradigm shift from the reactive maneuvers and take a more proactive approach with strategic focus on sustainable growth. Such a shift would pave way for companies to plan their future and supplement the prospective plans with more controlled initiatives that bring together the corporate governance aspects and allow them to reap benefits from the initiatives. Tables I-III would illustrate the shifting paradigm that could possibility enhance corporate governance efforts.\nConclusion: proactive strategic corporate governance: The incumbent approach towards corporate governance is very much management and directorship based or legal in nature. The extravagant globalization that has taken place around the world has made business entities as well as other large organizations a part of the collage of the corporate institutions. This has lead to the cross disciplinary links between the different social institutions within communities that revolve around corporate entities. The livelihoods of communities are dependent on the performance of the corporations. Even the family institutions are based on the employment aspects of the corporations, as the non employed either male or female dominate the household once the corporations arrive, with negligible regard to precedent traditional structures.Once the corporations begin its operations it intertwines surrounding institutions and personnel including non participatory public bystanders. Hence, the fall of any such corporation results in enormous losses incurred by various parties both directly and indirectly connected to the corporations. It is significant therefore to ensure that the corporations are well managed and journey towards sustainable growth. The susceptibility of the stakeholders are becoming more evident with the unanticipated fall of large entities who were global leaders in many fields. Thus, strategic corporate governance efforts need to be initiated by all stakeholders as such efforts need the participation and empowerment of all stakeholders.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Corporate governance has been dubbed by many as the guiding facet of modern day corporate entities. However, the success rate of the governance efforts are still unclear. It is high time that corporate governance efforts are integrated to accompany all aspects of the corporate entities and encompass the corporations' most valuable asset, its workers, as a primary benefactor rather than them being mere participants. Hence this paper aims to identify critical areas of inclusiveness and especially the impact of such an integrated effort on mutually developing the work force and the corporate entities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper attempts to identify and highlight mainstream views on corporate governance via library research and complement the research process with available information from appropriate resources to suggest a potential enhancement to the approach taken by the conventional corporate governance efforts.\nFindings: - The paper infers that the potential for the use of corporate governance is beyond its conventional utility and suggests enhancements that could be applied within the existing mainstream corporate governance frameworks to improve the efficiency and role of corporate governance that is anticipated to mutually benefit all stakeholders.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The paper highlights a shift in paradigm that could potentially be utilized in the practical application of corporate governance efforts. It is limited by the nascent nature of the corporate governance efforts.\nOriginality/value: - Thorough analyses of the existing frameworks of corporate governance were utilized and the inferences are the authors' conjectural views and it is anticipated to help to inspire future research towards strategic corporate governance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Big data: lessons for employers and employees	[ "Data analytics", "Ethics", "Employment", "Big data", "Consent" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Computer and internet-based technology has steadily advanced in recent decades and changed working lives, both positively (e.g. working flexibly, remotely and virtually) and negatively (e.g. work intensification, 24/7 availability). These technological developments are the source of a dramatic increase in the amount and availability of data in the world (McAfee and Brynjolfsson, 2012). Larger sets of data can be captured more readily than ever before, increasing the potential for developing analytical formulae and rules to solve problems (via algorithms to process data), which in turn generate insights in the form of new information processing or decision-making aids (Dormehl, 2014).\nPros and cons of big data for employers: At an organisational level, big data tools enable organisations to catalogue more personal communications than ever before, encompassing the views, sentiments and behaviours of all those who interact with the organisational systems and interfaces, including employees (Lohr, 2015). Big data has also allowed organisations to make improvements to existing processes (Nunan and Di Domenico, 2017), often in the form of incremental progressions rather than significant reinventions. As with previous process improvement tools, the value of these small improvements cannot be underestimated, and the cost savings via improved organisational effectiveness can be significant. For example, organisations like Wal-Mart and Credit Suisse are using analytics to save turnover and churn costs by understanding who might quit the workforce and why, before they do so, saving millions a year where managers used the information anonymously to improve employee retention (Silverman and Waller, 2015).\nNew data challenges for employers in the age of big data: Employers today are not only able to monitor employee activities on their computers and intranet but can also monitor their internet activities via different devices, app activity, keystroke logging and other \"digital exhaust\" (Harford, 2014). They are also able to monitor employees during their offsite activities via their mobile devices, network traffic and wearable devices (many of which employers will provide at no cost to their employees). In recent years, several researchers have started to identify ethics - in addition to privacy - as a major consideration in terms of how big data are generated, used, analysed and interpreted more generally (Gil de Zuniga and Diehl, 2017). The following section will outline and discuss data-specific challenges as well as employee-related issues.\nEthics and employee data: a continuing debate: Employee monitoring is far from a new phenomenon in the world of work (Karim et al., 2015). However, the integration of data on a big data scale, and its use in predictive modelling, far exceeds previous analytical capabilities. We consider the ethical challenges facing organisations who use employee (big) data. In the age of big data, three central issues are at the forefront of concern: consent, different privacy expectations and the lack of guidance for those tasked with data collection and analysis. We will discuss each of these briefly in turn.\nRecommendations: In this section, we present several recommendations, not only for employers, but also for employees. We focus on improving ethically responsible conduct and education in order to avoid and recognise ethical workplace dilemmas, and the role of employers in improving systems design to respect privacy. We hope that our recommendations provide informative starting points for those tasked with managing the challenges for both employer and employees in the process of creating new data projects related to big data efforts.\nEmbracing ethical big data leadership - a final comment: We wish to conclude with one final recommendation that we feel should become a core component of leadership in business, particularly for those using big data analytics. This is the assertion that ethical leadership in terms of data collection and management will be essential to informing and guiding employees and managers in the here and now, as well as in the future. To date, Silicon Valley ethics and leadership failures are well-documented, and are arguably not setting the bar high enough for other organisations and employers increasingly engaging in big data (Gobble, 2018).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect on the pros and cons of using employee information in big data projects.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors reviewed papers in the area of big data that has immediate repercussions for the experiences of employees and employers.\nFindings: The review of papers to date suggests that big data lessons based on employee data are still a relatively unknown area of employment literature. Particular attention is paid to discussion of employee rights, ethics, expectations and the implications employer conduct has on employment relationships and prospective benefits of big data analytics at work for work.\nOriginality/value: This viewpoint paper highlights the need for more discussion between employees and employers about the collection, use, storage and ownership of data in the workplace. A number of recommendations are put forward to support future data collection efforts in organisations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Ageing in organizations: A view of HR professionals on the positioning of mature managers and adoption of age management practices	[ "Discrimination", "Mature professionals", "Age management", "Aging" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Population aging has gained prominence in the social and academic agendas, mainly due to the presence of older workers in the labor market (Chiu, Chan, Snape, & Redman, 2001; Nelson, 2005; Stypinska, & Turek, 2017; Vasconcelos, 2012; Wood, 2008). Age diversity has become a key component of diversity management in organizations (Gordon, 2018; Riach, 2009).\nAgeism: A review of age discrimination at the workplace has become necessary because of population aging. Several countries are beginning to emphasize the social and economic benefits of retaining older workers (Davey, 2018). However, ageism continues to permeate labor relations. The term \"ageism\" was first used by Butler (1969). The suffix \"-ism\" carries several connotations: stereotypes, prejudices, and discriminatory organizational practices against this age group (Fineman, 2011). As with sexism and racism, ageism permeates the construction of identity, family relations, labor relations, and the very organization of society. It should receive more attention because with the improvement in the quality of life, people will grow old (Posthuma, & Guerrero, 2013).\nPositioning of older professionals in the workplace: Given the current demographic scenario, longevity is now a relevant factor for a country's workforce (Kunze, Boehm, & Bruch, 2011). The scarcity of qualified employees and increase in the legal retirement age has pressured companies to retain older and more experienced employees (Dychtwald, Erickson, & Morison, 2004). Since the 2000s, there has been a growth in the number of mature workers (Dychtwald, & Baxter, 2007).\nAge management practices: Prejudice against older workers crosses several dimensions in the organizational environment. Discrimination can occur in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, and benefits--the so-called soft discrimination; or it can take the form of hard discrimination, characterized by bullying and exclusion from social activities (Davey, 2018). Errors of older professionals are treated with more severity than the errors of younger professionals, who are more stimulated to seek resources for problem solving (Rupp, Vodanovich, & Crede, 2006). Moreover, managers with age biases tend to endorse the recommendation to dismiss older professionals. Such biases can be minimized by raising the awareness of the consequences of stereotyping and the importance of older workers (Davey, 2018).\nMethodological procedures: A quantitative and descriptive study was conducted in order to answer the following research questions:\nValidation of the collection instrument: Validation of scales is a set of qualitative and quantitative procedures that help define what will be measured by researchers. Generally, these procedures are applicable to variables that are important to measure, but are not directly observed (Zambaldi, 2018). Three steps were taken for better developing the measures:\nDescriptive analysis of respondents and companies: Most of the companies researched are national (72 per cent), with private capital (78 per cent) and with national capital origin (64 per cent). Several sectors were considered in the research, with a predominance of the services (36 per cent) and health (11 per cent) segments and other segments accounting for 33 per cent of the sample (agribusiness, automotive, pulp, paper and packaging, consumer and retail products, energy and public utility services, engineering and construction, technology and information, communication, telecommunications and entertainment, financial, steel and metallurgy, mining, oil and gas, chemical and petrochemical). About 20 per cent of the companies stated that they operate in various, unidentified sectors. Most of the companies have an annual gross revenue of more than 99m reais (49 per cent). Of the respondents, most were aged 46 or older (63 per cent) and hold management positions, including managers, directors, and vice-presidents (68 per cent).\nExploratory factor analysis: The statistical analyses were performed using R software. The following is a step-by-step description of this research. Factor analysis is a statistical technique used to measure interdependence (Aranha, & Zambaldi, 2008; Hair et al., 2009). It defines a group of factors that are highly interrelated and are, therefore, representatives of existing dimensions in the data. Thus, the use of EFA allows condensing or summarizing information on the positioning of professionals aged 50 and over in the workplace and the age management practices in organizations according to the perception of HR managers. This enabled us to know the dimensions that can interfere with the HR managers' perception.\nConclusions: This study analyzes the adoption of age management practices by organizations. The relevance of this issue lies in the current changes in the Brazilian demographics. Increasing longevity reinforces the need to think about older workers in the composition of the workforce of the future.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to show which factors influence the perception of human resources professionals about managers over 50 years old and which factors guide the age management practices adopted in the surveyed companies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To this end, a survey was conducted with 140 companies accessed from a database of a human resources association. Through the answers obtained through the online questionnaire, an exploratory factor analysis was made with the aid of Software R.\nFindings: Thus, it was possible to identify four factors that explain the work posture of professionals 50 years of age and older (company expectations, performance, morality and knowledge and professionalism) and three factors that guide the adoption of age management practices in organizations (recruitment & selection and integration, retention and continuity in the company, adaptation to the needs).\nOriginality/value: The results suggest that, even considering the high performance of older managers, perceived by HR professionals, the adoption of age management practices is still insufficient, making it difficult for these professionals to enter and remain in organizations. Moreover, it can be inferred that such posture indicates biases of discrimination and age stereotypes.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Caring for the healthcare professional: A description of the Schwartz Rounds(tm) implementation	[ "Research", "Quality improvement", "Schwartz Rounds™", "Compassionate care" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There is a growing recognition by healthcare organizations that healthcare workers are humans vulnerable to stressors within their work environments. A strategic planning process revealed that over 90 percent of clinical staff at an academic pediatric rehabilitation hospital acknowledged these stressors and needed time to discuss the social-emotional impact of their daily work. In pediatric rehabilitation, clinicians develop long-term relationships with patients/families that have experienced severe trauma. Healthcare workers in these situations can be vicariously traumatized as well, which can inhibit clinical care from reaching its full potential. Subsequently, various interventions to support staff in healthcare were reviewed and the Schwartz Rounds(tm) (SR) emerged as the intervention that best aligned with the needs of providers at the hospital. SR was viewed by clinicians and senior management as a quality improvement initiative with enormous potential to improve healthcare delivery for staff, patients and families.\nMethods: Intervention\nResults: A total of 571 responses were completed throughout the pilot implementation. As indicated in Table II, many participants wanted to attend SR (51.1-62.7 percent), but were unable to. Most participants were female (76.2-93.2 percent), between 30 and 39 years old (38.1-45.5 percent) with 5-10 years of experience (21.4-30.6 percent) (see Table III). There were no significant results with the background characteristics and the outcome variables at any SR. For proportions, medians and 95 percent CIs of all outcome variables, see Table IV.\nDiscussion: This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of SR -an innovative intervention within healthcare to support healthcare workers with the social-emotional aspects of their work. Though the unit of intervention of SR was clinical staff in the healthcare setting, the impacts of SR provide beneficial dividends for clinicians, patients and families. Despite many organizations implementing various interventions to improve working conditions and encourage empathy amongst professionals and students in the healthcare disciplines, few interventions promise the extensive impact to support the development of empathy cultures within healthcare organizations as SR. As evidenced in this quality improvement initiative, SR has had a perceived positive impact on clinician perspective taking as well as communication between staff members for those who attended SR. Clinicians also overwhelmingly rated SR as addressing their needs.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Hospitals must systematically support employees in innovative ways to uphold a culture of care that strengthens the system. At a leading Canadian academic pediatric rehabilitation hospital, over 90 percent of clinicians viewed Schwartz Rounds(tm) (SR) as a hospital priority, resulting in its formal implementation as a quality improvement initiative. The purpose of this paper is to describe how the hospital implemented SR to support the socio-emotional impact of providing care.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This quantitative descriptive study provides a snapshot of the impact of each SR through online surveys at four assessment points (SR1-SR4). A total of 571 responses were collected.\nFindings: All four SR addressed needs of staff as 92.9-97.6 percent of attendees reported it had a positive impact, and 96.4-100 percent of attendees reported each SR was relevant. Attendees reported significantly greater communication with co-workers after each SR (p<0.001) and more personal conversations with supervisors after SR2 and SR4 (p<0.05) compared to non-attendees. Attending SR also increased their perspective-taking capacity across the four SR.\nPractical implications: As evidenced in this quality improvement initiative, SR addresses staff's need for time to process the socio-emotional impacts of care and to help reduce those at risk for compassion fatigue. SR supports and manages the emotional healthcare culture, which has important implications for quality patient care.\nOriginality/value: This research details an organization's process to implement SR and highlights the importance of taking care of the care provider.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A management development model: Measuring organizational commitment and its impact on job satisfaction among executives in a learning organization	[ "Management development", "Motivation (psychology)", "Job satisfaction", "Learning organizations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the past decade, the impact of organizational commitment has grown significantly in the field of management development. This concept receives a great deal of empirical study both as a consequence or antecedent as a work-related variable (Mathieu and Zajac, 1990). As a consequence, organizational commitment is critical among executives in creating a business environment that promotes motivation and job satisfaction at the workplace. It links the individual to the organization. Organizational commitment reflects the extent an individual identifies with an organization and committed to its organizational goals. Work attitude is important because committed executives are expected to exemplify a willingness to work harder to achieve organizational goals. Executives demonstrating this commitment have a greater desire to remain employed with that organization. Research indicates organizational commitment is a viable predictor of many behaviors, including absenteeism (Gellatly, 1995), turnover (Jaros, 1995), job satisfaction (Mathieu and Zajac, 1990), and work motivation (Meyer et al., 2004). Organizational commitment is attitudinal behavior. Organizational commitment is defined as the relative strength of an individual's identification and involvement is a particular organization (Mowday et al., 1979). Conceptually, characterized by at least three factors; first, organizational commitment reflects the strong belief and acceptance of the organization's goals and values. Second, commitment impacts the executive's behavior within an organization. Third, organizational commitment produces a strong desire to maintain membership in the organization (Mowday et al., 1982). This study investigates the relationship of organizational commitment, motivation, and job satisfaction. Therefore, organizational commitment is measured as an antecedent construct for this study. Also, this study investigates if the executive's motivation level has a negative or positive relationship with the attributes of the learning organization.A learning organization creates, acquires, and transfers knowledge that changes its behavior based on new knowledge and insights. Senge (1990) describes a learning organization as a group of employees working together collectively enhancing their capacities to create results that are truly meaningful. Technological advancement, dynamic customer demands, increasing globalization, the blurring of organizational boundaries, and increasing competition combine to produce organizational environments' that are more turbulent than ever before (Parry and Proctor-Thompson (2003) and Bates and Khasawneh (2005). The majority of literature defines a learning organization as acquiring, improving, and transferring knowledge that improves individual learning (Campbell and Cairns, 1994).Work motivation identified by the expectancy theory of motivation, determines how individuals choose between alternative behaviors in studying motivation. The executive's motivation behavior is measured by two major components. They are (E-I) effort-to-performance and (E-II) performance-to-outcomes. Effort-to-performance expectancy (E-I) is a person's perception of the probability that effort will lead to successful performance. Performance-to-outcome expectancy (E-II) is a person's perception that the probability of performance will lead to specific other outcomes (organizational and individual).Job satisfaction is one of the most studied variables in the history of industrial and organizational psychology (Spector et al., 1997). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment receive significant importance in research studies. This establishes these variables as major determinants of organizational performance (Riketta, 2002) and effectiveness (Laschinger, 2001). Job satisfaction is an attitude formed by individuals in reference to their jobs. It results from the perception of their jobs and the degree to which there is a good fit between the individual and the organization. Further research involving job satisfaction is advocated. If organizations can successfully measure which factors influence job satisfaction, they may strengthen employee's morale and provide positive outcomes for their organization.Management development specialists are interested in the synergistic elements (organizational commitment, work motivation, and job satisfaction) impact on a learning organization culture. Therefore, further research and investigation is warranted in analyzing this synergistic impact.