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The Cramer-Rao lower bound on variance: Adam and Eve's "uncertainty principle"	[ "Variance", "Risk assessment", "Functional equations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Identifying one's \"favorite\" mathematical formula is an amusing pastime for the symbolically inclined. Such an assessment requires both a general familiarity with the mathematical sciences, as well as a developed sense of esthetics. Ideally, the selected formula should possess an alluring combination of scientific universality and intrinsic elegance, qualities inevitably guided by subjective elements of the evaluator's personality and experience.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The editorial aims to describe the importance of the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) in matters of risk, and consider why this inequality generally receives less attention than it deserves.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The CRLB is discussed in the context of other celebrated equations, one of which (Heisenberg's uncertainty principle) is actually implied by the CRLB. A hypothetical world with no randomness on the macroscopic level is then imagined, and the role of the CRLB in that world is considered.\nFindings: - It is found that in a world with no macroscopic uncertainty, the CRLB would play a central role in describing the \"counterintuitive\" concept of randomness.\nOriginality/value: - The editorial identifies and explores an important epistemological result that is under-appreciated.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Examining the link between Islamic work ethic and innovation capability	[ "Public sector organizations", "Work ethic", "Job satisfaction", "Human resource management", "Islam", "Malaysia" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Undoubtedly in our day, we are brazen with a more brisk and multifaceted revolution of humanity owing to the materialization of new-fangled realities by no means observed by communities in times of yore. Since independence to date, Malaysia has aggressively explored opportunities in the global marketplace. Perhaps, as a consequence to globalization, Malaysia experiences augmented industrialization and economic mobility. To some extent, the Malaysian nation has been exposed to diverse work values due to an influx of expatriates from all over the world. Over the years, it is feasible that society has mined idiosyncratic work values from abroad. Given the noticeable revolution in the Malaysian society, it is imperative to comprehend to what extent values and attitudes may have reallocated within the Malaysian way of life as a result of world revolution. There are literally loads of information documented on human behaviors, values and attitudes at workplace. Nonetheless, the bulk of research pertaining to work ethic and various organizational and individual outcomes has been carried out in the Western locale centered on the Protestant work ethic (PWE).Notwithstanding its substance, little study has been devoted to Islamic work ethic (IWE) and its influence on workplace outcomes such as organizational innovation capabilities (Ali, 2005; Ali and Al-Owaihan, 2008; Rizk, 2008; Yousef, 2000, Ali and Al-Owaihan, 2008). In response to the substantial need to examine IWE and the workplace outcome in a non-Western environment, therefore, in this paper, we treat the extent to which IWE sways innovation capability among the Malaysian public sector fraternity. Malaysia is an Islamic country with a multicultural society; therefore it is an excellent setting for performing and reporting such a study. Both scholars and practitioners will find the present study more valuable. Scholars are able to intensify their knowledge on the IWE and its consequence for innovativeness in a non-Western public sector context. We anticipate that this will induce more scholarly research. On the other hand, the practitioners, particularly human resource professionals and higher level officers in the public sector, will find the information in this paper helpful in their endeavor towards crafting an innovative workforce. The following section presents a review of the relevant literature and is followed by a description of the research method used to facilitate the empirical investigation of the research objectives. The results give rise to implications for research and managerial practices. Finally, the limitations and recommendations for further research are highlighted.\nThe Malaysian Civil Service: The Malaysian Civil Service is the heritage of the British which had colonized the country for almost two centuries. Perhaps the British deliberately instilled Malaysia with a sense of inferiority, which has been perpetuated by the unmerited foreign supremacy, either through sociopolitical constitution, economics, and legislation or via the influx of foreign corporations and workers. The same scenario has been faced by many other countries colonized by British or Western regimes (Ali, 1992, 2005). This historical development has resulted in widespread cultural and social antagonism and, more despondently, a growth of indifference in the workplace (Ali and Al-kazemi, 2002, 2007; Ali, 2005).British colonialism to a wide extent has induced the Malaysian government to emphasize positive work ethics, efficiency, productivity and discipline in the public sector. The 1980s witnessed the prologue of explicit efforts of the Malaysian government in augmenting the attitudinal and value change programs. Trustworthiness, responsibility, sincerity, dedication, moderation, diligence, clean conduct, cooperativeness, honor and gratitude are the kind of core values emphasized among Civil Servants to uphold the integrity, efficiency and performance in facing the challenges encapsulated in the New Economic Policy (NEP), 1971-1990, the National Development Policy (NDP), 1991-2000 and the National Vision Policy (NVP), 2001-2010 while acting on the Vision 2020 aspirations. The inculcation of Islamic values in public administration is a decisive for this endeavor; unfortunately, the excellent policy was initiated with moderate forcefulness and least documentation, which perhaps leads in murky directions. Nevertheless, to espouse the united Malaysian nation, identity and pride while triumphing over enormous developmental hindrances, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi introduced the Islam Hadhari (Civilization Islam) approach in 2004 which emphasizes civilization, consistent with the tenets of Islam with a focus on enhancing the quality of life through the mastery of knowledge and the development (physical and spiritual) of the individual and the nation as a whole. Islam Hadhari summarizes ten principles for the nation to take on global challenges, while ensuring that its approach and implementation are acceptable to the multiracial, multicultural and multireligious society of Malaysia all the time. The Islamic Hadhari is undoubtedly the base for actions and the paybacks are intended for equitable sharing by all Malaysians, Muslims as well as non-Muslims alike. Indeed, Islamic values, being proliferative, are alleged to be universally valid and therefore it is germane to the minority of non-Muslim Civil Servants (Badawi, 2005).The Islamic work ethic (IWE)\nMethod: The target population for this study is the Administrative and Diplomatic Service (Perkhidmatan Tadbir dan Diplomatik - PTD) Officers. They are the elite corps of generalist administrators who occupy virtually the key positions in the Malaysian Civil Service. The PTD officers are generally very versatile individuals who act as providers of services, facilitators of the nation's economic growth, enforcers of law, protectors of national peace and integration, and guardians of the future generation's wellbeing and prosperity. They also shoulder the responsibility of ensuring the implementation of national policies and the attainment of their objectives. They are selected to participate in this study for those reasons and are expected to provide the best responses to fulfill the objectives of the study.Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Convenience sampling was deemed to be a feasible arrangement acceptable to the responding departments. To overcome the problem of low response rate and accurate mailing list, a drop and pick method was employed. The liaison officers of various ministries and departments helped in the distribution and collection of the survey. Of the 1,000 questionnaires distributed, 472 usable questionnaires were returned. Taking into account the invalid responses, the response rate for this study was 49 percent.The IWE was measured using 17 items developed by Ali (1988). Previous research has shown a satisfactory level of internal consistency of the IWE measure, with Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.76 to 0.89 (Ali, 1992; Yousef, 2000, 2001; Ali and Al-Kazemi, 2007). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the current study is 0.89. Innovation capability was measured using five items adapted from Lee and Choi (2003). The innovation capability scale had Cronbach's reliability coefficient of 0.87 and was well validated by Lee and Choi (2003). The current Cronbach's reliability coefficient is 0.94. All the items to measure IWE and innovation capability were rated on a five-point Likert-type scale, with 1 representing \"strongly disagree\" and 5 \"strongly agree\". Data were analyzed using SPSS version 15, a statistical analysis software package. Descriptive and correlation statistics were obtained to confirm the objectives of the study.\nFindings and discussion: Profile of respondents\nConclusion: This study shows that the PTD officers are highly committed to the IWE scale. One of the reasons for successful absorption of IWE in the Malaysian public sector context is that both Muslim and non-Muslim employees are aware and conscious of their religious demands for the establishment of justice and fair dealings in the workplace. The non-Muslims who participate in this study seemed to be at ease in working with their Muslim colleagues due to their comprehensible awareness of the existence of workable Islamic mechanisms in the public sector, and also due to their personal experiences and observation of the Islamic way of work-life balance in Malaysia. Such positive attitudes might result in several advantages including hard work, commitment and dedication to work, work creativity, cooperation and fair competitiveness in the work place. These, of course, would benefit both the individual and the public sector operations. Thus, the human resource professionals in the Malaysian public services need to continuously measure all the positive outcomes as a result of the high support and inculcation of IWE while ensuring that the implementation of IWE permeates at all levels of public service. An understanding of the commitment of the public servants to the IWE can provide some insights to help the human resource professionals in the public services in designing and implementing change programs in tandem with the national development policies. IWE emphasizes hard work, meeting deadlines and persistence. This means that, in introducing change, the establishment of timelines and clarification of goals and responsibilities are essential in carrying out interventions successfully. IWE also views work not as an end in itself, but as a means to foster personal growth and social relations. In this context, group interactions and team activities should be designed appropriately to enable optimal facilitation of the intended changes. Moreover, IWE views dedication to work and work creativity as virtuous. Human resource professionals should focus their process design on the new method of change and on producing results that reinforce existing commitment and enthusiasm. Justice and generosity in the workplace are necessary conditions for society's welfare and they have long been preached in IWE. Human resource professionals must show that they are attentive to and are concerned about human needs. Besides, human resource professionals who act as the change agent in the public sector must acquire social skills and master public relations which are essential to effect change successfully.It is also proved that IWE influences innovation capability in the public sector but the strength of the relationship was moderate. This is because there are many factors that contribute equally to innovation capability such as human capital, internal and external structures. The IWE may only be able to influence the human capital side of the public sector. But to further enhance the innovation capability in the public sector, the internal and external structures need to be considered as well. An organization's vision, strategies, goals, values, culture and philosophy are examples of internal structures. Stakeholders, public policy and regulation are considered as external structures. Overall, it is believed that the results of this study and its implications are useful in reflecting on current issues related to the work ethic and its correlates. The results are also important to the practitioners in understanding IWE and the centrality of the work ethic in one's life. IWE places significant social and psychological force on employees to increase their commitment in the provision of public services articulated by the ruling government. From this viewpoint, human resource professionals should seek to understand individual norms in the workplace and revolutionize the current values to one that fosters innovation. Strong values which resonance with emphasized in IWE will contribute greatly to innovation capability. Limitations of the study and issues for future research are recapitulated as follows:* It is strongly suggested that cross-national studies using relatively a large and representative sample are conducted to compare the strength of the IWE scale and assess its generalizability across varying public and private sectors. This is essential for constant advancement of the body of knowledge on IWE.* The current study only focused on the PTD officers; thus further studies are anticipated to include all level of employees in the public sector to strengthen the generalization of the findings.* It would also be of interest to study the impact of the IWE on other individual and organizational variables as such knowledge-sharing capability, financial performance, talent development, organizational citizenship behaviour, workplace learning and job insecurity.* More studies should be undertaken to observe the impact of the IWE on innovation capability among non-Muslim nationalities.* Future studies should consider examining the impact of other work values (e.g. PWE, Japanese, Korean, etc.) on innovation capability. A comparison study between IWE and other work ethics can also be carried out to understand their impacts on various organizational outcomes.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to present an in-depth analysis of the Islamic work ethic (IWE) and its influence on innovation capability in the public sector.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The foundations of IWE and innovation capability were assessed using a validated questionnaire. A total of 472 employees from the Malaysian public sector participated in the survey.\nFindings: - The empirical results indicate that the IWE is highly adapted in the public sector. In addition, the respondents collectively declared that the innovation strength in the Malaysian public sector is mounting. The IWE measure was found to be significant with moderate correlation and positive relationship with the innovation capability scale.\nResearch limitations/implications: - While the study was confined to the Malaysian public sector, it has considerable implications for the development of an optimistic workforce in other regions and across sectors.\nPractical implications: - An understanding of the commitment of the workforce to the IWE and its consequences for innovativeness facilitates HR professionals in designing and implementing change initiatives.\nOriginality/value: - In response to the substantial need to examine IWE and workplace outcomes in a non-Western environment, therefore, the paper embraces the extent to which IWE sways innovation capability in the public sector. Both scholars and practitioners will find the study valuable.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
National culture and inter-tier price competition	[ "National culture", "Prospect theory", "Inter-tier competition", "Price competition" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this issue.\nIntroduction: This research focuses on the role of national culture on inter-tier price competition. Thus, our research makes a contribution by examining the intersection of three dominant research streams in the marketing literature:\nBackground literature: Inter-tier price competition\nDevelopment of research propositions: Prospect theory as a framework to explain inter-tier price competition\nDiscussion: By providing a conceptual examination of inter-tier competition in the global context, we explore the boundary conditions of inter-tier competition. In addition, by linking the explanation to the elements of prospect theory, we open up a mechanism for exploring other price-response behaviors by customers using economic theories and cultural dimensions. Using the notion of price framing originating from prospect theory to formally explore inter-tier competition and price-response behavior and using the national culture theory to conceptualize the boundary conditions of price framing and inter-tier price competition presents a new theoretical approach of integrating two major theoretical frameworks to answer an important research question. Our approach also answers the call for more conceptual articles in the marketing discipline.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This research aims to examine the role of national culture dimensions in the nature of tier competition between high-tier brands and low-tier brands.\nDesign/methodology/approach: It starts with a conceptual framework based on prospect theory to explain the asymmetric inter-tier competition. It then describes how the national culture dimensions influence the implications of prospect theory and as a result, the nature of inter-tier competition. The paper uses Hofstede's framework to operationalize national culture and derives a number of research propositions that explicate the role of national culture in inter-tier price competition.\nFindings: The study finds that the extent of asymmetry favouring high-tier brands over low-tier brands depends on the national culture dimensions. Whereas high levels of individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity increase the asymmetry favouring high-tier brands, higher long-term orientation decreases asymmetric price competition favouring high-tier brands.\nPractical implications: The findings offer important guidelines for understanding the nature of inter-tier price competition as a function of national culture.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study to extend inter-tier price competition in the global setting and also the first study that links national culture with prospect theory to examine the boundary conditions of inter-tier price competition.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Chinese perception and willingness to buy Taiwanese brands: The role of ethnocentrism and animosity	[ "China", "Animosity", "Taiwan", "Ethnocentrism", "Willingness to buy", "Brand’s perceived quality" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Many factors create unfavorable attitudes toward foreign-made product, including among others, cosmopolitanism (Han, 2017; Madhurima and Chaudhuri, 2014), susceptibility to norm influences (Park and Yoon, 2017) and country image (Souiden et al., 2011). In particular, animosity and ethnocentrism have received particular attention from scholars within the field (Erdogan and Uzkurt, 2010; Han, 2017; Madhurima and Chaudhuri, 2014; Shimp and Sharma, 1987; Supphellen and Rittenburg, 2001; Park and Yoon, 2017; Tsai et al., 2013; Watson and Wright, 2000; Wilcox, 2015). They are considered as two distinct but related constructs (Akdogan et al., 2012; Zafar et al., 2013).\nLiterature review: The China-Taiwan relationship\nMethodology: Choice of the computer industry\nResults: Sample characteristics\nDiscussion: The findings suggest that Chinese ethnocentrism is generally low, confirming the results of Parker et al. (2011). However, the study by Ishii (2009) shows that the ethnocentricity of the Chinese is high in the case of products originating from the USA and Japan. In the present study, Chinese ethnocentrism is measured apart from the name of the foreign country or its products.\nTheoretical and managerial implications: Our research aims to better understand the dynamics among ethnocentrism, animosity, brand's perceived quality and purchase intention of Chinese consumers, considering their particular relationship with Taiwan.\nConclusion and research limitations: This study examines ethnocentrism and animosity in a particular context of two societies that share cultural, historical, ethnic and geographical characteristics. Despite these ties, the study argues that if Chinese ethnocentrism increases, animosity toward Taiwan will increase and therefore the willingness to buy Taiwanese brands will decrease. However, Chinese ethnocentrism has no effect on the perception of the quality of Taiwanese brands. But a marked animosity toward Taiwan may generate negative effects on both Chinese consumers' perception of the quality of Taiwanese brands and their willingness to buy them.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine ethnocentrism and animosity in a special context of two societies that share cultural, historical, ethnic and geographical characteristics. In particular, it first investigates the relationships between Chinese ethnocentrism and animosity toward Taiwan, and then it examines the impact of these two factors on the Chinese perception of Taiwanese brand quality and their purchase intent.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on a sample of 605 respondents from China, data were analyzed by structural equation modeling.\nFindings: The results show that although Chinese animosity toward Taiwan is moderate, it is significantly driven by ethnocentrism, which has a significant and negative effect on willingness to buy, but not on the perception of Taiwanese brand quality. The Chinese animosity toward Taiwan, however, has negative and significant effects on their perception of Taiwanese brand quality and their intention of purchasing Taiwanese brands.\nResearch limitations/implications: The immense size of the country has impeded the representativeness of the authors' sample and the generalizability of the results. Also, the study covers only one type of product.\nPractical implications: Forming partnerships with local Chinese businesses and developing strong ties with local communities could be considered as a solution to minimize or circumvent the effect of animosity and might help foreign companies appear more \"local.\"\nOriginality/value: In contrast to past studies that investigated ethnocentrism and animosity in the context of countries presenting several differences (e.g. China vs USA), this study investigates the effect of ethnocentrism and animosity in the context of two countries (China and Taiwan) that share cultural, historical, ethnic and geographic characteristics. Despite the strong ties between the two countries, the Chinese have a certain animosity, though moderate, toward Taiwan and consequently are less inclined to buy Taiwanese brands. This implies that Chinese animosity toward a country may be toned down or pronounced, depending on whether they have strong or weak ties with that country.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effect of the regulatory framework on the competitiveness of the dairy sector in Tanzania	[ "Competitiveness", "Regulations", "Dairy sector", "Policy change" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: An effective regulatory regime for promoting development of the private sector is vital, especially in developing economies (World Bank, 2004). In many instances, the World Bank has highlighted the importance of reforming the regulatory framework in developing countries for unleashing a private sector response that leads to dynamic growth, and ultimately employment and income generation. There is a lot of encouragement to increase private-public dialogue and private sector advocacy in the belief that this will assist in improving the enabling environment (Irwin, 2008). The Doing Business reports by the World Bank highlight that enterprises in poor countries face much greater regulatory burdens than those in rich countries. For instance, there is growing evidence that the regulatory environment in Tanzania is unfriendly to private enterprises relative to other countries. Tanzania's ranking on the aggregate Ease of Doing Business Index has always been low, varying from 124 to 131 out of 183 countries.\nMethodology: The study that culminated in this paper was qualitative in nature, based mainly on case studies of two enterprises operating in the dairy sector, the collection of secondary data, in-depth personal interviews with regulators and representatives of the Tanzania Milk Processors' Association (TAMPA) as well as the collection of data from a stakeholders' workshop. The study began with an intensive literature review and analysis of the legislation governing the dairy sector in Tanzania. At least 25 laws governing the dairy industry were analysed. In total, eight respondents from one small enterprise and one medium-scale company were personally interviewed. Both companies were considered representative of the targeted enterprises for two main reasons. First, with the exception of five major dairy companies in Tanzania, all the dairy-processing enterprises are small and medium-sized firms. Second, small enterprises are more severely affected by red tape and incur higher regulatory costs than large companies (Chittenden et al., 2002).\nEconomic theory and food regulations: This section presents a review of the literature on social regulations with emphasis on both the general economic theory of regulation and food safety regulations. The economic theory of social regulation covers areas such as the environment, labour conditions, consumer protection, safety in workplaces and prohibition of certain goods (Den Hertog, 2010). The food regulation literature draws attention to benefits and costs of food safety regulation in the food processing industry and dairy sector in particular.\nFindings: Regulations governing the dairy sector in Tanzania\nConclusion and implications: This paper shows that regulatory and associated costs paid by firms in the dairy sector increase the burden on business and therefore affect their ability to compete. So, rationalisation of the regulatory framework in the sector is a sensible solution. In view of the evidence presented in the paper, there is a need to review the current regulatory system to comply with international best practices. This entails: the removal of unnecessary controls on business activities; simplifying the process to reduce the compliance costs; separating the competing functions of regulation and revenue generation; and inter-agency co-ordination to improve consistency and efficiency in administration. Another key aspect is whether the stakeholders advocating the review of regulations will succeed. In this case, it is important to note that advocacy initiative is effective when the change is actually implemented or an effort is made to implement it, as actual implementation may also depend on decisions by others who were not reached by the advocacy effort. Drawing on the experience of TAMPA, besides creating awareness of the issue, the desired policy change has not happened, partly because regulators are striving to keep their functions. Using a limited range of advocacy techniques (particularly coalition and awareness building) might have affected the success of TAMPA. Arguably, the association should engage with other relevant stakeholders which have a special role in reviewing the regulation including the Prime Ministers' Office. Using a wider range of advocacy techniques is likely to increase the chance of success. Since achieving policy change through advocacy is most likely to be a gradual process, the effort to bring change should be a continuous process. There is a need, therefore, for private sector organisations to evaluate their effort and monitor progress so as to take adequate measures to speed-up the process. But, above all, private sector organisations need to recognise change may take some time and so they need to be persistent. They also need to develop the required expertise in turning research into policy positions, understanding how policy process works in government and forming coalitions.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of the regulatory framework on the competitiveness of the dairy sector of Tanzania. More precisely, it attempts to identify the main regulations governing the dairy industry and examines areas in which they overlap. The paper explores the effect of the regulatory framework on the business enterprises operating in the sector and highlights ongoing initiatives for harmonisation of the regulations affecting the dairy sector.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study that culminated in the paper was qualitative in nature, being based on case studies of two enterprises operating in the dairy industry, secondary data, in-depth discussions with industry stakeholders through personal interviews and focus group discussions. The paper also draws on observations made of the advocacy project that is going on to review regulations in the dairy sector.\nFindings: The dairy sector in Tanzania is facing significant regulatory challenges, leading to the high cost of doing business. The main regulatory burdens facing the sector are: multiple inspections of premises, multiple testing of products, multiplicity of licences for premises and products, and the use of regulations as a source of revenue. Bureaucratic roadblocks add costs to businesses and reduce the competitiveness of products and services, as well as the potential for business expansion and job creation. While the private sector appears to succeed in creating awareness of the issue, it has not yet succeeded in pressurising the government to take action to bring about policy change.\nPractical implications: The findings of the paper will inform policy makers and the private sector on how the regulations affect the competitiveness of the dairy industry. The paper will also aid advocacy initiatives by private sector organisations by providing empirical evidence concerning the damaging effect of the regulatory framework and will contribute some ideas on how to carry forward the ongoing dialogue between the private and public sector.\nOriginality/value: The paper fills the gap resulting from the lack of empirical evidence regarding the impact of the regulatory framework on the competitiveness of the private sector in the context of a developing economy. It demonstrates how systematic research on advocacy issues raised by the private sector could be used to generate evidence that informs and motivates policy change. The paper also applies the theory of regulation to a specific industry to show how regulatory reforms could be attained.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
This is not what I wanted: The effect of avoidance coping strategy on non-work-related social media use at the workplace	[ "Performance", "Avoid-performance goal orientation", "Avoidance coping strategy", "Trapped perception" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: One of the key assumptions of many classical work motivation theories is that, where possible, human beings will do what they want to do. For example, the classical Maslow theory listed \"self-actualization\" as an individual's highest level of need, and McClelland's model focused on the aspects of achievement, power, affiliation and autonomy (Steers et al., 2004). This is also one of the assumptions of classical human resources management theories such as attraction-selection-attrition theory (Schneider, 1987).\nAvoidance coping strategy: In the field of clinical psychology, the literature on experiential avoidance focuses on the tendency of individuals to avoid stressful experiences or the perceived source of stress. By definition, experiential avoidance is the \"tendency to negatively evaluate, escape and avoid aversive private experiences\" (Gerhart et al., 2014, p. 291). It consists of two parts: the unwillingness to remain in contact with the aversive private experiences, and the action taken to avoid the perceived source of the aversive experiences (Spinhoven et al., 2014). We want to emphasize that the concept of \"aversive experiences\" is a relative perception. This is akin to a scenario in which parents ask their children \"why is it so hard for you to [...]?\"; although the task may be easy and straightforward from the perspective of the parents, the children may perceive it to be a feat. Likewise, for individuals who feel trapped in a job, they may perceive completion of the \"simplest tasks\" as aversive experiences. For example, for those who perceive themselves to be underemployed, they may perceive the task of helping colleagues to make a cup of coffee or to photocopy documents as extremely aversive experiences, as their allocation of these \"simple tasks\" might be taken as an insult to their competencies.\nSocial media use and avoidance coping strategy: Modern working life is characterized by the use of social media. Five characteristics of social media are: participation, openness, conversation, community, and connectedness (Mayfield, 2008). It can be accessed as long as there is a connection to the internet, and it can serve both work and entertainment purposes. Individuals can use social media to work on company projects (e.g. social media advertisements), liaise with colleagues or external third parties (via the chat or message function), read leisure articles (e.g. friend's blog), or even play online games. As of the end of 2014, the number of monthly active social media users from all parts of the world had exceeded two billion, the number of monthly active mobile device social media users had exceeded 1.6 billion, and people were spending an average of 2.4 hours per day on social media (We Are Social, 2015). The majority of corporations listed on the 2011 Fortune 500 and Inc. 500 lists use social media in their business (Ratliff and Kunz, 2014). Essentially, social media has changed how organizations and individuals interact with each other (Kietzmann et al., 2011).\nNon-work-related social media use - a form of deviance?: We aim to explain non-work-related use of social media in the workplace via an avoidance coping perspective. Many organizations and scholars have considered the non-work-related use of social media in the workplace as being willful deviant behavior by employees (e.g. Liberman et al., 2011; Rahimnia and Karimi Mazidi, 2015). Some scholars have called this type of behavior \"cyberloafing\", and classified it as a form of production deviance, or counterproductive workplace behavior (Liberman et al., 2011; Motowidlo et al., 2013).\nGoal orientation theory: Goal orientation theory is based on the tenet that human actions are guided by an approach-avoid orientation: that is, individuals will deliberately approach favorable outcomes and avoid negative ones. Early goal orientation research focused on how the learning-goal orientations of students influenced their academic outcomes (e.g. Harackiewicz et al., 1997, 2000). Three types of learning-goal orientation have been identified: mastery goal, performance goal, and work avoidance (Duda and Nicholls, 1992). Organizational scholars have adopted this concept to study how goal orientations can influence feedback-seeking behaviors.\nPerformance: Performance has long been a core theme of management literature. It has been defined as \"the total expected value to the organization of the discrete behavioral episodes that an individual carries out over a standard period of time\" (Motowidlo et al., 2013, p. 82). It measures whether an employee's behaviors hinder or help an organization in achieving its goals (Motowidlo et al., 2013). Cortina et al. (2013) proposed that performance can be viewed from three perspectives: task performance, contextual performance, and adaptive performance.\nHow might a trapped perception influence individual performance?: We believe that for the majority of fresh graduates who feel \"trapped\" in disliked jobs, the form of avoidance coping strategy will not take the form of experiential avoidance, which will involve the employee not going to work at all. While individuals who take this route do exist, study of them is more relevant to the field of psychiatry, and is hence beyond the scope of this paper's discussion. We propose that individuals who adopt an avoidance coping strategy will engage in behaviors such as distraction and behavioral disengagement at work (Karekla and Panayiotou, 2011); for example, playing with their smartphones for long periods during office hours; playing online games with their office computers; showing disinterest in office activities; withholding their efforts toward team projects; procrastination; and so on (Goldstone et al., 2011; Liu, 2011).\nSocial media: a double-edged sword: Increasingly efficient forms of communications media have appeared over the years. One of the more prominent categories of new communication media is social media (e.g. Facebook, Whatsapp, Weibo, QQ, and Wechat). The main function of such tools is to facilitate communication between entities. Although social media might differ in form, they are essentially similar in substance - that is, they aim to connect people and to disseminate and share information (Mayfield, 2008).\nDiscussion: Research on the antecedents of job satisfaction has tended to focus on the cognitive evaluation of employees in relation to aspects of a job (Weiss, 2002); for example, the employee's satisfaction with their supervisor, coworkers, pay and benefits, opportunity for promotion, and the nature of the work. To address the lack of focus on the affective aspects of employees, Weiss and Cropanzano (1996) focused on the influence of affective events. The assumption is that good and bad things happen at work, and during work, and that the perception of the aspects of work and the affective outcomes of events that happen during work combine to influence people's satisfaction with their job. In this paper, we focused on a special group of employees: fresh graduates who feel trapped in their job. This group of employees believes that they should be doing something else at somewhere else. These employees' work-related evaluations have little influence on their job satisfaction because they are dissatisfied by default. Under such circumstances, will existing management theories work? Will existing managerial rules of thumb work? In this paper, we focused our discussion on the influence of the trapped perception on individual organizational behavior.\nTheoretical and managerial implications: Researchers of cyberloafing have focused their research efforts on the negative impacts of this phenomenon and have tried to identify effective means of control over the behavior. The assumption has been that employees choose to engage in cyberloafing voluntarily; furthermore, behind all of the control mechanisms proposed by scholars is the \"carrot and stick\" theory. Some researchers have even utilized the theory of crime to explain such behaviors and to rationalize the use of punishments to cyberloafers (e.g. Liberman et al., 2011). However, the assumption of the carrot and stick theory is that employees desire the \"carrot\" and fear the \"stick\"; if an employee hates their job, it is unlikely that the theory will be fully applicable. The \"carrot\" may not have its intended motivational effect, and the \"stick\" may only induce additional negative perceptions of the organization, instead of fear of future punishments. Given that only 40 percent of human resources managers believe that the existing mechanisms are effective at controlling cyberloafing (Rahimnia and Karimi Mazidi, 2015), we should question whether our assumptions regarding the behavior is accurate. In recent research by Liberman et al. (2011) regarding predictions of cyberloafing, the authors only managed to explain 22 percent of the variance in cyberloafing. This means that the current literature on the antecedents of cyberloafing has a 78 percent error variance. Thus, this may be an indication that there are many more unidentified systematic error variances to be discovered, or perhaps that we are heading in the wrong direction.\nLimitations of theory: In this paper, we focused our discussion on the trapped perception of fresh graduates. To keep our discussion focused, we did not expand our model to include the antecedents of trapped perception. For example, could the reason an individual becomes \"trapped\" in a job influence their perception of being trapped in the job? For example, if the individual accepts the role to please their parents, will the dynamics of the person's trapped perception and the ensuing influences of avoidance coping strategies on their social media usage pattern and performances differ compared to an instance in which an individual takes a job to support their family?\nConclusion: In this paper, we proposed that the trapped perception of fresh graduates employed in a company may cause them to engage in avoidance coping strategies. When these employees seek to discharge their stresses, they may look to non-work-related social media usage. While the current literature labels this type of behavior cyberloafing, and scholars classify it as a form of deviant behavior, we have challenged this overgeneralized stance, and suggested that employees who use social media as a tool for avoidance coping should be treated differently from those who do so to avoid work intentionally, as the traditional \"carrot and stick\" mechanism is not likely to work as well on the former group. We believe that when employees who feel trapped in an organization are motivated to work for the organization, and when they no longer feel trapped, instances of both cyberloafing and non-cyber loafing will be reduced. We hope that our paper will spark the interest of management scholars to identify the optimum way to isolate this group of employees, and to find a way to motivate them to work for the organization.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Many fresh graduates have unrealistic career expectations. When reality sets in after graduation, they may be disappointed. Due to factors such as the limited availability of feasible alternative career options, employees who have to stay in jobs they dislike may feel trapped. To alleviate the resulting stresses, they may engage in avoidance coping strategies, such as non-work-related social media use, to discharge their mental strains. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the perception of being trapped can result in the adoption of avoidance coping strategies, and how these strategies can influence individual performance and social media use.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on the literature on avoidance coping strategy, goal orientation theory, and performance theory, the authors proposed a theoretical model on how the avoidance coping strategy of an individual can influence their performance and workplace behavior.\nFindings: The authors propose that when a fresh graduate feels \"trapped\" in a job, the stresses experienced may cause them to hide behind their defense mechanisms. An avoidance coping strategy may then be adopted, and this will influence the individual's workplace behavior (in terms of non-work-related use of social media) and performance.\nPractical implications: If an avoidance coping strategy is an antecedent to non-work-related use of social media, then controlling the use of social media in the workplace may only cause these employees to switch to other forms of self-distraction (for instance, spending more time chatting with colleagues). Under some circumstances, the use of such control mechanisms may even give cyberloafers stronger urges to use social media for non-work-related purposes. If this is the case, managers should reconsider their current approach in handling the related behavior.\nSocial implications: If the cause of non-work-related use of social media in the workplace is an avoidance coping strategy, then the engagement of such workplace behaviors should not be considered \"intentionally harmful actions\". One important criterion for workplace behavior to qualify as a type of counterproductive behavior is that such behavior must be conducted to be intentionally harmful. Given this, the resulting actions of an avoidance coping strategy should not be considered a form of counterproductive behavior, and the authors should reconsider the conceptualization of cyberloafing provided in the organizational literature.\nOriginality/value: The authors believe that this research represents one of the first attempts to bridge the gap between clinical and managerial literature. It attempts to explain non-work-related use of social media in the workplace from the perspective of trapped perception and avoidance coping strategy, and it argues that not all forms of non-work-related use of social media in the workplace are instances of cyberloafing.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Adaptability of mass housing: size modification of flats as a response to segregation	[ "Flexibility", "Adaptability", "Housing stock", "Mass housing", "Apartment sizes", "Residential segregation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The adaptive capacity of existing buildings is a crucial aspect of the resilience and sustainability of cities. Buildings are long-lasting objects that could technically outlast generations of people. As human populations' demographics change and people's way to live, dwell and work transform over time, buildings must adapt to those changes. And they do to some extent - some better, most not particularly well - even though they have not been designed for this in mind (Brand, 1994).\n2. Theoretical background: 2.1 Modernist mass housing, its critique and segregation\n3. Materials and methods: As follows from the interdisciplinary ethos of the paper, the paper employs a multi-method approach: a statistical study, a typological study and, finally, an adaptability study.\n4. Statistical study: forms of housing in Finland and their evolution: 4.1 Housing stock: housing types and dwelling sizes\n5. Typological study: mass housing building layouts: 5.1 Composition of the housing\n6. Adaptability study: scalability by merging flats: 6.1 Scalability potential of flats\n7. Final discussion and conclusion: This paper has operated at the intersection of human geography (segregation research), building stock research and adaptability research. Segregation is broad and complex issue that generates a wide range of needs for mapping the characteristics of the housing stock. This paper has focused on the lack of variation in the sizes of dwellings as a factor in residential segregation and examined this issue in the context of adaptability of Finnish mass housing built in the 1960s and 1970s. Besides pointing out the problems caused by the unequal distribution of homes of different sizes in the Finnish housing stock, this paper also showed how the supply of large dwellings could be increased in mass housing - the part of the stock particularly short of them.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: When dwellings fail to respond to residents' needs, housing will suffer from segregation and buildings will possibly be demolished ahead of their time. This paper focuses on the lack of variation in the sizes of dwellings as a factor in residential segregation. It examines this issue in the context of Finnish mass housing built in the 1960s and 1970s. The purpose of the paper is to review how mass housing layouts can be adapted to produce the currently absent flat sizes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper operates at the intersection of human geography, building stock research and adaptability research. First, statistical data are utilized to investigate how dwellings and households of different sizes are distributed over the Finnish housing stock. Second, the building layouts of mass housing are examined in detail. Third, the potential that flats in mass housing have for size modification is reviewed.\nFindings: There is a disparity of available dwelling sizes between different housing types, and statistics show that the proportion of large households has decreased significantly in blocks of flats over the last decades. The lack of large dwellings in mass housing may contribute as one factor to the segregation of the neighborhoods built in the 1960s and 1970s. The findings show how the variation of apartment sizes can be increased in mass housing.\nOriginality/value: The housing stock is rarely examined in detail in segregation research, even though it is a major determinant for a city's social structure. This paper argues that to address segregation sustainably, it is necessary to understand the housing stock better and to view it as an adaptable asset.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Skills required to deliver energy efficient school retrofit buildings	[ "Energy-efficient measures (EEM)", "Energy-efficient school buildings", "New skills", "Skill development", "Socio-technical network approach (STNA)" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Single-sentence summary: The purpose of the paper is to gain better understanding of the skills required to deliver energy-efficient school retrofit buildings using a socio-technical network approach.\nIntroduction: The UK government is committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels (Climate Change Act, 2008) and to the creation of a low carbon economy (DECC, 2011). Buildings account for approximately 34% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions (Committee on Climate Change, 2015). Any improvement in the energy performance of buildings, therefore, can significantly contribute to the delivery of a low carbon economy. A number of the UK policies designed to reduce consumption and improve efficiency in business/industry have been introduced. The Building Regulations (more specifically, Part L - Heat and Power) encourages the construction sector to consider energy production and energy consumption within buildings (NHBC, 2014). The prevailing literature has stressed that the delivery of energy-efficient buildings requires a new set of \"green\" skills for the design (RIBA 2008), construction and post-completion stages (Home Building Skills, 2013). The need for \"new\" skills is a common recommendation in the construction literature (Construction Skills, 2010; Home Building Skills, 2013).Prior research on the required skills to deliver energy-efficient buildings has focused primarily on either gaining new skills or enhancing existing skills, to address the challenge of \"skills gaps\" within the construction industry (GCB, 2015). Training and education of the workforce is argued to be the way forward to address the \"skills gaps\" challenge (e.g. Construction Skills, 2010). Furthermore, the literature suggests the need for an integrated approach to skills' development (RIBA, 2015), whereby recognition and participation are required by key project stakeholders such as employees, employers, manufacturers and suppliers (Gann and Senker, 1998; Grugulis, 2003). Construction Skills (2010) further expand the agenda on skill development by the inclusion of key government, professional bodies and sector skills councils within the industry. Therefore, the use of training to gain new skills or enhance existing skills is linked to the involvement of the construction workforce and its clients, indicating the necessity of interactions and negotiations between key project stakeholders. The stakeholder approach advocated implies actors' interests influence and conditions the skills requirements during the interactions.The extant literature provides a useful normative, albeit often vague, description of skills and policy approaches. However, that literature is invariably silent on what these new skills actually are, how they are developed and how they are applied in practice. As a result, there are only partial insights on how the construction sector and its clients can respond to the skills challenges (Construction Skills, 2011) and, if the need for new skills does exist, what action is required to obtain them. The aim of this paper is to provide insight into the required new skills, and their development and application, for the successful delivery of energy-efficient school retrofit buildings. The research adopts a socio-technical network approach (STNA) (Elzen et al., 1996; Schweber and Harty, 2010), which highlights key actors, and their interests, interactions and negotiations, within the network.The research contribution is significant in four respects. First, it presents empirical evidence of the required skills, and their development and application in practice for the delivery of energy-efficient buildings. Second, it provides new theoretical insights into the micro-level development of construction skills. Third, it demonstrates the value of the STNA as a potential research method to recognise the principal interests of actors and the acting spaces through which these interests are negotiated and, ultimately, shaped or displaced through the process. Finally, the results reinforce the crucial role of the local authority in the retrofit of school buildings to improve energy efficiency.\nResearch framing: In the construction literature, there is strong agreement that the sector suffers from \"skills shortages\" (Smith, 2019) and \"skills gaps\" (Construction Skills, 2010). More specific to the delivery of energy-efficient buildings, there have been calls for \"new\" skills (Construction Skills, 2010), which have also been described as \"green\" skills and \"low carbon\" skills (RIBA, 2008; Jagger et al., 2012). The type of skills required, the skill definitions and ideas around what the skills actually consist of, however, are vague (Chan and Dainty, 2007). The lack of clarity associated with skills can be due to the diversity of the skill challenges within the construction sector (Dainty et al., 2004), uncertainty surrounding skill development (Dainty et al., 2005) and complexity of skill assessment (Chan and Dainty, 2007). To address this problem, there is a need for a \"socio-cultural\" understanding or \"socialisation\" of skills (Chan and Dainty, 2007). In much the same vein, an approach is required that studies the skills challenges and possible solutions, through the analysis of a diverse range of actors within the construction sector (Dainty et al., 2004). To highlight the skills issues, understand what the necessary skills actually consist of and how the construction sector and its clients can obtain them, an integrated approach is required (Glass et al., 2008). In the following, the concept and classification of \"skills\" is briefly introduced first, followed by a review of the relevant literature to explore the skills challenges associated with the delivery of energy-efficient buildings. This section ends with the adoption of energy-efficient measures for building energy reduction.Concept and classification of skills\nResearch design and methods: Empirical setting\nKey results: Description of the case study\nDiscussion: Key actors/actor groups and interests\nConclusions: Empirical contribution\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The prevailing literature argues the need for \"new\" skills to deliver energy-efficient buildings. The concept of new skills, however, has not been subject to empirical investigation. This paper aims to provide insight on the required new skills, and their development and application, for the successful delivery of energy-efficient school retrofit buildings.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research employed a case study approach of a school retrofit building project in the early stages of the adoption of energy-efficient measures. Through the application of the socio-technical network approach (STNA) as the data collection and analysis framework, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and a review of relevant organisational documentation and were analysed using thematic coding.\nFindings: The findings reveal key actors (i.e. the local authority, energy contractors and school end-users), their principal interests and the required communication, project management, energy management, technical and research skills during their interactions in the successful delivery of the school retrofit building project. The results further reinforce the crucial role of the local authority in driving energy performance improvement of school buildings.\nOriginality/value: This study demonstrates empirical evidence of the principal actors and skills required for the delivery of energy-efficient school retrofit buildings, contributes to new theoretical insights at the identification of key micro-level development of construction skills through the project network and evidences on how the STNA can be mobilised in construction skills research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Training and coaching boost performance of sales staff at B&Q: Model makes its mark at do-it-yourself retailer	[ "United Kingdom", "Training", "Coaching", "Employee behaviour", "Sales performance", "Retailing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: I meet many sales directors of big-ticket retail companies, including global brands. I have identified a familiar pattern of language I think is being taught at Big-Ticket-Retail-Management School.\nThe Model of Excellence(tm): I have spent the past 11 years watching and listening to covertly recorded video and telephone mystery-shopping evaluations of salespeople in action - thousands of them. The videos and audio recordings illustrate selling behaviors from exemplary through to dreadful. Nothing surprises me anymore. Some performances are excellent; some are less than excellent.There is a selection of businesses more regularly excellent than others. I have identified a pattern of success in class-leading business-to-consumer sales operators. It seems that, in almost every case, the best sales performers follow a common pattern. The pattern is what Gregory Bateson, the anthropologist and polymath, called a \"pattern which connects\", because it is common to a diverse range of sales environments. I call it the Model of Excellence(tm). The model relates to three levels of influence.Level 1. Explicit standards\nImplementing the Model of Excellence(tm): The Model of Excellence(tm) is now widely employed in big-ticket retail businesses.One organization that has revisited its big-ticket sales operating model and implemented the Model of Excellence(tm) is global retailer B&Q. Mike Hawes, its director of HR, believes a fresh look at sales professionalism adds real value. He said:\"At B&Q we recognized that our sales performance was being seriously compromised by our failure to engage with the customer and match up his or her KBB (kitchen, bedroom, bathroom) requirements with our products and services in a really professional way.\"It was clear we left far too much of this to chance because we were not clear with our consultants on the absolute, explicit, non-negotiable selling standards that we, and most importantly, our customers, expected.\"With the help of Nick Drake-Knight we went about training in our new simple, five-step selling model. Crucially, however, we spent as much if not more time with our managers training them on how to coach this in using Continue & Begin. This sounds obvious, but we had under-invested in training our managers in the past and fell into the classic mistake of not building up the consistency and sustainability of our approach.\"With our newly adopted Continue & Begin model the standards of coaching in a better sales performance using observed data and metrics are of primary importance. It is great to have better performing sales consultants, but we have become more demanding and expect now (and are seeing) really excellent sales management which is crucial to growing B&Q's KBB business.\"For any big-ticket retailer the starting point, logically, is the creation of an explicit set of standards (the sales process) people can relate to, that they believe could be achievable, and they can incorporate into their daily working lives. Make standards simple, meaningful and relevant and then train sales colleagues to deliver them.Of course, they will need the tools to do the job, and that might mean resource investment. Combine this with a local coaching capability (Continue & Begin fits well) and you have the building blocks for a selling model that will improve sales performance across your organization - consistently and with sustainability.By creating an internal-coaching capability, class-leading business-to-consumer organizations ensure sales excellence is sustained. My guidance is to follow in the footsteps of acknowledged class-leaders and apply this Model of Excellence(tm) to your operations:1. Decide on your standards (sales process) - and make them explicit.2. Create coaching capabilities within your organization, and a culture that promotes coaching. Continue & Begin fast coaching is popular with employees as well as managers.3. Train your people in the skills they need to succeed as sales professionals.4. Maintain post-training performance outputs through regular fast coaching by local managers.5. Enjoy the benefits of consistent and sustained sales excellence.\nNote: For further information on NDK Group, please visit www.ndk-group.com\nCorresponding author: Nick Drake-Knight can be contacted at nick@ndk-group.com\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to describe a Model of Excellence(tm) that has helped to improve the performance of sales staff at retailing giant B&Q, among other organizations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper explains the background to the Model of Excellence(tm) and some of the results it has achieved.\nFindings: - There are three levels of influence of the Model of Excellence(tm) - explicit standards, consistency and sustainability. The paper reveals how the Continue & Begin(tm) fast-coaching model for on-the-spot coaching of sales employees and their colleagues is being used by many of the world's leading automotive and retail operators to reinforce sales training.\nPractical implications: - The paper shows that the fast-coaching approach is ideal for use when observing sales behaviors in situ as well as being a proven method for making the most of mystery-shop video footage or telephone-call recordings.\nOriginality/value: - The paper highlights the importance of creating an explicit set of standards (the sales process) that people can relate to, that they believe could be achievable, that they can incorporate into their daily lives, and training sales staff to deliver them.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Principals' experiences of changes in relationships with newly qualified teachers resulting from a teacher registration reform	[ "Principals", "Assessment", "Relationships" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Principals have been identified as key players for school success and development and for putting policy initiatives into practice (Hargreaves and Fullan, 2012; Garza et al., 2014; Shaked and Schechter, 2017). This paper describes one such initiative, a Swedish teacher registration reform (TRR) aimed at strengthening the teaching profession by introducing a probationary year with mentoring provision and aptitude assessments for newly qualified teachers (NQTs) performed by school principals. The collected data contribute to the understanding of how policies are enacted in practice by examining the potential changes in relationships between principals and NQTs as reported in interviews with principals.\nMethod: As indicated earlier, this paper presents data from the research project \"Head teachers' working conditions and the evaluation of newly qualified teachers\" (the RAOL project) (Fransson et al., 2017a, b; Grannas et al., 2016). In this particular paper, detailed images of policy enactment are derived from qualitative interview data. Semi-structured interviews with five principals from two Swedish municipalities were performed at three occasions during the 2013-14 academic year. One of the selected areas was an affluent suburb in a large metropolitan area and the other was a smaller industrial town. Two of the interviews were conducted in their offices and lasted in total 120-158 min. The focus of the interviews was on the principals' work context, how they managed the tasks related to the TRR in their school and the support and obstacles related to this reform. An area of specific focus in this paper is the principals' relationships with NQTs and the possible changes they experienced in their workplace relationships with NQTs in conjunction with the introduction of the TRR. A third interview round was conducted in June 2015 as follow-up with four of the principals, the fifth having left his post. These interviews were conducted by telephone and lasted 15-20 min. The series of three interviews has thus made it possible to follow-up and validate the preliminary analysis and elaborate on specific scenarios.\nResults: This section reports on how the TRR was enacted by principals in terms of how it affected their workplace relationships with NQTs. Principals employing NQTs were responsible for conducting aptitude assessments of these teachers during their probationary year to determine whether or not they qualified for teacher registration. Before the introduction of the TRR, NQTs were not regarded as being in need of such an assessment, but were often offered mentor support in their first year of teaching. Mentor support practices in the first year were complemented by aptitude assessment practices, which was something of a new departure for the principals.\nDiscussion: This final section discusses the aspects of principal-NQT relationships that are accounted for in the light of the TRR by the principals in the realisation arena, and draws out some implications for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers. A caveat is that the sample is limited and generalisations should be made with caution.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand, from principals' points of view, how a teacher registration reform is enacted by examining the potential changes in the relationships between principals and newly qualified teachers (NQTs). The reform entailed principals performing an aptitude assessment of new teachers in their probationary year.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five principals from two Swedish municipalities on three occasions in one academic year. A third follow-up interview was conducted one year later with four of the principals, the fifth no longer being in post.\nFindings: The assessment appears to be downplayed by the principals, whereas the supportive dimension and the facilitation of NQTs' professional development seem to be acknowledged and made explicit. For some of the principals, their creative translation of the reform's intentions transformed these relations and strengthened their leadership.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study is small-scale and was carried out in a specific period of policy implementation from the principals' perspectives. Future studies would benefit from involving both principals' and teachers' perspectives.\nPractical implications: Policymakers appear to have underestimated the structural aspects of the reform, even though in general the reform enactments had some kind of positive effect on these relations.\nSocial implications: For some principals, their creative translation of the reform's intentions transformed relations and strengthened their leadership.\nOriginality/value: The data are from a unique period when a reform was implemented and later partly withdrawn. The study deepens the understanding on how principals tries to enact and balance their roles as evaluators of NQTs and pedagogical and instructional leaders.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A methodology for effective implementation of lean strategies and its performance evaluation in manufacturing organizations	[ "Leanness", "Lean implementation methodology", "Continuous performance measurement", "Lean strategies", "Lean production", "Performance management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Intense global competition, rapid technological changes, advances in manufacturing and information technology and discerning customers are forcing manufacturers to optimize manufacturing process, operations, and all the possible nodes of supply chains that enable them to deliver high-quality products in a short period of time. The pursuit of this optimization has intensified the demand for higher product development speed, manufacturing flexibility, waste elimination, better process control, efficient manpower utilization and global reach to gain competitive advantages (Karim et al., 2008a; Moore and Gibbons, 1997; Allway and Corbett, 2002; Papadopoulou and Ozbayrak, 2005). However, as global markets evolve, achieving this goal has become increasingly complex due to continuously changing market dynamics, global competitive environments, resource constraints and capacity variation into the production floors. Lean philosophy, which originates from the Toyota production system (TPS), is one of the initiatives that many major businesses around the world have been trying to adopt in order to streamline the production process and achieve optimization in resources (Womack et al., 1991; Schonbergerm, 2007). It is designed to eliminate waste in every area extending from production to customer relations, product design, supplier networks and factory management. Its target is to incorporate less human effort, less inventory, less time to develop products, and less space to become highly responsive to customer demand while producing top quality products in the most efficient and economic manner possible. It is regarded as a manufacturing philosophy that if adopted and carefully implemented can undoubtedly form the roadmap to global manufacturing excellence (Papadopoulou and Ozbayrak, 2005). The core thrust of lean manufacturing is to create a streamlined high-quality system that produces finished products at the pace of customer demand with little or no waste (Shah and Ward, 2003).Achieving manufacturing leanness is a continuous process improvement technique to generate optimum value from the process. Manufacturers can use different lean tools and lean principles to reduce wastes and non-value added (NVA) activities. However, not all lean implementations have produced such results (Browning and Heath, 2009). Behrouzi and Wong (2011) stated that the lack of an effective implementation methodology, a clear understanding of lean performance and its measurement are significant reasons behind the failure of the lean practices. Existing methods of selecting the appropriate lean strategy relies on the manufacturers' common sense of judgement rather than any sets of logical justification.A performance measurement system plays an important role in managing a business as it provides the information necessary for decision-making actions and therefore it is essential to measure the right things at the right time in a supply chain. But firms often fail to maximize the benefits of lean strategies because they often fail to develop the performance measurement metrics needed to evaluate the improvement in effectiveness and efficiency (Gunasekaran et al., 2004). Given the inherent complexity of manufacturing process, a measurement method to deal with these complexities is particularly critical. Moreover, Gunasekaran and Kobu (2007) stated that, conventional measures had the drawbacks of tending to measure mainly financial metrics, and failed to include intangible indicators.Therefore, the research problem of this paper is to develop a systematic methodology for lean implementation in manufacturing companies and a new leanness evaluation metric to measure manufacturing efficiency and effectiveness. The proposed methodology of implementing lean strategies and performance evaluation matrices were validated by a case study.A case study approach has been adopted in this research. It has been proposed in the literature that case studies can be applied to the area of theory development as well as problem solving (Eisenhardt, 1989). In general, case studies are often preferred when researchers have little control over the event and when the focus is on a contemporary phenomenon in some real-life context (Yin, 1994). The single case study documents, in detail, the operations of a single plant. It is different from the familiar anecdotal \"success story\" article, in that it provides a careful and detailed documentation of practices to be used as the basis for research. This may be used in conjunction with survey research, or some other type of comprehensive data gathering effort, to develop explanations for some of the findings on a more comprehensive basis (Flynn et al., 1995). Yin (1994) and Glaser and Strauss (1967) provide some useful guidelines for case study research. For this research, a single in-depth case study was carried out in order to validate the theoretical model proposed.The organization of this paper is as follows. The Section 2 defines and explains the basic concept of lean, lean principles, lean implementation methodologies, lean assessment methods and current research gaps. Proposed lean implementation methodology with different leanness measuring methods, continuous performance measurement (CPM) technique has been discussed in the following section. The Section 4 describes the implementation of the proposed methodology by a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the methodology. Finally the conclusions are presented where limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also presented.\n2 Literature review: 2.1 Lean process and principle\n3 Proposed methodology: Literature review presented in the previous section indicates that a proper lean implementation methodology and assessment metric is still a vital necessity in current manufacturing arena. In this research, authors have proposed a clear and systematic lean implementation methodology based on lean principles and a leanness measurement process and discussed about adaptive methods and continuous improvement techniques. The proposed methodology is shown in Figure 1. Step by step description of the model is provided in the following sections.3.1 Production and process details\n4 Continuous performance measurement: In this section, a new leanness evaluation metric has been proposed to measure the current state of the process in terms of productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, VA time ratio and defect rate. Kuhlang et al. (2011) introduced methodical approach which connected VSM and methods-time measurement (MTM) together and offered a new approach to reduce lead time and to measure productivity based on lean principles and standardised processes. He defined lean metrics as the continuous process that is decisively responsible for raising productivity in the search for the identification and the elimination of waste. Karim et al. (2008b) established time-based relationships between manufacturing practices and performance variables conducting empirical studies on manufacturing organizations. Wan and Chen (2008) developed leanness measuring metric using DEA and compared the input/output variables for any process or product of a set of DMUs to identify process efficiency. Hon (2003) calculated leanness efficiency by considering time, cost, quality, flexibility and productivity. Among the existing lean metrics, manufacturing cycle efficiency (MCE), an index for cycle time reduction, compares value-adding time with total cycle time to show the efficiency of a manufacturing process (Fogarty, 1992). Dai and Lee (2009) further expressed it as the ratio of the time in actual production and setup process over the total time in the production area. Fogarty (1992) argued that MCE overestimates manufacturing efficiency and proposed value added efficiency (VAE) index to address the weakness and defined it as the ratio of total run time to the total manufacturing time. Leung and Lee (2004) identified \"operation leanness\" and \"new-value creativeness\" as the two-principal competencies of manufacturing firms. CPM method has been proposed in this research to assess the current state of the process. CPM is continuous leanness measurement process to measure production efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency compares actual output value generated from a particular machine to total resource used by same machine in a given period of time or simply compares output vs input value in terms of time frequency. Here, the input parameters are, number of workers, total working time and output parameters are total output, time of completion. In this study, the following equations have been proposed for CPM method to measure efficiency: Equation 1 Effectiveness compares actual output to targeted output from a production line (Bayou and de Korvin, 2008). Kuhlang et al. (2011) defined productivity as the expression of quantitative productiveness of an economic activity. Productivity can be increased by increasing the effectiveness. A consideration of different aspects of effectiveness can provide a better understanding of productivity. Bayou and de Korvin (2008) expressed effectiveness as the relationship between output and organization's goals. Initially, production target needs to be calculated by comparing total allocated production time in a production line to actual production time to complete one unit of product. Here, number of workers and their total allocated times are multiplied to measure total allocated production times: Equation 2 Equation 3 Here, average pitch time means time to complete one unit.\n5 Implementation of the proposed method: In order to validate the method developed, the method was implemented in a real life manufacturing environment. According to our research methodology, initial task is to assess the company status including production type, order volume and demand quantity. During this phase a lean implementation team is formed. The team further defines and evaluates the manufacturing performance indicators based on production quality, processing time and cost. The next phase in the program requires the organization to sketch the existing process status and map using VSM, visual control and time study method to identify existing process wastes. The next phase of the project is to measure the current state of the process. CPM method described above has been used in this research to assess the current state of the process. Selecting and implementing new lean tools and methods is the next phase of the project. Different lean tools are implemented considering existing production scopes and wastes into the process. Again the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed process will be evaluated in the next phase. CPM metric is applied here to compare the efficiency and effectiveness before and after lean implementation. The culture for continuous improvement techniques need to be developed within the process environment and all the personnel related to process need to change their mind set as well as working attitude towards lean system or continuous improvement philosophy.5.1 Company background\n6 Evaluation of the new (lean) process: To evaluate the proposed assembly process, the processing time for all three sections had been recorded again. The three operators named 1, 2 and 3 took 17.8, 18.09 and 15.60 min, respectively, to complete their tasks. The project team also recorded the NVA time as 24.34 min in the redesigned assembly process compare to 34.46 min with the original process. The major wastes related to walk and getting parts and tools were recorded to be 23 percent of total wastes compared to 49 percent of total wastes before lean implementation.In the new assembly process, operators also needed less time to complete one cubicle (51.49 min) (Table II) which was previously recorded as 61.61 min. One important thing about NVA activities needs to mention here. Some of these activities are essential for any process although they do not provide any value to the product. In our project, nine wastes which were identified as NVA activities, could not be eliminated completely from the process. However, it needs to be minimized to get maximum performance from the process.6.1 Performance evaluation (after lean implementation)\n7 Conclusions: Increasing global competitiveness worldwide has forced manufacturing organizations to produce high-quality products at a faster rate and at a competitive cost. In order to reach these goals, today's manufacturing organizations are required to compete with modern manufacturing paradigms such as lean manufacturing and continuous improvement techniques. Despite the great potential of lean manufacturing strategies, many studies reported about failures in achieving expected outcome from lean implementation. Because of following inappropriate method in implementing lean strategies, changes caused disruptions in the process instead of expected improvement. Literature reported numerous methods and models to measure the effectiveness of lean implementation. These matrices and models include qualitative, quantitative, survey based and fuzzy logic-based matrices. Most of them have little practical application as manufacturers are overwhelmed with the number and complexity of the performance measurement methods.In this paper, a structures methodology of implementing lean strategies had been proposed and a new method of leanness evaluation metric (CPM) had been introduced. In the proposed method, different wastes are first identified by time study and process mapping. Based on those wastes, an improved process map is developed in manufacturing area and process efficiency and effectiveness are evaluated by using CPM metric developed. The operators and other relevant personnel are trained up and monitored to cope with the redesigned assembly process. A case study was presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed approach. However, the methods developed cannot be generalised based on successful implementation in a single company and in a specific process. More implementations in diversified manufacturing processes and further in depth analysis will be necessary to generalise the method developed. Future research can also integrate supply chain with manufacturing to evaluate the overall leanness of the entire value chain.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to develop an effective methodology for implementing lean manufacturing strategies and a leanness evaluation metric using continuous performance measurement (CPM).\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Based on five lean principles, a systematic lean implementation methodology for manufacturing organizations has been proposed. A simplified leanness evaluation metric consisting of both efficiency and effectiveness attributes of manufacturing performance has been developed for continuous evaluation of lean implementation. A case study to validate the proposed methodology has been conducted and proposed CPM metric has been used to assess the manufacturing leanness.\nFindings: - Proposed methodology is able to systematically identify manufacturing wastes, select appropriate lean tools, identify relevant performance indicators, achieve significant performance improvement and establish lean culture in the organization. Continuous performance measurement matrices in terms of efficiency and effectiveness are proved to be appropriate methods for continuous evaluation of lean performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Effectiveness of the method developed has been demonstrated by applying it in a real life assembly process. However, more tests/applications will be necessary to generalize the findings.\nPractical implications: - Results show that applying the methods developed, managers can successfully identify and remove manufacturing wastes from their production processes. By improving process efficiency, they can optimize their resource allocations. Manufacturers now have a validated step by step methodology for successfully implementing lean strategies.\nOriginality/value: - According to the authors' best knowledge, this is the first known study that proposed a systematic lean implementation methodology based on lean principles and continuous improvement techniques. Evaluation of performance improvement by lean strategies is a critical issue. This study develops a simplified leanness evaluation metric considering both efficiency and effectiveness attributes and integrates it with the lean implementation methodology.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Learning practice? Exploring the links between transitions and medical performance	[ "Transition management", "Doctors", "Performance management", "Workplace training" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: All doctors make multiple transitions during both their training and subsequent careers; these include transitions resulting from moves from one level of seniority or status to another, changes in geographical location, changes of speciality and/or changes of clinical team. The term transitions is used here to refer to the process of change or movement between one state of work and another. Transitions in other high-risk professions such as aviation, fire fighting and nuclear power generation are associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes (Donaldson, 2006). However, the links between transitions and medical performance have not been systematically investigated although relevant research includes that on adverse patient outcomes and the assessment and management of under-performance.There is a general perception that transitions are problematic. For example, a recent English paper based on a statistical analysis of patient records suggests that patients admitted on the first Wednesday in August (the day all new training posts start) have a higher death rate compared with patients admitted on the previous Wednesday. But to date, almost all the other existing research is based, albeit in different ways, on situations where there have at least been concerns raised about a doctor's performance. For example, there is a small body of work that has attempted to develop predictors of unprofessional behaviour by examining prior indications (for example, Stern et al., 2006; Papadakis et al., 2005). There have been significant developments in the assessment of \"fitness to practise\" by both the General Medical Council (GMC) (Southgate et al., 2001) and the National Clinical Assessment Service (Cox et al., 2006). However, little detailed work has looked at the effects of transitions on medical performance more generally. Below, we draw on a focussed case study designed to examine doctors' transitions from one level of responsibility to another in order to explore the links between transitions and performance, both theoretically and empirically; we conclude with suggestions for policy and regulation, practice and research in the area of doctors' transitions.\nLiterature review: Performance and practice in medicine\nResearch questions and approach: The purpose, overall, of this focused exploratory case study, was to better understand the links between transitions and medical performance, both empirically and conceptually. We were specifically interested in understanding how transitions are regulated, managed and monitored; whether or not observable and reported practice in transition differs from the formal frameworks (i.e. that practice required by employers and regulatory bodies); how performance in relation to markers of responsibility is understood by trainees and healthcare professionals; and how performance in relation to markers of responsibility is understood by employers and regulatory bodies.A significant feature of many transitions is an increase in the level of doctors' responsibility. Therefore, in order to examine the links between medical performance and transitions, we concentrated on transitions where there was such a recognised change in responsibility. We focused on two main points of transition:1. the move to beginning clinical practice (from medical student to Foundation Year 1 doctor or F1); and2. the move from generalist to specialist clinical practice (from Foundation Year 2 doctor - F2 to Specialist Trainee - ST).We identified a number of markers of responsibility - that is, activities for which trainee doctors became newly responsible because of the transition they had made. In our study, these markers of responsibility were prescribing (for F1 doctors) and patient management (for ST doctors). Both are critical aspects of performance; trainees are expected to perform minimally at the beginning of the transition and to develop their performance in relation to these markers during their time in that setting. Given this process over time, we employed an approach in which we were able to track progress on each of the markers. In our discussion below, we concentrate on these two markers of responsibility.