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Evaluating the impact of modular product design on flexibility performance and cost performance with delivery performance as a moderator
|
[
"Moderating effects",
"Hybrid model of cumulative performance",
"Manufacturing improvement practices"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In the field of operations management, effective improvement practices such as total quality management (TQM), just in time (JIT) or design for manufacturability have been developed during the past decades (Hayes and Pisano, 1994). For manufacturers, such improvement practices are crucial to developing operations as a competitive advantage (Boyer and Lewis, 2002). Previous research studies contribute to understanding in greater detail the dependencies between these practices and their implementation sequence (Furlan et al., 2011a, b; Schmenner and Swink, 1998; Flynn and Flynn, 2004; Schroeder et al., 2011). In 2015, Bortolotti et al. follow a convincing approach to examine the effect of prevalent operational improvement practices on the four performance dimensions that together constitute the well-known cumulative performance sand cone model. In doing so, the authors address the important question of how to achieve cumulative performance (Flynn and Flynn, 2004). Along with the identification of appropriate improvement practices, this involves evaluation of a particular improvement sequence that supports cumulative performance.\nTheoretical foundation: The interplay between manufacturing performance dimensions\nHypotheses and model development: Proceeding with the proposal of Bortolotti et al. (2015) to search for additional practices that improve flexibility performance and cost performance as well as to evaluate a beneficial sequence of implementation, it is paramount to decide on one particular model configuration that can serve to guide our research (Koufteros et al., 2002; Forza, 2002). Considering the variety of models in the literature representing different dependencies between the performance dimensions, we follow Hallgren et al. (2011) in this paper. Hallgren et al. (2011) proposed a hybrid model where flexibility performance and cost performance are considered two parallel dimensions. This approach is the result of a lack of empirical support for the cumulative nature of flexibility performance and cost performance. The underlying reason might be that rapidly changing customer demands more frequently require improvement practices that allow manufacturers to excel in more than one performance dimension, at least with regard to order winners. Indeed, manufacturing concepts based on MPD break with the dilemma of choosing between differentiation and cost leadership (Van Hoek, 2001). Thus, the first objective of this paper is to examine whether MPD is an appropriate practice to improve manufacturers' flexibility performance and cost performance. The first research objective of this paper leads to the following two hypotheses:\nMethodology: Analyzing moderating effects with SEM\nAnalysis: Measures and measurement model\nResults: Results are based on generalized least squares estimates (Carroll and Ruppert, 1982). The results of the structural model analysis are summarized in Figure 5.\nDiscussion: Theoretical contributions\nConclusion: In operations management, research on the interplay between the four manufacturing performance dimensions, i.e., quality, delivery, flexibility and cost, has produced different results over the years. Yet, as a conceptual basis, hybrid models that combine and further develop central elements of both trade-off theory and cumulative approaches are gaining in importance (Hallgren et al., 2011). With regards to content, the focus is slowly shifting from a mere consideration of performance dimensions to a more holistic view that also includes consideration of performance improvement practices (Bortolotti et al., 2015; Narasimhan et al., 2005).\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether modular product design is an appropriate practice to improve manufacturers' flexibility performance and cost performance as well as to evaluate whether combined effects of modular product design and delivery performance on flexibility performance and cost performance exist.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Structural equation modeling with moderating effects is used. Moderating effects allow an evaluation whether combined effects of modular product design and delivery performance exist. For the analysis, data from the international high-performance manufacturing survey are used.\nFindings: Analysis results show a positive relationship between modular product design and cost performance, but do not show a significant moderating effect. Thus, no combined effect of modular product design and delivery performance exists in the data at hand.\nResearch limitations/implications: A potential limitation of this study is the cross-sectional nature of the analysis. In order to test for causal relationships or chronological sequences, longitudinal data are deemed more suitable.\nPractical implications: The findings make improvement processes more predictable and help managers to overcome traditional trade-off situations, especially in terms of flexibility performance and cost performance. Manufacturers are still neglecting the implementation of complementary methods for achieving an increase in flexibility while maintaining efficiency.\nOriginality/value: This paper complements prior research on the effect of improvement practices on operational performance dimensions. It also takes an alternative approach to examine whether a beneficial implementation sequence of improvement practices can be assumed.\n",
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] |
Convergence and determinants of change in nutrient supply: Evidence from sub-Saharan African countries
|
[
"Economic growth",
"Food consumption",
"Fair trade",
"Food policy",