\nBackground: Nature of organization commitment\nEmpirical study: Management development model\nThe study: The study is a cross sectional and a multi-industry sample. The data is a sample of 208 MBA executives at Ashland University. The participants were employed in manufacturing, retailing, financials, health organizations, accounting, energy, and insurance industries. The questionnaire was developed with current literature available. Procedures for the survey include a review of previous questionnaires. The psychometric properties for a learning organization, organizational commitment, motivation levels (E-I and E-II), and job satisfaction were satisfactory and listed in the next section.Questionnaire and measures\nResearch limitations: This study relied on self-report and survey data. The research examines a cross-sectional survey, this is difficult in determining a definitive causal claims based on the findings. The model presumes a specific time ordering among the exogenous variable (commitment), and the endogenous variables (motivational levels, job satisfaction, and organizational learning). Consequently, all variables were measured at a single point in time. This research relies primarily on perceptual data measured with a series of questionnaire items. Future studies are necessary to validate the model. Although a large amount of variation is explained among the exogenous and endogenous variables, other variables introduced in future studies will increase the amount of explained variation. Future efforts directed at more precise models to clarify potential errors; specifically, the descriptive-fit-indices. To increase the goodness-of-fit, the R2 among the indices should account for mid-1990s or higher to support the chi-square calculations. The root mean-square error of approximation was calculated at 0.15 and should be at the 0.05 level or lower to support the model. Although these areas provided research limitation, future researchers may investigate these limitations to strengthen the model presented in this paper.\nManagerial practical implications and applications: This integrated model consisting of organizational commitment, motivation, job satisfaction, and a learning organization illustrates important implications for practitioners. If these constructs were improved from an environmental change rather than organizational, the imperative question did the development program or environmental changes have a positive impact upon the subordinate's behavior? The implications are a careful analysis in measuring the change in executive's behavior. Is the change a continuous state or an intermittent event? Management development specialist must recognize this dilemma. Executive development programs must reinforce a continuous process that is practical and meaningful change of behavior in gaining organizational commitment and its association with job satisfaction in a learning organization. There are practical applications for management development specialist to consider when strengthening organizational commitment within a business.Organizational commitment defines how strong the individual's beliefs are towards the organization and its goals. Improving and enhancing a positive work attitude is imperative. Managers can increase the components of employee commitment through the following format. First, a business employs executives whose personal values are consistent with organization's values. A positive, satisfying work environment increases employee's desire to stay in the company. Second, the organization's action enhances the level of trust through the organization. Positive outcomes among employees rein enforced by their manager gain support for organizational commitment. Another practical application reflects on a number of antecedents in supporting organizational commitment; by supporting and improving work experience and value congruence or person-culture fit. Once an employee is committed, the specialists can proceed by strengthening the executive's motivational levels.Expectancy theory has managerial implications among employees. Managers enhance their efforts for performance expectancies by supporting employees in accomplishing their performance goals. Managers coaching strategies improves employees' self-efficacy. Manager's influence employees' instrumentalities and monitor valences for various rewards. Money is a positive reward, but there are many issues to consider when deciding on the relative balance between monetary and non-monetary rewards. Therefore, managers should focus on linking employee performance to valued rewards regardless the type of reward. Conceptually, employees who are motivated reach organizational goals and are satisfied with rewards. These employees will display job satisfaction, a goal valued universally.A learning organization infuses a company with new ideas and information. This is accomplished by constantly scanning their external environments, hiring new talent, and developing significant resources to train their employees. This new knowledge transfers through the organization striving for reduced structural, process, and interpersonal barriers in sharing information, ideas, and knowledge among organizational members. Finally, behavior must change as a result of new knowledge. Learning organizations focuses on results that foster an environment in which employees are encouraged to apply new behaviors to achieve corporate goals.Job satisfaction is not a unitary or global construct, rather; it is multidimensional. Top management must identify the key elements among employees, which impact the employee's level of job satisfaction within an organizational setting. A recent meta-analysis of nine studies and 1,739 workers revealed a significant positive relationship between motivation and job satisfaction (Kinicki et al., 2002). Managers can potentially enhance employees' motivation through various attempts to increase job satisfaction.\nConclusion: The findings in this research paper established strong support for commitment as an antecedent in motivating employees that directly impacts job satisfaction. Management specialists must examine the power of commitment when personal and professional relationships become a priority goal. This generates trust among employees and empowering subordinates in accomplishing corporate goals. Once the employees gain trust, and build a culture of commitment, they are motivated to remain with the organization, because commitment is a strong force in enhancing motivation and job satisfaction. The management development model in this research paper indicates a direct relationship between commitment, expectancy motivation, and job satisfaction.. An organization supporting developmental programs that promotes and values commitment reaps substantial benefits. Commitment enables employees to collaborate and solve business problems as successful teams, because they value commitment. These findings reveal tangible relationships between commitment, motivation, and job satisfaction that are integral components for success within a learning organization.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to investigate the nature of organizational commitment and the impact on executive's motivational level in providing job satisfaction within a learning organization.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A management development model examines the relationship between the measurable constructs. The model explores the relationship between the executive's motivation level and their outcome with job satisfaction and organizational learning.\nFindings: - The results indicate there is a goodness-of-fit for the research model. The path coefficients explained a significant amount of variation along with the identification that organizational commitment is a significant attribute in the management development model.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Limitations include the self-report methodology that measures perceptual data with a series of questionnaire items.\nOriginality/value: - The study examines executive's perceptions and the significance of organizational commitment. Management development specialists will recognize the dynamics of organizational commitment and its linkage with motivation and job satisfaction in a learning organization. There are practical applications for management development specialists and the model supports an environment in which employees are encouraged to use new behaviors and operation processes within the learning organization.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Users' adoption of e-banking services: the Malaysian perspective	[ "Virtual banking", "Internet", "Banking", "Electronic commerce", "Consumer behaviour", "Malaysia" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Deregulation has enabled a greater degree of competition. With the proliferation of internet expansion and computers usage, the electronic delivery of banking service has become ideal for banks to meet customer's expectations. Compatible with the revolutionary components of the electronic marketplace, Malaysia has actively developed e-banking services since mid 2000. Moving towards an industrialization nation with knowledge economy as the backdrop, the PC and online way of life is growing in Malaysia. Public awareness of e-banking among users has been increased and thus people are ready to migrate to technology applications.Online households are a growing major lifestyle trend in Malaysia. With a strong hype on broadband services and multimedia super corridor, these have changed the life style of the consumers, and more business-to-business (B2B) transaction using the online potential. This has been further reinforced by the government tax rebate incentive for the purchase of a PC every five years. In 2005, the usage of online household was 1.9 millions, with 11.09 millions internet users, 21.1 thousand ISDN subscribers and 26.4 PC penetrations per 100 households. However, some may not use the e-banking systems in spite of their availability. Besides that, mobile devices have also offered internet access using WAP, GPRS or 3G features. Eventually, online access will be part of the trend in life, with or without mobile devices. But what is the likelihood of users performing e-banking transactions via mobile devices now and in the future? With the population of 25.58 million in Malaysia, it is vital for bankers to comprehend the current usage trend of e-banking system. The study on customer preferences on e-banking adoption has not been extensively examined in the Malaysian context. This has pointed out the needs for research. Hence, a thorough examination of the factors influencing the adoption of e-banking in Malaysia is deliberately essential for bank administrators.Some scholars have shown that many international internet users demonstrate similar behaviors and preferences across nations (see, for example, Quelch and Klein, 1996). Other researchers have studied the internet in the context of traditional cultures, and yet delimited by national borders (see, for example, Park and Jun, 2003). While others have studied internet consumers primarily as computer users (see, for example, Koufaris, 2002). Some studies have examined the issues on the evolution of e-banking in Malaysia (Sohail and Shanmugham, 2003) and investigated the success factors in various e-delivery channels in the Malaysian banking scenario (for example, Balachandher et al., 2000; Ong and Cheng, 2003). Some have investigated customer preferences of e-banking in Malaysia (Suganthi et al., 2001; Sohail and Shanmugham, 2003).This study examines the attributes affecting e-banking adoption in Malaysia, and implicitly finds the barriers of entry to better observe the level of acceptance of e-banking in Malaysia. Also, this paper assesses whether the usage of e-banking consumers in Malaysia is constrained by the technology, particularly on the basis of different demographic characteristics, such as different age groups, educational level, income level and etc. Findings of this study are useful for the banking sector in formulating appropriate strategies to build customer loyalty and retain users' strategies.\nLiterature review: Prior research has empirically found positive relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness[1] as critical factors on the use of e-banking (Venkatesh and Davis, 1996; Agarwal et al., 2000; Johnson and Marakas, 2000; Hong et al., 2001; Chau, 2001; Wang et al., 2003; Pikkarainen et al., 2004). E-banking provides higher degree of convenience that enables customers to access internet bank at all times and places. Apart from that, the accessibility of computers is perceived as a measure of relative advantage (Devlin, 1995; Ainscough and Luckett, 1996; Daniel, 1999, Black et al., 2001; Polatoglu and Ekin, 2001; Suganthi et al., 2001; Gerrard and Cunningham, 2003). Therefore, it is hypothesized that convenience and accessibility have positive effect on consumer adoption of e-banking.According to Ainscough and Luckett (1996), the provision of customer interactivity is an important criterion that attracts users in the delivery of e-banking. Gerrard and Cunningham (2003) also identify other factors of paramount importance in ensuring the success of e-banking, i.e. the ability of an innovation to meet users' needs using different feature availability on the web site. For instance, the provision of interactive loan calculators, exchange rate converters, and mortgage calculators on the web sites draw the attention of both users and non-users into the bank's web site. Therefore, it is hypothesized that feature availability has positive effect on consumer acceptance of e-banking.Pikkarainen et al. (2004) and Jayawardhena and Foley (2000) claim that content on online banking on the web site is one of the factors influencing online-banking acceptance. On the other hand, quality designs, graphics or colors and the propensity to portray good image of the bank would enhance efficient use of navigation. Besides that, Hoffman and Novak (1996) find that there is a significant correlation between download speed and user satisfaction. Speed of download depends on the nature of the site downloaded content, the computing hardware and method of connection used to download information (Jayawardhena and Foley, 2000). Most sites demonstration are small snapshots, and some users have to download the program in order to view the demonstration. Most people perceive downloading may import unwanted viruses, and consume hard disk space. Very often, slow response time after any e-interaction leads to a delay of service delivery and makes consumers unsure about whether or not the transaction is completed (Jun and Cai, 2001). Thus, it is hypothesized that content, design, bank image and management, and speed have positive effect on consumer acceptance of e-banking.To sustain in long-term relationships, banking institutions have to embrace the concept of customer satisfaction. As supported by McMahon (1996), for banks to survive in the e-banking era, the retail banks will have to earn consumer loyalty through product features and services excellence. Customers perceived fears of divulging personal information to web sites might be misused by others over the internet, especially for financial transactions (Sathye, 1999; Aladwani, 2001; Black et al., 2001). Obviously, customers have doubts about the trustability of the e-bank's privacy policies (Gerrard and Cunningham, 2003). Trust has striking influence on user's willingness to engage in online exchanges of money and personal sensitive information (Hoffman et al., 1999; Friedman et al., 2000; Wang et al., 2003). Security and privacy are two important dimensions that may affect users' intention to adopt e-based transaction systems. Encryption technology is the most common feature at all bank sites to secure information privacy, supplemented by a combination of different unique identifiers, for instance, a password, mother's maiden name, a memorable date, or a few minutes of inactivity automatically logs users off the account. Besides, the Secure Socket Layer, a widely-used protocol use for online credit card payment, is designed to provide a private and reliable channel between two communicating entities; the use of Java Applet that runs within the user's browser; the use of a Personal Identification Number, as well as an integrated digital signature and digital certificate associated with a smart card system (Hutchinson and Warren, 2003). Thus, a combination of smart card and biometric recognition using fingerprints offers a more secure and easier access control for computers than the password method. Hence, it is hypothesized that security and privacy have a positive effect on consumer acceptance of online banking.Service quality attributes in e-banking industry are important since human-internet interaction is the main service delivery and communication channel. Offering high quality services to satisfy consumers needs, at lower costs, are potential competitive advantage of e-banking. Some studies show that e-banking has successfully reduced operating and administrative costs (Siriluck and Speece, 2003; Devlin, 1995). Cost savings have helped e-based banks offer lower or no service fees, and offer higher interest rates on interest-bearing accounts than traditional banks (Gerlach, 2000; Jun and Cai, 2001). Therefore, it is hypothesized that fees and charges have negative impact on the acceptance of e-banking.On the other hand, some studies examine demographic characteristics of internet users. Some have shown internet consumers primarily as computer users (for example, Koufaris, 2002). Meanwhile, Wilhelm (2000) and Martin (2003) have shown that the lower socioeconomic group would be less likely to use the internet, while Wilson (2000) reports that socioeconomically disadvantaged consumers would be less likely to pay for a monthly fee to subscribe to an internet service, and would be less likely to have a home computer.\nMethodology: This study examines the factors affecting the adoption of e-banking services in Malaysia. From the literature discussion above, ten factors are identified, which are convenience, accessibility, features availability, bank management and image, security concerns, privacy, design, content, speed, and fees and charges. Anonymous questionnaires are randomly administered to a total of 500 respondents from different states within Peninsular Malaysia[2]. To assure randomness and avoid bias issue, every fifth bank customer that visited commercial banks to deal with any transactions is selected. The questionnaire is administered face to face; as such the response rate is satisfactorily high. To ensure content validity, the items used in the questionnaire are constructed on the basis of the extant literature as discuss above. To assure their perceptions are based on actual experience, screening questions are asked to assure that the respondents have used e-banking services before. The questionnaire comprises of two sections[3]. Section 1 comprises questions on demographic characteristics and Section 2 consists of questions assess the factors affecting the adoption of e-banking services. Respondents are asked to indicate their levels of agreement based on the four-point Likert scale from \"1\" (strongly disagree) to \"4\" (strongly agree).\nFindings: Demographics of the sample\nManagerial implications: The managerial implications from this study are: under the present conditions of distrust, it might be important to develop a marketing strategy for internet banking, however, banks need to visibly demonstrate concern for security, reliability, with concrete solutions to improve trustworthy secure e-banking systems, and specifically protect personal information or security for payment transaction. There is a need to upgrade the banks' security system and reputation. For e-banks, reputation is one of the major factors that affects customer adoption of technology-based service delivery (Mols, 1999; Aladwani, 2001). Protection laws have to determine a ceiling on customer liability or render terms to cover unfair and deceptive trade practices by suppliers, unauthorized access and usage by others, or system failures (Siriluck and Speece, 2003). The efficiency of legal support is of the regulator concerns since the ultimate success of e-banking lies in its patronage. On the other hand, banks should not neglect their branch networks, in which consumer-centric policies that integrate e-banking into interpersonal relationship with customers is also vital. Though internet marketing has some merits in targeting more customers, it should consider age differences when applying B2B. To attract new users, the banks need to educate customers about tangible and intangible benefits to be gained from using e-banking services.\nConclusions and limitations: This primary objective of the study is to study consumer acceptance or adoption of e-banking services in Malaysia in the light of ten determinants derived from extant literature, namely convenience, accessibility, feature availability, bank management and image, security, privacy, design, content, speed, and fees and charges. Of the survey across e-banking services, privacy and security are the major sources of dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, accessibility, convenience, design and content are sources of satisfaction. Besides, the speed, product features availability, service fees and charges, as well as the bank's operations management factor are critical to the success of the e-banks. WAP, GPRS and 3G features from mobile devices are of no significance influence in the adoption of e-banking services here. Results also reveal that privacy, security and convenience factors play an important role in determining the users' acceptance of e-banking services with respect to different segmentation of age group, education level and income level.There are some limitations owing to its exploratory stage. The use of convenience sampling approach in this exploratory study weakens research objectivity. Moreover, this study excludes the voice of non-users. As such, non-users' view should be taken into account in the future study. Future study may also addresses aspects of marketing strategy, promotional and communication issues to acquire new users, and effectively maintain the existing customers. In addition to that, \"syariah\" rule of Islamic e-banking[5], and laws supporting the service operation should be extended in the future study. Globally there are some 260 Islamic institutions, mainly banks, in 76 countries and they handle close to US$200 billion in the system.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of users' adoption momentum of e-banking in Malaysia.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A questionnaire with four-point Likert scale is applied to 324 usable responses. Ten attributes are tested, namely convenience of usage, accessibility, features availability, bank management and image, security, privacy, design, content, speed, and fees and charges.\nFindings: - Results indicate that all elements for ten identified factors are significant with respect to the users' adoption of e-banking services. Privacy and security are the major sources of dissatisfaction, which have momentously impacted users' satisfaction. Meanwhile, accessibility, convenience, design and content are sources of satisfaction. Besides, the speed, product features availability, and reasonable service fees and charges, as well as the bank's operations management factor are critical to the success of the e-banks. WAP, GPRS and 3G features from mobile devices are of no significance or influence in the adoption of e-banking services in this study. Results also reveal that privacy, security and convenience factors play an important role in determining the users' acceptance of e-banking services with respect to different segmentation of age group, education level and income level.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The use of convenience sampling in this study weakens research objectivity. This study excludes the voice of non-users and non-users' views should be taken into account in future study.\nPractical implications: - The results are expected to provide a practical contribution in the area of retail banking and in understanding consumer behavior in the Malaysian business-to-business financial services industry.\nOriginality/value: - This paper is the extension of an earlier study by Suganthi et al. which identified seven factors affecting the adoption of internet banking, with 17 elements. This study examines a wider scope of factors that consist of ten attributes with 78 elements based on the extant literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effects of social media brand personality on brand loyalty in the Latvian banking industry: The mediating role of brand equity	[ "Latvia", "Banking industry", "Social media", "Brand personality", "Brand loyalty" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The emergence of companies using social media has changed the way people buy and sell goods, search for product and service information and interact with companies and other customers (Garcia-Morales et al., 2018; Correa et al., 2010). In an attempt to manage their customer relationships, companies make use of a wide set of social media platforms such as blogs, websites, forums and social networking websites. Utilizing social media does not only offer some unique opportunities to interact (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010; Hanna et al., 2011), but also provides an opportunity to achieve marketing goals with a reduced cost (Felix et al., 2017). Although social media is most actively used and dominated by the hospitality, pharmaceutics and manufacturing industries (Adweek, 2018), it must be taken into consideration that the finance sector is also rapidly growing. A recent study by the American Bankers Association (2017) reveals that 74 percent of banks value themselves as being active on social media, while 76 percent agree that utilizing social media is essential for a bank. The aforementioned study also reveals that banks use social media mainly for communication, advertising, risk management and customer service purposes.