\nMethods: We drew on Stake (2005) to develop a \"collective\" case study of doctors in order to focus on the interrelationships between individual professionals and complex work settings and take into account the layers of complexity and diversity. We analysed relevant regulatory and policy requirements in order to understand the case study contexts. In order to build on the theoretical understandings outlined above, we investigated aspects of transition at four levels - the individual, their clinical team (and the site in which they were located), their employer and the regulatory and policy context. We used a combination of desk-based research, interviews and observations as we describe below.Participants\nFindings: In order to elucidate the relationships between performance and transition, we focused on critical aspects of performance for which the trainees were newly responsible - markers of responsibility. As indicated above, these were prescribing for F1s and case management for STs. Each participant is identified by a letter to identify their role (F=F1 doctor; S=St; C=consultant; N=senior sister), and an identity number to ensure anonymity is maintained.Prescribing\nConclusions: We set out to examine the links between medical performance and transitions. We have shown how performance, practice and learning are mutually constitutive. We have also shown that levels of responsibility, and therefore performance levels, do not increase incrementally across transitions or even remain stable within each transition; the specific demands made on doctors depend on all kinds of factors (including time, specialty, hospital rotas, trust policies).We have also seen that, although transitions in the study sites were regulated, there was patchy management of those transitions and virtually no monitoring, apart from the non-systematic monitoring from co-workers. When this informal monitoring works well, it is extremely effective; when co-workers are absent or trainees are marginalised, for whatever reason, performance is under-monitored and learning under-supported with potential danger for patients. Furthermore, doctors' performance was sometimes impeded by aspects of the clinical workplace such as staffing and rotas, which could appear chaotic.Finally, whilst trainee doctors in transition and some other professionals recognise that these doctors are learning and therefore build in the expectation that they will under-perform at the beginning, employers and regulatory bodies do not recognise and/or accommodate this in their expectations of trainee doctors' performance.In order to understand better the process of transition as a period of learning, rather than as a site for transfer, we propose that transitions are recognised as critically intense learning periods (CILPs). We use the term \"critical\" in the sense of \"critical period\", a term derived from developmental psychology which refers to a limited time in which some event can occur, usually resulting in some kind of transformation; by \"intense\" we mean the immediacy invoked by the immediate requirement to deliver patient care; and \"learning\" as \"an integral part of generative social practice in the lived-in world\" (Lave and Wenger, 1991, p. 35). The extent to which the specific learning cultures of the clinical workplace (at ward and at institutional levels) recognise transitions as CILPs contributes to or inhibits the performance of new doctors. This has implications for policy and regulation and for practice.\nImplications: Our study has shown that the performance required during doctors' transitions is contingent upon a whole range of organisational, practical and clinical factors. By recasting the transition as a CILP, we have challenged the general assumption that preparedness depends on the trainee doctor alone; instead, we have tried to highlight the role of the workplace and those with whom doctors work. Whilst it might seem contradictory to suggest that the contingent workplace can be managed to take account of doctors' learning, we believe that there are specific suggestions that arise from our work. We see this at two levels.Policy and regulation\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The aims of this paper are to understand the links between work transitions and doctors' performance and to identify the implications for policy, regulation, practice and research.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper explains transitions in terms of the inseparability of learning, practice and performance and introduces the concept of the transition as a critically intensive learning period to draw attention to this phenomenon. It also identifies implications for practice, research and regulation\nFindings: - Drawing on empirical data in relation to prescribing and case management, the paper will show that, in contrast to current assumptions of, understanding about and practice in doctors' transitions, doctors can never be fully prepared in advance for aspects of their work.\nOriginality/value: - Transitions are explained in terms of the inseparability of learning, practice and performance and we introduce the concept of the transition as a critically intensive learning period to draw attention to this phenomenon. Also identified are implications for practice, research and regulation.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Linking user experience and consumer-based brand equity: the moderating role of consumer expertise and lifestyle	[ "Social value", "Brand trust", "Usability", "Brand awareness", "Brand loyalty", "Social status", "Consumer-based brand equity", "Experiential branding", "Hedonic and utilitarian consumption", "Perceived quality" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this issue.\n1. Introduction: Advent and evolution of interactive digital devices, like smartphones, in consumer's lives translates into variety of day to day experiences, be it information transfusion, communication or even lifestyle portrayal. As a gateway, allowing the user to flux between the real and virtual worlds seamlessly with more control and power, such devices score high on engagement levels (Kim et al., 2013), yet few studies (Chapman et al., 1999; O'Brien and Toms, 2008) focus on consumers' source of engagement and experiences for this category. Recent work on user's engagement with technology products, proposes motivation, in form of utilitarian, social and hedonic motives, as a conduit for prolonged usage (Kim et al., 2013, 2007). Although these studies provide strong guidelines for measuring consumption experience and its importance to long-term usage, the effect of such positive experiences with the product, on the brand and its relation with the consumer, remains conspicuously unattended.\n2. Research objectives: Extant research suggests there are two distinct ways experiences can shape consumer's brand impressions. First, it is quite possible that brand imageries are imprinted in human memory as elements of conceptual nodes (McClelland, 2000). Undergoing specific experiences with a product may activate the brand element associated with this node. Alternatively, brand associations, themselves, may be engraved in human mind as a variety of other related associations, one of them being a specific product category (Sen, 1999). Irrespective of the mechanism, it seems evident that direct product consumption experiences will influence brand association as well as the consumer-brand relationship (Warlop et al., 2005), something this study explores. The prominent building blocks of the overall model are highlighted next along with the associated research objectives.\n3. Literature review and hypotheses: 3.1 User experience\n4. Research methodology: 4.1 Measurement of constructs\n5. Results: 5.1 Structural model\n6. General discussion and implications: 6.1 Discussion\n7. Limitations and future directions: A critical drawback of the study is that despite literature evidence, the study could not establish the moderation effect of lifestyle on the usability and social value-derived pleasure. A possible reason may lie with the methodology of measuring lifestyle adopted. Wilska's (2003) scale, developed in a period of mobile phone inception, contains items that may not be applicable to contemporary smartphone users. Those items can confound the clusters obtained, leading to challengeable results. A sincere effort to adapt and validate the scale to modern context is a pressing issue.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The study aims to explore the buildup of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) from positive derived experiences. Rewarding experiences with products make a user feel good about their decision to buy and use them. Those feelings get accrued as strong consumer-brand relationship, measured comprehensively by CBBE in marketing literature.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study is conducted in two phases - exploratory and validation. The exploratory phase involved conceiving a theoretical framework from in-depth literature review. The framework is then validated through a survey-based empirical phase. Smartphones form the context of the work.\nFindings: The three consumption values used in the study are usability, social value and pleasure in use. Brand equity has been conceptualized and measured as brand association, perceived value, brand trust and brand loyalty. The moderating role of user expertise, as well as lifestyle, was also tested on pleasure derived. Most of the hypothesized relationships between different constructs of experience and brand equity were found significant. Significant evidence for hierarchical formation of brand equity was also established.\nResearch limitations/implications: Lack of evidence of moderation of lifestyle may be ascribed to the validity of the scale used to measure it in the current context and needs to be updated. The study contributes by conceiving experience as a multidimensional framework based on Holbrook's typology, besides validating its relationship to CBBE. Hierarchical formation of brand equity is also a novel contribution.\nPractical implications: This study provides an indicative guide to marketers with design cues that can provide relevant consumption values in the quest for a positive brand impression. It also provides directions for segmenting the smartphone market based on user expertise for better branding.\nOriginality/value: The study is innovative by relating experience, conceptualized with Holbrook's framework and CBBE - something yet to be seen in the literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Tax compliance of small business owners: A review	[ "Tax compliance", "Framing", "Perceived opportunity", "Small business owners", "Owner‐managers", "Taxes", "Tax planning", "Small enterprises" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Small business owners are responsible for collecting as well as for remitting taxes (Christensen et al., 2001). They are, hence, important players in a country's tax system. Though the evidence is not unequivocal (e.g. Hanlon et al., 2007; Rice, 1992) most research suggests that small business owner-managers are more likely to cheat than other groups of taxpayers (e.g. Joulfaian and Rider, 1998; Kirchler et al., 2006; Schuetze, 2002). Even the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2004) considers small business owners a high-risk group in terms of tax compliance. In many cases it is impossible to prove non-compliance. For example, the US Internal Revenue Service estimates that only half of corporate non-compliance is detected (Webley, 2004), and that tax audits are generally a costly matter. Increasing voluntary compliance among business owners is thus a worthwhile endeavour. In order to do so, an in-depth understanding of the factors fostering non-compliance is essential.While paying taxes is likely to be an important topic for small business owners, the actual experience of paying taxes and small businesses' tax behaviours have received surprisingly little attention in the small business literature. For example, when searching the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research for the term \"tax,\" there are 53 hits but only two articles deal directly with tax behaviour (Rothengatter, 2005; Williams, 2005). Many other hits constitute predominantly qualitative research publications that focus on aspects of entrepreneurship other than taxpaying, for example human resource management (Leung, 2002), the entrepreneurial experience (Mitchell, 1997), or social processes of entrepreneurial innovation (Lowe, 1995).This paper contributes to the quest of furthering our understanding of small business owners' tax compliance by pointing out that tax decisions tend to be made by and are personally relevant to small business owners, who can be characterised as individual decision makers. It follows from such a conceptualisation that tax decisions are susceptible to psychological influences. This reasoning forms the basis for what we consider the main contribution of this paper: in a conceptual framework we identify the main and unique characteristics (non-compliance opportunity, knowledge requirements, and decision frames) that may inform small business owners' perception of and reaction to taxation.The paper is structured as follows: after defining the concepts used in the present paper, a brief overview of the literature on tax compliance is provided, followed by the presentation of a conceptual framework for understanding and investigating small business owners' particular taxpaying situation. The literature supporting the framework is reviewed. Building on this framework, a number of theoretical and practical implications are derived.\n2. Definitions: Since the tax compliance literature typically does not distinguish between different forms of entrepreneurship and business sizes (for example micro businesses, small businesses, and medium-sized businesses), a broadly conceived definition of small businesses has been applied in the literature search. We refer to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2004, p. 10), which characterises small businesses as:[...] any for-profit commercial entity other than those that exceed a given (high) asset threshold. Small businesses include sole proprietor, partnership and corporate forms of organisation. They also include individual return filers who have income from self-employment, even if self-employment income is not their primary source of income.All these ventures are centred around a single individual (nearly always the owner manager, Hankinson et al., 1997) or - in the case of team founders - around closely related people (for a similar conceptualisation of small businesses as individuals see for example Studdard and Munchus, 2009). These individuals usually make, or are accountable for, all managerial and operative decisions, including revenue generation and taxation. Their behaviour is crucial to the venture's success, which in turn tends to relate immediately and strongly to their personal income[1]. Hence, one way to view small business owners is to portray them as individuals whose behaviour is largely determined by their emotional as well as their rational perception of taxation, which is unlikely to be their core area of expertise. In larger businesses the operative side of taxation is entirely decoupled from such individual considerations. Issues of taxation are dealt with by experts who have limited personal interest in taxation outcomes and do not experience a direct link between company revenues and their own financial situation.Tax compliance is defined as the full payment of all taxes due (Braithwaite, 2009). Tax non-compliance is referred to as any difference between the actual amount of taxes paid and the amount of taxes due. This difference occurs because of overstating and understating income, expenses, and deductions. Non-compliance comprises both intentional evasion and unintentional non-compliance, which is due to calculation errors and an inadequate understanding of tax laws (e.g. Robben et al., 1990b; Webley, 2004). Taxpayer mistakes can be unintended and, thus, do not necessarily represent attempts to evade (Antonides and Robben, 1995) or may even lead to tax over-reporting.\n3. General findings on tax compliance: The growing body of literature on tax compliance (for extensive reviews see Braithwaite, 2009; Kirchler, 2007) shows that both economic and psychological variables need to be considered to understand compliance (e.g. Erard and Feinstein, 1994; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2004). Although the findings are not equivocal (e.g. Mason and Calvin, 1984, fail to find the usually documented link between compliance and fairness), researchers broadly agree that procedural and distributional fairness perceptions (e.g. Kim, 2002; Murphy, 2004), knowledge about taxation (Eriksen and Fallan, 1996), personal and social norms of tax compliance (e.g. Ashby et al., 2009; Rothengatter, 2005; Wenzel, 2005), personal attitudes such as risk attitudes or egoism (e.g. Kirchler, 1997), tax rates (e.g. Alm et al., 1992), and (perceived) audit and detection probabilities (e.g. Witte and Woodbury, 1985) combined with deterring fines (e.g. Grasmick and Bursik, 1990) relate positively to compliance.In addition, particularities of national tax law and culture relate to tax compliance. The \"shadow economy\" as a proxy for tax evasion varies dramatically across countries; ranging from around 10 per cent of GNP in Switzerland, Austria, the US and Japan, to slightly below 30 per cent in Italy and Greece, to 46 per cent in the Russian Federation, and to 67 per cent in Bolivia in the year 2000 (Schneider and Klinglmair, 2004). The political history of a country, acceptance of government, social distance between citizens and political authorities (Bogardus, 1928) as well as religion are just a few of the national cultural characteristics that affect the citizens' willingness to cooperate with authorities in general and tax authorities in particular.Despite non-compliance often being perceived as socially acceptable (e.g. Kirchler, 1998; Song and Yarbrough, 1978), people - including small business owners (e.g. Adams and Webley, 2001; Hite et al., 1992) - are significantly more compliant than predicted by neoclassical economists who assumes that compliance depends predominantly on audit probability and fines (e.g. Andreoni et al., 1998)[2].\n4. Studies comparing small business owners with other taxpayers: Ahmed and Braithwaite (2005) compared a sample of Australian small business owners with employed taxpayers and found that they did not differ in terms of the following factors: subjectively perceived deterrence from non-compliance; subjective probability of being caught for tax evasion; preference for aggressive tax planning; cooperation with and resistance against tax authorities; attitudes towards equity issues; personal norms of tax honesty; tax morale; and the level of admitted tax evasion. In line with these findings, a scenario study showed no significant differences in terms of hypothetical tax compliance between fiscal officers, business lawyers, and small business owners (Kirchler et al., 2003).Although there are no notable differences in attitudinal variables, self-employed people perceive a significantly stronger imbalance between their own tax burden and state refunds; they feel a slightly higher subjective tax burden; and they feel they benefit much less from governmental benefits than other groups of taxpayers (Kirchler and Berger, 1998). Not surprisingly, small business owners were also shown to hold less favourable fairness perceptions in terms of distributional (e.g. Strumpel, 1966) and procedural (e.g. Adams et al., 1996) fairness[3]. Other studies add to that picture by showing that small business owners hold different mental representations of taxes than employed people. For the self-employed, the stimulus word \"tax\" tends to elicit thoughts of tax complexity and the limitations that taxes impose on a business. For the employed, \"taxes\" are often associated with a necessary burden and considerations of justice (Kirchler, 1998). Although business owners were found to be less supportive of spending tax money on education, health, unemployment, and social welfare programmes, their commitment to values associated with security for the community and nation was even higher (Ahmed and Braithwaite, 2005).Importantly, experiences with and competence in tax matters differed significantly between small business owners and all other groups of taxpayers (Ahmed and Braithwaite, 2005): small business owners reported more experiences of contested assessment, audits, and sanctions, signalling that this group is particularly likely to be audited due to its unique exposure to the tax system. As a consequence, small business owners may attest more power to tax authorities and report that they lack competence and autonomy in dealing with tax matters (Ahmed and Braithwaite, 2005).\n5. A framework of factors influencing small business owners' tax compliance: In contrast to the majority of employed people - who in many countries are paid net salaries with taxes being deducted at source - small business owners often need to self-assess and self-report their income and pay taxes \"out of their pocket.\" Small business owners not only pay their income tax but need to take account of various types of business taxes such as corporate tax, property taxes, and payroll taxes; they need to collect sales taxes such as VAT; and they need to withhold taxes such as personal income taxes in the case of having at least one employee (e.g. Christensen et al., 2001). We assume that the various types of taxes and taxation requirements may significantly shape the perceived tax situation of small business owners.Based on an initial review of the literature on small businesses' tax behaviour, three main characteristics of small business owners' tax situation emerged:* due to self-reporting and limited control over underlying money flows, they have the opportunity for non-compliance;* due to the need for self-reporting and facing different taxes, they require substantial knowledge in order to understand the rules and comply; and* due to receiving gross sums that then have to be partly passed on to tax authorities, they face differential possibilities for framing taxes (cf. Weigel et al., 1987).In our framework of factors influencing small business owners' tax behaviour, we have adopted a psychological perspective and propose that the three identified main characteristics determine small business owners' tax behaviour (Figure 1). The framework assumes that the three main factors play a universal role for small business owners. It acknowledges, however, that the specific extent of for example perceived opportunity is co-determined by inter-individual factors such as risk-seeking, age, and gender (e.g. for an effect of gender see Kastlunger et al., 2010; Robben et al., 1990b), and situational factors such as line of industries (e.g. Andreoni et al., 1998; Schuetze, 2002), relevant group (social) norms and social networks (e.g. Peterson, 2001; Rothengatter, 2005; Smith and Oakley, 1994), business forms (e.g. Hite et al., 1992), and jurisdictions and cultures [e.g. differences between Dutch and Albanians (Gerxhani and Schram, 2006)] will have a direct and indirect impact on small business owners' tax behaviour and compliance. For example, different formal administrative requirements come along with different evasion opportunities, knowledge requirements, and framings. Similarly, non-compliance varies substantially across nations and there is a clear case to be made for the importance of cross-cultural and cross-national differences (Tsakumis et al., 2007). Most of the existing evidence does, however, not allow disentangling various legislative, administrative, cultural, and political causes for observed cross-national differences. In the interest of focus and brevity, this article focuses solely on those factors that tend to be of universal importance in the case of small businesses: (perceived) opportunity, knowledge requirements, and differential framings. The framework acknowledges that the concrete manifestation of these factors is itself influenced by the wider context which shapes an individual business' specific tax situation.5.1 Perceived opportunity\n6. Discussion and conclusion: Tax non-compliance is often hard to prove[8]. Consequently, measures beyond tax audits are needed to tackle non-compliance (Kirchler, 2007). Such measures ought to be based on knowledge about the factors leading to non-compliance in the first place. In the case of small business owners, tax decisions are often personally relevant, individual decisions. Such decisions are likely to depend on the psychological perception of the situation. In our framework we argued that small business owners face circumstances that translate into particularly averse decision influences. Due to their individual nature and their specific tax situation they find it difficult to understand and comply with taxation procedures, they face decision frames that favour non-compliance, and they have and are likely to perceive enhanced opportunities not to comply. Building on this framework a number of theoretical and practical implications can be derived. In particular, we argue for the need to focus interventions on nascent entrepreneurs.6.1 Theoretical implications of the framework\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Small business owners play an important role in the tax system. This paper seeks to establish a framework to highlight the particular tax situation of small business owners and the resulting implications, from a psychological perspective.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A framework identifying the key characteristics of small business owners' actual and perceived tax situation is established. Literature investigating these characteristics is reviewed in line with the proposed framework.\nFindings: - Three key aspects seem to distinguish small business owners' perceptions of their tax situation: small business owners are likely to perceive more opportunities not to comply than employed taxpayers; they are more likely to experience a lack of meaningful taxation knowledge; and they are more likely to face decision frames that render taxes as painful losses.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The suggested link between the subjective experience of the tax situation and compliance calls for a focus on strategies that aim to influence taxpayers' perceptions of their own evasion opportunities, their level of legislative and procedural knowledge, and their sense of ownership of tax money. Such a strategy is suggested to be particularly likely to be effective in the phase of nascent entrepreneurship and in a climate of mutual trust between taxpayers and tax authorities.\nOriginality/value: - This paper comprehensively identifies and reviews the perceptual correlates of factors unique to small business owners' tax behaviour.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Fashion leadership and intention toward clothing product-service retail models	[ "Fashion leadership", "Clothing renting", "Clothing repair/alteration", "Clothing swapping", "Redesigned clothing", "Style consultancy service" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: With the ever-increasing popularity of fast fashion, which relies on frequent purchasing of lower-priced products that are expected to be replaced by new styles within a shorter period of time (Birtwistle and Moore, 2007), consumers are becoming more fashion sensitive and more demanding of new fashions (Ritch and Schroder, 2012). Over-consumption and a throwaway culture have resulted in more premature clothing disposal and more textile waste than ever before (Birtwistle and Moore, 2007). Approximately 14.3m tons of textile products now prematurely make their way to landfills (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2014), increasing environmental concerns. To reduce the negative effects of clothing consumption and to reach a sustainable state, consumers must lessen their consumption levels and frequency, as well as modify their consumption patterns by switching shopping practices from tangible products to intangible services.\n2. Literature review and hypotheses development: 2.1 The sustainable CPSS\n3. Research method: 3.1 Data collection and participants\n4. Data analysis and results: 4.1 The measurement model\n5. Discussion and implications: Research results suggest that the higher the level of fashion leadership consumers have, the more likely they intend to become involved in the sustainable CPSS. This result contributes to the current literature in that the relationships between fashion leadership and the intention to adopt the sustainable retail models have not been previously researched. Specifically, the positive relationships identified between fashion leadership and the sale of redesign clothing, repair/alteration and style consultancy are surprising and not as predicted. Individuals with a higher level of fashion leadership generally purchase new fashion items as soon as they are introduced to the market, as opposed to individuals with lower levels of fashion leadership (Goldsmith et al., 1993). Clothing repair/alteration and style consultancy services seek to extend the lifespan of existing clothing by providing consumers with repair services of old clothing items or style consultancy ideas to use old clothing in new ways, which can prolong the life of owned items. This may prohibit consumers from purchasing trendy fashion products with a lower life expectancy. Therefore, it was assumed that consumers with high fashion leadership who are most attracted to newness would be resistant to retail models of clothing repair/alteration and style consultancy because they would become bored with and lose interest in what they already own. However, the statistical results indicate the complete opposite of what predicted. A possible explanation may lie in the complexity of the factors that determine the intentions consumers have toward adopting a new sustainable behavior. There may be other factors that encourage consumers' intentions of trying these services; for example, compared with purchasing new fashionable clothing, repair/alteration or using old clothing in a new way, the cost is much lower. In addition, although style consultancy service or purchasing redesigned clothing encourage consumers to reuse their old clothing items, instead of purchasing new fashion items that are just launched in the market, but utilizing style consultancy service or redesigned old clothing, in itself, are considered to be a fashionable shopping style, in which not many consumers have adopted yet. Therefore, these retail models may appeal to those consumers who are early adopters. More fashion-innovative consumers are likely to accept new trends and have stronger confidence in clothing (Choo et al., 2014), and they will be more likely to better use their wardrobes by creating a new combination of items from their existing clothing.\n6. Conclusion and limitations: Current excess consumption of clothing and textiles is a cause of great environmental concern in society. CPSS may present a solution to reduce excessive apparel consumption by transitioning consumers' focus from \"consuming clothing products\" to \"consuming clothing-related services\" (Tukker and Tischner, 2006). However, clothing consumption behavior is highly affected by fashion trends, and fashion leaders are usually those who purchase more and dispose of more because it is considered out of style or no longer trendy (Birtwistle and Moore, 2007). The aim of this study was to identify the role that fashion leadership plays in the intention to accept CPSS retail models. The study constructed a conceptual model and empirically tested it using a sample of female consumers in the USA. This study confirmed the positive effect of fashion leadership in sustainable clothing consumption with an emphasis on PSS and contributes to the literature by discovering the role of fashion leadership in the intention of consumers to conduct sustainable consumption. Results provide affirmation of Walker's (2006) argument that fashion need not contradict sustainability. Instead of being an obstacle, fashion leadership may catalyze the intention to accept the CPSS retail models. In addition, the study successfully extended the TPB model by taking fashion leadership as the external factor. Through a structural equation estimation, fashion leadership was proved to play an important role in the development of consumer attitude and subjective norm, thereby affecting female consumers' intention to accept CPSS. This study has punctuated fashion leadership's influence in the intention to adopt sustainable clothing product-service retail models. This is the first time that a quantitative study has been conducted to investigate the interrelationship between the individual personal characteristic, fashion leadership and the intention to adopt PSS in the clothing industry. It is still in the exploratory stage. However, this study may provide researchers with a basis to justify investigating the relationship between fashion leadership and the intention to sustainable consumption behavior more deeply in future work.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify whether fashion leadership is an obstacle or catalyst to consumers' purchasing intention in sustainable clothing product-service systems (CPSS), which include sale of redesigned clothing, clothing repair/alteration service, clothing renting, clothing swapping and style consultancy service.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The present study examined the causal relationship between fashion leadership and intentions to engage in CPSS. By applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study also considered self-interest and social values in consumers' intention to adopt CPSS. A series of multiple regression analyses and structural equation modeling were conducted on data collected from 431 females in the USA through an online survey.\nFindings: A significantly positive influence of fashion leadership on consumers' intention to engage in each CPSS retail model was found; and demographics, including age, income and education have moderating influences on these relationships. Furthermore, the results also confirmed positive relationships between fashion leadership with attitude and subjective norms as well as overall intention to adopt CPSS. Several implications related to the present study were discussed.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first of its kind in several aspects; first, affirming the argument that fashion need not contradict sustainability; second, extending TPB model by adopting fashion leadership as the external factor; third, providing new CPSS retail models advocating less material consumption by increasing product longevity and utilizing intangible services. Current studies mainly focus on the synthesis of general benefits of product-service systems (PSS) and how PSS are operated. Existing studies on CPSS primarily focus on consumer preferences and motivations in only a few exploratory qualitative studies. This is the first time that a quantitative study has been conducted to determine the interrelationship between the individual personal characteristic, fashion leadership and the intention to adopt PSS in the clothing industry.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Postponed variety creation: case study in consumer electronics retail	[ "Electronic equipment and components", "Retail trade", "Risk management", "Simulation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The consumer electronics industry is characterised by high product variety, short product lifecycles and decreasing prices (Fisher, 1997). In retail, product availability is extremely critical, as consumers tend to choose substitutes if one product is out of stock (Christopher, 1998). On the other hand, high product availability requires a large investment in shop inventory (Bowersox and Closs, 1996; Dubelaar et al., 2001). This poses challenges for retailers who need to provide high product availability but keep shop inventories at an acceptable level. An often-suggested solution is to postpone creation of product variety to the latest point possible in the supply chain (Feitzinger and Lee, 1997; van Hoek, 2001). The benefits of postponement are reduced need for inventory, increased responsiveness by shortening the final customizing cycle time and reduced complexity in operations (van Hoek, 2001). However, manufacturing postponement requires a modular product architecture (Simchi-Levi et al., 2000) that can be more demanding and time-consuming to create compared with an integrated product architecture (Ulrich, 1995). In some cases, postponement requires retail outlets to invest in new equipment (Hoover et al., 2001, p. 55). Consequently, it is important to estimate the resulting supply chain performance before implementing postponement.The case company of our research is Bang and Olufsen, a Danish producer of high-end consumer electronics. Currently, Bang and Olufsen utilises a delivery concept where products are assembled to order in a factory. This paper presents results from a research project with the aim of evaluating the benefits of postponing some final assembly steps to retail outlets.The paper is organised as follows. The literature review introduces basic concepts and establishes the need for empirical research. The empirical part of the paper reports results from interviews with consumer electronic retailers in three European countries and results from a discrete-event simulation project where a manufacturing postponement concept was evaluated. The final section draws general conclusions and reports about implementation in the case company.\nPostponement: According to the dictionary, postponement refers to \"causing an event to take place later\". In the area of operations management, the event can be to perform an activity that adds product variety (manufacturing postponement) or to move the product geographically closer to customers (logistical postponement) (Pagh and Cooper, 1998). Different authors tend to use different definitions (Forza et al., 2004). To some authors, postponement simply means performing at least one differentiating step later than it used to be performed. To others, postponement means adding variety after receiving a customer order rather than in anticipation of orders. In all cases, however, postponement is used as a way to reduce risk and inventories while still providing high product variety and acceptable response times (van Hoek, 2001).Conceptual framework\nMethodology: In our research, we set out to address the challenges posed by van Hoek (2001) and Ramdas (2003). The objective was to analyse the benefit of manufacturing postponement quantitatively within a real business case. Specifically, we use simulation modelling to analyse how manufacturing postponement can reduce inventory in retail outlets of a consumer electronics company.Research design\nQualitative pre-study: Case company management considered the prevailing delivery concept appropriate for large products with many variants and, consequently, low sales per variant. However, for smaller products with only colour variety, there were indications that consumers are not willing to wait while products are assembled and shipped from Denmark. Company management initiated a project to investigate possibilities to keep smaller, low-variety products in the shop for immediate hand-over to customers. The new concept was intended for only a part of the product portfolio, while the present concept would still be applied for the rest of the products.Methodology\nSimulation study: The pre-study indicated that mid-range products could potentially benefit from a new manufacturing postponement concept. However, as discussed in the introduction of this paper, manufacturing postponement requires a modular product structure that might be costly to develop. In addition, introducing and operating many delivery concepts increases complexity and requires investments in staff training for the retailers and information systems for the manufacturer. The critical question is not whether there are benefits at all, but to quantify the benefits so that they can be compared to additional efforts and costs.In order to study the operational impact of manufacturing postponement on retail outlet inventories, we chose to use discrete-event simulation. This is in accordance with Maloni and Benton (1997) recommendation to use simulation models as a way to critically evaluate possibilities to improve supply chain performance. A simulation model provides a convenient lab environment for testing the effects of different factors.Product\nConclusions: As expected, the case shows that it is possible to save a considerable amount of inventory by postponing creation of variety, as suggested by Christopher (1998), van Hoek (2001) and Forza et al. (2004). However, manufacturing postponement is not equally beneficial for all products. It is most effective under the following conditions (Figure 9):* Customers require a delivery time that is too short to enable ship-to-order from a central location.* Product value is high enough to justify additional efforts in retail outlets.* Product variety is mediocre - not too high and not too low.* Finally, postponement gives largest proportional savings in retail outlets with low sales volumes.Under these circumstances, designing variety into separate modules and postponing variety to retail outlets reduces inventories without compromising on delivery times. As such, modularity can also be beneficial for other reasons (Baldwin and Clark, 1997).Our study also shows that even within one industry segment, customers can have quite different expectations to how and when the products are acquired. The case supports Childerhouse et al. (2002) in the observation that the differences in customer expectations for different products might give rise to a need for a company to assemble some product to orders and ship some products from a finished goods stock. Our case that includes also distribution and retailing indicates that for different products, the stocks could be located in different locations along the supply chain. According to Olhager (2003), a modular product architecture is associated to assemble-to-order product delivery. We suggest that customer expectations should be the starting point. If customers require direct hand-over, shop inventory is needed. This inventory can be reduced through a combination of modular product architecture and manufacturing postponement.Limitations\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Postponement is known as a way to reduce risk and inventories while still providing high product variety and acceptable response times. The paper is a case study that uses simulation for quantifying these benefits for a consumer electronics company.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Improvement potential is first evaluated qualitatively through interviews with dealers of the case company. Next, the benefit of postponement is evaluated quantitatively using discrete-event simulation with data from operational ERP systems. The conclusions identify conditions under which postponement is beneficial in retail.\nFindings: - In the case company, shop inventory is necessary for high-volume and low-variety products. Postponing variety creation to shops has the potential to decrease inventories for these products by 40-80 per cent. The benefits of postponement depend on delivery speed requirement, product value, product variety and shop size.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Many contributions on postponement have been conceptual. This study contains a quantitative test. The study considers both the spatial dimension (where) and the temporal dimension (when) of postponement.\nPractical implications: - The research was sufficiently successful that the company implemented the delivery concept arising from the results. Corresponding benefits seem possible for other manufacturers and retailers of consumer goods.\nOriginality/value: - The contribution is real-life quantitative evidence of how modular product architecture can be utilised to improve operational supply chain performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An analysis of BPM lifecycles: from a literature review to a framework proposal	[ "Strategy", "Business process management", "BPM lifecycle" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Organizations have historically structured themselves from a functional perspective, based on the concepts of hierarchy and the division of labor proposed by classic management theories that arose in the first half of the twentieth century. The functional approach favors the formation of \"islands\" in the organization: information tends to be compartmentalized; difficulties arise in integration and communication between departments, which results in inefficient management of the organization, restricting its performance (Paim et al., 2008). Loss of competitiveness due to functional management inefficiencies is reported in icons, such as IBM, Ford and Bell Atlantic (Dumas et al., 2013). An alternative to traditional functional management is business process management (BPM), defined by the Association of Business Process Management Professionals (ABPMP) as activities to identify, design, execute, document, measure, monitor, control and promote improvements in an organization's processes and consequently effectively meet business objectives (Association of Business Process Management Professionals (ABPMP), 2009).\n2. BPM: Business processes are enrooted in classic concepts of management, such as the principles proposed by Taylor related to optimizing activities through the division of labor (Antonucci and Goeke, 2011). Among the various definitions of process, a classic definition is given by Davenport (1994), where he states that \"a process is a specific order of work activities in time and in space, with a beginning, an end and clearly identified inputs and outputs,\" whereas Glykas (2011) defines a process as \"a horizontal connection of activities needed to achieve a desired result\" for an organization. This definition is similar to the one by the ABPMP (2009), which says a process is a set of activities for achieving a goal or for solving a specific problem. The ABPMP (2009) defines a business process as an \"end-to-end\" job that goes beyond functional limits, transposing the organization's hierarchical structure to generate value for the client.\n3. Method: The objective of this study is to investigate the BPM life cycle models proposed in literature and identify convergences and variations that exist in these models using the ABPMP model as a reference and analyze the alignment between strategy and processes and also propose a framework with activities for promoting BPM that deals with alignment between strategy and business processes. In order to achieve this objective, the following activities were carried out:\n4. Results and discussion: 4.1 The search and selection process for studies in databases\n5. Conclusions: The objective of this study was to investigate BPM life cycle models proposed in literature and identify similarities and variations that exist in these models using the ABPMP (2009) model as reference. For such, a search was carried out in academic databases using a search strategy with keywords associated with the theme and using pre-established filters, analysis of original and complete text content for identifying BPM life cycle proposals, obtaining a total of seven publications that were adopted as the object of study in this paper. The search questions for this study relate to adherence of those models found in literature with the ABPMP reference model and how strategy is handled in BPM life cycle models:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Business process management (BPM) is an emerging research theme in management. BPM lifecycles are models that systematize the steps and activities that should be followed for conducting BPM projects. The theoretical and empirical studies present differences regarding the number of steps and activities that should be carried out for promoting BPM. Using the BPM lifecycle model of the Association of Business Process Management Professionals (ABPMP) - an entity that proposes a common body of knowledge on BPM, as a parameter, this paper conducts a literature review to investigate lifecycle models within the academic-scientific ambit, identify convergences and variations and analyze the alignment between business strategy and processes in BPM activities in these models. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework that deals with alignment between strategy and business processes in an explicit manner.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A literature review was conducted aimed at prospecting papers about the BPM lifecycle. For such, the Scopus, Google Schoolar and Science Direct databases were accessed. The selection process was structured in two steps: the first filtered studies based on a reading of the title, abstract and key words; the second step consisted of selecting papers based on a complete reading of those papers resulting from the first step and from the references they contained.\nFindings: Seven BPM lifecycle models were selected and analyzed. A comparison was presented between the model steps and the model proposed by ABPMP. The particularities of each model were identified and the study suggests an alignment of these models with the BPM lifecycle proposed by ABPMP, in particular with the analysis, design and modeling, implementation and monitoring and control steps. Four models do not include the planning step, whereas four others do not incorporate refining. The majority of models studied projects the automation of business processes. This study reinforces that ABPMP's BPM lifecycle is a reference model, observing that the activities in the other models studied are projected in it. However, it was observed that in the ABPMP model as well as the models studied, there is little emphasis on organization strategy and on defining process architecture. Thus, this study suggests the incorporation of activities proposed by Burlton (2010) as an additional instrument for the ABPMP BPM lifecycle model to align strategy to processes in BPM projects. For such, a framework was proposed that deals with alignment between strategy and business process in an explicit manner.\nOriginality/value: This study presents a typology of BPM lifecycle models, with common characteristics and peculiarities, and it analyzes the alignment between processes and strategy in the models' activities. This study can assist professionals in the adoption of a model for implementing BPM projects and for continuous improvement.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
An optimal policy for partially observable Markov decision processes with non-independent monitors	[ "Condition monitoring", "Optimization techniques", "Failure (mechanical)", "Reliability management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Breakdowns in large, complex systems can seriously affect society. Preventive maintenance plays an important role in avoiding such breakdowns. Many kinds of maintenance problems of various systems have been studied using theories of reliability and maintainability. Vaidyanathan et al. (2002), for example, investigated a continuous time queuing model for an inspection-based preventive maintenance problem. Derman (1963) studied an optimal replacement problem for discrete-time Markov deterioration systems in which the state of the system is completely identified at any given time. Rosenfield (1976) and White (1978) discussed optimal inspection and replacement problems under the assumption that the system's state can be observed only through costly inspection. Ohnishi et al. (1986) explored a system monitored incompletely by one monitoring mechanism. However, the reliability of a system using only one monitor is degraded by two types of contradictory failures, \"false alarms\" and \"failure to alarm\". Taking this into account, we investigated a system monitored by several monitors whose observations were not independent and determined under what conditions there exists an optimal control limit policy.\n2 Model: 2.1 Description\n3 Optimal keep, inspect, and replace problem: At the beginning of any time period, \"keep\", \"inspect\", or \"replace\", is selected as an action. An optimal policy is the sequence of actions that minimizes the total cost incurred in both current and future time periods. Since the state information obtained from monitors is incomplete, the decision maker needs to determine the most suitable action by inferring the system's exact state from the current monitoring information and the system's history. This problem is formulated as partially observable Markov decision processes.The problem is how to minimize the expected total discounted cost over an infinite horizon. Let P=(p1,p2, ... ,pn) be the prior state probability vector of X, where Equation 5 The transition between the states is specified below.* When \"keep\" is selected, P=T(P,th) with probability P(th\|P), where Equation 6 Note that the updated probability vector, T (P, th), is calculated using Bayes' formula.* When \"inspect\" is selected, P=ej with probability Equation 7 since the true state is known, and state probability ej is given as Equation 8 where the jth element is 1.* When \"replace\" is selected, P=e1 with probability 1, where Equation 9\n4 Properties of optimal total cost function: 4.1 Optimal expected total cost function\nLemma 4.1: For P1[?]TP2, Equation 16 holds if gi is a nondecreasing function of i.\nLemma 4.2: If A is a (kAxk) TP2 matrix and B is a (kxkB) TP2 matrix, AB is a (kAxkB) TP2 matrix.For proof, see Karlin (1968).\nLemma 4.3: If transition probability matrix P[?]TP2, Equation 17\nLemma 4.4: For arbitrary k[?](1, ... ,L), Equation 18 ProofIt is easy to prove this from the definitions of TP2 and weak MLR.\nLemma 4.5: If P[?]TP2 and Gth-k[?]TP2, Equation 19 ProofThis is obvious from Lemmas 4.2 and 4.4 and the fact that P(th-k\|P)=PPGth-k.\nLemma 4.6: For any fixed P, Equation 20 ProofGiven A2., G[?]weak MLR, so Equation 21 holds from Lemma 4.4 for every j<j', and th-k<=th'-k.\nLemma 4.7: For any fixed th=(th1, ... ,thL), we have Equation 22 ProofGiven A1., P[?]TP2, so Equation 23 holds from Lemma 4.3 for every i<j, and P1[?]TP2.\nLemma 4.8: If V (P) is a concave function of P, then P(th\|P)V (T(P, th)) is also a concave function for any fixed th.ProofFor a proof, see Ohnishi et al. (1986).4.4 Sufficient condition\nTheorem 4.1: If V(N-1)(P)[?]F, then KV(N-1)(P)[?]F.Proof1. Control limit policy. For Equation 26 we obtain Equation 27 based on A3 and Lemma 4.1. Since V(N-1)(P) has a property of control limit policy, and T(P1,th)[?]TT(P2,th) holds by Lemma 4.7, we obtain Equation 28 Furthermore, we have Equation 29 from Lemma 4.6 and Equation 30 from Lemma 4.5. Thus, we obtain Equation 31 where V(N-1)(T(P1, th-k)) is a nondecreasing function of thk for P1. Since equation (24) holds for any k[?](1, ... ,L), we obtain Equation 32 Given equations (21) and (25), we have Equation 33 From equations (20) and (26), we derive Equation 34 That is, KV(N-1)(P) has a property of control limit policy.2. Concave. For notational convenience, we rewrite equation (19) as Equation 35 Since V(N-1)(P)[?]F, Equation 36 is a concave function of P from Lemma 4.8 and the Appendix. As PC is a linear function of P, KV(N-1)(P), the combination of PC and Equation 37 is a concave function of P.\nTheorem 4.2: If V(N-1)(P)[?]F, then IV(N-1)(P)[?]F.ProofFor Equation 38 from A3, A4, and Lemma 4.1, Equation 39 From Lemma 4.3, we have Equation 40 Since ei[?]Tej for i<j, we obtain a nondecrease of V(N-1)(ej) for j[?]{1, ... ,n}. Then Equation 41 Thus, we can derive Equation 42 from equations (30) and (32).Since IV(N-1)(P) is a linear function of P, IV(N-1)(P) is a concave function.\nTheorem 4.3: If V(N-1)(P)[?]F, then RV(N-1)(P)[?]F.ProofSince R+bV(N-1)(e1) is constant, RV(N-1)(P) is a special concave function that has a property of control limit policy for a general N.\nTheorem 4.4: V(N)(P) is a concave function that has a property of control limit policy.ProofWe use an inductive method to prove Theorem 4.4. The proof proceeds in three steps:1. assume that V(N-1)(P1)<=V(N-1)(P2) holds for P1[?]TP2;2. N=0, V(0)(P)=0 is a special case of concave functions that have a property of control limit policy; and3. N periods, the total expected cost function for N periods is Equation 43 From Theorems 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 we have V(N)(P)[?]F. This guarantees V(P)[?]F since V(N)(P) converges to V (P) as N tends to infinity.4.5 Structural properties and discussion\nTheorem 4.5: There exists an optimal policy that has four action regions at most. That is, the optimal policy is determined by P1, P2 and P3(e1[?]TP1[?]TP2[?]TP3[?]Ten), such that the system keeps operating for [e1,P1][?][P2,P3], inspects for [P1, P2], and replaces for [P3, en].The optimal policy obtained in the above theorem is similar to the one initially introduced by Ross (1971). The optimal policy with four regions ({keep, inspect, keep, replace}) may be described graphically as shown in Figure 3. Since an optimal policy which is a sequence of optimal actions depends on the given costs, sometimes fewer than four regions can characterize the optimal policy under different cost functions. If the optimum policy is given by a control limit policy, we need only to determine at most three thresholds on which the optimal action changes. Subsequently we do not need to consider the optimal actions for each P, so the calculation time to find an optimum procedure is reduced.\n5 Conclusion: We investigated a deterioration system monitored by multiple, nonindependent monitors and found that the expected optimal cost function over an infinite horizon has a property of control limit policy given certain assumptions. Furthermore, the optimal policy has only four action regions at most, so the tremendous amount of calculation time required to find the optimum procedure can be reduced. This enables the best decision to be identified in a much shorter period of time.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This research investigated the optimal structure of a discrete-time Markov deterioration system monitored by multiple non-independent monitors. The purpose is to obtain a sufficient condition with which the optimal policy is given by a control limit policy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The model of this research is formulated as a partially observable Markov decision process. The problem is to obtain an optimal policy which can minimize the expected total discounted cost over an infinite horizon.\nFindings: - The research found that the expected optimal cost function over an infinite horizon has a property of control limit policy given the conditions that a transition probability having a property of totally positive of order 2 and a conditional probability of the monitors having a property of weak multivariate monotone likelihood ratio. Furthermore, we showed that the optimal policy has only four action regions at most.\nPractical implications: - If the optimum policy can be limited to a control limit policy, the tremendous amount of calculation time required to find the optimum procedure can be reduced. This enables the best decision to be identified in a much shorter period of time.\nOriginality/value: - A deterioration system monitored incompletely by one monitor has been studied in the previous research. This research considered the case of a multiple number monitors whose observations were not independent.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Impact of consultant obstetric presence on serious incidents	[ "Clinical effectiveness", "Patient safety", "Midwifery", "Teamwork", "Obstetrics", "Adverse events or outcomes" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Since 2005, national UK-based organisations including the National Health Service Litigation Authority and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) have recommended increasing consultant obstetrician (the most senior clinicians) presence in UK consultant-led maternity units to provide improved care for mothers and babies (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2005, 2016; National Health Service Litigation Authority, 2013). In part, this recommendation is driven by a desire to reduce avoidable harm and to improve the quality of care. There is also an economic imperative as in 2016/2017, successful litigation claims for adverse maternity outcomes amounted to>PS2BN, representing 50 per cent of the total claims cost despite only representing 10 per cent of the total number of claims (National Health Service Resolution, 2017). Thus, a reduction in avoidable harm could have significant economic benefits. However, few studies have attempted to examine the association between the amount of consultant obstetric presence in a maternity unit and Serious Untoward Incidents (SUIs). A recent debate highlighted the degree of controversy among clinicians and the academic community regarding the impact of 24-7 consultant presence (Walker, 2016; Snowden et al., 2016; Smith, 2016; Roach, 2016). A subsequently published meta-analysis concluded that although the current evidence regarding the impact of consultant presence is of low quality, there may be evidence of beneficial effects (reduced Caesarean deliveries and a greater proportion of spontaneous vaginal births); this review concluded that further evaluation is needed, particularly to evaluate the effect on rare but serious outcomes (Henderson et al., 2017).\nMethods: All obstetric intrapartum clinical incidents which reported a severity level of \"severe\" or \"catastrophic\" (i.e. SUIs) using the National Patient Safety Agency instrument (National Patient Safety Agency, 2008) at Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester, occurring between September 2011 and September 2017 were identified from the Trust's electronic (Ulysses) incident reporting system. During the time period the type and nature of intrapartum incidents to be reported were publicised to all clinical staff and regular practice reviews were conducted. We excluded non-clinical incidents and incidents exclusively involving antenatal care, elective operations, or midwifery-led care as 24-7 consultant obstetric presence would not have been likely to impact upon these events. A retrospective review of the included incident investigation reports was carried out independently by two investigators (SS and SR). The findings of SUIs were classified into mutually exclusive categories describing the consultant involvement and impact on the care provided; these categories were developed a priori to avoid bias (Figure 1). Contributory factors identified in the incident investigation reports were collated and categorised to identify recurring themes. Disagreements in classification were arbitrated by a senior Obstetrician (TK). The cases were then divided into those which occurred \"before\" and those that were \"after\" introduction of 24-7 consultant presence. Statistical analysis was undertaken using STATA (Version 13, Statacorp, TX, USA).\nResults: A total of 53,726 births took place at St Mary's Hospital between September 2011 and September 2017; 25,641 births before and 28,085 after the implementation of the 24-7 consultant presence. The patient-safety incidents reported to National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) before the 24-7 consultant presence were 6,260 in total, 41 of which met our inclusion criteria. After the 24-7 consultant presence was implemented, 7,881 incidents were reported to the NRLS, 31 of which met our inclusion criteria; thus, the proportion of SUIs was not statistically significantly different between the time periods (0.63 vs 0.39 per cent; p=0.25; kh2 test). Similarly, catastrophic (Level 5) incidents accounted for 19.5 per cent of the total number of the reviewed incidents before implementing 24-7 consultant presence, as opposed to 29.0 per cent of those which occurred afterwards (p=0.40, Fisher's Exact Test). The ratio between severe and catastrophic incidents in each time period was unaltered.\nDiscussion: Over time, the Consultant Obstetricians' role in the UK has changed. Currently, the consultant should lead the multidisciplinary team ensuring appropriate and woman-centred care (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2005). It has been postulated that their clinical experience, leadership, and proactive management should reduce the risk of adverse outcomes for mothers and babies (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2007). However, in obstetrics not all serious incidents can be anticipated, and in these situations, the consultant's skills may be directed at secondary prevention of harm rather than primary prevention of the event itself, e.g. reduction of blood loss from a postpartum haemorrhage. This study reviewed SUIs relating to intrapartum care and found a reduction in the number of reports where a lack of consultant presence was implicated and an increase in the number of reviews where a consultant had a positive effect.\nConclusion: Introduction of 24-7 consultant presence significantly increased the consultant's involvement in managing obstetric emergencies, and cases which were subsequently deemed to be SUIs. It also reduced the proportion of cases where a lack of, or delay in consultant presence was felt to have negative impact on maternal or neonatal outcome by SUI reviews. Consultant presence was more likely to have a positive influence on care delivery. This observation builds on data from a qualitative study in this research programme which demonstrates that midwives, doctors in training and consultants themselves perceived that 24-7 consultant obstetric presence prevented adverse outcomes, particularly given the high-risk nature of some of the caseload (Reid et al., 2018). However, further studies aiming to evaluate the effect of consultant presence on labour ward are still needed, particularly to determine whether 24-7 consultant presence does reduce the incidence of serious intrapartum complications.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Many organisations, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, have recommended increasing the number of hours of consultant obstetric presence in UK National Health Service maternity units to improve patient care. St Mary's Hospital, Manchester implemented 24-7 consultant presence in September 2014. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To assess the impact of 24-7 consultant presence upon women and babies, a retrospective review of all serious clinical intrapartum incidents occurring between September 2011 and September 2017 was carried out by two independent reviewers; disagreements in classification were reviewed by a senior Obstetrician. The impact of consultant presence was classified in a structure agreed a priori.\nFindings: A total of 72 incidents were reviewed. Consultants were directly involved in the care of 75.6 per cent of cases before 24-7 consultant presence compared to 96.8 per cent afterwards. Negative impact due to a lack of consultant presence fell from 22 per cent of the incidents before 24-7 consultant presence to 9.7 per cent after implementation. In contrast, positive impact of consultant presence increased from 14.6 to 32.3 per cent following the introduction of 24-7 consultant presence.\nPractical implications: Introduction of 24-7 consultant presence reduced the negative impact caused by a lack of, or delay in, consultant presence as identified by serious untoward incident (SUI) reviews. Consultant presence was more likely to have a positive influence on care delivery.\nOriginality/value: This is the first assessment of the impact of 24-7 consultant presence on the SUIs in obstetrics.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Intellectual capital and performance measurement in healthcare organizations: An integrated new model	[ "Leadership", "Intellectual capital", "Performance measurement system", "Healthcare organizations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The economic and financial downturn induced the drastic reduction of financial resources dedicated to services for citizens and, among these, the healthcare service. In this solicitation, of a local nature, healthcare organizations are driven to the disruptive renewal caused by the introduction of new technologies on a global scale (Topol, 2012). In this scenario, it should be noted that using performance measurement systems (PMS) is widely recommended to facilitate the implementation of strategies and for the improvement of organizational performance (Davis and Albright, 2004). Furthermore, the intellectual capital (IC) is the primary source of value creation and sustainable competitive advantage for organizations (Lev, 2003).\n2. Theoretical framework: 2.1. IC - definitions and structure\n3. INM - methodology: For the drawing up of an integrated model, dedicated to performance and IC measurement and control in healthcare organization, this paper considers the conceptual framework of the CAF model as starting basis. This is because this model is specially suited for public administration, it is also widely known in Europe and it is suggested by CIVIT as reference model for management and control of healthcare organization in Italy (see footnote 1). The subsequent adjustments will be carried out by doing the two following operations:\n4. Discussion: The scope of this work was to provide an alternative manner to apply the IC conceptual framework and a PMS into a healthcare organization avoiding further burdens, both financial and nonfinancial, for the organizational structure deriving from the implementation and the set-up of two distinct measurement systems. The INM conceptual framework, together with the original approach adopted in order to answer the predefined scope, seems to be able to run correctly under the conceptual perspective, while the empirical evidence is to be achieved after which the implementation phase will be fully accomplished.\n5. Conclusions: 5.1. Brief summary of the paper's findings\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to define a new conceptual framework or model, to measure and manage organizational performance, both financial/non-financial and intellectual capital (IC), in a healthcare organization.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The integrated new model is produced by integrating the common assessment framework (CAF) model with two other frameworks representing the IC and leadership. These already existing models are originated, respectively by the Health Agency of Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) and the National Healthcare System (NHS - UK). The integration phase is operated by comparing the CAF and IC models so as to assess the determinant factors that are present in both frameworks and eliminating such redundancies. Concerning the leadership determinant factor, the relevant conceptual framework of CAF model is substituted by the new leadership model proposed by the NHS.\nFindings: A new integrated model is made available for a subsequent step of empirical implementation and validation through its application in a healthcare organization. The main advantage of this model is the ability to measure and manage IC and financial/non-financial performance. Moreover, the use of a single measurement system facilitates the interpretation and coherency assessment of measured data so originated.\nOriginality/value: The added value this work provides will enrich the academic literature regarding performance measurement systems in healthcare organizations, also providing an original integrated model that is able to exhibit the advantages highlighted above.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Conflict and conflict management in hospitals	[ "Managers", "Conflict", "Hospitals", "Conflict management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Conflict is the \"internal or external discord that results from differences in ideas, values or feelings between two or more people\" (Marquis and Huston, 2009, p. 333), in a way that one tries to prohibit the other from achieving his or her goals. Conflict occurs in organizations whenever managers and employees are interacting and there is a misunderstanding, disagreement and competition between them owing to the differences in their beliefs, values, goals, feelings, attitudes, ideas, needs, interests and resources. Thus, conflict occurs in individuals, between individuals, between groups and between organizations.\nMethodology: Purpose and objectives\nResult: Data were collected from 563 managers (74 percent response rate). Their demographic information is presented in Table I. Respondents were mostly females (67.3 percent), married (82.1 percent), in 41-50 age groups (44 percent) and holding a bachelor's degree (72.1 percent). Managers' mean age was 41 years. Their mean job tenure was 17 years and an 8 year mean managerial tenure. Only 7 percent received education and training on conflict management. About 15.3, 57 and 27.7 percent had traditional, behavioral and interactionist views on conflict management, respectively.\nDiscussion: We aimed to examine conflict type and level in TUMS hospitals and identify hospital managers' conflict resolution strategies. The findings revealed that TUMS managers perceived a moderate conflict level, which is necessary for organizational growth (Mosadeghrad, 2015). While too little conflict reduces employees' motivation, creativity and productivity and as a result, organizational productivity may diminish, too much conflict causes chaos in the organization, and employees deviate from organizational goals (Cinar and Kaban, 2012; Rahim, 2010).\nConclusion and recommendations: Conflict is natural, inherent and inevitable in hospitals. Managers in TUMS hospitals reported moderate organizational conflict. An optimum conflict level is necessary and beneficial for individual growth and organizational productivity. Heavy workload, limited resources, unclear policies, organizational changes, poor communication and differences in employees' abilities, skills and personalities were the main conflict factors in TUMS hospitals. Hospital managers mainly used the collaborating style. Relevant education and training programs should be organized to raise managers' awareness in conflict management and help them keep conflict at a constructive level by using the right conflict management styles and strategies. Despite its contributions, this study's results should be interpreted with caution. This study was limited to TUMS affiliated hospitals. Further studies are needed to fully explore conflict and conflict management solutions in healthcare organizations. Future research, using a multinational comparative approach, can explore national and organizational culture roles in conflict type, intensity and management strategies.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Hospitals are complex and complicated organizations and are prone to the conflict. The purpose of this paper is to identify the intensity and type of conflict experienced by hospital managers and explore their conflict management strategies in hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from top, middle and front line managers. In total, 563 managers from 14 hospitals responded to the questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 19.\nFindings: Hospital managers reported average level of conflict (2.73 score out of 5). Organizational factors produced more conflict for managers than personal factors. High workload, resource shortage, bureaucracy and differences in managers' personality, knowledge, capabilities and skills were the main causes of organizational and personal conflict. Top managers experienced more conflict than middle and front line managers. Conflict was higher in specialized hospitals compared to general hospitals. Less conflict was observed in administrative and support departments than diagnostic and therapeutic departments. Conflict was meaningfully associated with management level, education, size of hospital, number of employees and willingness to leave the hospital. The dominant conflict management style of managers was collaborating. There were significant relationships between collaborating style and management level, manager's age, work experience and management experience.\nPractical implications: The nature of hospitals requires that managers use collaborating, compromising and accommodating styles to interact better with different stakeholders. Managers by acquiring necessary training and using the right conflict resolution strategies should keep the conflict in a constructive level in hospitals.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study conducted in Iran examining the level of conflict, its types and identifying managers' dominant conflict resolution strategies at front line, middle and top management levels.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Moorhouse Group targets training for growth: Individual development plans help to embed learning in the business	[ "Training needs", "Sales force", "Insurance companies" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Carefully targeted training improved the productivity of a UK insurance company's sales team and increased the number of calls it handled by 56 percent.\nThe consultants' recommendations: The consultants made two main recommendations - for sales training and for workshops outside the sales area.The two-day sales-training course targeted those involved in directly selling insurance policies to new and existing clients. It included a short period where delegates were given the opportunity to take live calls while putting into practice the skills learned, and receiving one-to-one feedback. At the end of the training, they also compiled development plans to help their managers to embed the learning into the operational environment.The most popular element of this training, as indicated by post-course evaluation, was communication skills such as questioning techniques, handling objections and assertiveness techniques. These were also the main areas that the training-needs analysis revealed as being key areas for improvement.The workshops for areas outside of sales were designed to uncover ways in which those departments could generate more leads for the business. The three-hour workshops encouraged discussion, helped delegates to come up with ideas and concluded with action plans being developed. These have been the driver for the business establishing working groups to turn the ideas into business processes.Almost 100 agents attended one or both of the courses. Moorhouse Group has now signed up to a 12-month training program with JaywingDMG.Sian Pryce, Moorhouse Group managing director, commented: \"The energetic training style and interactive content ensured that team members of all levels felt comfortable and confident. The consultants took a holistic view of the business, sharing some useful recommendations on how we could improve productivity across the operation and helping to increase the number of calls handled by 56 percent overall.\"\nSupport for staff retention: Steve Denby concluded: \"Training can be an extremely powerful and cost-effective investment by an organization. It can help to expand the scope of available skills within the workforce as well as improve on existing expertise, all with the goal of improving the business's effectiveness. Enhancing the capabilities of the team can even support retention, as staff feel empowered and invested in, and better equipped to deal with their daily activities.\"However, many businesses face the prospect of wasting valuable training budget because they do not know how to identify what their internal needs are, and thus cannot design the most suitable training and enhancement program.\"It is also important for an organization not to view training as a one-off investment and solution. Training should be about more than simply 'teaching' staff new skills or guiding them on how to do things 'better'. Instead, if training is seen as an ongoing process with set goals and outcomes that are monitored, refreshed and enhanced, it can bring a continued and long-term benefit to a business.\"\nNote: David Pollitt, Human Resource Management International Digest Editor, wrote this article.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Describes how carefully targeted training improved the productivity of a UK insurance company's sales team and increased the number of calls it handled by 56 percent.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Explains how the use of external consultants helped Moorhouse Group Ltd to identify, design and deliver the training it needed.\nFindings: - Details how the two-day course for sales training, and the workshops staged for employees outside the sales area, helped to improve the company's ability to generate leads and convert sales.\nPractical implications: - Illustrates how training can help to expand the scope of available skills in the workforce as well as improve on existing expertise.\nSocial implications: - Describes how training can best be targeted to benefit individuals and, through this, society as a whole.\nOriginality/value: - Reveals that individual action plans were created for people who attended the training. The action plans were handed back to managers to embed the learning into business.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Health promotion in pre-service teacher education: Effects of a pilot inter-professional curriculum change	[ "England", "Teachers", "Education colleges", "Curricula", "Health education", "Promotion" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The role of teachers as health promoters\nMethods: Overview\nDiscussion: Overview of the results\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to discuss a curriculum change in the provision of health promotion in pre-service teacher education in a one-year postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) secondary course in one Higher Education Institution (HEI) in England.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper describes the iterative development process, from an initial survey and mapping of the existing pre-service teacher training programme, which provided an evidence base for the piloting of a new health promotion component in the curriculum, and its subsequent evaluation. Changes to the health promotion element of the curriculum reflect the programme philosophy which balances the requirements of a competency based curriculum with a more liberal approach to education and training in which pre-service teachers are expected to critically reflect on, and evaluate their practice. This work adopts a socio-constructivist approach to teacher education, in which teachers develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes by interacting with others through dialogue, and learning from more knowledgeable others in a cooperative and scaffolded manner.\nFindings: - The paper presents the results of these changes and discusses implications for their sustainability. The changes made to the health promotion component of the programme and their implementation would not have been possible without the inter-professional collaboration that took place over three years.\nOriginality/value: - To the authors' knowledge similar work involving a multi-disciplinary collaborative approach to the development of a health education component of a pre-service teacher education curriculum has not been employed or reported.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Community rebuilding processes in a disaster-damaged area through community currency: The pilot project of Domo in Kamaishi, Japan	[ "Social capital", "Social network analysis", "Community currency", "Community rebuilding", "Disaster recovery" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Community currency (hereafter, CC) - a type of alternative and complementary currency that is intended to facilitate the voluntary trade of goods and services among local residential members within a limited area - has been considered a policy tool that can help revive local communities by promoting local economic growth and forging community social capital (Collom et al., 2012; Nishibe, 2000; Seyfang, 2004; Williams et al., 2001). Several schemes, such as the local exchange trading system, time dollar, Ithaca hours, and the Toronto dollar, have been invented around the world, and a large number of organizations that deal with CC have been established since the mid-1980s. After a slight delay, the CC movement flourished before and after the year 2000 in Japan. There are no precise statistics showing the exact number of CCs adopted in Japan; some of the literature and original surveys state that \"the total number had reached 662 in January 2011[1]\" and \"as of December 2008, 259 CCs were in operation\" (Izumi and Nakazato, 2013). However, Japanese CC movements have experienced severe stagnation in recent years. Approximately 40 percent of the organizations established in 2002 suspended their operations within one or two years (Izumi and Nakazato, 2013).\n2. Social capital and the potential role of CC activities in the disaster recovery process: The utility of the social capital accumulated before a disaster appears to be self-evident, as personal networks among residents are formed and restored after a disaster, and accumulated social capital makes a social contribution to the rebuilding of communities in disaster-affected areas (Adeola and Picou, 2014; Aldrich, 2011a, 2012; Bhandari, 2014; Minamoto, 2010; Nakagawa, 2009; Nakagawa and Shaw, 2004; Shaw, 2014; Wiek et al., 2010; Woolcock, 2001). In particular, most previous studies addressing the roles of social capital in the disaster recovery process have paid attention to the normative or descriptive investigation of how a greater level of social capital led to the more effective and rapid revival of disaster-damaged communities (Aldrich, 2011b; Islam and Walkerden, 2014; LaLone, 2012). However, no empirical studies have examined how the multiple mechanisms of social capital actually affect residents' interactions in the communities of disaster areas. As mentioned earlier, this study intends to assess the evolutionary process of dynamic network formation as it arises via CC transactional relationships among local residents in disaster-affected communities. The key mechanisms of social capital development that we expect to observe in post-disaster recovery can be categorized as weak ties, generalized exchanges, and strong ties (Coleman, 1988; Hishida and Shaw, 2014; Putnam, 1993, 2000; Shaw, 2015). CC members will select transactional partners - leading to the creation of links between consecutive time points - based on particular mechanisms, including in-degree popularity (CC members' tendency to ask for support from those who are often asked for support by other CC members), cyclicality (the tendency of supportive ties to be balanced between CC members, as CC members will seek support from others who have requested support from those currently receiving support), reciprocity (CC members' propensity to give and take support), and transitivity (CC members' tendency to seek support from others from whom their current supporters also seek support), as detailed below.\n3. Case, data, and methods: 3.1 Brief description of Domo in Kamaishi\n4. Analysis and results: 4.1 Demographics of the participants in the experimental circulation of Domo\n5. Discussion: CC, as an alternative and complementary currency for trading goods and services among local residential members within a limited area, has been recognized as a tool for reviving communities by promoting local economic growth and facilitating the formation of social capital in communities. In the absence of studies on the role of CC in disaster areas, this study focused on the Domo pilot project, which was implemented in Kamaishi, one of the areas damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. In particular, this research examines the micro processes of community rebuilding that underlie the transactional networks developed among victimized residents and mediated by Domo. Using transactional records for the local residential members during the five-month pilot period preceding the actual implementation of Domo, we can empirically show the dynamics of the network configurations and identify the network structural effects formed through the residents' CC activities.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Community currency (CC) is used as a tool for reviving local communities by promoting economic growth and facilitating the formation of social capital. Although the Japanese CC movement has stagnated since mid-2005, a new experiment, Fukkou Ouen Chiiki Tsuka (CC for supporting disaster recovery), was introduced across disaster-damaged areas after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. Previous studies assessing the role of CC in these earthquake-damaged areas are rare; the purpose of this paper is to examine the micro processes of community rebuilding that underlie the transactional networks mediated by one of the experiments, Domo, in Kamaishi.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using transactional records capturing residents' CC activities during the five-month pilot period before actual implementation of Domo simultaneous investigation for empirical network analysis techniques identify the network configuration dynamics representing the multiple observed forms of social capital in this disaster-affected local community.\nFindings: This study of the five-month pilot for the Domo system revealed: intensive dependence on the coordinating role of core members (i.e. the creation of weak ties), a lack of balanced support among members and the resulting uni-directional transactions (i.e. the avoidance of generalized exchanges), and the reinforcement of previous transactional ties via reciprocation or transitive triads (i.e. the formation of strong ties).\nOriginality/value: This study provides guidance for practitioners, researchers, and policy makers on how community residents' engagement in CC activities could function as a potential tool for generating positive socio-economic effects for local communities in disaster areas.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Franchising in Ukraine	[ "Franchising", "Experience", "Ukraine", "Australia", "Investors" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This article is an exploratory survey that examines franchising in Ukraine. Ukraine has been an independent state since achieving independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite Ukraine's difficulties in attracting levels of foreign investment comparable to neighbouring countries such as Poland, its economy in the past few years has managed to grow strongly and franchising is beginning to bloom in a hitherto unwelcoming economic landscape.Australia is used for comparison purposes with Ukraine with respect to franchising as franchising is a very popular way of engaging in business in Australia and relative to its population, Australia has a very large number of franchises operating. It investigates the legal environment for franchising in Ukraine and the development of franchising in Ukraine in recent years. The experiences of two franchisors are briefly examined.\nFranchising: Franchising is a contractual form of doing business. It is a type of licensing where the nature of the contractual terms is usually much more complex in defining the rights and obligations of the parties. The agreement is known as a franchise. The party awarding the franchise is known as a franchisor and the party accepting the franchise is known as the franchisee (or franchise holder). Franchising has been one of the most popular means of engaging in business in recent years.There are two key theories generally used to explain franchising, resource scarcity (Oxenfeldt and Kelly, 1969) and agency theory (Lafontaine and Slade, 1997). Although the conceptual bases underpinning franchising activities have been well documented, it is not the intention of this paper to discuss them in detail, as this is an exploratory study, which hopefully will act as a catalyst to researchers to engage in further research and attract investors. The rate of growth of franchises has been quite strong around the world. For example, in Australia (population 20 million), there are approximately 850 business format franchises representing about 54,000 individual outlets around the country employing 507,000 people (Frazer and Weaven, 2004, p. 2).