"Econometrics"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Food availability defined in terms of per capita dietary supply is one of the key variables for measuring society-well-being across the globe (Alexandratus and Brainsma, 2012), as per capita food consumption plays crucial role in many societal spheres ranging from health, welfare, and economic growth in general. At the macroeconomic level, per capita food supply is arguably the most used information to understand global food situation (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2003). This explains why food policy discussion at the macro level has more often than not focussed on the level of per capita nutrient supply such as calories, proteins, and fats (Wang and Taniguchi, 2002).\n2. Literature review: Food and by extension nutrient intakes has been found to have a strong empirical linkage with both human health and labor productivity (Aromolaran, 2004). This explains why Neeliah and Shankar (2008) argued that nutrition is essential to human capital development, as the amount of nutrient supply relative to recommended daily allowances (RDA) could be used to some extent to gauge improvement in consumption pattern over time, especially calories and proteins.\n3. Methodology: 3.1. Data and time series property of the data\n4. Results and discussion: 4.1. Convergence hypothesis in nutrient supply\n5. Concluding remarks: The study examined whether the convergence hypothesis exists in nutrient supply across countries in SSA. It also investigates factors influencing growth in nutrient supply in the region in SSA. The empirical analysis was based on annual time series that yields balanced panel data covering 1975-2009 from 43 countries.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to use cross-country data to investigate whether convergence process exists in per capital nutrient supply and also identify the determinants of change in per capita nutrient supply in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Annual time series data for 43 countries covering 1975-2009 that yields balanced panel were employed for the analysis. The convergence hypothesis is examined based on the neoclassical growth model using feasible generalized least square approach that is robust to autocorrelation and cross-sectional dependence.\nFindings: The empirical results lend support to existence of convergence process in nutrient supply in SSA. Evidence of convergence in nutrient supply may have contributed to observed reduction in incidence of food-poverty in the region, which aligns with the argument in literature that recent Africa food security gains are due to food imports. The results of the determinants of change in nutrient supply showed that, global food trade represented by trade openness consistently increased growth in nutrient supply across countries in SSA significantly. Meanwhile, the speed of convergence of per capita nutrient supply, which measures how quickly growth in nutrient supply increases over time is very low, as this calls for urgent policy attention in the region.\nOriginality/value: The very first study to investigate convergence in food consumption and nutritional supply in SSA.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Impact of TQM/Six Sigma practices on company's performance: Tunisian context
|
[
"Performance",
"PLS",
"Six Sigma",
"TQM"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Various studies and research works have been interested in the field of quality management over the last few years (e.g. Ahire et al., 1996; Sousa and Voss, 2002). Large numbers of studies are focalized on studying quality management practices and linked success key (Zhang et al., 2000; Sun, 2001; Sila and Ebrahimpour, 2002; Kaynak, 2003).\n2. Theoretical background: 2.1 TQM/Six Sigma practices\n3. Proposal of conceptual model and hypotheses: Based on the literature review of previous research studies investigating the TQM/Six Sigma best practices as Llorens-Montes and Molina (2006), Zu et al. (2010) and Yang (2012) and in order to generate different generic practices, first of all we will define the list of the main TQM/Six Sigma practices, as shown in Table I. After the selection of 14 generic practices, we highlight them into three key categories as detailed in Table II. We follow the classification of Flynn et al. (1995), Pannirselvam and Ferguson (2001) and Sousa and Voss (2002), namely:\n4. Research methods: 4.1 Data collection\n5. Construct validity of measurement and structural instrument: 5.1 Exploratory factor analysis (EFA): purification of measurement instruments\n6. Discussion: The findings of this study afford strong evidence concerning the call for integrating TQM/Six Sigma practices in the quality improvement strategy of the company.\n7. Conclusion: This research aims is to develop and to validate a measurement instrument of TQM/Six Sigma in Tunisian companies as well as to study their relationship and their impact on performance. This research attempts to contribute to the development of TQM/Six Sigma theory.\n8. Research implications: The findings of this study have imperative multilevel repercussions for companies. An economic impact was presented by a capture of new investment and shareholders and growth of capital which create dynamism of economic market. A commercial impact explained by the fact that advanced quality management methods provide for its implementers a defensible position over its competitors generates an atmosphere of innovation, creativity (new design), build confident relationship with customers (increase the customer satisfaction (meet and inspect the customer's changing requirement)) and suppliers. TQM/Six Sigma management program may play a part in the development of a quality culture. Companies are pushed to actualize their organizational culture strategy to provide an environment of innovation, improvement of employees levels and empowerment, training, share of knowledge and experiences.\n9. Limitations and future direction: The path model tested in this study combines the TQM/Six Sigma practices and reveals their link with performance, which enhance the research theory of TQM and Six Sigma. Regarding these advantages and contributions, some limits are revealed. At first, the data of this study were gathered based on quality executives' perceptions. The target of respondents contains a diversity of manager's level: executives, monitors, financiers and quality managers which reflect the degree of the respondents' familiarity with items and understanding. Additionally, the sample size is relatively small due to the confident subject treated in this study related to the quality system of companies with restrict the collect of important data, and thus impedes the generalization of results.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between TQM/Six Sigma practices and their impact on performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on the literature review of research that investigated the TQM and Six Sigma best practices and performance, the TQM/Six Sigma practices are classified into three key categories: top management commitment and support (TMCS), infrastructure and core practices. This paper proposes a path model linking these practices and performance. The empirical data were obtained from a survey of 91 Tunisian companies in different sectors. The research model was tested using partial least squares (PLS) technique based on SmartPLS software.\nFindings: The result shows that the implementation of Six Sigma practices is based majorly on the TQM practices. Also, it reveals the positive impact of TQM/Six Sigma practices on performance. Furthermore, the analysis of path model reveals the relative interdependence and significant link between TMCS, infrastructure, core practices and performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: The path model tested in this study combines the TQM/Six Sigma practices and reveals their link with performance, which enhance the research theory of both two approaches. Moreover, it will be a useful support for the quality expert on the effective integration of TQM and Six Sigma methods.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first one which studies the link between TQM/Six Sigma practices and company's performance in the Tunisian context based on PLS technique.\n",