\nTheoretical foundations and hypothesis: Social information processing theory\nResearch methodology: Respondents and procedure\nResults: Content validity\nConclusions and discussion: Loyal consumers are the biggest asset of any company, and managers are forced to find new ways to ensure customers are patronizing the company (Gremler and Brown, 1996). In the era of social media dominated communications (Enli and Simonsen, 2018), where traditional marketing practices are no longer effective (VanMeter et al., 2018), academics and practitioners are constantly in search of innovative marketing approaches. Responding to the recent call of the Badgaiyan et al. (2017), Kamboj et al. and Geuens et al. (2009) investigated brand personality traits that build consumer-brand relationships on social media in the banking industry. The current study was designed to examine brand personality traits created on social media and its impact on brand equity, as well as the mediating role of brand equity in brand personality and brand loyalty relationship.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to draw upon social information processing theory and its purpose is twofold. First, it aims to examine the relationship among five brand personality traits (responsibility, activity, simplicity, emotionality and aggressiveness) as to brand equity created on social media in the banking industry of Latvia. Second, it aims to unveil the indirect effects of brand personality on brand loyalty, treating brand equity as a mediating variable.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was designed and a survey method was employed in line with the above-mentioned purposes. Data were collected from 404 customers who followed retail banks on social media. A series of hypotheses were developed and tested using structural equation modeling.\nFindings: The results show that aggressiveness, followed by responsibility and activeness, form positive brand equity on social media. In contrast, emotionality and simplicity do not contribute to the brand equity of banks on social media. The results also reveal that brand equity positively impacts brand loyalty and partially mediates brand personality and brand loyalty relationship. The theoretical model is thus validated and can be used in future research.\nResearch limitations/implications: The current study is cross-sectional and has a limited sample size and representativeness. Nevertheless, the results of the present study bring valuable implications for marketing managers who value the role of social media in creating long-term company-customer relationships.\nOriginality/value: Over the past 20 years, the literature has been dominated by studies that mainly focus on the definition of brand personality and its traits. Unlike the aforementioned efforts, the current study brings new insight into the subject by focusing on brand personality created on social media and linking it to the actual consumer outcomes and exploring the mediating role of brand equity in the banking industry of Latvia.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Implementing environmental practices within the Greek dairy supply chain: Drivers and barriers for SMEs	[ "SMEs", "Environmental practices", "Food supply chain", "Drivers and barriers", "Greek dairy sector", "Sustainability performance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The environmental impact of different supply chain (SC) and logistics activities is significantly influencing a firm's competitive position and customer satisfaction. The diminishing resources and the increasing amount of waste are adding to the existing burden on the environment (Srivastava, 2007). These external pressures, combined with the customer and government awareness have made the environmental sustainability a key focus area in the recent business agendas (Linton et al., 2007; Peterson, 2009; Rauter et al., 2017). The current SC practices are striving to implement the sustainability practices to improve their overall performance, enhance brand reputation and consequently achieve higher margins. The implementation of environmentally sustainable practices has become a challenging issue especially in the food sector. The food and drinks sector is very dynamic with constant changes in the customer demand (Trienekens et al., 2012; Beske et al., 2014). The food supply chain (FSC) refers to an interdependent system of organizations, processes, activities, stakeholders and resources involved in moving the food from producers to consumers. The processes in a typical FSC involve production, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal. Accounting for 14.6 percent (EUR1,048 billion turnover) of all the production in manufacturing sector across the European Union (EU) (Eurostat, 2014), FSC connects three important European economies, namely, agriculture, food processing industry and distribution sector (European Commission, 2015). As the FSC is becoming agile and global, the changes in the packaging, storage and delivery systems are making this sector energy intensive with significant impact on the environmental sustainability.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Food supply chain\n3. Factors influencing environmental performance: Companies have been increasingly facing internal and external challenges to manage their environmental sustainability performance as a part of their business strategy (Ageron et al., 2012; Walker and Jones, 2012; Seuring and Gold, 2013; Zhu et al., 2013). The growing awareness of environmental protection, increasing government regulations and customer consciousness toward the ethical issues have forced firms to be more environmentally responsible (Agan et al., 2013; Huang et al., 2016). The environmental impact on the SMEs is overshadowed by large multinational companies, as the SMEs do not acknowledge the sustainability impact (Sen and Cowley, 2013). The SMEs are facing increasing pressures from the customers to incorporate environmental considerations into their network in order to create sustainable and responsible SC. In order to first understand what drives and enables this transformation in the SMEs, internal and external factors influencing sustainability adaptation are identified from the academic literature.\n4. Research methodology: The exploratory research attempts to combine qualitative and quantitative research methods for the data collection and analysis. The research seeks to identify the challenges faced by the Greek dairy SC in implementing green practices. In order to achieve this objective, a questionnaire survey was conducted among the dairy manufacturers, distributors and suppliers in the Greece. The study was mainly focused on producers and distributors of the dairy SC products such as milk, yogurt, cream milk, butter, cheese and ice cream. Economically, dairy SC constitutes an important part of the FSC that extends globally. It is also a sector that is vulnerable to the climate change (Dairy Roadmap, 2015), becoming an ideal industry for such kind of study. The questionnaire survey was orientated toward the practices followed within the dairy industry to achieve a good mix of data across the different regions in Greece.\n5. Data analysis: The questionnaire survey was posted to 1,160 micro and small-medium size dairy manufacturers, suppliers and distributors in Greece. Around 9 percent of them (104 companies) responded with the data as shown in Table II. Although more than 20 percent response rate is considered to be ideal for the survey-based research (Malhotra and Grover, 1998), the sample size is believed to be sufficient for conducting the research on identifying the drivers and barriers. Moreover, the data sample captures the views across the country and, hence, can be considered as a good representative of the Greek dairy SC. The response rate can be considered acceptable in comparison to the recent (low) response rates achieved in the SC areas (e.g. Blome et al., 2014; Yusuf et al., 2014). The data from different sized enterprises located in the different geographical areas were collected to have a broader perspective of the Greek FSC. The survey data identified five drivers for implementing the green practices in the Greek dairy SC network. These drivers were identified by consolidating the findings of the questionnaire survey.\n6. Data analysis and findings: In order to identify the priority weights, causal loop findings and expert opinions were used in this study. The causal loop diagram (a systems thinking tool) helped in representing the priority weights by evaluating the number of positive and negative feedback loops to and from each variable as shown in Figure 2. The barriers like poor market structure and lack of logistics network are strongly influenced by other variables, which can be seen from the causal loop diagram. The unorganized returns management and underdeveloped environmental legislation barriers have least influence (having negative and neutral influences) of other variables.\n7. Conclusion and further research: The objective of the research was to identify and prioritize the drivers and barriers to the Greek SMEs in implementing green practices within the dairy SC. As the development of environmentally sustainable FSC is an emerging issue, the research was focused on presenting factors that lead companies to deploy green practices in their SC. The research identified five key barriers and six drivers, which the Greek dairy industry faces in an effort to maintain the environmental sustainability. The research attempted the AHP approach to identify the priority of these factors for the implementation of the sustainable practices. The primary data collected from the Greek dairy industry was systematically analyzed to reflect the influence and weightage of different factors. The study was limited to a specific food sector hence the results are not representative of the whole food industry and cannot be generalized. However, our research complements the findings of Govindan et al. (2014) and Ramirez et al. (2014) associated with implementing sustainability practices within the SC in different sectors. It is believed that the findings will help the European SMEs and government to understand issues involving environmental sustainability implementation. The research will also fuel the identification of required support from the external agencies.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Food supply chain (FSC) in Greece is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), who face several challenges in adopting green practices. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key drivers and barriers influencing the environmental performance of SMEs within the Greek dairy supply chain (SC).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Descriptive research methodology attempts to prioritize the drivers and barriers for improving the environmental sustainability performance. Analytical hierarchy process and sensitivity analysis are used to understand the complex nature of the influencing factors.\nFindings: The analysis identifies five barriers and six drivers for the implementation of green practices within the dairy SC. While external drivers significantly influence the market structure and logistics network, government, competitors and customers are the driving factors for improving environmental performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study contributes to filling the literature gap on key factors influencing the implementation of green practices within the FSC. The identified influential factors will contribute toward building a framework for improving sustainability performance within the Greek dairy SC.\nPractical implications: The study is expected to benefit the Greek and European SMEs by driving their environmental practices within the perishable SC network.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides directions for researchers, practitioners and policy makers in understanding the challenges for implementing green practices in the dairy SC. The holistic approach followed in this paper is a building block for a conceptual framework on implementing environmental sustainability within the FSC. Apart from contributing to the current literature by extending the research horizon to SMEs' green adoption capability, this study also provides better understanding of the pivotal role of internal and external key factors in influencing sustainability performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A model of quality management self-assessment: an exploratory research	[ "Total quality management", "Continuous improvement", "Assessment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Nowadays, firms face competitive environments characterised by increasing levels of complexity, globalisation and deep and fast changes. Firms need to pay attention to the development and conservation of internal skills and capabilities in order to adapt to these changes and to anticipate them. For this, it is fundamental to know how to generate knowledge and how to manage it; the continuous improvement of products and processes acquires a primary role in this context.Continuous improvement is also considered to be one of the most important principles supporting total quality management (TQM) (Crosby, 1979; Dale, 1994; Dean and Bowen, 1994; Imai, 1990; Moreno-Luzon et al., 2001; Oakland, 1993; Porter and Parker, 1993), because it allows the firm to adjust all its elements to satisfy customer expectations. But, as a result of an evolutionary process, continuous improvement in the organisation has broadened its scope. At first, continuous improvement was only linked to the area of products. Later, firms needed to expand this principle to direct processes. And finally, at the present time it is vital for companies' survival to expand the continuous improvement culture beyond the context of products and direct processes: the firm's management itself needs to be continuously improved.Self-assessment: concept, benefits and its role in the framework of quality awards\nResearch methodology: Empirical research in the field of self-assessment can be divided in two groups: studies that employ a qualitative research strategy and those based on a quantitative methodology. With respect to the first group, much of the literature reviewed (Aly, 1997; Balbastre, 1998; Davis, 1992; Farrar, 2000; Kaye and Dyason, 1999; Knutton, 1994; Myers and Heller, 1995; Paton et al., 2000; Scarisbrick, 1996; Simpson et al., 1998; Wilkes and Dale, 1998; Willey, 1996; Wisner and Eakins, 1994), uses case study as a research method, in view of the dynamic process nature of self-assessment. On the other hand, the quantitative papers reviewed (Finn and Porter, 1994; Hendricks and Singhal, 1996; Kanji and Tambi, 1999; Prybutok and Stafford, 1997; Sun, 1999; Taylor, 1995; Van der Wiele and Brown, 1998; Van der Wiele et al., 1995, 1996a, b) are mostly focused on the study of static aspects of self-assessment activity and do not study the process in itself.According to the goals of this research, we need to study the self-assessment exercise in the context where self-assessment is taking place, because we will be better able to understand the interconnections among all the variables and to study the phenomenon from the participants' perspective. With all these considerations, the qualitative methodology seems to be more suitable to our research; see the works of Bryman (1988), Hurley (1999), Lee (1998), Marshall and Rossman (1995), Ragin (1999a), Shortell (1999), Skinner et al. (2000) or Sofaer (1999), for greater detail on the characteristics of the qualitative research.Considering the studies by Dachler (1997), Stake (1995) and Yin (1981), there is no doubt that case study is a way of carrying out qualitative research. Case study allows a phenomenon to be analysed as a dynamic process, within its real context, and facilitates the use of several data gathering methods, contributing to a more thorough examination of the phenomenon to be studied (Chetty, 1996; Hartley, 1994; Stake, 1995; Yin, 1981, 1999). Case study is an ideal way of analysing aspects of research for which existing theory is not suitable, or to develop new theory - exploratory case study - in the same way that allows propositions to be generated that can be tested in subsequent studies (Yin, 1989, 1993). This being so and bearing in mind our research goals, case study may be a valid methodology for reaching such goals, and will be of an exploratory nature.The question of the selection of cases is fundamental in research based on the case study methodology. In this context, two fundamental issues must be considered: how many cases are to be included in the study, and what criteria have to be followed for the selection. With respect to the first issue, this decision implies a trade-off. The researcher's trust in the causal conditions identified increases with the number of cases where these conditions appear (Ragin, 1999b; Yin, 1989), which implies the study of a considerable number of cases. On the other hand, as the number of cases increases, so does the difficulty of studying each case in depth (Dyer and Wilkins, 1991). The decision as to the number of cases to be selected is therefore a matter of discretion (Yin, 1989). The primary criteria for the selection of cases must be based on maximising what can be learnt (Stake, 1995), i.e. the researcher must select the case/s that enable him/her to learn as much as possible about the object of investigation.Bearing in mind all the above, we have studied three cases. To select them, we adopted a basic criterion: the cases had to constitute outstanding examples of the use of self-assessment, and had to be established in Spain in order to facilitate the analysis. This criterion allows the selection to be based on the concepts and theory that support this research, and also guarantees a high level of learning with respect to the object of the study.Three principal sources were consulted to identify potential candidates. First we consulted the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) web site - www.efqm.org - in order to obtain a list of EQA winners. Secondly, we identified the group of Spanish firms, members of the EFQM that had applied for the EQA, whether at National or European level. Finally, the third source was based on consultation with the Club Gestion de Calidad - a national quality organisation linked to the EFQM - to find out the names of Spanish firms belonging to that association which stood out in the use of self-assessment technique.On applying the first criterion, the list of Spanish firms which had been EQA winners was formed by five companies. For operational reasons, we were only able to study one of them - Ericsson Espana S. A. Thus, we had to choose a less restrictive criterion in order to broaden the number of cases for our research. Applying the second criterion, therefore, we obtained a long list of Spanish companies that had applied for the EQA. As we had opted to select a small number of cases, we applied a third criterion. Following consultation with the Club Gestion de Calidad, two additional companies were selected from the list of Spanish applicants for the EQA. Three firms were thus selected for the study: Beta S. A., Alsthom Transporte Servicios Espana (ATSE) and Ericsson Espana S. A. They all have long and outstanding experience in the application of self-assessment.* Beta S. A. competes in the telecommunications sector, employs more than 2,000 people and has sales of over [?]1,500 million[4]. It has 5 years of experience in the use of self-assessment and has obtained several national quality awards.* ATSE is dedicated to the railway transportation services sector, employs 460 people and its sales are around [?]50.5 million. It has 7 years experience of self-assessment and was a finalist for the EQA in 1999.* Ericsson Espana S. A. operates in the telecommunications sector, employs more than 3,400 people and has sales figures close to [?]1,740 million. It has long experience in the use of self-assessment - 10 years - and was a prize winner of the EQA in 1994.Data was gathered by means of a semi-structured questionnaire (see Appendix). This has three sections: the first seeks general information about the firm; the second focuses on the development of the company within the quality management context; and the last analyses the firm's use of self-assessment. The questions in each section were formulated with the aims of this research in mind as well as the literature review. These questions were an initial list of aspects to be studied, but new aspects of interest emerged in the course of the interviews.Eight interviews were carried out in each firm selected. A team of two interviewers collected the information, one of them conducting the interview and the other taking notes. All the conversations were recorded. Four interviews took place with the quality manager of each firm, with a total duration of approximately 10 h. In all the cases studied, the quality manager takes part in the self-assessment process, which allowed us to analyse his/her role in this process from two perspectives: as a co-ordinator and as a participant.Other participants in the self-assessment process were interviewed. Specifically, a member of the quality department and a front-line employee were interviewed in each firm: two interviews of approximately one and a half hours each with each person. Besides, several documents - the annual report of the firm, self-assessment reports, etc. - were consulted, contributing to the information triangulation process.\nResults: The causal modelling technique (Miles and Huberman, 1984) was employed to analyse the data collected for all three cases. As a result, a set of variables were identified and linked to self-assessment application (refer to Figure 1). This analysis helped to determine the direction of the arrows shown in the figure. A brief description of these variables is offered in Table I to facilitate understanding of the model shown in Figure 1. Some of the relationships shown in Figure 1 have been expressed as specific propositions in this section. These propositions are represented in Figure 1 by the letter P followed by the number of the proposition.TQM maturity is a primary variable in self-assessment use. In the first stages of TQM there are many things to be done and many systems to be implemented - the potential for improvement is high. In this situation, a self-assessment exercise identifies many areas for improvement and generates a substantial increase in the score with respect to the previous self-assessment. However, as the company becomes more mature in TQM it becomes more difficult to achieve the same results without making more efforts - the ratio between effort and results is less positive for the firm. Thus, we propose that:P1. As a company becomes more mature in TQM, the ratio between the effort made in self-assessment and the results obtained becomes less positive.\nResearch and managerial implications: The study of three outstanding cases of self-assessment use has allowed us to identify and link a broad set of variables relating to the way this technique may be applied by organisations - our first research goal. In the same way, this study has permitted us to articulate these relationships in a model and to derive a set of propositions, which constituted the second goal of the investigation. In this model, several elements become especially important in carrying out self-assessment, and firms may find it useful to pay considerable attention to them. In this sense, approach, decentralisation and frequency are primary variables in self-assessment application. They are related to many other variables and this is the reason why decisions regarding self-assessment approach, decentralisation or frequency, are of utmost importance and must be based on a careful analysis of all their possible consequences.The model proposed in this paper offers to the academic community a theoretical framework for quality management self-assessment. Due to the exploratory character of the research, this model constitutes a first outcome of the investigation and needs to be validated in a subsequent phase, whether partially or totally. Nevertheless, the high number of possible connections among variables would require a selection prior to any empirical testing, to avoid excessive complexity during the analysis. Likewise, several propositions relating to self-assessment application in organisations have been extracted from the model presented above, and others still remain, which may provide academics with a starting point for subsequent research in this field.With respect to the managerial community, this model establishes a framework of relationships among elements relating to the way self-assessment is applied. This framework may be useful for those organisations, which use this technique, in understanding the implications of decisions regarding self-assessment use. In this sense, sequential relationships can be established among variables, contributing to the identification and appraisal of the repercussions of a specific decision on self-assessment application.As mentioned earlier, self-assessment technique is increasingly being used by organisations that have adopted the TQM philosophy. Through this research we have tried to open the black box of organisations' use of self-assessment, though some questions still remain unsolved. For instance, we would ask if self-assessment is only appropriate for companies working under TQM, or how self-assessment can be used to spur knowledge creation and learning processes in organisations. Anyway, we are convinced that it is worthwhile to study self-assessment in greater detail, either along any of the lines proposed here or establishing new ones.