\nUkraine: Ukraine is the largest country by land area wholly within Europe (approximately 604,000 sq. kms) and has a population of 46.8 million people (Ukraine Fact Sheet, 2006). With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine was rated the highest on economic potential (27 on a scale of 30 exceeding even Russia with 24) by Germany's Deutsche Bank (Thurow, 1992, pp. 90-91). Ukraine makes an interesting case study in the development of the franchising. According to information provided by Fixed graphic 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) the economy grew by 12.1 per cent in 2004 and 2.4 per cent in 2005 (Fixed graphic 2, 2006, p. 12). Due to steady investments and recovery of exports, Ukraine's real GDP is expected to rise by 7.6 per cent in 2007 and it is reported that in 2008 the real GDP growth is projected at 6.9 per cent (IERPC (Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting), 2007).As with all the former republics of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was part of a centrally planned economy controlled by the state. With the collapse of communism, the path to a market economy was chosen. This has led to the development of private business, providing opportunities for local and foreign investors alike. Unlike some of its neighbours such as Poland and Hungary, and even Russia, Ukraine has received comparatively little foreign direct investment (FDI) on both an absolute and per capita basis (as evidenced in Table I). This has resulted in the franchising concept not taking off in the way it has in some other countries in the region as foreign franchisors have been hesitant to enter the Ukrainian market and leading to Ukrainian businesses taking the initiative to develop local franchises.In Table I, although Ukraine has received little FDI compared to other countries in the region, that situation is beginning to change slowly, given its recent impressive economic performance. Ukraine's FDI inflow for 2005 is deceptive as it includes a one-off windfall as a result of a privatisation of a steel mill Fixed graphic 3 (Kryvorizhstal) in 2004 due to an auction that allowed it to be initially sold-off at a severely undervalued price to a consortium including the then incumbent President Kuchma's son-in-law for about US$800 million (EUR625 million) (BBC News, 2005). With the coming to power of President Yushchenko, this privatisation was reversed and Mittal Steel purchased Kryvorizhstal in a live televised auction for US$4.8 billion (EUR3.75 billion) (BBC News, 2005). This was the new Government's way of showing they were serious about tackling corruption and improving transparency in its dealings with foreign investors.The World Bank has recently begun comparing and ranking the performance of various countries on the basis of ease of doing business (World Bank, 2007). Rankings are ordered from best to worst performer in as ascending order. Table II provides rankings for Ukraine and a number of its close neighbours as well as Australia, New Zealand (best performer overall) and Congo (worst performer overall). Generally, Ukraine is regarded as one of the poorer performers in terms of ease of doing business (ranked 124th overall). It indicates that it is a relatively difficult place in which to conduct business. The only factor where Ukraine seems to have a reasonable ranking is in enforcing contracts (EC) where it came in at thirty-ninth overall (see Tables II and III).One of the main reasons for Ukraine's low ranking is the prevalence of corruption. Corruption is seen as a major barrier to the expansion of business in Ukraine, particularly for foreign companies. Using Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index (Transparency International, 2005) Ukraine was ranked 107th in terms of the perceived level of corruption, in 2005. Near neighbours Poland was ranked seventieth and Russia was ranked 126th. Australia, to which this article compares the level of franchise activity, was ranked ninth.\nLegal basis of franchising in Ukraine: Most countries have laws that deal specifically with franchising. For example, in Australia, there is the Franchising Code, a part of the Trade Practices Act 1974 that regulates competition and deals with consumer protection issues. Since the franchisor is generally more powerful than the franchisee, the Australian government felt it was necessary to enact the Franchising Code in order to protect franchisees from potential exploitation by franchisors.In Ukraine, the term franchising is not used in an official legal sense. Instead, the term commercial concession is used. However, the term commercial concession is seen to include franchising (Fixed graphic 4, 2005).\nThe Ukrainian experience of franchising: From being a fashionable buzzword in the late 1990s, franchising is now becoming a new way for Ukrainian businessman to develop their enterprises (Fixed graphic 5, 2005, p. 40). The first franchise to open in Ukraine was McDonald's in 1997 (Parkharenko-Anderson, 2003). These stores were owned by the franchisor rather than run by franchisees (Hnatiuk, 2001). In 2000, the first Ukrainian branded fast food chains began to appear, including Fixed graphic 6 (Mister Snack), Fixed graphic 7 (Fast), Fixed graphic 8 (Home Cuisine), Fixed graphic 9 (Rostik's) (all Kyiv based), Fixed graphic 10 (Pan Pizza) (based in Odessa), and Fixed graphic 11 (Potato House) (based in Lviv) (Parkharenko-Anderson, 2003). Currently, franchising is a relatively underutilized method of conducting business in Ukraine. The reasons for this include (Fixed graphic 12, 2005, p. 41):1. A lack of expertise in various business sectors, including knowledge of franchising and judicial expertise to deal with franchise agreements2. The novelty of franchise agreements and their complexity relative to other types of commercial contracts.3. The reticence of franchisors to train franchisees in their business due to their fear of creating future competitors.4. Reluctance of potential franchisors to invest significant resources to create a franchise system.In 2002 there were about 80 franchisors operating in Ukraine (Fixed graphic 13, 2002) compared to 620 in France, a country of similar population and land area. In most developed countries, franchising is an extremely popular method of engaging in business. For example, in Australia 90 per cent of the fast food business operates on a franchise basis (Fixed graphic 14, 2002).In 2001, some major and well-known international franchisors operating in Ukraine were (Hnatiuk, 2001):1. McDonald's Ukraine (wholly owned corporate).2. Coca-Cola Ukraine (wholly owned corporate).3. Coca-Cola Beverages (bottling franchise agreement).4. Hertz Car Rental (franchise agreement).5. Fuji (exclusive distributorship).6. Baskin Robbins (license agreement).7. American Cleaners International (both joint venture and franchise agreement).The majority of foreign franchisors have chosen not to use franchising as a way of penetrating the Ukrainian market. One reason given was the relatively poor purchasing power of Ukrainians (Hnatiuk, 2001). In addition, the poor legal framework for supporting franchise agreements was a major factor hindering the use of franchising. This was addressed recently by the introduction at the beginning of 2004, of both the Civil Code and Commercial Code, where franchise agreements have been specifically addressed and given extensive legal recognition. In these codes, the term franchising is renamed as commercial concession (Fixed graphic 15, 2004, p. 183).In 2002, the structure of those businesses involved in franchising is indicated in Table IV.By 2005, franchising had grown to the point where there were more than 200 franchisors operating in Ukraine. Table V provides the distribution of franchise types in 2005. As can be seen in comparing the years 2002 (80 franchisors) and 2005 (200 franchisors and over 2,000 franchisees in a population of about 50 million) there has been substantial growth in a relatively small period. As a comparison, Australia, with a population of 20 million has about 850 franchisors and 64,400 franchisees, while Ukraine's near neighbour Russia with a population of about 145 million has 154 franchisors and 2,200 franchisees (World Franchise Council web site, 2006).In recent years, the Franchising Association of Ukraine (Fixed graphic 16) has been established to represent and promote the interests of those involved in franchising in Ukraine, be they franchisors, franchisees or others interested in franchising. At the time of writing 40 franchisors were members of the association (Franchising Association of Ukraine, 2006).\nFranchisors operating in Ukraine: This section looks at the experiences of the following two successful franchises. They are:1. McDonalds' Ukraine (Fixed graphic 17).2. Fixed graphic 18 (Pizza Celentano).\nMcDonalds' Ukraine (Fixed graphic 19): McDonald's started its business in Ukraine in 1997, the first western fast food company to do so (McDonald's Ukraine web site, 2006). As of July 2006, the company had 54 restaurants in 16 Ukrainian cities. Of these restaurants 51 are located in central and eastern Ukraine where most of the population dwell. The capital, Kyiv, located in central Ukraine has 21 or 39 per cent of the total (McDonald's Ukraine web site, 2006). This is not surprising as a lot of wealthy Ukrainians reside there and salaries are the highest there.The stores are currently all still company owned. In a sign of increasing confidence in the management ability of Ukrainians, on September 1, 2005, a local rather than an expatriate was appointed for the first time as managing director of McDonald's Ukraine (Fixed graphic 20, 2005). Of all products used by McDonald's in Ukraine 61 per cent are purchased from Ukrainian suppliers (Fixed graphic 21, 2005). This is evidence of the increasing confidence with which local suppliers can meet McDonald's stringent quality requirements.\nFixed graphic 22 (Pizza Celentano): Pizza Celentano is a local franchise that is part of Fast Food Systems (Fixed graphic 23), a company based in the west Ukrainian City of Lviv. Their other franchise brands are Fixed graphic 24 (Potato House) and Fixed graphic 25 (Cafe Spot). These franchises were founded by Fixed graphic 26 (Mark Zarkhin). Pizza Celentano has been one of the most successful locally developed franchise systems. In developing his franchise businesses Mark Zarkhin learnt from attending various exhibitions and looking at fast food service businesses in Europe (Fixed graphic 27, 2002).In 1998, Zarkhin opened Pizza Celentano, located in a highly visible location in Lviv's city centre, which was a success (Deloshop, 2005) opening the way for competition to emerge. As a result, Zarkhin and his partner realised that an opportunity appeared where they could replicate their business. They realised that with their limited capital that this was a low-cost way of expanding their business (Deloshop, 2005). After interest shown from businessmen from the cities of Khmelnitski and the capital, Kyiv, decided to replicate the success of Pizza Celentano, by using franchising (Deloshop, 2005). In fact, the first franchised Pizza Celentano opened in Kyiv, seven months after the franchise agreement was signed (Fixed graphic 28, 2002).Since the first successful Pizza Celentano opened in 1998, there are now about 50 restaurants in Ukraine, with quite a few in relatively small towns, something Zarkhin was keen to encourage (Fixed graphic 29, 2002). They are also located throughout Russia, Poland, Belarus, and Moldova (Deloshop, 2005). Due to limited resources of the owner, Fast Food Systems, a master franchisee has been appointed in each of these markets (Deloshop, 2005).Experts and operators reported in 2002 that Ukrainian fast food facilities operated with up to 25 per cent profitability (Prikhodko, 2002).\nConclusion: Despite the difficulties of operating in the Ukrainian business environment, with its twin problems of bureaucracy and corruption, franchising has managed to establish itself as a viable way of doing business in Ukraine. Both foreign and local franchisors are beginning to make headway in establishing a strong presence in the Ukrainian business landscape. The intention of this paper has been to draw attention to a major emerging European economy and to stimulate more in-depth research into the development of franchising in Ukraine. It offers some insights and assistance to investors hoping to open up franchises. As not much research work has been undertaken in Ukraine, we hope that this discussion will assist franchisors become better prepared for the next upturn in the economic cycle.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper is an exploratory survey that examines franchising in Ukraine. The purpose of this discussion paper therefore, is to shed light on the extent to which franchising is impacted by economic, legal, and investment factors in Ukraine. It attempts to make a brief comparison with the Australian franchising system in order to present a platform for future marketing and implementation scenarios in the country.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Based on a literature synthesis, the paper proposes reasons for the success of franchising in Ukraine. It outlines the experiences of two successful franchising businesses established in Ukraine.\nFindings: - Despite the difficulties of operating in the Ukrainian business environment, with its twin problems of bureaucracy and corruption, franchising has managed to establish itself as a viable way of doing business in Ukraine. Both foreign and local franchisors are beginning to make headway in establishing a strong presence in the Ukrainian business landscape.\nOriginality/value: - The paper contributes to understanding franchising in Ukraine. It offers some insights and assistance to investors hoping to open up franchises. As very little research work has been undertaken in Ukraine, it is hoped that this discussion will assist franchisors to become better prepared for the next upturn in the economic cycle.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The four-factor model of product design: scale development and validation	[ "Brand passion", "Affective design", "Cognitive design", "Ergonomic design", "Product design scale" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Customers perceive product success to be predominantly dependent on creating unique and superior product attributes (Cooper and Kleinschmidt, 1987; Gilal et al., 2018a, 2018b, 2018c). Numerous factors influence how firms create unique and superior product attributes to ensure a competitive position in the market. Many scholars have reported the significance of product design for new market success (Lee and Johnson, 2017). For instance, Gilal et al. (2018a, 2018b, 2018c) and Candi et al. (2017) recognize that product design can be used as a strategic tool to create a competitive advantage for companies. Straker and Wrigley (2016) argue that customer retention and loyalty can be achieved through product design and consequently lead to company dominance. Practitioners have also acknowledged the importance of product design for a company's success. For instance, the design companies IDEO and Alessi have used product design thinking and design-driven innovation to gain deep customer insights (Price et al., 2015). In fact, product design has been used as a principal means of making products differentiable in today's marketplace.\nLiterature review: Review of existing scales\nStudy 1 (Scale development): Research methodology\nStudy 2 (validation of the product design scale): Scale validation (Pakistani data)\nStudy 3 (discriminant validity): As discussed above, there are conceptual differences between our product design scale and the scales previously developed, namely, the NPDCMCS; CVPAS; the HED/UT scale; and IPD scale. In this section, we compare and verify those conceptual differences with empirical analyses (the new data collected from 193 (n = 193) Korean shoppers based on criteria discussed in Study 1 and Study 2). For each scale, we compared chi-square, fit indices, CRs, AVE and discriminant validity.\nStudy 4 (nomological validity): Using the scale to analyze outcomes of product design\nConclusion and implications: Theoretical implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: In the modern era, the significance of product design has increased because customers' priorities in the evaluation of products have changed from product price to product design. Companies consider product design to be one of the most important sources of competitive advantage and standards for evaluating their performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop and validate a new scale to measure product design along with its dimensions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An extensive literature review and consumer interviews and surveys were conducted to generate an initial item pool. Exploratory factor analysis was used to reduce the initial item pool, and confirmatory factor analysis was performed for measurement validation. A total of four separate studies were conducted for the conceptualization and operationalization of a product design scale.\nFindings: Using data from three samples, the authors develop and validate a new scale to measure product design along affective, cognitive, ergonomic and reflective dimensions. Furthermore, the results provide strong evidence of the reliability, discriminant validity, measurement invariance and nomological validity of the four product design dimensions. Finally, the effects of these product design dimensions on harmonious and obsessive brand passion were assessed. The results show that the affective and reflective dimensions appear to be prominent for capturing the obsessive brand passion, whereas the cognitive and ergonomic dimensions are capable of increasing harmonious brand passion.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study that develops and validates the measurement of product design as a four-dimensional construct that can be transferred to a scale and applied across a wide range of product categories.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Is workplace spirituality associated with business ethics?	[ "Hospitality industry", "Spirituality", "Religiosity", "Workplace spirituality", "Hospitality business ethics", "Spirituality in the hospitality industry" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Spirituality and religion have exerted considerable influences on the attitudes and behaviors of people in every part of the world throughout recorded human history. Human remains and bones of hunted game have suggested the possibility that some of humanity's earliest ancestors, those who walked the earth during the ice ages, believed in a higher power or a supernatural force (Maringer, 1960). Religion and spirituality have since appeared throughout history in different forms; some lost forever, and others lasting into the present day, making an undeniable impact on world events. Despite their importance, many previous research publications have noted that, until recently, writings on the role of spirituality and religion in business settings virtually did not exist (Mitroff and Denton, 1999). Although religion and spirituality have yet to drive universal changes in the corporate world, they have emerged in the past two decades as fairly significant areas of interest among management researchers and educators, as well as industry practitioners (Mitroff and Denton, 1999). The significant increase in new books, articles, meetings, conferences, special journal issues and cover stories of popular business magazines, combined with special courses offered in business schools, all attest to this increasing attention to spirituality and religion in the workplace (Cavanaugh, 1999; Korac-Kakabadse et al., 2002; McLaughlin, 2005; Mitroff and Denton, 1999; Neal and Biberman, 2003; Ruhe and Lee, 2008).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Spirituality defined\n3. Methods: 3.1 Measurements\n4. Results: The mean perceived ethical problem scores for the three scenarios (S1 = 5.96, S2 = 7.11 and S3 = 7.18) showed that the respondents generally viewed the scenarios as those that describe an ethical problem. This is similar to the checks performed by Singhapakdi and Vitell (1990) and Singhapakdi et al. (1996). Singhapakdi and Vitell (1990) found scores of 6.03 and 5.55 on a seven-point Likert scale for their two versions of a scenario featuring an ethical and an unethical company, and Singhapakdi et al. (1996) found mean responses ranging from 6.25 to 8.42 on a nine-point Likert scale.\n5. Discussion and implications: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the association between workplace spirituality and business ethics in the hotel industry. No statistically significant correlations were found that linked spirituality to the four variables measuring ethics (perceived moral intensity, ethical perception, ethical judgment and ethical intention) using a scenario-based survey with 165 hotel manager respondents. It is important, however, to recognize that all but one of the spirituality correlations reflected the anticipated relationships to the ethical variables as they were worded; negative correlations were observed for the ethical variables that required higher marks for the approval of unethical conduct (ethical judgment and ethical intention), and positive correlations were observed for ethical variables that required higher marks for increased awareness of ethical problems (ethical perception and perceived moral intensity). Although the direction of the relationship was observed, it was not strong enough to achieve statistical significance. In addition to concluding that religiosity and spirituality may have limited influence upon moral reasoning, the study by Baumsteiger et al. (2013) revealed that there was more variability within groups than there is between groups, suggesting that the strength of religiosity or spirituality is most indicative of individuals' moral reasoning styles. The findings of this current study of spirituality in the workplace are in line with these results, indicating that spirituality in the workplace has a smaller incremental role in explaining attitudes toward ethically questionable situations.\n6. Conclusion: Although a consensus over a definition of spirituality is yet to be reached, literature on spirituality in the workplace generally imply that companies should expect a constructive influence on business ethics as a result of encouraging expression of spirituality by organizational members. Empirical testing of these assumptions is starting to emerge, and have so far produced inconclusive results. The present study was set out to investigate whether spirituality in the workplace is associated with business ethics, in the hotel industry context. Although the relationship between spirituality in the workplace and business ethics may seem intuitively positive, the findings of the present study indicate that overemphasizing workplace spirituality as a foundation for ethical direction would leave hotel companies with little positive outcomes. In lights of these findings, it seems clear that hotel companies would benefit more by pursuing other strategies instead, such as the establishment of ethical standards and investing in ethical training. While contributing to forming an empirical foundation for future research, especially in the hotel industry, findings in this study will benefit from future investigation that overcome the several limitations of any research done in this challenging line of inquiry.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the potential association between spirituality and business ethics in a hotel workplace.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A scenario-based quantitative approach was used to collect data from 165 practicing professionals in the hotel industry.\nFindings: The results show that spirituality, as measured by the Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STS), did not correlate significantly with measures of ethical perception, ethical judgment, ethical intention or perceived moral intensity. There was, however, evidence to suggest that spirituality may be able to contribute incrementally to future research.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study demonstrates that the dynamic associations between spirituality and ethics may produce different outcomes in different industry settings.\nPractical implications: If hotel companies focus on developing ethical standards, the effects on the business ethics of managers could be considerably greater than relying on the spirituality of managers or the encouragement of expression of spirituality in the workplace.\nOriginality/value: Although the relationship between spirituality and ethics seems to be sensible, the empirical assessments on how managers' workplace spirituality relate to their business ethics is notably lacking. The present study sought to fill this gap in literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Macro stress test for credit risk	[ "Panel data", "Binary logistic regression model", "Generalized linear mixed effect model", "Macro stress test", "Stress scenario" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Since the beginning of the global financial crisis, the macro stress test has become prominent as both an internal risk management tool for financial institutions and a way for supervisory authorities to maintain financial stability. Because the emergence of complicated instruments, such as securitized products and credit derivatives, has promoted the interconnectedness between the economy and financial and capital markets, the risk management methodologies used in non-crisis periods have become insufficient for current risk management requirements. Based on this gap in the body of knowledge, this study presents a versatile model for transforming macro stress scenarios into the risk parameters of a financial institution's internal credit portfolio risk model and provides details on the practical implementation of the macro stress test.\n2. Literature review: Several studies have used macroeconomic variables to estimate a company's PD. Most studies that connect credit risk to macroeconomic variables have used such variables to explain macroeconomic effects or PDs through credit ratings (Duffie et al., 2007, 2009; Koopman et al., 2005, 2009, 2011; Kanno, 2012).\n3. Default risk model: In reference to the multi-factor approach of Hamerle et al. (2011), this study develops a statistically robust model for assessing a company's default risk. This model incorporates the company's financial ratios, as presented in publicly available information, rather than each company's credit rating generated through a specific procedure.\n4. Data: This study uses Japanese listed companies for the presented analysis. It uses panel data, with both cross-section and time series directions, consisting of company-specific financial, default and macroeconomic information.\n5. Estimation procedures for the risk factors and results: 5.1 Estimation procedures for the risk factors\n6. Conclusions and policy implications: This study contributes to the literature by providing a benchmark model for incorporating macroeconomic variables into a credit risk model for use in a bottom-up macro stress test and by describing a practical implementation of the test.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the benchmark model and offer a practical implementation of the macro stress test. The emergence of complicated instruments such as securitized products has rendered the risk management methodologies used in non-crisis periods insufficient. The macro stress test has become prominent as both an internal risk management tool for financial institutions and a way for supervisory authorities to maintain financial stability. However, no practical model is available for transforming macro stress scenarios into the risk parameters of an institution's internal model.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study presents a model for assessing a company's default risk through a multi-level regression based on simultaneous estimates of the impacts of company-specific, macroeconomic and sector-specific risk factors using panel and time series data.\nFindings: Equity capital, EBITDA, the current ratio and the fixed assets to fixed liability ratio are selected as the company-specific factors, while the CPI core rate, overall unemployment rate, overnight call rate and JGB yield to subscribers are selected as the macroeconomic factors. The correlation coefficients among the latent sector factors are significant at 5 per cent. In addition, the accuracy ratio values prove that the presented model has more default prediction power than do models without them.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first to provide a benchmark model for incorporating macroeconomic variables into a credit risk model for use in a bottom-up macro stress test.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Lifestyle entrepreneurs in winemaking: An exploratory qualitative analysis on the non-pecuniary benefits	[ "Wine", "Survey research", "Psychometric/qualitative", "Entrepreneurial motivations", "Lifestyle entrepreneur", "Non-pecuniary benefits" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years popular media, including the internet, have reported numerous stories about winery owners driven by their passion for wine, a sense of prestige, satisfaction gained from producing wine and the desire to live in an attractive rural location. The social appeal of wine has encouraged numerous entrepreneurs from different sectors and celebrities, to enter the winemaking business (Charters et al., 2008).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Entrepreneurial motivations\n3. Method: In line with the previous studies on lifestyle entrepreneurs in winemaking, we carried out a qualitative approach. The aim of this research is to investigate the motivations that drive winery owners in running their businesses. As noted by Darnhofer et al. (2005), qualitative studies provide a richer framework for understanding the complexity of farmers' motives and farmers' orientations that affect their decision-making processes. This exploratory study does not seek to test a specific hypothesis, but aims to understand a phenomenon and the participants' real experiences from their own perspectives (Bryman, 2015).\n4. Findings: 4.1 Motivations for owning a winegrowing business\n5. Discussion: The findings of the current study contribute to existing knowledge by reinforcing a well-established theory on entrepreneurs' motivations and providing new insights specific to the wine industry. In investigating the ways in which entrepreneurs are motivated to own a winegrowing business, the current exploratory research has revealed that non-pecuniary benefits play a crucial role in explaining winemakers' entrepreneurial behaviours.\n6. Conclusions, implications, limitations and future research recommendations: The strong presence of \"lifestyle-oriented\" entrepreneurs within small- to medium-sized wineries implies that any future investigation into wine management should take into account non-economic benefits, as a purely economic analysis could be restrictive. For example, in terms of cost accounting, the \"lifestyle-oriented\" entrepreneur could decide to sustain greater costs during the production process to support his/her non-monetary benefits and desired lifestyle, thus obtaining lower economic profits. In this case, the entrepreneur considers the utility derived from non-pecuniary benefits to be greater than the disutility of lower economic profits. Therefore, this type of winemaker could choose to produce wine to receive just enough a normal profit to cover production costs. In this way, the \"extra-profits\" are immaterial and non-pecuniary. The success of these wineries can be measured not only in economic terms but also by considering the value of personal success and the achievement of personal and non-monetary goals. This could prompt a new interpretation of the contribution to the economic landscape made by small- to medium-sized family businesses. Indeed, the establishment of these entrepreneurs' businesses could represent an economic contribution to rural areas, particularly those characterized by depopulation and backward agricultural systems. Moreover, the findings highlight the strong presence of new winemakers, who had previous careers in different sectors. This diversity of backgrounds could be a \"breath of fresh air\" for the winemaking sector in terms of new production ideas and marketing strategies, in turn, adding greater competitiveness to this agricultural industry.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate non-pecuniary motivations and benefits of involvement in the wine business. Combining these motives with winery owners' characteristics, attitudes and implemented strategies, the aim is to identify different winery owners' styles in small-medium family-run firms.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The applied method is a qualitative explorative study involving in-depth interviews with Tuscan winery owners. They have hands-on involvement in the winemaking process, own a family business and supervise all of the production phases, from grape growing to bottling.\nFindings: The study highlights the key role of non-economic motivations for winery owners. Passion, independence and a desire to live close to nature are predominant compared to pecuniary motivations, such as profit maximization. Therefore, the \"lifestyle-oriented\" style, characterized especially by the achievement of non-pecuniary benefits, represents the prevailing style amongst the interviewed winery owners, in contrast to the \"business-oriented\" style, which features typical producers described by mainstream economic theory.\nOriginality/value: The findings of this study are pivotal because they can facilitate a better understanding of how family-run wineries make decisions related to, e.g. firm size, staff management, product quality, exports and sustainability.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intention: do entrepreneurial creativity and education matter?	[ "Entrepreneurial creativity", "Entrepreneurial intention", "Entrepreneurial education", "Structural equation modelling" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This study focuses on extending the current literature (e.g. Henley et al., 2017; Tsai et al., 2016) on the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and entrepreneurial intentions (EIs) by investigating a moderated mediation model. This research is at the crossroads of two related yet unexplored topics. These are entrepreneurial creativity (EC) (Ahlin et al., 2014; Amabile, 1997) and entrepreneurial education (EE) (Ahmed et al., 2017; Cho, 1998; Lee et al., 2005) in comprehending the ESE-EI relationship. By drawing on the theories of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) and self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977), this study attempts to investigate two interesting questions. These are: do EC and attitudes towards entrepreneurship (ATE) intervene in the nexus between \"ESE and EIs\"? Does EE modify the link between \"ESE-EI\" and affect these mediation effects?\nLiterature review: Bandura (1977) defined the concept of \"self-efficacy\" as the individual's belief in his/her abilities and skills to complete a specific set of tasks and to undertake a job. This definition depicts that actions, behaviour, perception, cognition and the environment affect one other in a self-motivated manner. Bandura (1997) stated that persons with a high level of self-efficacy for a specific job or task are more probable to persevere in accomplishing that task in comparison to an individual with low self-efficacy. Bandura (1997) highlighted that individuals with high self-efficacy have high confidence in their capabilities to perform the tasks successfully. They tend to pursue it and exert full efforts despite constraints, and it is concerned with what a person perceives of his capabilities that initiates motivation to control the external factors and adapts them to bring forth desirable outcomes. Researchers have also referred to it as achieving the desired goals by showing persistence and firm determination (Ardichvili et al., 2003). Former studies have assessed self-efficacy through both entrepreneurial characteristics (Chen et al., 1998) and general traits (Schwarzer et al., 1997). Trevelyan (2009) argued that despite uncertainty and limited resources, people with high self-efficacy commence and persist in their activities and behaviours. However, people with high self-efficacy have different behaviours to deal with the hurdles and constraints, as compared to those with low self-efficacy. Prior literature depicts the strong nexus between apparent beliefs of a person's self-efficacy and intention to initiate or execute a task (Boyd and Vozikis, 1994; Douglas and Fitzsimmons, 2012). Researchers have defined ESE from various aspects. McGee et al. (2009) described it as a person's belief in his or her potential to fruitfully launch a business venture. For this study, the perspective of ESE given by Chen et al. (1998) and Segal et al. (2005) is employed to define this construct. According to them, ESE is one's confidence in one's capability and skill to accomplish a business startup process.\nTheoretical framework and hypotheses development: The theoretical model, grounded on the TPB (Ajzen, 1991) and the theory of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977), is illustrated in Figure A1. Bandura et al. (1980) found that intentions and actions of individuals are highly subjective to their beliefs in the accomplishment of assigned tasks. Chen et al. (1998) examined students' data and found the positive relationship between ESE and EI. De Noble et al. (1999) found a similar positive association by studying a sample of students. Jung et al. (2001) also confirmed this relationship by investigating students in the USA and South Korea. Similarly, Segal et al. (2005) reinforced these findings by studying data of students from the USA. Nwankwo et al. (2012) probed data (of female students) from Nigeria and found the same positive effect of ESE on the EI. In general, the majority of previous studies (Borchers and Park, 2010; Byabashaija and Katono, 2011; Fietze and Boyd, 2017) have inspected the determinants of EIs by using samples collected from the academic students. However, this study intends to explore the connection between ESE and EI by investing the effect of different mediating and moderating variables which is missing in the reviewed literature.\nResearch methodology: Data and sample size\nEmpirical analyses and results: Scales' reliability and validity\nResults: This study uses the SEM technique with the maximum likelihood estimation to test the proposed hypotheses. All the proposed hypotheses were tested in full information SEM models for each country separately. Table IV shows the values achieved for SEM fit indices for China and Spain as well as for combined sample. It illustrates that the model is a good fit considering the values achieved in all fit indices exceed the acceptable threshold, except for \"kh2/df\" which shows good fit in case of the Spanish sample but poor fit in case of the Chinese sample.\nDiscussion: Preceding studies have discussed the nexus between ESI and EIs by employing the sample of students (Borchers and Park, 2010; Byabashaija and Katono, 2011; De Noble et al., 1999; Jung et al., 2001; Nwankwo et al., 2012; Segal et al., 2005). The present study also found the same consistent relationship between ESI and EI in the samples of China and Spain. However, to avoid redundancy, this study has not tested it as a separate hypothesis. Further, previous studies had revealed that EC has a positive impact on EIs when a direct relationship between these two was examined (Krueger and Brazeal, 1994). Similarly, literature depicts that self-efficacy and EC positively influences each other (Amabile et al., 1996; Ford, 1996; Hmieleski and Corbett, 2008; Tang, 2008). However, the mediating effect of EC on this connection was missing in the previous literature. This study presents that EC positively mediates the relationship between ESI and intention for both China and Spain. In other words, individual's ESI (high/low) stimulates the high/low level of EC which ultimately increases or decreases the intentions towards entrepreneurship. Furthermore, in relevance to the TPB (Ajzen, 1991), this present study found a positive mediation effect of ATE on the association of ESI and EI (as the second hypothesis of the study is accepted). High level of ESI creates a firm intention in individual mind to initiate entrepreneurship, and in this way, a positive attitude towards entrepreneurship arises. In addition, previous studies have discussed that EE is a significant factor in exploring entrepreneurial opportunities and have found that it enhances individuals' decision making by incorporating self-beliefs (Cho, 1998; Ibrahim and Ellis, 2002; Lee et al., 2005). Contrarily, the results of this study failed to find the moderating effect of EE on the ESI and intentions relationship. The reason might be due to the countries where the research was conducted. China has emerged as a business hub during recent years, and the majority of the entrepreneurs might not have gotten the proper business education. Nonetheless, they have obtained success due to their hard work and devotion. Moreover, the authors found that EE positively moderates the mediating effect of EC and ATE on the ESI and EI relationship in both China and Spain. It is possible that with proper education of entrepreneurship, individuals can efficiently develop EC to enhance ESI and consequently increase their intentions towards entrepreneurship. Finally, the ATE can be positively changed by increasing EE, and ultimately the connection between ESI and EI will be strengthened.\nLimitations of the study: This study has presented results by using samples collected from two countries, a developing country like China and a developed country like Spain. However, the generalisability of these findings in both underdeveloped and mature countries, where proactively launched entrepreneurial campaigns, can uplift the economic growth and development. Further, to ensure parsimony some other influential behaviour which can moderate the relationship of ESI and intention, e.g. perceived entrepreneurial control, subjective norms (Tsai et al., 2016) have been ignored in this study. The inclusion of such moderator can further contribute to the literature of entrepreneurship and management. Lastly, the data are being collected only from university students. In other words, due to time constraints, and the particularities of these groups, the findings' generalisability might be restricted. The analysis of students from other fields, e.g. engineering, computer sciences or workers from various other backgrounds, can enlighten further about the behaviour of mediators and moderators in the connection of ESI and intention.\nConclusion: To conclude, this study contributes to the prevalent literature by probing the mediating nature of EC and ATE in the of ESE-EI nexus intention from two distinct countries: an emerging, i.e. China, and a mature one, i.e. Spain. The outcomes propose that ESI influences EI vide EC and ATE. Moreover, EE also influences the mediating effects of EC and ATE. The results of this research bring forth dire insinuations about entrepreneurial research and practices. First, this study explains EC and the ATE by revealing their mediating roles and how these mediators convert ESI into EI. The findings of this research from China and Spain also validate the argument of the TPB that although \"beliefs\" are indispensable yet deficient for EIs. Further, both EC and ATE can become vital stimulants of intention. The consistent results and insights extend the limited scope of prevalent research on EI and ESI by inspecting the mediating effects of EC and ATE. Second, this study elucidates the prominence of EE by examining its moderating effect not only on ESI and intention link but also on the mediating relationships. EE will enhance individual's self-belief and confidence in the context of entrepreneurship and will ultimately increase individual's intentions to undertake new business venture besides positively affecting individual's ATE. In addition, with the enlightenment of EE and latest practices in the business world, individual's creativity will continuously be developed and can be brought forth to exploit potential opportunities in the current market. Therefore, investigating the moderating role of EE is an essential addition to the existing literature.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a \"moderated-mediation model\" covering the nexus between entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and entrepreneurial intentions (EIs) by comparing an emerging market (China) and a mature market (Spain). By drawing on the theory of planned behaviour and self-efficacy, this study theorizes that entrepreneurial creativity (EC) and attitudes towards entrepreneurship (ATE) mediate the relationship between ESI and EIs; moreover, entrepreneurial education (EE) moderates these relationships.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research employs a survey-based methodology and uses a 37-item questionnaire for a total sample of 808 student respondents from both countries. Further, the study employs the structural equation modelling and confirmatory factor analysis to test the proposed hypotheses.\nFindings: The results indicate that EC and ATE positively mediate the relationship between ESI and EI. Further, with EE, individuals can efficiently develop EC to successfully nurture their EIs, regardless of their countries' economic maturity.\nPractical implications: Being able to identify the importance of EC and education for future entrepreneurs is of definite concern for all the business eco-system: from intentions of young entrepreneurs to governments; new levers, facilitators and approaches, e.g. policies will be able to be adopted.\nOriginality/value: This research provides valuable insights on the importance of EC and education in the determination of EIs in two very distinct markets for the first time.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, competencies and performance: A study of micro-enterprises in Kelantan, Malaysia	[ "Performance", "Skills", "Market orientation", "Networking", "Sales orientation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Entrepreneurial activities in both formal and informal sectors are immensely significant for economic growth and national development (Al-Mamun et al., 2016). Specifically, micro and small enterprises, as the drivers of indigenous entrepreneurship, play a key role in developing the global economy by improving technological capability building, diffusion of innovations and capital mobilization (Nabiswa and Mukwa, 2017). At the same time, firms at the global level are facing many challenges in the forms of market uncertainty, human and financial capital and increase in both local and international competitors (Raghuvanshi and Garg, 2018). This is why OECD and its participating countries emphasize on entrepreneurship, not only by increasing the number of entrepreneurs but also by creating more enterprises and employment growth for a social safety net. Al-Mamun et al. (2016) highlighted that economic activities of micro-enterprises can facilitate national development of Malaysia, with nearly 1.3 million individuals (9.7 per cent of the total workforce) actively engaged in micro-economic operations. Aziz et al. (2017) also indicated that micro-enterprises in Malaysia are small businesses with less than five full-time employees and an annual turnover of less than RM 300,000. Normally, these businesses have small-scale operations, such as food stalls, night market vendors, grocery stalls, construction and service contractors. Wahid et al. (2017) noted that micro-enterprises represented 75 per cent of the small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.\nLiterature review: Resource-based view, entrepreneurial competency and enterprise performance\nResearch methodology: This study adopted a cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data through structured interview to measure the effect of entrepreneurial skills, market orientation, sales orientation and networking on entrepreneurial competency and performance of micro-enterprises owned by low-income households in Kelantan, Malaysia (see Figure 1). The sample was micro-entrepreneurs. The list of these registered micro-entrepreneurs was obtained from two governmental organizations that fostered socio-economic development. Particularly, \"Majlis Amanah Rakyat\" provided a list of 2690 micro-entrepreneurs, whereas \"Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat\" provided a list of 105 micro-entrepreneurs. With a total of 2795 low-income micro-entrepreneurs, 425 of them were randomly selected from nine districts in Kelantan, particularly Tumpat, Bachok, Jeli, Machang, Gua Musang, Kuala Krai, Pasir Puteh, Pasir Mas and Tanah Merah. Prior to data collection, potential respondents were selected to explain the purpose of doing this survey and make an appointment with them for the interview. The data collection started from September to November 2017. A total of 403 respondents allowed researchers to visit their enterprises and collect data from them through structured interview.\nEmpirical results: Demographic characteristics\nDiscussion and implication: Undeniably, entrepreneurial competencies are crucial for low-income households who rely heavily on their micro-enterprise income. Hence, this study examined entrepreneurial competencies and enterprise performance. The finding of this research revealed that entrepreneur skills had a positive effect on entrepreneurial competencies, which was consistent with past studies (Phelan and Sharpley, 2012; Teece, 2012). In fact, entrepreneurs required various skills to develop specific competencies for managing an enterprise. The finding also revealed a positive effect of entrepreneurial skills on enterprise performance, which was in line with many studies (Bird, 1995; Chandler and Jansen, 1992; Cooper et al., 1994; Lerner and Almor, 2002; Mitchelmore and Rowley, 2010).\nConclusion: To address the limitations of the literature (Gerli et al., 2011; Mitchelmore and Rowley, 2010), this study investigated the influence of entrepreneurial competencies on enterprise performance among low-income households. Particularly, this study contributed to the RBV through the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and enterprise performance. This study also contributed to the literature by examining both direct and indirect effect of entrepreneurial skills, market orientation, sales orientation and networking on enterprise performance. The result of the path analysis and mediation test substantiated that entrepreneurial skills and market orientation were resources of the firms, thereby affecting performance directly and indirectly. Moreover, networking was a unique resource that influenced enterprise performance through entrepreneurial competencies. Although this finding disagrees with the proposed hypothesis, it contributed to the literature of RBV in specific.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect of entrepreneurial skills, market orientation, sales orientations and networking on entrepreneurial competency and performance of micro-enterprises in Kelantan, Malaysia.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Adopting a cross-sectional design, this paper collected data through structured interviews from 403 micro-entrepreneurs from \"Majlis Amanah Rakyat,\" Kelantan and \"Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat,\" Kelantan.\nFindings: The findings reveal that entrepreneurial skills, market orientation and networking have a positive effect on entrepreneurial competency. Then, entrepreneurial competency, entrepreneurial skills and networking have a positive effect on enterprise performance. The findings show a significant mediation effect of entrepreneurial competency on the relationships between entrepreneurial skills, market orientation and networking and enterprise performance.\nOriginality/value: Addressing the understudied \"human factor\" in entrepreneurship, this paper extends the resource-based view and enriches the existing entrepreneurship literature in Malaysia. It provides useful insights into the improvement of micro-enterprise performance, which is crucial for promoting entrepreneurial activities and for enhancing socio-economic conditions among low-income households in Malaysia. Thus, the government and developmental organizations should focus on the development of entrepreneurial skills, market-oriented approach, networking traits and entrepreneurial competencies and subsequently encourage poor households to perform entrepreneurial activities.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Medical management: hostage to its own history? The case of Italian clinical directors	[ "Italy", "Legitimacy", "Clinical directors", "Healthcare management", "Hybrids", "Medical management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: One of the consequences of the new public management reforms in service sectors has been the managerialization of professional roles. This has been particularly common in those health care systems where doctors have become increasingly involved in management work to meet the demand for greater control of resources and develop a deeper government of professional activities. A relevant example of this can be seen in the spread of the clinical directorate (CD) model in hospital care, according to which clinical units in hospitals are grouped in directorates (or departments) and led by a senior doctor who is in charge of resource management and clinical governance and supports the hospital top management in decision making (Harrison and Miller, 1999). The CD trends in different countries demonstrate an international convergence of health policies and practices; however, there are variations both across and within countries, and the effective managerial role taking is not always achieved (Neogy and Kirkpatrick, 2009; Kirkpatrick et al., 2009; Ham and Dickinson, 2008). The attitudes and skills of candidates, and the dynamics occurring within the professional group do certainly have an impact on the process of doctors' management role taking, yet they do not to entirely explain this variability. Drawing from the concepts of legitimacy and institutionalization (Scott, 2001; Selznick, 1992) we argue that, when searching for the causes that determine this mismatch, greater attention should be given to the organizational context, and specifically to the stability and resilience of existing management roles, both medical and non medical. Therefore in the paper we use a broad concept of medical management roles, not restricted to clinical directors but including those doctors with managerial responsibilities \"setting standards, reviewing performance, and exercising supervision and control\" (Freidson, 1985, p. 26).\n2. An institutional approach to medical management: Healthcare reforms involving changes in professional work have attracted interest from different fields, including public management, organizational studies, sociology and health services. Most of the research focusing on doctors involved in management has analysed this phenomenon through frameworks developed in the field of sociology of professions, and clinical director roles have been considered as a prototypical object of analysis. According to this view, the effectiveness of doctors-in-management in their roles lies in their capacity to redefine his professional role by overcoming the conflict between management and professionalism (Hoff and McCaffrey, 1996; Llewellyn, 2001; Thomas and Davies, 2005; Noordegraaf, 2007; Numerato et al., 2011) and to perform the managerial role without losing legitimacy and status within the professional community (Forbes et al., 2004; Witman et al., 2011). As a result clinical directors become effective hybrids, or \"two way windows\" (Llewellyn, 2001) finding a balance between the managerial and professional logics. This literature has often studied the phenomenon of clinical directors' managerial role taking at the individual level or looking at the relationships within the group of practicing physicians. Yet, as this process always takes place in complex organizations such as hospitals, in which contextual factors like formal and informal organizational rules, historical routines and conventions have a high relevance.\n3. Methodology: The analysis that follows draws on both primary and secondary data sources. A review of the healthcare management literature was developed searching the electronic database EBSCO Business Source Complete Database for the following keywords: \"clinical director\", \"clinical directorate\", \"hybrids\", \"medical management\" and \"Italy\". Papers published in the last 20 years were included. The volumes of key Italian journals in healthcare management[1] published after 2005 were screened manually, and a snowball strategy was adopted to collect previous literature. The results of independent studies on the development of CDs based on surveys and documental analysis were analysed, as was national legislation on CDs.\n4. The Italian health system: This section describes the main features of the Italian National Health System (INHS) - and in particular its hospital sector - to understand how it potentially favoured the development of clinical director roles. According to the framework proposed by Kirkpatrick et al. (2012) to explain the development of medical management roles in a healthcare system, we first describe the general characteristics of the INHS, then the nature and process of public management reforms and finally the nature of organizational settlements with the medical profession (Table I).\n5. Medical management in Italy: the old and the new: As anticipated, the involvement of doctors in management tasks has always characterized the history of the INHS, especially at the specialty unit level, which the first law on hospital organization, passed in 1938 (RD 1631/1938), identified as the fundamental component of the organizational structure. Italian unit chiefs were not only experienced professionals but have also always been in charge of formal responsibilities concerning both the organization of work and human resources (traditionally, doctors, nurses and healthcare assistants) and physical resources (beds, outpatient rooms, operating theatres, etc.). This responsibility has always been accompanied by the legal responsibility for monitoring, directly and indirectly, all of the clinical activities in the unit. After 1992 their role was enhanced with formal managerial responsibilities for achieving targets and controlling costs. In addition, the traditional wording primario (literally, primary physician) was substituted by direttore di unita operativa (unit chief).\n6. Accounting for the reasons behind clinical director roles' poor development: This section explores the influence of existing doctors-in-management on the scarce engagement of Italian clinical directors in their role. First of all, the involvement of clinical unit chiefs in management turned out to be a major obstacle for the effective development of clinical director roles. Unit chiefs were accountable for the use of resources and were legally responsible for the organization of all clinical activities performed by the professionals working in the unit. Furthermore their role had even been strengthened during the healthcare reforms as they had been provided with new financial management responsibilities. Therefore their role was supported by a number of rules and coercive mechanisms, and they could manipulate rewards and sanctions to influence colleagues' behaviours. In short, using Scott's (2001) phrasing, they had a strong regulative legitimacy. But they also remained the \"masters\" of the hospital, with responsibility over training, knowledge transfer and professional development of their colleagues. They were highly respected professionals who deserved the followership of the doctors and nurses working in their units. As a consequence, they usually held a recognized professional legitimacy. Finally, Italian hospitals had always been based on clinical units, and unit chiefs had historically been provided with strong autonomy in clinical activity. The rules of accountability were clear and - to paraphrase the famous Griffiths report - if Florence Nightingale had carried her lamp through the corridors of the INHS she would have quickly found the people in charge. Many professionals considered this model comprehensible, as responsibilities were clearly defined, and meaningful, as it had always worked. As a consequence there was a good degree of agreement about the fact that the existing medical management model was an effective way to run the hospital, it had cognitive legitimacy.\n7. Conclusions: \"Of course, if they do not involve us in decision making we just ask for the latest 'toy' [...] but if they did, we would be able to contribute to forging the vision, the positioning of this hospital\".\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: As a consequence of new public management reforms, leading professionals in public service organizations have increasingly been involved in management roles. The phenomenon of clinical directors in the healthcare sector is particularly representative of this, as this medical manager role has been adopted in many countries around the world. However, professionals' managerial role taking still falls quite short of expectations. While most research has searched for the causes of this gap at the individual level by exploring the clash between management and professionalism, the purpose of the paper is to argue that a contextualized understanding of the antecedents at the organizational level, and particularly the existing medical management roles, provides a more thorough picture of the reality.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper adopts an institutional perspective to study the development of existing medical management roles and the rise of new ones (clinical directors). The analysis focuses on the case of Italy, a country with a tradition in medical management where, following the example of other countries, clinical director roles were introduced by law; yet they were not incisive. The paper is based on a review of the existing literature and extensive field research on Italian clinical directorates.\nFindings: The paper shows how in contexts in which doctors in management roles exist and are provided with legitimacy deriving from legal norms, historical settlements between professions and taken for granted arrangements, medical management becomes institutionalized, stability prevails and change towards new doctor-in-management roles is seriously hampered.\nOriginality/value: The paper contributes to existing knowledge on professionals' managerial role taking, underlining the relevance of contextual and nation-specific factors on this process. It provides implications for research and for policy making in healthcare and other professional public services.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Stakeholder management: a systematic literature review	[ "Stakeholder management", "Systematic review", "Stakeholder engagement", "Stakeholder relationship" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The past century has seen increased attention around stakeholders in both the academic and the managerial contexts. The stakeholder concept was first introduced by a memo of the Stanford Research Institute in 1963, and it referred to \"those groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist.\" Since then, the definition has evolved and increasingly moved toward more active and influencing relationships between stakeholders and firms. Thus, some scholars have focused their attention on the influence that companies and stakeholders could exert on each other (Savage, 1991; Freeman, 1984), while others have underlined the juridical relationship (Carroll, 1989; Donaldson and Preston, 1995) or the role in the value-creation process (Clarkson, 1995; Freeman, 1994). It is, however, the seminal work by Freeman in 1984 that determined a turning point. The author proposed a view of a firm as the convergence of interests and expectations that needed to be considered and integrated into the firm's strategy. Since then, the attention has moved to stakeholder management (SM) and focused on the methods through which firms could build and organize relationships with the different stakeholders to improve their ability to respond to their expectations (Habisch et al., 2011). More recent developments have started to consider how SM relates to firm performance, investigating how the understanding of stakeholders' claims could serve business objectives (Ranangen and Zobel, 2014; Heikkurinen and Bonnedahl, 2013; Matos and Silvestre, 2013). In addition, SM has gained increasing attention among practitioners. The growing importance is mainly driven by the escalating stakeholders' awareness of the impacts related to the business activity and by the need to demonstrate a commitment to good business behaviors. Moreover, it is becoming more and more evident to managers that SM makes good business sense and leads to better performance.\nResearch methods: Method\nDiscussion: Although the concept of SM has been around for a long time, this review has shown that the literature development is still at an early stage. The descriptive analysis revealed that the number of published articles is still limited, thus calling for a growing commitment of academics. Moreover, most considered works are case studies or conceptual development, whereas research aimed at exploring broader data sets is missing. Hence, more research efforts are needed to further the understanding of SM with regard to every aspect dealt with in the present review. This conclusion has both academic and managerial implications. As far as academia is concerned, associations and journals should support the realization of projects and publications on the topic. In this sense, more call for proposal and papers would facilitate future development. Data collection on SM requires considerable efforts in both time and economic resources as stakeholders are often dispersed in different geographical areas and their involvement may require different tools and methods. Hence, academic associations could support researchers in the realization of broader studies through facilitating the creation of consortia or groups, the organization of events dedicated to SM and the availability of research funds. On the other hand, journals could promote the publication of more quantitative studies using broad data sets to facilitate the extended understanding of the SM dynamics.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The stakeholder theory is a prominent management approach that has primarily been adopted in the past few years. Despite the increase in the theory's use, a limited number of studies have discussed ways to develop, execute and measure the results of using this strategic approach with stakeholders. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by conducting a systematic review of the stakeholder management process.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Five databases were selected to search articles published from 1985 to 2015. The keywords used were stakeholder management, stakeholder relationship and stakeholder engagement. Starting from 2,457 articles identified using a keyword search, 33 key journal articles were systematically reviewed using both bibliometric and qualitative methods for analysis.\nFindings: The results highlight that stakeholder management is increasingly embedded in corporate activities, and that the coming of the internet, social networking and Big Data have put more pressure on companies to develop new tools and techniques to manage stakeholders online. In conclusion, synthesizing the findings and developed framework allows the understanding of different streams of research and identifies future steps for research.\nOriginality/value: While literature reviews are a widespread practice in business studies, only a few more recent reviews use the systematic review methodology that aggregates knowledge using clearly defined processes and criteria. This is the first review on stakeholder management in which the structure is existing knowledge on strategy development, execution and the measurement of performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Reassessing Elton Mayo: clarifying contradictions and context	[ "Human relations", "Elton Mayo", "Hawthorne studies" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Historical figures are seemingly praised, then criticized, and then praised again. The praise or criticism of a deceased historical figure depends on not only the actions or ideas of that figure but also the time passed since that person died. First, usually historical figures are generally praised after their death; then about fifteen years after they have died revisionists criticize them harshly for failures, both perceived and real (Schlesinger, 2007). A generation after the first revisionists expressed their criticism, another group of revisionists return to the original model and praise the historical figure (Bedeian, 1998). This cycle of reassessing historical figures is explained by the fact that all historians evaluate the work of others through the lenses of their own time period (Novick, 1988). In line with this approach, this paper attempts to reevaluate the research of Elton Mayo, whose primary contribution was to the Hawthorne studies undertook at Bell Telephone's Western Electric manufacturing plant in Cicero, IL, from 1924 to 1932. Mayo, working at the Harvard Business School at that time, published results of the Hawthorne studies in a classic report titled The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization (Mayo, 1933).\nReassessing Elton Mayo: Common criticisms\nMayo's misunderstanding of research methods: Bendix and Fisher (1949) offered some methodological criticism of Mayo that were later supported by other researchers who accused Mayo of misinterpretation and misanalysis of the data (Franke and Kaul, 1978; Locke, 1982a; Parsons, 1974). Attempts have been made by Parsons (1974), Franke and Kaul (1978) and Levitt and List (2011) to duplicate Mayo's interpretations, which they failed to do so. In addition, O'Connor (1999a, 1999b) argued Mayo based his analysis on political beliefs that were firmly formed before he visited Hawthorne. However, critics cannot agree on what caused higher production. Some findings show operant conditioning on the part of management (Parsons, 1974), goal setting and monetary incentives (Locke and Latham, 1984), and the depression and better management (Franke and Kaul, 1978).\nConclusion: Classic contributions to social sciences offer lessons decades after initial publication (Brannigan and Zwerman, 2001). Although Mayo did not create a body of knowledge nor a lasting theory and his work was fragmentary and developmental (Homans, 1949a, 1949b), we argue that Mayo should be considered first and foremost a critic of modern industrial life. He stimulated scholars and practitioners to develop better strategies for building relationships with workers (Smith, 1974). Like many others of his generation, Mayo was concerned with the emergence of the new industrial order and how this order would displace the old world. Unlike others of his generation, he did not believe in the establishment of the New Deal broker state to guide society. The best way to describe him would be reactionary, but even then, he wanted to prepare the new emerging elite to act and function like the old elite that he grew up with. In other words, he wanted businessmen to act more like Henry Filene than Henry Clay Frick.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Elton Mayo was a professor at a prestigious university, but not a researcher; a scholar, but more concerned with executives; a capitalist, but someone who downplayed monetary incentives; an insider, but someone whose own background was more of an outsider. These contradictions have resulted in scholars questioning Mayo's impact on the field of management. Thus, this paper aims to critically review Mayo and his contributions to management through a lens calibrated to the context of his time, providing a more contextually accurate view of Mayo and his work and offering a clearer view of his meaningful impact on the field.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using a combination of primary and secondary sources, the authors connect otherwise disparate information to critically review Mayo's work within the context of its era.\nFindings: The authors' critical review of Mayo identified nine topical areas where Mayo and/or his work have been misunderstood or misinterpreted. For each area, the authors offer a more contextualized and appropriate interpretation of Mayo and his viewpoints, and thus more accurately informing the management literature.\nOriginality/value: This paper is the first to thoroughly revisit Mayo and his work through a contextualized lens, offering a more informed view of why Mayo's seemingly controversial behaviors were actually quite standard behaviors given his context.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Projecting real world into CrowdIntell network: a methodology	[ "Projection", "Cyber–physical–psychological ternary fusion", "Mental model framework", "Minds of digital-self", "Network of crowd intelligence" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The phenomenon of intelligence is widespread both in the nature (Dorigo and Birattari, 2011; Kennedy, 2011) and in human society (Bernstein et al., 2011; Levy and Bononno, 1997; Bonabeau, 2009). In the current society, there are many cases in which the wisdom of individuals is gathered to achieve better results. For example, there are the business management processes and the coordinated operation of the industrial chains in the economic field; various seminars, various social organizations and their group behavior processes in the social field; national elections and public discussion on social issues in the field of government governance. How to use various intelligence reasonably has always been a complex problem that human beings constantly explore and want to solve.\n2. Related work: Crowd intelligence is the key point of intelligent science and focus on seeking for optimized solutions to complex problems.The concept of swarm intelligence originated from the observations of Wheeler, an entomologist in the biology field. In the 1980s, researchers from multiple disciplines were inspired by the wisdom of group behavior in the social groups, and proposed swarm intelligence (Swarm AI) (Bonabeau et al., 1999). The ideas and methods of swarm intelligence are often used as the theoretical basis of economic simulation, multi-agent modeling and complex adaptive system modeling (Xuesen et al., 1993). To solve complex problems, scientists have made some achievements in traditional crowd intelligence such as collective intelligence (Levy and Bononno, 1997; Bonabeau, 2009), crowdsourcing (Howe, 2006; Buecheler et al., 2010; Leal et al., 2017) and citizen science (Irwin, 2002; Riesch and Potter, 2014) aiming at limited scale of homogenous and isomorphic agents. However, CrowdIntell in the field of Crowd Science is different from traditional crowd intelligence. We pay attention to solve the interaction, cooperation and evolution problems about large-scaled heterogeneous and isomerous agents such as individuals, enterprises, institutions and goods that are deeply interconnected in the internet environment. Therefore, it's vital to build the model to achieve projection comprehensively, authentically, correctly and synchronously from the real Intelligent subjects in physical space and their minds in psychological space to the CrowdIntell Network.\n3. Cyber-physical-psychological ternary fusion CrowdIntell network: In the network of crowd intelligence, firstly, we need to clarify a few concepts. What is CrowdIntell? What is Intelligent subject? What is Digital-self? What is CrowdIntell Network? What is intelligence in CrowdIntell Network? In addition, what's consciousness in the environment of crowd intelligence?\n4. Projection from real world to CrowdIntell network: To achieve interaction, cooperation and co-evolution between Digital-selfs in CrowdIntell Network, firstly, we need to realize comprehensive, real, correct and synchronous projection from physical space and psychological space to CrowdIntell Network and build cyber-physical-psychological ternary fusion space. The projection rules and projection methods are vital for the modeling process.\n5. Conclusion and future work: In the networked CrowdIntell economical society of IoE, cyber space, physical space and psychological space are ternary fusion and the unity of opposites and interconnection of all things, point to point and polycentric mode are important features of the future economic and social ecology. Therefore, we propose the conception of CrowdIntell Network and build cyber-physical-psychological ternary fusion system. We propose the methodology of realizing comprehensive, real, correct and synchronous projection from real world to CrowdIntell Network.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to build cyber-physical-psychological ternary fusion crowd intelligence network and realize comprehensive, real, correct and synchronous projection in cyber-physical-psychological ternary fusion system. Since the network of crowd intelligence is the future interconnected network system that takes on the features of large scale, openness and self-organization. The Digital-selfs in the network of crowd intelligence interact and cooperate with each other to finish transactions and achieve co-evolution eventually.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To realize comprehensive, real, correct and synchronous projection between cyber-physical-psychological ternary fusion system, the authors propose the rules and methods of projection from real world to the CrowdIntell Network. They build the mental model of the Digital-self including structure model and behavior model in four aspects: identity, provision, demand and connection, thus forming a theoretical mental model framework of Digital-self.\nFindings: The mental model is excepted to lay a foundation for the theory of modeling and simulation in the research of crowd science and engineering.\nOriginality/value: This paper is the first one to propose the mental model framework and projection rules and methods of Digital-selfs in network of crowd intelligence, which lays a solid foundation for the theory of modeling, simulation, intelligent transactions, evolution and stability of CrowdIntell Network system, thus promoting the development of crowd science and engineering.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Incorporating a virtual union catalogue into the wider information environment through the application of middleware: Interoperability issues in cross-database access	[ "Z39.50", "Databases", "Information searches" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In order to break down barriers between individual library catalogues and make it easier for users to find the materials they need, virtual union catalogues are being created. These are often based on the use of the Z39.50 standard to provide cross-database searching of a range of catalogues, offering the end-user a single interface to a much wider range of resources. Work on four UK regional or subject based virtual union catalogues, the \"Clumps\" (Brack, 1999) was carried out under the auspices of the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) eLib programme (eLib, 2005). However, in many cases these virtual union catalogues are themselves isolated, as it is not possible for other services to link to them in order to obtain search results that can be combined with the results from other resources.In order to get round this problem it was decided to assess the feasibility of using middleware as a means of integrating virtual catalogues with other services that form a part of the JISC Information Environment (Bruce, 2003). The tests described here formed part of the JISC funded CC-interop project (CC-interop, 2005). The virtual catalogue used in the tests was InforM25 (n.d.), which enables the user to carry out Z39.50 cross-database searches of a range of academic catalogues primarily in the London area[1]. The interface used for search testing was Copac V3. Copac (2005) is a physical union catalogue of UK and Irish academic and National libraries. One route to access Copac is the web interface, which functions as a Web/Z39.50 gateway. The experimental version, Copac V3, allows cross-database searching of Copac and other catalogues.Models of virtual union catalogue access\nEstablishment of an InforM25 Z39.50 server and creation of a Copac-M25 interface: Establishment of JAFER as the InforM25 Z39.50 server\nSearching InforM25 libraries using the JAFER InforM25 server: Having established the JAFER middleware as an InforM25 Z39.50 server it was necessary to test its success in giving mediated access to the virtual catalogue. To justify the work involved in providing and maintaining the server it would have to be clear that it provided benefits for the searcher. To examine JAFER's performance search tests were carried out using the Copac-InforM25 interface. The JAFER Z39.50 server accessed the catalogues of 27 of the 35 university catalogues available on InforM25 at the time (listed in Table I), being the libraries not already represented on Copac. These institutions used seven different library management systems supplied by six vendors, namely Dynix (Dynix and Horizon), Endeavour (Voyager), Ex-Libris (Aleph), Innovative Interfaces (INNOPAC), SIRSI (Unicorn), and Talis (Talis).The queries used for the search testing were those used in an earlier CC-interop study (Nicolaides, 2003a) and are shown in Table II. These 17 queries were selected to address a range of search types and were, in most cases, obtained anonymously from the search logs of the Copac or InforM25 services.The search tests\nDiscussion: The two models under consideration for access to the InforM25 virtual catalogue are the direct search model, where the client connects to each library's own server and the mediated search model in which a client accesses a middleware server, which in turn relays the query to the individual library servers. The current research demonstrates the viability of using middleware such as JAFER to provide a virtual catalogue Z39.50 server, so this mediated search model is clearly worthy of further consideration. The use of middleware in this study offered a range of benefits to those clients wishing to access a virtual catalogue service, as well providing advantages to the catalogues forming part of that virtual catalogue. However, there are still problems that need to be addressed.Interoperability\nConclusion: The current work demonstrates that it would be possible to produce a Z39.50 server for a virtual catalogue service using middleware to act as an intermediary between the virtual catalogue and other services. The JAFER middleware appears to do much of what is required in the provision of an InforM25 Z39.50 server and this provides a model for middleware use in enhancing access to other virtual catalogues. However this does require ongoing development of the software to iron out existing problems and ensure effective maintenance in the future. A consideration of the use of middleware to implement the Mediated Search model of access to a virtual union catalogue indicates a number of advantages, compared with Direct Search model where a client accesses each constituent server in the virtual catalogue individually.Interoperability is a key issue in the successful development of a virtual union catalogue. At the most basic levels, standards such as Z39.50 provide a solution to the issues of creating connections between catalogues and enabling searches to take place. However there are still many difficulties at the semantic level in terms of the way a particular server \"understands\" a query and carries out the requested search. Newer developments such as SRW/U (Morgan, 2004) offer further ways of providing remote access to catalogue services. But these are simply new approaches to allowing remote searching to take place, they do not resolve problem areas such as semantic interoperability or the potential search burden on the local system.In Coyle's comparison of the physical and virtual version of the Melvyl union catalogue she concluded that for the virtual catalogue \"In the current environment, it is not possible to formulate a search that yields predictable results from the databases\" (Coyle, 2000). From the current study it is clear that in searching most Z39.50 servers a better response will be obtained if efforts are made to establish those attributes supported by each library system. In addition, individual catalogue responses must be checked to decide on any changes required for each library's version of a particular system. For an end-user system consistency of results is particularly important. The end-user is unlikely to be aware of (or interested in) the underlying complexities and the usual search problem emerges that where results from different systems are inconsistent the user will generally not know what they have missed. For someone seeking confirmation of the details of a reference this may not matter, but where a convenient location is needed, a more comprehensive search desired, or a rare work sought, the variability of the system responses may \"hide\" valuable information.In an international context the work being carried out in relation to authority files may prove useful in supporting cross-database searching. As discussed earlier, name searching can be more complex than might be thought and in this area the LEAF project (Kaiser et al., 2003; LEAF, 2004) addressed name authority control between different data suppliers in the context of the European Library (Clavel, 2003; The European Library, n.d.) while VIAF is exploring the integration of national name authority files (O'Neill and Bennet, 2004). To address the thorny issue of subject access the MACS (n.d.) project has been carrying out the experimental linking of subject heading lists to offer multilingual subject access, MSAC is developing multi-lingual subject authority files (Balikova, 2005), while HILT (2005) is testing ways of providing subject mappings in relation to UK services. All these approaches may provide search support and should facilitate multi-lingual access and display. However, these developments are likely to be most effective where authority control is being carried out in the services being searched, for example in the current cataloguing in major libraries such as the national libraries. But in many libraries retrospective data may be of very variable quality and smaller libraries may not use authority control, or may not have done so in the past, with data variations occurring that are not covered in the authority records. Here the system needs to step in to try to mitigate known data problems, perhaps at the client end or potentially in the middleware. For example, the Copac truncation of author name searches, mentioned earlier, helps to reduce the impact of cataloguing variations on the search results. In addition, these authority developments, whilst valuable, do not remove the problems associated with variable treatment of searches in different catalogues.To reduce interoperability problems agreement needs to be reached on the standardization of indexes in different catalogues, as well as the way searches are carried out on those indexes. It also requires the standardization of the servers used by each catalogue. None of this is impossible, but the generally slow and partial uptake of the Bath Profile suggests such standardization may not be easily achieved. In this context, use of middleware to provide a centralized virtual catalogue server could mitigate some of these search problems by developing and maintaining best practice connections with a range of servers, helping to provide somewhat more standardized results across a range of systems. This would also move much of the maintenance work onto the shoulders of the virtual catalogue staff who are those most likely to have the expertise and time to deal with it effectively.This centralisation of link establishment and maintenance has one disadvantage in removing control from the individual client, so care needs to be taken in establishing the query transformations carried out by the middleware. In the current study the increase in the records retrieved as a result of changes made to reflect Copac keyword searching versus Voyager phrase searching reflect the importance of understanding system differences at the client side, along with the ability to control the form of the search to provide the best result in different circumstances. However, it has to be remembered, that when accessing any Z39.50 server there are likely to be problems for individual clients in the way the server responds. This is therefore not a new issue, it merely brings an existing problem area into focus by applying a more standardised approach across a range of libraries and again emphasises the importance of profiles such as the Bath Profile to provide greater standardisation of querying and response. It is possible that software such as Gate-Z (Gate-Z, 2003) might prove helpful in mitigating some of these problems, improving access to non-Bath Profile compliant servers, but this is not an ideal long-term solution.Providing a virtual catalogue with a Z39.50 server makes it easier for other services to link to it, for example to allow the cross-searching of a range of union catalogues as part of a wider union catalogue service. This broadens the range of materials accessible to both the end-user and the librarian. However, this is not necessarily an unmitigated advantage in terms of increasing result set size and the potential for multiple result sets from the same catalogue through membership of multiple virtual and/or physical union catalogues. Effective handling of the result set must be considered in service development and this may be an area where post-processing of results by the middleware could to be valuable. However this raises response time issues and may not always be appropriate for the user searching multiple catalogue services through their own client.In a similar vein, it might be desirable for some selectivity within the middleware over which queries are sent to which catalogues. It has been demonstrated that JAFER can be configured to allow searching of a variety of pre-defined groups of catalogues, valuable for allowing the user to choose appropriate catalogue groups, perhaps on the basis of library type (e.g. medical libraries), or by location (e.g. central London). It is not immediately clear that JAFER is able to offer dynamic selection of catalogues in response to the demands of a particular query. This would require further investigation and is likely to necessitate additional software development. This would also need to be implemented with care to avoid reducing the quality of the service in terms of results obtained. For the user, more work on improving the search process and the handling of the results might be preferable to the exclusion of catalogues that could contain material of value.One particular area in need of further investigation is that of response-times. There are problems balancing fast time-outs for non-responding catalogues with the desire to provide a consistent result for each search. Similarly any post-processing of search results by the middleware needs to explore the time required to obtain full result sets and carry out set merger, de-duplication, sorting and ranking.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - To explore the use of middleware to provide access to a virtual catalogue via Z39.50, allowing its integration with other services. To consider issues arising from the cross-database search process and the problem of interoperability between systems.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Middleware was used to establish a Z39.50 server for an existing virtual union catalogue, InforM25. The Copac physical union catalogue was used to carry out cross-database search tests, investigating the value of query transformation by the middleware and illustrating many of the issues associated with interoperability in cross-database searching.\nFindings: - The test results demonstrate the viability and benefits of using middleware to allow the integration of virtual catalogues with other services. The results also illustrate the range of issues affecting the performance of the virtual catalogue, with supporting evidence from the use of the Copac physical union catalogue for cross-database searching via Z39.50. In particular the discussion highlights the issue of semantic interoperability, as well as emphasising the value of centralised virtual catalogue support.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The research was limited to work on a specific virtual union catalogue, that is InforM25, but the results highlight issues with general relevance in the development of any virtual catalogue. The need for more work on response times in the virtual union catalogue is apparent, along with the related issue of result set post processing.\nOriginality/value: - This paper provides a practical demonstration of the issues important to those involved in making their local catalogue accessible to services, and individuals, outside their own institution, as well as those working on virtual union catalogue development.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The twin-cycle washing machine and the art of creating value	[ "Customers", "Scale", "Share", "Profitability", "Economics", "Management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: I am the first to say that success in business starts with a great product or service. One of the great marketing geniuses of all time - Albert Lasker, considered by many to be the father of modern advertising - simply refused to let his agency represent mediocre products. I am with Lasker. Start with a product that delights your customer, and everything else becomes possible.\nThe \"twin-cycle washing machine model of business\": As I noted, the metric for product excellence is SMP, a company's average market share in the strategic market segments where it competes. If a company is doing a good job of managing product improvements and efficiencies, then the expectation is that over time, its SMP will also increase. The metric for customer excellence is what we call customer market position, or CMP, measured as a company's average \"share of wallet\" for the customers it serves. This brings the principles of SMP down to the individual customer level and argues that if you sell more of your product or service to a given customer than anyone else does, you should be able to do a better job of providing a more complete solution than single-line providers. Over time, this creates opportunities to reap important advantages, including lower selling costs, lower fulfillment costs, and more insight into that customer's emerging needs and preferences. And, especially important in light of larger economic trends, it can help reinforce that customer's loyalty to you, and help \"recession-proof\" your business.Balancing both sides of the cycle at the same time is not easy. In fact, some of the most famous companies achieved their success precisely because of a single-minded attention to one side of the cycle, most often the product side. Examples would include Ford early in the twentieth century and Dell early in the twenty-first. But sustained long-term success can only come from having great capabilities on both sides, leading to a further reinforcement of competitive advantage and long-term value creation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The author has previously written about the concept of \"strategic market position\" (SMP). Simply stated, SMP is a strategic discipline which ties together the principles of customer preference, producer economics, and corporate finance and helps companies understand when and how increased market share leads to stronger competitive position and higher profitability. Strong SMP creates the potential for a virtuous cycle of product improvement where strong products lead to strong market shares, which lead to economies of scale and higher returns, which can in turn fund innovation and investment to create even stronger product offerings. This virtuous cycle is what the author calls \"Product Excellence\". There is a related virtuous cycle of \"Customer Excellence\", defined by the metric of Customer Market Position, or CMP. Strong CMP is when companies are able to address a high share of customers' overall needs, developing a higher level of understanding and trust with those customers, creating opportunities to develop new offerings that create even further advantages and differentiation. Good companies often become skilled at one or other side of these cycles, but really great companies are able to balance both of these virtuous cycles together. This paper seeks to address these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - In this article, the author discusses the benefits that accrue to businesses that have a high SMP or CMP within the markets and customers they serve. The author cites a number of case examples of businesses that have reinforced their commercial success through closely managing the strength of their product offerings and the depth of their relationships and share of wallet with key customers. Examples of businesses in the article involve hospital and medical product industries, including the results of proprietary surveys undertaken by L.E.K. Consulting. The author then draws lessons that can be applied broadly by any business.\nFindings: - The key message proposed by the author is that companies need to balance both product-centric and customers-centric strategies in order to maximize their competitive advantage and long-term value creation.\nOriginality/value: - This article sheds light on the economics and value of nurturing a business's product-based and customer-based competitive advantage. The article introduces metrics to manage and monitor both of these critical dimensions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Self-certification framework for technological innovation: a case study	[ "Product innovation", "Technological innovation", "Self-assessment", "Problem solving", "Self-certification", "Self-regulation theory", "Process innovation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Technological innovation is one of the most vital sources that can significantly enhance organizational growth and competitive advantage (Khazanchi et al., 2007; Weerawardena, 2003). Studies have shown that returns on innovation account for 50 percent or more of revenue generation (Kotler, 1991), while commercialization of new products that are less than five years old accounts for an increase of about 30 percent of the profits and sales (Di Benedetto et al., 2008). Researchers with operations management backgrounds have investigated this phenomenon from a continuous improvement perspective and have provided empirical evidence supporting the notion that quality-oriented practices are effective in creating innovation (e.g. Abrunhosa and Moura E Sa, 2008; Prajogo and Hong, 2008).\n2. Literature review and research framework: 2.1 Self-certification\n3. Theoretical framework: Our research framework is built upon a self-regulation theory that is defined as a collectively valued process to coordinate and control an objectively measurable and specific performance (Ashford and Tsui, 1991; King and Lenox, 2000). It is posited that a firm has the capability to regulate its economic activities and to produce products or services complying with standards, or specifications without any external policing actions of regulatory authorities (Smith and Tombs, 1995). The self-regulation theory rests on the notion that appropriate control helps employees focus on innovation initiatives and leverage core competencies (Khazanchi et al., 2007; Ashford and Tsui, 1991). A firm has the sole responsibility to evaluate the quality of products and to ensure delivery of only a high-quality product to customers. Products and services assessed by a self-regulated firm can contribute to a firm's competitive advantage in a market.\n4. Case study: The case study methodology is appropriate for a study explaining how a theoretical framework can be applied to the real world. This study involves a large government-sponsored research and development (R&D) institute in South Korea. The institute was selected because they are a representative innovative organization specializing in developing innovative technology. The institute is very familiar with quality-driven programs. They have implemented the ISO 9001 quality management system since 2002. The requirements of the ISO 9001 standard are being applied to all processes in R&D projects and administrative departments. One of the authors, as a project manager, was responsible for adopting the self-certification program, observing any progress, and collecting data. We summarize findings and issues in each implementation stage.\n5. Conclusion: This study makes significant contributions to the literature. First, we provide valuable insights on how we can use a self-certification framework as a problem-solving tool for the innovation processes. It is our argument that the focus of the self-certification program is on reducing gaps between the current status and the preferred goal. We show that the application of the framework can assist practitioners to efficiently reduce the gaps and to effectively link organizational efforts for technological innovation. Second, this study enhances the understanding of the potential of control in creating innovation. The proposed framework is based on the self-regulation theory highlighting that an organization has the ability to manage innovation activities without external pressure or regulation. Our analysis reveals that appropriate control through a voluntary certification program can provide opportunities for stimulating mutual learning and improving market advantage. Third, we provide practical guidance about the application of self-assessment at the project level. This attempt will be valuable for a project manager who wants to implement the self-assessment approach to diagnose issues and broaden innovation capacity.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a self-certification framework for assessing technological innovation and certifying superior products. The paper discusses how and why organizational efforts to implement the self-certification program can lead to product and process innovation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using the case study method in a large government-sponsored research and development institute, the authors examined the effectiveness of the proposed framework.\nFindings: The finding indicates that the success of the self-certification program is dependent on the ability of a firm to manage processes. The result also suggests that it is critical to develop an internal-driven motivation and ensure the strong commitment of top management when implementing the self-certification program. The finding reveals that the voluntary certification program has a positive effect on innovation and marketing performance.\nOriginality/value: This study makes three contributions. First, the paper offers valuable insights on the use of a self-certification framework as a problem-solving tool in the innovation process. Second, based on the self-regulation theory, this study enhances the understanding of the potential of control in facilitating technological innovation. Third, the paper provides practical guidance about the application of self-assessment at the project level.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Service decomposition: a conceptual analysis of modularizing services	[ "Modularity", "Decomposition logic", "Service offering" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the past decade, increasing attention has been given to the application of modularity principles in the design of service offerings as modular design principles have been suggested as a way to provide variety at relatively low costs (De Blok et al., 2010a, b; Voss and Hsuan, 2009). Modularization enables an increase in standardization whilst safeguarding the required level of customization. Modularity in its most abstract sense refers to the degree to which it is possible to separate and recombine a system's parts (Schilling, 2000). Modularity is widely applied and researched in product design. In product modularity, a module refers to a unit whose structural elements are strongly connected among themselves but weakly connected to other units (Baldwin and Clark, 2000). For example, in computer design, the monitor, the mouse, the keyboard and the processor can all be considered as modules. The study of modularity has since been extended to service systems. Rajahonka (2013) defines a service module as a relatively independent part of a service offering with a specific function and standardized interface.\n2. Service decomposition logic and contingencies involved: 2.1. Decomposition logic: the constituting design choices\n3. Method: 3.1. Literature search and paper selection\n4. Results: 4.1. Decomposition logics\n5. Discussion: This systematic review of 16 service modularity cases described in the literature assesses which service decomposition logics have thus far been applied, and how the choice is related to the modularization aims and service routineness. Below, we revisit each of the research questions.\n6. Conclusions: This study contributes to the debate on modular service design through analysing and evaluating which decomposition logics can be identified, and whether these decomposition logics are related to the modularization aims and/or the routineness of the service. Our observation is that argument-building on the design choices underpinning the decomposition of service offerings into modules is scarce in the service modularity literature. In the articles reviewed, we identified four decomposition logics: single-level process oriented, single-level outcome oriented, multilevel outcome oriented and multilevel combined orientation. Although our theoretical framework had distinguished two additional decomposition logics (multilevel process oriented and single-level combined outcome-process oriented), the literature review failed to uncover examples of their use. Furthermore, we found a relationship between the decomposition logic and the modularity types. The aim of the modularization did not seem to explain the decomposition logic; rather, we found that the decomposition logic applied was related to the service routineness.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Applying \"modularity\" principles in services is gaining in popularity. The purpose of this paper is to enrich existing service modularity theory and practice by exploring how services are being decomposed and how the modularization aim and the routineness of the service(s) involved may link to different decomposition logics. The authors argue that these are fundamental questions that have barely been addressed.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors first built a theoretical framework of decomposition steps and the design choices involved that distinguished six decomposition logics. The authors conducted a systematic literature search that generated 18 empirical articles describing 16 service modularity cases. The authors analysed these cases in terms of decomposition logic and two main contingencies: modularization aim and service routineness.\nFindings: Only three of the 18 articles explicitly addressed the service decomposition by reflecting on the underlying design choices. By unravelling the decomposition in each case, the authors were able to identify the decomposition logic and found four of the six theoretically derived logics: single-level process oriented; single-level outcome oriented; multilevel outcome oriented; and multilevel combined orientation. Although the authors did not find a direct relationship between the modularization aim and the decomposition logic, the authors did find that single-level decomposition logics seem to be mainly applied in non-routine service offerings whereas the multilevel ones are mainly applied in routine service offerings.\nOriginality/value: By contributing to a common understanding of modular service decomposition and proposing a framework that explicates the design choices involved, the authors enable an enhanced application of the modularity concept in services.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Computerizing Trail Making Test for long-term cognitive self-assessment	[ "Telehealth", "Self-assessment", "Computerized cognitive assessment", "Longitudinal assessment", "Practice effect", "Trail Making Test" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Both falls and dementia are major health concerns among the elderly. About one-third of the elderly aged over 65 years fall each year (Tinetti et al., 1988). Falls also account for about 10 per cent of visits to hospital emergency departments among the elderly (Sattin, 1992). On the other hand, a new dementia case is reported every 3.2 seconds, and the cost of dementia is equivalent to about 1.1 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015[1]. A decline in cognitive functions has been associated with increased risk of fall (Muir et al., 2012) and identified as a precursor syndrome to dementia (Lyketsos et al., 2002). Thus, monitoring changes in cognitive functions may be helpful for fall prevention, as well as early diagnosis and intervention of dementia.\n2. Neuropsychological background of Trail Making Test: The TMT is one of the most frequently used neuropsychological tests (Butler et al., 1991) due to its sensitivity, simplicity and ease of administration. The TMT was originally constructed to assess general intelligence in Army Individual Test Battery (1944). It was later adapted by Reitan (1955) and included in the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery in its current form. It is often used as a diagnostic tool to detect cognitive impairments due to brain damage, e.g. dementia, stroke and traumatic brain injuries (Ashendorf et al., 2008; Chen et al., 2015).\n3. Related work: 3.1 Adapting Trail Making Test for longitudinal assessment\n4. The divide-and-combine approach: In this section, we propose a DAC approach for generating different instances of TMT in a systematic manner. As introduced in Section 1, the generated instances need to be sufficiently different from each other while having a similar level of difficulty to Reitan's TMT. More specifically, the aim of the DAC approach is to produce different sets of ordered dots in a rectangular test region, so that the trail obtained by connecting dots in each set according to their order exhibits the following characteristics:\n5. Computerizing Trail Making Test using the divide-and-combine approach: We created a test application called iTMT, which implements the DAC approach with the parameters determined from Reitan's paper-and-pencil TMT.\n6. Evaluating computerized Trail Making Test: To evaluate the DAC approach, a pilot study was conducted for iTMT. The instances of computerized TMT generated with the DAC approach was evaluated for the following aspects:\n7. Conclusion: In this paper, we proposed a DAC approach to generate instances of TMT that can be used in longitudinal cognitive assessment. Our proposed approach is able to generated a theoretically unlimited number of different TMT instances which can be used in consecutive test administrations. Moreover, the instances generated by the proposed approach have a similar level of difficulty to Reitan's paper-and-pencil TMT by reproducing its spatial characteristics. We also created a test application, iTMT, which implements the DAC approach to generate computerized TMTs. The preliminary results from the pilot study support the effectiveness of our DAC approach. Compared to existing computerized tests, the instances of TMT generated by the approach produced test results that were significantly more correlated with results of Reitan's TMT. Similar difficulty and highly correlated results suggest that these instances possess similar diagnostic power to the Reitan's TMT and are able to better distinguish subjects with different level of cognitive abilities. iTMT also demonstrated higher test-retest reliability and significantly reduced practice effects than existing computerized tests. Due to the illiteracy of some participants, only TMT Part A and its computerized versions were tested in this study. In the future, we plan to study Part B in a similar way.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to adapt and computerize the Trail Making Test (TMT) to support long-term self-assessment of cognitive abilities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors propose a divide-and-combine (DAC) approach for generating different instances of TMT that can be used in repeated assessments with nearly no discernible practice effects. In the DAC approach, partial trails are generated separately in different layers and then combined to form a complete TMT trail.\nFindings: The proposed approach was implemented in a computerized test application called iTMT. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate iTMT. The results show that the instances of TMT generated by the DAC approach had an adequate level of difficulty. iTMT also achieved a stronger construct validity, higher test-retest reliability and significantly reduced practice effects than existing computerized tests.\nOriginality/value: The preliminary results suggest that iTMT is suitable for long-term monitoring of cognitive abilities. By supporting self-assessment, iTMT also can help to crowdsource the assessment processes, which need to be administered by healthcare professionals conventionally, to the patients themselves.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Ninety days convert recruits into hosts at Edwardian Group London: New starters arrive on the job inspired, informed and ready to work	[ "Management development", "Hotels", "Employee development", "Recruitment", "Communications", "Induction" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Visiting London's Billingsgate market to learn how to sell fish is just one aspect of the training provided at the food-and-beverage academy of a major UK hotel chain.\nInspired, informed and ready to work: Further programs within the first 90 days deal with responsible business practice and leadership orientation for team leaders and above. There is also an introduction to iConnect, the company's internal portal. This session introduces hosts to the intranet, where they can find information, review results, book holidays and request training.\nMobile and active learners: In the first year the company offers numerous social and development opportunities to enhance individuals' hosting and soft skills. Each role has mandated relevant training although all hosts can attend any of the group's programs. Learning needs are identified through regular job chats and appraisals.\nGold-standard service: In the company's October 2013 staff survey, 28 percent of hosts thought the training they received set them up well for their job, 20 percent believed it gave them additional life skills, 14 percent thought the training stands out because it happens on a regular basis and a further 15 percent believed it to be more in-depth than at other hospitality groups.\nRecruitment of quality candidates: All managers attend the group's hire-for-success program which teaches them to source and recruit talent for their behaviors and attitude as well as their previous experience or qualifications.\nEmpowerment and creative thinking: Edwardian seeks to ensure that leaders are empowered to take responsibility for their part of the business. Innovation and creative thinking are encouraged.\nGoal-setting and action plans: Using coaching techniques, Edwardian encourages people to reach their full potential through goal-setting and implementing their own action plans.\nOpportunities for rising stars: The company seeks to provide its rising stars with the tools to succeed in supervisory or higher-responsibility positions.\nNote: David Pollitt, Human Resource Management International Digest editor, wrote this article.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Describes the various approaches taken to training and development at Edwardian Group London, a group of hotels.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Examines the reasons for the training, the form it takes and the results it has achieved.\nFindings: Emphasizes the importance the company attaches to training in the first 90 days of an employee's tenure, when recruits receive general induction training plus training specific to their area of operation.\nPractical implications: Outlines how the company spots and develops its managers of the future.\nSocial implications: Highlights the crucial role of training in ensuring that hotel guests have the best possible stay.\nOriginality/value: Provides a thorough examination of the various forms of training at Edwardian Group London.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Building capabilities for change: the crucial role of resilience	[ "Leadership development", "Organization development", "Organizational change and learning", "Management development" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Building internal capabilities, especially resilience, for change is important to give people the ability and confidence to create, anticipate and respond to changes more efficiently and effectively. In addition, building capabilities helps to motivate people to make the required behavioral shifts necessary to achieve objectives and successfully implement and sustain change. It ensures people receive consistent messages about what is important in the organization, serves as a reminder that people are accountable for what they do and helps people see that their contribution is recognized.\nIdentifying particular capabilities: When a group of executive MBA students from across the globe were asked what capabilities they thought were necessary to lead and manage change, their responses were both considered and practical, as shown in Table I. There were a number of capabilities that were identified for both leaders and managers, which are outlined in the right-hand column in the table.\nIdentifying capability gaps: The gaps in the capabilities for change need to be identified not only for managers and leaders but also for staff across the organization. A capability gap is where the change requires people to work in a way which they do not currently have the ability to do. To identify and address gaps involve diagnosing the gaps, identifying development needs, designing and delivering appropriate interventions and sustaining and monitoring how the learning is being applied.\nResilience: Resilience helps people to respond to and cope with all changes more efficiently and effectively. It can help individuals to maintain higher performance levels, improve their sense of wellbeing and cope with fluctuating emotions. Resilience also helps people make sense of change more quickly, so that they understand the impact on themselves and others. At the same time, resilience can help people deal with multiple changes without being overwhelmed.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to discuss the importance of building internal capabilities for change. The main elements of building capabilities are highlighted, along with the benefits. In particular, there is focus on building resilience and how it can help people to respond to and cope with changes more effectively and efficiently. The paper concludes by emphasizing that developing resilience takes time but that research shows that it can impact on how individuals engage in organizational change.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The approach taken is a review of the literature. Data are also used from a group of executive MBA students who were asked what capabilities they thought were necessary to lead and manage change.\nFindings: Findings show that resilience is a key capability for leading and managing organizational change. The components of resilience play a vital role in enabling people to cope with change.\nPractical implications: The practical implications are that organizations need to develop the capabilities for change to ensure that change is sustained in organizations. Managers and HR staff should consider ways of building capabilities for change, especially resilience.\nOriginality/value: The value of this paper is that it emphasizes the importance of building capabilities for change, especially resilience.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Evaluating specific service quality aspects which impact on customers' behavioural loyalty in high-tech internet services	[ "Customer retention", "Information privacy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Customer turnover has become a contentious issue in the internet services industry in many countries. For example, Thaichon et al. (2014a) report that an average of 10 per cent of home internet customers in Thailand switched service providers each year over the period from 2003 to 2010. Hence, the telecommunications industry is under pressure to keep, maintain and increase their existing customer base. This scenario provides an opportunity for internet service providers (ISPs) in Thailand and in other developing countries to evaluate determinants that influence brand loyalty, which in turn, can be employed to nurture long-term customer retention in the competitive home ISP market.\n2. Literature review: Based on extant literature a conceptual model was developed which is depicted in Figure 1. Customer loyalty generally results in repeat purchase over time (Jaiswal and Niraj, 2011). Therefore this study examines loyalty associated with the behavioural perspective which is repurchase intention. The dependent construct of behavioural loyalty in this study is influenced by customer value, customer commitment, information quality and privacy.\n3. Methodology: 3.1. The study sample\n4. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to examine whether theoretical relationship between items and their hypothesised factors were supported by the data, and to test construct reliability and validity (Cunningham, 2010). Analysis of Moment Structures Version 20 (AMOS) was used to analyse the data. Table II depicts all the five factors (constructs of the proposed conceptual model) and the reliability indices for each of the factors, i.e. cronbach's a, construct reliability and average variance extracted (AVE).\n5. Discussion: The results reveal that both information quality, and privacy had significant influences on customer commitment. This proves that if customers perceive that they have access to a trusty and complete information source, they are more determined to engage with the service provider. In other words, an ISP with a high-perceived quality and quantity of information provided on the company websites is able to retain their customers. Nowadays customers value information quality as they usually need a lot of information since their everyday life is considerably involved with the internet. Similarly, ISP subscribers who feel safe with their privacy will automatically commit themselves to the company. When customers perceive that their privacy is protected and their transaction with the company is secured, they feel that the company is reliable and start engaging with the company. This is evitable as online frauds and cheats as well as privacy invasion are an everyday occurrence. In excess of $500 billion dollars were lost as a result of cybercrime in 2012 (IC3, 2012). In addition, according to a report by the Financial Times, basic demographical information of customers are on sale for just $0.0005 per individual, or $0.50 per thousand people (Steel, 2013). This has made privacy one of biggest concerns of customers (Roca et al., 2009).\n6. Managerial implications and future research directions: This study has provided understanding of the relationships between information quality, and privacy, customer affective and cognitive evaluations, and loyalty. The proposed research develops an understanding about consumer buyer behaviour of home internet services in Thailand, and creates an ideal model aimed at customer retention. It provides valuable insights into consumer retention in the home internet services of Thailand. This study is the first of its kind which investigates the different effects of information quality and privacy on customer affective and cognitive evaluations as well as customer repurchase intention in the high-tech services context. Although the direct effects of information quality and privacy on behavioural loyalty were not confirmed, their indirect effects were manifested via value and commitment. ISP services are an interesting context as information and transactions/communications between service providers and customers take place through both online and offline channels. There has not been a thorough study examining these elements and their outcomes.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of quality perception on customers' repurchase behaviour in home internet services. Specifically, it was found that information quality, and privacy affected customers' commitment and perceived value which were directly related to customer behavioural loyalty.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In order to achieve the research objectives, a model is proposed. The literature review and formulation of hypotheses related to each construct are then discussed. An online survey was conducted. The final usable sample size was 2,059.\nFindings: Information quality was a stronger determinant of commitment and value when compared with privacy. The positive indirect effects of information quality and privacy on behavioural loyalty were also confirmed.\nOriginality/value: The research provides practical implications which can be used to design effective marketing strategies to retain customers in the residential internet market. Moreover, current issues of high-customer churn rate can be resolved. In general, the study confirms that putting customers' privacy in the heart of company operations is critical for an internet service provider's success and long-term sustainability.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Building a bulletproof whistleblowing environment: an accountant's perspective	[ "Accountants", "Accounting firms", "Wrongdoing", "Ethical violations", "Whistleblowing", "Whistleblowing guidelines" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Number of international organisations that were considered as the titans of the industry declared insolvency due to unethical and fraudulent activities, even the international accounting firm Arthur Anderson fell due to the major role it had played in Enron scandal. Organisations such as Enron, Paramalat, WorldCom and Nortel were once considered as the benchmarks of their respective industries (Sorensen and Miller, 2017). However, the management of such companies in order gain significant materialistic gains adopted unethical and fraudulent activities and misled the stakeholders of the organisation by providing financial reports with manipulated earnings. Fall of such large corporations and collapse of markets could have been prevented if the relevant authorities were informed of the malpractices within the organisations.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Definitions and concepts\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Research approach\n4. Data analysis and discussion: 4.1 Demographic factors\n5. Conclusion: The main aim of the study is to assess the appropriateness of the selected components to build an environment that prospers whistleblowing culture from an accounting perspective. As a complimentary assessment of the types of ethical violations and fraudulent activities in Sri Lanka were assessed. Frequency statistics was performed to examine the demographic factors of the respondents. The Kruskal-Wallis test was performed to assess the appropriateness of the selected components to build an environment that prospers whistleblowing culture within an organisation.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the appropriateness of the factors that contribute to building a better whistleblowing environment and culture within an organisation and provide guidelines on how to build a better whistleblowing environment within an organisation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In total, 592 questionnaires were circulated to 148 accounting firms licensed to carry out statutory audits of public limited companies expecting responses from 4 stakeholders from each entity. Out of the 592 questionnaires, only 148 questionnaires were usable, representing a 25 per cent overall response rate.\nFindings: It is recommended to encourage a proactive whistleblowing environment by encouraging whistleblowing culture among employees of the organisations. However, there is disagreement among the respondents for some of the selected components that contribute to building a better whistleblowing environment and culture within an organisation.\nPractical implications: The findings of this study can be used by the management of the organisations to identify frail areas of whistleblowing initiatives within the organisation and take remedial actions rectify the issues. Authorities can use the findings of the study to implement or amend the existing rules and regulations to encourage whistleblowing.\nOriginality/value: This study in contrast to the existing studies on determinants of whistleblowing attributes, provides knowledge on developing components/guidelines to encourage whistleblowing attributes and culture.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A fuzzy synthetic evaluation analysis of operational management critical success factors for public-private partnership infrastructure projects	[ "Factor analysis", "Public-private partnerships", "Operational management", "Critical success factor", "Fuzzy synthetic evaluation model", "International survey" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Since the early 1990s, the idea of adopting public-private partnership (PPP) as an innovative procurement approach in developing public infrastructure has increased among governments in both developed and developing regions (Chou and Pramudawardhani, 2015). This concept is now perceived by governments as efficient means of developing \"value for money\" public infrastructure and providing modernised public services (Akintoye et al., 2003; Cheung et al., 2009). Indeed, PPP procurement policy has offered many governments the opportunity to focus on other economic sectors to enhance infrastructure development. Most importantly, this innovative procurement method has relieved governments of their financial burden in meeting the increasing demand for public facilities and services (Ismail, 2013; Chan et al., 2009). Similarly, private investors are ardent to enter the PPP market because it offers them the opportunity to benefit from government's guarantees, tax exemptions and reduction and long-term investment returns (Chan et al., 2010; Osei-Kyei et al., 2014). Considering the zeal of governments and the private sector to partner in delivering public infrastructure, researchers have also played their role by exploring the best management techniques and practices that could enable project participants achieve a successful PPP implementation (Ke et al., 2009). Elements such as political support (Abdul-Aziz and Kassim, 2011; Jacobson and Choi, 2008), strong private consortium (Hwang et al., 2013), appropriate risk allocation and sharing (Li et al., 2005a; Zhang, 2005), public/community support (Gannon and Smith, 2011) and transparent procurement (Tang et al., 2012) have been reported as the key factors for successful PPP projects.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Overview of research studies on CSFs for PPPs\n3. Research methodology: 3.1 International expert survey\n4. Data analysis and results: 4.1 CSFGs for operational management of PPP projects\n5. Discussion of results: As presented in Table VIII, the evaluation model has indicated which factor grouping is critical in managing PPP projects at the operational stage. Simplified payment mechanism and consistent project monitoring ranks first with an index of 5.82 which is considered very important, followed by proficient service delivery and adequate legal structures, suitable stakeholder management mechanism, environmental health and safety control and effective contract variations management with indices of 5.79, 5.47, 5.19 and 4.79, respectively. The essence of the indices and rankings is to considerably inform practitioners of the key operational management issues which need critical attention in PPP project delivery. This would therefore enable a more effective management of PPP projects at the operational stage.\n6. Conclusion: This paper has studied the CSFs for managing PPP projects at the operational stage with two derived objectives: to identify the CSFGs (underlying CSFs structure) for operational management of PPP projects and to evaluate the critical/importance level of each CSFGs (factor structure) for PPP operational management. The paper adopted a questionnaire survey on targeted international PPP experts to evaluate 19 nominated CSFs for operational management of PPPs. The factor analysis technique (principal component analysis) was used to establish the factor structure for the set of 19 CSFs. The results indicate five non-correlated clusters of PPP operational management CSFs; these include proficient service delivery and adequate legal structures, simplified payment mechanism and consistent project monitoring, effective contract variations management, suitable stakeholder management mechanism and environmental health and safety control. Further analysis using the FSE shows that \"simplified payment mechanism and consistent project monitoring\" is the most critical CSFG for operational management, followed by proficient service delivery and adequate legal structures, suitable stakeholder management mechanism, environmental health and safety control and effective contract variations management.\n7. Limitations and future research: The generalisability of the findings of the study is limited considering certain factors. First, the percentage of international PPP experts involved in the study is low despite efforts to maximise responses (Osei-Kyei and Chan, 2016). Nevertheless the years of research/industrial experience of respondents and the wide coverage of different cultural background (18 countries from five regions globally) contribute to the authenticity of the survey responses (Osei-Kyei and Chan, 2016). Future research could adopt a more locally focussed interviews and case study analysis to unravel CSFs in managing operational PPPs. Second, although a comprehensive literature is conducted to develop a robust list of CSFs, the checklist of CSFs could further be improved. Nonetheless, the adopted checklist of CSFs captures most of the relevant management issues related to operational PPPs. Therefore, the findings of the study are useful and relevant for future reference.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the factor groupings of a set of 19 critical success factors (CSFs) associated with managing public-private partnership (PPP) projects at the operational stage and examine the most significant factor grouping using fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) technique.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper adopted a comprehensive review of the pertinent literature and an empirical questionnaire survey geared towards targeted international PPP experts. Survey responses were analysed using factor analysis and FSE modelling.\nFindings: The results from factor analysis show five CSF groupings (CSFGs) for managing operational PPPs. These are proficient service delivery and adequate legal structures, simplified payment mechanism and consistent project monitoring, effective contract variations management, suitable stakeholder management mechanism and environmental health and safety control. The FSE modelling shows that \"simplified payment mechanism and consistent project monitoring\", is the most critical CSFG. The operational management CSFs under this grouping are acceptable level of user fee charges, efficient and well-structured payment mechanism, consistent project performance monitoring and long-term demand for public facility.\nResearch limitations/implications: The major limitation lies in the low sample size that was used for analysis; however the years of research and/or industrial experience of respondents and the wide coverage of different cultural backgrounds (18 countries from five regions globally) contribute to the authenticity of the survey responses. Future research should adopt interviews and case study analysis to unravel CSFs in managing operational PPPs.\nOriginality/value: The findings of this study are considerably beneficial to both public authorities and private operators. They inform practitioners of the strategic procedures and measures to employ in optimising the operational performance of PPP projects. Further, the methodology employed allows project management experts to reliably select the operational management CSFs for their projects.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Digital archiving as information production: Using experts and learners in the design of subject access	[ "Archives", "Classification schemes", "Electronic media", "Digital archives", "Information production", "Electronic arts", "Mixed reality", "Subject access" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Archives exist as one of the major channels through which culture is transmitted from generation to generation. They preserve materials perceived to be of cultural value for future display, appreciation, and study. Until quite recently the work of archiving has been performed by subject experts and information professionals alone. This is a situation that is rapidly changing as a digitally networked environment provides a platform not only for the production of a digital archive but also for access to a larger group of users who can be enrolled in the work of producing the archive. While digital archives present both subject experts and information professionals with new archival challenges of selection, organisation, and display, the digitally networked environment that underpins them is also a democratic opportunity to involve users both in the production of the archive and to contribute to its value-added distribution.\n2. Rider Spoke: Rider Spoke (www.blasttheory.co.uk/bt/work_rider_spoke.html) is a pervasive location-based game for cyclists. Created by British artists Blast Theory (www.blasttheory.co.uk/bt/index.php) the game lasts for about an hour and involves multiple participants riding around a city space, responding to questions and leaving recorded messages for other cyclists to pick up. After a brief introduction during which the players of the game pick up a bicycle, a tablet computer mounted to the bicycle's handlebars, and a pair of headphones, the players enter a \"mixed reality\" gaming experience. As the cyclist sets off on their journey around the city space, they are prompted by the artists, via a tape-recorded question, to find a quiet area or hiding-place and using the tablet to record a short description about themselves. As the cyclist continues to ride around the space, they are prompted by further questions randomly selected from a set of questions devised by the artists. One question asks for example: \"I want you to look for a flat or a house and find a window that you would want to go through. I want you to stare into that window and tell me what you see and tell me why you want to go through that window\". Other questions pertain to acts of spectatorship, voyeurism, and the elicitation of personal narratives. At each point the rider has the opportunity either to record their response to the question or to listen to the messages that other unknown cyclists have left in that geographical position. Through this form of technologically mediated exchange share messages, often intimate in nature, are shared between strangers who will never meet in real life. The final question invites the cyclist to make a promise and to shout this into the air. The game ends with the cyclist riding back to the place from where they set off, and returning the bicycle, tablet, and headphones to the organizers. In summary the Rider Spoke game and its mobile networked technologies, i.e. tablet, wifi, GPS, act as a meeting-point and a mechanism for the virtual exchange of messages between people who would not otherwise encounter each other in real life. Rider Spoke has been running since 2007 and has been staged among other venues at the following locations: Brighton, London, Athens, Budapest, Sydney, Adelaide, Liverpool and Linz. The record of a Rider Spoke performance consists of audio-recordings of cyclists' utterances, wifi data, and GPS traces. These materials have since been supplemented with video recordings, artistic commentaries and interviews. The materials used here relate to video documentaries of the staging of the work in Linz in 2009.\n3. Designing subject access for the electronic arts: current approaches: As previously mentioned the task of establishing a consensus on the significance of a text or work is one that is much more difficult to achieve in the arts than in the sciences. Given the heterogeneous construction of humanistic works, the differing experiences they instill in the reader, and the different interpretations that can be placed on them, the development of an \"unambiguous language of description\" that reduces their subject matter to the enumeration of its basic attributes of the work can be accomplished only at a general level, e.g. artist, time period, genre etc. For some purposes, e.g. cataloguing collections of artworks, a general level of description is sufficient for practical purposes. For the description of particular single works a general level of description exists at too high a level of abstraction. Given the problem of establishing a definitive perspective on the significance of an artwork and establishing therefore a definitive account of its subject matter, a common strategy has been to adopt a faceted approach to their classification. In contrast to an enumerative approach to classification in which all the possible classes of a subject are exhaustively enumerated from the \"top down\"; a faceted approach adopts an analytico-synthetic approach in which a subject is analysed into its basic isolate subjects and strings formed \"bottom up\" through synthesis. The need for enumeration leads to a lot of pre-coordinated compound classes that are placed in hierarchical superordinate and subordinate semantic relationships. A faceted classification scheme on the other hand dispenses with the enumeration of compound subjects, separates out a subject into its basic facets and sub-facets and places a greater emphasis on post-coordinate syntax for the formation of compound subjects (Broughton, 2004). The faceted approach to classification is mostly commonly associated with the work of Ranganathan (1963), and the work of the UK Classification Research Group (e.g. Langridge, 1976; Vickery, 1960). Dissatisfied with current classification schemes that were unwieldy in the way they demanded exhaustive enumeration of their subjects and long schedules, Ranganathan famously originated the faceted approach after a visit to Selfridges toy store, where he came on a toy Meccano set; in which complex designs could be assembled out simple isolates (La Barre, 2010). As will be seen there are a number of issues that confront the designer of a classification scheme for a particular single electronic artwork, that make the use of an enumerative approach unrealistic, and the development of a faceted approach appropriate. These concern an interdisciplinary rather than homogeneous subject field and the development of terms and a vocabulary in order to populate these facets that does not rely on literary warrant; the latter being a problem that compounded in the performing arts when the work being classified is either wholly, or partially, visual and non-text-based in its traditional sense.\n4. Information production: A digitally networked environment affords the capacity to upload and distribute material outside of centralized control or market mechanisms. This has led to new forms and modes of \"information production and exchange\" (see Figure 1) in which individuals can share, distribute and consume information in a manner that is collaborative and non-proprietary (Benkler, 2006). Benkler (2006) identifies three main functions or components of information production:\n5. Discussion: The nascent and interdisciplinary field of electronic art presents the subject indexer with considerable challenges. To date the conventional solution to the development of any scheme has been to draw on existing information science expertise in the construction of the scheme and the identification of facets; and to rely on a curator's informal observations of the electronic artwork(s) rather than on literary warrant for the development of terminology. The approach taken to the construction of a basic subject language for the Riders Have Spoken archive is one informed by a general information production and exchange framework (Benkler, 2006), and the relevance/accreditation function of this framework in particular. The virtue of adopting this framework from a subject indexing perspective has been to provide a systematic underpinning for combining the sub-functions of subjective relevance and objective credibility as part of the same logical framework, and to demonstrate the potential that a networked information environment affords for modularizing and distributing responsibility for the performance of these sub-functions. In common with previous approaches the strategy has been develop terms and a vocabulary from the ground up. The distinctive contribution here however has been to draw democratically on the contributions of a wider pool of users (see also Winget, 2009; Rafferty and Hidderley, 2005; Svenonius, 2000). This has the virtue of developing terms and a vocabulary that are relevant to a particular user audience and therefore have \"user warrant\". Like previous approaches the construction of the main organising categories has drawn on more objective criteria however and the knowledge and expertise embedded in previous classification scheme; in particular Ranganathan's fundamental categories of PMEST, the main organising facets of the AAT, and Anselm Strauss's concept of trajectory. The test of any subject language however will remain its usefulness for accessing the artistic work and its materials; and while the emphasis of the study has been on the innovative development of a subject schema that is both relevant to a particular work, and consistent in its construction. In this respect a necessary next step will be to conduct an evaluation of the performance of that subject language, and whether it meets the requirements of its current and future users.\n6. Conclusion and implications: This study has focused on the construction of a relevant yet consistent subject language that aids in providing access to a digital archive of materials for the an electronic artwork Rider Spoke. The approach that has been taken to the development of this subject language is one that has been informed by an information production and exchange framework that considers digital archiving as a form of information production. The implications of this framework relate both to the methods used in the production of the digital archive, and to the character of the digital archive produced. With respect to methods, the framework enables us to perceive information organisation both as a form of relevance/accreditation production, and as one component among others that contribute to the production and exchange of information. The use of the framework also draws attention to the character of a digital archive. Unlike a traditional archive, a digital archive can be considered to be - from initial utterance through relevance/accreditation to value-added distribution - less a final product than an open work.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This article aims to develop a framework that considers digital archiving as a form of networked information production, in which the different stages of producing a digital archive are modularized and distributed across different actors. The framework is applied and developed within the context of designing a digital archive for the electronic artwork Rider Spoke. More specifically the framework is applied and developed within the context of designing a subject scheme that provides its users with consistent yet relevant access to the content of the archive.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A total of 74 postgraduate students from the Information School at the University of Sheffield were invited to tag four videos from the Riders Have Spoken archive as a voluntary exercise. Students were evenly distributed across the four videos and each participant was invited to generate up to ten tags; with each tag or annotation representing a point of interest in the content of the video for viewer. The time was also noted. In total, 46 students completed the exercise and this generated 356 user tags. As a collection these tags and annotations represent the terms and vocabulary on which a subsequent content analysis was conducted and a subject language developed.\nFindings: The development of a subject scheme for a particular single electronic artwork with seven facets, sub-facets, and illustrative examples is presented. The design of the scheme and its relations to prior work in classification is discussed.\nResearch limitations/implications: Implications of the research for the design of a digital archive and the methods used to construct them are discussed\nOriginality/value: The originality of the article lies in its characterization of digital archiving as a form of networked information production; and the application of the framework to the design of a faceted scheme enabling subject access to the digital archive of an electronic artwork called Rider Spoke.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Water: how collective intelligence initiatives can address this challenge	[ "Environmental management", "Information management", "Communication technologies", "Scenario planning", "Generation and dissemination of information" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nOverview: This paper looks at how collective intelligence initiatives can address the issue of water in global terms. It begins with an introduction to collective intelligence and a summary of the elements that might be desirable in a collective intelligence system. Water as a global issue is then introduced with a review of the surrounding parameters, and discussed with particular reference to the UNESCO World Water Assessment Report of 2012 and the World Water Scenarios contained within it. The example of a recent collective intelligence initiative is then described: the IWA Waterwiki, which aims to provide a platform for the global water community and to be THE online reference point for water. The way matters could develop beneficially within the water community from a collective intelligence point-of-view is then considered using specific examples relating to goals and targets, and one of the drivers (technology). The importance of information and communication technologies in all their aspects is also stressed. A concluding section confirms the need for enhanced collective intelligence systems for water, and suggests that complementary initiatives relating to other global issues are also needed.\nCollective intelligence: introduction: In July, 2011, I wrote a general paper on collective intelligence, and it is important to begin by summarising the points I made then.\nWater as a global issue: Brief review\nInternational Water Association (IWA): The International Water Association (IWA) is a body of 10,000 water professionals from every country. Its headquarters is in London, and it has another major office in the Hague which oversees many of its global operations. There are regional offices in Singapore, China and Africa.\nWaterWiki: a global platform for the water community: The IWA Waterwiki (www.iwawaterwiki.org/) comes under the auspices of IWA Publishing, a profit-making subsidiary of IWA (which is a charity).\nWater and collective intelligence: At the beginning, I suggested nine elements of a collective intelligence system. All professional communities are \"collective intelligence systems\" in one sense by definition, and some recent activities and developments within the water community have been discussed. This paper will now consider how things could develop from a collective-intelligence point-of-view.\nLooking to the future: In conclusion, it is a given that there are major issues over water to do with lack of access, poor health and sanitation, infant mortality and shortages for agriculture to name just a few. The current UNESCO World Water Development Report lists 12 main drivers that affect water provision, and stresses their links to the change drivers of other global issues. It recognises the need for a \"collective effort\" that includes dealing with the inadequacies of currently available data. The need for enhanced collective intelligence systems for water would seem to be crying out.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose is to examine how collective intelligence initiatives can help address the challenge of water supply globally.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The methodology used was desk research and interview. The paper commences with a review of collective intelligence as a subject area. It then assesses water as an issue, paying particular attention to the new set of World Water Scenarios currently being undertaken by the World Water Assessment Program of UNESCO and its latest World Water Development Report (2012). It considers the application of collective intelligence systems to the challenge of water provision with particular reference to a recent initiative led by the International Water Association (IWA), the IWA WaterWiki. It examines potential future developments from a collective intelligence viewpoint.\nFindings: It is increasingly recognised that the drivers that affect water provision are linked to the change drivers of other global issues. There is a need to deal with the inadequacies of currently available water data. Online collective intelligence systems make it easier to set practical goals and monitor progress and send, receive and act on the latest research and new information. Complementary collective intelligence systems in other areas are needed.\nOriginality/value: The paper deals with current developments in the water sector. It will be of interest to all foresight professionals involved with this sector or collective intelligence.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Effecting successful change management initiatives	[ "Change management", "Organizational change" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nBackground: Despite all the rhetoric, books, effort, and money thrown into change efforts, most organizational change efforts fail. Arthur D. Little and McKinsey & Co., have studied hundreds of organizations that entered into change initiatives and have found that about two-thirds fail to produce the results expected.In recent surveys, CEOs report that up to 75 percent of their organizational change efforts do not yield the promised results. These change efforts fail to produce what had been hoped for and yet always produce a stream of unintended and unhelpful consequences.These leaders develop clear strategies around re-design, restructuring, new efficiencies, and so on, hoping to get everyone to share their vision and create change programs around these strategies. However, more often then not, they end up fighting fires and crises. People don't want to change. They don't believe in the change. They often feel demoralized by change initiatives.Author and lecturer, Dr. Peter M. Senge, in his book, The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, says that:This failure to sustain significant change recurs again and again, despite substantial resources committed to the change effort; many of which are bankrolled by top management, talented and committed people driving the change, and high stakes. Executives feeling an urgent need for change are right; however, organizations that fail to sustain significant change end up facing crises. By then, their options are greatly reduced and even after heroic efforts they often decline.Harvard Business School Professor, John Kotter, who is widely regarded as the world's foremost authority on leadership and change has said, \"The most general lesson to be learned from the more successful cases is that the change process goes through a series of phases that, in total, usually require a considerable length of time. Skipping steps creates only the illusion of speed and never produces satisfactory results.\" As well, he says, \"Making critical mistakes in any of the phases can have a devastating impact, slowing momentum and negating hard-won gains.\"\nWhat drives change?: Some of the drivers of change:mergers and acquisitions;innovation;technology;restructuring/re-organizing;declining sales and/or market share;globalization, expansion and growth;sense of urgency; andwhen 75 percent of the leadership is honestly convinced that business as usual is no longer an acceptable plan.\nWhy do change initiatives fail?: Leaders buy and sell companies. There are mergers and acquisitions. They expand globally. In the traditional Change Model, (www.bia.ca/BIA-Training-ChangeManagementtraining.htm) we know that employees move through the phases of denial, resistance, exploration and commitment when a change occurs. However, too often, management fails to recognize that adjustment to change takes time. They very quickly expect employees to move from the denial phase to the commitment phase and fail to recognize that each individual will go through all of the phases at different paces. It is never uniform.Consequently, management may end up dealing with employees that may be burned out, scared or frustrated and who do not work well together. These are the employees who may long for \"the past\" and who do not like the merger. They hate the new company and a crisis emerges. In these situations, leaders often look for blame. There is no control ... only a crisis. They have moved into acceptance and left their employees behind. I once heard one healthcare company executive say to me, \"We're under so much stress that all we do is look around the organization to find somebody we can shoot.\"There are so many things that we, as management do, that create a crisis in the management of change. We may not do these things intentionally, however, the result of these actions is generally the opposite of what we'd hoped for.Things we do that create a crisis in the management of change:not engaging all employees;managing change only at the executive level;telling people they have to change, we're in a crisis;sending staff on a change program and expecting change to occur;not honoring the past; andnot giving time for staff to vent first and then change.We have spoken about some of the reasons for change. We must understand and accept the fact that no two change processes look the same. It is unlikely for change management techniques to manifest themselves in the same way twice. Each change is different, each organization is different and each department is different. Furthermore, we are not the same today as we were even five years ago because the circumstances right now are different. The customers are different. The structures are different. The drivers of change are different. If change were this easy, we would not be struggling with the issue of strategic change management. It would be apparent. We will have seen it work and know we could duplicate it.\nSo how do we move from crisis to control?: Accept that change is a process. First, recognize that change is a process and to move from crisis to control, we must follow the process. We must engage everyone in the change. It is not complex but it is a journey.Move forward step by step. When companies strive to restructure or gain greater efficiency, experts warn that moving too quickly or failing to carefully implement changes can be detrimental to the process and ultimate result. But in the words of John Kotter, \"Skipping steps creates only the illusion of speed and never produces satisfactory results\" and \"Making critical mistakes in any of the phases can have a devastating impact, slowing momentum and negating hard-won gains.\"Assess potential risks and generate motivation. First, executives or other players in the organization need to assess potential risks and stir up a sense of urgency among workers and stakeholders in order to generate the motivation to spur change within the firm. However, this sense of urgency has to be strong enough and perpetuated by outside analysts, consumers, and other voices in order to propel change forward.Form a powerful guiding coalition. Once change is identified as the best solution to market share, profit losses, or other catalysts, leaders throughout the organization have to band together to guide the transformation process, and these leaders can include board members, consumers, union leaders, executives, chairmen, and others.Create a shared vision for corporate change. The group then coalesces to create a shared vision for corporate change, and this vision should go beyond the normal five-year forward looking plan generated at most firms annually and be easily communicated and clear. A clear vision should also include transformation steps that are coordinated and propel the organization toward the overall goal, and these visions should be communicated in not only words and speeches, but also actions of managers, supervisors, and executives. The transformation of a company should also include short-term goals that can be tracked to show executives and workers that progress is being made toward the ultimate vision and that the long journey will be worth it, even in spite of short-term job cuts for instance. Experts warn, however, that transformations can take between five and ten years to complete, and should not be declared as complete until the company culture has transformed to meet the vision. Leaders will know to tackle other processes and structures reflecting the old culture of the firm and to engrain the new behaviors and procedures into workers in order to make the change complete.Communicate that vision. Leadership should estimate how much of the vision (www.bia.ca/consulting-organizational-development.htm) is needed, and then multiply that effort by a factor of ten. A transformation effort will fail unless most of the organization understand, appreciate, commit and try to make the effort happen. The guiding principle is simple: use every existing communication channel and opportunity.Empower others to act on the vision. Remove obstacles there may be to getting on with change. This entails several actions. Allocate budget money to the new initiative and free up key people from existing responsibilities so they can concentrate on the new effort. Allow people to start living the new ways and make changes in their areas of involvement. Nothing is more frustrating than believing in the change but then not having the time, money, help or support needed to effect it.Plan for and create short-term wins. Real transformation takes time therefore; the loss of momentum and the onset of disappointment are real factors. Actively plan to achieve short-term gains which people will be able to see and celebrate. This will provide proof that efforts are working and adds to the motivation to keep going.Consolidate improvement and keep the momentum for change moving. A premature declaration of victory can kill momentum, allowing the powerful forces of tradition to regain ground. Keep in mind that new approaches are fragile and subject to regression. Use the feeling of victory as the motivation to delve more deeply into the organization: to explore changes in the basic culture, expose the systems relationships of the organization that need tuning, and to move people committed to the new ways into key roles.Institutionalize the new approaches. At the end of the day, change sticks when it seeps into the bloodstream of the corporate body and becomes \"the way we do things around here.\" This requires a conscious attempt to: show people how the new approaches, behaviors and attitudes have helped improve the organization and when the next generation of leaders believe in and embody the new ways.\nConclusion: In too many situations the carnage of change has resulted in a significant amount of waste and anguish in organizations. Useful change tends to be associated with a multi-step process that creates power and motivation that is sufficient to overwhelm all the sources of apathy. It requires dedication and must be driven by high quality leadership (www.bia.ca/consulting-leadership.htm) who demonstrate their commitment to its success. The rewards for those organizations that manage their change efforts well have improved their competitive standing and positioned themselves for a far better future.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to assist managers to effectively implement change initiatives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The author provides his viewpoint for a step-by-step approach to implementing change on the basis of his professional experience.\nFindings: - Most change initiatives fail because management may not be engaging employees in the process towards change and do not allow sufficient time for changes to set. It is important to implement change in a series of phases that will engage employees and to allow sufficient length of time for each phase to become institutionalized within the organization.\nPractical implications: - The author invites managers to apply a multi-step process to guide, include, empower, enlist, and motivate employees towards change.\nOriginality/value: - Senior managers will understand why change initiatives usually fail and how to effect successful change management initiatives in their organizations or departments.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Understanding how nurses ration care	[ "Clinical governance", "Nursing", "New public management", "Work intensification", "Rationing nursing care" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper draws on information from a survey undertaken in New Zealand (NZ) to understand how nurses ration care due to work intensification. We wanted to know how nurses make decisions to leave care undone, ration it on a shift or delegate it. The impetus for this survey arose from findings from previous studies undertaken across four Australian States and NZ (referred to as the trans-Tasman study), using the MISSCARE Survey to measure missed nursing care and the reasons for it (references inserted following acceptance). What we found absent in the results was any acknowledgement of professional accountability associated with missing care by nurses. For this study, we developed a questionnaire, adapted from the MISSCARE survey, to further explore how nurses make decisions about what care to leave undone, and what professional, personal and organisational factors contribute to that decision-making process.\nBackground: According to Kalisch and Williams (2009 p. 211) missed nursing care is defined as \"any aspect of required care that is omitted either in part or in whole or delayed\". We contend that, for nurses, this means not only being accountable for acts and omissions by law, but also being in breach in their contractual arrangements for employment. This is because their core work is to provide care, directed and decided upon by patient need, and defined as such by a professional code of practice. This is because RNs are also regulated through legislation and this makes them accountable for any work of caring that they leave undone, for whatever reason. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) identifies that:Nurses are both responsible and accountable for their nursing practice. The scope of nursing practice is not limited to specific tasks, functions or responsibilities but is a combination of knowledge, judgement and skill that allows the nurse to perform direct care giving and evaluate its impact, advocate for patients and for health, supervise and delegate to others, lead, manage, teach, undertake research and develop health policy for health care systems(International Council of Nurses, 2013, n.p.).\nStudy framework: To analyse the information drawn from the commentaries in our study, we used critical discourse analysis (CDA) because this framework seeks to uncover hidden meanings in discourses (as identified in action and text), within constructs created by those in control (Fairclough, 1995). CDA is not a paradigm, rather it is a problem oriented, critical approach that can be applied to a subject or situation (Van Dijk, 1995). This allows for various methods of data collection to be applied, allowing for a deeper and richer analysis of the information. Moreover, it supports the use of comparative analysis through examination of similar constructs. Discourse reflects both ideology and hegemony at the boundaries of interaction between those in control and those living within such governance. It allows researchers to understand how people in power shape the 'order of discourse' (Fairclough, 1995, p. 61) and how, ultimately, its belief is embedded in everyday social life. Rankin and Campbell (2009) support this view, when analysing discourse related to organisations, because it allows the analysis of social activities emerging through discussion and action, that people adopt, organise and reorganise in practice. Further, Adams et al. (2015, p. 19) suggest that it is important to examine the \"imbalances, tensions and contradictions\" that nurses experience when working within \"organisational and institutional processes created from dominant ideologies\". Smith (1984) argues that these actions are often unconscious responses which perpetuate institutional activities which, Fairclough (1995) suggests, need to be raised to awareness in order to identify the disconnect between them. Rudge (2013) describes this as a disconnect between the desire to provide the right care based upon their inherent care values and the remit of organisational explicit rationing of resources.\nCreating a modified MISSCARE survey: The original MISSCARE survey measures \"the concept of the amount and type of missed nursing care and the reasons for missed care\" (Kalisch and Xie, 2014, p. 878). It provided nurses with 26 elements of routine care-related tasks, surveyed across shifts of morning, afternoon, nights and weekends, and asked nurses to identify what care is missed (Kalisch & Williams, 2009). A Likert scale of \"never missed\" \"rarely missed\", \"occasionally missed\", \"frequently missed\" and \"always missed\" was used for each care element to describe their level of agreement. Nurses were also asked to provide reasons for missing care, from a selection of options that referred to resource allocation and related organisational routine activities, with a scale of \"not a reason\", \"minor reason\", \"moderate reason\" and \"significant reason\". Nurses were also asked about overtime, sick leave and shift rotations, and if they were satisfied with their work, see, for example, Harvey et al. (2015), Henderson et al. (2013), Kalisch & Williams, (2009) and (Kalisch et al., 2009). Adaptations to care elements in the misscare survey are mentioned below.\nFindings: In total, 400 nurses responded to the survey from a total population of 50,343 NZ RNs (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2015). Participants volunteered 3,566 lines of commentaries in addition to their survey responses to the care elements. There were a total of 40 questions, 14 of these being demographic questions, for example, place of work, length of employment, age, qualifications. All care-related questions averaged between 16 and 154 comments for each question, with each line being an average of 12 words. For the purposes of this paper, we do not identify whether there were particular participants frequently answering questions or not. As Fairclough (2001) advises, it is the discourse that provides key sources of information.\nDiscussion: Although the small number of respondents to our survey can be viewed as a limitation, commentaries were offered generously with 3,566 lines of commentary in 26 questions, suggesting that nurses had things they really wanted to say, thus their narratives provided rich insights into the way nurses respond to their work environment. Strength of the survey was that nurses were able to express their opinions in their own way which, Fairclough (1995) contends, is important because it is the free flow of discourse that uncovers the conscious and unconscious actions in response to the environment in which the activity is located.\nConclusion: This paper increased the awareness of hidden issues facing nurses caught within an implicitly rationed cycle of care, between wanting to provide care to their patients, meeting the organisation's directives and ensuring professional safety. This was a small study, yet its significance is vital, because how nurses complete care, regardless of resource allocation remains largely hidden within their desire to provide care, even at personal and professional cost. This paper has raised issues that require further investigation, and recommends replication of the survey in other jurisdictions.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how nurses make decisions to ration care or leave it undone within a clinical environment that is controlled by systems level cost containment. The authors wanted to find out what professional, personal and organisational factors contribute to that decision-making process. This work follows previous international research that explored missed nursing care using Kalisch and Williams' MISSCARE survey.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors drew on the care elements used by Kalisch and Williams, asking nurses to tell us how they decided what care to leave out, the conduits for which could include delaying care during a shift, delegating care to another health professional on the same shift, handing care over to staff on the next shift or leaving care undone.\nFindings: The findings suggest that nurses do not readily consider their accountability when deciding what care to leave or delay, instead their priorities focus on the patient and the organisation, the outcomes for which are frequently achieved by completing work after a shift.\nOriginality/value: The actions of nurses implicitly rationing care is largely hidden from view, the consequences for which potentially have far reaching effects to the nurses and the patients. This paper raised awareness to hidden issues facing nurses within a cycle of implicitly rationing care, caught between wanting to provide care to their patients, meeting the organisation's directives and ensuring professional safety. Rethinking how care is measured to reflect its unpredictable nature is essential.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Do course evaluation systems have an influence on e-learning student satisfaction?	[ "Evaluation", "Higher education", "Assessment" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: At the start of this millennium, e-learning was considered as one of the cornerstones of information and communication technology in the realm of education. It facilitated the introduction of changes long demanded by specialists in didactics, and it modified roles traditionally played by students and teachers in the classroom (Gray et al., 2004; Volman, 2005). One essential condition for successful e-learning is that the student should feel overall satisfaction with the proposed system of teaching-learning (Teo, 2010). Indeed, there is a close relationship between user satisfaction, successful teaching and the quality of a course (Bailey and Pearson, 1983; Peltier et al., 2007). It is important to be aware of student satisfaction with e-learning, as it is yet another aspect of the assessment of the educators, their courses and the overall quality of the educational programs (Bradford and Wyatt, 2010). Accordingly, some authors made recommendations on the design of e-learning courses (Tham and Werner, 2005; Roach and Lemasters, 2006).\n2. Literature review: In the literature on e-learning user satisfaction (for example, Ho and Dzeng, 2010; Gonzalez-Gomez et al., 2012), some research works have taken into account the assessment method as an explanatory factor of user satisfaction (Sun et al., 2008; Kelly et al., 2007). In short, the assessment method is an additional determinant of the effectiveness and quality of an online course and, therefore, a factor that influences the satisfaction of e-learning users. More specifically, Abdous and Yoshimura (2010) examined the final mark and satisfaction level differences among students; in this paper, they compared three different methods: face-to-face in class, via satellite broadcasting at remote sites, and via live video streaming at home or at work. Eom et al. (2006) took into account the importance of feedback in the student learning process and student satisfaction. Kelly et al. (2007) analyzed the impact of marking fairness, unclear marking procedures and midterm changes in marking procedures on users' satisfaction. Ozkan and Koseler (2009) highlighted the importance of the instructor clearly informing students about marking policy; the authors evaluated several dimensions, of which system and service quality were from a student's perspective. In addition, Sun et al. (2008) showed that using different assessment methods facilitates the relationship between students and teachers, and improves performance, as this is normally associated with multiple feedbacks. Finally, Lu and Chiou (2010) related satisfaction to the perceived flexibility to control the learning progress. All these works show the magnitude and the weight of the assessment system used in courses in the satisfaction of e-learning students.\n3. Method: The study was conducted using information from the Campus Andaluz Virtual (CAV). It comprises ten universities from Andalusia, a region in southern Spain with some 8.4 million inhabitants, nearly 18 percent of the total population of Spain. These ten universities have a total of 250,000 students, and any of these students may register for a subject offered fully online by the CAV. There is a broad array of course offerings, covering nearly all areas of knowledge. The Learning Management System (LMS) used by students on these courses was Moodle.\n4. Results and discussion: Table I presents the main descriptive statistics. After the dependent variable, GLOBAL_SATISFACTION, a first set of variables provide information on various aspects of online courses, such as the course syllabus, the LMS accessibility or course materials. Then, we show four blocks of variables that refer to the course evaluation method, which a priori could influence student satisfaction. The blocks match the set of variables explained in paragraph 2: information conveyed at the start of the course by the teacher about the evaluation method; variables that capture the consistency of assessment activities in the context of learning design; and activities considered for student assessment.\n5. Conclusion: Spanish universities have undergone significant changes in only a few years, with two key aspects figuring prominently. On the one hand, there are the guidelines set by the EHEA, which entail changes in teaching and learning methodology and student assessment processes. On the other hand, there are new information technologies, which require the introduction of new tools for communicating and exchanging ideas and also act as facilitators of the changes that have occurred in the education model.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on the relationship between student assessment method and e-learning satisfaction. Which e-learning assessment method do students prefer? The assessment method is an additional determinant of the effectiveness and quality that affects user satisfaction with online courses.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study employs data from 1,114 students. The first set of data was obtained from a questionnaire on the online platform. The second set of information was obtained from the external assessment reports by e-learning specialists. The satisfaction revealed by the students in their responses to the questionnaire is the dependent variable in the multivariate technique. In order to estimate the influence of the independent variables on the global satisfaction, we use the ordinary least squares technic. This method is the most appropriate for dependent discrete variables whose categories are ordered but have multiple categories, as is the case for the dependent variable.\nFindings: The method influences e-learning satisfaction, even though only slightly. The students are reluctant to be assessed by a final exam. Students prefer systems that award more importance to the assessment of coursework as part of the final mark.\nPractical implications: Knowing the level of student satisfaction and the factors that influence it is helpful to the teachers for improving their courses.\nOriginality/value: In online education, student satisfaction is an indicator of the quality of the education system. Although previous research has analyzed the factors that influence e-student satisfaction, to the best of authors' knowledge, no previous research has specifically analyzed the relationship between assessment systems and general student satisfaction with the course.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Shanghai Peaksafe scales the HR heights: Policies boost employees' sense of job security	[ "Job commitment", "Recruitment", "Career development", "China" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: \"Personnel? That's for assholes,\" commented \"Dirty\" Harry Callahan on being assigned to the police department's personnel office in the 1976 hit film The Enforcer.