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Continuous improvement is a primary principle in total quality management. It is applied to all aspects of the organisation including products, processes, and even the management of the firm. In this context, quality management self-assessment is a useful tool for fostering the continuous improvement of the whole company, comparing its activities and results with an excellence model. However, little is known about the variables and relationships underlying self-assessment application. This paper tries to shed light on this topic.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The methodology is an exploratory case study. Three Spanish organisations with a broad experience in self-assessment application are analysed.\nFindings: - A model of self-assessment application - containing variables and relationships among variables is proposed. Thus, the establishment of a holistic or systemic self-assessment model where all the variables linked to self-assessment employment are analytically and explicitly interrelated becomes the fundamental contribution of the research presented here.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This framework may constitute a starting point for subsequent academic research in this area.\nPractical implications: - The framework may also constitute a practical guide for managers interested in the use of self-assessment technique.\nOriginality/value: - Provides information on self-assessment in a continuous improvement context.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Pregnancy-related care and outcomes for women with Type 1 diabetes in Scotland: A five-year population-based audit cycle	[ "Diabetes", "Pregnancy", "Women", "Auditing guidelines", "Population", "Scotland" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Large population-based studies have repeatedly shown that pregnancies in women with diabetes are affected by increased risk of congenital anomalies, obstetric complications, and perinatal mortality and morbidity (Boulot et al., 2003; Casson et al., 1997; Evers et al., 2004; Hanson and Persson, 1993; Hawthorne et al., 1997; Jensen et al., 2004; Penney and Pearson, 2000; Platt et al., 2002). In 1989, the St Vincent declaration included as a five-year goal \"the outcome of diabetic pregnancy should approximate that of the non-diabetic pregnancy\" (St Vincent Declaration Meeting, 1995). Interventions thought to further this goal include the availability and uptake of pre-pregnancy counselling and care, periconceptual folic acid supplementation, and optimal glycaemic control before and during pregnancy. These factors, along with others, were published as recommendations and targets in both the original SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network) Guideline 9 (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, 1996) and the updated version, SIGN 55 (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, 2001).In 1998-1999, ten years after the St Vincent declaration, the Scottish Programme for Clinical Effectiveness in Reproductive Health (SPCERH), in association with the Scottish Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group, undertook a national audit to assess the extent to which the recommendations and targets in the ninth SIGN guideline were being met in Scottish maternity services. This criterion-based audit assessed organisation of services, quality of care, and pregnancy outcomes (Penney et al., 2003a; Penney and Pearson, 2000). Exactly five years later, a similarly structured re-audit was undertaken. We sought to identify any changes in care or outcomes that had occurred during the five-year interval.In this paper, we present data on organisation of services, quality of care, and pregnancy outcomes for women with pre-gestational Type 1 diabetes in Scotland, comparing the two audit periods in 1998/1999 and 2003/2004.\nMethods: Audit methods were fully described in our previous publication (Penney and Pearson, 2000). These are briefly summarised here. A total of 18 clinical audit criteria were developed from the recommendations in SIGN Guideline 9 (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, 1996). In February 1998 and in February 2003, information about the organisation of maternity services for women with diabetes was obtained by questionnaire survey of lead clinicians in each of the consultant-led maternity units in Scotland (22 in 1998; 20 in 2003 due to amalgamations and closures of units). For each of the audit periods (1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999 inclusive and 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 inclusive), all pregnancies in women with pre-gestational Type 1 diabetes were prospectively identified by clinicians in each service. At the end of each pregnancy (by miscarriage, abortion, or delivery), a comprehensive data form was completed by extraction of information from hospital case records. (Information collected included maternal characteristics, duration of diabetes, presence of chronic complications, insulin dosage and type, pregnancy planning and pre-pregnancy care, antenatal care, diabetic control during pregnancy, care during labour and delivery, postnatal and neonatal care, and outcomes.) To comply with current data protection requirements, written consent was obtained from women included during the 2003-04 audit period.For each live born baby, a standardised birth weight score (z score) was calculated. Scores were based on published birth weight standards for a Scottish (Aberdeen) population (Campbell et al., 1993) and served to correct for gestational age, sex of baby, and parity of the mother. Standardised birth weight scores could not be calculated for babies born at less than 32 weeks gestation, due to the limits of the published data tables.As each unit used its own assay for HbA1c concentrations, we obtained information on each hospital's quoted reference range for HbA1c in pregnant diabetic women. To allow comparison of data, each women's HbA1c value for each time period was expressed as a percentage difference from the quoted upper limit of normal for her own maternity unit to yield a \"standardised HbA1c score\" (Penney et al., 2003b).\nResults: Organisation of services\nDiscussion: Number of pregnancies\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - To assess pregnancy-related care and outcomes for women with pre-gestational, Type 1 diabetes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The study was a prospective, population-based, clinical audit in Scotland. A total of 273 and 179 pregnancies in two 12-month audit periods (during 1998/99 and 2003/04 respectively) were examined.\nFindings: - In both years, antenatal care for women with diabetes was well organised by dedicated multi-professional teams. Provision of formal pre-pregnancy clinics increased (1998, four of 22 maternity units; 2003, six of 20 units). Pregnancies documented as \"planned\" (1998/99, 116/273, or 42.5 per cent; 2003/04, 105/179, or 58.7 per cent; p=0.001) and periconceptual folic acid supplementation, 5 mg daily (1998/99, 40/273, or 14.7 per cent; 2003/04, 71/179, or 39.7 per cent; p<0.0001) increased over time. In both years, women whose pregnancies progressed to delivery attended early for antenatal care (median eight weeks' gestation) and had meticulous monitoring of diabetic control and foetal wellbeing. In the recent year, fewer women had hypoglycaemia during pregnancy (1998/99, 86/212, or 43.9 per cent; 2003/04, 47/160, or 29.4 per cent; p<0.0001). In both years, macrosomia was common (mean z scores: 1.57 in 1998/99 and 1.64 in 2003/04; standard deviations above a reference population mean) and perinatal mortality appeared higher than for the Scottish population (27.9/1,000 in 1998/99 and 24.8/1,000 in 2003/04). There was a (non-significant) fall in congenital anomaly rate (1998/99: 13/215 births, or 60/1,000; 2003/04, 6/161 births, or 24.8/1,000).\nOriginality/value: - Re-audit after a five-year interval showed that periconceptual care and pregnancy planning for Scottish women with Type 1 diabetes has improved. Although pregnancy outcomes remain poorer than for the general Scottish population, the apparent reduction in congenital anomalies is encouraging.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A literature review and future perspectives on maintenance optimization	[ "Maintenance", "Optimization techniques", "Modelling", "Profit maximization", "Production engineering" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The role of maintenance in modern manufacturing systems is becoming even more important with companies adopting maintenance as a profit generating business element. Now manufacturing system are operating more efficiently, effectively and economically to sustain their long-term survival, (Wang and Hwang, 2004). The aim of the maintenance function is to contribute towards an organization's profit, clearly bringing the need for maintenance operation to be in harmony with the corporate objective.The maintenance is an activity, in which repairing is carried out at certain intervals, to extend useful life of the machine. Maintenance can be defined as those activities required to keep a facility in \"as built\" condition and therefore continuing to have its original productive capacity (Reason, 2000). Maintenance is usually categorized into the following three types (Dhillon, 2002):1. Preventive maintenance - all actions carried out on a planned, periodic and specific schedule to keep an item/equipment in stated working condition through the process of checking and reconditioning.2. Corrective maintenance - unscheduled maintenance or repair to return items/equipment to a defined state, carried out because maintenance persons or users perceived deficiencies or failures.3. Predictive maintenance - the use of modern measurement and signal processing methods to accurately predict and diagnose items/equipment condition during operation.Maintenance is viewed as value-adding activity, instead of necessary evil for the expenses, (Ben-Daya and Duffuaa, 1995). Al-Sultan and Duffuaa (1995) have suggested that maintenance control plays an important role in maintenance optimization. Vatn et al. (1996) identified an approach for optimal maintenance scheduling for the production system. Other significant factors, which authors have taken into consideration, are safety, health and environment objective, maintenance cost and cost of lost production. The optimization has been achieved with the help of decision theory risk analysis and reliability maintenance modeling.Dekker (1996) has reviewed 112 research papers on various maintenance optimization models. The author has analyzed the role of the various maintenance models in maintenance management and discussed the factors which create obstacles in optimization. Finally, the author has concluded with the future perspective of maintenance optimization and presented 54 real case studies, on maintenance optimization. Aven and Dekker (1997) presented a general framework for the optimization of replacement times and considered number of different models including age and block replacement model. Authors have applied a uniform analysis on these models and developed a relation on marginal cost concepts.Garg and Deshmukh (2006) reviewed 142 published papers on maintenance management. Authors systematically categorized on different models. These models have been analyzed for methodology and techniques. They also discussed various optimization models. For the each different category of maintenance management gaps have been identified and suggested future perspective research areas. Authors mention about that new shift in maintenance paradigm.Earlier, researchers were using the optimization criteria as minimizing system maintenance cost rate, ignoring the reliability performance. Therefore the optimal maintenance policies were not only based on cost rate but also on reliability measures. Other factors which were equally important to note that in multi-component systems minimizing system maintenance cost rate may not imply maximizing the system reliability measures. Sometimes when the maintenance cost rate is minimized the system reliability measures are also so low that they are not acceptable in practice. This is because various components with in the system may have different maintenance costs and different reliability importance (Wang and Pham, 1999). So for best operating performance the maintenance optimization model, the maintenance policy, maintenance cost, and reliability measures should be considered simultaneously.The corporate philosophy shapes the application of the business process and these business processes can be used as, optimization criteria for the maintenance model, Wilson (2002). These business processes can be summarized in general terms as follows:* minimize the cost rate;* maximize the profitability of a quality product;* maximize the plant utilization and capability and retain high asset value;* maximize performance efficiency; and* maximize work safety, at economic cost.By using some well-known maintenance practices/concepts, one can maximize profit, by reducing maintenance cost. In the literature, optimal maintenance models are classified on different parameters. Maintenance optimization model can be both qualitative and quantitative. On applying, different concept or practices, on optimization model, it can be classified into the various different types of models. All these classified models are discussed in detail in the subsequent section (i.e. \"Comments on the literature\").The specific objectives of the present paper are to:* Classify the available literature in the field of maintenance optimization.* Classify the available case studies in the field of maintenance optimization.* Identify and report the critical observations for each category.* Identify emerging trends in the maintenance optimization.* Suggest directions for future researchers in the area maintenance optimization.The organization of the paper is as follows: after a brief introduction, in the next section existing literature and case studies on maintenance optimization models have been classified, detailed discussion on these models along with critical observations on each is undertaken in the next section. In the final section, changing trends in the area of maintenance optimization models have been identified along with the directions for future research work.\nMaintenance optimization model: The work on maintenance optimization was initiated in the early 1960s by researchers like McCall (1965), Barlow and Proschan (1965), and Pierskalla and Voelker (1979).In the literature, the optimal maintenance models are classified on different parameters to various categories like information availability, single unit or multi unit systems, time event or action relationship, state event or action relationship, model types, optimality criterion, methods of solution and planning time horizon.McCall (1965) and Sherif and Smith (1981) divided maintenance models into two different categories based on knowledge of the systems. They used the preventive maintenance model as the base model with complete information and other one with incomplete information. Barlow and Proschan (1965) and Pierskalla and Voelker (1979) introduced an alternative way to classify the works in maintainability. They considered two prime categories of discrete-time and continuous-time maintenance models.Valdez and Feldman (1989) used the classification schemes that categorize single-unit maintenance models into four sub-categories like inspection models, minimal repair models, shock models and replacement models. The multi-unit maintenance models are concerned with optimal maintenance policies for a system consisting of many units of machines or many pieces of equipment, which may or may not depend on each other.Cho and Parlar (1991) also classified and conducted a survey, on maintenance models, including its five sub-categories of multi-unit system. These sub-categories are:1. machine interference/repair models;2. group/block/cannibalization/opportunistic maintenance/replacement model;3. inventory maintenance models;4. other maintenance (preventive maintenance) and replacement model; and5. inspection /maintenance (preparedness models).Generally, an optimal system maintenance policy may be the one which either:* minimizes system maintenance cost rate;* maximizes the system reliability measures;* minimizes system maintenance cost rate while the system reliability requirements are satisfied; or* maximizes the system reliability measures, when requirements for the system maintenance cost are satisfied.In general maintenance optimization models covers following aspects:* Model description of a technical system and its function: a modeling of the deterioration of the system in time and possible consequences for the system.* A description of the available information about the system and the action open to the management.* Objective function and an optimization technique, which helps in finding the best balance.Table I shows different optimization criteria as reported in the literature.By using some of the well-known maintenance practices/concepts, one can optimize the maintenance cost too. Some of the qualitative maintenance practices/concepts are reliability centered maintenance (RCM), total productive maintenance (TPM) and plant asset management (PAM). Some companies are investing considerably in enterprise information system which in general known as enterprise resource planning (ERP).Case studies classification on maintenance optimization\nComments on the literature: Maintenance optimization models\nConclusions: Observations\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on maintenance optimization models and associated case studies. For these optimization models critical observations are made.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper systematically classifies the published literature using different techniques, and also identifies the possible gaps.\nFindings: - The paper outlines important techniques used in various maintenance optimization models including the analytical hierarchy process, the Bayesian approach, the Galbraith information processing model and genetic algorithms. There is an emerging trend towards uses of simulation for maintenance optimization which has changed the maintenance view.\nPractical implications: - A limited literature is available on the classification of maintenance optimization models and on its associated case studies. The paper classifies the literature on maintenance optimization models on different optimization techniques and based on emerging trends it outlines the directions for future research in the area of maintenance optimization.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides many references and case studies on maintenance optimization models and techniques. It gives useful references for maintenance management professionals and researchers working on maintenance optimization.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An empirical study of the anticipated consumer response to RFID product item tagging	[ "Radio equipment", "Radio waves", "Consumer behaviour", "Privacy", "Retail market", "Canada" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Emerging technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) have caught the attention of firms tenaciously seeking to streamline their supply chains. Wal-Mart has succeeded in initiating the use of RFID tags at the case and pallet levels and has claimed achieving greater supply chain visibility (Dillman, 2004). RFID uses radio waves to identify static and moving individual physical objects. The RFID tag is a chip attached to the physical item being tracked. The tag is sensed by the tag reader, which picks up information embedded in the tag and transmits it to a vast complex of networking and database technologies supporting this infrastructure. The next step being contemplated is RFID tagging at the product item level as this would give firms far more granular specificity on the location of each item that moves through their value chains. While highly attractive from the point-of-view of achieving supply chain information visibility, the concept is fraught with problems when it comes to gaining consumer acceptance at the retail floor.1.1 Study objectives\n2 Theoretical framework and hypotheses: Figure 1 shows the theoretical relationships among the different constructs used in this study. The literature support for all constructs used in this study is explained in detail before their relationships in the hypotheses offered in this study are presented.2.1 Consumer privacy\n3 Research methodology: The survey method was used in this study. Students and faculty of the Faculty of Business Administration, University of New Brunswick Fredericton were invited to participate in the study in 2005. Respondents were subjected to the following treatment: the investigator delivered a brief lecture on RFID, its uses in SCM, and the provisions of PIPEDA. She also showed short video clips on how RFID tags are deployed at the case and pallet levels in a manufacturing scenario and at the item level in a retail environment. Survey questionnaire items were borrowed from the Culnan and Armstrong (1999) study on consumer privacy and a CAPS/Gemini study conducted in cooperation with the National Retail Federation in the USA on the use of RFID (CAPS/Gemini/National Retail Federation, 2004). Data analysis techniques used in the study include standard descriptives procedures (i.e. frequencies), reliability tests, t-tests, and kh2 analysis.\n4 Findings: 4.1 Sample descriptive data\n5 Discussion of findings and limitations of the study: 5.1 Discussion of findings\n6 Implications for management: In the light of this study's findings, two major suggestions to management are offered here. This study shows that consumers will respond positively to the deployment of emerging technologies that intrude on personal privacy if the manufacturers/retailers observe the law and actively protect consumer privacy. First, it is suggested that Canadian retailers comply with PIPEDA in their geographical areas of operation and make this fact known to the public. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and/or designated private sector organizations need to be involved to guarantee that firms have observed applicable consumer privacy protection laws.It has been found that members of group A value the benefits of RFID-tagged products and will purchase these items to obtain specific benefits and even pay more in order to do so. This same group also appears to be less concerned about a number of issues surrounding RFID tagging. It seems logical to \"break in\" this group first into purchasing RFID-tagged items and figuring out how best to make the experience less threatening and more rewarding before taking on the challenges associated with addressing group B. Inevitably, firms will have to face the issues posed by group B as they aim for larger consumer target numbers. However, it might make more sense to approach this incrementally by giving group A early preferential treatment until a greater number of consumers across all privacy sensitivity levels warm up to product item tagging. To induce group B members to cross over to the group A, retailers and manufacturers could start by addressing the RFID issues over which they expressed high concern.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This empirical study of consumer/shopper response to radio frequency identification (RFID) product item tagging anticipates what is likely to take place in the retail marketplace. Using the theories of procedural justice/fairness, expected utility, and prior literature on personal privacy the purpose of this study is to use the survey method to measure consumer willingness to purchase RFID-tagged product items within the Canadian context. Procedural justice/fairness is operationalized using the implementation of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) enacted in Canada on January 1, 2004.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This study used the survey questionnaire method after the sample participants (N=381) were exposed to an experimental treatment. Students and faculty members of the Faculty of Business Administration, University of New Brunswick Fredericton, Canada participated in this study.