\nJob security at Peaksafe Industries: With more than ten years' experience in producing stamped and forged components, Peaksafe Industries (Shanghai) Ltd is a manufacturer of buckles, safety hooks, D-rings, connectors, adjusters, anchorages and carabiners for high-access workers across the world. Peaksafe's products are widely used in construction, the utilities, rescue and protection services, climbing and even playgrounds. Its headquarters is in Shanghai, while its stamping, forging, heat-treating and plating factories and assembly facilities are located in and around the city.When Shanghai Peaksafe Industries Ltd set up in Shanghai in July 2007, it guaranteed most of its 70 permanent employees job security, except in the most extreme circumstances.There are few indicators of differing status levels among the workforce. For example, there are no separate executive dining rooms or reserved parking spaces for senior personnel. Senior management teams and staff share the same company transport from home to work and between sites.Such a maintenance-oriented HR subsystem is based on the principle of equality and signals that employees have equal value and rights as members of the firm. Other HR policies that may develop a performance-oriented HR subsystem at the firm include extensive training opportunities and the chance of internal career development based on the principles of equality.In selecting staff, the company does not always choose the candidate with the highest qualifications, but may opt for the one who is most likely to match the firm's organizational culture. Such a person-organization fit selection system helps employees to develop links between their own identity and that of the organization, since selected employees are more likely to fit the organizational culture within a short period of time.\nRigorous screening of potential employees: Peaksafe communicates to employees that the company has fair organizational processes and respects individual workers. Secure in the knowledge that they have been rigorously screened before they get a job, and that their characteristics, knowledge and experience fit the organization, they feel a higher sense of job security.Before employees are enrolled on a training program, a training needs analysis considers both the needs of the organization and those of the employees. These help employees to feel that they are being treated fairly and so bolster their commitment to the organization.All employees are provided a clear career path and opportunities for development within the organization. Employees therefore feel that organizational success and their own career development are closely linked, thus increasing employees' sense of security and their willingness to sacrifice more for sake of the organization.Such policies have helped the company to achieve a place in the top 100 private enterprises in Shanghai, as well as a brand-excellence award and ISO9001 quality accreditation.Now what would Dirty Harry have made of that?\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to describe the human resource (HR) policies that help employees at stamped and forged components manufacturer Peaksafe Industries (Shanghai) Ltd to feel a greater sense of job security.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper sites the case study in the context of HR research into employment status and job security.\nFindings: - The paper reports how employment security and equality in the workplace can help employees to respond better to the organization and, through this, can improve organizational performance.\nPractical implications: - The paper explains how staff selection, training and career development at Peaksafe combine to provide employees with a sense of meaning to their work and commitment to the firm.\nSocial implications: - The paper reveals how supportive HR policies can bolster individual feelings of self-worth, which can make people more effective members of society as a whole.\nOriginality/value: - The paper highlights some key differences between HR policies in China and those in the West.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Predicting consumers' intention to purchase sporting goods online: An application of the model of goal-directed behavior	[ "Purchase intention", "Sporting goods", "Model of goal-directed behaviour", "Sports apparels" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The rapid growth of the internet users has resulted in the phenomenal increase of e-commerce, which has significantly influenced consumers' buying behavior. According to a report surveyed in 25 countries, 54 percent of internet online shoppers buy products online weekly or monthly (PwC, 2016). Also, eMarketer forecasted that the world e-commerce sales would top $4 trillion and the double-digit growth rate of e-commerce sales will continue through 2020 (eMarketer, 2016). Consequently, it is not surprising that e-commerce of sporting goods has also developed in recent years. For example, the global rate of online purchase intention in 2014 have doubled since 2011 for sporting goods (31 percent) (Nielsen, 2014). Moreover, the Australian Sporting Goods Association (2012) reported an increase in online sales of footwear (11.5 percent) and apparel (7.6 percent), and the sales of online sporting goods in 2016 account for 14.8 percent of online consumption in the USA (Statista, 2016c). Also, Statistics Korea (2016) reported relatively high percentage of online sales in categories of apparel (10.6 percent) and sport and leisure appliance (3.8 percent). In addition, over half of consumers purchased a variety of sporting goods on different online platforms, such as online department store (e.g. amazon.com), manufacturer online (e.g. nike.com), or specialist stores online (e.g. eastbay.com) (Statista, 2016a). It indicates that the internet has already changed how people shop for sporting goods, and more consumers search for and purchase sporting goods on the internet.\nMGB: The theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) are representative social-psychological theories extensively applied by researchers to predict an individual's intention/behavior across a wide variety of domains (Ajzen, 1991; Zint, 2002). TRA assumed that a person's decision to perform a particular rational behavior is formed through a volitional/cognitive process determined by his/her intention to perform the behavior, and this intention is functioned by his/her attitude and subjective norm toward the behavior (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). However, TRA is limited to predicting behaviors that do not require special skills or resources as the theory did not consider an individual's non-volitional situations, such as time, money, and opportunities that limit actual behavior (Ajzen, 1985, 1991). To improve the usefulness of TRA, Ajzen (1985, 1991) developed TPB by adding a non-volitional variable \"perceived behavioral control\" as a predictor of intention to act the actual behavior. TPB emphasizes that individuals' actual behaviors are determined by not only attitude and subjective norm (i.e. social pressure) but also the perception of behavioral control reflecting a person's confidence and ability to engage in the behavior. Therefore, TPB is widely recognized as a more appropriate to predicting intention and behavior as compared with TRA (Armitage and Conner, 2001; Hagger et al., 2002).\nHypotheses development: Attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavior control, and desire\nMethod: Research context\nResults: Preliminary test\nDiscussion: Little literature has paid attention to online consumers' behavior and decision-making process of purchasing sporting goods. To address the gap in the literature, the main purpose of this study was to investigate consumers' intention to buy sporting goods online by applying the MGB, a theoretically more advanced model than TRA and TPB. Although this study was conducted in Korean, one of the most developed countries for online retail among Asian countries, the findings of this study might be generalized to other Asian countries or regions where e-commerce is well developed (e.g. Japan, China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong). The results of this study found that attitude, subjective norm, anticipated positive emotion, negative anticipated emotion have significant influences on consumers' desire to purchase sporting goods online. Moreover, it revealed that desire and frequency of past behavior significantly influence on consumers' intention to purchase sporting goods. Also, a gender difference was also found in consumers' perceptions toward purchasing sporting goods online and the relationship between variables in the research model. The findings of this study provide theoretical and practical implications in several ways. The details and implications of these findings are discussed below.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to apply the model of goal-directed behavior (MGB) as a research framework to investigate consumers' behavioral intention to purchase sporting goods online.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Mall intercept sampling was used to collect data from Korean consumers who have the experience of purchasing sporting goods online. After the elimination of invalid responses, total 314 valid questionnaires were used for further analysis.\nFindings: The results revealed that attitude, subjective norm, positive and negative anticipated emotions had significant influences on consumers' desire to buy sporting goods online. Moreover, the frequency of past behavior and desire played significant roles in influencing on Korean consumers' intention. Further analysis revealed that male consumers had higher levels of positive attitude, subjective norm, positive and negative anticipated emotions, desire, intention, frequency of past behavior toward the online purchase of sporting goods than female consumers did. It also found that male consumers' desire had a significantly stronger influence on behavioral than female consumers did.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study suggests the benefit and gender-based targeting strategies in marketing sporting goods online. The primary limitation of this study was that respondents were all Korean online consumers of buying sporting goods. Future research should apply MGB to different countries or regions to generalize the results of this study.\nOriginality/value: The findings of this study provide a better understanding of Korean consumers' intention to purchase sporting goods online and gender differences in their decision-making process.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Repairing trust in an e-commerce and security context: an agent-based modeling approach	[ "Security", "Agent-based modeling", "E-Commerce", "Trust", "Trust violation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent decades, the issues involved in trust have been widely studied in many disciplines including psychology, sociology, political science, economics, anthropology and organizational behavior. With the advent of e-commerce, trust has been increasingly researched in the Information System (IS) domain. Researchers have sought to establish a reliable construct and definition of trust (McKnight and Chervany, 2002), devise instruments for its measurement (McKnight et al., 2002) and empirically test competing models for trust formation in the context of e-commerce (Gefen et al., 2003; Kim and Prabhakar, 2004). The perceived lack of security associated with Internet and Web sites represents an ongoing barrier to e-commerce growth, and the importance of perceived security controls is recognized as a key antecedent to trust formation (Flavian and Guinaliu, 2006; Panda and Panda, 2012; Ray et al., 2011; Roca et al., 2009; Shin and Shin, 2011; Suh and Han, 2003). Several dimensions of security controls (e.g. authentication, non-repudiation, confidentially, privacy protection and data integrity) have been identified as determinants of initial trust formation (Suh and Han, 2003; Flavian and Guinaliu, 2006). The issue of ongoing trust and maintenance of existing trust in the e-commerce context has received considerably less attention. The current study attempts to address this gap in our understanding by developing a theory-based framework of ongoing trust and a subsequent simulation model in the onset of increasing security incidents.\n2. Security and e-commerce: 2.1 Perceived security\n3. Trust in the security and e-commerce context: Trust in the e-commerce context takes many forms (Beldad et al., 2010). During the establishment of the relationship, it is manifest as initial trust. With the continued existence of the relationship, it evolves into ongoing trust. In the event that something untoward transpires during the relationship, it may lead to the formation of distrust. Under some circumstances, the broken trust may be repaired through appropriate reconciliation tactics by the vendor.\n4. Conceptual framework for rebuilding trust: This section elaborates on the trust violation and rebuilding process, by outlining a conceptual framework with specific propositions. The proposed conceptual framework serves as a basis for the agent-based simulation model developed in following section.\n5. Modeling methodology for the Dynamic Security-Trust Lifecycle model: The design science research method (Hevner et al., 2004; Peffers et al., 2008; March and Smith, 1995) forms the core research methodology employed in this research. Unlike social science research that develops a research model with hypotheses that can be tested statistically through controlled manipulation and empirical validation, the design science method advocates creation of IT artifacts to solve specific organizational problems with rigorous evaluation of the artifact. The methodology includes successive steps of problem identification, objectives definition for a solution, design and/or development of suitable IT artifacts, demonstration of the proof of concept, evaluation and communication. The dynamic nature of trust violation due to security breaches and subsequent vendor actions to repair trust in a competitive environment makes it difficult to empirically validate the effectiveness of trust repair actions in a controlled manner. Vendors have no direct way of evaluating whether actions were the most effective options selected. This research seeks to provide a model that permits vendors to explore the effectiveness of alternative trust repair strategies under a variety of trust violation conditions. The model serves as the artifact for the design science research method and offers an environment within which to examine questions relating to trust violation caused by security breaches.\n6. Model validation and scenario analysis: 6.1 Model validation with a pilot test\n7. Managerial and research implications: The model and the accompanying simulations illustrate that the reconciliation tactic implementation strategies have definite implications for effective reconciliation and trust rebuilding after the occurrence of security incidents that cause erosion of trust. Depending on the severity of the offense, the extent of reconciliation needed will vary, as seen in the various combinations of scenarios simulated. Strong reconciliation tactics will win back customers in all cases, including the most severe offenses, suggesting that trust once broken can be restored. A moderate reconciliation effort is sufficient in all cases, except the most severe offenses, in which case trust is irrevocably broken. However, in cases of moderate severity offenses, the build-back is relatively slow, which might be a concern in that these customers are now prone to seeking alternative vendors. Low reconciliations efforts do not bring back customers, irrespective of the severity of offense. Consequently, these should be interpreted as a waste of resources, since they have little salubrious effect on the relationship. With respect to deciding on the level of reconciliation tactic to be employed, this research indicates that it follows a classic risk-return strategy. Effective strategies will always yield better results, but entail greater cost. They may generate more goodwill in the long run, but invariably involve a short-term financial hit. The number of customers affected by the security incident will also be a factor in determining the type of tactic employed. In some cases, legal requirements may also determine the type of reconciliation tactic employed.\n8. Limitations: The model as currently constructed has several limitations. It focuses on the relationship between customer and vendor only, and while the trust violations may involve a third party, e.g. a shipper, credit processor, all of these are reflected in the customer perception of the vendor. However, the vendor may have little control over these trust violations, but bears the responsibility anyway. Likewise, restorative action may come from a third party, but is attributed to the vendor. The model does not seek to separate out vendor actions from third-party actions. Another limitation is that the model considers a single vendor only. In a more competitive environment, customers can switch between vendors rather than simply electing to transact or not. The switching may be due to trust violations, but could also occur based on economic considerations. Further, the model is configured to use offense severity and restorative actions as continuous variables. In reality, these are discrete actions with different effects. Despite the limitations, we believe that it provides a solid framework and sets the stage to build upon for further research investigation.\n9. Conclusions: This paper examines the process of trust violation and rebuilding in the security and e-commerce context. With the expected growth and increased competition and smaller margins in the e-commerce environment, it is likely that decreased security levels will lead to more instances of trust violations. In the current study, a process model of security incident, resulting trust violation and rebuilding is presented. Then, a conceptual framework with a set of specific propositions is presented to develop an agent-based simulation model. A set of simulations is conducted and analyzed to elicit the implications of different trust violations and reconciliation tactics. Given the large range of security incidents and resulting trust violations in online purchases, it becomes imperative for vendors to provide sincere opportunities to repair the trusting relationship with devoted customers. The potential contributions of this research include a better understanding of the trust rebuilding process in onset of security incidents, as well as possible identification of strategies that work effectively in rebuilding trust.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The aim of this paper is to study the critical role of trust in electronic commerce extensively in the context of establishing initial trust between trading partners. Ongoing trust between partners can quickly be eroded through security or other trust violations. This paper examines whether customers are willing to transact with an eCommerce vendor in light of security and trust violations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper draws upon research in professional trust relationships and adapts it to the e-commerce context to create a process view of trust violation and repair. Using a design science framework, this paper employs agent-based modeling as the simulation technique to study the implications of security and trust violations on the willingness of customers to continue transacting with the vendor. The simulations are conducted for a variety of trust violations and reconciliation actions.\nFindings: While some of the results are predictable, the key finding for managers is that moderate reconciliation tactics are effective for all cases but the most severe trust violations, where trust is irrevocably broken. This has clear financial implications, particularly in cases where vendors may operate with small margins in competitive markets.\nOriginality/value: Given the increasing push toward mobile and Internet-based commerce, and the large range of possible trust violations and security incidents in online purchases, coupled with increasing competition among vendors, it becomes imperative for vendors to provide effective tactics to repair customer trust violations when they arise.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The factors affecting the implementation of OpenFreedom information policy and public service performance: A case study at Jakarta Capital City Government	[ "Performance", "SEM", "Policy implementation", "The role of public leaders", "Disclosure of information" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Public service is very important to the community. So, measuring the quality of public service is necessary. Normatively, it is based on the Public Service Act No. 25 of 2009, a law that regulates the principles of good governance which is the effectiveness of the functions of the government itself. The effective public services conducted by the government or corporation can strengthen democracy and human rights, promote economic prosperity and social cohesion, reduce poverty, enhance environmental protection, deepen trust in the government and public administration and be wise in the use of natural resources.\n2. Theoretical background: 2.1 Role of public governance\n3. Materials and methods: The object of study conducted was the Jakarta Capital City Government which is divided into five areas of administrative city and one administrative district. The population was the entire community in Jakarta who already have ID cards, as much as 6,980,584 people. The size of the population is too large, and hence, it is not possible for researchers to use the entire population because of time constraints, cost and human resources (Sekaran, 2006). So, by using the Slovin's formula, the samples of 228 respondents were obtained. The duration for this research was January-March 2017. The data analysis methods used in this study were of descriptive analysis and inferential statistical analysis using the structural equation modeling (SEM).\n4. Results and discussion: 4.1 Measurement model\n5. Conclusions: Based on the above results and discussion, we concluded that the role of public leaders affected the implementation of FOI. It had no direct effect on public service performance but it had an indirect effect through the implementation of FOI (Y1). Positive coefficient means that the higher the role of public leaders (X1), the higher the public service performance (Y2) through the implementation of FOI (Y1).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to examine and explain the effect of the influence of public leadership role through the implementation of open information disclosure on the performance of public services in the Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta or Capital Special Region of Jakarta (DKI Jakarta) Provincial Government which is divided into five areas of the administrative city and one administrative district.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The population is the entire community in Jakarta, which already have ID cards is as much as 6,980,584 people with a sample of 228 respondents. The duration for this research is January-March 2017. Methods of data analysis in this research using descriptive analysis and inferential statistical analysis using the structural equation modeling (SEM).\nFindings: The role of the public leaders influences the implementation of education but has no direct influence on the public service performance but indirectly through the implementation of OpenFreedom of information.\nOriginality/value: Originality in this research shows that never been testing this kind of relation in Jakarta, Indonesian.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Small town centre attractiveness: evidence from Sweden	[ "Sweden", "Service quality", "Shopping loyalty", "Small town attractiveness", "Visitors’ perceptions" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: For several decades there has been an accelerated shift of retail business away from traditional town centres, towards out-of-town retail locations (Balsas, 2004; Forsberg et al., 1999; Nisco et al., 2008; Schiller, 1994; Thomas and Bromley, 2002; Ward, 2007). This development has been coupled with a growing importance of multiple shops, which tend to locate their stores in the out-of-town locations (Schiller, 1994). This trend has resulted in a challenge to the vitality and viability of the town centres as both businesses and customers migrate to the out-of-town centres (Charterina, 2012; Cohen, 1996; Thomas and Bromley, 2002; Whyatt, 2004). The migration is problematic not only for the attractiveness of retail provision in small town centres, but also to the attractiveness of the surrounding society as a whole, since a town centre is very much the signature of vitality of the society, and a centre in decline is negative to the image of the society (Balsas, 2004; Thorpe, 1983). For neighbouring communities it also results in a leakage of consumption out of the local economy (Warnaby, 1998). The negative consequences of the development are observed to be particularly grave for small town centres (De Noni and Zanderighi, 2014; Powe and Hart, 2009; Schiller, 1994; Thomas and Bromley, 2003).\nRelevant research: TCM\nResearch model and questions: In line with service quality theory, the over-all attractiveness of a town centre is proposed to hinge on the perceived quality of different quality attributes belonging to different quality dimensions. It is also proposed that there is a positive relationship between the perceived over-all attractiveness of a town centre and visitors' shopping loyalty (Figure 1).\nThe case: The study was conducted in the town of Harnosand with a population of 17,556 according to the 2010 census. The town is located in the Vasternorrland region in the middle of Sweden. In the region, an out-of-town shopping centre called Birsta was established at a distance of 40 km from Harnosand and close to the region's largest town, Sundsvall. This shopping centre has been growing since it was established in the beginning of the 1970s. The core of the centre is a large IKEA(r) shop, but it also includes a large number of other multiples (chain stores) as well as independent retailers. The centre also includes a variety of cafes and other non-retail services. It is at the moment, the largest in northern Sweden, with a total of about 150 shops and restaurants. Many of these are situated within a shopping mall located next to the IKEA store. In 2011 and 2012 it was designated \"The most popular shopping mall in Sweden\".\nResearch design: Procedure\nResults: Characteristics of the data set\nConclusions and implications: This study gives support to the argument that a small town centre is perceived as a place where a bundle of services, both retail and non-retail services, are offered and consumed. Enhancing the over-all attractiveness of this bundle of services is central to small TCM initiatives. This attractiveness has a positive relationship to the shopping loyalty of visitors to the centre, even though an outshopping behaviour is evidently part of the competitive landscape introduced with the establishment of nearby out-of-town retail centres. Small TCM initiatives should be oriented at increasing the perceived attractiveness of the town centre, thereby reducing outshopping as much as possible.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the qualities of a small town centre and how such centres can enhance their attractiveness.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A convenience sampling procedure was used to administer a web survey to visitors of a small Swedish town. Importance-performance analysis and statistical methods were used to analyse quality attributes and quality dimensions. Correlation analysis was run to measure the relationship between centre attractiveness and shopping loyalty.\nFindings: The variety of retail outlets is what is most valued by visitors to a small town centre, followed by the provision of events and non-commercial activities and the design and maintenance of the physical environment in the centre. Surprisingly, the interpersonal behaviour has less impact on the perceived attractiveness than the aforementioned quality dimensions. Visitors' shopping loyalty is significantly related to the perceived attractiveness.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study is a one-off study based upon a small Swedish town, but it is indicative of global shopping trends.\nPractical implications: Implications for town centre management to enhance the attractiveness of the business district of a small town.\nSocial implications: Traditional town centres have been props for the surrounding societies, providing anscillary services beside retailing. When retail moves to out-of-town retail locations, this could lead to the erosion of interpersonal communications and central services for citizens.\nOriginality/value: Pioneering research on small Swedish town shopping.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Going in circles: new business models for efficiency and value	[ "Sustainable business model", "Sustainability", "Business strategy", "Sustainable strategy", "Sustainable operations", "Circular economy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The circular economy is an economic model which attempts to extract the greatest possible value from the materials and energy used in products to avoid unnecessary and excessive consumption of raw materials and energy. From the circular economy perspective, what is generally viewed as waste is instead seen as a potential resource which can be used as a raw material, component or source of energy, either within the same process or in another supply chain. The main aim is to keep materials, components and waste circulating, thus maximising the value of resources.\n2. Essential knowledge about the circular economy: 2.1 Concept\n3. Levels of analysis: This section describes three levels of analysis that may assist managers in moving their organisations towards a circular economy approach. The levels of analysis examined are the market environment, likely organisational changes, and means for starting the journey.\n4. Final remarks: One of the ultimate goals of circular economics is to increase the circularity of energy and resource use to increase their overall value. By implementing the strategies discussed in this paper, organisations can achieve sustainable performance and improve competitiveness.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This paper aims to explain what managers will want to know about the circular economy by covering some of the key issues and discussing an approach which may help organisations to move towards the circular economy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper, which blends theory and hard facts to achieve its aims.\nFindings: This paper presents a framework which uses multiple levels of analysis to explain how organisations can prepare for and implement circular economy practices.\nOriginality/value: This paper makes relevant contributions for both academics and practitioners by providing essential practical guidance on the \"what\", \"how\" and \"why\" of the circular economy, which can help managers to plan and implement a convincing business case for this sustainable approach.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Predicting sustainability assessment at early facilities design phase	[ "Neural network", "Assessment", "Sustainable design", "DTREG software", "General regression neural network", "Preliminary design" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In a traditional sense, facilities management (FM) has been regarded as management of activities concerning cleaning, caretaking, repairs and maintenance (Atkin and Brooks, 2009). In Enoma (2005) it is seen as a discipline of planning, designing, constructing and managing space, in every type of building structure with a purpose of enhancing the organization's ability to compete in the market. In the past decade, FM has been gaining more importance, constantly growing as a business and a scientific discipline (Sapri and Pitt, 2005). The discipline should have a strategic importance by adding value to the core business delivery of an organization (Aksorn and Charoenngam, 2015).To enable organizations to be more competitive, FM should coordinate all activities for planning and designing the building, management of buildings and buildings systems and also equipment and furniture (Enoma, 2005). Additionally, real estate and FM should be more focused on the needs of the users and value creation (Temeljotov Salaj et al., 2015). Similarly, Jensen (2010) stated that recently, the main focus of FM is to create added value. Therefore, there is a need to improve the understanding of how FM can add value to the core business (Jensen, 2010).Teicholz (2001) states that facilities management deals with knowledge from engineering, architecture, design, accounting, finance, management and behavioral science. The FM responsibilities cover real estate, planning, budgeting, space management, interior planning, interior installation, architecture/engineering services and also building maintenance and operations (Bu et al., 2010). The enlisted aspects show the multidisciplinary nature of FM covering issues concerning the benefits of the organization with a goal of achieving efficiency and effectiveness within an optimal cost, quality and time (Enoma, 2005).\nMethod: General regression neural network\nResults and discussion: Kamali and Hewage (2015) and Andrade et al. (2012) have proposed a list of sustainability performance factors using appropriate literature review. In our paper, using GRNN, a model for the relationship of several important sustainable factors was made, their importance in the model was computed and sustainable assessment was predicted.The target (dependent) variable in the model is: sustainability assessment of the preliminary design. The DTREG software analysis showed that the mean target value is mean value = 5.214 on a six-point scale; the standard deviation is SD = 0.784; the minimal and maximal values are 3 and 6, respectively.For every predictor variable, DTREG computes the mean target value for each category of answer for that predictor (Table II gives only eight predictor variables [from the 27] and the mean target values for each category of answer). For example: for Predictor 2 (given in Appendix) working experience, there are five categories of answers: (a) less than 2 years, (b) from 2 to 5 years, (c) from 6 to 10 years, (d) from 11 to 20 years and (e) more than 20 years. For each category of answer (according to questionnaire answers, there are only four different answers - the answer (a) is not answered by the 112 employers) DTREG computes the number of rows (employers) with that category, its percentage from the total number of rows and the mean target value. This report can be used to see for which category the project managers gave either minimal or maximal estimation of the target variable, which is important for the sustainability assessment of the preliminary design of facilities.For each variable with a numerical value (predictor and target), DTREG computes the minimal, maximal and mean value and its standard deviation (Table III).DTREG also computes the effect of the value of each variable on the quality of the model, and in Table IV from the report from DTREG, the importance of each predictor variable for the target variable in the model is noted.The six most important variables for this target variable are: (see Table IV): 2 - work experience, then 11 - which is work on several variants of preliminary projects, then14 which is resolving problems among the participants in the project, after it is Variable 13 which is prioritizing of the participants in the project according to their impact in the project, 23 which is procurement management and indicator 5 related with defining of project's program and goals. All these variables can be taken into consideration as priority variables in the designing future preliminary projects.DTREG software for GRNN predictive modeling has an option for reducing the number of the neurons of the NN to improve the accuracy of the model and its speed. In this model, this option is used and the number of the neurons is reduced from 112 to 77.After the training phase, when the GRNN is trained and the model is established, GRNN can predict the values of the target variable for new values for the predictors.From the DTREG's Validation data row report file, one can read all predicted values for the actual target variable.The correlation between the actual and the predicted values of the target variable for the model is 0.92.The accuracy of the model is estimated from the validation data (Table V). Usual estimators of the accuracy of the model are the coefficient of determination R2, which for this model is R2 = 0.84, and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), which for this model is MAPE = 2.58, which means the percentage error of the model is around 2.58 per cent.The coefficient of determination R2 indicates how good data points fit the approximation function which is obtained from the model - it is a measure of the global fit of the model. The value R2 = 0.84 can be interpreted as: around 84 per cent of the variation in the response can be explained by the explanatory (predictor) variables. The remaining around 16 per cent can be attributed to unknown variables or inherent variability.The model has very high accuracy considering that the data are real. Predictive models based on NNs (like GRNN) often give better results in modeling nonlinear relationships, in comparison with other predictive models. For example, Molfenter et al. (2011) have developed a hybrid conjoint predictive model for predicting the sustainability of organizational change (in health institutions) which is based on OLS regression analysis (ordinary least square or linear regression analysis). For the model, they received R2 to be 0.77.\nConclusion: Integrating the sustainability issues in facilities design provides benefits for the facility, in terms of economic issues and more environment-friendly facility that better meets the users' needs.The early design phase is responsible for the biggest part of the decisions regarding sustainability of the facility, so sustainability in early facility design stage become a designers' challenge. Therefore, this study is focused on sustainability factors in facilities preliminary design preparing in the Republic of Macedonia.The design process of facilities depends on numerous factors, and this paper examines how project managers assess the factors that influence the sustainability assessment of a preliminary design.In this paper, 27 factors-variables were chosen as factors-independent variables from which the target variable was modeled and predicted, and for which the analysis has shown that are most relevant for the modeling process. From the DTREG software report, using the GRNN predictive model for modeling the data, the six most important factors were obtained:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Integrating the aspects of sustainability into facilities design has become a designers' challenge, and the early design phase is seen as the most important in implementing sustainability into facilities design. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze the factors that influence sustainability assessment of preliminary design of facilities and predicts sustainability assessment depending on those factors.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected by survey questionnaire distributed to project managers using a six-point Likert scale. Obtained data were modeled with general regression neural network (GRNN) using DTREG software. In total, 27 factors were chosen for determining the most accurate predictive model, and their importance was computed.\nFindings: The six most important factors for sustainability assessment of facilities design are: work experience, work on several outline design proposals, resolving issues between stakeholders, prioritization of participants in the design phase, procurement management and defining projects' program and goals. The predictive model that was used for prediction of the sustainability assessment was shown to be highly accurate, with MAPE (mean absolute percentage error) amounting to 2.58 per cent.\nPractical implications: Using the same approach, assessment of every other factor for the preliminary design can be predicted and the factors that are most influential to its sustainability can be obtained.\nOriginality/value: The paper supports the sustainability improvement of the preliminary design of future facilities' projects, as well as support during the decision-making process.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Lifting the lid on the experience of inclusion: A racioethnic examination of individuals working in racially diverse groups	[ "Diversity", "Inclusion", "Workplace culture", "Racially diverse groups", "Racioethnicity", "Team optimization" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: American songwriter Ani DiFranco captured the kernel of a positive attitude toward diversity and inclusion in her assertion that: \"I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort, where we overlap.\" Yet as companies attempt to harness the benefits of diversity and inclusion within their people culture, they are likely to encounter greater complexity than envisaged as they dedicated increased amounts of effort to getting to know their people better.\nInclusion and workplace culture: The increasingly diverse workforce of developed countries like the USA requires employers to understand in-depth how to create team environments where everyone thrives and performs to deliver optimal value to the business. The first building block to achieving this is to nurture a culture that cleanses itself of the inefficient emotional distractions caused by employees experiencing exclusion. By intentionally removing barriers an inclusive workplace culture enables each team member to make a full contribution regardless of their racial background. The attractive commercial benefits underpinning this include lower employee turnover, improved employee performance levels, wider perspectives providing increased potential for creative idea generation, employees feeling more satisfied and engaged with their work, and lower absence levels due to greater mental wellness. Members of newly-formed diverse groups may experience tension by having to initially rely upon racial stereotypes, before they are able to reassess after getting to know one another. This phenomenon, for example, can impede the ability to make inclusive group decisions due to a lack of inter-racial connection.\nFive inclusion indicators: Survey questions that invited numeric ratings from the respondents - such as \"Overall, I was satisfied working with my team\" and \"There was a lot of tension among members of my team\" - were used to generate results based on the following indicators of racially diverse groups' working behavior.\nPositive managerial actions for change: A rather complex web of racioethnic differences and similarities has emerged in that satisfaction and collective efficacy did not vary according to an individual's race. Racial variations in the experience of conflict and in group participation through information sharing did occur however.\nCommentary: The review is based on 'Diverse perspectives on inclusion: Exploring the experiences of individuals in heterogeneous groups' by Singletary Walker et al. (2019), published in 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal'. This research paper concentrates on how the experience of inclusion is affected by the racioethnicity of people working in racially diverse groups. Racioethnic differences were observed in the levels of information sharing and conflict, but satisfaction and collective efficacy did not vary with any significance according to the race of the respondents.\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: This research paper concentrates on how the experience of inclusion is affected by the racioethnicity of people working in racially diverse groups. Racioethnic differences were observed in the levels of information sharing and conflict, but satisfaction and collective efficacy did not vary with any significance according to the race of the respondents.\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" } ]
A research agenda for investigation of product innovation in the financial services sector	[ "Financial services", "Product development", "Innovation", "Integration" ]	[ { "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.\n1. Introduction: The subject of new product development (NPD) has received a considerable amount of attention over the last five decades. During this period a general prescriptive approach to development activities has expanded and been documented within the marketing literature (Urban and Hauser, 1980; Crawford, 1987; Cooper, 1993, Ulrich and Eppinger, 1995; Hart, 1996; Afuah, 1998). The adequacy of these existing conceptual frameworks to new product development is examined in this study. It is argued that there still remain a number of gaps and deficiencies in the NPD literature, especially as it relates to new product development in financial services firms (Thwaites, 1992; Drew, 1995; Edvardsson, 1997; Strieter et al., 1997; Johne and Storey, 1998; Akamavi et al., 1999a, b; Lievens and Moenart, 2001; Athanassopoulou and Johne, 2004). To deal with this deficiency, this study contributes a research agenda, which will heighten appreciation of key issues (e.g. roles of customers, supportive activities) in the continued development of more effective NPD activities in this important area.The importance of the financial services sector has been highlighted by the recent fundamental changes that it has experienced. These include deregulation, increasing competition, higher costs of developing new products and the rapid pace of technological change and innovation, more demanding customers, and consolidation of corporations. For example, the acquisition of insurers by banks has also been a developing trend (e.g. the Halifax and Clerical Medical, Lloyds TSB and Scottish Widows and Abbey National and the Scottish Amicable). In addition to acquisitions of traditional suppliers of personal financial services the late 1990s has seen a spate of retailers enter the market, based on their strong customer franchise. For instance in the context of grocery retailers, alliances have developed between Tesco and the Royal Bank of Scotland, Safeway and Abbey National and Asda with Lloyds TSB. Other non-grocery retailers such as the Virgin Group, Kwik Fit and British Gas have also taken advantage of reduced entry barriers and the growth of non-traditional distribution channels to offer a range of pension, investment, credit card and insurance services. Meanwhile, customers' expectations of financial services firms are becoming more refined in their requirements of personal finance (e.g. mortgage, pension). These changes have encouraged firms to diversify into new products and new markets. However, despite this increased customer emphasis and introduction of new services (e.g. online banking), the financial services literature provides little insight into the roles played by customers and supportive activities staff in new product development for the services sector.\n2. Background to new product and service development: The development of new tangible products in the manufacturing industry/sector has been a well-researched area of management for some time, and a rich array of published material is available (see for example Johnson and Jones, 1957; Nevers, 1972; Rothwell, 1972; Pessemier, 1977; Booz, Allen and Hamilton Management Consultants, 1982; Zirger and Maidique, 1990; Cooper, 1993, Ulrich and Eppinger, 1995; Bruce and Biemans, 1995; Hart, 1996; Crawford, 1997; Afuah, 1998; Crawford and Di Benedetto, 2003). However, the development of new service products has often been given lower priority in service industries than is the case in the manufacturing sector of new physical goods (Martin and Horne, 1992). Gummesson (1989, p. 84) epitomises the state of new product development for service industries: \"We have yet to hear of service designers\". This may be due to the characteristics of services which are dealt with in the next section. It is clear from examining Table I and the annotated bibliography that there have some research efforts addressing NPD for the services sector (see for example Bowers, 1986; Easingwood, 1986; Thwaites and Edgett, 1991; Cowell, 1992; Martin and Horne, 1995; Storey and Easingwood, 1996; de Brentani, 1995; Atuahene-Gima, 1996; Edgett, 1996; Cooper and Edgett, 1996; Johne and Pavlidis, 1996; Edvardsson, 1997, Johne, 1999; Storey and Kelly, 2002; Roberts and Amit, 2003; Vermeulen, 2004). Despite all of these studies, there has been little mention of customers' roles (e.g. co-producer, resource) and personnel such as front-line workers integration in these efforts.2.1. Differences between products and services\n3. Agenda for future research: The shortcomings revealed in the preceding evaluation present several research opportunities. One research opportunity is to further investigate the roles of customers. There is a recognition in the literature of the importance of customers' roles in developing new products for the service industries (Czepiel et al., 1985; de Brentani, 1989; Zeithaml et al., 1990). The customers are often present during and must participate in, the production process (Bitner et al., 1990, Akamavi et al., 2001). Bowers (1989) suggests more involvement by customers and frontline staff as a means of improving the NPD process. However, it is not apparent exactly what roles are played by customers, and how and when customers are appropriately involved in the development process (see Akamavi et al., 1999b; Akamavi, 2002, 2005; Athanassopoulou and Johne, 2004). Therefore, this reasoning re-emphasises the need to gain a better understanding of the relative importance that these roles have in driving the NPD success. Thus, this paper highlights this as an important area for future research.The second area of research is to investigate the involvement of staff from different supportive activities when developing a new service. One could argue that an organisation is broken down into groups based on technical or administrative expertise (i.e. supportive activities). Effective new product development requires the inputs and active participation of players from many different functions in the organisation. People involved in supportive activities are consistently found to be important contributors to the NPD project success (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). However, our understanding of the nature of their involvement in NPD is incomplete. The area remains largely unexplored, and is therefore a useful avenue for future research.\n4. Implications for managers and executives: A number of studies have focused on new product development. However, little research has been undertaken in the domain of new service development (NSD). The literature highlights differences between products and services in the context of the services' characteristics, which are well documented. These services' features (e.g. inseparability/simultaneity) tend to make customers involved in the services' delivery. Therefore, it is important that stakeholders such as customers' roles and supportive activities staff: (e.g. front-line and back-room staff, call centre, advertising, customer care ... legal) should be examined in the process of new services. However, the roles of customers in the NSD were inadequate in existing models of NSD. Therefore, a comprehension of the NSD process should require recognition of stakeholders. Thus, managers should adopt an integrative model of new services, which incorporate stakeholders.The article examines various new product development processes, which form the groundwork for new service development processes. It is evident that these NSD processes should have fully integrated the roles of customers (e.g. co-producers, resources and buyers) and involvement of supportive activities staff. Therefore, managers should explicitly define customers' roles. Thus, customers should be encouraged to take on more active roles in producing services. The customer co-production will enhance the NSD performance.Managers and executives should recognise this shift in the viewpoint of service providers to consider customers as active co-producers rather than as a passive patron/king or queen. Therefore, they should clarify unambiguous roles of customers and train/educate them in order to be able self-serving buyers. They should regard customers as part-time workers when developing new services. Thus, managers and executives should strategically rethink of the customer's roles, and the design and management of a NSD process.They should be aware of beneficial gains, which can be obtained from the process of stakeholder integration and involvement in NSD activities. For instance, this process would reduce development cycle time and enable mangers to educate customers about new services. In addition, it may forge a long-term relationship with customers.Various scholars in services marketing have discussed the NSD processes but this domain of the roles of customer is under-researched. Thus, it is an arising and virgin area to examine. Researchers should put their efforts to conduct an empirical study, which will investigate the relationship between the roles' customers and NSD performance.\nConclusion: The literature review has served to outline current thinking in areas, which are seen to be relevant to better understanding NPD in the context of the financial services sector. The majority of the existing literature on NPD relates specifically to the manufacturing industry. The literature of new product development for service industries exhibits a number of gaps and deficiencies compared to tangible products. In particular, the new service literature relating to financial service products has received inadequate coverage of the roles of customers and staff from supportive activities.The review of the existing NPD literature has been undertaken to highlight the most salient issues associated with NPD practices and to justify a case for further research in the area of the financial services sector. It is argued that existing models do not incorporate sufficiently the roles of customers (i.e. co-producer) and people involved in supportive activities. Research is therefore required to investigate the roles of customers and the people who perform supportive activities and through exploration of these key issues, to enable existing models to be improved, or an alternative approach developed.An integrative model of NPD for financial services must incorporate issues surrounding supportive activities and the roles of the customer together. This requires a frame of reference in which customers, as co-producers, and people involved in supportive activities are actors within the new financial services development process. Recognition of such an integrative model means it should no longer be a question of creating value for the customer; rather, it should be about creating value with the customer and incorporating the customer's value creation into new product development. In this work, the integrative model should go beyond the role of customers as an idea generator in NPD. Product development in the financial services sector should not be an inert linear process but an iterative process by which all the participants should work in a cohesive manner. Thus, this study proposes a new focus of inquiry for financial product innovation, incorporating supportive activities and enlarging the boundaries of customers' roles in NPD. This emerging approach to NPD suggests a new perspective on how to achieve NPD success in the financial services sector.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Holistically reviews the literature, examines critically and summarises systematically the major pioneering works of contributors in this field. Its primary objective is to formulate a research agenda in the area of new service development (NSD) in the financial services sector.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A comprehensive in-depth content analysis: theoretical discussion and conceptual frameworks of product innovation are carried out. This paper explores and evaluates extant frameworks of the tangible NPD process, which form the basis for NPD for the services literature. NSD has been central to the literature on services marketing, and a competitive weapon for firms, the important propensity has been related to the investigation of NSD issues.\nFindings: - This study identifies significant deficiencies and gaps (e.g. stakeholders involvement: roles of customers and supportive activities units) in the literature, with specific regard to new financial product development relating to the financial services sector.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This emerging approach to NPD suggests a new perspective on how to achieve NPD success in the financial services sector.\nPractical implications: - Managers and executives should strategically rethink the stakeholders' roles, and the design and management of a NSD process. They should be aware of beneficial gains, which can be obtained from the process of stakeholder integration and involvement in NSD activities.\nOriginality/value: - Provides a critical overview and analysis of theoretical perspectives on financial NSD /NPD with an annotated bibliographical reference covering the period between 1957 and 2005, which can help the advance of NSD research in the financial services sector. It also adds to the growing literature on the financial service innovation process.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Site managers' ICT tools for monitoring resources in refurbishment	[ "Management", "Construction site", "Questionnaire survey", "Information and communication technology (ICT) applications" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) are transforming the construction industry. When building information modelling (BIM) is changing new construction and BIM applications for existing buildings are being introduced (Volk et al., 2014), also the potential for more efficient planning and monitoring of refurbishment projects is expected to increase.\nLiterature review: Relevant prior research concerns general frameworks for understanding how people and organizations choose ICT tools and practices, how construction firms have adopted ICT and more precisely how the specific nature of refurbishment projects shapes the site use of ICT.\nMethodology: The purpose of this investigation is to analyse site managers' ICT preferences for monitoring resource use in refurbishment projects. Therefore, data were collected in two steps to meet the following two research objectives: to identify which tools site managers use for monitoring resource use, and to investigate why site managers rely on certain tools. An overview of the methodology is given in Figure 1. The main source of data collection in this investigation is questionnaires because according to Bryman and Bell (2015) questionnaires are useful in exploring patterns as well as association patterns between variables. First, a short questionnaire survey on use of ICT was administered to 15 site managers employed by two large Swedish contractors in order to identify their ICT choices as well as factors influencing these choices. Site managers were selected requiring that they have at least two years' experience in residential and commercial refurbishment projects, have experience of working in different sized projects and are located in south-west Sweden. This initial restriction to only two contractors as well as the geographical restriction were dictated by convenience; this short survey was partly of a pilot nature to prepare for the subsequent large-scale survey of site managers.\nResults: Results of the short questionnaire survey and the interviews\nDiscussion: The results showed that site managers replace or complement traditional methods with ICT support tools if they find that the latter are useful and even if their use is more time consuming. Interpreted in the framework of the UTAUT model, it is performance expectancy of an ICT support tool, rather than effort expectancy, which site managers consider primarily; they seem willing to spend more time on using new ICT tools than was required by non-digital methods. The reliability of these findings is supported by the three surveys and also by the comparison of web and postal responses to the larger questionnaire survey.\nConclusions: A main contribution of this study of site managers' ICT preferences for monitoring resource use in refurbishment projects is that more extensive use of both simple and advanced ICT tools in such projects is associated with both project scale and company size. In large refurbishment projects, it is possible to spread the cost of advanced ICT to reduce technical uncertainties (which in general are more influential than in new construction) and establish platforms to enhance co-production with clients. Such projects then constitute entry points for BIM use. Another contribution is that among the UTAUT constructs and moderators reflected in the survey, performance expectancy and age are found to influence ICT choices made by refurbishment site managers. The question addressed here is not whether ICT is crucial for site managers or not, but rather how ICT tools are actually in use and what site manager preferences are in the context of refurbishment projects. Although it might seem attractive to go directly into studying more advanced and recent ICT rather than analysing how people on sites think and behave, technology push strategies may disappoint if not combined with demand pull strategies, as pointed out already by Peansupap and Walker (2005).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse site managers' ICT preferences for monitoring resource use in refurbishment projects.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Information and communication technologies (ICT) developments for the construction industry are increasing the scope for more efficient planning and monitoring of refurbishment projects. The analysis is based on the unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology model. After a short initial survey, a Swedish web/postal questionnaire has received 78 responses from refurbishment site managers, implying a 34 per cent response rate.\nFindings: Managerial choices related to ICT depend more on perceived performance expectancy than on effort expectancy. Large projects and larger firms are associated with more extensive ICT use. Site managers see little need to link to refurbishment clients' ICT systems. Performance expectancy and age are found to influence ICT choices.\nPractical implications: Site managers play a crucial role in everyday use of ICT tools in the construction industry. The outcome of this investigation is useful for developing digital support, including applications of building information modelling, to improve refurbishment site practices.\nOriginality/value: Much has been written about ICT support for new construction practices, but not much attention has been paid to refurbishment site managers' media choices.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
What's in it for me? The fundamental importance of stakeholder evaluation	[ "Stakeholder analysis", "Change management", "Risk management", "Corporate strategy" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Let it be noted that there is no more delicate matter to take in hand, nor more dangerous to conduct, nor more doubtful in its success, than to set up as a leader in the introduction of changes. For he who innovates will have as his enemies all those who are well off in the existing order of things, and only lukewarm supporters in those who might be better off under the new. This lukewarm temper arises partly from fear of those who have the laws (authority) on their side, and partly from the incredulity of mankind who will never admit the merit of anything new until they have seen it proven. The result is that when enemies of change make an attack they do so with zeal, while the others may defend themselves so feebly as to endanger both themselves and their cause (Niccolo Machiavelli on change, The Prince, AD 1513).So, as Machiavelli himself concluded and serious teachers and practitioners of management today acknowledge, there is really nothing \"new\" in management theory - or practice. There are only new insights, or approaches. This is not in any way to denigrate, or underestimate such development. On the contrary, it is natural, valuable and essential. Constantly changing circumstances, not least the changing pace of events, and the rapidly increasing development of larger and more complex structures and activities, demand increasing expertise - theoretical and empirical - focussed on the evolution and refinement of skills to support the heavy demands on managers to turn plans into successful implementation. In varying degree, these principles apply just as much to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as to multinational businesses, and equally to the slower moving changes in governmental structures.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of stakeholder evaluation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper presents an overview of the relevance and value of stakeholder analysis and provides a list of key factors for consideration when carrying this out.\nFindings: - The importance of stakeholder analysis as a component in change management within a business strategy is revealed.\nOriginality/value: - The paper presents useful information on the importance of stakeholder evaluation and key factors for consideration.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Transforming with levity: humor, leadership, and follower attitudes	[ "Humour", "Transformational leadership", "Trust", "Job satisfaction" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: As economies and work cultures have evolved from product/market-driven to the knowledge age, another phenomenon has traveled in unrelated parallel - research on humor.\nTheoretical foundation: Work in itself does not have to be laborious, joyless, brutally repetitious, isolated in its performance, and, in general, deformative of human beings (O'Hare, 1992).Although humor has enjoyed considerable attention across a variety of disciplines, organization sciences scholars have not been quick to take up the banner of humor research.Work is a place for serious business and for many, humor reminds them of play. Based upon this standard, work and play do not seem to conjoin. However, there are benefits to understanding the roles that humor plays in the work context.A focused study of workplace humor is limited to a comparatively small number of studies, but there have been several recent theoretical contributions (e.g. Romero and Cruthirds, 2006) as well as a growing number of empirical studies (for an oft cited example, see Avolio et al., 1999b). To date, most humor research has been observational and ethnographic in nature (Adelsward and Oberg, 1998; Collinson, 1988; Holmes and Marra, 2006; Vinton, 1989). As a result of this research there is evidence that humor functions in a variety of ways at work and many of the findings are disparate.Humor has been observed to function as a social lubricant where friendly teasing served a variety of positive functions or to communicate role expectations (Vinton, 1989). Conversely, humor was found to serve a more subversive purpose as workers employed joking behaviors to emphasize the status differentials between labor and management (Collinson, 1988; Holmes and Marra, 2002). Humor is thought to result from a sense of superiority of one power structure over another. But it is not always employed in order to elevate oneself in relation to a disliked target. This was clearly evidenced in the use of putdown humor in temporary groups. The result was that derogatory humor had a socializing effect, provided that certain rules of its use were observed (Terrion and Ashforth, 2002). Decker (1987) found that workers who rated their supervisors as being high in sense of humor reported greater job satisfaction. They also rated their supervisors as having more positive leadership characteristics than those rated as low in sense of humor.Leaders use humor to accomplish a number of objects, not the least of which include stress reduction, communication enhancement, and motivation of followers (Davis and Kleiner, 1989).Empirical work providing evidence of the value of a leader's use of humor includes Priest and Swain's (2002) two-study endeavor that revealed that a leader's warm, humorous style was strongly related to leader effectiveness. Also discovered was that transformational leaders typically had a warm, humorous style than non-transformational leaders even after controlling for leader effectiveness. Priest and Swain also offered a synthesis of literature suggesting that humor was found to have a direct effect on satisfaction. Additionally, Holmes and Marra (2006) found that transformational leaders tend to use jointly constructed, collaborative humor, rather than singularly constructed, subversive and conflict-ridden forms of humor. This discovery was made following the suggestion that leaders use humor across a variety of functions, primarily two broad categories, including solidarity (creating team) and power (managing \"face threat\"). This is particularly relevant to transformational leadership in that \"focus and semantic content of humor itself often challenges the status quo\" (Holmes and Marra, 2006, p. 132).Transformational leadership\nMethods: The heterogeneous sample was comprised of working adults from a broad cross-section of organizations. The participants, who were employed by organizations with established university relationships, volunteered to participate in a research project on leadership and motivation conducted by a large Midwestern university. Those participating in the study were asked to respond to questions based on their most immediate supervisor with whom they had daily interaction. As the participants represented a wide cross-section of industries and responses were anonymous, any potential nested data (e.g. within- and between-organization effects) could not be determined.Participants were first sent an e-mail to solicit voluntary participation. Next, participants completed an electronic informed consent form and then completed survey measures at Time 1. The data collection took place over two points in time in an effort to minimize common method variance (Podsakoff et al., 2003). Specifically, the independent (transformational leadership) and moderating (humor) variables were collected at Time 1, which was one week prior to the dependent variables (trust, identification, affective commitment, and job satisfaction). Podsakoff et al. (2003; see also MacKenzie et al., 2005) note that such a time separation makes it nearly impossible for the respondent to remember previous responses. Therefore, the potential for common method variance can be minimized as well as the potential to artificially inflate relationships between variables.Participants\nResults: The hypotheses were tested using a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique named partial least squares (PLS) (Wold, 1975). The analyses were conducted by using PLS-Graph (Version 3.0; Professor Wynne W. Chin, University of Houston). A primary advantage of using SEM methods versus the more traditional step-wise regression model is the simultaneous test of all relationships, thus allowing for a more rigorous test. PLS has value in that it subjects measurement scales, sample size and residual distributions to less rigorous demands than do other SEM techniques (Chin, 1998). PLS has distinct advantages in relation to the maximum likelihood approach and is highly flexible as predictor specification (Wold, 1975). An advantage is that both inner (substantive/path) and outer (measurement) models may be simultaneously tested. This allows researchers to consider not only the contribution of the variables to an aggregate model, but also the contributions of a measure's indicators.Moderator analysis\nDiscussion: The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, our goal was to investigate the previously established relationships between transformational leadership and several follower attitudes: trust, identification, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. Our second and primary goal was to explore the moderating influence of a leader's perceived humor use on the aforementioned relationships. The findings support theoretical considerations regarding the effective use of humor by leaders established previously in the empirical literature and presented in the \"Theoretical foundation\" section of this article.While performance can be considered a distal outcome of the effects of leadership (Avolio et al., 1999a), in this study we considered more proximal relationships such as with attitudes. This consideration is the contribution of our work to the body of leadership knowledge. In our examination, we found the moderating effect of humor use in the relationships between transformational leadership and the various outcomes may be more complex than we thought prior to embarking on this study. For example, although the unmoderated relationships of leadership with the outcomes were all substantive and statistically significant, as were the four relationships in the high humor condition, the moderating influence was only supported in the leadership-trust and leadership-affective organizational commitment relationships. The results suggest that by using humor, transformational leaders may elicit their followers' affective commitment toward the organization and higher levels of upward trust.Overall, support was found for many of the relationships. Specifically, and consistent with the prior research findings presented in the \"Theoretical foundation\" section, the results indicate full support for H1, and its subhypotheses, in that transformational leadership was significantly related to the four follower attitudinal outcomes discussed in this article: trust, identification, affective commitment, and job satisfaction. These relationships have been explored and examined in the existing leadership literature. Our findings provide additional support for these established hypotheses.In the moderator analysis, H2 and its subhypotheses were only partially supported. PLS analyses indicated that a leader's use of humor, as seen through the followers' eyes, had a moderating effect on the leader-follower relationship. Specifically, humor use was found to moderate the relationships between transformational leadership and both trust and affective commitment. Furthermore, although humor was found to significantly moderate the relationship between transformational leadership and trust, the relationship continued to be statistically significant in both the high and low humor conditions. However, results indicate that humor did not moderate the relationship between transformational leadership and both identification and job satisfaction.Results of this study demonstrated significant relationships between transformational leadership behaviors and the follower outcomes of upward trust, follower identification, affective organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. The same was true for those participants who indicated that their leader effectively used humor in the process of leading. However, the moderation was not fully supported in any but the relationships between transformational leadership and both trust and affective commitment. The findings suggest that transformational leaders who are seen more as using humor do rate higher on various outcomes than followers of low humor leaders.\nLimitations, implications, and future research: Limitations\nConclusion: The relationships between transformational leadership and outcomes such as trust, commitment and job satisfaction have been studied previously (Pillai et al., 1999). However, there has been very little research on the effects of a leader's humor use on the relationships between these phenomena. This study is a contribution to begin to fill that void. The present study was an augmentation of the extant literature on the relationships between transformational leadership, the use of humor, and follower outcomes. Results indicated that transformational leadership and the use of humor had positive direct relationships with the four outcomes. Partial support was found for the hypothesis that humor use would moderate the leadership-outcomes relationships.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study seeks to offer an empirical test of a model addressing how a leader's humor use will moderate the effects of a transformational leader style on follower attitudes, such as trust, identification, affective commitment, and job satisfaction.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Working adults (n=369) participated in a two-phase data collection of self-reported attitudes and their perceptions of leadership behavior. Perceptions of transformational leadership and humor were collected at Time 1. Trust, identification, affective commitment, and job satisfaction were collected a week later.\nFindings: - Results demonstrate significant relationships between transformational leadership and trust, identification, affective organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. The moderator effect was only supported in relationships between transformational leadership and both trust and affective commitment, suggesting that transformational leaders who are seen as using more humor rate higher on these outcomes than followers of low humor leaders.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The primary limitation of the study is the potential for single source bias in that both perceptions of leader behavior and self-reported attitudes were measured from the followers' perspectives.\nPractical implications: - The findings have several managerial implications. Primarily, a transformational leader who effectively uses humor might expect an effect on the outcomes explored here, but also on more distal results of which the study variables may be theoretically antecedent, such as job performance and turnover.\nOriginality/value: - There has been little research on the influence of a leader's humor use on the relationships between transformational leadership and trust, identification, commitment and job satisfaction. The study augments the extant literature on these relationships.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Campus sustainability: emerging curricula models in higher education	[ "Sustainable development", "Curricula", "Higher education" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Sustainability has found its way into all dimensions of academia. Since the early 1990s, the sustainability movement in higher education has made significant progress in the areas of research, campus operations, strategic planning, and community outreach. Universities show their ecological sensitivity by enforcing environmentally friendly provisions, developing strategic plans, and investing in new sustainability programs. Recently, the principles of sustainability are reflected in most university policies and practices. However, less is known about how sustainability has been integrated into curricula of these academic institutions.This study is built upon the idea that campus sustainability practices, specifically, greening and education for sustainability (EfS), must encourage the development of participatory curricula models that embrace the institutions' aspirations. New curricula models are being implemented in academia. However, the current methods of curricula assessment are not designed to evaluate new pedagogical techniques, focusing rather on students' satisfaction and learning outcomes. In this study, the researchers use the Global Seminar (GS) course as an example of sustainability curricula in higher education that addresses the need for curricula to \"cut against the grain of traditional practices\" and \"pose a fundamental challenge to the dominant paradigm in higher education\" (Bardaglio, 2007). The GS curricula model is an on-the-ground and bottom-up initiative, which is facilitated by faculty and ran by students from 40 universities from around the world. It promotes a broader notion of sustainability, as it allows the participants to learn about sustainability principles from each other and construct their understanding of complex phenomenon via intensive negotiation of views, knowledge, biases, and opinions across different disciplinary fields and cultural backgrounds. This model challenges the curricula strategies present in academia today by confronting their operational scope and managerial style. The available methods of advancing campus sustainability into college curricula use a \"mixing up and adding on\" approach: universities mix natural sciences and humanities under the umbrella of new sustainability programs and add new units to the existing academic programs. Also, institutions train their faculty to integrate sustainability principles into curricula by organizing capacity building workshops run by natural resources experts. The researchers argue that the \"mixing up and adding on,\" as well as the capacity building approaches, are not enough to change the way universities teach and students learn sustainability. These strategies do not help to \"break the limitations of a tunnel-vision\" (Jucker, 2002, p.13). As Jucker stated:We cannot stay wedged into individual disciplines, patching on a few environmental courses or a bit of a green content here and there [...] We also cannot just send the natural scientists to the humanities for some compulsory courses, or vice versa (p. 13).In this study, the researchers address the need for educational models that extend the logic behind campus greening and EfS to the realms of college curricula. The research aims to provide an insightful description of the interdisciplinary GS curricula model, which is based on the groups of faculty and students from different countries coming together to solve environmental problems and learn sustainability from each other. Before discussing the study, the researchers would like to introduce a broader context that sheds the light on the aspects of campus greening and EfS and emphasizes the conditions for curricula change in academia.\n2 Greening campuses and EfS: There are two ways in which academic institutions advance sustainability principles on their campuses: going green and promoting EfS. Greening campuses implies infusing environmentally friendly practices in all dimensions of university operations and infrastructure. EfS refers to the set of ethical standards for academia to become sustainable. Both approaches have different origins and are well supported at the national and international levels. However, the idea of greening campuses is often interpreted as the main understanding of sustainability in higher education. In turn, the concept of EfS has found its applications within a narrow set of disciplinary fields, specifically, environmental education and the natural sciences.What constituted the greening of a particular institution is defined by multiple factors. Some institutions just acknowledged the challenge of sustainability; however, others developed strategic plans to progress toward sustainability. Each university followed a different plan of action, depending on its type, history, culture, and mission. In her book Ecodemia, Keniry (1995) provided incisive accounts of leading campus greening projects by reviewing the 1989-1995 initiatives and interviewing college administrators. Keniry built the detailed vision of campus greening, which improves environmental profiles of American institutions in the areas of energy, transportation, dining, communication, and waste services.Greening is an action-oriented approach to sustainability in academia; it is distinguished from broader, more holistic concept of EfS. EfS's goal is to embrace the intrinsic value of sustainability in educational practices at the national level and around the world. Guided by multiple United Nations' declarations, EfS has been marginalized in many educational systems. As a result, EfS remains discipline oriented, and is situated in the fields of environmental education and natural sciences. The EfS advocate, Sterling (2004), proposed a system-based staged model to apply sustainability in academia that provides institutions with possibilities to integrate sustainability principles in a more holistic way. Sterling outlines the idea of co-evolution between educational \"provisions\" and \"paradigm,\" \"as learning process between institutions and their communities\" that advances their way forward towards sustainability (p. 47).Other work that describes the instances of an EfS implementation includes articles by Lozano-Garcia et al. (2007), John Cusick (2007) and Sibbel (2009). Lozano-Garcia et al. describe the EfS capacity-building initiative in the Technologica de Monterey University, Mexico. Cusick article illustrates how leaders established a framework for sustainability teaching and research at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA. Sibbel analyzes limitation of a \"consumer action\" approach to campus sustainability and advocates for integrating principles of sustainability in college curricula.Campus greening initiatives influence the curricula by creating an ecologically sensitive academic environment and establishing a result-oriented culture of a sustainable action. They exemplify sustainability efforts and provide visions of innovation and technological advances that can be reflected in a curriculum. At the same time, the underlying knowledge of sustainability still remains vibrant within a small disciplinary circle, finding its application through the sustainability courses and the EfS capacity building workshops for faculty. This study should be viewed as an attempt to broaden these possibilities to integrate campus sustainability efforts into college curricula and provide a detailed description of the GS curricula model and its unique features.\n3 Research scope: The researchers chosen the GS course as an example of innovative sustainability curricula in academia to define the ways faculty integrate sustainability in their practices. The GS project started in 1999 at Cornell University, USA, when seven agricultural colleges from the USA, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Australia, and The Netherlands piloted a series of virtual sustainability lectures, which were simultaneously delivered in their classrooms. Within next two years, faculty jointly developed the content of a course and the synchronized curricula model that evolved to a truly participatory format. Currently, the GS is a consortium of over 40 universities, agriculture and technical colleges, community colleges, high schools, and professional institutions (Figure 1).This study had two objectives:1. to determine the aspects that established the course longevity and success within educational systems in different countries; and2. to provide a detailed description of its curricula model.Based on these objectives, the researchers articulated the following guiding research question:RQ. How do faculty members integrate the principles of sustainability into their teaching and learning practices?3.1 Research design\n4 Results: the GS curricula model: This class worked on case studies in conjunction with participants from other international universities connected via educational technology. Participants used one coordinated curricula. In the end, they needed to produce a joint product that involved negotiation of different perspectives and sources.4.1 Aspects of the GS curricula model\n5 Discussion: The results of this study revealed two GS features that define the uniqueness of its curricula model: the simultaneous perceptions of its structural elements and the transformative nature of its processes. These qualities enabled its curricula model to be highly adaptable to other fields of study and suggested a new capacity building schema for EfS.The results illustrated interconnected and flexible properties of the GS structure that established this model as a real entity sustained by a non-linear composition of its elements. The researchers argue that the uniqueness of this structure is the way the relationships among its components are conceptualized: the international, interdisciplinary, innovative, and interactive aspects of its structure are closely tied one to another. In this sense, all the aspects of the model form an integrated whole, rather than a linked cycled sequence. Besides these four aspects, there might be other factors that influence the structural design of this model. These factors belong to the learning environment within which this course operates and the products it produces, including: educational standards, funders' goals, teachers' skills, specifics of an educational setting, etc.Another defining feature of the curricula model is its transformative nature, which is based on the GS's participatory and constructive processes. The model empowers its participants and generates the possibilities for incorporating greening and EfS within college curricula. The researchers argue that the transformative quality of this model solves what Sterling called a \"double learning challenge to higher education\" (p. 47) by including both aspects of sustainability education - EfS theory and greening provisions - within its structure.The defined, yet flexible structure supported by the interconnected composition of its elements and the transformative nature of the GS model sustains this curricula model and determines the strength of its pedagogical innovation. This model is highly adaptable to many different disciplinary fields mainly for two reasons: it allows participants to:1. construct their understandings of complex phenomenon through negotiation with different disciplinary and cultural sources; and2. explore counterarguments, access the current state of knowledge, gather provocative questions, and discuss them with peers.GS model strategically employs case studies because it assists in meaning making and requires participants to solve problems through asking questions, unfolding assumptions and biases, exploring arguments, and taking a stand. One of the two weaknesses of the GS model is that it requires a large investment of faculty time and labor with very little reward from an academic institution it operates within. The GS is a bottom-up, participatory-driven network of educators. They operate this model fully dependent on the administrative system of their own university and have to be sensitive to the culture of its particular setting. This model's other weakness is the reliance on educational technology, which might not be free or available at perspective universities.The transformative power of the GS processes and its flexible structure put forward new participatory capacity building schema. This schema is different from those currently offered in the field of sustainability education. In the GS, faculty members learn from each other through the collaborative effort of facilitating this course, not from an external agent during training. The researchers argue that this participatory approach is best suited for academia, because it respects faculty autonomy and utilizes their expertise to construct understandings of sustainability through the challenge of collaboration and cross-cultural interaction.\n6 Conclusion: The GS curricula model represents an effective pedagogical innovation, which fosters a paradigm shift in academia from education about sustainable practices towards EfS thinking. It promotes the goals of sustainability education in two ways. First, it embraces the EfS educational theory and promotes the result-oriented, action-driven nature of campus greening within its structure. Second, it carries great transformative potential: not only it affects classroom practices and institutional policies, but it also changes the attitudes of its participants. This model can be applied for teaching sustainability to faculty and students from different disciplines, educational levels, and in different countries. However, there is a major challenge of creating this structure, which would provide faculty with a high level of autonomy and yet meet the strategic direction of a particular institution. Another minor challenge of this model is that it requires one's passion for academic growth, investment of unrewarded time and labor, and access to educational technology. Built upon the aspirations and expertise of the course's participants, this model not only exemplifies the participatory developments in the classroom that embrace the institutions' aspirations, but it also offers a new approach that will transform the field of education.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to build a detailed description of the Global Seminar (GS) curricula model by exploring its on-the-ground participatory practices in America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Within a qualitative research design framework, the authors interviewed 20 faculty members from the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Italy, Australia, Sweden, Honduras, South Africa, Germany, Austria, and Denmark. They observed 11 class sessions; and analyzed available course documents.\nFindings: - The GS model provides a broader notion of teaching and learning for sustainability that incorporates greening and education for sustainability into curricula. This participatory model proves the emerging shift towards a new paradigm of teaching and learning for sustainability in academia.\nOriginality/value: - This paper shows how academia can address sustainability through curricula models that promote a fundamental change to the dominant academic paradigm and challenge the existing understanding of sustainability in higher education.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Equity market interactions: Exploring analysts' role performances at earnings presentations	[ "Sell-side analysts", "Role conflict", "Face-to-face interactions", "Dramaturgy", "Role distance", "Role performance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: [I]t seems that we spend most of our time not engaged in giving information but in giving shows(Goffman, 1974, p. 508).Sell-side analysts (hereafter, analysts) act as third-party investment advisors for buy-side investors and fund managers. Such advisory activity suggests that analysts assume the role of a market critic (Beunza and Garud, 2007; Zuckerman, 1999) because, like product critics, analysts do not engage in market activity directly but instead evaluate the prospects of equity investments for others (Fogarty and Rogers, 2005). As critics, analysts reduce the uncertainty for investors' decision making (Blomberg et al., 2012), offer a more scientific and rational presentation of equity markets (Fogarty and Rogers, 2005; Preda, 2009) and thereby legitimise otherwise speculative investment activities (Beunza and Garud, 2007). In addition, it has been argued that the presence of critics also influences the activities of corporate executives (Nicolai et al., 2010; Zuckerman, 1999, 2000), as their critiques influence executives' perceptions of acceptable corporate behaviour.\nPrevious literature and theory: On analysts' role performance at earnings presentations\nFieldwork and data analysis: The interest for this study originally emerged due to the knowledge gaps concerning the interactions among managers, analysts and fund managers (Imam et al., 2008). In addition, although earnings presentations have become common practice, existing knowledge is primarily derived from large-scale investigations into their effects (Bushee et al., 2003; Matsumoto et al., 2011) and anecdotal interview evidence of their importance (Barker, 2000; Brown et al., 2015). Therefore, in-depth observations offer the opportunity to explore this empirical phenomenon, while at the same time, using it as a venue to investigate acceptable analyst conduct and the ways in which analysts' interactions with managers and fund managers influence their ostensible roles as third-party intermediaries (Barker, 1998).\nFindings: The performance(s) of financial analysis\nDiscussion: This investigation of earnings presentations is an exploration of capital market actors in their social and organisational contexts (Vollmer et al., 2009), and thus, of financial analysis within the relationships and practices by which accounting gains meaning. Studying earnings presentations as situated activity systems (Goffman, 1961) offers insights into how analysts perform their roles as expert critics despite conflicting dependencies on managers, clients and colleagues (Bradshaw, 2011; Imam and Spence, 2016). The findings from this study have implications for the literature on face-to-face meetings in equity markets, the role of analysts and the idea of professional roles as performances. These implications are discussed, in turn, below.\nConclusions: This study has investigated analysts' role performances in face-to-face meetings and the ways in which analysts deal with potential role conflicts as produced by the particularities of the situated activity system. At a minimum, the findings demonstrate that analysts' activities and advices must be viewed in a wider social context, and especially, in relation to how analysts gain recognition and remuneration (Imam et al., 2008; Vollmer et al., 2009). Although the analysts experienced earnings presentations as opportunities to gain new insights, they also emphasised that relevant questions could not always be asked, that questions served purposes beyond information gathering, and that some questions had to be asked even if the analysts did not need an answer. Furthermore, some questions were better asked later to avoid embarrassing managers or diluting the analysts' own performance of expertise. Overall, analysts' role as reviewers, and the potential benefits of pushing managers to a state of affect (Mayew and Venkatachalam, 2012), must be revisited in light of the analysts' dependence on managers and their attempts to enact their professional roles in relation to clients.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the sociology of financial analysis by exploring how sell-side analysts enact their professional roles during public earnings presentations. It addresses the following research question: How do analysts perform their professional roles in interactions with managers, fund managers and other analysts?\nDesign/methodology/approach: The research adopts a dramaturgical analysis of analysts' interactions with managers and fund managers. The empirical material includes 50 hours of direct observations of earnings presentations and 21 interviews with analysts, managers and other relevant actors.\nFindings: The findings show that analysts struggle with role conflicts because they need to satisfy the contrasting demands of managers, fund managers and colleagues. Performing the role of an expert critic mainly depends on the approval of managers; yet, analysts also find themselves in situations where they must confront the managers. To counter role conflicts and sustain their role performance, analysts also produce displays of role distance and carefully prepare to meet their audiences' expectations. To maintain the role of the expert critic, analysts depend on both those taking their advice (fund managers) and those being reviewed (managers).\nOriginality/value: This study is one of few empirically rich investigations of analysts' activities, interactions with managers and meetings with multiple audiences. It also contributes to previous interview studies using dramaturgical analysis by offering in-depth observations of a single, distinct situated activity system.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Learning routines in innovation processes	[ "Workplace learning", "Workplace training", "Innovation", "The Netherlands" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Work-related learning could be seen as the key to understand current transition from a post-industrial towards an information (or knowledge) society at both individual and organisational level, as work-related learning is the central characteristic of both the modern \"knowledge\" worker and the innovative work organisation. The question is how work-related learning is interconnected at these different levels? As Marsick and Watkins (2001) put it: \"what happens in the intersection between individual and team, or team and organisation?\" By studying learning in innovation processes, a clear understanding of this intersection can be developed in order to bridge individual and organisational learning.The central question in this paper is: \"What are relevant theoretical notions to analyse such change processes at different aggregation levels?\". A review of the literature (Hoeve and Nieuwenhuis, 2002) shows that to answer these questions it is necessary to combine insights from different academic disciplines. This paper starts in everyday practice by giving account of an exploratory case study in an innovative bakery. The developments at this bakery are the starting point to build up understanding of the complex phenomenon of learning at different levels in a work organisation. In the following section a description is given of organisational setting and the most important change processes in the industrial bakery. In the third section, the ongoing dynamics in the bakery are analysed using relevant literature in the academic fields of educational sciences, industrial sciences, economics, social psychology and sociology. The aim of this reflection is to generate both a theoretical and an empirical basis for a research model that serves in further research as an analytical tool for understanding of the complex phenomenon of learning at different levels in a work organisation. This reflection links theoretical notions to empirical findings in the industrial bakery. The final section presents a summary of the theoretical reflection and discusses the consequences of our findings for further research.\nThe learning practice in an innovative industrial bakery: This section introduces the case of a Dutch industrial bakery. The information presented in this paper was gathered in an exploratory study that was carried out in June-December 2003. Interviews were held with the owner/director, the personnel officer, shopfloor employees and an external training expert, involved in general training programmes (including assessment of prior learning) and training support during the innovation in stake.The company\nAnalyzing the dynamics in the bakery: How to understand the ongoing dynamics in the industrial bakery? This section presents a more profound description of the changes in the bakery from a more theoretical perspective.In search of a theoretical explanation of the interlocked changes at different levels\nConclusion: Work related learning is the key to understand current transition from a post-industrial towards an information (or knowledge) society at both individual and organisational level, as work-related learning is the central characteristic of both the modern \"knowledge\" worker and the innovative work organisations. The case study shows that innovation and competence development are intertwined processes. In this case, the two sides of innovation, creation and implementation are located at different levels in the organisation. The owner is the creative engine for W, but the new robotised line will not be successful until the people at the shopfloor have learned to work with it, as only then the new line will become productive. To understand the dynamics in the bakery, the change processes are modelled as a combined individual and collective learning process. The central issue in this paper is: \"How is work related learning at these different levels interconnected?\"This paper explores four possible key concepts explaining what happens at the intersection between individual and team, and team and organisation. Comparing the four concepts presented, it is concluded that three of the four concepts, i.e. the concepts of activity systems, routines and (situational) scripts, highly overlap. Only the concept of knowledge creation is somewhat different from the others as it focuses on the process and not on a phenomenon, and it focuses on creativity and not on the balance between stability and creativity.The concept of routines is considered to be the most sufficient for connecting learning cycles at different levels of aggregation. This concept explicitly acknowledges that what is laid down in routines is partly left uncodified. This concept explicitly emphasises the collective nature. Finally, the term routine is used in different academic fields; it is rooted in economic theories but recently also explored in education sciences.Routines are collective recurrent activity patterns: they describe what is done by whom and why. Routines are schemata for both understanding and behaviour: to understand something is to be able to correctly perform a practice. Routines provide the framework for individual recurrent patterns and thus link the collective and the individual. Simultaneously, routines link the collective to the larger organisation, as organisations are a set of interlocking routines. Routines thus serve as the coordinating mechanism between the different aggregation levels.Routines might be interpreted as a set of \"default rules\": they apply until challenged, and then if in context the challenge works, the routine is changed. Innovation can be understood as the change of routines. In the case of W, two moments can be identified at which the existing routines of the bakery department have been challenged, that is the automation of the bread baking process and the introduction of the robotised line. Surprisingly, the introduction of the new line in 2003 has not been experienced as dramatic as the introduction of automation in 1985. The 1985 change was not only a technical revolution but also a cultural shock: the 2003 change is seen as an improvement of technicalities.Analysis of processes of routine change at the industrial bakery shows that social and emotional aspects are very important and highly influence the course of events. A change is experienced in case not only the work content, but also the status and positions attached to the roles changes. Analogue to individual learning collective learning is an integrated process of cognitive, social and emotional aspects. In order to fully consider the social and emotional aspects, routine change should be modelled as a socio-political process, addressing issues of power, conflicts of interest, and how learning processes may be affected by social conditions and mechanisms.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to generate both a theoretical and an empirical basis for a research model that serves in further research as an analytical tool for understanding the complex phenomenon of learning at different levels in a work organisation. The key concept in this model is the routine concept of Nelson and Winter.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A review of the literature in the academic fields of educational sciences, industrial sciences, economics, social psychology and sociology is used to develop a conceptual model that could serve as an analytical instrument to describe the ongoing dynamics, i.e. learning processes at different levels. The theoretical findings were tested against empirical data of an industrial bakery in order to evaluate if the theoretical concepts help to identify possible mechanisms that account for parallel learning processes at different levels.\nFindings: - The paper gives an overview of possible key concepts that helps in explaining what happens at the intersection between individual and team, and team and organisation. This paper concludes that the concept of routines is the most sufficient for understanding the coordinating mechanism between the different aggregation levels in an organisation.\nResearch limitations/implications: - As organisations are modelled as a set of interlocking routines, innovation can be understood as the change of routines. The central question in future research is: \"How do routines change?\"\nOriginality/value: - By taking a multi-disciplinary approach, economic theories on innovation and educational theories on learning are combined. Such combination seems fruitful to bridge individual and organisational learning.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Contesting the dominant narrative: expanding the multistory cultural change approach	[ "Narrative", "Cultural change", "Multistory", "Story patterns" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Several studies have focused attention on multistory and multiauthorship approaches regarding changing organizational culture (Akarsu et al., 2018; Buchanan and Dawson, 2007; Tsoukas and Chia, 2002). The main purpose for this stream of research is to study and problematize dominant narratives, reveal hidden assumptions and show how some narratives are privileged over others through narrative struggles (Vaara et al., 2016). Maitlis and Christianson (2014) argue that because organizational actors create their own sense of what is going on, insight into their narratives is crucial for understanding cultural change. In this paper, a dominant and contested safety narrative is studied by revealing five composite narratives and personal accounts in an organizational field of companies that contribute to recovery and strengthening of houses in an area that is plagued by earthquakes. Focusing on more than one narrative and a variety of actors (Boje, 1995; Buchanan and Dawson, 2007) not only broadens the insight into what is going on during such a process in terms of alternative narratives but also sheds light on the reasons why the dominant narratives do not always produce change (Gabriel, 2000). Actors adopt discursive power to support or contest change (Vaara et al., 2016) and contribute to story patterns that are adopted for different personal agendas (Reissner, 2011). Several authors stress the need to expand the multistory approach in the direction of revealing the processes of contesting in the narrative struggles (Gabriel, 2000; Rhodes and Brown, 2005; Akarsu et al., 2018), the personal accounts of a variety of actors (Fenton and Langley, 2011) and the story patterns to which these actors contribute (Reissner, 2011). This requires a focus on contesting by both \"individual\" and \"composite\" narrative interactions (Vaara et al., 2016, p. 10).In this organizational field (Hardy and Maguire, 2010) of earthquake-related companies, several types of companies work together. A Dutch crude oil company (fictitiously called DOC) has been producing gas in this region for a long time. As an effect, earthquakes in this area increased, which created damage for its inhabitants like cracks in the walls and chimneys falling of the roof. DOC gave rise to a consortium Safe Housing (abbreviated to SAHO), with the assignment of organizing these damage declarations and contracting construction enterprises. Because the construction sector is a high-risk sector with frequent injuries and even disability retirements (Social Affairs and Employment Inspectorate, 2016), restoring all these houses creates risks for both construction workers and citizens of these houses. As these construction incidents and fatalities are caused by ways of thinking that invite unsafe behaviors (Social Affairs and Employment Inspectorate, 2016), DOC gave the team of consultants the assignment of influencing the safety culture of construction companies through a platform called SAFECON. The consultants engaged in several activities, such as: visiting construction sites to talk to craftsmen; coaching managers from different construction companies; facilitating internal safety programs for construction companies; leadership courses for managers and so on. The first author worked as a consultant-researcher for this platform during the entire study.With this paper, we show how several composite narratives contest the dominant narrative and the way several actors in the organizational field contest it in individual narratives. We thereby provide insights into the narrative dynamics of cultural change while building on previous multistory studies. We aimed to write this paper for both scholars and change practitioners, by reporting on an inside and in-depth experience of the narrative struggles in the unfolding of cultural change (Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2016; Buchanan and Dawson, 2007). In this paper, we adopt Vaara et al.'s (2016) definitions of story, narrative and account. The research questions for this paper are: How is a dominant narrative contested on multiple intertextual levels in an organizational field? What multistory interventions contribute to cultural change processes? In Section 2, literature on contesting and story patterns is explained. Section 3 deals with the methodology, while in Section 4, the results are presented. Section 5 presents the discussion and our conclusions.\n2. Contesting and story patterns: When a narrative prevails over other narratives, it does not mean that it cannot be contested (Hardy and Maguire, 2010). In this paper, we explore processes of contesting by revealing the composite narratives on a macro level (Vaara et al., 2016) of several stakeholder groups within the organizational field. Secondly, we look into the way the dominant story is contested on the micro level by five actors and the story patterns to which they contribute. Reissner (2011) showed how people in three distinct firms and cultural change processes contested change and contributed to three story patterns. These patterns specify different types of contesting and gaining influence. We will shortly elaborate on Reissner's story patterns.Organizational actors engage in a narrative interpretative process of sensemaking to deal with uncertainty and attribute meaning to work events and organizational change (Reissner, 2011; Maitlis and Christianson, 2014). Narrative power means that these actors, such as managers, employees or change agents, use their discursive power to sustain certain stories, while pushing other narratives away for the purpose of social control (Grant and Marshak, 2011; Clegg et al., 2006; Reissner, 2011). This pattern contributes to stories of \"influence\" and of \"deception, silence and taboos\" (Reissner, 2011, p. 598). The effect is that certain topics are not discussed anymore, often exactly the topics that are subject to change, thereby stagnating processes of change. Moreover, the stories can be used and abused by actors and should therefore be critically examined by researchers (Reissner, 2011). In the study of Brown (1998), it is shown how power holders are aware of the importance of gaining legitimization for their change narrative by framing themes and issues in such a way that others can be convinced. While some actors are more influential than others (Grant and Marshak, 2011), some narratives will die out while others become more influential as time passes (Reissner, 2011).Reissner (2011, p. 598) also found stories of \"the good old days.\" In \"good old days\" narratives, the past or future is contrasted with the present to stress or dismiss certain experiences or other stories (Gabriel, 1993). This nostalgic story pattern relates to feelings of loss that people experience when their work changes. In nostalgic accounts, the problematic present is weighed against an idealized past (Gabriel, 1993). Ybema (2004) extended this idea by adding postalgia to it. Postalgia reflects an attempt to get away from a problematic present by sketching an ideal future and the promise that this future is within reach (Ybema, 2004). It combines emotive triggers such as anxiety for, in this case, a construction incident, with utopian desires for progression in the area of construction safety. Managerial plans, visions and other traditional forward-looking management concepts all relate to the domain of postalgia. However, Ybema (2004) stresses the subjective and narrative aspect of these managerial activities.\n3. Methodology: In order to understand the dynamics and meaning of these processes of contesting in narratives, the research approach was interpretative for the large part (Schwartz-Shea and Yanow, 2012). However, since the first author combined a role of consultant and researcher by working for platform SAFECON, interpretation of data and designing interventions went hand-in-hand (Briody et al., 2012). Since the research incorporates organizational ethnographies to develop intervention strategies with an intention to produce change (e.g. Bate, 1994), the proper term is an ethnoventionist research approach (Marrewijk et al.,2010). Ethnoventionist research is characterized by reflexivity of the researcher as well as the people under study, a multistory and longitudinal orientation, deep understanding through involvement with an eye for the multilayered context (Marrewijk et al., 2010). This approach differs from a participatory action research approach in its focus on producing ethnographic data and the applicability for a multilayered and large-scale context; participative action research mainly focusses on local processes for theory development (Marrewijk et al., 2010)The period during which this longitudinal research took place was March 2015 until May 2017, in which several research materials were gathered. First, field notes were made on conversations that struck the researcher as the most notable (Wolfinger, 2002). Second, SAFECON materials (website, blogs and photo and film) were gathered. Special attention is paid to one intervention: a movie that the SAFECON team developed to discuss a moment that relates to several field players and dominant narratives. This intervention characterizes the ethnoventionist approach because it demonstrates a way to intervene locally in multistory settings. Moreover, movies can be used as a generative tool to discuss urgency for change (Vaara et al., 2016). Third, from the SAFECON safety leadership course for several groups of managers from the field, photos were made of the written safety interpretations of approximately 200 participants. The movie was also shown in this course. Fourth, 10 construction workers, eight leaders from DOC and the five members of the SAFECON team were interviewed by three students. Besides, three safety officers from SAHO were interviewed by the consultant-researcher. A semistructured, narrative interview approach was adopted for all interviews as described by Kvale and Brinkmann (2009).For further analysis, research materials were imported to ATLAS.ti version 1.0.51. The materials were closely read to interpret emergent meanings in the narratives (McClellan, 2014; Deetz and Alvesson, 2000). To structure the data and code all the materials, a holistic content method was adopted (Lieblich et al., 1998, p. 62). Personal accounts and composite narratives were discovered from these analyses (Polkinghorne, 1988). In the results section, both composite narratives are presented as well as a selection of illustrative narrative fragments of one actor per composite narrative. These \"vignettes\" (Reissner, 2011, p. 598) are personal accounts and illustrative for the composite narratives. For the structure of the composite narratives on safety, we focused on the way actors stress or dismiss the importance of safety in narratives (Van Ooijen et al., 2019).\n4. Results: In this section, the results from the study are presented. First, the composite narratives, personal accounts and story patterns are revealed. The last paragraph describes the way a movie was used as a change intervention. Table I and Figure 1 present the organizational field, the composite narratives and patterns per stakeholder group. 4.1 DOC's narrative: goal zero, we care\n5. Discussion and conclusions: This paper reports on a multistory and ethnoventionist study on a cultural change program on safety in the organizational field. Against the background is a team of consultants that try to influence the safety culture of several organizations in an organizational field though a platform called SAFECON. The research focused on the way several composite narratives contest a dominant safety narrative and the way story patterns evolve by looking into five personal accounts. We found five distinctive composite narratives in this field. The five actors refer to these composite narratives in their accounts, thereby contributing to several story patterns. DOC's \"Goal zero, we care\" is a dominant postalgic narrative that strongly exists in the accounts of DOC colleagues, while other actors react to it. The company's history of DOC in which a fatality took place still influences the conversations. Managers actively refer to the incident, recount personal experiences and stress the importance to work safely. Interestingly, the selected account of DOC also shows some ambivalence on Goal Zero. In SAHO's \"work the process\" narrative, goal zero is a bridge too far and is contested by a more moderate interpretation of safety. The safety officer reveals how safety narratives, with their rules, provoke feelings of being controlled and the need to explain yourself. With managers of construction companies another story pattern arises; the word exaggeration is used when referring to the \"Goal zero, we care\" narrative and it results in a pattern of silence and deception. It is easy for DOC to say \"Goal zero, we care\" since they have the big budgets to calculate safety; it is the argumentation of construction managers. For employees from construction companies, the dominant narrative is \"I will fix it.\" The pattern of deception and taboo is that employees accept the fact that everything that should have happened earlier on eventually means that they have to fix it.SAFECON's narrative is \"managers, take control\" and creates another postalgic pattern; sketching a future that differs from the current convictions of builders about safety - motivating them to take control. With the movie, an example is given of how an influential safety narrative results in employees covering up and lying to the outside world regarding what really happens in the workplace, reflecting a pattern of deception, taboo and silence. By revealing these composite narratives and these personal accounts, it becomes clear how a dominant safety narrative is contested at the macro level and the way several story patterns evolve.Both composite narratives in the struggle and the personal accounts contain different forms of contesting by their different story angles, distinctive issues and typical words and jargon. These composite narratives and stories provoke reactions in other narratives, for instance, stories of taboo and deception as reactions to an influential story like \"Goal zero, we care.\" These processes of contesting and story patterns characterize the challenges of changing organizational culture. Thereby, this paper presents a deep insight into processes of cultural change (Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2016) whereby the ethnoventionist approach helped to reveal several ethnographic materials and narratives in a large-scale field of organizations, while it also helped to present a particular way of multistory intervening in local multistory settings. This paper expands the multistory approach by showing in depth how safety can become a taboo and how an intervention like a movie stimulates dialog and change on taken-for-granted ideas and beliefs - so often the aim of cultural change programs.Practically, this paper provides a model for cultural change scholars and practitioners to study and/or contribute to multistory cultural change processes. First, working with composite narratives (macro) and personal accounts (micro) worked well in this research. It provides an overview of a complex and layered cultural change process in an organizational field. Second, the movie intervention shows how focusing on a specific moment on which several composite narratives intertwine produces an opportunity for dialog on the often hidden taken-for-granted ideas and beliefs. We argue that changing organizational culture requires conversational interventions by which multiple stories can touch the surface and can be explored, discussed and changed. Our study is limited in its claims of success in changing the culture of organizations in this organizational field. Further research could extend the knowledge on change interventions that contribute to multistory cultural change.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to expand the theory on multistory cultural change by showing how a dominant narrative on construction safety dynamically interrelates and is contested on multiple intertextual levels in an organizational field of organizations contributing to the recovery of houses in an earthquake region.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An ethnoventionist research approach was adopted in which interpretation of data to find narratives and designing interventions went hand-in-hand.\nFindings: We found four distinctive composite narratives besides the dominant narrative to which five actors refer in their accounts, thereby contributing to three types of story patterns. These narratives disclose the taken-for-granted ideas and beliefs that characterize the challenge of changing organizational culture. One intervention, which intended multiple stories to touch the surface, was highlighted as a multistory intervention.\nResearch limitations/implications: Further research could extend the knowledge on other change interventions that contribute to multistory cultural change processes.\nOriginality/value: Adopting an ethnoventionist approach to provide deep insights on an unfolding cultural change process for both scholars and practitioners.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A methodology for enterprise systems post-implementation change management	[ "ERP", "Change management", "Post-implementation", "Enterprise system", "System evolution" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Enterprise systems (ESs) are large-scale application software packages supporting business processes and decision making in organisations. Examples of this type of systems are enterprise resource planning (ERP) for supporting operational business processes, customer relationship management (CRM) for supporting customer-facing activities, and product lifecycle management (PLM) for supporting product design and configuration management (Bhattacharya et al., 2010; Shang and Seddon, 2002).\n2. Background and related work: The discipline of engineering change management has gained increased popularity within systems engineering in the last 20 years (Hamraz et al., 2013). In the context of ES, we adopt the definition of engineering change given by Terwiesch and Loch (1999), which draws a clear line between design iterations and engineering change by restricting the latter to the post-implementation phase. From the standpoint of engineering change, ESs are perceived as complex software products embedded in a complex organisational environment.\n3. The methodology: Our methodology draws a parallel between ES post-implementation change management and traditional engineering change management. An ES, in fact, can be seen as a complex product in use within an organisation. The ES product, as previously discussed, is subject to change in the post-implementation phase, due to changing business requirements, availability of new technology or bug fixes.\n4. Implementation of the methodology: the case of ERP: As a case study, we have implemented the proposed methodology in the case of ERP systems. This case study aims at demonstrating the feasibility of our methodology for a particular class of ES and at discussing the typical design issues characterising an instantiation of our methodology. ERP has been chosen as a class of ES because of their widespread adoption. Choosing ERP also has facilitated the evaluation our methodology, because of the availability of different ERP software packages through their respective academic alliance programmes.\n5. Discussion: Given the constructivist character of the methodology presented in this paper, we provide in this section a discussion based on the typical evaluation principles of design science research (Gregor and Hevner, 2013). In design science, the implementation and evaluation of artefacts in case studies aim at revealing design principles that can be applied to a more general case. In our case, the implementation and evaluation of our methodology in the case of ERP has revealed design principles that can apply to the general case of ES post-implementation change management.\n6. Conclusions: This paper proposed a methodology for controlled change management for ES post-implementation modification. The proposed methodology defines a set of artefacts to support the different phases of change impact analysis and a set of mechanisms to assess the impact of a proposed change. The methodology has been instantiated in the case of ERP systems and embedded in a decision support tool, which has been evaluated in practice by ERP experts. The proposed methodology is the first of its kind supporting a constructivist approach to solve the practical issues of post-implementation change management of large ES implementations.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Enterprise systems (ESs) are hard to maintain, since they embed a large fraction of organisational data and tasks, which are often intertwined and highly interdependent. The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology for enterprise resource planning (ERP) post-implementation change management to support business analysts during perfective maintenance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The methodology draws a parallel line with engineering change management and considers the steps of mapping the dependencies among ES components, understanding the ripple effects of change, and defining metrics to quantify and assess the impact of change. The methodology is instantiated in the case of ERP systems, for which a tool has also been implemented and evaluated by ERP implementation experts.\nFindings: Experts positively evaluated the proposed methodology. General design principles to instantiate the methodology in the case of systems other than ERP have been derived.\nOriginality/value: While existing ESs change management methodologies help to identify the need for change, the proposed methodology help to structure the change process, supporting the task of perfective maintenance in an efficient way.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Exploring service climate and employee performance in multicultural service settings	[ "Business-to-business services", "Service climate", "Interdependence", "Independence", "Internal service quality", "Service-profit chain" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Despite a significant overlap in the conceptual and empirical domains of the service climate construct and the service-profit chain framework, there is hardly any attempt to theoretically integrate these two research streams to develop and empirically validate a comprehensive model of service climate (Bowen and Schneider, 2014; Hong et al., 2013). Hong et al. (2013) address this gap with a model of service climate, its antecedents and outcomes, and a meta-analysis of 58 studies (N = 9,363) to test their hypotheses. However, Hong et al. (2013) focus on the antecedents of service climate (e.g. leadership and HR practices) and do not differentiate between service climate and internal service quality, which may limit the future implications of their results (Bowen and Schneider, 2014). To address this limitation, Bowen and Schneider (2014) present a more comprehensive model with more antecedents of service climate and several moderators (including internal service quality), but they do not provide any empirical evidence about the relationships depicted in their model. As a result, there are still many research gaps and unanswered questions in this area, which we address in this paper.\nTheoretical background and hypotheses: Service climate\nMethodology: Research design\nData analysis and results: We used the well-established two-step process to analyze our data (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988), by first testing our measurement model to assess the psychometric properties of all the scales using confirmatory factor analysis with AMOS 22. Our measurement model shows a close fit with all the fit indices (kh2 = 1126.56, df = 799, kh2/df = 1.41, CFI = 0.96; NFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.043, SRMR = 0.055) better than their recommended cut-off values (1 < kh2/df < 3, CFI > 0.95, NFI > 0.90; RMSEA < 0.06, SRMR < 0.08). All the factor loadings are higher than 0.70 and have large and significant t-values (10.82-28.46) with no major cross-factor loadings. All the parameter estimates (l) are significantly different from zero at 5 per cent significance level that shows a high degree of convergent validity and none of the confidence intervals of the correlation coefficients for each pair of scales (Ph estimates) includes 1.0 showing discriminant validity (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). All the scales are reliable with construct reliabilities (0.84 to 0.96) much higher than 0.60, the recommended cut-off value (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988). Average variance extracted for each construct (0.63 to 0.71) is greater than 0.50 and higher than the square of its correlation with each of the other constructs, providing further evidence of convergent validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Table II shows the psychometric properties of all the scale items, and Table III shows the correlations matrix for all the constructs with their composite reliabilities, average variance extracted and descriptives (mean and standard deviation).\nDiscussion: In this paper, we begin by identifying four specific gaps in the prior research on service climate, including:\nLimitations and future research: Our research has a few limitations that future research may address. First, we collected the data for this study from a single industry (construction) and a single company (albeit from its branch offices and operating units around the world); hence, we would need to be cautious in interpreting the results of this study and replicate them with samples from other organizations and industries to test the generalizability of our conceptual model. Second, in this study, we focus only on two links, namely, service climate - internal service quality and internal service quality - employee performance, based on service-profit chain. Hence, we need more research to test the impact of these variables on the downstream elements of the SPC, such as employee satisfaction and loyalty, customer satisfaction, profitability, etc.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new conceptual model that incorporates internal service quality as a mediator between service climate and employee performance and two personal cultural orientations (independence and interdependence) as the moderators of these relationships.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An online survey of 353 employees representing 19 different nationalities, working in 18 branches and offices of a multinational business-to-business (B2B) civil engineering services firm, spread across 14 countries.\nFindings: All the hypotheses are supported. Specifically, internal service quality mediates the influence of service climate on employee performance and these relationships are stronger for employees with interdependent (vs independent) cultural orientations.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper uses data collected from the employees in a single B2B firm in one industry (Civil Engineering Services) and focuses on a few key variables, which may restrict the generalizability of its findings.\nPractical implications: The findings of this paper highlight the importance of cultural factors in building a service climate in multinational service organizations to help their employees work more effectively and efficiently with their colleagues from diverse cultural backgrounds.\nOriginality/value: This paper clarifies the relationships among service climate, internal service quality and employee performance, by showing that internal service quality mediates the influence of service climate on employee performance.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The internet and possibilities for counter accounts: some reflections: A reply	[ "Internet", "Pensions", "Economic theory", "Education", "Online operations" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: We would like to thank Prem Sikka for his reflections about the role of the internet in promoting more emancipatory accountings. We are also grateful for the opportunity to reply, thereby extending the opportunity for discussion of matters that have profound implications for all citizens. Sikka's reflections are divided into three sections. First, he locates the internet and the pensions crisis within the politics of neoliberalism. Second, he offers a counter account of the pensions crisis. Third, he discusses the role of the internet in facilitating emancipatory change. We shall discuss each of these areas in turn.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Seeks to extend debates about the emancipatory potential of the internet by commenting on Sikka's reflections (in this issue) on the papers also in this issue by Gallhofer et al. and by Paisey and Paisey.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Discusses the location of the internet within the politics of neoliberalism, with particular reference to the pensions crisis.\nFindings: - Accepts that the internet's use depends upon its social context and agrees that the internet is a communicative device that has the potential to facilitate change. However, the example of pension accounts shows that the internet has been more effectively harnessed by groups wishing to endorse the status quo rather than to counter it.\nPractical implications: - While the development of counter accounts and critiques of contemporary social problems is encouraged, education must play a role in exposing alternative views and encouraging debate.\nOriginality/value: - Extends debates surrounding the role of the internet in promoting more emancipatory accountings.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The effect of career adaptability on career planning in reaction to automation technology	[ "Career planning", "Job crafting", "Career adaptability", "Automation technology" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Characterized by automation technology, the fourth industrial revolution is rapidly transforming the modern manufacturing industry. This transformation certainly provides exciting new possibilities for workers' career development as it creates high demands for a workforce with new skill sets. Meanwhile, many manufacturing workers feel disconnected and challenged, as the automation technology is rapidly making many occupational skills obsolete (Kim and Park, 2018; Halal et al., 2017; Su, 2018). Historically, industrial revolutions were associated with large-scale structural unemployment and shortages of qualified workers, and filling this skill gap can be a long-term and chronic process tied to many social and economic problems (Freeman et al., 1982; Castells, 1999). It is urgent for policymakers, business organizations and workers to recognize the challenges and to develop adaptive strategies to the changing environment. Yet, little research has been done to investigate how manufacturing workers react to these challenges. It is important to understand workers' short-term job adjustment behavior and long-term career development planning in preparation for the impact of the industrial revolution.\nMethod: Sample and procedure\nResults: Job Crafting\nDiscussion: This study aims to investigate how individuals react to the impact of manufacturing transformation through job crafting and long-term career adjustment and particularly focuses on the moderating effect of human capital. The results generally support our hypotheses that crafting and adjustment occur when opportunity and threat indicating a social change are perceived, and human capital is a psychosocial resource that is needed to form and guide adaptive behaviors and strategies.\nConclusion: In conclusion, this study empirically extends the theories of career construction and career adaptability. It shows that opportunity and threat perceptions are associated with one's job crafting behavior and long-term career adjustment plan, and such relationships are importantly moderated by career adaptability and work experience relevant to automation technologies. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of psychosocial determinants that contribute to better career planning in the midst of the manufacturing transformation. Policies that aim to prepare the industrial workers for upcoming social transition may benefit from this study to use psychosocial interventions to leverage adaptive and proactive behaviors for a better career development strategy at the societal level.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study investigated employees' career planning in preparation for the impact of manufacturing transformation triggered by automation technology. Built on career construction theory, the purpose of this paper is to conceptualize career planning as an attempt to integrate oneself into the social environment. In this process of integration, career adaptability is a critical psychological resource for adaptation to anticipated changes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Through an online survey, 476 participants answered questions regarding the following aspects: perceptions of the threats and opportunities posed by automation technology; career adaptability, that is, career-related concern, control, curiosity, and confidence in adapting to occupational transitions; and career plans and actions to address the challenge, including short-term job crafting behaviors and long-term career adjustment plan.\nFindings: The results showed that opportunity and threat perceptions were associated with one's job crafting behavior and long-term career adjustment plan and such relationships were moderated by career adaptability and work experience relevant to automation technologies. Specifically, career adaptability is a psychological resource helping individuals deal with perceived challenges, while relevant work experience moderated one's strategies to catch opportunities.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the understanding of psychosocial determinants for better career planning in the midst of the industrial revolution. Policies that aim to prepare workers for the upcoming social transition may benefit from this study to leverage adaptive and proactive behaviors at a societal level.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Interpersonal influence in the workplace - part two: some research findings - influencing behaviour, personality and context	[ "Behaviour", "Influence", "Personality", "Workplace" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This article is the second of a three-part paper considering influencing behaviour in the workplace, the ways in which people at work go about getting their way with others. The first part of the paper defined the key concepts of power and influence and presented a model of the process of interpersonal influence. The process model of interpersonal influence identified three major elements that impact upon an individual's choice of influencing behaviour, namely, the person, their role and their orientation to that role. These three elements were considered more fully, together with descriptions of how they are measured.This part of the paper is divided into two main sections. The first section of the article presents the research findings. These establish the degree of correlation, and the statistical significance of the observed relationships, between measures of the three elements and measures of influencing behaviour. The findings support the idea that influencing behaviour is related to the characteristics of the person, their work role and their orientation to that work role.The second section discusses the relevance of the findings. In particular, it considers how the observed relationships may provide guidelines for action, suggesting the circumstances in which particular influencing strategies and styles may be appropriate and inappropriate. It also considers how the observed relationships between personal characteristics and influencing behaviour may indicate when individuals with particular traits are likely to behave in ways which are appropriate and inappropriate.\nResearch findings: influencing behaviour and personality: The first part of this paper (published in Industrial and Commercial Training volume 40 number 2, 2008) described six strategies that people use in their attempts to influence others at work, along with a three-dimensional of influencing style that was based on the ways in which individuals tend to combine these strategies in practice. The six strategies are:1. reason;2. assertion;3. exchange;4. courting favour;5. coercion; and6. partnership.Three dimensions of influencing style are:1. strategist-opportunist;2. collaborator-battler; and3. bystander shotgun.In addition, the first part of this paper described the \"Big five\" factor model of personality (e.g. Costa and McCrae, 1992). The five dimensions of personality described by this model are extroversion, tender-mindedness, conscientiousness, anxiety and openness.Tables I to V map the relationships found between individual differences in the five dimensions of personality to both the influencing strategies that such individuals use and their overall influencing style. Statistically significant relationships are detailed. Relationships followed by a superscript \"a\" are those that are near to statistical significance. Full supporting data are shown in Tables VI and VII.It is clear from Table I that extroversion is related to the use of partnership and assertion strategies, and to the opportunistic-strategic dimension of influencing style.It is clear from Table II that tender-mindedness is related to use of courting favour and coercion strategies, and to the strategist-opportunist and collaborator-battler styles.It is clear from Table III that conscientiousness is unrelated to use influencing strategies and styles.It is clear from Table IV that anxiety is related to use of coercion strategies, and to the collaborator-battler style.It is clear from the Table V that openness is related to use of reason and partnership strategies, and to the strategist-opportunist, collaborator-battler and bystander-shotgun styles.\nResearch findings: influencing behaviour and context: The first part of this paper described four dimensions of team role expectations and two dimensions of team role orientation. The four dimensions of team role expectations, or features of work roles, are overall responsibility (follower versus leader), generalist versus specialist, completer versus creative problem-solver, and implementer versus technical investigator. The two dimensions of team role orientation relate to the individual's autonomy in their role and their commitment to it. The observed relationships between these contextual variables and influencing behaviour are summarised below.1. Influencing behaviour and role expectations\nDiscussion of the findings: It is evident from the data presented above that there are statistically significant relationships between influencing behaviour and all three sets of variables, namely, personality, role expectations and role orientation, including autonomy and commitment. This confirms the suggestion that influencing behaviour is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon. There are two obvious sets of practical implications from the above findings. The first is that the findings may suggest the contexts in which particular patterns of influencing behaviour may be appropriate or inappropriate. The second is that individuals with particular personality traits may be more suited to some contexts and less suited to others. These two sets of issues are considered briefly below.\nInfluence strategies and styles and role suitability: The observed relationships between the use of the six influence strategies and role characteristics, as well as role autonomy, may shine light on when it may be appropriate for individuals to choose to use such strategies and styles. These relationships are summarised in Table XVIII, with the weaker, possible relationships indicated by a superscript \"a\".The observed relationships between influence style and role characteristics, including autonomy, are summarised in Table XIX, with the weaker, possible relationships indicated by a superscript \"a\".While this research may suggest when particular influence strategies and styles may be appropriate, it is important not to fall into the \"naturalistic fallacy\" and assume that what \"is\" the case \"ought\" to be the case. Further evidence on the effectiveness of the strategies and styles in particular circumstances would be necessary before one could be confident that specific strategies and styles are appropriate in any given set of circumstances. Nonetheless, the evidence does suggest certain patterns and identify hypotheses worthy of further investigation.\nPersonality traits, role commitment and role suitability: The findings on the relationship between personality traits and influencing behaviour, alongside the findings of the relationships between contextual variables and such behaviour, may also be used to suggest the sorts of roles most and least suited to individuals with given traits. Table XX summarises the situations that are most suitable for individuals with particular personality traits. It also includes data on role commitment alongside that of personality traits. Once again, the weaker, possible relationships are indicated by a superscript \"a\".There is clearly a need for further research. Thus, for example, the findings presented above tell us nothing about whether patterns of influencing behaviour are actually effective in particular contexts. This raises further questions about how we might assess \"effectiveness\". One possible approach is to look at the relationship between behaviour and assessments of effectiveness by other people, including 360 degree assessments. This approach has the merit of being consistent with the model of interpersonal influence described above, that includes explicit reference to expectancies and has feedback loops between behaviour, responses and expectancies. This is something that we hope to explore more fully in a subsequent article.Part three of this paper reports on and discusses the relationships between influencing behaviour and team role behaviour. In so doing, it links the ideas in this article with the ideas expressed in an earlier article by the authors (Manning et al., 2006) on team role behaviour and its relationship to the three sets of various considered herein, namely, personality traits, role expectations and role orientation. This confirms and develops the view expressed in the earlier article that there is a significant social dimension to team roles.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to present findings, and discuss the relevance of those findings, with regard to research undertaken about interpersonal influence in the workplace.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper is the second part of a three-part paper considering influencing behaviour in the workplace, the ways in which people at work go about getting their way with others. This part of the paper is divided into two main sections. The first section presents the research findings. The second section discusses the relevance of the findings. In particular, it considers how the observed relationships may provide guidelines for action, suggesting the circumstances in which particular influencing strategies and styles may be appropriate and inappropriate.\nFindings: - The findings support the idea that influencing behaviour is related to the characteristics of the person, their work role and their orientation to that work role.\nResearch limitations/implications: - There is clearly a need for further research. For example, the findings presented in this paper tell us nothing about whether patterns of influencing behaviour are actually effective in particular contexts. This raises further questions about how we might assess \"effectiveness\". One possible approach is to look at the relationship between behaviour and assessments of effectiveness by other people, including 360 degree assessments. This approach has the merit of being consistent with the model of interpersonal influence described in the paper, that includes explicit reference to expectancies and has feedback loops between behaviour, responses and expectancies.\nOriginality/value: - This paper is of value in presenting research findings that shine light on the nature of the relationship between influencing behaviour and both personality and contextual variables.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Measuring the performance efficiency of banks in a developing economy: The case study of Indian public sector vs private sector	[ "Performance", "Efficiency", "DEA", "Sensitivity analysis", "Public sector banks" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The most regulated domain in most of the countries in the banking sector and the crisis in this sector disrupt the payment system. In the developing economies, banking sector regulations are very rigid to balance the socioeconomic growth (Caprio et al., 1994). Banking industry across the globe is facing the speediest dynamic environment where organisations have to be competitive and efficient for the survival (Devlin and Ennew, 1997). In India, banking services were mostly constricted to urban areas, before nationalisation. With the nationalisation of 14 large banks in 1970, banks of the public sector had 85 per cent of the total deposits, and the private and foreign banks contributed to 6 and 9 per cent, respectively (Bhattacharyya et al., 1997). In the 1980s, it was found that the excessive regulation leads to the less efficient banking sector, which was unable to respond to the fast developing economy. This led to the Indian banking reforms in the 1990s, whose primary objective was to improve the productivity, profitability, competitiveness, and performance of the Indian banks (Caprio et al., 1994; Das and Ghosh, 2009; Fujii et al., 2014). The banking sector gradually deregulated, and state-owned banks were partially privatised, consolidated, and interests on deposits and loans were efficiently controlled. To enhance the stability of the banking industry by modifying the regulations, to improve the performance, and to make the banks competitive, second-stage reforms were suggested by the Narasimhan Committee in 1998 (Fujii et al., 2014; Narasimham, 1991, 1998). The diversity of bank ownership in India makes it fascinating: it can be divided into three segments - public sector banks (PSBs), private sector banks (PVBs), and foreign-owned banks; all these groups function in the same markets, with a different bunch of regulations. In the continually changing and uneven regulatory environment, the operations of the bank's performance are expected to get affected (Bhattacharyya et al., 1997). It may be noted that the Indian financial and banking sector is expanding at a rapid rate. The Indian banking sector is expected to undergo transformative changes shortly steered by fluctuating derivatives market, and IT-enabled business (Banerjee, 2015). Hence, there is a lot of research scope in the continuously changing scenario of the Indian banking sector.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Banking sectors performance measurement using data envelopment analysis (DEA)\n3. Research methodology: DEA is chosen for this study to measure the performance of the Indian banks. It is a non-parametric technique with a broad range of applications, and in previous literature, it has been predominantly used for measuring the efficiency of performance of banks. DEA estimates the effectiveness of a bank in transforming inputs into outputs about its peer group. Charnes et al. (1978) developed the DEA approach on the concept of technical efficiency. It is done by relating the mix and volume of providing services by each bank, and the resources used are compared with all other banks. Each bank is evaluated against a hypothetical bank with an identical output mix that is modelled from a combination of various efficient banks. DEA identifies the most active banks in a population and provides a measure of inefficiency for all others. The efficiency score of the most valuable bank will have unity value while that of the lower efficient bank will have scores ranging from 0 to 1. Although DEA does not give a measure of optimal efficiency, it however differentiates the least profitable banks from the set of all banks based on the scores obtained. Consequently, the active organisations assessed using DEA set the best practice frontier (Siems, 1992). CRS is considered for this study, as it is more widely applicable and practiced. The DEA model for a particular bank can be formulated as a linear fractional programming problem, which can be solved if it is transformed into an equivalent linear form in which the bank's input and output weights are treated as the decision variables (Saha and Ravisankar, 2000). To calculate the efficiency of each of the N decision-making units (DMUs) through DEA, each comprising of I inputs and J outputs, a linear programme is to be solved for each DMU, and the linear programme is given by Charnes et al. (1978) as:\n4. Case study: Nationalisation of banks started in 1969 in India with an objective to remove the controlling power among a few. With the government forcing these newly nationalised banks to open their branches in the remote places, investment rate and savings rose steeply by 10 per cent of the gross domestic product. In 1993, RBI enabled the banking sector for private participation for the first time to create market competition, thereby improving efficiency and productivity. Recently, the government proposed to privatise IDBI bank, which is the fifth biggest PSB regarding market capitalisation as the return on equity to the government's investment has fallen drastically over the years. It is not able to generate the 4 per cent interest than any other bank provides for a savings account. On the contrary, new banks like Kotak Mahindra Bank and Yes Bank were able to generate much higher income besides carrying lower assets. As the PVBs were performing well, the government is proposing to privatise IDBI bank on a similar model of Axis bank to improve productivity. Currently, under the global Basel III standard, PSBs are in need of large capital to meet the newly proposed capital adequacy norms. To cater to these future needs, the government proposed to merge the 26 PSBs into six large institutions as part of its roadmap to be more competitive and productive globally. Valuable information that is to be considered at this stage is that India's largest bank, SBI, is not on the list of top 50 banks across the world. Considering this scenario, measuring the performance of banks in India and a comparison of the public sector and PVBs will provide leads on the government's plan to merge all PSBs. It is also proposed that the banks be merged based on the credit risk and non-performing asset (NPA) to be within threshold limits as per the Basel III standards to benefit the shareholders as well as the customers. The above problem is considered in the form of case studies, and a comparative study between public and PVBs is presented below.\n5. Results and discussion: The published secondary data from the period 2008-2013 of 44 Indian banks of both public and private sector is given as input to the non-parametric technique of the DEA model, and the obtained results are tabulated in Tables IX and X. This section is divided into three parts - top efficient banks, active intermediate banks, and least efficient banks. The results indicated that ten banks are found to hold the first rank out of 44 banks, and these ten banks fell into the category of top performing banks. Out of top ten banks, only two are from the PSBs (State Bank of India, and IDBI Bank) and rest of eight banks (ING Vysya Bank, Karnataka Bank, Nainital Bank, Ratnakar Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Yes Bank) are from the private sector.\n6. Sensitivity analysis: It is the analysis of how uncertainty in model prognostications is circumscribed by uncertainty in model inputs. It takes into consideration the potential effects of simultaneous changes in model inputs over their uncertainty range. The inputs given to the model are subject to many origins of uncertainty like measurement errors, lack of information, scaling errors, out of date information, sampling design, etc. Sensitivity analysis increases the confidence in the developed mental model and its forecasts, by rendering a clear understanding of how the model response factors react to the variation in the input variables (Burrough et al., 2015; Lilburne and Tarantola, 2009).\n7. Conclusion and limitations of the study: In the past, the banking sector's performance measurement has been carried out by many researchers using DEA in many countries. It may be noted that the present study cannot be compared with the global research as each country has its regulations, parameters, and the result vary significantly from place to place. It may be noted that in India, very few research activities (Saha and Ravisankar, 2000; Ray, 2016; Bhattacharyya et al., 1997; Mukherjee et al., 2002; Das and Ghosh, 2009; Tabak and Tecles, 2010; Sathye, 2003) related to performance measurement of the banking industry have been carried out in the past. As of today, these eight studies are of less significance as the first two research activities were carried out in the PSBs domain and, later ,six were studied during the period when the PSBs were dominating, and the PVBs were in the emerging phase and were trying to mark their presence.\n8. Managerial implications: Indian banks of the public and private sector are under immense competitive atmosphere for improving their efficiencies. For evaluating the performance efficiency of the 44 banks, and to compare the PSBs and PVBs from the investors and regulators perspective, the required data are obtained from the annual reports of the identified banks. The research has some implications for the banks and the government. For the government, this investigation highlights that the reforms are effective in the improvising performance of the banks.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to measure and evaluate the performance efficiency of 44 Indian commercial banks, out of which 26 banks belong to the public sector, and 18 banks are from the private sector for the period of 2008-2013.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The two-stage network data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach (i.e. variable return to scale and constant return to scale) is used for the measurement of performance in the Indian banking sector. To verify the robustness of the proposed study, sensitivity analysis is also performed.\nFindings: A comparative study between public sector banks (PSBs) and private sector banks (PVBs) showed that latter being more productive compared to the former. The investigation highlighted that two banks are most efficient among the PSBs, and eight banks from PVBs are found to be most effective. On the other side, the performance of State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur and Lakshmi Vilas Bank is discovered to be less significant from PSB and PVB category, respectively.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study will guide the Indian banks to improve upon the factors in which they are lagging, for the improvement of their overall performance. The quality category parameters, i.e. quality of service, quality of equipment, are not considered due to unavailability of information in the output measures, and the methodology used for the study does not identify the causes or remedies for the inefficiency of the banks.\nOriginality/value: The developed DEA model would help the decision maker to take decisions on the issues related to the performance of the banks. This paper discusses very practical issues in an analytic manner.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Capability, objectivity and "false consciousness": on Sen, Marx and J.S. Mill	[ "Welfare", "Human capabilities", "Marxism", "Human development", "Social justice", "Well-being" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: There are several citations from Karl Marx's works scattered across Amartya Sen's writings. In this paper I am chiefly concerned with citations of Marx's work in the contexts of Sen's work on capability and \"development\" understood as \"capability expansion\" as opposed to an expansion of income or wealth or of \"utility\" as it is sometimes defined, and on objectivity, where Sen cites the notion of \"false consciousness\" in his discussion of \"objective illusion\". The relevant citations from Marx in the context of the capability approach are usually from Marx's earlier writings, some of which were co-authored with Friedrich Engels. While these citations are well known and recognised, reading Marx and Engels' texts more closely suggests a deeper relationship between some of Sen's views and Marx's writings than has been recognised, no doubt in part because of a relative lack of interest in Marx's work amongst some of Sen's readers. In particular, some of Sen's criticisms of certain forms of utilitarianism are clearly connected to Marx's work and the notion of \"false consciousness\", though I suggest that Marx and Sen invoke this notion in different ways in their criticisms of utilitarianism. I argue that even if there is a significant connection between Marx's and Sen's criticisms of utilitarianism - since they both implicitly invoke the notion of \"false consciousness\" - the position that Sen defends in his most recent works, which echoes some of Marx's texts, in fact also has a close affinity with some views within the utilitarian tradition which are found in John Stuart Mill's works and is not as far from that tradition as one might initially think from a casual reading of Sen's works.\n2. Development as capability expansion: In advancing the capability approach Sen cites a passage from Marx and Engels' The German Ideology (written in 1845-1846; see Marx and Engels, 1970, p. 1). In explaining and motivating the notion of capability he writes that:[c]apability reflects a person's freedom to choose between different ways of living. The underlying motivation - the focussing on freedom - is well captured by Marx's claim that what we need is \"replacing the domination of circumstances and chance over individuals by the domination of individuals over chance and circumstances\"(Sen, 1990, p. 44).\n3. The critique of utilitarianism, objectivity and \"false consciousness\": Sen and Marx are also both critics of utilitarianism. The capability perspective is motivated not merely by a desire to avoid an inappropriate focus on commodities or resources as valuable in themselves, but also a concern with some views of welfare which are dominant in the utilitarian tradition and which have had a significant influence on the development of welfare economics. The views of welfare that Sen has in mind are, in broad terms, views which take welfare or \"utility\" to be constituted by either desire satisfaction, pleasure or happiness. Sen's argument is that if people who find themselves in straitened conditions restrict or adapt their desires to the limits of what is possible in their circumstances or learn to find pleasure or happiness in small mercies, then their welfare may not be accurately reflected by relevant \"utility\"-based currencies. This is the so-called \"adaptation\" or \"small mercies\" argument and it is one of many levels at which Sen criticises utilitarian views, and I leave other aspects of his critique to one side in this paper.\n4. Objectivity, public discussion and informed desire: Given Sen's account of \"objective illusion\" one might naturally ask: how might one defuse \"objective illusions\" in moral and political thought? And how might one make more reliable judgements in assessing people's desires, valuations and reasons when people may adapt to their situations? One theme that runs through Sen's work is that public reasoning which involves discussion and interaction with others, including distant others, can broaden one's perspective and so may avoid objective illusion through trans-positional scrutiny. For this sort of reason Sen also associates objectivity in ethics with the ability to stand up to, and survive scrutiny through, public reasoning (see Sen, 2009, p. 122), and this is a view of objectivity he more generally attributes to John Rawls (see Sen, 2009, p. 42). Indeed, when he is faced with those who follow Nussbaum's critique in suggesting that his version of the capability view does not go far enough in advancing an objective view of the good, his implicit response in later statements of the capability approach (see e.g. Sen, 2009, p. 231) is to argue that the functionings which are relevant in applying the capability approach are ones one not merely values but also has reason to value. Potential divergences between what one values and has reason to value can emerge if one is ill-informed or if one's perspective has been narrowed by the parochial or limited conditions in which one finds oneself (see e.g. Sen, 2006b, p. 237; Qizilbash, 2007, p. 183). And in both cases engagement in public reasoning, not merely with others in one's own nation, but also potentially including the views of distant others, can narrow the gap between what one values and has reason to value. As Sen notes when discussing evaluative reflection:This is an exercise in which we are constantly engaged. To that general understanding has to be added the possible importance of public reasoning as a way of extending the reach and reliability of valuations and of making them more robust. The necessity of scrutiny and critical assessment is not just a demand of self-centred evaluation by secluded individuals, but a pointer to the fruitfulness of public discussion and of interactive public reasoning: social evaluations may be starved of useful information and good arguments if they are based on separated and sequestered cogitation. Public discussion and deliberation can lead to a better understanding of the role, reach and significance of particular functionings and their combinations(Sen, 2009, pp. 241-2).\n5. Conclusions: I have argued that through various citations from Karl Marx's works in Amartya Sen's expositions of the capability approach Sen claims a pedigree for some of his ideas in Marx's work. Indeed, there are undeniably some significant affinities between various texts that Marx wrote or co-authored with Friedrich Engels and Sen's view of development as an expansion of capability. Marx and Engels clearly thought - at least in The German Ideology - that in the transformation from capitalism to communism there would be a \"development\" of a \"totality of capacities\" as people took over the productive forces in society. Furthermore, a significant connection between Marx and Engels' and Sen's works that I have discussed relates to the notion of \"false consciousness\" and their respective critiques of utilitarianism. Sen's works on positional objectivity, objective illusion and public reasoning suggest that public reasoning can help to dispel objective illusions through trans-positional scrutiny and can help bridge the gap between what a person values and has reason to value. To this degree, engagement in public reasoning can make evaluations of functionings (including the weight to be given to different functionings) more objective and robust. This is one way in which Sen might respond to those, like Martha Nussbaum, who have argued that he needs to provide a more objective evaluation procedure for the selection of functionings. But while Sen's view of objectivity is developed in relation to the notion of objective illusion for which he claims a pedigree in Marx's views, I have argued that it also echoes John Stuart Mill's discussion of \"competent judges\" as well as Mill's remarks about the importance of free discussion in correcting false opinions.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The extent to which Amartya Sen's capability approach is prefigured in Karl Marx's views comes into sharper focus when one notes that Marx and Friedrich Engels explicitly argued that the transformation from capitalism to communism would involve the development of \"a totality of capacities\". Sen also cites the notion of \"false consciousness\" in developing his view of objectivity and claims a Marxian pedigree for the notion of \"objective illusion\". He suggests that public discussion can make evaluative judgements better informed and less parochial, so that they connect more closely with what people have reason to value. The author argues that this line of argument is also closely related to views John Stuart Mill advanced in his discussion of the \"competent judges\" and in his defence of liberty of thought and discussion.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The approach used is conceptual analysis and discussion of historical texts.\nFindings: The chief findings are that Amartya Sen's works on capability and objectivity have deeper affinities with some of Karl Marx's and Friedrich Engels' views than has been hitherto appreciated by scholars. However, some of the claims which Sen makes about objectivity and false consciousness are prefigured in the writings of J.S. Mill.\nOriginality/value: Because some of these affinities between the works of Sen, Marx and Mill have not previously been recognised, the paper's elucidation of them is a new contribution to the literature.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A systematic literature review on uncertainties in cross-docking operations	[ "Warehousing", "Supply chain management", "Uncertainties", "Cross-docking", "Distribution centres", "Systematic literature review" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Over recent years, competition between companies forced them to cut costs to remain in the market. Cross-docking, which refers to direct shipment of receiving products from inbound trucks to the outbound trucks, is a just-in-time and lean system of distribution, which makes an essential contribution to the rapid movements of goods (Nassief et al., 2016). This approach of distributing products helps reduce costs and leads to better service to the customers. Distribution of products in an efficient way along supply chain is a complex task that needs a careful attention to address a large number of challenges such as uncertainties, just-in-time and cost-effective distribution (Dulebenets, 2019). Consequently, many businesses try to address these challenges by using cross-docking, but cross-docking operations are influenced by the dynamic nature of the business.Cross-docking operations consist of receiving of inbound trucks and assigning them to the doors of cross-docking centre and the same for shipping trucks and doors. The operations include the process of unloading receiving trucks, consolidating products inside of the cross-docking centre and according to the available resources and available shipping trucks, transferring the products to the temporary storage, and loading the products to the shipping trucks according to their destination. Variations in the volume of work, available resources and possible disruptions in the process are uncertainties that can impact the cross-docking operations. Cross-docking centres have to be flexible to overcome challenges, such as short lead times, real-time responses and the supply of a wide variety of products (Ardakani et al., 2020). As a result, distribution centres need a system that can minimise the negative impact of uncertainties in the whole process.Uncertainties in the supply chain can be from environmental or systemic sources (Ho, 1989). The performance of different members of a supply chain, such as suppliers and manufacturers, can bring environmental uncertainties, and some activities in a supply chain, such as production and distribution, may bring systemic uncertainties (Ho, 1989). Gong and de Koster (2011), however, classified uncertainties according to their locations of occurrence, for example, uncertainties inside or outside the supply chain, inside or outside the warehouse, and uncertainties between warehouse control system.Over recent years, distribution centre managers have used various innovative approaches to develop robust operations and plans against uncertainties. These attempts although solved part of problems, many issues still remain causing disruptions in the process of cross-docking (Gong and de Koster, 2011). On the other hand, researchers have tried advanced optimisation methods to reduce the negative impact of uncertainties on supply chain and cross-docking operations (Kenne et al., 2012; Lee et al., 2010). During the last decades, many papers focussed on deterministic models to address problems in a stable environment considering various factors influencing cross-docking operations. In addition to supply uncertainties resulted from the suppliers or manufacturers or demand uncertainties from end users and retailers, there are other sources of uncertainty that can affect cross-docking operations. Delay in arrival time of trucks, changes in the contents of a truck, truck breakdown, unloading incoming trucks, a breakdown in handling facilities, the absence of workers, loading, shipping, and delay in the departure time of vehicles can all be considered operations that are prone to uncertainty.Several literature reviews on cross-docking have been published. Van Belle et al. (2012) carried out a review on cross-docking which considered all aspects of cross-docking problems from operational to physical characteristics. They covered a broader range of definitions and categories to complement the studies of Boysen and Fliedner (2010) and Agustina et al. (2010). There has been an increasing number of papers about cross-docking since 2010, among which three are literature reviews on cross-docking from 2013 to 2016 (Buijs et al., 2014; Ladier and Alpan, 2016a; Walha et al., 2014). However, there is an absence of study in the current literature to critically review and identify the sources of uncertainty related to cross-docking operations. Without the proper identification and discussion of these uncertainties, the optimisation models developed to improve cross-docking operations may be inherently impractical and unrealistic.The remainder of this paper is organised as follows. Section 2 describes the research method used to explore the relevant literature. In Section 3, the identified studies are analysed using thematic statistics to identify and classify the uncertainty components. The limitations of existing literature are discussed in Section 4 with future research directions being proposed.\n2. Method for literature review: The objectives of this literature review are to examine the studies in cross-docking under uncertainty so that all possible sources of uncertainty can be identified and the limitations of existing studies can be discussed. To achieve this objective, a systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted. To carry out a literature review, a wide range of research should be studied. However, it is impossible to consider all studies unless it is a new field (Seuring and Muller, 2008). To define the area of research, selection criteria and research steps to produce a better review of literature, SLR guidelines are adopted. A SLR can be divided into four stages (Denyer and Tranfield, 2009; Tranfield et al., 2003) including planning, conducting a review, analysis and presenting the findings. 2.1 The planning process in SLR\n3. Thematic findings: uncertainty components in cross-docking centres operations: In this step, all research items were reviewed according to the components of uncertainties. Following the discussion below, tables are presented to summarise the essential features of each study. The papers were categorised based on the sources of uncertainty as shown in Table II, and information on the performance measures used in these studies is provided in Table III. Table IV summarises the solution methods. Table IV is presented. Based on an analysis of the reviewed studies, a framework is developed to illustrate the composition of uncertainty components in cross-docking operations (Figure 4). 3.1 External uncertainty components\n4. Conclusions and future research directions: This literature review focusses on cross-docking operations under uncertainty. The selected studies addressed various issues in cross-docking at tactical and operational levels. Since the focus is on optimising operations with existing infrastructure and facilities, studies on strategic-level problems were excluded. The framework presented in Figure 4 illustrates the composition of uncertainties in cross-docking operations. Based on the results derived from reviewing the literature, several gaps have been identified.First, according to Boysen and Fliedner (2010), truck arrival time is often uncertain. The causes of this uncertainty include weather condition, traffic condition and truck failure. While several authors considered truck arrival time as uncertain, all these studies are far from applicable to the practical environment. A main limitation is yard management and the effects of uncertain arrival time and limited yard storage on cross-docking operations when there are deadlines for receiving and shipping trucks.Second, the availability of resources significantly influences cross-docking operations. Forklifts, conveyors and labour are the most common resources for unloading, transferring and loading the products. In the literature, some studies considered limited resources. However, the assumptions used in developing the model are unrealistic and cannot be used for practical solutions (Amini and Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, 2016; Fatthi et al., 2016; Ladier, 2014; Li et al., 2012; Shi et al., 2013; Soanpet, 2012; Zouhaier and Ben Said, 2017a, b). If temporary storage has unlimited capacity, the impact of resources limitation is not visible as all the extra products have to be moved to the temporary storage. If the storage capacity is not enough, the operations of the cross-docking centre will be disrupted. Therefore, models combining the limited temporary storage with limited resources capacity may provide meaningful solutions to optimise cross-docking operations.Finally, the departure time of trucks relies on arrival time, truck processing time and availability of resources inside the cross-docking centres. Previously, literature is limited to arrival time and due date for shipping trucks (Acar et al., 2012; Acar, 2004; Fatthi et al., 2016; Ladier, 2014; Ladier and Alpan, 2016b; Ladier et al., 2014; Walha et al., 2014). Future research can focus on developing integrated solutions through several steps. In the first phase, the process of optimising departure time and all related activities should be considered in the model. In the second phase, the impact of limited yard storage and temporary storage should be addressed. Finally, the effects of deadline on the overall performance of cross-docking centres and the capacity of trucks occupied by loaded products should be examined because in some cases, with deadlines on shipping trucks, the capacity which can be used may be less. Limited yard and temporary storage can increase the waiting time of shipping trucks and therefore increasing carbon emission. This is another gap that should be addressed in future research. The result of this review shows that the combination of uncertain factors and the effect of physical characteristics of cross-docking centres is one of the leading research areas which deserve more attention.