\nFindings: - Consumers responded positively to the procedural justice concept using PIPEDA law in Canada. The less privacy sensitive group valued the specific RFID benefits, was willing to buy the tagged items to obtain specific benefits, was willing to pay more for these items, and was also less concerned about selected RFID issues.\nPractical implications: - Practical suggestions are given to retailers thinking of implementing product item RFID tagging to make their initiatives more successful.\nOriginality/value: - This is one of the first empirical studies on the likely consumer response to product item tagging based on solid theoretical foundations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effect of collective brand on advertising productivity	[ "Wine", "Brands", "Advertising productivity", "Collective reputation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The widespread use of a collective brand strategy has contributed to growing research interest in this field. A collective brand is a sign that distinguishes in the market the goods or services produced by firms belonging to an association, and it is registered to guarantee the origin, nature or quality of certain goods and services (see Directive 89/104/CEE). Members of collective labels share only a brand name, and are generally autonomous companies that make individual decisions and their own profits (Fishman et al., 2008). Empirical research has estimated collective brand equity through the price premium that consumers are willing to pay for a collective brand (e.g. Fernandez-Barcala and Gonzalez-Diaz, 2006), and has analysed the impact of collective reputation indicators on product price (e.g. Landon and Smith, 1997, 1998; Combris et al., 1997; Loureiro and McCluskey, 2000; Quagrainie et al., 2003; Schamel, 2000, 2009; Costanigro et al., 2010). Results suggest that one determinant of the success of products under the umbrella of this type of brand is collective reputation: if the collective label's reputation is high, the collective brand will be a powerful indicator of quality (Tirole, 1996; Winfree and McCluskey, 2005). This has allowed the characterization of collective brands as perceived signs of superior quality by consumers, who are willing to pay a price premium for them (Fishman et al., 2008).\n2. Literature review and development of hypotheses: Advertising effectiveness has been under scrutiny by researchers, given the increasing focus on the accountability of advertising results (Pergelova et al., 2010). Early studies analysed advertising performance through the lens of return on advertising investment (see Dhalla, 1978). Later, advertising productivity was applied as an efficiency index of advertising spending measured in terms of the advertising cost-sales ratio (see Smith, 1992). Under this view, companies evaluate their productivity by comparing themselves to similar companies (benchmarking) to learn from the best-performing organizations (Donthu et al., 2005). Benchmarking studies have also implemented data envelopment analysis to estimate advertising efficiency in a context of multiple inputs and outputs (see Luo and Donthu, 2001, 2005; Fare et al., 2004; Lohtia et al., 2007; Buschken, 2007).\n3. Methodology, sample and variables: In order to test whether collective brand labels influence the advertising productivity of members, this paper implements a methodology based on regression models with panel data, which analyse the relationship between the collective brand, as a collective reputation indicator, and advertising productivity. Furthermore, the moderating role of several company characteristics has been considered. The EViews 8 software package is used to estimate these models.\n4. Results: Table I shows the descriptive statistics and the bivariate correlations between the variables used in the empirical study. To test H1-H4 of this paper (i.e. the relative effects of collective brand strategy on advertising productivity), we carry out a regression analysis using panel data. The models estimated in Table II include the main effects of the independent variable and the moderator variables (characteristics of the company), as well as the interactions between them. Given the high correlation between some variables and their interactions, Models 1-4 include different combinations of the variables designed collectively to solve the problem of multicollinearity. The inclusion of fixed temporal effects allows us to control the unobserved heterogeneity between years in the panel. We also use the robust estimation of White (1980) to solve the possible heteroscedasticity (differences in behaviour variances) derived from individual elements (in our case, wineries). Regarding the procedure employed, it should be stressed that panel data regression can suffer from both heteroscedasticity (the variance of the residuals is not equal across the observations) and autocorrelation (residuals are not independent over time) (Hsiao, 2003), which increases the standard deviation of the estimated coefficients, thereby reducing the individual significance of each coefficient (Wooldridge, 2010; Greene, 2012). The estimated models in our study include companies of substantially different sizes, in terms of both assets and advertising expenditure, which is a potential source of cross-section heteroscedasticity (the variance of the residuals could differ depending on the size of the company) (Hsiao, 2003). Despite there being several approaches to tackling this problem in static panel data models with fixed effects, we opt to estimate the variance-covariance matrix with the robust method, proposed by White (1980) and implemented by Arellano (1987) in a panel data context, which is available in EViews 8 (EViews, 2014). This robust estimation is less efficient than standard ordinary least squares estimation, but more robust in cases of cross-section heteroscedasticity (Wooldridge, 2010).\n5. Conclusions: This study examines the advertising productivity of a collective brand strategy in an experience goods industry, as well as the moderating role of several company characteristics. While previous studies on this topic have analysed the drivers of advertising productivity in terms of brand extensions of a firm into new product areas, this study addresses a collective brand strategy (a brand that represents several homogeneous products from different firms belonging to an association), by assuming that a collective brand has a positive impact on the advertising productivity of its member companies because it is a collective reputation indicator. In addition, previous research to date has analysed the effect of a collective brand strategy on product prices, based on collective reputation, while this study extends the implications of Reputation Theory to advertising effectiveness.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the advertising productivity of a collective brand strategy vs a non-collective brand strategy, as well as the moderating role of company characteristics (age of the company, individual brand reputation and degree of competition that the company faces). The main hypothesis is that a collective brand has a positive influence on the advertising productivity of its member companies, as it is a collective reputation indicator in experience goods.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The methodology is based on the application of regression models with panel data of companies in a Spanish experience goods industry between 2004 and 2012. The empirical analysis is made in the Spanish winery sector, given the proliferation in the wine market of public collective brands (i.e. protected designation of origin labels).\nFindings: The results show that a company associated with a collective brand has greater advertising productivity than a non-associated company. Advertising productivity is also higher for brands with better individual reputations associated with a collective brand. Moreover, the relative effect of a collective brand on advertising productivity is higher when the company competes in a market with a higher level of competition.\nOriginality/value: The literature has paid little attention to the relationship between collective brand strategy and the advertising productivity of member companies. This study considers that the advertising productivity of companies in collective brands could be explained by the effects derived from the collective brand reputation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Managing organizational change to meet the research-teaching nexus standard: The case of an HEI in the Sultanate of Oman	[ "Higher education", "Organizational change", "Change management", "Quality assurance", "Accreditation", "Management of quality in education", "McKinsey 7-S organizational change model", "Research–teaching nexus", "Lewin’s organizational change model" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Organizations are open systems that are capable of being influenced by external forces (Swanson and Holton, 2009). Standards established by accrediting bodies are an external force that presses on the higher education institution (HEI) to examine its internal systems. Organizations change to produce improved outcomes. Such is the norm in quality assurance. HEIs pursuing accreditation need to embrace change as the norm to meet the standards established by accrediting bodies. Accrediting bodies examine how change is facilitated and institutionalized in HEIs to show maturity and sustainability in assuring continuous improvement of quality in their systems. The Sultanate of Oman, through its Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA), established institutional standards with which all HEIs in the country would be measured. Among the standards established is staff research and consultancy which includes the research-teaching nexus criterion, requiring the use of research and scholarly activities to inform teaching and learning (OAAA, 2016). This paper attempts to describe the organizational change undertaken by an HEI in the Sultanate of Oman using Lewin's and McKinsey 7-S change management models.\nDiscussion: Learning from organizational experience results from reflective discourse. Knowledge is based primarily on the experience and skill of individuals (Carroll et al., 2003). Individuals and groups in the organization give meaning to their experience. The following discussion is a reflective discourse of an HEI's experience as it went through the process of organizational change.\nConclusion: This paper used Lewin's and McKinsey 7S models for organizational change to describe the experience of an HEI in the Sultanate of Oman that underwent the process of accreditation for the first time. The cycle of \"unfreeze-change-refreeze\" is substantiated by the seven elements of McKinsey 7S, allowing for a better perspective of organizational change. In the \"unfreezing stage,\" the HEI performed a self-examination of the seven elements to identify what changes OAAA standards and criteria required, specifically on the research-teaching nexus. Such changes were implemented (the \"change stage\") which resulted to the granting of the accreditation by the OAAA. However, the \"refreezing\" stage remains a work in progress and can be a subject of another paper.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide are required to acquire accreditation for the sake of their academic reputation at the institutional as well as programs levels. Meeting the requirements of standards established by accrediting bodies can be daunting for HEIs undergoing accreditation for the first time. Drastic organizational change is required to overhaul and implement systems to meet the requirements of quality standards. HEIs in the Sultanate of Oman are determined to acquire and maintain institutional accreditation from the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA). The purpose of this paper is to describe how a HEI has undergone organizational change to meet the requirement of the research-teaching nexus standard using Lewin's and McKinsey 7-S change management models.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This is a qualitative research which made use of primary and secondary data. The primary data were collected through focus group discussions and workshops, and documents analysis while internet resources were used for secondary data. The dimensions of the research-teaching nexus were determined through review of the literature which became the basis for evaluating the HEI's practices in the area. Lewin's and McKinsey 7-S change management models were combined to provide the conceptual framework for describing the process of change the HEI undertook.\nFindings: Lewin's and McKinsey 7-S change management models allowed for a systemic and systematic perspective of the change required for the HEI to meet the research-teaching nexus standards and acquire institutional accreditation. The HEI documented its practices, conducted an evaluation and instituted the changes in the dimensions of the research-teaching nexus and the supporting 7-S elements. As final result, the HEI was granted institutional accreditation.\nResearch limitations/implications: This is a case study of the experience of an HEI in the Sultanate of Oman in its effort to acquire institutional accreditation from the OAAA. However, this case study can provide insights to a larger audience of institutions in Oman and within the Gulf region (or even outside the region) that are in the process of going through a similar experience. For those who have already undergone a similar exercise, this case study can provide a valuable comparison.\nPractical implications: The practical experience of the HEI in the Sultanate of Oman can provide valuable lessons/insights to those in the praxis of educational management and quality assurance in education.\nSocial implications: Quality in education is a social issue. HEIs are pressured to acquire and maintain accreditation as evidence of quality. The case study provides the larger audience a perspective of how much effort HEIs place in this aspect.\nOriginality/value: This paper documented the experience of an HEI in the Sultanate of Oman. This is the first paper describing an HEI's change process in a country which is also implementing a new academic accreditation system. In this paper, two change models - Lewin's and McKinsey's 7-S - were integrated to provide a more comprehensive perspective in analyzing organizational change. Review of the literature has shown that these two models have not been used together in one paper, providing novelty to otherwise \"classic\" models. This paper should be valuable to HEIs pursuing accreditation. It is a \"universal\" knowledge that acquiring accreditation is a major goal of all HEIs worldwide. The described process of organizational change should be insightful to those who are responsible for steering this process with the goal of acquiring accreditation. Educational leaders at the forefront and center of the change process should find in this paper a valuable reference material, providing a systemic and systematic view of the change they have to lead in order to acquire the much-coveted accreditation. Faculty, staff and students of HEIs can be advocates or sources of resistance. This paper should provide better understanding of the process of change and how they, as stakeholders, benefit from it. Finally, students of educational management and leadership should find this paper as a useful case study for class discussion.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Assessing the economic impact of waterfowl hunting in Mississippi: Effects of changes in industry sector data using the IMPLAN model	[ "Expenditure", "Economic", "Default-model", "IMPLAN", "Survey-based model", "Waterfowl hunting" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Mississippi is rich with both forested and wetland areas that provide a multitude of habitats for an abundant number of wildlife species. Located in the southeast region of the USA, Mississippi forms the lower part of the Mississippi Flyway route for migratory birds attempting to fly south to warmer climates. The presence and abundance of agricultural and forest lands and wetlands, used as food and habitat for these birds, has led to a vast number of waterfowl species such as gadwalls (Anas strepera), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and canvasback ducks (Aythya valisineria) trafficking the state (US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2011; National Wildlife Federation (NWF), 2012; US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2012, pp. 13-17, 23, 38). Their presence has thus led to consumptive and non-consumptive recreational opportunities (e.g. hunting, observation, photography) that have attracted many visitors from across the country and beyond (Gan and Luzar, 1993, p. 36). Waterfowl are economically important to the Mississippi economy since waterfowl-related activities are known to generate millions of dollars. These revenues in turn benefit local hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and sporting goods stores (Grado et al., 2011, p. 106).\n2. Background: Input-output analysis and models\n3. Method: Economic impact analysis\n4. Results: As per Grado et al. (2011) \"resident hunters made an estimated 83,386 waterfowl hunting trips during the 2005-2006 season with an average trip length of 2.5 days for 208,466 activity days (Table II). Non-resident hunters made an estimated 18,927 waterfowl hunting trips during the 2005-2006 season with an average trip length of 3.1 days for a total of 58,672 activity days. Average trip-related expenditures of resident hunters in Mississippi were $107.69/waterfowl hunter/activity day and average trip-related expenditures of non-resident hunters in Mississippi were $140.36/waterfowl hunter/activity day. Average expenditures for equipment and other long-term goods for resident hunters in Mississippi were $254.47/waterfowl hunter/activity day and average expenditures for equipment and other long-term goods for non-resident hunters in Mississippi were $89.03/waterfowl hunter/activity day\" (Tables II-IV) (Grado et al., 2011).\n5. Discussion: The economic impact analysis of waterfowl hunting demonstrated the impact hunting activity expenditures (e.g. boats, guns, ATV's, dogs) had on the state economy. It showed the set of expenditures applied, the inter-industry impacts of the input-output analysis, and the impact of household expenditures in the input-output analysis. Thus, the direct, indirect, and induced linkages of businesses and services gathered from the expenditure profiles were shown.\n6. Conclusion: This study examined the economic impacts of waterfowl hunting in the state of Mississippi using survey data to determine whether using default data within the IMPLAN model or making a change in value-added and output components would yield a change in total outputs. Results showed that a change within a single or multiple sectors would create a decrease in direct, indirect, induced, and total impacts as well as the number of jobs in the state. In other words, in this study, the economic impacts of waterfowl hunting using default values within the IMPLAN model were consistently overstated.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and improve the current methodology of securing and collecting data sources for use in the Impact Analysis for Planning (IMPLAN) model to more accurately use, and be able to support, inputs and outputs from economic impact models, specifically those generated by IMPLAN.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Primary expenditure data were derived from an extensive mail survey conducted during the 2005-2006 Mississippi waterfowl-hunting season. Survey results were analyzed using the IMPLAN software model default data and comparing it with new, more localized state data that were collected in 2010. Industry sectors were sorted and ranked after analysis based on sector importance to the economy and IMPLAN default data were replaced by localized data.\nFindings: Economic contributions generated from the survey-based default model were $158 million (2010 USD) supporting 1,981 full- and part-time jobs. Economic contributions using survey-based data replacement model were $153 million (2010 USD) supporting 1,517 full- and part-time jobs. Separate model runs of the survey-based data replacement model yielded vastly different results, making the case for changing as many sectors with larger impacts as possible.\nResearch limitations/implications: The makeup and components of sectors used and described by the IMPLAN model were at times not clearly labeled which at times hindered the process of comparing and replacing data. It was evident that IMPLAN sectors were too highly aggregated.\nOriginality/value: This project will contribute to efforts within Mississippi aimed at protecting and promoting its natural resources for conservation and use for both the private and public sector.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Determinants of core value behavior in service brands	[ "Employees behaviour", "Brands", "Banking", "Job satisfaction", "Scandinavia" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.\nIntroduction: A service brand resides in the mind of stakeholders in terms of salient brand associations (Keller, 2008). A major difference between associations for service brands such as IBM and Tesco and product brands (e.g. Snickers and Fanta) is the greater importance of employees in stakeholder perceptions of service brands. For brands like Tesco and IBM, employees are often in direct contact with customers and other stakeholder groups through various boundary-spanning activities, such as sales and customer service. Thus, employees become \"both co-creators of the brand and key actors in delivering the brand's content and promise\" (Schultz, 2005). Employees represent the bridge between external stakeholder perceptions and the internal culture of the company. Herein lies a fundamental challenge of corporate branding and service branding in particular: to develop a coherent culture that leaves a clear and unified impression with all stakeholder groups in line with the strategically defined brand positioning (de Chernatony, 1999; Keller, 2008). Past research suggests that a strong organizational identity and corporate culture positively influence company success (Joyce et al., 2003) through e.g. lower employee turnover (Cole and Bruch, 2006) and positive organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) (Johnson and Chang, 2006). However, in order for the service brand to be perceived by customers as differentiated, attractive and consistent, employee behavior also needs to be coherent and aligned with the external positioning of the brand.To stimulate cultural coherence, company managers often define and promote adherence to specified core values, such as \"customer orientation\", \"integrity\" and \"cooperation\" (de Chernatony, 1999; Lencioni, 2002). However, there is a downside to programs designed to stimulate core value behavior (CVB). If employees cannot make sense of, or relate to, defined values, they may perceive internal communication campaigns designed to stimulate CVB as empty rhetoric. According to Lencioni (2002), \"empty value statements create cynical and dispirited employees, alienate customers and undermine managerial credibility\". Thus, attempting to change or revise the existing values of an organization is a risky business. There is thus a considerable upside in terms of a coherent culture that supports the external brand positioning, but also a downward risk in terms of resignation and loss of credibility. The fundamental question here is how to effectively stimulate CVB. CVB is here defined as the extent to which employee behavior is in accordance with the brands' strategically defined core values. Empirical research to answer this important question is practically non-existent, both in organizational and marketing journals. In the present study we first draw on two important and related theories of motivation in order to understand the basic psychological mechanisms involved. Next, we briefly discuss the relevance of role satisfaction and OCB in explaining CVB. Hypotheses on the determinants of CVB are developed and tested on employee data from a small to mid-sized Scandinavian bank. The results have important implications for managers and researchers concerned with CVB.Motivational mindsets and CVB\nDeterminants of CVB: In the following sections, we first suggest a simple model of three key determinants of CVB. Second, we revisit the literature on role satisfaction and OCB and propose a set of hypotheses on how the relative impact of the determinants of CVB will vary depending on employees' role satisfaction.Attitude toward core values\nMethod: Design and procedure\nResults: A set of regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. The main effects of attitude towards the core values, role model behavior, procedural support and structural support for all three core values are displayed in Table IV.According to Table IV, H1 was supported: Attitude towards core values proved to be a significant antecedent of CVB for all three core values of the company. Moreover, role model behavior was found to be a significant antecedent for employees' adherence to core values 1 and 3, but not for core value 2. Thus, H2 received partial support. However, the effects of procedural and structural support on CVB were non-significant, rejecting H3.As role satisfaction was hypothesized to moderate all postulated main effects, the sample was split in two (low vs high role satisfaction) based on a median split of the role satisfaction scale. A two-group analysis (low vs. high role satisfaction) was preferred over a single regression model due to potential multicollinearity problems when including all interactions-terms of role satisfaction. The regression analysis results are displayed in Table V.As can be clearly seen in Table V, the antecedents of CVB differ between employees with low and high role satisfaction, as hypothesized. As proposed in H4, attitude toward the core values proved to be a significant determinant of CVB for employees with low role satisfaction, but not for employees with high role satisfaction. Conversely, role model behavior was a significant driver of CVB for employees high on role satisfaction, but not for employees with low role satisfaction. Employees who are not happy with their own roles in the organization are not influenced by the behavior of role models, but their CVB is rather driven by their attitude towards, and identification with, the core values. Thus, H4 and H5 were supported.It is also interesting to note that structural support is a significant driver of CVB for two of three values among employees low on role satisfaction, whereas this is not the case for employees more satisfied with their work role.