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The technique of cross-docking is attractive to organisations because of the lower warehousing and transportation (consolidated shipments) costs. This concept is based on the fast movement of products. Accordingly, cross-docking operations should be monitored carefully and accurately. Several factors in cross-docking operations can be impacted by uncertain sources that can lead to inaccuracy and inefficiency of this process. Although many papers have been published on different aspects of cross-docking, there is a need for a comprehensive review to investigate the sources of uncertainties in cross-docking. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyse and categorise sources of uncertainty in cross-docking operations. A systematic review has been undertaken to analyse methods and techniques used in cross-docking research.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A systematic review has been undertaken to analyse methods and techniques used in cross-docking research.\nFindings: The findings show that existing research has limitations on the applicability of the models developed to solve problems due to unrealistic or impractical assumption. Further research directions have been discussed to fill the gaps identified in the literature review.\nOriginality/value: There has been an increasing number of papers about cross-docking since 2010, among which three are literature reviews on cross-docking from 2013 to 2016. There is an absence of study in the current literature to critically review and identify the sources of uncertainty related to cross-docking operations. Without the proper identification and discussion of these uncertainties, the optimisation models developed to improve cross-docking operations may be inherently impractical and unrealistic.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The social servicescape: understanding the effects in the full-service hotel industry	[ "Consumer behaviour", "Other customers", "Social servicescape", "Full-service hotels" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Understanding how other customers affect consumption behavior has become an increasingly important topic in the hospitality literature. To better understand the phenomenon that Tombs and McColl-Kennedy (2003) refer to as the social servicescape, an increasing amount of literature has found that the other social actors in a shared consumption space can significantly affect consumer behavior. Often defined as an extension of Bitner's (1992) classical notion of the physical servicescape (consisting of functionality, decor and signs/symbols/artifacts), the social servicescape construct is operationalized as a reflection of the other social entities in a consumption environment in terms of their appearance, their behavior and the extent to which they are perceived to be socially similar to the person experiencing the phenomenon (Hanks and Line, 2018; Line and Hanks, 2018; Miao et al., 2011).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Mere presence\n3. Methodology: 3.1 Data collection\n4. Analysis: After collecting the necessary data, structural equation modeling was used to assess the hypothesized effects of the social servicescape. Specifically, a three-step specification process was followed consisting of:\n5. Discussion: 5.1 Conclusions\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Understanding how other customers affect hotel consumption behavior is an important topic in the hospitality literature. While existing research has typically explored the effects of active interactions among consumers, this study aims to better understand the effects of passive interactions. Accordingly, this research conceptualizes the hotel social servicescape as a function of the mere presence of the other social actors that occupy the hotel's shared consumption space.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To operationalize this construct, data were collected from a sample of 1,019 recent consumers of full-service hotel experience in the USA.\nFindings: The findings suggest that the social servicescape can significantly affect satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the domain of leisure-driven hotel experiences.\nResearch limitations/implications: The results support the hypothesis that the mere presence of others significantly affects leisure travelers' perceptions of the hotel consumption experience. Accordingly, these findings indicate that the makeup of the hotel servicescape is not limited to the traditionally acknowledged physical elements of the space.\nPractical implications: The results suggest that in addition to managing the physical aspects of the service environment, hotel managers should take steps to manage the social aspects of the servicescape as well.\nOriginality/value: This paper is the first to provide an operational account of the social servicescape in the domain of full-service hotels. Additionally, nomological validity is established by examining the downstream effects on satisfaction and behavioral intentions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Revisiting the relationship between formal planning process and planning effectiveness: Do organizational capabilities and decision-making style matter?	[ "Tourism", "Planning", "Strategic management", "Hotel management", "Organizational capabilities", "GCC countries", "Decision-making style", "Formal planning process", "Planning effectiveness" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Is the formal business planning process a worthy approach for hotels? Is it worth the effort and resources used in this process? What begs these questions regarding the applicability of formal planning for hotels is the nature of the tourism sector. Although formal business planning has been always considered a key organizational activity for organizations in different domains, including tourism (Miller and Cardinal, 1994; Harrington et al., 2014; Elbanna, 2013), some authors have grown sceptical of the value of formal planning for tourism firms. Despite the fact that the roots of planning in hospitality and tourism research can be traced back to the 1970s (Quek, 2011), there has been a dearth of rigorous planning research in tourism, coupled with little attention to various characteristics of practice.\nTheory and hypothesis development: Formal planning and organizational capabilities\nMethods: Sampling and data collection\nAnalysis and results: We used structural equation modeling (SEM) because it deals not only with a single simple or multiple linear regression but with several equations simultaneously which fits well our conceptual model and data analysis requirements. As shown in Table II, goodness-of-fit statistics of the study model are well above the suggested threshold values (kh2 = 196.14, degrees of freedom [df] = 150, p = 0.01, kh2/df = 1.31, GFI = 0.91, IFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.94, CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.04, confidence interval [CI] = 0.02-0.06 and PClose = 0.79), suggesting that the proposed structural model fits the data well.\nDiscussion and conclusions: Theoretical implications\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to address a timely research question by clarifying whether formal planning is a worthy approach for hotels. In so doing, the authors developed a theoretical model that extends prior research by exploring how the formal planning process influences organizational capabilities and decision-making style. The model also examines the impact of the three identified factors on planning effectiveness.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 175 hotels located in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).\nFindings: The study concludes that the practice of formal planning in the tourism sector does matter and both organizational capabilities and decision-making style are important factors in predicting planning effectiveness.\nResearch limitations/implications: Generalizations to organizations operating in other sectors, such as manufacturing or government sectors, should be drawn cautiously.\nPractical implications: Taking into account oil price volatility and serious political crises in the region, this study provides several insights to hotel managers into how the formal planning process can influence planning effectiveness.\nOriginality/value: The findings enrich the debate on the role of formal planning in the tourism sector, which has been relatively devoid of similar studies.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Customer responses to integrity issues for travel services in China: A content analysis based on online complaints	[ "China", "Integrity issues", "Negative emotion", "Perceived unfairness", "Responsibility attribution", "Travel services" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Integrity is \"quite possibly the most commonly cited morally desirable trait\" (Audi and Murphy, 2006, p. 3) in the world of business. Integrity helps corporations to build up \"reputational capital\", contributes to \"a company's core capability differential\" (Petrick and Quinn, 2000, p. 15) and enables businesses to increase market share. From a relational perspective, integrity helps corporations to develop and maintain healthy relationships with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. As pervious research has suggested, integrity is one of the three prominent characteristics (i.e. ability, integrity and benevolence) responsible for trust building, especially early in the development of a relationship (Mayer et al., 1995).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 The concept of integrity\n3. Theoretical framework: Based on the issues raised in previous research on trust violation and unethical marketing, behaviors with low integrity could endanger a customer's well-being and create a stressful situation for the customer. Therefore, this study refers to the stress and coping theory to analyze customer's responses to integrity issues.\n4. Research methods: Content analysis was used for this exploratory study. Content analysis is a research technique for \"making replicable and valid inferences from texts (or other meaningful matter) to the contexts of their use\" (Krippendorff, 2004, p. 18). Following Berg (2004), the content analysis in this study was undertaken in five steps.\n5. Findings and discussion: 5.1 Profile of integrity issues in travel services\n6. Implications: This study explored customer responses to integrity issues using the stress and coping model. According to the results, integrity issues frequently appear in service delivery and are primarily rooted in the unethical behaviors of service employees or service partners. Customers often use service contracts and fairness rules as reference standards to evaluate the harm or loss caused by integrity issues. Although some integrity issues (e.g. arbitrary changes in the itinerary) are conducted by service employees or partners, customers still attribute the responsibility to the travel agency. Beyond dissatisfaction, customers feel angry and/or disappointed when they encounter an integrity issue, and sometimes feel helpless to improve their situation. These findings provide some meaningful insights for future research and managerial practice.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore integrity issues for travel services in China using the framework of a stress and coping model to focus on customers' perceived unfairness, responsibility attribution and their negative emotions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A content analysis of 80 online customer complaints provides a brief profile of these integrity issues.\nFindings: Integrity issues frequently appear during service delivery and are primarily rooted in the unethical behavior of travel service employees or partners. Service contracts and fairness are used by customers as standards to evaluate harm caused by integrity issues. Customers attribute responsibility for these issues to the travel agency or tour operator, and not their employees. Finally, customers feel angry and disappointed when they experience an integrity issue and sometimes feel helpless.\nResearch limitations/implications: Future studies can collect data by multiple means and further examine the correlations between customers' cognitive appraisals, negative emotions and relationship outcomes in the context of integrity violation.\nPractical implications: Integrity management in travel services should be integrated with service management and promise management. Travel agencies must take immediate actions to reduce the negative influences of integrity issues. Moreover, the tourism sector in China should make efforts to control integrity problems at the industry level.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to the prior model of trust violation by investigating the trigger events of integrity violation and emphasizing the roles of customers' perceived unfairness and negative emotions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Making strategies stick	[ "Management strategy", "Organizational change", "Change management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: The guy who plows the snow in my neighborhood bought himself a new truck last winter. It's a Cummins-powered Dodge Ram 3500 HD (Heavy Duty) pickup, onto which he mounted a Meyer MAX plow with the standard high-carbon-steel cutting edge, optional heavy-duty snow deflector, and many other desirable features.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - Many great strategies fail to deliver any value for the simple reason that they never get implemented. This article discusses some of the barriers to organizational change and proposes six tactics that can help organizations get from an unimplemented strategy to an implemented one.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The author uses a case study of Blockbuster, Inc., which had more than ten years' notice of the need to change its operating model but was unable to do so and recently went into bankruptcy protection. The author then presents a series of lessons and examples for how companies can avoid a similar fate.\nFindings: - The key lessons from the case studies involve six tactics: having explicit 100 and 1,000 day plans for the strategy development and implementation process, respectively; having high expectations but separating aspirations from the budgeting process; communicating the strategy clearly and concisely; showing the necessary leadership commitment; making some quick moves to signal implementation of the strategy; and realigning the organization to fit the new strategy.\nOriginality/value: - The key message of this article is that strategy does not create value unless implemented. Executives and advisers with responsibility for strategy need to devote as much attention to ensuring the strategy is implemented as they do to developing the strategy itself.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Effective use of human physiological metrics to evaluate website usability: An empirical investigation from China	[ "Heart rate variability", "User experience", "Eye-tracking", "Human-computer interaction", "Website usability", "Empirical investigation" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: With the rapid development of internet technology, life-service is becoming one of the most popular applications on the internet, which could provide education, work, entertainment and other life-related service information for user's daily life. Websites are important interfaces in Human-computer interaction (HCI). To be successful, websites must not only contain useful information, but also provide that information in an efficient and easily accessible manner (Djamasbi et al., 2012). One method of delivering this experience is to design websites that effectively guide users' attention to key information on the page. Website usability significantly affects user online surfing behavior. Usability studies provide essential information about users' views and perceptions of efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction of given online services. Therefore, there is a need for usability testing to specify the usability problems and to make the online services more usable (Albayrak and Cagiltay, 2013).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Usability conceptual foundations\n3. Research model and hypotheses: This study adopted an eye-tracking and physical arousal measures technique with usability evaluation model from research work of Nielsen (1994). We chose the physiological metrics related to users' cognitive activities and visual attention including fixation duration, fixation count, blink count and HRV. Task completion time, which is a measure of user behavior performance, is taken into account. Figure 1 depicts the proposed research model.\n4. Research methodology: 4.1 Instrument development\n5. Data analysis and results: This study used the PLSc technique to analyze experimental data by using SmartPLS 3.0 and Adanco 1.0 for validating measurements and testing the hypothesis. While maintaining all strengths of PLS, PLSc overcomes the lack of consistency and corrects for attenuation of regression path estimates (Dijkstra and Henseler, 2015a, b). The two-stage approach was used to assess the second-order constructs. This method provides the advantage of estimating a more parsimonious model on the higher level analysis without the lower order constructs (Becker et al., 2012; Chen and Qi, 2015; Chin et al., 2003; Ifinedo and Nahar, 2009; Lin, 2014). Table II documents the demographic information of the 200 participants.\n6. Discussion and implications: Usability is an important index to measure the quality of products. The level of usability directly impacts product quality. How to evaluate the usability of a product is also significant in product designing. Presently, research on usability evaluation methods for websites are mostly examining users' subjective assessments, or considering error rate, completion time and other performance indicators as objective measures to assess from objective view (Muylle et al., 2004; Jeng, 2005; Albayrak and Cagiltay, 2013). These assessment methods are limited, and have a lack of theoretical basis and technical support. Meanwhile, the traditional usability evaluating methods are using the overall website as the research object. They are unable to pinpoint the factors that affect the level of usability.\n7. Conclusion: This study filled in a research gap by using physiological metrics to evaluate website usability. The results showed that there are strong interrelationships between human physiological metrics and website usability. Specifically, fixation duration, fixation count, blink count and HRV have strong explanatory ability for website usability.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The evaluation of website usability is the precondition and a critical step for website design and optimization. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and provide empirical evidence of the interrelationships between human physiological metrics and website usability. This study examines how eye-movement metrics and heart rate variability (HRV) evaluate website usability, and then affect users' online surfing behavior.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A physiological measurement experiment is designed to collect participants' physiological metrics. This paper proposes an objective measurement model for website usability, and partial least squares is used to analyze the measurement and structural models, based on data collected from 200 participants who had experienced online surfing at least four times.\nFindings: The analysis supports partially or fully 28 of the 31 hypotheses formulated. The study reveals that human physiological metrics (i.e. fixation duration, fixation count, blink count, HRV) have a strong explanatory ability for website usability.\nResearch limitations/implications: Data for this study were collected only from mainland China. Therefore, participants may have been influenced by Chinese cultures. The generalizability of this study may be enhanced by collecting data from more diverse samples and validating the model on different cultures.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes significantly to the industry by providing empirical evidence of the interrelationship between human physiological metrics and website usability. The findings also provide managers with valuable insight into better understanding of the nature of these interrelationships.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Failed crisis communication: the Northern Rock Bank case	[ "Crisis communication", "Regulation", "Bank run", "Collective sensemaking" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Communication in times of crisis is a neglected theme in accounting research (Andon and Free, 2012, 2014; Holland, 2010). This is particularly surprising in the case of banks, given the severe financial crises they have suffered since 2007. The failure of Lehman Brothers, UBS, Barclays, Northern Rock (NR), Royal Scottish and many other banks has been the subject of constant media attention and serves as a manifestation of the need for management and regulators to stabilize crisis situations. Yet, media communications by top-level managers and financial regulators in times of crisis is still a largely unexplored and under-analyzed area of research.\n2. Prior studies of crisis communication: Studies of the interaction between accounting information and its calculative practices and the ways in which it affects users of information in times of crisis are typical research topics in the social studies of finance (for an overview, see Vollmer et al., 2009). Its scholars maintain that in order to understand how accounting information affects market actors, it is necessary to understand how both senders and receivers frame their messages and their interpretations.\n3. Ways of framing in crisis communication: According to Luhmann (1979), loss of trust depends on one's historic knowledge of another's self-presentation and the way in which people behave in situations related to self-presentation, which Lindenberg (2000) referred to as relational signaling. As Vosselman and van der Meer-Kooistra (2009) wrote:A party will trust his partner if he understands from his partner's behavioural signals that the partner has stable, co-operative behaviour, based on stable, normative goals. Trust is built gradually by monitoring these relational signals [emphasis added], two of which - ad hoc calculations and ad hoc accounts - signal a voluntary, personal commitment to the situational expectations (p. 275).\n4. The crisis communication actors and the role of news media: There are several insider actors in this case: NR's top management, the Triparties, fund managers, fund analysts and such other stakeholders as the City of Newcastle. These insiders influence such outsider actors as the retail depositors and investors via news media. We assume that the NR's top management and the Triparties are the most powerful actors in the crisis communication process - or at least the most potentially powerful - and may have the greatest influence on the retail depositors' sensemaking process. Furthermore, we assume that retail depositors are informed primarily through news media, which include reporting on observable events and stock market reactions.\n5. The study: 5.1 Data collection\n6. The rise and fall of NR: 6.1 Before the crisis\n7. The analysis: 7.1 Financial reporting\n8. Why did not it work?: NR's management tried to stabilize the situation through its nonfinancial reporting and explaining and interpreting of financial measures. Until the BBC's report on September 13, 2007, in fact, the bank's managers did their utmost to present NR as a well-respected and well-managed organization that had inadvertently and through no fault of its own found itself in a temporary funding crisis. NR's rituals of purification, along with its various masking activities, were intended to support this self-presentation. In June, Applegarth had informed the press that it was business as usual and that the bank was in better shape than it had been a few years earlier. The bank's strong reputation and the generally positive news coverage should have supported this attempt to frame the bank's actions and should have provided a good chance of stabilizing the situation. NR officials really tried to manage the stakeholders' interpretation of the news stories. Why did they fail? Their claims were in accordance with the criteria for managing crises that Boin et al. (2009) listed: they had sufficient pre-crisis political capital with key media actors and had not been the subject of bad press; they cogently and proactively communicated their interpretation of the crisis, without opposition from either experts or non-experts; and they indicated that exogenous causes had created the crisis. Perhaps the only weak point in NR's public defense was the fact that its managers had extensive banking experience and were therefore unable to blame the situation on others.\n9. Summary and conclusions: This study of the NR case examined the bank management's and the Triparties' communication during the crisis that was intended to reassure depositors. Yet, trust in NR was obviously lost in the process.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Although granted funding from government agencies, Britain's Northern Rock (NR) Bank experienced a depositors' bank run in 2007. The purpose of this paper is to explore bank managers' and the Triparties' communications, in their failed attempt to reassure depositors during the crisis.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper is based on content analysis of information given to depositors by bank managers and the Triparties via mass media. The theoretical concepts of rituals and masking were utilized.\nFindings: Results suggest that nonfinancial reporting supersedes financial reporting. Rather than hidden losses, bank regulators' and politicians' discussions of emergency funding for NR was the crucial incident signaling \"something going on.\" Even positive statements by prominent organizational actors may have signaled serious problems that compromised NR's \"business as usual\" stance.\nPractical implications: Collective action manifested in a bank run is triggered by reasons other than numbers in financial reporting. The research results indicate a need to consider how regulatory authorities act during financial crises.\nOriginality/value: Previous studies concluded that sensegivers must be consistent in framing communication to sensemakers. Sensemaking requires that the crisis communication is also consistent in the sensemakers' framing. Because it is difficult for sensegivers to reshape the collective sensemakers' frame, successful crisis communication requires that sensegivers change their communication to match the sensemakers' frame, including symbolic actions. Additionally, a bank run is characterized first by loss of trust in financial reporting; second, in nonfinancial reporting; and, finally, in the sensegiving actor: a domino effect.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The role of a new strength-based intervention on organisation-based self-esteem and work engagement: A three-wave intervention study	[ "Work engagement", "Positive psychology", "Organization-based self-esteem", "Strengths intervention", "Strengths use" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Organisations are increasingly promoting employee health and well-being (Tonkin, Malinen, Naswall, and Kuntz, 2018). This trend is due to evidence showing that happy workers are more productive and cope better with the high demands of the work environment than their dissatisfied counterparts (Zelenski et al., 2008; Lyubomirsky et al., 2005; Pfeffer, 2018). A promising approach to promote well-being is the focus on individual strengths at work (Bakker and van Woerkom, 2018; Quinlan et al., 2012; Peterson et al., 2010). However, research on strengths use in organisational contexts is still in its early stages (Bakker and van Woerkom, 2018; Buckingham, 2007), and enabling strengths use might represent an overlooked strategy to boost employee well-being. Indeed, organisations may implement strengths interventions, i.e. training processes aiming at the identification, development, and use of the participants' strengths (Quinlan et al., 2012) to boost the benefits of employees' strengths use. Importantly, such an approach to employees' empowerment has been found to consistently enhance general well-being while being relatively easy to implement and moderately costly (Quinlan et al., 2012).\nSustaining employees' strengths use to unleash personal resources in the workplace: Individual strengths have been defined as:\nEmployees' strengths and work-related well-being: Employing strengths is an energising process that renews vigour and counteracts exhaustion (Ghielen et al., 2018; Peterson and Seligman, 2004; Schaufeli et al., 2002). Indeed, actively putting one's strengths to work can trigger flow experiences (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) and employees who apply their strengths may feel good about themselves and invigorated (Peterson and Seligman, 2004). Accordingly, strengths interventions have been proposed as an effective means to influence and sustain employees' engagement (Bakker et al., 2018; Schaufeli and Salanova, 2010).\nMethod: Participants and procedure\nMeasures: All measures were administered in Italian. Scales that were not available in Italian were translated, using the back-translation method (Behling and Law, 2000).\nData analyses: Repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted to test H1 and H2. H3 was tested by inspecting correlations among the study variables at different time points. Finally, to test H4, we used the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2013) and conducted a bootstrapping-based analysis.\nResults: Measurement model and descriptive statistics\nHypotheses testing: Repeated measures ANOVA were conducted to determine whether the levels of work engagement and OBSE significantly differ between time points. For what concerns work engagement, Mauchly's Test of sphericity indicated that the assumption of sphericity was violated, kh2(2) = 9.161, p = 0.01. Repeated measures ANOVA with a Huynh-Feldt correction determined that the mean of work engagement significantly differed between time points (F(1.794, 105.833) = 4.502, p = 0.02). Post hoc tests using the Bonferroni correction revealed that the intervention elicited a slight increment in work engagement from Time 1 to Time 2, which was not statistically significant (p = 0.12). However, work engagement at Time 3 increased and was significantly different to Time 1 (p = 0.036). Regarding OBSE, Mauchly's Test of sphericity indicated that the assumption of sphericity was not violated, kh2(2) = 0.08, p = 0.96. Repeated measures ANOVA assuming sphericity determined that the mean of OBSE significantly differed between time points (F(2, 108) = 7.514, p = 0.001). Post hoc tests using the Bonferroni correction revealed that the intervention elicited a slight increment in OBSE from Time 1 to Time 2, which was not statistically significant (p = 0.07). However, OBSE at Time 3 significantly increased compared to Time 1 (p = 0.001). Based on these findings, H1 and H2 are confirmed. That is, the levels of OBSE and of work engagement after the intervention were significantly higher compared to participants' level of the same constructs before the intervention.\nDiscussion: This contribution presented a quasi-experimental field study on the role of a strengths intervention to support employees' effective use of their strengths at work and well-being. Moreover, by collecting data before and after three workshops over nine months, we were able to examine the relationships between OBSE and work engagement across multiple time points, over a medium time frame. Findings showed that participants' level of both OBSE and work engagement were higher at the end of the intervention period, i.e. after nine months from the first time point, compared to baseline. These results suggest that interventions designed to improve employees' effective use and awareness of their strengths can be effective to sustain work engagement in the medium term when multiple workshops and assignments are provided between one workshop and the other.\nStudy limitations and future research: Our study has several limitations that deserve attention for future research. First, in the current study we could not involve employees in a control group and we were not able to assess the effects of the intervention in the long run. Thus, it is unclear whether the changes in our variables were caused by the intervention programme or were because of other reasons, such as a natural course. Future research could try to replicate our findings using a controlled study design, i.e. comprehending a control group, and assessing the effects of the intervention in the long term. A second limitation is that all participants worked for the same pharmaceutical organisation. Socially desirable behaviour and group pressure are possible risks when participants work in the same team. Participants from different organisations may be less influenced by other participants and may feel more comfortable showing their vulnerability because of the anonymity (van Wingerden et al., 2017a). Future research could try to replicate this intervention study involving participants from different working contexts. Third, all the scales we used were self-reports. Future studies could combine objective assessments and self-report scales to better understand the effects of our intervention on employees and organisational outcomes. Lastly, we only used quantitative research methods. Future research may also use qualitative approaches to shed light on participants' experiences and reveal how the intervention is useful to them (van Wingerden et al., 2017b).\nConclusion: This study provides initial evidence-based support for scholars and practitioners interested in promoting employees' well-being by empowering their effective strengths use. Our results suggest that empowering and supporting employees' strengths use may foster work engagement, which is critical to sustain job performance and creativity (Christian et al., 2011; Kim et al., 2013).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: This study aims to investigate the relationship between organisation-based self-esteem (OBSE) and work engagement during a new strength-based intervention over nine months.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A sample of 82 workers composed of 70 sales consultants and 12 area-managers working in an Italian pharmaceutical company received a one-day training based on the FAMILY approach, three times for nine months, with a three-month lag between each workshop. Self-reported measures of OBSE and work engagement were collected before and after each workshop.\nFindings: Results showed that final levels of both OBSE and work engagement were significantly higher compared to baseline. Moreover, results from a multiple mediation analysis showed that the direct and indirect relationships between OBSE and work engagement changed at different time points, which may have been related to the different contents of the workshops.\nOriginality/value: This study provides initial evidence suggesting that organisations could leverage on medium-term interventions to provide employees active guidance on how to use their strengths at work, likely to boost higher employees' positive perceptions of themselves as organisational members and work engagement.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A study of managerial derailment characteristics and personality preferences	[ "Managers", "Personality", "Leadership development" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Due to the speed and change of business (Baron, 1999) and the tendency for some managers to become overwhelmed through transitions and being rushed into authority (Kolb, 2005; Walker, 2002; Watkins, 2004), organizations must account for managerial derailment in conjunction with managerial development in the career assessment of managers. Managers and executives who derail (i.e. have problems that stall a career) can cost their companies over 20 times an executive's salary in direct and indirect costs; in some cases, these costs can amount to millions or even billions of dollars (Finkelstein, 2004; Smart, 1999; Wells, 2005). Poor management or failure in management, regardless of managerial/organizational level, can be detrimental to managers' work or welfare, their company, as well as those around the managers (Finkin, 1991; Gillespie et al., 2001). Therefore, organizations and managers need to become aware of the characteristics of managerial derailment on a level equal to the characteristics of managerial success.Research is needed to examine the relationship between personality and managerial behaviors (Berr et al., 2000), especially when considering the costs of managerial derailment. One personality instrument used in the training and development of managers is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI is valued for the ease with which it presents personality-related preferences, for its usefulness with work preferences and leadership style, its accessibility to practitioners, and its usefulness for research and practice in organizational and applied settings and managerial and leadership development (Berr et al., 2000; Fitzgerald and Kirby, 1997; Gardner and Martinko, 1996). Some researchers and experts have advocated the use of the MBTI in career counseling and in job-related activities (Jackson et al., 1996; Kennedy and Kennedy, 2004; McCaulley and Martin, 1995; Sample, 2004). The present research takes a step in a different direction by examining an aspect rarely studied with the MBTI, namely managerial derailment characteristics. As noted above, examining derailment is critical because of the extreme costs associated with derailing managers or executives (Finkelstein, 2004; Smart, 1999; Wells, 2005). The present research will examine if a manager's MBTI personality preference is related to various characteristics of managerial derailment as identified from the direct report, peer, and boss perspectives.Myers-Briggs theory\nMethod: Participants and procedures\nResults: The managers varied across MBTI preferences. Within each preference dimension, the majority of managers were \"extraverts\" (54.5 percent), \"sensors\" (57 percent), \"thinkers\" (79.7 percent), and \"judgers\" (65.8 percent). By combining all four MBTI dimensions, managers covered all 16 MBTI types, ranging from 19.7 percent in frequency (ISTJs) to 1 percent (ISFPs). The t-test was used to compare preference pairs (E versus I; S versus N; T versus F; J versus P) on the ratings of managerial derailment characteristics from the direct report, peer, and boss perspectives; this process is similar to the t-test analysis used by Hautala (2005). Though the hypotheses were all directional, the research is still very exploratory in nature since this type of research connecting MBTI preference with derailment has not been conducted before, as previously mentioned. Therefore, the researchers conducted two-tailed t-tests (with alpha set at 0.05) so no important findings from either MBTI preference would be overlooked.The t-test results comparing the MBTI preference pairs are presented in Table I, according to \"overall\" derailment and by each derailment cluster. First, no differences existed between \"extravert\" and \"introvert\" managers in overall derailment, and results were mixed and inconsistent between \"extravert\" and \"introvert\" managers across the other derailment clusters. For the other three preference pairs, results showed more distinct and clearer patterns. For instance, \"intuitor\" managers were judged as more likely to display managerial derailment characteristics than \"sensor\" managers, supporting H2. Observers believed \"thinker\" managers were significantly more likely to display managerial derailment characteristics than \"feeler\" managers. This finding is opposite from what H3 suggested. Finally, \"perceiver\" managers were believed to be more likely to display managerial derailment characteristics than \"judger\" managers, supporting H4.In an exploratory analysis, the researchers conducted a one-way ANOVA to determine whether there were differences among the 16 MBTI types in observer ratings of the extent to which their managers displayed managerial derailment characteristics. As Table II shows, all F-tests were significant, meaning there were significant differences among all MBTI types in observer ratings of the extent to which their managers displayed derailment characteristics on overall derailment and based on each of the five derailment clusters.Table III displays the \"rankings\" of all 16 MBTI types from most (1) to least (16) likely to display managerial derailment characteristics based on observer ratings. Although the rankings of MBTI types are varied across all five derailment clusters, there are a few patterns and findings that are noteworthy. For instance, \"ENTP\" managers were considered the most likely to display managerial derailment characteristics from their observers based on overall derailment and all but one of the derailment clusters. Additionally, \"INTP\" and \"ESTP\" managers were usually among the top five MBTI types as most likely to display managerial derailment characteristics. On the opposite spectrum, \"ISFP\" managers were perceived by their observers as being the least likely to display managerial derailment characteristics, along with \"ESFJ\", \"ESFP\" and \"ISFJ\" managers.\nDiscussion: Organizations invest time, money, and effort in the selection, training, and development of managers. When these managers derail, plateau, or fail, not only do their organizations lose, but so too do the people who work with these managers, including the managers themselves (Finkelstein, 2004; Lombardo and McCauley, 1988; Smart, 1999; Wells, 2005). The results of the present study reveal that certain MBTI preferences of managers are potentially more likely to display managerial derailment characteristics than other MBTI preferences, as perceived by the managers' own direct reports, peers, and bosses.Results supported two of the four hypotheses. First, the \"intuitor\" managers were seen as displaying more derailment characteristics than the \"sensor\" managers. Because \"intuitors\" follow their hunches and have abstract ways of thinking, observers of these managers may believe they display derailment characteristics more than \"sensor\" managers, who are very factual and systematic. Additionally, the \"perciever\" managers were seen as displaying more derailment characteristics than the \"judger\" managers. Because \"perceivers\" thrive on last-minute challenges and at times lack decisiveness, observers may believe they display derailment characteristics more often than \"judgers\", who are considered very orderly and organized. These two findings suggest that managers who prefer facts, order, and organization (i.e. \"sensors\" and \"judgers\") may be seen as less likely to display derailment characteristics than those managers who prefer abstractness, spontaneity, and indecisiveness (i.e. \"intuitors\" and \"perceivers\").Results were mixed regarding \"introvert\" versus \"extravert\" managers. There was no difference between these preferences in relation to overall derailment characteristics, though in some cases there were differences among the derailment clusters. However, those differences were also inconsistent. This finding may suggest that the MBTI preferences of \"introvert\" and \"extravert\" managers may not be a key determinant of displaying derailment characteristics in the eyes of bosses, peers, and direct reports.The other unsupported hypothesis regarded \"thinker\" versus \"feeler\" managers. \"Thinker\" managers are theoretically less tactful in dealing with others. Raters may have provided less-than-favorable judgments of \"thinker\" managers because these managers are not as \"people-friendly\" as \"feeler\" managers. \"Thinker\" managers can be seen as too task-oriented to care about others. \"Feeler\" managers place more value on communication, sharing, and harmony. In general, \"feelers\" are probably more pleasurable to have around, while \"thinkers\" can become too concerned with their own thought-processes to consider the opinions of their coworkers, subordinates, or even bosses. This less amiable personality preference could be one of a number of reasons why raters believed \"thinker\" managers were more likely to display characteristics of managerial derailment than \"feeler\" managers.Perhaps the most informative part of this research concerns the patterns of MBTI type in displaying managerial derailment characteristics. In evaluating the likelihood of derailment of the 16 MBTI types, it is interesting to note that the types of managers rated as having the fewest derailment characteristics (e.g. ISFJ, ISFP, ESFP, ESFJ) could all be considered \"people-persons\" as these personality preferences are all \"SFs\". In general, \"SFs\" are \"sympathetic, friendly, and warm, and tend to be drawn to areas where they can support others on a day-to-day basis\" (Kirby, 1997, p. 10). Since managers with these MBTI types and preferences focus so much on people, observers may have a bias (which could have been rightfully earned) to rate these managers as less likely to display managerial derailment characteristics because the managers are so friendly and warm.On the other hand, the MBTI managerial types seen as most likely to display derailment characteristics (i.e. ENTP, INTP, ESTP) all have the \"TP\" preference. These managers all share the characteristics of being analytical, logical, and critical; they also tend to concentrate on tasks instead of people, seem impersonal, and may postpone decisions and work until the last minute (Hirsh and Kummerow, 1998; Myers, 1998). \"TPs\" focus not on people, but rather on frameworks, system analysis, and logic, which may cause them to appear impersonal (Kirby, 1997; Myers et al., 1998). The \"TP\" managers may be considered as quick decision makers, forceful, skeptical to the point of being overly critical, bored by routine, and analytical in all that they do, and may be viewed by others as detached, independent, and autonomous (Myers, 1998). When these managers do not \"fit\" well with their job or organization, they can become overly critical and cynical, isolate themselves, and have trouble meeting deadlines (Hirsh and Kummerow, 1998; Myers, 1998), all of which are hallmarks of managerial derailment (Lombardo et al., 1999). In summary, based on the present data, definite patterns emerged between MBTI preferences and types, and observer ratings of managers displaying derailment characteristics.Limitations and future research\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This research has the purpose of examining whether personality preferences and type from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) are related to managerial derailment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This study is within the context of field research, using 6,124 managers undergoing leadership development processes. Survey methodology was used to assess a manager's self-ratings of MBTI type and preference, and observer ratings (peer, boss, direct report) of managerial derailment characteristics.\nFindings: - Different MBTI preferences of managers are likely to display derailment characteristics as judged by observer perspectives. In an exploratory manner, the MBTI preferences and types are also examined in accordance with different managerial derailment clusters.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The MBTI's conceptual foundation and psychometrics may be viewed as a limitation, and other personality theories like \"The Big Five\" could be used. Limitations of the study also include the fact that managers going through a leadership development process may be different to managers in general, and derailment characteristics do not necessarily mean actual managerial derailment.\nPractical implications: - Regardless of MBTI type or preference, managers can decrease their chances of managerial derailment through examining job fit, increasing self-awareness, and through other mechanisms mentioned in the paper.\nOriginality/value: - This study is unique, since MBTI preferences and types could signal whether managers display derailment characteristics to their co-workers. Additionally, this paper gives insight into how managers can prevent derailment, regardless of their MBTI type and preference, thereby having special value for managers and those who study managerial development.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
UK managers: is capability in the eye of the beholder?	[ "Leadership", "Decision making", "United Kingdom" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: UK management has had a bad press. Starting with the mid 1980s, commentators have questioned the educational qualifications, the levels of ongoing training and development, the ability to manage others and the strategic decision making of UK managers (e.g. Constable and McCormick, 1987).\nThe research: This paper draws on research conducted on behalf of the UK Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) to clarify the situation by asking three key questions about management and leadership:1. What makes capable managers?2. How do UK and non-UK organisations develop their managers and leaders?3. Are UK managers and leaders believed to be as good as those from other countries?We were interested in:* the degree to which HR took a strategic role in the organization;* the degree to which the organization was seeking to develop a cadre of managers over time;* the infrastructure supporting management development (MD);* line managers' views on the strategic priority given to MD; and* the amount of development being received.\nUK performance: What emerges are different perspectives on management capability which reflect a complex interplay of national and organizational culture. There are for instance key differences in the way that organizations approach MD on a national basis with the UK performance being rather mixed. It is the least strategic in terms of the role HR plays in the organization. It also emerges as a low scorer on the infrastructure put in place by companies to support the development of managers. This includes having an MD policy, appraisals, fast-tracking, career planning and systematic evaluation. UK organizations are also a little weaker in creating a cadre of managers via retention and internal promotion strategies over the longer-term, what we have called MD ethos. In contrast the UK reports slightly higher rates of MD activity.But does any of this matter? If these factors are statistically compared to organizational performance then three factors are significant predictors, explaining 21 per cent of the variations in performance across organizations: HR Strategy, MD Ethos and, from line managers, perceived importance of MD. So the lesson for organizations is that they need to foster a positive link between its HR and business strategy, create a progressive MD ethos and convince line managers that MD is taken seriously, and if they can do this it would seem likely that they will outperform their competitors.When comparing performance with that of the other nations in our research, UK companies lag behind their German and Norwegian counterparts when it comes to creating a progressive ethos for the development of managers, but they are ahead of Spanish firms who perform poorly in this area. Of the four countries, UK companies have most ground to catch up in linking their HR and business strategies and in convincing their line managers that they are taking MD seriously.Sadly, the areas that the UK outperforms its competitors - having good MD Systems and the amount of MD taking place, fail to explain significant variance in organizational performance. The lesson seems to be that having the infrastructure in place to support MD (like a policy for MD, appraisal, fast-track and career systems, and systematic evaluation) and even carrying out a high amount of MD, does not in itself guarantee improved firm performance. Unless the MD activities are integrated with the longer-term business strategy, are supported by a progressive ethos and are seen as credible by line managers, superior performance effects will not be achieved.So there is evidence of organizational approaches to MD being less than optimal for the UK. What we also sought to explore was how are managers perceived by the organizations they work for. In our discussions with a range of managers from different organizations and of different nationalities we heard many views about national capability. In some organizations UK managers were seen as failing to deal with poor performance and hence avoid being too direct when dealing with subordinates. This attribute also has a plus side in that UK managers were also seen to be culturally sensitive, less hierarchical in terms of using power to make things happen and more sensitive regarding subordinates' views and ability to deliver. Some comments were made regarding UK managers being wedded to hierarchy but this seemed to be a relative attribute and UK managers were also felt to be less hierarchical than those from eastern Europe and France. The greatest contrasts were found in comparing views on capability with some case studies commenting that UK managers were of limited competence, risk averse and with narrow abilities and yet others seeing UK managers as entrepreneurial, flexible and broader in scope.Something strange is going on here. Looking at how managers are perceived does not find clear comparison, but when we compare these perceptions within the culture of the organization we find that context is key. UK managers seem to compare less favorably where the UK arm of the organization is of long standing and afflicted by many of the problems of age; overly bureaucratic, hierarchical, risk averse. Where the situation is reversed and the UK part of the business is the younger element then the comparisons are much more favorable and UK managers exhibit strengths in just those attributes that are seen as weaknesses in other organizations.\nConclusion: It would seem therefore that the problem does not necessarily rest with management capability per se but with the vision and strategic direction of the organization. This of course is a matter of leadership and if anything, this is where we need to focus and create organizations that look to develop their managers for the long run, that see the importance of people and therefore link their HR strategy firmly to their business strategy, that convey their commitment to MD and which create jobs and a culture that value independent entrepreneurial managers. With the right leadership and the right vision, all managers rise above national differences to assume the cultural mantle of their organization. If you create the right culture for entrepreneurialism, you may well find that you have the UK managers that you are looking for.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This article analyses whether UK managers are more or less capable than those from competitor nations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper draws on research conducted on behalf of the UK Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) to clarify the situation.\nFindings: - What emerges are different perspectives on management capability which reflect a complex interplay of national and organizational culture. There are for instance key differences in the way that organizations approach MD on a national basis with the UK performance being rather mixed.\nOriginality/value: - With the right leadership and the right vision, all managers rise above national differences to assume the cultural mantle of their organization.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Translating competitive strength into bottom-line performance	[ "Benchmarking", "Business performance", "Budgetary control" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In 1999, tennis superstar Andre Agassi found himself knocked out of the Australian Open in the fourth round. It had been four years since Agassi had won a Grand Slam title. Could he still compete? Or was it time to retire?\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - At some point in their career, almost all managers will find themselves in a business that is under-performing relative to expectations. But how do we know whether the expectations are reasonable? How can we tell whether we have an operational problem that requires operational fixes, or a strategic problem that may require a more fundamental change in how we go to market? In this article, Stuart Jackson shows how the concept of strategic market position, together with detailed competitive benchmarking, can provide the keys to answering these tough questions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Using the example of luggage company, Samsonite, Jackson shows how in the past, across the board cost-cutting failed to deliver substantial profit improvements while stifling growth. However more recently, insights into how Samsonite's costs compared to industry peers together with a recognition of the company's untapped strength as a global competitor, have led the company to redesign its overall business model.\nFindings: - Overlapping regional functions have been eliminated and economies in global sourcing have enabled increased spending to rebuild marketing and sales. The result has been both expanded bottom-line profitability and an acceleration of the company's growth.\nOriginality/value: - Discusses Samsonite and its redesigned business model.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Work role transitions - expert nurses to novice preceptors	[ "Workplace learning", "Nursing", "Work roles", "Expert to novice", "Preceptors", "Work transitions" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Human resource development (HRD) is a broad field of practice and research that encompasses many contexts of learning (Lee, 2015). Within its realm are policies and practices for strengthening the workforce at national, state and local levels. Constructs such as informal and formal learning, coaching, mentoring, learning transfer and a host of other workplace learning strategies are subsumed under the umbrella of HRD. This article pertains to the learning and development of specific workers - experienced clinical nurses - and their transitions to new roles as preceptors in allied health work settings.\nProblem of the study: This study explores the experiences, growth and development of nurses transitioning to the preceptor role. Little is known about how preceptors perceive the effectiveness and utility of formal preceptor preparation programs and how they view the support system of preceptors who are actively practicing. Furthermore, for those who may not have been able to attend formal preceptor preparation training, their voices regarding preparation for the role are scant in the literature. This gap in the literature hinders stakeholders of preceptorships in allied health settings, causes disconnects between research and practice and may affect the quality of healthcare services.\nResearch questions: RQ1. How do nurses describe their preparations for and experiences in their preceptor role?\nConceptual framework and literature review: For this study, work role transition theory was used to understand the phenomenon of workplace learning. Changes in one's employment status and major shifts in a person's job makeup are components of work role transition. These transitions can include changes in role status, forms of intra- and interorganizational mobility (Louis, 1980) and other changes in employment status (e.g. unemployment, retirement, re-employment). Status passage includes the anticipation and anxieties experienced prior to an event. At the same time, a \"letting go\" of some aspects of a previous status occurs (Bradby, 1990). Anderson et al. (2012) explained that adult transitions can involve the double-edged sword of positive development, yet be replete with challenges and stressors. Such a dilemma is faced by new preceptors as they learn a new role yet are expected to maintain their normal work activities.\nResearch design: A basic interpretive qualitative research method was used for this study. According to Merriam (2009), a basic interpretative quality research design helps the researcher to investigate how people interpret their experiences, explore how they construct their worlds and understand what meanings they attribute to their experiences. The following sections present components of the research design.\nEmergent themes: Two major themes emerged from the study and subsequent topics that supported each theme: the transfer of learning through preceptorship and informal/ formal learning and the journey from clinical expert to novice again.\nDiscussion: The emergent themes connect with existing literature in a number of areas. The first theme, transfer of learning involves ensuring that the knowledge and skill acquired during a learning intervention are applied on the job (Holton and Baldwin, 2003; Nelson and Dufour, 2002).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Several issues are reported in the literature regarding the preparation and training of nurses for the preceptor role. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences, growth and development of nurses transitioning to the preceptor role in allied health contexts.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A basic interpretive qualitative research method was used for this study. In total, 20 preceptors who were practicing in a variety of healthcare settings participated in in-depth interviews.\nFindings: The preceptors of this study found meaning through their teaching and learning encounters with novice nurses. Their meaning making led to identity development and new perspectives on both the nursing and preceptor roles.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study extends the literature on informal learning and training by focusing on the unique work role of nurse precepting. Conclusions of this study call for additional research that examines other occupational areas in which workers have transitioned from expert to novice again, and how training can enhance these transitions\nPractical implications: Participants described several areas of improvement for preceptorships: additional administrative support, guidelines and standards for preceptor training and preparation and additional time and support for transitioning to the preceptor role\nOriginality/value: Work role transition theory was used in this study to examine the preparation and training of preceptors. This study features the voices of nursing preceptors who have experienced changes in their employment status and major shifts in their work roles transitioning from expert to novice to expert again.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How do innovation and sustainability contribute to generate retail equity? Evidence from Spanish retailing	[ "Innovation", "Sustainability", "Loyalty", "Brand image", "Grocery retail", "Store equity" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The interest generated in brand equity in the past two decades, as well as the vast array of contributions found in the literature, is indicative of its complexity when it comes to both evaluating this variable (Huang et al., 2016; Grewal et al., 2017) and attempting to advance in the study of its nature and scope. However, the idea that the perception of the consumer and the involvement of the companies are decisive (Farquhar, 1989; Myers, 2003; Pappu and Quester, 2016) seems generally accepted. Indeed, in today's marketplace, consumers are assumed to actively participate in brand identity creation (Vallaster and von Wallapach, 2013; Baalbaki and Guzman, 2016). In addition, in recent years its conception has led to new approaches, with the subsequent emergence of new ways of addressing the concept in the field of retail, where store equity is a term that is beginning to be used (Arnett et al., 2003; Pappu and Quester, 2006; Gil-Saura et al., 2017).\n2. Literature review and hypotheses: Brand equity, innovation and sustainability have been usually addressed independently in the literature. Notwithstanding, recent research points out the existence of connections between these three variables that may facilitate the development of sustainable advantages for organizations. In this sense, some studies identify innovation and sustainability as antecedents of the variables related to brand equity (Lavorata, 2014; Baalbaki and Guzman, 2016; Gonzalez-Lafaysse and Lapassouse-Madrid, 2016; Ruiz-Molina et al., 2017; Arrigo, 2018; Biedenbach et al., 2018; Carlson et al., 2018; Noh and Johnson, 2019). Brand equity is understood as:\n3. Methodology: To achieve the proposed objective, a quantitative study is proposed using a structured ad-hoc questionnaire with closed questions, in which the consumer should indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement with a series of statements.\n4. Results: Before examining the validity and reliability of the measuring instrument, we performed an exploratory factor analysis. In this way, through a principal components analysis, with varimax rotation we obtained the grouping of the items used to measure the different variables in factors that allow us to define the set of observed variables. From the results of this analysis, we observed that innovation is a construct formed by three factors - product innovation, innovation in marketing and relational innovation - that jointly explain 68.93 per cent of the total variance and that had already been also identified by Lin (2015). Likewise, the results obtained also allow us to confirm that sustainability is formed by three dimensions, namely, economic sustainability, social sustainability and environmental sustainability, which, together explain 72.91 per cent of the total variance.\n5. Conclusions: While product brand equity has generated numerous studies since long ago, it is only in the past decade that store equity is attracting special interest (Huang et al., 2016; Grewal et al., 2017). In this sense, a new concept linked to brand equity emerges - store equity (Arnett et al., 2003; Pappu and Quester, 2006; Gil-Saura et al., 2017). Besides the study of this construct and the variables with which it is traditionally linked (i.e. store awareness, store image, store perceived quality and store loyalty), the effects that sustainability and innovation have on brand equity have also been demonstrated (Kumar, 2014; Lavorata, 2014; Gonzalez-Lafaysse and Lapassouse-Madrid, 2016; Pappu and Quester, 2016; Gil-Saura et al., 2017; Marcon et al., 2017).\n6. Implications for management: From the results obtained, a series of implications for the managers of retail commercial establishments can be derived. In the first place, it is possible to state that in a highly competitive sector such as retail, it is vital to identify what factors have an impact on the creation of store equity. The development of this research helps to identify which are the basic variables in the construction of brand equity that will influence global store equity. In particular, loyalty is seen as the key variable in this relationship, so that promoting loyalty plans that improve the relationship between retailer and consumer will result in benefits in terms of global store equity. Similarly, if efforts are made with regard to store image (e.g. creating a pleasant store environment, offering attractive promotions or extending product assortment) and in the improvement of perceived quality (e.g. delivering service right the first time), this will have a positive effect on store equity.\n7. Limitations and future lines of research: Despite the contribution of this study, it is worth mentioning some limitations that are linked to the elements that make up brand equity in the retail sector. The results observed from the structural model analysis show the importance of continuing investigating these constructs, especially in relation to store awareness and store perceived quality, as well as the relations between store perceived quality and image and store loyalty. Likewise, we consider that the proposed model does not cover all the possible variables that may influence global store equity perceived by consumers in grocery retailing, so we propose the inclusion of other variables such as satisfaction, trust and commitment as a future research line. In addition to this, the introduction of moderator variables (e.g. multichannel consumer and store format) would considerably enrich the article. These relationships will possibly contribute to improving the explanatory capacity of the model by expanding the study of the driving factors of store equity.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: In the current dynamic and competitive environment in which retail companies operate, store equity is a differentiating factor. In view of the scarce research found regarding the links between the variables traditionally related to brand equity (store awareness, store image, store perceived quality and store loyalty) and innovation, sustainability and the global retail equity, this study aims to examine these links in depth.\nDesign/methodology/approach: For a sample of 510 customers of grocery retail establishments and with the help of a structured questionnaire, the relationships between the variables defined in this research were examined using a structural equations model.\nFindings: The authors find evidence in favor of the positive influence of innovation and sustainability on the variables related to brand equity. Likewise, store loyalty to the establishment, influenced by store image and perceived quality, emerges as a key variable in the construction of global brand equity.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study shows that innovation and sustainability have a significant impact on the variables traditionally linked with brand equity.\nPractical implications: This research shows that new business models should be created through more innovative and sustainable businesses. In this sense, the managers of retail stores should direct their efforts toward actions aimed at implementing innovation, as well as provide evidence of the sustainability of the store's activities, with the purpose of improving the perception that consumers have of the store.\nOriginality/value: The results of this research support the role of store loyalty as key element of brand equity. Also, to the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first study that addresses the relationship that innovation and sustainability have with the variables linked to store equity.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Building local level engagement in disaster risk reduction: a Portugese case study	[ "Portugal", "Leadership", "Resilience", "Dialogue", "Disaster risk reduction", "Participatory communication" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Sempre em Movimento, Amadora e Resiliente\nIntroduction: Practitioners working in the field of disaster risk reduction (DRR) have witnessed a policy shift at all levels of governance towards increased public participation to build disaster resilience. It is commonly acknowledged that to date, top-down approaches to implement the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (HFA1), have produced results at the national level rather than substantial DRR at local levels (Becker, 2012; UNISDR, 2012). Using the context of a case study in Amadora, Portugal, this paper examines communicative practices during public engagement initiatives for DRR. Literature drawn from disaster management studies, communication, social science and political theory defines terms used in relation to community resilience, leadership and DRR, followed by the introduction of public participation literature to demonstrate the centrality of dialogical communication as a means to engage communities in risk reduction. A summary of Portugal's political situation precedes description of the research method, followed by presentation of empirical evidence, analysed within a framework of communication, social and political theory. The paper concludes by identifying conditions that enable and, conversely detract from, level engagement to build community resilience in Amadora, and a discussion of the findings implications for future DRR research and practice.\nCommunity resilience: Although research has produced a variety of models and frameworks that map the characteristics of community resilience, there is a lack of consistency in approaching and operationalising resilience (Alexander, 2013; Cutter et al., 2008; Renschler et al., 2010; Twigg, 2007). The term \"resilience\" is considered an outcome when defined as the ability to bounce back or cope with a hazard event and is imbedded within vulnerability; whereas process-related resilience is defined more in terms of involving transformation, continual learning and taking responsibility for making better decisions to improve the capacity to handle hazards (Alexander, 2013; Manyena, 2006). Bene et al. (2012) contend there are two approaches to understanding resilience: as a \"capacity to recover\" and as a \"degree of preparedness\" (Bene et al., 2012, p. 10). The authors note a shift from a focus on resilience as a measurable outcome of an ability to deal with shocks, to a more dynamic model that encompasses the notion of change and transformation (Bene et al., 2012; Alexander, 2013). Highlighting the direct relationship between social and ecological resilience, Adger (2000) describes social resilience as the ability of communities to withstand environmental, social, economic or political shocks (Adger, 2000, p. 361). Consistent with the view that disasters produce change, Manyena et al. (2011) introduce the idea of \"bouncing forward\", defining disaster resilience as the capacity of the disaster-prone to adapt \"disaster resilience could be viewed as the intrinsic capacity of a system, community or society predisposed to a shock or stress to bounce forward and adapt [...] by changing its non-essential attributes and rebuilding itself\" (Manyena et al., 2011, p. 419).\nCommunity resilience and leadership: Analysis of Amadora municipality's approach to building community resilience necessitates some understanding of leadership styles and forms. Leadership research from political science, anthropology and public administration sectors indicates that notions of good leadership have varied over time and across cultures, highlighting the complexities and differing contexts of how leadership is understood and performed (Hofstede, 1993; Nye, 2008; 't Hart and Uhr, 2008). Wide-ranging systemic breakdowns, interdependencies and the uneven effects of catastrophes indicate current practices of crisis leadership are insufficient to the challenges of \"hyper-complex\" events (Lagadec, 2007, 2009; Nye, 2008). A shift in leadership approaches with a necessary adjustment of traditional command-control approaches and a diffusion of power through inter-agency collaboration is required (Lagadec, 2009; Nye, 2008). The role of leadership is to integrate vertical structures of an individual agency's control-command system into a horizontal system for cross-agency collaboration, a \"network system for command [...] control that connects, collaborates and coordinates an adaptive response\" (Pfeifer, 2012, p. 21).Transformative leadership that encourages a sense of empowerment, ownership and engagement within the community is required, incorporating a relational approach that constitutes a nexus between leader and follower, with both sides exercising agency (Lopes and Theisohn, 2003; 't Hart and Uhr, 2008).\nPublic participation and engagement: Lack of communication and coordination between different administrative levels - regional, national, provincial and/or village-in risk and capacity assessments presents a significant limitation for DRR (Becker, 2012). Consistent with research undertaken by Lunenberg (2011) and Pfeifer (2012), Becker recommends a more holistic approach, including multiple administrative levels to gather information for capacity assessments (Becker, 2012, p. 232). Highlighting the role of local government initiatives in DRR, Becker recommends leaders at the micro-level encourage public participation and proactive planning, ensuring allocation of adequate local-level resources and the participation of various stakeholders. Public participation and community initiatives are emphasised in a recent UN report advising that local-level leadership and competence can reduce threats from natural hazards and raise awareness, identify and reduce risks (UNISDR, 2012). Ineffective leadership, political pressures, lack of communication and coordination between administrative departments, emergency management organisations and other stakeholders at village or municipality level can be major obstacles to public participation resulting in an incomplete view of current capacities and preventing a holistic, systematic approach to DRR (Becker, 2012; Kusumasari et al., 2010). Accepting public participation as a factor that enables community resilience building leads our review of literature to engagement terminology.\nPortugal's political situation: Portugal is a republic with a president and prime-minister elected every four years. There are two levels of government, national and municipalities (303 municipalities). As with Italy and France, Portugal's political system is highly centralised with almost all decisions and guidelines concentrated in ministries (national level). However, in recent years the government has decentralised school management, tax administration services and urban planning powers to the municipalities. At the time of this study, Portugal's national government is a combination of Democrats and Christian Democrats. At the municipality level the Socialist party have 149 municipalities, the Communist Party 34 municipalities, Democrat Party 102 municipalities, Christians Democrats five municipalities and Citizens Party 13 municipalities. Amadora is one of Portugal's municipalities and a satellite city of Lisbon located in the northwest of the Lisbon metropolitan area. Composing an area of only 23.77 square km, it is one of Portugal's smallest municipalities; however, with 7,343 inhabitants per km, Amadora has the highest population density of any municipality in Portugal. The population is characterised by an increasing proportion of elderly people. Younger people often leave Amadora to look for work in other Portugese cities such as Lisbon, Sintra or Montijo, whilst the elderly people remain. The city also has a growing immigrant population, mainly from the former Portugese colonies in Africa-Cape Verdian, Angola and Sao Tome. Amadora also has a large community of Roma gypsies who have given up their nomadic lifestyle to settle in Cova da Moura in Junta de Freguesia da Damaia, a neighbourhood with no real urban structure or planning in the streets and houses. One of the challenges facing Amadora's emergency services is the lack of access and difficulties in evacuating this neighbourhood during fires or floods.\nMethod: The research methodology draws upon literature from a range of disciplines to reconceptualise approaches to disaster management, in particular during the Tpreparedness stage. A qualitative case study approach with multiple data sources was selected to examine public engagement initiatives between Amadora's campaign team and publics, with a focus on communicative action as a necessary ingredient for enhancing local-level engagement and building community resilience. As the research was conducted in collaboration with the UNISDR, a list of possible cases, based on criteria provided by the researcher, were identified by UNISDR; from this list, Amadora, was selected. UNISDR approached Amadora's campaign leader, describing the study's purpose, and asking the campaign team if they would participate. Communication between the researcher and the campaign leader commenced once UNISDR received Amadora's consent. A suitable time for data collection, corresponding with a variety of DRR public engagement events scheduled in Amadora, was agreed upon. A letter authorised by RMIT University's Ethics Committee was sent by the campaign leader to respective publics, requesting permission for the researcher to attend scheduled events. DRR events and interviewees were selected from a list of participating organisations provided by the campaign leader. To maximise descriptive validity, selected interviewees included members of Amadora's DRR decision makers (campaign team members and their manager, a local politician-Councillor), and representatives from various publics who participate in Amadora's DRR engagement events (Table I).\nFindings: To answer the first research question \"how do participants perceive public engagement initiatives used in Amadora\" DRR campaign, findings are presented under five headings derived from Jacobson's (2007) participatory communication model (Appendix). Headings are not mutually exclusive, the team's efforts to build relationships with community organisations is perceived as appropriate behaviour, and also an indication of the team's sincerity in attempts to address community concerns regarding DRR. Quotes that reflect recurrent themes, processes or norms of the actors concerned are included in table format, providing participant \"voices\" associated with each heading. In line with participants' use, \"publics\" and \"partners\" are used to describe individuals, community, civil society and institutions affected by the threat of disasters in Amadora. \"The campaign team\" and \"the team\" refer to decision makers responsible for Amadora's disaster management and members of the municipality's Making Cities Resilient-My City is Getting Ready! team.\nDiscussion: Consistent with previous studies, questions adapted from Jacobson's (2007) participatory communication model reveal more than participant perceptions of communication during DRR engagement events; when prompted to give reasons for their answers to each question, participants draw upon their knowledge of policies, processes and norms associated with DRR planning in Amadora. Synthesis of all data collected in the study provides an answer to the second research question \"what conditions enable local-level engagement to build community resilience?\" Based on responses to interviews, observation and document analysis leadership, a strategic approach to engaging partners and a wide spectrum of public engagement events, are identified as key factors that enable local-level engagement in building Amadora's community resilience. Conversely, lack of a national DRR policy is identified as detracting from Amadora's efforts to build community resilience. Conditions associated with each factor are described.\nConclusion: This paper contributes to knowledge about participatory approaches to risk reduction. A unique analytical framework is used to differentiate events using one-way information from those offering opportunities for dialogue and participation. Drawing upon literature from a range of disciplines, a research methodology is proposed that focuses on communicative action as a necessary ingredient for enhancing local-level engagement and building community resilience to disasters. This study identifies factors that enable and conversely, detract from, local-level engagement to build community resilience. Findings provide researchers with a basis for further investigation, to analyse local-level engagement in DRR, and to contribute to the global dialogue on DRR. As national and international development planners recognise the need to merge climate change adaptation and risk reduction into the development programming repertoire, the research method outlined in this paper will strengthen participatory methods that are already a part of development practice. A recommendation for DRR practitioners is to adapt these models as a method to plan and evaluate local-level engagement events to meet the communication needs of particular situations.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Contributing to the global dialogue on disaster risk reduction (DRR), the purpose of this paper is to address a key priority for the Post-2015 Framework for DRR (HFA2) by analysing initiatives used by one local government to increase local-level engagement in DRR.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A review of literature from the multidisciplinary areas of communication, social and political theory examines the role that communication theory and practice can play in facilitating public participation to build community resilience. Building on these insights, the authors introduce a research methodology to examine modes of communication, the quality of dialogue and opportunities for \"voice\" and \"listening\" between decision makers and local-level stakeholders during DRR planning A qualitative, case study is undertaken with data sourced from observation, document analysis and interviews to provide insights into public engagement events, policies and procedures that enhance or impede local engagement in DRR.\nFindings: Communication between the DRR campaign team and publics are analysed according to the range of communication practices used and opportunities provided for dialogue between parties. Findings differentiate between public information, consultation and participation events. Factors that enable and conversely, constrain local-level engagement to build community resilience, and conditions associated with each factor, are identified.\nResearch limitations/implications: A unique analytical framework adapted from the duel lenses of participatory communication and information flow models, is used to differentiate events using one-way information from those offering opportunities for dialogue and participation. The framework provides a method for DRR practitioners to plan and evaluate local-level engagement events to meet the communication needs of particular situations.\nPractical implications: The framework provides a method for DRR practitioners to plan and evaluate local-level engagement events to meet the communication needs of particular situations.\nOriginality/value: Co-authored by an Australian academic and a member of Amadora's campaign team, the paper is a combination of one city's experience in developing strategies to build community resilience, analysed using communication, social and political theory. Findings have implications for standard command-and-control management systems and styles of leadership and crisis management. Results will assist practitioners' advance their understanding of different ways that publics may be engaged to build community resilience.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
How graduate students perceive, use, and manage electronic resources	[ "Electronic resources", "Graduate students", "University libraries", "User behaviour", "Collection development", "Information media", "Information services", "China" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Studies have shown that graduate students prefer using electronic resources (Liew et al., 2000; George et al., 2006). Compared to traditionally printed materials, electronic resources are convenient to access, easy to search, and downloadable. Patrons of university libraries prefer electronic resources, but mention several problems concerning their usage.Gelfand (2002) indicated that students reported visual discomfort when staring at a monitor, and they lost patience waiting for downloads. Some students considered reading online library electronic resources distractive because they may send e-mails, use instant messaging, play games, and so on, at the same time. Griffiths and Brophy (2005) noticed that student confusion of subject category and hierarchical organization of library electronic resources hindered them from finding and locating resources effectively. However, these disadvantages did not discourage patrons, particularly graduate students, from using electronic resources.Tenopir (2003) indicated that graduate students are \"binge\" users of e-journals, and they search journal articles frequently during their thesis-writing period. Rowlands et al. (2007) found that graduate students use e-books on campus more than undergraduates and university staff. The study by Sutton and Jacoby (2008) showed that graduate students prefer accessing documents online, and rely heavily on library collections. George et al. (2006) reported that graduate students prefer to search on the internet, but still consider library electronic resources, especially databases and e-journals, key resources.The rapid growth of electronic resources has changed the formation of university library collections. Libraries spend increasingly more funds for purchasing electronic resources, even when facing shrinking budgets. The focus of a university library on collection development has shifted from printed materials to electronic resources. For example, expenditures on electronic resources in Taiwan University and college libraries comprised 36.33 percent of the total materials budget in 2006, and expanded to 45.88 percent in 2009 (Min, 2011). Therefore, university libraries should acquire more knowledge concerning patron usage behavior to make appropriate collection-building decisions. Studies have demonstrated that graduate students are major users of library resources. Their perceptions of electronic resources, their search behavior, and their usage patterns are issues worthy of examination indeed.\nLiterature review: The digital age has changed user behaviors. Tenopir (2003) reviewed literature on usage studies and indicated that faculty and students like to use electronic resources, and that they have accepted the transition from printed collections to electronic collections. Liew et al. (2000) indicated that most graduate students prefer using e-journals to printed journals. Siebenberg et al. (2004) reported that the use of printed journals has changed to e-journals, particularly in the disciplines of chemistry, materials science, and physics. Newby (2005) found that mathematics professors and graduate students prefer using e-journals. The study by Niu and Hemminger (2010) reported that researchers in the fields of natural science, engineering, and medical science strongly prefer using electronic versions rather printed formats. Shelboure (2009) found that more university patrons prefer reading printed books than e-books, but over half the patrons expressed that they would read both formats in the future. The author then concluded that e-books have become an important resource that libraries can provide.The use of electronic resources may vary among patrons from different disciplines. For example, Bevilacqua (2005) indicated that only 31 percent of humanities professors and students use e-journals. Wu et al. (2006) mentioned that humanities scholars prefer monographs to periodicals, and that they disagree that e-books will replace printed versions. Nicholas et al. (2009) reported that e-journals in the field of life sciences are used more frequently than e-journals in economics and history. Rowlands (2007) found varied usage patterns among graduate students from different disciplines. Littman and Connaway (2004) found that students from the disciplines of computer science, medicine, education, and psychology prefer using e-books. Slater (2009) reported that university students studying computer science, technology, and related fields strongly prefer using e-books. In contrast, humanities students strongly prefer the printed format. The study of Research Information Network (2009) showed differences in information-seeking and usage of e-journals among researchers (graduate students included) across subject disciplines. The frequency of e-journal use was also reported as varied between doctoral students and master's students. However, Gerke and Maness (2010) reported no correlation in perceptions among patrons from different disciplines towards electronic collections of a university library.Although students like using electronic resources, studies have reported that patrons encounter certain usage problems. Rowlands (2007) mentioned that scholars were unfamiliar with search skills. Urquhart and Rowley (2007) categorized factors influencing student use of electronic resources: organizational factors and individual factors. Organizational factors include information design, information, learning skills, infrastructure, information access, organization leadership and culture, and university policies and budgets. Individual factors include information literacy, teacher guidance, search strategies, curriculum, library-supported training courses, and pedagogy.A number of studies have focused on the effect of the internet on graduate students. George et al. (2006) found that, although graduate students rely on internet resources heavily, the university library remains a key element in their research process. Liu (2006) reported that over half of all graduate students in his study first consulted online information sources offered by the library instead of the internet. Graduate students are heavy users of library electronic resources. Sutton and Jacoby (2008) indicated that, although graduate students prefer using online materials, they rely mostly on library collections. Niu and Hemminger (2010) indicated that researchers (graduate students included) in universities depend on library web sites rather than Google as their starting point for searching scientific information.\nResearch questions: Most electronic resource-related studies concentrate on patron preference and usage of resources. Few studies have focused on issues of selection and management, which are important to graduate students when facing large amounts of electronic resources. This study investigates how graduate students perceive, use, and manage library electronic resources to answer the following questions:1. Do students perceive electronic resources to be important?2. Are the materials they need available from the library in electronic format?3. Do they encounter problems when using library electronic resources?4. Are they aware of the differences among resources?5. What are the factors influencing their selection of resources?6. Do they use personalized tools to manage the resources they use?7. Do information behaviors vary among graduate students of different disciplines?\nMethodology: Data collection\nResults: Perceptions on library electronic resources\nDiscussion: The findings of this study correspond with the results found in other studies (e.g. George et al., 2006; Liu, 2006; Niu and Hemminger, 2010). We found that graduate students are frequent users of library electronic resources, and they perceive that the resources are important to their studies. They reported that the library could support most documents they need in digital format. Other than the internet, the library is the first and major source for students searching for documents related to their studies. Students like using electronic resources and rarely encounter problems. Compared with the library, Google and Google-like tools are more convenient and provide a friendly interface. When more full-text academic resources such as those covered in Google Scholar and Google Books are available on the internet in the near future, the role of the library might be critically challenged.A greater amount of electronic resources collected by libraries leads to a more complicated environment for patrons. Most participants in this study expressed no major difficulties in using resources. However, how to identify and choose appropriate resources and conduct an effective search may be problems certain graduate students encountered in this study. Various types of electronic resources available from the library are typically listed side-by-side on the library homepage. However, distinguishing among types is difficult for both students and librarians. For example, should journal articles be searched for under the \"E-journals\" or the \"Database\" category? Should an online encyclopedia be listed under the \"Database\" or the \"E-books\" category? Categorization and labeling electronic resources is an important but difficult task for librarians. Rules and standards do not exist for these subjects, and few studies have discussed them.We found that graduate students rarely use MUSE, and did not possess positive attitudes toward the service. Many libraries have employed metasearch tools. From a librarian's viewpoint, a one-stop shopping tool helps patrons access diverse and heterogeneous resources. However, the cross-database search tool retrieves too many documents through the keyword search, and is accompanied by a poorly designed interface, which may discourage patrons from use it.Most university libraries provide bibliographical management tools, current awareness, and personalized services. However, we found that librarians are disappointed by low number of graduate students who use or like these services. Students may not understand that these services are available, or they do not feel the need to use them. Students might also not acknowledge the functions of these services, which is an issue requiring further research.The subject background of students is a factor that might affect their use of library electronic resources. Several variations were found among graduate students from different disciplines. For example, humanities students perceived electronic resources to be less important compared to students in other disciplines, and their needs for electronic resources were also less satisfactory from the library. Fewer science and technology students reported problems in establishing an internet connection to the library web site. Professor attitude is another factor, which may affect student usage of library electronic resources. For example, several students reported using certain databases because of professor recommendations. Students mentioned employing EndNote to manage their bibliographies because of professor requirements. Peer influence is another factor deserving mention. Several students, especially those in science and technology fields, reported learning how to use electronic resources from their peers in the same laboratory. They also looked for assistances from their peers when encountering difficulties using the resources.\nConclusion and further research: The characteristics of electronic resources and their varied and changing pricing models and licensing agreements complicate building collections for libraries. However, electronic resources are the current foci of collection development in university libraries. Libraries continue investing funds to expand their electronic collection. To ensure that these investments are worthwhile, libraries must understand the attitudes of their patrons and their usage patterns of the collections.Based on the findings of this study, we suggest that university libraries build collection development policies to reflect the varied usage patterns of students from different disciplines. For example, libraries might need to increase current digital monographs and retrospective e-journals preferred by humanities students. Libraries should also review how they organize electronic resources. Avoiding jargon in labeling and providing a user-friendly metasearch tool will help students find resources more effectively. Professors influence graduate student usage of electronic resources. Libraries may need to arrange special bibliographical instructional programs for faculty members to keep them informed on services and the development of library electronic collections.This study contains some limitations. Although studies have not indicated significant variations on the usage behaviors of electronic resources among graduate students from different institutions or different countries, we caution against the generalization of these findings. For example, different approaches of organizing electronic resources may affect student usage of the resources. Language barriers may also deter students from using foreign language resources. Participants of this study were limited to master's level graduate students. We strongly recommend conducting further studies with doctoral students because their motives, needs, and behaviors toward electronic resources may differ from those of master's students.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - This study aims to investigate graduate student perceptions of electronic resources, their search behaviour, and their usage patterns.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Interviews were conducted in a research-oriented university, and participants included 18 graduate students from three disciplines: humanities, social sciences, and science and technology.\nFindings: - Graduate students are frequent users of electronic resources, particularly during the thesis-writing period. Graduate students of science and technology perceive electronic resources to be considerably more important to their research and studies than students of other disciplines do. Few students use the metasearch tool to retrieve heterogeneous electronic resources in the library. Very few students use alert services to obtain updated information.\nOriginality/value: - The findings of the study could help university librarians acquire an enhanced understanding of the usage behaviour of graduate students on electronic resources.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Reducing referral leakage: an analysis of health-care referrals in a service ecosystem	[ "Service ecosystems", "Transformative service research", "Service co-creation", "Social identity", "Health care", "Referral", "Leakage", "Service management", "Health services", "Social networking" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Engaging patients more in their own care, which is that whole shared-responsibility piece [...] how do we actually have a system that helps [them] be more involved and also ensures that there are supports in the system. Because the system is so darn confusing, you can't leave people out there trying to navigate it on their own. (Jackson et al., 2017, p. 43)\nIntroduction: A severe threat to continuity of care is patient referral leakage; \"leakage,\" a term used to describe patients who are referred to or seek out-of-network[1] health-care providers, affects the patient, the referring physician, the consulting physician and the organization. To understand how leakage manifests in other service contexts, consider the \"leaky bucket\" analogy used in relationship marketing. Imagine a bucket filled with water that, unfortunately, has several holes in its base and sides. If the total amount of water represents the size of the customer base, then there are two strategies to maximize volume. A business can find new sources of water (new customers) or focus on plugging the holes to avoid water leaking out (customer retention). This analogy is often used to describe the differences between transactional and relational marketing approaches (O'Malley and Tynan, 2001) and illustrates how unsustainable leakage can be. Like other businesses, leakage in health care is costly and risky. According to Referral MD (2018, 2019), a health-care management referral service, the average annual referral leakage can account for 55-65 per cent of lost revenue, resulting in a loss for a hospital of approximately $821,000-$971,000 per physician. Leakage costs health-care organizations an average of 10-20 per cent of annual revenues (Sage Growth Partners, 2018; LaPointe, 2018). Leakage also contributes to waste in health-care spending. Of the six categories of health-care waste identified by the Institute of Medicine, leakage is included in two costly domains - care delivery and coordination. Such waste burdens countries, such as the USA, with an estimated annual cost from $129.6bn to $243.9bn (Shrank et al., 2019).\nLiterature review and hypotheses: Service ecosystems\nMethods: Data\nDependent variable: As depicted in Table II, the dependent variable is the binary outcome of the focal PCP's decision to refer to the focal specialist. Patient referral is equated with a referral (yes/no; 1/0). Because the goal of this study is to identify variables that influence referral behavior between employees in an organization, the likelihood of such a referral is our key dependent measure.\nIndependent variables: As shown in Table II, continuous and dummy variables are operationalized to predict the likelihood of a patient referral.\nControls: Geographical proximity is a dichotomous dummy variable representing whether the focal PCP and focal specialist's medical offices are located within 5 miles of each other and is coded as within 5 miles (1) or greater than 5 miles (0). The threshold of 5 miles was chosen because the area of study is mostly urban, with the average distance between a PCP and cardiologist's office being eight miles. Further, overall, most Americans live less than 5 miles from the nearest hospital (Pew, 2018), where most providers' offices are located.\nStatistical analyses: Cross-sectional descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses are used to analyze drivers of PCP-specialist referrals. Means, standard deviations, zero-ordered correlations of the variables and VIF and tolerance scores are examined to assess the possibility of multicollinearity (Tables I, II and III). Multicollinearity diagnostic statistics suggest there is no evidence that the independent variables are correlated with service referrals; all correlations with this outcome are close to zero and each condition index is less than 30. Further, the VIF score is less than 10 and the tolerance score is greater than 0.01, indicating that multicollinearity is not influencing the estimates (Neter et al., 2006).\nModel: Logistic regression analysis is used to estimate the effects of the explanatory variables on the likelihood of a referral between the focal PCP and focal specialist. Because there are multiple referrals for each physician in the sample, the SAS GLIMMIX macro was used to construct regression models that accounted for the clustering of referrals between physicians. The data are arranged so that there is one observation for each referral opportunity between a PCP and specialist. This model expresses the probability of a referral as a function of series of explanatory variables:\nAnalysis and results: H1a proposed that the number of referrals between the focal specialist and other PCPs working within the same medical group as the focal PCP will positively influence the likelihood of a patient referral between the focal PCP and the focal specialist. OLS regression results support our prediction. For each additional referral sent to the focal specialist by a PCP within the same medical group as the focal PCP, the likelihood of a referral increases by 1.5 per cent (b = 0.015, p < 0.05). H1b is also supported; for each additional referral sent by a PCP outside the medical group as the focal PCP but within the hospital, the likelihood of a referral between the focal PCP and the focal specialist increases by 1.3 per cent (b = 0.012, p < 0.05). Equality constraints were imposed and tested through the likelihood ratio test to determine if the effect of a focal specialist's referral with PCPs within the same medical group as the focal PCP is different from the effect of a focal specialist's referrals with PCPs outside that medical group on the likelihood of future referral, as proposed in H1c. There is a statistically significant difference in outcomes between the focal specialists' depth of activity with other PCPs within the same medical group and with other PCPs outside the medical group (LR kh2 (1) = 7.47, p < 0.05). Although the difference is small (0.02 per cent), these results suggest that the number of referrals between the focal specialist and other PCPs within the same medical group (other than the focal PCP) has a greater effect on future referrals than the number of referrals between the focal specialist and other PCPs outside the focal PCPs medical group.\nGeneral discussion: Individuals who are more connected to other individuals (e.g. have more ties) are better positioned within an organization because they maintain their independence and are afforded more exchange opportunities. Indeed, breadth of connectivity for all parties is found to positively influence future referrals. Specialists who are tied to many other PCPs are likely to be perceived as being prestigious or popular, as others seek them out (Hawe et al., 2004). Each additional tie that the focal specialist has to another PCP signals his or her popularity to the network, thereby making the possibility of future referrals more attractive. Similarly, the number of ties a PCP has to other specialists is found to increase the likelihood of future referrals. The PCP's number of ties in a network affords greater independence and flexibility in the network, by offering more choices for referral partners. A PCP who has more ties will be in a more advantageous position than one who does not, as he/she has more available choices of known specialists.\nTheoretical implications: Our research adds to the service literatures and has implications for the following:\nManagerial implications: Understanding how relationships affect service encounters is of key interest to academics and practitioners alike. These findings offer management a framework to build and strengthen relational ties/alliances within a hospital, which will lead to enhanced organizational performance and competitive advantage. Leakage is pervasive across most service-based industries. Although customer acquisition is one strategy used to address this issue, retention is a more sustainable and efficient approach. Our understanding of social connections then serves to undermine the effects of leakage. This result increases retention and service quality while simultaneously lowering costs. In the health-care industry, these outcomes have transformative effects.\nResearch limitations and future research: A growing body of literature suggests that health-care services need greater study (Berry and Bendapudi, 2007). We contribute to the limited research in health-care services by illustrating how referrals within a health-care setting may reduce leakage. Gaining a better understanding of a business ecosystem within the health-care industry affords the opportunity to increase operational efficiencies, improve clinical outcomes and strengthen referral pathways. Although we compared referral effects for two common health-care specialties (cardiology and pulmonology), other referral patterns may vary based on the severity of illness of the patient and the skill set of the specialists within the hospital. For example, a patient may need extraordinary care that the specialists at a given hospital are unable to provide.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address a critical problem for health-care organizations: patient referral leakage. This paper explores the nature of patient referrals by examining how health-care providers' breadth and depth of connectivity within a hospital network and identification with each other influence the likelihood of future patient referrals.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The data was collected by using a multi-sourced data set from the health-care industry. The proposed model was tested by using logistic regression to determine the likelihood of a primary care physician's (PCP) referral to a specialist within a hospital network.\nFindings: A model linking provider connectivity to examine co-creation practices in the form of patient referrals is tested. Results indicate that patient referrals are multidimensional. A PCP's likelihood to refer to a specialist within the hospital network is influenced by the breadth and depth of connectivity of each provider.\nResearch limitations/implications: This investigation extends service ecosystems to patients, health-care providers and hospital organizations, making it the first to explore how different degrees of connectivity (breadth of referral partners and depth of exchange) between and among health-care providers influence the likelihood of future patient referrals. Findings complement extant literature on service ecosystems by empirically showing that provider relationships are interdependent and rely on the mutual coordination of benefits within the entire health-care organization and network.\nPractical implications: Managers and health-care professionals can use the framework to build and strengthen relational ties/alliances within a service organization. An ecosystems perspective reduces patient referral leakage through enhanced organizational performance, competitive advantage and continuity of care.\nOriginality/value: The authors offer a novel view of referral relationships using hard-to-access proprietary data. Moreover, this study responds to the need for transformative service research by offering service researchers and policymakers a means to enhance consumer well-being. The main contribution of this study is a framework to gain a better understanding of patient referral relationships between employees (i.e., health-care providers) in an organization, thereby affording an opportunity to bolster operational efficiencies, improve clinical outcomes and strengthen referral pathways. By viewing health-care networks through a service ecosystems perspective, contextual boundaries and the relative power of relationships are also identified. The novel use of rarely available hospital data in this setting helps explain how patient leakage compromises the health of the ecosystem and its members.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Medication adherence and associated factors among elderly hypertension patients with uncontrolled blood pressure in rural area, Northeast Thailand	[ "Hypertension", "Elderly", "Medication adherence", "Medication management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Hypertension is a major public health problem and is responsible for millions of deaths worldwide. World Health Organization (WHO) reports that globally there are 10m adults who suffer from hypertension. In 2025, it is predicted that the estimation of hypertension patients will increase to 1.56bn[1].\nMethodology: Study design and setting\nResults: Of initial 984 hypertension patients participating in this study, 576 were excluded for multiple reasons and remaining 408 patients were included. Participants mean age was 67.72 years (SD=5.92). Of total participants, 265 were female (65 percent) and 143 were male (35 percent). The majority of participants (76 percent) were married, and most of them (88 percent) were working in agriculture (72.8 percent) and other fields (27.2 percent). All participants (100 percent) had health insurance from the Thai National Universal Coverage scheme and used it. Most participants' education was below the high school level (90.2 percent). In total, 384 (94.1) were living with family members and only 24 (5.9 percent) were living alone. In all, 404 (99 percent) had a care taker when sick, and only 4(1 percent) had no one taking care when they were sick. From the total of 408 participants, 70 (17.2 percent) had only hypertension, 212 (52 percent) had diabetes mellitus, 126 (30.9 percent) had cardiovascular disease and hypertension with chronic kidney disease (Table I).\nDiscussion: The primary objective of this study was to explore hypertension medication adherence and associated factors related to medical adherence among elderly hypertension patients in the rural area in northeast Thailand. Antihypertension adherence is associated with blood pressure control among hypertension patients. The results from our finding showed that adherence among the Thai elderly living in the rural area was unacceptably low. Only 13.2 percent of all participants were found to have higher adherence to their hypertension medication, whereas most elderly had lower adherence (86.8 percent) to their hypertension medication. The low adherence rate found in this study is in line with a study conducted in the Primary Care Unit of tertiary care hospital in Bangkok, Thailand that found hypertension medication adherence was low among Thai hypertension patients[22]. However, when results were compared with a study in Eastern Thailand, the studies were contradictory. The study was based on a questionnaire and relied on the memory of the patients. The adherence rate in our study was lower compared to other countries in Asia. A study showed in China an adherence rate of 35.23 percent[23], in India 39.4 percent[24] and in Vietnam 50 percent[25].\nConclusion: A large number of hypertension elderly patients were found to be poor adherent to medication treatment. Having a daughter as a care taker was significantly associated with good medical adherence. Encouraging family participation is crucial for increasing patient adherence to antihypertensive medication.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Hypertension is a common disease among elderly. Adherence to antihypertensive medication is a key predictor of optimal blood pressure control that prevents the risk of cardiovascular disease and potentially death. The purpose of this paper is to assess adherence to antihypertension and identify associated factors among the elderly in a rural area, Buengkan province, Thailand.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A health facilities based cross-sectional study was conducted in Buengkan district. A simple random sampling method was used to select 408 participants. A structured questionnaire adapted from the World Health Organization STEPwise approach was used to collect data. The medication adherence level was identified by pill count with percentage 70 defined as good adherence. Descriptive and summary statistics were used. Bivariate analysis was done using Pearson's kh2 test, and multivariable analyses were also carried out.\nFindings: A total of 408 (143 males and 265 females) elderly hypertension patients with uncontrolled blood pressure participated in this study. Most of the participants were found to have lower adherence to medication treatment (86.8 percent), whereas the remaining ones (13.2 percent) were found to have good adherence. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that having a daughter as a care taker (adjust odd ratio=7.99, 95% confidence interval: 1.23-51.778) was significantly associated with high medical adherence.\nOriginality/value: Hypertension medication adherence among elderly patients with uncontrolled blood pressure was poor. Having a care taker, especially a daughter, is a key to improve adherence. Effective strategy to improve adherence should focus on and involve family participation into the program.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
The passion and the interests in life science venturing: Choosing economic insecurity and creative challenges over predictable careers	[ "Economic compensation", "Life science", "Meaningful work", "Start-up firms", "Venture labour" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Effort is felt only where there is a conflict of interest in the mind.James (1950, p. 451)A tendency in industry is that large-scale and divisionalized corporations are downsizing (Budros, 1999), outsourcing (Davis-Blake and Broschak, 2009) and offshoring (Milberg and Winkler, 2010) many of their production activities in order to reduce costs and cut down on slack (Love and Nohria, 2005); in many cases, under the influence of shareholder activism (Davis, 2016; Jung, 2016; Goranova and Ryan, 2014). Corporate restructuring (Dencker and Fang, 2016; McKinley and Schere, 2000) leads to network-based industry structures wherein individual workers operate on the basis of short-term contracts as so-called free agents (Pink, 2001) or contract workers (O'Mahony and Bechky, 2006). In this new industry structure, substituting internal labor markets for external labor markets, contract workers and other categories of self-employed workers, or the employees of thinly capitalized firms, dependent on external venture capital investment on a regular basis, are expected to nourish and embrace an enterprising image of the self, rooted in the ethics of self-sufficiency and autonomy (Neff, 2013; Lane, 2010). Furthermore, to remain attractive and \"employable\" in the network economy, contract workers and the employees of thinly capitalized firms need to remain \"passionate\" about their work while also having to tolerate the economic and social uncertainties under which they operate. Being passionate, originally a theological term (Hirschman, 1977), denotes the capacity to maintain one's curiosity and intense willingness to further develop one's skills and capacities. Paul Rabinow (1996), an anthropologist examining San Francisco Bay Area biotech companies, found that curiosity, a specific form of passion, was widely treated as a mark of excellence in the community of life scientists. Tom White, one of Rabinow's (1996) interlocutors and a biotechnology researcher, argued that \"boredom\" is the greatest threat to a researcher's career, in that it was \"like death in a scientist\" - the moment when the ability \"to solve new problems isn't there\" (p. 162). Passion is, therefore, one of the key capacities animating the professional worker, in science and elsewhere.\nPassionate work in self-interested milieus: Passions and interest as economic categories\nMethodology of the study: Design of the study\nPassionate work within scientific communities: the case of life science start-up researchers: Passionate work with colleagues at life science start-ups\nDiscussion: The empirical material, collected at Swedish life science start-ups, indicates that life scientists, including engineers and information technology experts, regarded the start-up firm as a site where meaningful work is conducted in collaboration with peers, with decisions being made in a manner that is both transparent and intelligible. As opposed to the academy, offering few such opportunities due to academic careers being heavily geared toward academic journal publications, in turn, engendering a strict hierarchical organization wherein academic status is the core selection mechanism, and the pharmaceutical industry and other large-scale companies, riddled by disruptive managerial decisions and structural inertia arising from these companies' size, the start-up firm was a preferred site for passionate work. The downside to this is that such small-scale firms, commonly employing only a handful of co-workers, are thinly capitalized, and participate in venture capital raising campaigns on a regular basis. This means that work done at start-ups is economically uncertain, frequently providing below-market-rate compensation and including few of the benefits that more mature companies can offer. Moreover, stakes in start-ups, one mechanism which, in theory, creates economic incentives for co-workers, seem to play only a moderate role in motivating these co-workers.\nConclusion: Life science start-up firms are sites where basic life science research findings are further developed and translated into \"proofs of concept\" and other \"product-like\" entities, eventually amenable to market pricing and acquisitions. Such start-ups are commonly dependent on external venture capital investment; as such investment is acquired only after competing with other firms trying to raise venture capital, there is downward pressure on the economic compensation paid to start-up co-workers. In addition, under these conditions, work at life science start-ups includes significant economic insecurity; the question is, therefore, which employment conditions, as provided by life science start-ups, attract professional workers, many of whom could find more secure and better compensated work. Using Hirschman's (1977) conceptual framework, including the terms passion and interest, the empirical material demonstrates that life science start-up co-workers are willing to tolerate less secure work conditions as they are now able to overview the entire work process and firms' strategies, to conduct work that is meaningful in collaboration with their peers and to gain work experience that is not easily provided elsewhere (e.g. building and developing a new venture).\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Passion and interest are the two principal drivers of competitive capitalism, and reconciling the two is conducive to a dynamic and welfare-generating economic system. On the level of the individual, the same categories can be applied to examining, for example, career choices, at times violating propositions regarding rational expectations as some categories of work include lower economic compensation or higher levels of risk than would be attractive to the median job applicant. The purpose of this paper is to examine how venture workers, employees of life, thinly capitalize science ventures, justify their career choices and how they act in order to create economic security for themselves and their families.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study is based on a qualitative data collection methodology and reports on empirical research material from a study of co-workers at life science start-ups. The sample includes salaried employees working at venture capital-backed start-up companies in the life science sector.\nFindings: The study indicates that passionate preferences regarding, for example, meaningful work in collaboration with peers, and the ability to participate in the creation of a new venture, have overshadowed the downside risks and the lower level of economic compensation vis-a-vis comparable work. Such findings indicate that deeply meaningful work is a useful analytical category, and that combinations of the favorable market pricing of skills and experiences, as well as state-funded welfare mechanisms, cushioning some of the market risk that employees are exposed to, will provide opportunities for venture labor, i.e. work done at thinly capitalized firms, such as start-ups, per se contributing to a dynamic industry.\nOriginality/value: The study contributes to the innovation management literature as it examines the key role of salaried venture workers, i.e. workers that do not hold contracts, granting them the right to compensation when venture capital investors make an exit. In addition, the study also discusses the literature on deeply meaningful work, stressing that this is a useful analytical category.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Current challenges in information security risk management	[ "Information security", "Risk management" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The 2012 Global Risk Report[1] places the risks of cyber-attacks among the top five risks the world is likely to face over the next decade. The increasing dependency on data and electronic services, the growth of connectivity and the resulting \"internet of things\" are dangerous trends:\n2. Differences and commonalities of current information security risk management approaches: Risk management in the context of information security is not a new research domain. It was 1975 when the USA National Bureau of Standards proposed Annual Loss Expectancy (ALE) as a metric for measuring computer-related risks (FIPS, 1975). Annual Loss Expectancy is calculated by summing up the products of impact (I(Oi\n3. Current challenges and potential solutions in information security risk management: Based on the described risk management and decision support approaches, related work and feedback from the scientific and professional community, we identified a list of current challenges and provided potential solutions and research directions to address these challenges. The following method has been applied for the identification of the challenges and potential solutions:\n4. Conclusion and Outlook: This paper reviewed state-of-the-art risk management approaches and addressed the following research questions:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of current risk management approaches and outline their commonalities and differences, evaluate current risk management approaches regarding their capability of supporting cost-efficient decisions without unnecessary security trade-offs, outline current fundamental problems in risk management based on industrial feedback and academic literature and provide potential solutions and research directions to address the identified problems. Despite decades of research, the information security risk management domain still faces numerous challenges which hinder risk managers to come up with sound risk management results.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To identify the challenges in information security risk management, existing approaches are compared against each other, and as a result, an abstracted methodology is derived to align the problem and solution identification to its generic phases. The challenges have been identified based on literature surveys and industry feedback.\nFindings: As common problems at implementing information security risk management approaches, we identified the fields of asset and countermeasure inventory, asset value assignment, risk prediction, the overconfidence effect, knowledge sharing and risk vs. cost trade-offs. The reviewed risk management approaches do not explicitly provide mechanisms to support decision makers in making an appropriate risk versus cost trade-offs, but we identified academic approaches which fulfill this need.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides a reference point for professionals and researchers by summing up the current challenges in the field of information security risk management. Therefore, the findings enable researchers to focus their work on the identified real-world challenges and thereby contribute to advance the information security risk management domain in a structured way. Practitioners can use the research results to identify common weaknesses and potential solutions in information security risk management programs.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
A service incubator business model: external networking orientation	[ "Incubators", "Business model", "New ventures", "Networking", "Relational space" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Several interpretations have been associated with incubators, which have been identified as an innovative system designed to provide technology and management support to assist entrepreneurs in the development of new ventures (Sherman, 1999). Indeed, some research has focussed on incubating initiatives, like public/institutional operators with economic development objectives to boast employment and technological growth (Autio and Klofsten, 1998). Researchers have further agreed that incubation is related to the early phase of a venture's life cycle (Aernoudt, 2004; Bhabra-Remedios and Cornelius, 2003; Grimaldi and Grandi, 2005; Hackett and Dilts, 2004; Bergek and Norrman, 2008).\n2. The incubator business model: from networked to \"net-worker\" incubators: More and more, incubators have been identified in organizations that support start-ups, spin-offs, and new ventures, helping them develop their business (Colombo and Delmastro, 2002) through a supportive environment (Lindholm-Dahlstrand and Klofsten, 2002). In the past the supportive environment was related to physical space; nowadays incubators provide mainly added-value services. This evolution in incubators' business model has outlined different generations of incubators.\n3. Research approach: The main aim of this paper is to investigate the drivers of a new business model characterizing incubators. In order to better understand the new business approach adopted by incubators, the paper applied a qualitative research (Dubois and Gadde, 2002; Dubois and Araujo, 2004) and a case study approach (Beverland and Lindgreen, 2010; Harrison and Easton, 2004; Barratt et al., 2011). The analysis is characterized by an abduction process that enables data-driven theory generation (Jarvensivu and Tornroos, 2010; Dubois and Gadde, 2002; Dubois and Araujo, 2004; Piekkari et al., 2010). In total, 25 interviews were conducted via face-to-face, e-mail, videoconference, and phone contexts: 12 with key referents of the ComoNExT Incubator network, ten with key referents of the ComoNExT TH network, and three with key referents of the H-FARM Venture Incubator. ComoNExT TH and H-FARM are the two founders of the ComoNExT Incubator.\n4. ComoNEXT Incubator: The ComoNExT Incubator provides specialized technical assistance and logistics solutions through which a business idea can actually become a start-up. As of today, more than 20 start-ups have been incubated. Focussing on physical space, the incubator provides 24-hour accessibility, rooms for the start-ups' exclusive use, and workstations in open-space areas with dedicated furnished offices. Each office can accommodate small laboratories and facilities for small-scale productions. Sizes range from a minimum of 54 square meters to a maximum of 206 square meters. The incubator also supports the sharing of common resources and spaces: meeting rooms of different sizes, training rooms, an auditorium, cafeteria, and parking. The incubator offers the possibility of organizing conferences, business meetings, and workshops. Focussing on the facilities, the incubator is only a few kilometers away from Milan and close to the most prestigious research centers and universities.\n5. Discussion: The research results are mainly ascribable to the new incubator business model founded on different networking perspectives: internal (incubator and incubatees) and external (local territory, different regions and foreign countries). Although some research has examined internal perspectives on networking, differentiation among networking has not been thoroughly investigated. This study examines external networking.\n6. Conclusions and managerial implications: Business incubation has been identified in a combination of business development processes, infrastructures, and people designed to nurture new businesses by supporting them through the early stages of development and change. In the process of new ventures development, incubators sustain the start-ups' evolution mainly by providing networking support. Incubators support various levels of networking, not only at the internal level (incubator and incubatees), but also increasingly the external one (local and international), as demonstrated in the analyzed case. Networked incubators improve external networking, supporting start-ups in innovation partners' selection, and involvement. Start-ups need to select the right stakeholders with which develop long-term relationships to co-create an effective venture.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the drivers of new incubators' business model. Several researchers have agreed that incubation is related to the early phase of a venture's life and identified the incubators as organizations that support start-ups. But only recently has a new generation of incubators emerged.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using an Italian incubator case study, the research results are mainly ascribable to the ability of the incubator to facilitate not only internal networking, but also external networking.\nFindings: As described in the findings, the business model of the service incubator is founded on value-added services among networking within incubatees as well as between start-ups and external actors. The service incubator becomes a knowledge intermediary that allows new ventures to identify innovation parties and transform them into innovation partners.\nOriginality/value: The paper investigates the new business model of incubator founded on external networking orientation. Even if some researches analyzed incubators and cooperation within incubatees, less attention has been focussed on external networking and collaboration among incubators, incubatees, and several stakeholders. Based on such collaboration, incubatees can undertake new entrepreneurial measures, explore new markets, and innovate constantly.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Converting hotels website visitors into buyers: How online hotel web assurance seals services decrease consumers' concerns and increase online booking intentions	[ "Tourism", "Technology adoption", "Hypothesis testing" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Electronic commerce is growing rapidly and becoming one of the key supports of the service management economy (Huang et al., 2017; Kim et al., 2016). Indeed, it has become even more popular than before (Sharma and Lijuan, 2014; Mousavizadeh et al., 2016; Murillo, 2017). Therefore, firms seek nowadays to maximize their profits not only through providing high-quality products and services but also by making online purchasing easier and safer (Kim et al., 2016; Thaichon, 2017). However, potential online consumers nowadays hesitate to complete their transactions via the vendor's website because of their anxiety over e-transactions (Kim et al., 2016; Fortes and Rita, 2016; Mousavizadeh et al., 2016; Oliveira et al., 2017; Aggarwal and Rahul, 2018), believing that online shopping is more risky than traditional (Kim et al., 2017; Utz et al., 2012). In this situation, utilizing an effective e-commerce strategy is of key urgency for the hospitality context (Ozturk et al., 2016; Law et al., 2014).\n2. Theoretical background and conceptual framework: 2.1 Key hindrances to the purchase decisions of online consumers\n3. Research methodology: To test the research hypotheses, we employed a research approach based on a field survey that would collect data from consumers through a questionnaire. In the following sections, we discuss the data collection process and the measures used for this study.\n4. Results: Two main steps were followed in the PLS-SEM approach to evaluating the proposed models (Hair et al., 2016). First, the measurement model was assessed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the study measures. Second, the structural model was established to assess goodness of fit of the model and hypothesis testing (Hair et al., 2016).\n5. Discussion and conclusions: 5.1 Discussion of findings\n6. Limitations and further research directions: The limitations of the present study provide directions for future research, as follows. First, our study ignored cross-cultural issues in that it concentrates on customers from developing countries, so further research might compare two or more samples from different countries might add to the knowledge if our proposed model was validated there. Second, our study spotlights the WASS in predicting the customers' booking intentions that indicate significant results, so further research may also need to examine the role of online reviews as a different predictor of customers' purchase decisions (Banerjee et al., 2017). Third, the present study was conducted in the online hotel booking context, but further research may derive useful results from other contexts, which would add to knowledge if it were validated in those contexts. Forth, while WASS are third-party protection mechanism to protect customers of the prospective online shopping risks in terms of privacy, technology concern, security and integrity, different seals in WASS confirm different dimensional elements of customers' concerns for online shopping. However, the present study did not consider the separated influence of WASS on customers concerns, as the aim of the present study was to examine customers' perceptions about the WASS effectiveness on customers concerns. Since privacy, technology concern, security and integrity are different variables, further research can consider the separated influence of WASS on customers concerns for online shopping. Another future study line would be to incorporate other factors, such as consumers experience with the internet, consumer experience of booking hotels online (Bilgihan et al., 2016; Ponte et al., 2015), consumer personality traits (Ponte et al., 2015), the influence of price on the perception of value and socio-demographic characteristics (Ponte et al., 2015). Fifth, this research confirmed the moderating influence of habit in online consumers' behaviors, because the increase of habitual actions reduces the amount of intentional behavior. From the use point of view, the present study suggested habit as the moderating factor. However, other moderating factors should be investigated, such as internal and external controls of personality. These moderating factors could be integrated into future research. Sixth, a potential limitation of our study analysis imposed by the statistics obtained is that the differences in b coefficients that were used to evaluate H8 and H9 seem not to be very high, so further research may investigate these relationships. Finally, our study ignored the role of customers' demographic characteristics and thus further research may need to explore such these characteristics (e.g. gender, age, income, education and experience) since they may give valuable insights which would benefit the marketing managers in formulating appropriate strategies to attract and encourage all types of consumer to book online.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Despite the increasing utilization of webpages for the purposes of information seeking, customers' concerns have become a crucial impediment for online shopping. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the effectiveness of web assurance seals services (WASS) and customers' concerns on customer's willingness to book hotels through perceived website trust and perceived value.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was administrated to measure the study variables. Using partial least squares-structural equation modeling approach to analyze the data collected from 860 users of online hotel websites.\nFindings: The results indicate that WASS influence positively on perceived website trust and negatively on consumers' concerns. As well as, perceived value and trust play a mediating role in the link between WASS and consumers' concerns and their intentions. Finally, perceived website trust and perceived value have greater effect on intention to book hotel for low-habit consumers.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study ignored the cross-culture issue as it concentrates on the customers from developing countries, so further research may need to compare between two or more than two samples from different societies that could give a significant insights. Second, this study stresses on the WASS to predict customers booking intentions that indicates significant results, so further research may need to examine the role of online reviews as a predictor of customers purchase decision as well.\nOriginality/value: To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first empirical research that investigates and examines the influence of the effectiveness of WASS and consumers' concerns on consumers' intentions through perceived value and trust. This research also investigates the moderating role of habit in the link between perceived website, perceived value and consumers' intentions.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Coordination and responsiveness issues in SME supply chains: a review	[ "Small-to-medium-sized enterprises", "Responsiveness", "Coordination", "Supply chain management", "Benchmarking performance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In all countries small and medium enterprises are considered as the backbone of economic growth. They contribute in providing job opportunities, and act as supplier of goods and services to large organizations. Majority of SMEs have simple systems and procedures, which allow flexibility, immediate feedback, short decision-making chain, better understanding, and quicker response to customer needs than larger organizations (Singh et al., 2008). Tambunan (2011) have observed that SMEs have been the main player in domestic economic activities as they account for more than 99.9 percent of all firms and employ 96.2 percent of the Indonesian workforce. In spite of these significant characteristics of SMEs, they have not got due support from government and are on tremendous pressure to sustain their competitiveness in domestic as well as global markets. Effective coordination strategies may help in managing interdependencies and reducing uncertainties. Soroor et al. (2009) have observed that supply chain coordination strategy plays a critical role in integrating different actors along the supply chain to enhance performance. Singh (2015) observed that top management commitment, strategy development, resource development, use of technology, and risk and reward sharing are the major drivers for responsive SC.\n2. Review methodology and classification of different issues: To face the challenges and to avail benefits of globalization, SMEs must have effective coordination and responsiveness strategies to make a proper balance among all supply chain members.\n3. Research gaps and concluding remarks: In this study, an attempt has been made by authors to review the literature on the issues related with coordination and responsiveness of SME supply chains (as per the framework shown in Figure 4) in the globalized market. In this regard, 116 research papers are reviewed. It is observed that in most of the studies, the researchers have focused on an individual issue such as quality management, technology management, competitive priorities, leadership issues, and constraints and challenges in isolation. As discussed earlier coordination and responsiveness are broad areas and need a holistic approach. On the basis of this extensive literature review, the following research gaps are identified:\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: Globalization and liberalization of the world economy have leveled the field for all competitors across the globe. To face global competition successfully, SMEs have to break their isolation in the value chain. To overcome the dynamic challenges of the market, supply chain management can be an important tool for SMEs. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize different issues related to the coordination and responsiveness of supply chain management in SMEs, through a review of the literature.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In all, 116 research papers, mainly from referred international journals, are reviewed to identify the thrust areas of research. On the basis of the review, gaps are identified and a research agenda is proposed.\nFindings: It is observed from the review that SMEs have not been very proactive in implementing supply chain management. These organizations face a lot of problems in coordinating their operations with other members of the supply chain. They are localized in functioning. On export fronts SMEs face many constraints due to lack of resources and poor innovative capabilities. To face the challenges of open global market, SMEs have to manage their problems and supply chain risks effectively. Research gaps are identified in different areas of the supply chain such as coordination and responsiveness issues, service quality issues, and performance benchmarking for future directions of research.\nOriginality/value: This paper explores the major areas for research on coordination and responsiveness of SME supply chains. The findings of the paper will be highly useful for the researchers to decide the direction of their research.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Advancing the use of performance evaluation in health care	[ "Performance measurement", "Decision support", "Health services sector", "Strategic alignment", "Holistic performance" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nPerformance evaluation in health care: Managing modern health care is becoming increasingly complicated as institutions evolve into integrated health systems comprising hospitals, outpatient clinics and surgery centers, nursing homes, and home health services (Curtright et al., 2000). In addition, increasing demands for individualized, high-performance services, intensified patient inflow and technological innovations all result in rising pressure on health expenditures (Strandberg-Larsen et al., 2007; World Health Organization, 2008). This development has led to a growing need for more reliable performance evaluation tools in order to guide the increasingly complex decision-making processes (Swaminathan et al., 2008). But health care service performance is often difficult to quantify (Basu et al., 2010), and numerous methods have been suggested and debated as tools for assessing the performance and quality of health care services (Mohammadi et al., 2007). Accurate diagnosis and treatment are no longer enough; stakeholders require high performance in all facets of modern health care (Elleuch, 2008). This signifies that health care organizations need to move beyond a narrow medical view and embrace a holistic approach to the concept of health care performance. In the attempt to provide holistic performance information, measurement systems have consequently become more wide-ranging (Cheng and Thompson, 2006; Lega and Vendramini, 2008). Today, consensus exists about defining performance in relation to explicit goals that reflect the values and requirements of various stakeholders (such as patients, professions, regulators, etc.). Therefore, performance evaluation has evolved into a multi-faceted concept, which includes patient load analysis (Mital, 2010), work environment (Jones et al., 2009), patient satisfaction (Kutney-Lee et al., 2009), mortality rates (Barros, 2003), surgical performance (Treasure et al., 2002), and incentive structures (Buetow, 2008) to name a few examples of the extensive work conducted within specific health care performance evaluation. Because of a common acceptance of the strength in both high-level and specific measures, many health care facilities are adopting both types within their internal evaluation procedures. Likewise, national and international agencies are evaluating the performance of health care services to an extent not previously seen. Performance indicators, quality audits, and accreditation standards are therefore gradually becoming fundamentals in the vocabulary of health care professionals around the world.\nMotivation and methodology: It is assumed that comprehensible performance information, along with an intuitive representation, is a necessity for modern health care organizations to reach their strategic objectives. This paper therefore focusses on the question of constructing holistic, aggregated performance information, capable of portraying strategic change based on operational performance measures. The aggregated measures must provide information about current operational performance compared to past performance, in order to represent strategic pro-/regress. The framework needs to justify whether operations are under statistical control or not according to the strategic objectives of an organization. This signifies that the framework detects large variations in lower level indicators, even though upper level indicators are assessed stabile, as extreme fluctuations are expected to have impact on general operations. The advancement of performance measurement systems is considered a key step toward improving the productivity/performance of the health care sector. The motivation for this study has been a wish to contribute to this advancement by focussing on holistic performance measurement, taking strategic objectives as the point of departure and transforming this into decision-support information for operational management.\nStructural outline: In the construction of any decision support framework two key issues have to be properly addressed; the indicators to be measured (Flapper et al., 1996), and how to evaluate these indicators (Dummer, 2007). In order to deal with these two key issues, this particular framework is divided into four successive steps:\nFramework tryout at an MRI unit: To test whether the four-step procedure is useful as a tool for health care decision makers, the framework was applied in an MRI unit in a Danish hospital. The case is a radiology department at a Danish non-profit hospital with four individual sites, the result of a fusion between four formerly independent hospitals. The hospitals were merged at management level, but the four sites still act as separate operational parts in the new hospital. The radiology department employs 128 staff members in total, and examines and treats approximately 145 patients on a daily basis. The quantitative test is performed exclusively at the MRI unit on one site, which examines approximately 3,500 patients per year, distributed on about 70 different types of MRI scans. The unit receives both acute and planned patients. The unit employs both full-time and part-time employees and students.\nDiscussion: In light of the research objective, the authors believe that the framework possesses the desired strengths, particularly by providing a still-life of current performance compared to past performance. The distinctiveness of this framework lies in its combination of normalization according to past performance, and the use of the AHP concept as a method for prioritization, analyzing, and representing the outcome in few key measures. This allows for the monitoring of performance progress and regress as a function of strategic importance. The framework has the potential for including large amounts of information, and at the same time it can target this information for use in strategic decision support. The hierarchical construction calls for strategic alignment, since indicator structures are deduced through the organization from the strategic objectives. The traditional target-setting procedure is replaced by the normalization procedure, which portrays each indicator as a reflection of past performance. Hence, the target becomes progress instead of a fixed target value, and the weight profile indicates which areas should be the center of attention. The framework thus provides a clear indication of whether an organization is progressing satisfactorily toward its predetermined strategic objectives. Weak areas would be visible, as well as their significance in relation to overall performance. The framework deals with the reality of facing massive amounts of information and the request for targeted information. Information is presented in a holistic manner, and at the same time allows focus on clustered and target measures. This enables decision makers to trace poor performance through the hierarchy, easing the identification of root causes. Output represents operational performance with a positive or negative value according to strategic progress or regress. The strength of specific measures is still apparent, enabling operational decision makers to correct unacceptable performance.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for health care performance evaluation that enables decision makers to identify areas indicative of corrective actions. The framework should provide information on strategic pro-/regress in an operational context that justifies the need for organizational adjustments.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study adopts qualitative methods for constructing the framework, subsequently implementing the framework in a Danish magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit. Workshops and interviews form the basis of the qualitative construction phase, and two internal and five external databases are used for a quantitative data collection.\nFindings: By aggregating performance outcomes, collective measures of performance are achieved. This enables easy and intuitive identification of areas not strategically aligned. In general, the framework has proven helpful in an MRI unit, where operational decision makers have been struggling with extensive amounts of performance information.\nResearch limitations/implications: The implementation of the framework in a single case in a public and highly political environment restricts the generalizing potential. The authors acknowledge that there may be more suitable approaches in organizations with different settings.\nPractical implications: The strength of the framework lies in the identification of performance problems prior to decision making. The quality of decisions is directly related to the individual decision maker. The only function of the framework is to support these decisions.\nOriginality/value: The study demonstrates a more refined and transparent use of performance reporting by combining strategic weight assignment and performance aggregation in hierarchies. In this way, the framework accentuates performance as a function of strategic progress or regress, thus assisting decision makers in exerting operational effort in pursuit of strategic alignment.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Lean and Six Sigma practices in the public sector: a review	[ "Six Sigma", "Lean Six Sigma", "Continuous improvement", "Lean", "Systematic literature review", "Public sector" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The public sector is a significant part of the economy of any country in the world and, regardless of specific function or service or country of operation, has many challenges and operating restrictions in common. Public sector services are informed and directed by political policies and priorities which can be changeable. They compete for a share of an overall budget and must deliver their services within the affordability of budget and this is a key consideration in the strategic management of public sector services (Poister and Streib, 1999). Often, the services provided are to the most vulnerable in the society and sometimes are not wanted or desired by the recipients. The services to a greater or lesser degree are also provided regardless of the customer's ability to pay (Flynn, 2007).\nThe definition of public sector: One of the early challenges in undertaking a systematic literature review in this area is the absolute definition of the \"public sector\". Collins Dictionary (2017) defines the public sector as: \"the part of a country's economy which is controlled or supported financially by the government\". This very broad definition would be supported in the broadest terms by Lane (2000) where she suggests the broadest formal definition would be \"Government activity and its consequences\". The challenge in becoming more specific is expressed by Flynn (2007) in his book Public Sector Management. He states that:The boundary between the public and private sectors is neither clear nor permanent. In some cases, the boundary is well defined: assets get transferred from the public to the private sector through privatization: assets that remain in state ownership are clearly public. The process of outsourcing, whereby private companies provide all or part of services, make the boundary less clear(p. 1).\nMethodology: The review has initially followed the nine steps in a systematic review process recommended by Dickson et al. (2014):\nBreakdown of findings by public sector areas: While the scale of the public sector may vary, as has already been referenced, they remain a significant employer, if not the most significant employer in each country in the world. The blurred lines of public sector have also already been discussed, and for the clarity of comparison the 121 papers included in this study, they have been grouped into five clear categories which are further explored in this section:\nDiscussion: As it can be seen by the breakdown across different elements of the public sector, central and local government departments show a focus on individual case studies of Lean in particular and question the suitability and applicability to the public sector whereas there is more agreement that this is the case in health and education albeit still discussion over the acceptance of the academics and medical staff rather than administrative staff and functions. Moreover, it is evident from our review that there is a growing emphasis on the wider implementation planning, strategy and leadership as well as staff involvement and empowerment in the areas of health and education and to a greater extent than in other areas of the public sector. The emerging themes which show from this review of the literature as well as the research gaps are discussed further in the next two sections.\nConclusion, limitations and future research agenda: It is unclear from the literature review how public sector organisations select their CI methodology and why, for example, Lean is selected over Six Sigma and which criteria is used to inform the selection. However, the literature does show an apparent pre-occupation with tools and techniques as shown in individual case studies. These case studies do show individual savings and benefits, but no evidence is presented of the embracing of Lean or Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma as a business process improvement strategy integrated into the working practices of a business model.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of publications relating to the use of continuous improvement (CI) methodologies, such as Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma over a 17-year period, to identify the themes and gaps, while informing the development of a future research agenda.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The systematic literature review identified 121 papers published between 2000 and 2017 from searches of over 1,400 peer-reviewed academic journals and also identified the application of Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma across the public sector.\nFindings: This research compares the scale and breadth of the public sector with the application of CI methodologies and finds that such application is unstructured and, in some areas, sporadic. The research identifies common themes and research gaps including areas such as lack of shared understanding of Lean, gaps in strategy development and leadership and an overfocus on tools alone.\nResearch limitations/implications: The methodology is focussed on the journals rated in the ABS Journal Guide 2015, which allowed manual searches for accuracy and relevance to the area of investigation. It is recognised that this may exclude some articles which have been published in other journals but allowed for a structured and detailed investigation. The research identifies some very clear gaps which can inform future research agendas.\nPractical implications: The paper details the implications and challenges to the public sector, generally, and to executive leadership, specifically, and, in particular, covers the common issues and concerns, which in turn will assist public sector organisations in implementing, reviewing or refreshing their CI initiatives.\nOriginality/value: No similar work has been conducted and while some individual areas such as health and education have been the subject of more focus, this research explores the public sector as a whole and considers the patterns of research in that context.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Consumer value structures reflected in clothing advertisements	[ "Clothing", "Advertisements" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Competition for survival among firms has become increasingly fierce in our consumption-based society, where potential supply exceeds the demand. For firms that can survive only by continuously selling new products to consumers who already have many, the essence of competition is discrimination: showing that the products one firm makes have something different or better than the competing products (Lee, 1989). These differences do not include absolute discrimination, since many companies have the resources to compete, but instead the differences refer to relative discrimination elicited successfully in the mind of the consumer.\nLiterature review: Values\nResearch objectives: To construct consumer value structures, the content of clothing advertisements from the past several decades were analyzed. Clothing is a hedonic product, and as indicated by Mort and Rose (2004), hedonic products need greater attention by MEC researchers. Hedonice products are frequently consumed because of the possibilities for self-enhancement and the subjective meanings associated with intangible product features (Mort and Rose, 2004). Clothing also becomes a means of communicating with others. One tentative foundation of this study is that clothing ads will thus reflect consumer values more than ads for other products.At the outset of this study, the two research objectives were established:1. to identify which values consumers have regarded as important in general for clothing, and to order their prevalence chronologically; and2. to identify which consumer consequences and product attributes fall under each of the five consumer value categories and to see how strongly these consequences and attributes are linked.\nMethod: Sampling\nResults: Ordering and identifying consumer values as reflected in clothing ads and their changes from the 1970s to the 2000s\nConclusion and suggestions: The purpose of this study was to construct consumer value structures for clothing using a content analysis of clothing advertisements. The consumer values reflected in clothing ads were identified, in order of frequency, as functional, social, emotional and epistemic values. Functional value dominated throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, but showed a decreasing trend. By the 2000s, emotional value had overtaken functional value in emphasis. In the 1980s, Holbrook and Hirschman's work revealed the cultural shift that was taking place that attributes a cultural zeitgeist toward hedonic value in goods that marketers were capitalizing on in ad campaigns (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982).Functional value was linked to numerous consequences in the following order of frequency: high quality, comfort, protection, versatility, durability, ease of care and economic benefit. Most of the consequences of functional value were linked with fabric. Social value showed in the following order: symbols of social status, personal expression, dressing for success, and approval by others. High quality served as an intermediary qualifier for attributes within the consequence category of symbols of social status. Emotional value was linked with a pleasure dimension - including happiness, elegance, beauty, freedom and sentimentality - and with an arousal dimension - including the feelings of the exotic, fresh, daring and sexy. The epistemic value was linked with only two consequences: pursuit of new fashion and pursuit of the uniqueness. These consequences were in turn linked to two attributes: new clothing line and distinctive pattern.Previous research by Sontag (1979) found 16 distinct value categories for clothing, yet did not present a hierarchy of values (Sontag and Schlater, 1995). The results of her study coincide with this study's results. This study grouped Sontag's values of functionality, economy and safety into one category: functional value. Likewise, this study's exploration of social value can encompass Sontag's values of standard of living, self-regard, self expression, accomplishing something, acceptance and inclusion by others, and independence or freedom. Also, Sontag found values of fun, beauty, attractiveness, freedom from bother and annoyance, and sexuality, while this study grouped all those into emotional value. Finally, Sontag's values of fashion, variety and creativity fit into epistemic value in this study. Sontag (1979)'s 16 clothing value categories can then be reclassified into the 4 major value categories used in this study, and each of Sontag's values serves as a subcategory. This study further classifies these subcategories and labels them as consequences under the major value headings of functional and emotional value. Three of Sontag's categories - independence, variety and creativity - were not found in this study.This study significantly contributes to academic study on clothing, as we can see through the comparison of this study to that of Sontag (1979). This study reveals a hierarchical dimension to clothing values and is the first study which attempts to construct a means-end chain through the content analysis of advertisements. These results further constitute a significant contribution to the clothing business, where apparel is developed and sold. The linkages between values, consequences and attributes uncovered in this study can be used by marketing practitioners in several ways. Clothing markets can be segmented based on the consumer values a company wishes to appeal to. These, in turn, could lead to the choice of consequences or attributes to emphasize in their marketing efforts. Building on this research, future marketing activities could develop and test ads for new apparel products using a MEC analysis. In addition, these results can be used to develop questionnaires for consumer value surveys on clothing. Using the surveys in future research may help to identify opportunities for new product development (i.e. new clothing lines) that are based on attributes desired by consumers, and that reflect their values.Limitations to this study exist. First of all, many ads without headlines and copy were excluded, as were many ads that did not clearly reveal any consumer value, which reduced the number of ads analyzed. Considering that the number of ads without headlines or copy has increased drastically over the last decade, a significant number of contemporary consumer values might be excluded from this analysis. One should be careful, therefore, in generalizing the results of this study over time. Secondly, the magazines analyzed in this study are targeted to upper-middle class readers, and considering the demographics for this target audience, the results should be carefully interpreted. Finally, contemporary apparel ads rely heavily on graphic images rather than ad copy to sell product. Because this study focused on headlines and ad copy only, this is another limitation of the study.Further studies are needed to identify a way to categorize image advertisements to include recent image ads in the study. For the prospects of further study, it is also possible to construct consumer value structures for clothing through the content analysis of interviews or surveys as previous research has done, and to compare the results with those of this study. It would also be interesting to research and compare the consumer value structures for clothing of different cultures and geographic areas.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to construct consumer value structures for clothing.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Using content analysis, a total of 301 advertisements from the New Yorker and Esquire magazines are analyzed during one representative year out of each of the last four decades.\nFindings: - Consumer values reflected in clothing ads are identified as functional, social, emotional and epistemic. Functional value dominated throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, but showed a decreasing trend. By the 2000s, emotional value had overtaken functional value in emphasis. Consumer consequences and product attributes, which fell under each of the consumer values, are also revealed. Of all the consumer consequences, high quality was connected the most frequently with functional value. At the same time, high quality served as an intermediary qualifier for symbols of social status, a consequence of social value. Fabric was the attribute linked most frequently to functional and social consequences.\nPractical implications: - Clothing companies can use the values, consequences and attributes presented here to differentiate between values, to determine the most effective attributes to emphasize, and to target certain audiences for their marketing and advertising strategies.\nOriginality/value: - The essential contribution of this paper is that this study reveals a hierarchical dimension to clothing value and is the first study which attempts to construct a means-end chain through the content analysis of advertisements.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Predicting Bangladeshi financial salespeople ' s ethical intentions and behaviour using the theory of planned behaviour: Implications for developing countries	[ "Ethics", "Ethical selling", "Theory of planned behavior", "Financial services marketing", "Developing country", "Financial services" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The global financial services industry is highly competitive and is facing a number of worldwide pressures, including, increased government regulation, a worldwide consolidation of firms, and higher customer expectations (Roman, 2003) as well as the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 (Tomasic, 2011; Walter, 2009). In a highly competitive market, growth is only possible through expanding the market or attracting competitors\nTheoretical background: Financial services and ethical vulnerability in developing countries\nHypotheses development: Determinants of behavioural intention\nMethodology: Data collection\nMeasures: The survey questionnaire used was composed of three sections:\nResults and discussion: The statistical power of our analysis using MacCallum et al.\nImplications: Given that governmental social support is virtually non-existent in many developing countries, consumers are likely to increase their purchases of insurance products to protect against negative life consequences (van Ginneken, 2003; Kakar and Shukla, 2010). Thus, protecting a developing country\nFuture research: The study collected data from a single firm within a single developing country. While other research has also used single firm data (Mulki et al., 2009; Park and Blenkinsopp, 2009; Roman and Munuera, 2005), it would be valuable to extend this research to other countries and/or multiple firms. A multiple firm perspective would be especially important if research sought to integrate the role of differences in organisational orientation, which could not be captured within a single firm. Replicating the research within firms in developed countries and in other developing countries would also allow the generalisability of the relationships to be validated.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the theory of planned behavior (TPB) can be used to explain financial salespeople\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper examines 205 Bangladeshi financial salespeople\nFindings: The findings identify that attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control (PBC) affect ethical selling intentions which, in turn, predict salespeople\nResearch limitations/implications: Understanding of the determinants of financial salespeople\nOriginality/value: The results identify that the TPB applies to the selling of financial services in developing countries and, thus, broadens the applications and contexts of the TPB model. It also provides some managerial guidance as to how potential ethical breaches might be limited.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]
Information asymmetry in process consultation: An empirical research on leader-client/consultant relationship in healthcare organizations	[ "Agency theory", "Consultants’ roles", "Healthcare organizations", "Process consultation", "Experiential approach" ]	[ { "content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The leader-client/consultant relationship has been the focus of many studies in the literature on management consulting (Barctecko, 2010; Davenport and Early, 2010; Fincham, 1999; Nikolova and Devinney, 2009; Ulvila, 2000; Werr and Styhre, 2003) and has been portrayed in many ways (Mohe and Seidl, 2011): as a community of interpretive communities (Devinney and Nikolova, 2004), as business partners (Biswas and Twitchell, 2002), as a cooperative endeavor based on trust (Furusten and Werr, 2005), as a social fabric embedded in an enterprise (Kitay and Wright, 2004) or as an area of potential tensions and paradoxes (Shapiro et al., 1993; Verstraeten, 2007; Whittle, 2006). Thus, another prevailing model of the leader-client/consultant relationship is based on a certain number of assumptions originating primarily from the field of organizational development (OD) and more specifically the work of Schein, whose postulates have been challenged by many authors (Glucker and Ambruster, 2003; Nikolova and Devinney, 2009; Sturdy, 1997, 2011) but rarely been tested or validated empirically. According to Verstraeten (2007, p. 20), the field of OD is part of this academic tradition known as the \"human relations school\" initiated in particular by Kurt Lewin in the forties and enriched by the contributions of Lippitt and Lippitt, Argyris and Schon. Although the entire field of OD is not limited to organizational consultation, its proponents favored an action-research strategy and put forward an integrated system of methodological proposals and positioning for the consultant (see e.g.French and Bell, 1999; Brown, 2011); among the different models of intervention put forward in the OD field, the process consultation' model of Schein is considered quite central and has been a current reference for management consulting in the field of OD (Mohe and Seidl, 2011). As a result, substantial amounts of highly normative, humanist-inspired literature have been amassed on the specifics of, and steps to follow in, management consulting in organizations.\nContext of the research: In the context of this research, the healthcare sector was targeted as our field of investigation primarily for the following reasons:\nTheoretical framework: Contribution of Schein's work to the process consultation\nMethods: Research aims\nMain results: Entry phase\nDiscussion and conclusion: This research's objective was to analyze the nature of the leader-client/consultant relationship, using the agency theory to revisit some basic principles underlying Schein's model of the consulting process. In reference of the diverse scenarios put forward by Waterman and Meier (1998), the data collected from 13 cases of organizational intervention by four consultants in the same management consulting firm is revealed in Table VI.\n", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to revisit Schein's proposed process-consultation approach as a general framework for management consulting in the light of some premises of the agency theory, namely the behavior induced by the asymmetry of information between the principal (leader-client) and the agent (consultant).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Empirical research consisted of an in-depth, qualitative and phenomenological analysis of 13 cases of organizational intervention based on the practice of four senior consultants in a Canadian management consulting firm whose philosophy is based on organizational development principles and practices. All the cases chosen are characterized by a situation of strategic change as a result of governmental reforms in the healthcare sector between 2005 and 2008.\nFindings: Overall, the study shows that the relationship between leaders-clients and consultants varies from one stage to another throughout the consultation process and that the information asymmetry does not always benefit the agent as stated in the agency theory. The consultants are required to play diverse roles, either in combination or alternation, during the consultation process; the facilitator's role, stated as the more efficient role in Schein's perspective and the more altruistic from the point of view of the agency theory, is not necessarily the role preferred by managers. Moreover, results highlight the idiosyncrasies of healthcare organizations, namely the phenomenon of escalating indecision that comes into play during the implementation phase of change, worth taking into account in the practice and theories of management consulting.\nPractical implications: This analysis raises a number of questions about the general understanding and applicability of the process consultation as defined by Schein. Perhaps the four consultants have not perfectly mastered the interpersonal skills that Schein's model presupposes. One may also conclude that the model does not always respond to the expectations and needs of leaders and managers and that, for many consultants, it is difficult to adopt only one role model throughout the consulting process. One may also question its realism in a context of interventions in public organizations, with a plurality of interest groups and ambiguity of goals, where governmental reforms are pressuring managers to control costs.\nOriginality/value: According to Eisenhardt (1989) and Hendry (2002), the agency theory offers promising avenues if combined with other theoretical anchors such as the field of organizational behavior. This study scrutinizes the leader-consultant relationship, and more specifically the type of assistance requested by healthcare leaders as they experienced strategic change and how consultants responded to these requests.\n", "role": "assistant" } ]

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