\nDiscussion: To our knowledge, this study reports the first empirical investigation of determinants of CVB. The findings have implications for companies concerned with stimulating CVB as well as for future research in this area.Managerial implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of employees' core value behavior. For service brands, employees are most likely the most important vehicle in building and communicating brand core values. The paper aims to draw on two related theories on motivation to understand the basic psychological mechanisms involved, and to propose a set of hypotheses on determinants of core value behavior.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - In order to test the proposed model, a survey was conducted among employees in a Scandinavian bank. Regression analyses were used to test the proposed hypotheses.\nFindings: - Supportive of the hypotheses, the study data suggest that attitude towards core values and role model behavior are significant determinants of core value behavior. Moreover, employee role satisfaction is found to be a key moderator of such behavior. Attitudes towards the values affect behavior only for less satisfied employees, whereas role model behavior influences behavior only for highly satisfied employees.\nPractical implications: - The findings provide clear managerial implications in terms of how to stimulate core value behavior for employees both high and low in role satisfaction.\nOriginality/value: - The present study introduces the concept of core value behavior (CVB) and represents the first empirical investigation on determinants of CVB for services brands. The study offers novel theoretical and empirical insight to an important, yet understudied topic in service marketing.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The sufficiency of the theory of planned behavior for explaining information security policy compliance	[ "Theory of planned behavior", "Information security", "Anticipated regret", "Policy compliance", "Protection motivation theory" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Employee behavior plays an important role in the information security posture of virtually all organizations. Most organizations, therefore, develop and communicate information security policies (i.e. information security rules and procedures) aimed at governing and supporting employees. These policies typically describe the acceptable use of computer resources, the responsibilities regarding information security, the type of training that employees should have and the consequences of security policy violation. Because the behavior mandated in information security policies is believed to provide the appropriate information security level for a given organization, it follows that policy compliance is desirable from the organization's perspective. However, data suggest that more than half of all of information security breaches are caused by employees violating the information security policy (Gordon et al., 2004).\n2. Theoretical background: In this section, the theories and constructs providing the bases for this study as well as the tested model and hypotheses are presented. The TPB is described in Section 2.1. The tested extensions drawn from the PMT and the concept of anticipated regret are described in Sections 2.2 and 2.3, respectively. In Section 2.4, the studied constructs and their relationships are presented. Section 2.5 details the hypotheses addressed in the study.\n3. Method: The seven hypotheses were tested by a questionnaire-based survey distributed to the employees of a research organization. Section 3.1 describes the development of the questionnaire, and Section 3.2 describes the data collection procedure. Section 3.3 discusses the construct validity and the reliability of the measurement.\n4. Results: This section addresses the hypotheses posed in Section 2.5. Section 4.1 addresses the overall model of the TPB, Section 4.2 addresses extensions drawn from the PMT, Section 4.3 addresses anticipated regret as an extension and Section 4.4 addresses the independence (or overlap) of the contributions.\n5. Discussion: This section starts with a discussion of the validity of this study and the possibility of generalizing its conclusions. Thereafter, the interpretation of the results in regard to making changes to and extending the TPB is discussed.\n6. Conclusion: This study confirmed the relationships described by the TPB when used for information security policy compliance in a new sampling frame. Three promising extensions to the TPB were tested empirically. Two of these extensions resulted in a sufficient amount (> 0.02) of additional explained variance in intentions to motivate a change of the TPB: anticipated regret and threat appraisal. There is a considerable overlap between these two concepts, and the inclusion of anticipated regret makes the contribution of threat appraisal insufficient. Coping appraisal offered only a small improvement in the predicted variance and failed to improve the TPB based on the criteria used in this test.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to challenge the assumption that the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) includes all constructs that explain information security policy compliance and investigates if anticipated regret or constructs from the protection motivation theory add explanatory power. The TPB is an established theory that has been found to predict compliance with information security policies well.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Responses from 306 respondents at a research organization were collected using a questionnaire-based survey. Extensions in terms of anticipated regret and constructs drawn from the protection motivation theory are tested using hierarchical regression analysis.\nFindings: Adding anticipated regret and the threat appraisal process results in improvements of the predictions of intentions. The improvements are of sufficient magnitude to warrant adjustments of the model of the TPB when it is used in the area of information security policy compliance.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first test of anticipated regret as a predictor of information security policy compliance and the first to assess its influence in relation to the TPB and the protection motivation theory.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How decision making can be led: We all make them, but some matter more	[ "Decision making", "Information management", "Risk management", "Leadership", "Quality control" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nGood knowledge base - or just lucky?: We all make decisions and we all makes mistakes. Some people make better decisions than others, some end up making inspired decisions based on the right kind of knowledge, and some make great decisions because they just got lucky.As for mistakes, choosing the wrong color of drapes or carpets is probably something you can live with, being a CFO and failing in all your financial predictions might get you fired, but that's better than being a doctor and killing someone with the wrong diagnosis, or deciding nobody will be crossing the road when you decide to drive like a maniac.You don't need to be what we might call a decisive person to make decisions. We all do it. Red or blue? Ice cream or pudding? Republican or Democrat? Raise product prices or undercut the competition? Armed invasion or diplomacy? Train your own staff for a project or bring in experts? Get married or stay single? One lump of sugar in your coffee or two?Given that some decisions are more important to get right than others, it's essential for effective decision-makers to know on what they are basing their choices and why.If you pick a red T-shirt rather than a blue one, it's acceptable to reason that you either \"just like it better\" or it matches your shoes. It's unacceptable to go with hunches or whims when it comes to decisions which can have the effect of either enhancing or fulfilling people's expectations of an ordered and happy existence, or devastating and dashing their hopes and aspirations and wrecking lives.\nGood judgment is a talent: Good judgment based on knowledge - decision-making based on what is known - is a talent which people charged with running organizations (whether it is governments, companies or any other organizations which depends on leadership and decision making) have in common and in which they all participate with widely varying levels of success.But they all need to know what the foundations are for their decisions, what sort of knowledge is the framework on which they are basing a choice. What also needs to be known is who is to make the decisions on which so much may depend. Is one person, one leader, the one decision maker? Or is there an acceptance that different people may have different opinions and expertise that could and should be brought to bear on a particular decision?Should the decision be a team effort, a consensus? And should the leader, the final arbiter of what is or is not going to happen, lead by example - by making decisions? Or should that leader explore the combined knowledge of the people he or she can call on by, not making assertions, but asking questions? By teasing out, bit by bit, the whys, and wherefores, the possible repercussions of this or that action, the pluses and minuses, the extrapolations into the unknown?Oh, so many preliminary decisions about decision making those leaders have to make before they get down to those \"no turning back\" decisions which could have jubilant or catastrophic consequences. Having good decision makers within the organization may seem a panacea, but even the most talented and inspired of them are only as good as the information they have available on which to base their decision. And no one person will be the right arbiter of choices to be made in different sets of circumstances.\nComplexity of tragedies and threat: The art of decision making is well documented, yet its intricacies (and pitfalls) remain complex. Examples of just how complex, and potentially disastrous, it can get are explored in Steven P. Feldman's study of decisions which resulted in the Challenger space shuttle destruction, with the loss of seven crew members, in 1986, and the more recent loss of the Columbia, and in Robert F. Gratton's case study of the decision-making process involving President John F. Kennedy and his advisors during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.Feldman concludes that in the process of decision making preceding both the Challenger and Columbia tragedies, there was a remarkable lack of individual and organizational memory. He says:At NASA, memory was reduced to the quantitative measure \"experience base.\" This measure abbreviates memory to a dangerously low level because it not only excludes qualitative data, but also arrests and reifies memory by excluding historical analysis of quantitative data relevant to safety and other organizational goals. In other words, a lack of memory was not only responsible for misunderstanding the level of risk on Columbia's last flight, but engineers also did not notice the accumulation of risk in the fight history preceding Challenger.\nTime pressure and misunderstanding: Ensuring adequate (i.e. no matter how long it takes) time and knowledge was available before a \"safe or not\" decision to fly was made, was in conflict with pressure to increase and maintain the number of flights. Time pressure interacted with the culture of objectivity at NASA in ways that made it difficult to slow down the fight schedule, resulting in the wrong decision being made about whether it was safe to fly. Misunderstandings of flight risk resulted from two general aspects of NASA's culture:1. an over-confidence in quantitative data went hand-in-hand with a marginalization of nonquantifiable data, leading to an insensitivity to uncertainty and a loss of organizational memory; and2. problem definition and solution creation were constructed as if they were independent of organizational goals, resulting in an inaccurate estimation of risk.\nPresident's risk assessment: The risk President Kennedy and his advisors faced in 1962 was that of getting his decisions wrong and plunging the world into a catastrophic, possibly nuclear, conflict. Tapes of the day-by-day discussions at that critical time may be more than 40 years old but an analysis of the decision-making process and strategy formulation that emerged is still relevant today.Kennedy's approach was generally non-assertive and he often appeared to be the only one to take an overall view of the total picture of the crisis - concentrating on the removal of missiles from Cuba and ignoring different agendas, such as the removal from office of Cuba's president, Fidel Castro. At the start of the crisis, more than 62 percent of his interventions were questions, which shaped the search for understanding by eliciting everyone's views. Different arms of government had different approaches, with the Defense Department continually pressing for air strikes and invasion. However, Kennedy's style of leadership gained agreement to his diplomatic, restrained approach. Robert F. Grattan says: \"Here was no dominating, macho leader, but a subtle facilitator extracting, forming and sharing ideas.\"\nEveryone has to be involved: The leader's role in making a success of collaborative decision making is also highlighted in Howard Hills' assertion that they neither command, nor manage but set goals, motivate and support. He says:If decisions are to be truly collaborative, then everyone involved must feel they are respected by others for the contribution they bring ... The essence of collaborative decision making is that the leadership moves round the group. The team leader does not control or dictate. She or he may set the agenda, but only leads when his or her own expertise or preferences come to the fore.Leadership, of course, also involves a recognition of the relative strengths and weaknesses of individual team members, and also a recognition that people do moan and groan about things, and also make mistakes. Grumbling can result in someone feeling that, even if their leader doesn't accept what they say, at least they've been listened to.Mistakes can be analyzed, learned from and the whole experience shared. As Hills says:People are not automatons who respond to commands. They are individuals preferring different activities and approaches. Making use and extracting benefits from these differences is a key benefit of collaborative decision making.\nComment: This review is based on \"The culture of objectivity: quantification, uncertainty, and the evaluation of risk at NASA\" by Steven P. Feldman, \"The Cuban missile crisis: strategy formulation in action\" by Robert F. Gratton and \"Collaborative decision making: how to make it work\" by Howard Hills.Feldman's detailed study reviews the decision-making processes - and the influences which were brought to bear on those processes - in the years before the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, with analyses of NASA's decision-making data during the years preceding the disaster that befell the Columbia space shuttle, lost during its return to earth in 2003. He demonstrates - with a carefully-constructed view of the culture of objectivity, of how decisions are made and what knowledge is brought to bear on those decisions - how misunderstandings of flight risk resulted.Robert F. Gratton analyses President Kennedy's style of leadership and decision making during the crucial days of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. He reveals that Kennedy adopted a questioning, Socratic approach and concludes that the collective strategy process cannot truly begin until a collective aim has been decided. In addition, the strategy process is better led by a facilitator than an authoritarian, and strategy formulation is an art, guided by whatever science can be brought to bear.Howard Hills demonstrates the benefits of collaborative decision making. He identifies symptoms of teams that fail to make collaborative decisions, and offers actions a team leader may take to enable effective collaborative decisions to be made. He asserts the value of mutual respect, learning from mistakes and welcoming feedback.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - To provide a concise briefing on the most topical issues and relevant implications from the top 400 management publications in the world.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the argument in context.\nFindings: - Feldman's detailed study reviews the decision-making processes - and the influences which were brought to bear on those processes - in the years before the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986. He demonstrates - with a carefully-constructed view of the culture of objectivity, of how decisions are made and what knowledge is brought to bear on those decisions - how misunderstandings of flight risk resulted. Robert F. Gratton analyses President Kennedy's style of leadership and decision making during the crucial days of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. He reveals that Kennedy adopted a questioning, Socratic approach and concludes that the collective strategy process can not truly begin until a collective aim has been decided. In addition, the strategy process is best led by a facilitator than an authoritarian, and strategy formulation is an art, guided by whatever science can be brought to bear. Howard Hills demonstrates the benefits of collaborative decision making. He identifies symptoms of teams that fail to make collaborative decisions, and offers actions a team leader may take to enable effective collaborative decisions to be made. He asserts the value of mutual respect, learning from mistakes and welcoming feedback.\nOriginality/value: - Provides implementable strategies and practical thinking that has influenced some of the world's leading organizations.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Technological convergence throughout the eras: Part 1 - Cars	[ "Economic convergence", "Automotive industry" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Technological convergence, or, the trend of products once having distinct functionalities coming together to form a single, multi-use product or service, is a growing phenomenon that is changing the face of business. The rapid speed at which convergence is being pursued is transforming markets and producing innovative products and solutions for an increasingly savvy consumer base. And while many people think of media and communications when they think of technological convergence, the concept itself extends far beyond this and into a world that of new frontiers which are still being formulated. In the following sections, the convergence of technology will be discussed with regard to the car, cellular phone and computer (laptop) and the biotechnology industries. All of these industries have been evolving and growing at a prodigious rate, bringing to market new and innovative products and services. We will explore the transition of the automobile from a transport mechanism to a moving home, with all of the creature comforts; the cellular phone and laptop industries and their increasing level of integration; and finally biotechnology, the newest and potentially largest watershed in technological convergence.\nWhat drives convergence?: Convergence has been driven by myriad factors including customer wants and needs, trends, and increased interest and financial support for life-savings devices; but the root causes can be traced back to two main origins: Innovation and competition. Creations like the PDA, camera phones, \"smart\" cars, and biotech products and services, are all results of the growing demand for innovation. Furthermore, the rate of innovation has been increasing exponentially over the past several decades. This has helped in facilitating the research and production of more advanced products and services, creating a more knowledgeable customer base. In examining the boom in information technology (IT), particularly since the digital revolution, one can see watch the infusion of IT into all facets of life. The spin-off of new, novel products from their divergent origins has been escalating each year, especially in the three areas on which we will be focusing. And where there is innovation to impel consumer demand, there will be financial support for R&D, production and marketing of new products and services to compete for customers.Competition is also contributing to, and being transformed by, technological convergence. New competitive relationships, such as strategic alliances and the acquisition of subsidiaries, are becoming increasingly invaluable. These affiliations enable firms to exploit core competencies while taking advantage of synergies with other companies. This growing intricacy of competitive strategizing and relationship management is the most effective way to address a growing global market. Furthermore, pressure is put on companies to meet increasingly technical demands that are virtually impossible to accomplish as a single entity. Hence, engaging in an alliance, joint venture, etc. provides another party to help shoulder the burden (financially and/or technologically) of innovation and allows a company to remain competitive in the face of other who are taking the same path.\nEvolution of technologies and growing role of convergence: Cycles or waves of a dominant type of technological innovation have enabled society to continually redefine industries and standards throughout the years. This can be illustrated through the work of Russian economist Nikolai Kondratiev, who examines this evolution in his five cycles of development. In his studies, he examined the long waves of progress that every era brings about in terms of development; each enabling the world to achieve more and better innovation through the dominant technologies of that time by supplanting one form into another (see Table I).This paper will focus on the era beginning in the 1980s, where information and communications technology (ICT) began to transform the automobile and cellular industries. We will also discuss the recent emergence of the biotechnology/nanotechnology era and its potential for the medical field. There is no date listed for this era as it is a new, undefined epoch and the ICT age is a pervasive cycle at the present. In all three of the areas to be discussed, ICT diffusion into these industries has contributed to the diversification of product offerings and has played a key role in contributing to increased restructuring (or blurring) of industry boundaries.\nTechnological convergence in cars: History\nRecommendations/strategies: By looking at the rapid development in technological conversions in cars, it becomes visible that some of the new evolving features are there to satisfy customer needs which are not really necessary (e.g. changing car paints depending on temperature). Others are throughout a good contributor to society since they help preventing fatal accidents (e.g. pre-collision system) or positively contribute to our environment (electric car).Electric cars\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the history and development of the automobile industry Furthermore the paper discusses convergence in the context of discontinuous competitive environment and possible management responses to changes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The findings of this paper are based on the analysis of the auto industry and the changes triggered by advances in related industries and socio-economic forces.\nFindings: - The rate of change in innovation is leading to the creation of new industries and the disintegration of the industry classifications due to convergence of multiple needs previously served by different industry groupings. As such, firms have to upgrade their environmental scanning systems to detect competitive forces beyond the industrial competitive boundaries.\nPractical implications: - The paper provides a comprehensive review of convergence and disruptive technologies and the resulting implications for the automobile industry.\nOriginality/value: - The paper highlights the breakdown of barriers in terms of industry classification. Customer's needs could be served by other firms in hitherto distinct industry groupings.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Caught in the middle: franchise businesses and the social media wave	[ "Strategy", "Innovation", "Business models", "Franchising", "Distribution", "User-ratings" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Franchising is an important and pervasive business system. Best known for hotels and fast-food restaurants, there are hundreds of types of business format franchises, from automobile repair shops to disaster recovery operations. In the USA there are over 750,000 franchised outlets that generate 750 billion dollars in sales. Franchising is also showing strong growth internationally.\nDiscussion: The Internet is having a large impact on franchising, as with every industry. This article's thesis is that while surface waves draw immediate attention, deeper waves will have a broader and more long-lasting impact.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the Internet, and more specifically social media, on franchise business models.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A review of both franchising and Internet literatures enables the creation of a simple model that distinguishes between surface waves, highly visible innovations that influence a restricted set of franchise business models, and deep waves that have a broader and more long-lasting influence on all franchises.\nFindings: The first Internet era had a surface wave, online selling, that impacted relatively few franchises, but the deep wave of the wide availability of information and training materials has had a broader and more sustained impact on franchise systems. Similarly, Web 2.0's social element has created a surface wave, the shared economy for hotels and cars, that affects relatively few franchises, but the deep wave of user-rating Web sites and Apps promises to have a broader and more long-lasting influence.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper enables researchers identify potential research topics, highlighting the need to determine the impact of social media on how consumers perceive quality and the influence this has on their ongoing behavior.\nPractical implications: This paper helps practitioners understand how the Internet influences the competitive balance between franchised and non-franchised businesses. Hence, it will be of interest to any large organization that offers high quality decentralized products or services, as they typically either franchise or compete with franchised businesses. As well, for entrepreneurs considering investing in a franchise, this paper will help identify which business models are more sustainable in the face of Internet innovation.\nOriginality/value: The surface wave/deep wave model is a new approach to analyzing the long-term impact of the Internet on all decentralized businesses.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Social entrepreneurship among participants in the students in free enterprise program	[ "Higher education institution", "Entrepreneurship education", "Personal characteristics of social entrepreneurs", "Social entrepreneurship", "Students in free enterprise" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In response to the government's drive to produce graduates with social entrepreneurial skills, competitiveness and resilience, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Malaysia Foundation and higher education institutions have collaborated closely in the SIFE. The program aims to encourage economic and social activities among undergraduates, thereby simultaneously upgrading the economic and social status of a local community.\n2. Literature review: A number of previous studies have indicated that education and entrepreneurship training in schools and institutions of higher learning produce sustainable and competitive human capital (Hashim, 2009; Gatchalian, 2010; Ab Wahid et al., 2011b; Othman et al., 2012a). Such can be attributed to emphasis on self-reliance, sustainability, competitiveness, innovativeness, creativity, and forward-looking orientation. If these traits are successfully instilled in the nation's human capital, particularly the university graduates, unemployment will cease to be a pressing problem. Those who possess these traits will not be afraid of difficulties; will consider obstacles as challenges to be overcome. According to Isaacs et al. (2007), entrepreneurship education is one of the main agendas of most industrialized countries, because of its tremendous competency in economic development.\n3. Methodology: This study is a cross-sectional survey on a target population of 1,531 active SIFE students from 30 institutions of higher learning participating in the SIFE program in 2011. A sample of 500 was selected at random from ten institutions. Multistage sampling was applied to obtain 50 samples from each higher education institutions. This sample size comprises more than 30 percent of the studied population; Gay et al. (2009) suggest that for a survey study, the sample should be at least 10-20 percent of the population. However, only 394 of the 500 selected SIFE students (about 79 percent) responded. According to Cohen et al. (2001), this amount is sufficient, as the minimum level of returned questionnaires should be between 70 and 80 percent.\n4. Findings and discussion: This study involved 394 SIFE students from ten institutions of higher learning. Of the total, 164 (41.6 percent) were male and 230 (58.4 percent) female. The racial composition of the students was 335 (85.0 percent), Malay; 34 (8.6 percent), Chinese; 12 (3.0 percent), Indian; and 13 (3.3 percent), other races. Regarding SIFE involvement, 163 (41.4 percent) had participated in the program for less than a year; 108 (27.4 percent), one to three years; and the remaining 120 (31.2 percent), more than three years:\n5. Conclusion: The study found that the level of social entrepreneurship of university students who become active participants SIFE is generally high. However, the personal characteristics of social entrepreneurs need to be polished, as they are still at a moderate level. The positive relationship between aspects of the SPCSE and SEO shows that strengthening the inculcation of social entrepreneurial characteristics in students can boost their efforts in social entrepreneurial organization. The profile of social entrepreneurship in this study can be used as a reference by entrepreneurial education policy makers to harness the potential of a social entrepreneurship-oriented program in improving the quality of human capital generated through national education. The findings are also an addition to the researches and social entrepreneurship literature that are still insufficient, especially with regard to education issues, and can be used as a reference for further study. Exposure to non-profit programs such as SIFE should be intensified and expanded to include more students in higher education institutions, with the aim of producing graduates who possess the personal characteristics of social entrepreneurs. Noble efforts like this should be recognized, such as those of SIFE students, who have shown high SEO. This underscored their potential to be more innovative, socialized, and market-oriented. It is hoped that the ongoing collaboration and commitment of the parties involved, such as educators and administrators of higher education institutions, faculty advisors, the SIFE Malaysia Foundation, and established industry practitioners through the SIFE platform, can become a role model in improving the quality of human capital. In order to expand this research in the future, a longitudinal pre- and post-test design should be carried out to evaluate the in-depth effects of the SIFE program on students' social entrepreneurial characteristics with a proper method of isolating the impact of the program. A specific test pertinent to SEO and characteristics should be administered twice that is at the start of the program and at the end of it, as this is a cross-sectional study that only surveyed the level of social entrepreneurship among students. In this manner, more useful information related to the impact could be leveraged to improve the pattern of the social entrepreneurship program.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify social entrepreneurship dimensions that emphasize the specific personal characteristics of social entrepreneurs (SPCSE) and social entrepreneurship organization (SEO) among students in higher education institutions who are active participants of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) program in Malaysia.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Quantitative approaches and instruments were used to analyze the profile of social entrepreneurship in this cross-sectional survey study, which involved 394 active SIFE students in Malaysia in 2011. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data and describe the SIFE student's SPCSE and SEO.\nFindings: The social entrepreneurship of the SIFE students was high, with a dominant SEO. However, the dimensions of SPCSE need to be applied effectively to the students involved, whose social entrepreneurship was merely moderate. There was a strong positive relationship between SPCSE and SEO of SIFE students, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.73.\nResearch limitations/implications: It is recommended that further longitudinal research be conducted to assess the depth of the impact of social entrepreneurship on SIFE students. In this manner, more useful information related to the impact can be leveraged to improve the pattern of the social entrepreneurship program.\nPractical implications: The SIFE participants' social entrepreneurship profile can be used by the Ministry of Higher Education in formulating social entrepreneurship policy for higher education institutions. The Malaysia SIFE Foundation and the administrators of higher education institutions should encourage more university students to participate in SIFE program to increase the number of social entrepreneurs who will help solve social, economic, and environmental problems.\nOriginality/value: There has been no discussions of the social entrepreneurship programs in Malaysia. This paper attempts to fill the current gap.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Trusting the local: opening up the script with response-able talk practices	[ "Critical literacy", "Dialogic pedagogy", "The local" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: I inclinedTo lose my faith in Ballyrush and GortinTill Homer's ghost came whispering to my mind.He said: I made the Iliad from suchA local row.\nEfficient vs effective: On the surface, scripted programs may appear to be an easy and efficient way to teach - just follow the script that someone else has written. A scripted pathway to \"curricular rigor\" is certainly less work for teachers planning lessons. Emphasis is on covering material that is neatly packaged and coherently sequenced. Everything is efficiently compartmentalized into a one-size-fits-all curriculum script for a one-size-fits-all teacher identity. This scripted pathway appears attractive for administrators evaluating teachers as accountability is check-off-able. The problem is we do not just teach content, we teach students. And students in our classrooms deserve effective over efficient. They deserve the planned and contingent, responsive and responsible, messy, dialogic and localized forces of effective teaching and learning talk. For the lived language of the classroom - that is, talk that is not scripted - is relevant and empowering, but only insofar as local potential is exploited to bridge home and school literacies, link what is known with what is being presented and connect what is talked about to effective learning practices. However, to mine this local potential, there has to be teacher agentive flow for response-able practices (Boyd, 2016a). In this paper, we explain what we mean by these terms, and illustrate what these look like during a day in the life of a second-grade urban classroom in a rust-belt city in the New York state.\nInstructional stance: scripted vs dialogic: The content that we teach can certainly benefit from carefully developed curricular guides. For example, in the USA having the Common Core Standards laid out alongside curricular content and learning objectives provides a platform for teachers who can then concretize content with local connections, and tailor pacing of coverage of that content based on their intimate knowledge of their students' interests and needs. However, teacher talk practices involve more than delivery of content to students and should not be scripted.\nDialogic stance, agentive flow and response-ability: The potential to enact a more dialogic instructional stance is tethered to a teacher's willingness to attentively listen to and notice students, and teacher agentive flow to make planned and in-the-moment decisions (Boyd, 2012a). These decisions can harness and connect student contributions to the content and/or curricular objectives at hand, slide in needed content and connections and adjust pacing and focus of the scope of talk as needed. When teachers have agentive flow they can use response-able practices: responsible planning and delivery of needed schooling content and in-the-moment and purposeful responsiveness to student ideas and contributions. In our research, we have identified three markers of response-able talk practices (Boyd, 2016a). First, teacher talk is responsive to and contingent on what is happening in the classroom. Teacher talk explicitly acknowledges and builds upon student contributions and straddles the tensions of guiding and challenging students to delve deeper, moving aside to allow students to get on with the hard work of making and connecting meanings. Second, language use in-the-moment and instructional stance nurture joint purposes and encourages multiple perspectives. Student involvement is taken seriously and this is reflected in pacing, scope and space for perspective-taking. Third, there are longer exchanges of exploratory talk as students reason with and comment on the content at hand. We assert that response-able talk practices are a concrete manifestation of a dialogic stance (Figure 1).\nConnecting to classroom-based research: Classroom research has focused on ways to support teachers to engender more dialogic teaching and learning talk. However, dialogic teaching and learning cannot be simplified to the use of a particular discourse move or a check-off-able list of behaviors. It is a big picture endeavor, as teachers and students experience a repertoire of discourse practices serving a repertoire of purposes that work together across time (Alexander, 2008; Boyd, 2016b; Burbules, 1993; Mercer et al., 1999; Wilkinson et al., 2015). Teachers must \"examine and expand the repertoire of their language practices, flexibly and strategically choosing discourse tools suitable for different pedagogical goals\" (Reznitskaya, 2012, p. 449). They must be able, willing and allowed to make planned and in-the-moment decisions about what to teach, when to teach and how to teach. They must be permitted to exploit local resources and funds of knowledge. Scripted curricula \"demonstrate a lack of fidelity and trust in teachers' ability to develop the curriculum and judge when to utilize and enact aspects of it\" (Milner, 2013, p. 166). Furthermore, when teachers are pressured into reading from a script that details \"teacher will say\" and \"students will say,\" there is no space and no warrant for building upon \"the local\" of student experiences and connections (Demko, 2010). Yet to nurture critical thinking, perspective-taking and reasoning - overarching goals for our students and hallmarks of dialogic teaching and learning - we must move beyond teacher talk scripts and information-dumping. We must engage and teach students. Teaching, like learning, is not a static experience. Teachers must be listening and active participants as we invite, support and guide our students in the learning process (Boyd, 2012b). We must be reflective and adaptive practitioners as we describe, compare and critically analyze classroom experiences - with others and with self (Jay and Johnson, 2002), and we must make the necessary adjustments so that teaching connects with and ties what students already know to content and learning objectives. Nothing stands in isolation.\nRachele's second-grade classroom community: There were 25 students and one full-time teaching assistant in Rachele's second- grade classroom community. Her students reflected the demographics of the urban public school district in the northeastern USA. The socioeconomic status of this district was such that all students received free meals. Students in this classroom were African-American, American-Indian, Caucasian, Latino/a and Pakistani. The teacher, Rachele, had over 10 years of teaching experience and a master's degree in education.\nDiscussion: Nurturing classroom community is fundamental to appreciating and cultivating trust in a local stance. When we take time to know and develop respectful relations within our community, this foundation grows respectful language, space for hearing and honoring other perspectives and empathy. When students know they are likely to be heard they can be encouraged to explore, to reason, to listen and to heed directive instruction. All these participant roles are part of a big picture of dialogic teaching and learning that works together to connect what students know to the content at hand and to grow skills and attitudes conducive to learning (Alexander, 2008; Boyd, 2015; Kneller and Boyd, 2008). This does not mean everything is dialogic or collaborative - there is a time to listen, time to chat, time to move, time to share, time to think and reason, time to follow directions, time to grapple with how to do something, time to sing and time to listen to music and draw - a repertoire of talk moves, groupings, purposes within a day, across a week and over the course of a unit. But when teaching and learning are grounded in a dialogic stance, when the local is appreciated and built upon, and this is manifested in response-able talk practices, we have a classroom community where lived experiences and perspectives are acknowledged and valued. We see dialogic stance manifest in this look at one school day but this day cannot stand alone. These classroom practices are anchored to sociohistoric patterns and expectations that have been cultivated across the year. Our look at the Morning Meeting is a snapshot in an on-going flow of small moments that have accretive power - daily time to greet, share, be informed and ask questions about the day's schedule, do an activity together - these practices invest students in their local classroom community. Our broad look at activities across the day illuminates the repertoire of talk practices and purposes that work together to articulate a coherent program of studies that support these particular students in the here and now. We present evidence only from one day in Rachele's classroom but our more than 100 h of classroom video, teacher and student interviews and hundreds of photos ground our claims.\nConclusion: Instructional practices work together and are a concrete manifestation of instructional stance. Teachers with a more dialogic instructional stance use agentive flow to enact and nurture response-able talk practices. This involves planning and then telling, listening and responding to encourage sense-making and meaningful relations between what is known and what is being learned. And so, we are not calling for teachers to throw out program guides. We are calling for teachers to be allowed to teach.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to deflate some of the pressure-orienting teachers toward following a curricular script.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors connect effective classroom teaching and learning practices to a dialogic instructional stance that values local resources and student perspectives and contributions. The authors argue that effective teachers have agency to make decisions about content and pacing adjustments (they call this agentive flow) and that they practice response-able talk. Response-able talk practices are responsive to what is happening in the classroom, responsibly nurture joint purposes and multiple perspectives, and cultivate longer exchanges of student exploratory talk. These talk practices are not easily scripted.\nFindings: The authors show what these effective, local and dialogic instructional practices look like in a second-grade urban classroom.\nPractical implications: The authors call upon every teacher to robustly find their local ways of working.\nOriginality/value: In this paper, the authors argue that harnessing the local is an essential aspect of dialogic instruction and a critical component of a dialogic instructional stance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Understanding the nature of processes: an information-processing perspective	[ "Uncertainty", "Process management", "Contingency theory", "Information gathering" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Business process management (BPM) is an approach to increasing transparency, reducing costs, harmonizing processes, improving quality, and enhancing customer satisfaction (BearingPoint, 2015). It includes the identification and documentation of business processes, the definition of key performance indicators for measuring and monitoring process performance, and the implementation of continuous improvement and innovation (Lee and Dale, 1998).\n2. Related work: 2.1 Research on process management\n3. Theoretical foundation: The need to differentiate process-management research and practice based on contextual factors, such as process characteristics, is supported by contingency theory (Morgan, 2007; Donaldson, 2001), which states that there is no best way to organize and manage people, tasks, technologies, or structures, but that the optimal way depends on context. A contingency approach to process management requires identifying the process's relevant contextual factors and deriving appropriate management requirements that fit the situation (Zeithaml et al., 1988).\n4. Methodological approach: We build on well-established methods for developing classification systems in deriving the process dimensions that help to clarify differences in processes and to determine optimum process-management practices (Bailey, 1994; Nickerson et al., 2013). We identify peer-reviewed articles that address the topic of differences in processes through a search in databases, Emerald and Proquest, which are typically consulted for literature reviews in the process-management field (Burgess et al., 2006; De Jong and Vermeulen, 2003). We searched abstracts and titles using the search terms \"process characteristic,\" \"process type,\" \"process dimension,\" \"process nature,\" \"characteristic* of process,\" \"type of process,\" \"dimension of process,\" and \"nature of process*.\" These terms increase the likelihood of identifying articles that either address specific types of processes or describe process characteristics, structures, or nature.\n5. Results: 5.1 Identifying process dimensions\n6. Process assessment based on process dimensions - an illustration: Researchers describe differences in processes with a broad variety of process dimensions. Our literature review identified 36 dimensions that have been used to describe organizational processes. Information-processing theory is a useful theoretical lens through which to analyze and consolidate these dimensions and explain why different processes might require different management approaches. In this section, we intend to demonstrate how research and practice can use the consolidated process dimensions to describe differences in processes as a basis for context-sensitive process management. This demonstration uses hypothetical examples of a sales process, a manufacturing process, and a data administration process which are based on our experience in customer projects as well as descriptions of these processes in the literature. These examples are intended to demonstrate how the process dimensions can be evaluated to identify the overall pattern of process characteristics going beyond existing process-classification systems.\n7. Discussion: 7.1 Reflecting on our research findings\n8. Limitations and suggestions for future research: Our literature review provides a conceptualization of differences in processes and a possible explanation for why different processes require different management approaches (because of their varying information-processing requirements). While we provide some illustration of how strategic management decisions can be based on an assessment of the processes' characteristics, future research should examine more systematically how BPM practices should be designed to fit the process to be managed. To do so, every process-management initiative (e.g. process modeling, monitoring, standardization, and improvement) could be examined in relation to the nature of the processes and the degree to which they contribute to information-processing capacity. By doing so, resources can be planned and allocated, increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of business processes' management.\n9. Conclusion: The purpose of this paper is to explicate the dimensions that underlie processes. While it is well known that processes are different and have to be managed in different ways, it has not systematically been analyzed how processes differ. We conducted a systematic literature review and applied organizational information-processing theory to the process level to show how the theory can be used to identify differences in processes. Our understanding of process differences goes beyond existing process-classification systems used in process-management research and practice. Often, processes classification systems remain rather abstract and cannot explain why processes have different management requirements. Identifying underlying dimensions and linking them to theories is an important step in understanding process differences and management requirements. The results described and discussed in this paper provide an important basis for future research that can analyze or develop appropriate management practices for specific types of processes. This would enable the development of context-sensitive BPM approaches that helps to increase the acceptance of BPM. At the same time, context-sensitivity can help to avoid wasted efforts and can increases the efficiency and effectiveness of BPM.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: While researchers and practitioners agree on the importance to adapt business process management (BPM) practices to the nature of processes, the authors observe a lack of research on how to most meaningfully distinguish processes in order to apply context-specific BPM practices that increase process efficiency and effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to systematically analyze the nature of processes as one contextual factor for BPM.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on a literature review, the authors systematically derive process dimensions that describe the nature of processes and apply an information-processing perspective to the process level as a theoretical lens through which to analyze and structure these process dimensions.\nFindings: The authors identified 36 dimensions used to describe process differences that can be consolidated into five generic dimensions based on an information-processing perspective: interdependence of process participants, differentiation of process participants, process analyzability, variability, and importance.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper derives process dimensions from the literature and links them to extant theories as a foundation for context-sensitive BPM. The findings serve as a basis for further conceptualizing BPM and for explaining seemingly contradicting findings about whether management practices increase or decrease organizational performance.\nPractical implications: While the paper focuses on understanding and explaining process differences, the authors also demonstrate how these dimensions can be used to make strategic management decisions in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of processes.\nOriginality/value: The authors systematically conceptualize process differences as a foundation for contingent process management. In addition, the authors demonstrate that organizational processes provide a new field of application for information-processing theory.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring travelers' decision-making styles	[ "Involvement", "Decision making styles", "Destination images", "Travel decisions" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Understanding the decision-making process of tourists has always been an essential tourism research subject (Sirakaya and Woodside, 2005). To compete effectively in the global marketplace, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) want to know how tourists make ultimate destination choices (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999). A plethora of studies have helped to predict when, where and how tourism decisions are made using a variety of tools, including market segmentation. Consumer behavior researchers profile decision-making styles (DMS) to study consumers' shopping behavior and to use DMS to segment markets for product positioning. Within the context of this study, \"a decision-making style refers to a mental orientation describing how a consumer makes choices\" (Durvasula et al., 1993, p. 56). Consumers including tourists/travelers interact with businesses and destinations using DMS. They utilize these inherent characteristics and mental orientations when shopping, seeking information and even choosing destinations (Decrop and Zidda, 2006). Despite a large number of tourism segmentation studies, little research concentrates on DMS of travelers and their effect in final purchase decisions. Sproles and Kendall (1986) propose DMS as a basic consumer profile akin to the personality type concept in psychology that continuously impacts consumer decisions throughout their lives. More evidence from consumer behavior literature indicates that in fact much of the error variation in choice behavior can be explained by different DMS. Therefore, DMS has long been used as a segmentation tool (Bettman, 1979; Sproles and Kendall, 1986).\nLiterature review: Travelers' DMS\nMethodology: Operationalization of constructs\nResults: The sample had 234 male and 173 female respondents and was formed of 211 Chinese and 196 Arab travelers. A factor analysis of the 19-item travel DMS scale was conducted to examine the DMS dimensions. A principal component analysis (PCA) extraction method with Varimax rotation was used. The eigenvalue greater than one rule and the Scree plot technique were performed to determine the number of extracted factors. Accordingly, five factors were identified with the Cronbach's alpha values ranging from 0.60 to 0.77 (Table I) while explaining 57 per cent of the total variance in the data. The factors were labeled as: adaptability, rationality, impulsiveness, social adjustment and pragmatism.\nDiscussion and conclusions: Five factors were identified for the DMS construct: adaptability, rationality, impulsiveness, social adjustment and pragmatism. The adaptability factor was formed by items presenting the opportunism, social adjustment, impulsiveness and variety-seeking. Whereas, factor analysis of tourism involvement scale revealed three factors, which were named as sign, importance-pleasure and risk perception. Unlike Dimanche et al.'s (1991) four distinct factors, this study identified only three factors. Gursoy and Gavcar (2003) also reported a three-factor tourism involvement solution (i.e. interest/pleasure, risk probability and risk importance dimensions). Nevertheless, the present study validates the efficacy of the CIP developed by Laurent and Kapferer (1985) within the context of taking a vacation at a destination. The last factor analysis was performed for the destination image scale and distinguished the following three factors: accessibility to resources, quality and reputation, and overall destination image.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to profile market segments using travelers' decision-making styles (DMS) as segmentation bases and to identify similarities and differences between traveler segments regarding a series of psychographic and attitudinal characteristics.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data are gathered from a sample of 426 travelers in Dubai and Shanghai via self-reported surveys. Analyses included factor, k-means cluster, discriminant and MANOVA.\nFindings: Study findings reveal significant differences among the rational, adaptive and daydreamer decision-makers' segments in their behavioral and attitudinal characteristics with respect to tourism involvement and destination images.\nPractical implications: Findings provide important practical implications for generating effective marketing and positioning strategies based on the identified attitudinal characteristics of the traveler segments for destination marketing organizations.\nOriginality/value: A stream of recent tourism studies shows a strong relationship between tourism involvement and destination images, yet very little research has tackled the issue of how these critical variables can be affected by individuals' decision-making styles. This study explores and tests the relationships among DMS, tourism involvement and destination image using a factor-cluster approach.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Strategic human resource management and public employee retention	[ "Strategic human resource management", "Human resource management practices", "Employee retention", "Public sector", "National Bank of Egypt" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There is no doubt that the way in which the human resource (HR) function was managed in organizations has altered dramatically over the past few decades (Lawler, 2005, p. 1). A significant trend today is for HR managers to adopt a strategic approach of their jobs and to recognize critical links between the organizational and HR management strategies. Basically, strategic human resource management (SHRM) highlights the growing change in the HRM function from being prescriptive, reactive and administrative to being descriptive, proactive and executive. Sahoo et al. (2011) noted that the concept of SHRM is related to the appropriate integration of HRM activities with the business strategy of the company (Allui and Sahni, 2016, p. 363).\nProblem statement: This study investigates a main research question which is:\nLiterature review: concepts and relationships: Strategic human resource management\nApplication: empirical study: Research methodology\nConclusion: concluding remarks: This study has gone a substantial way towards meeting its prime goal, which is examining the relationship between SHRM and employee retention in public organizations, especially in developing countries. The paper has concluded that the employment of best SHRM practices contributes to the retention of core public employees, as it was relatively found at the NBE, despite the need for further improvement efforts. The research has implications for both theory and practice; first it offers several contributions to literature by means of formulating a conceptual framework which identifies SHRM activities that may help in bolstering employee retention and eliminating turnover, and second, the paper provides a practical guide to executives and policy makers, particularly in the Egyptian public sector, to enable them recognize and initiate employment measures that will make the workplace experience a more pleasant one for workers, and hence weakening the employees' intents to leave. However, the field study here has some limitations. All findings are based on information taken from respondents. This is in addition to time limitations; that is findings reflect the labor market within a period of great challenges and transformations in Egypt.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the dynamics of using strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices in the public sector. More specifically, this paper tries to point out some main aspects of SHRM, which strongly influence the decision of employees to stay. The empirical study here tends to reveal greater insights into the SHRM-retention relationship and its validation at the National Bank of Egypt (NBE).\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research is co-relational in nature with cause and effect approach. The design of the study is both descriptive in the theoretical part and quantitative in the applied one. Theoretically, this paper adopted the analytical approach to define the main concepts, aside from an empirical study to investigate correlations in practice.\nFindings: This paper concludes that the employment of best HRM practices is deemed a remarkable strategic tool in the retention of core public employees. Also, the results of analysis provide evidence that SHRM contributes to employee retention at NBE.\nPractical implications: The findings and recommendations of this research can practically guide management to devise effective policies to improve employee retention using appropriate SHRM activities, particularly in the Egyptian public organizations.\nOriginality/value: This research has valuable implications for both theory and practice, as it offers several contributions to literature in the field of study, as well as the practical contribution.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Unit roots and trend breaks in the Greek labor market	[ "Structural change", "Unemployment", "Unit roots", "Labour market time series", "Trend break" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Since 2010, Greece faces a severe sovereign debt crisis and has been the European epicenter of talks regarding fiscal structural reforms that would confront the intrinsic crisis causes. A potential side-effect of fiscal reforms is their influence on labor market dynamics, including employment and the unemployment rate. Deliberate fiscal austerity measures might induce negative pressure on employment and output, while causing unemployment to rise, at least in the short-run (Romer, 2011). The negative effects of aggressive fiscal measures in the labor market and output have also been confirmed in a number of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) reports.\n2. Data and methodology: 2.1. The Greek labor market since 2004 and during the crisis\n3. Empirical results: 3.1. Standard unit root test results\n4. Concluding remarks: This paper has made a renewed and thorough investigation on whether monthly Greek labor market series exhibit unit root behavior, having previously established the presence of structural breaks in the form of trend changes in the deterministic component. Evidence of trend breaks would imply the presence of infrequent \"big\" shocks that affect the trend function in a permanent way, so that they can be modeled as a part of the deterministic component. In addition, evidence in favor of a unit root in the noise component would imply that regular shocks that occur every period (in contrast to trend breaks) have significant effects on the level of the series over a long specified finite horizon. The time series techniques employed try to deal with the circular testing problem between tests on the parameters of the trend function and unit root tests that often arises in empirical applications.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the time series behavior of Greek labor market series by providing an empirical perspective on trend breaks and unit roots. Trend breaks represent aggregate behavior responses to \"infrequent\" changes in economic fundamentals, including changes in fiscal or labor market conditions, as have been perceived in Greece during the last years. Unit roots reveal whether \"regular\" shocks have significant effects on the level of the series over a specified finite horizon.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors employ recent procedures that deal with the \"circular testing problem\" between tests on the parameters of the trend function and unit root tests that often arises in empirical applications. These techniques assess trend function stability and are robust regardless of whether the noise component is stationary or having a unit root. Then, conditional on the presence of breaks, the authors test whether the series can be characterized by a stochastic trend.\nFindings: The analysis provides evidence of \"infrequent\" trend breaks that appear to coincide with the recent global economic crisis and the implementation of the counteraction (fiscal) measures to the Greek debt crisis. Allowing for trend breaks does not lead to a rejection of the unit root hypothesis, which might reflect the low flexibility of the country's labor market operation.\nPractical implications: The procedures employed can be viewed as new tools that might help empirical researchers to explore more accurately the characteristics of individual time series and to find reasonable approximations to the true processes of the time series examined.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides new information on the presence of structural changes in the Greek labor market, and on whether the \"aggressive\" and \"occasional\" nature of fiscal measures can be approximated by infrequent changes in the slope of the trend function.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Benefits of a leaner workforce: Costs of obesity to health and economy	[ "Obesity", "Nutrition", "Self-esteem", "Dietary habit", "Workplace health", "Weight management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The prevalence of obesity among adults increased sharply during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2012, in England, 42 per cent of men and 36 per cent of women were overweight, while 26 per cent of men and women over 16 were classed as obese. In addition to the personal challenges this poses - overweight and obesity are associated with increased risks of a number of health conditions including coronary heart disease, diabetes, joint problems and high blood pressure - obesity can impact on the workplace in a number of ways.\nHealthy changes in behavior with many being maintained: Many people attempt to tackle their own weight problems by means of commercial weight-management programs. But what of the feasibility and benefits of weight-management support in the workplace? Aware of the threats to their businesses, employers, both private and public, have been recommended to address obesity in the workplace - an environment which can be a particularly important setting for promoting health-related opportunities. Workplace weight-management programs involving education and counseling, including elements of dietary and physical activity, have reported both short-term and long-term improvements in body weight.\nChoices at meal times tended to be restricted: Participants gave self-reported accounts of behavior change related to diet and physical activity by answering questionnaires at baseline, 12 weeks, 6 months and 12 months. Over the 12-week study, participants reported a decrease in unhealthy eating and inactivity habits (e.g. eating unhealthy snacks and watching a lot of TV) and an increase in healthy eating and activity habits (e.g. cooking from scratch and going out for walks). These changes were sustained over the follow-up period (6 and 12 months). This suggests that the 12-week intervention encouraged sustainable healthy habit-forming behaviors which are likely to be beneficial for sustained weight loss and/or maintenance of weight loss.\nComment: This review is based on \"Providing weight management via the workplace\" by Barber et al. (2015). Their paper assesses the effectiveness of a Slimming World intervention in both a private and public workplace over a 12-week period.\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: In total, 243 participants enrolled at a 12-week Slimming World weight management program, either within the workplace or at a regular community group. There were 138 completers (defined as those weighing-in at baseline and attending at least once within the past four weeks). Completers reported changes in both weight loss and body mass index, with benefits to mental and emotional health and feelings of self-worth. Healthier dietary habits - and a reduction in unhealthy dietary habits - were reported, plus an improvement in healthy physical activity.\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" } ]
Apprehension and interest: Therapist and student views of the role emerging placement model in the Republic of Ireland	[ "Occupational therapy", "Education" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Role-emerging placements are described as taking place in a non-traditional setting where there is no occupational therapist currently employed. Students receive on-site supervision from an employee of the host organisation and are supported through distant supervision from an occupational therapist (Wood, 2005).\nLiterature review: A review of the literature highlighted the use of this placement model in North America (Bossers et al., 1997), the United Kingdom (Alsop and Donald, 1996; Clark et al., 2014a; Thew et al., 2008; Wood, 2005), Australasia (Rodger et al., 2009; Thomas et al., 2005) and Ireland (Warren et al., 2010/2011). Craik and Turner (2005) propose that new ideas for practice education provision are necessary within occupational therapy. Students require preparation for diverse and challenging working environments (Huddleston, 1999). The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) developed practice education standards to include settings that do not have an on-site occupational therapist (Hocking and Ness, 2002) and globally role-emerging placements are being incorporated into occupational therapy professional programmes. It is important to note that there are different models of role-emerging placements in terms of how the supervision is structured and delivered (Thew et al., 2011).\nMethodology: Design\nResults: The following section displays the results derived from the completed questionnaires of both the occupational therapists and occupational therapy students who took part in the study. The results include the views of role-emerging placements as well as some demographic information on the respondents.\nDiscussion: While almost two-thirds of respondents to the survey held strong views that role-emerging placements should not be completed as part of occupational therapy programmes in Ireland, the majority acknowledged that there are benefits to the use of the placement model. This was mainly evident in the open-ended questions which highlighted value in students linking theory into practice, being creative and independent that could positively influence their development and supports findings from previous research (Clarke et al., 2014b). Interestingly, a sizable proportion of the occupational therapy students (25/45) surveyed expressed that they would be interested in completing a role-emerging placement if the possibility arose. This survey also highlighted a preference for part-time role-emerging placements which is already used in occupational therapy programmes in the UK and Canada (Thew et al., 2011).\nConclusion: This research highlighted that occupational therapists and occupational therapy students' views encompass both gains and apprehensions regarding role-emerging placements. There are undoubtedly concerns surrounding the topic and it is important that these views are raised and addressed in a professional forum to facilitate more understanding surrounding the topic. Change is occurring within health care and such change requires a focus on preparing occupational therapy students for diverse practice to reach a wider community.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Role-emerging placements have been used internationally within occupational therapy education but are relatively new to Ireland. At times, there has been a debate in the profession regarding the use of this placement model. This paper aims to generate views from both occupational therapists and occupational therapy students on the use of role-emerging placements in the Republic of Ireland.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Electronic surveys were administered to occupational therapy students and occupational therapists in Ireland. Quantitative data were analysed using the SPSS Statistics software package and the content of the open question responses were analysed into themes.\nFindings: Occupational therapists (n = 60) and occupational therapy students (n = 45) indicated that there were inconsistent views surrounding role-emerging placements. It is deemed as an effective method for student learning, but apprehension exists around inclusion within occupational therapy programmes in the Republic of Ireland. Preference was indicated towards inclusion of role-emerging placements on a part-time basis within formal occupational therapy education.\nOriginality/value: Both respondent groups viewed that role-emerging placements can positively influence new areas of occupational therapy practice and concern over the use of the placement model requires further exploration and debate. This study is from an Irish context, although there are similarities with other countries' use of the placement model. There is a need for research through an in-depth exploration of the learning experience of undertaking role-emerging placements from the students' perspective and identification of supports required to promote an optimal learning experience.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]

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