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] |
Exploring supply chain sustainability research in Latin America
|
[
"Sustainability",
"Latin America",
"Literature review",
"Supply chain management",
"Triggers"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Over the past two decades, companies, governments, consumers and other stakeholders have increasingly taken initiatives to improve sustainability both locally and globally. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are representative of this multi-level and multi-stakeholder urge for more sustainability in politics, society and businesses (United Nations, 2015). In the business world, sustainability initiatives require, among other things, that supply chains (SCs) and their members comply with ever-stricter regulations and ever-greater demands for transparency (Pagell and Wu, 2009). However, to date, the instrumental approach to sustainability has dominated (Montabon et al., 2016).\nSustainability and supply chain management: Over the last few years, sustainability-based studies have shown that businesses have increasingly introduced sustainability practices into their development strategies via, inter alia, the widespread TBL approach and have adapted their value chain to market dynamics (Elkington, 1997; Spence and Rinaldi, 2012). Usually, sustainability is defined as a value in society that can directly contribute (at least) to social, environmental and economic development. However, the use of sustainability as a normative concept has generated an instrumental perspective that must be changed (Gold and Schleper, 2017).\nSustainability and supply chain management in Latin America: The literature on SCS in Latin American countries is very scarce in current publications. Latin America refers to countries from the Americas where one of the Latin languages (French, Spanish or Portuguese) is spoken; thus, it relates to a cultural entity. According to Jabbour and Jabbour (2014), the SCS literature in Latin America focusses on the rapidly emerging economies, such as Brazil (Nicholls-Nixon et al., 2011), rather than on the region as a whole.\nMethods: Since little is known about SCS in Latin America, an explorative and structured literature review of scientific publications according to Fink (2014) was undertaken. A structured literature review is a method to identify, evaluate and interpret the themes of a body of reference documents in a systematic, explicit and reproducible way (Fink, 2014). A literature review generally aims to summarise the existing research and to highlight trends or issues; it can enhance existing theories or develop new ones (Harland et al., 2006; Meredith, 1993).\nResults and findings: This section presents the answers to the three questions defined in the introduction. First, the general trends in Latin American publications are given. Second, the current dimensions of sustainability in Latin American research papers are analysed. Third, characteristics that are specific to this literature stream are highlighted as triggers for SCS.\nDiscussion: The findings demonstrate the importance of analysing other research for regions that are not in the current mainstream perspective on SCS. It is not about \"reinventing the wheel\", but specificities in the region must receive careful attention regarding the use of theoretical and methodological approaches (Touboulic and Walker, 2015). In the Latin American case, it is insightful to use more elements than the traditional normative concept of sustainability (Gold and Schleper, 2017), as TBL by itself is not enough to solve local problems and facilitate the reach of SCS practices.\nConclusion: As stated by Ansari and Kant (2017), SCS is a fruitful area of research, an idea that this paper also recognises. Studies can be developed in several ways, as they have been in Latin America, and they can stimulate more insights from other emerging economies and debates that are not in the mainstream. Gold and Schleper (2017) called on European researchers to re-imagine SCS, which creates an opportunity to think outside the box and to see other points of view. The current debate on SCS is rich and useful, but it is necessary to observe other contexts since most SCs today are global (Beske and Seuring, 2014).\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: The majority of the supply chain sustainability (SCS) literature is based on research perspectives and findings from studies conducted in developed countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the current Latin American publications on SCS (2007-2016) to explore whether another perspective exists.\nDesign/methodology/approach: As part of a structured literature review, 123 peer-reviewed articles published in four Latin American databases were scanned. This literature review was combined with a qualitative content analysis using an inductive and deductive approach to move away from top-down approaches and to illuminate the Latin American perspective on SCS.\nFindings: The analysis of the scientific literature demonstrates that the traditional three pillars of sustainability are not enough to understand the specificities of the region. This review shows that cultural and institutional dimensions enhance the understanding of SCS locally. In addition, three major triggers for SCS in Latin American economies were found: green supply chain management practices, local development and stakeholder engagement.\nResearch limitations/implications: A deeper understanding of the Latin American perspective can support scholars worldwide in developing the field of SCS in relevant directions and in comprehending the specificities of their own countries by infusing cultural and institutional elements into their conceptualisations of SCS.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides an unexplored perspective on SCS because it analyses Latin American publications and presents a mapping of current SCS issues and research gaps that offers insights to guide future research in the field.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Coaching to enhance self-regulated learning
|
[
"Self-regulated learning",
"Coaching",
"Personal growth",
"Motivation"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nSelf regulation of learning: An orientation toward growth and change\nValue added from self-regulated learning: Multiple potential payoffs\nMeaning, purpose, and value of coaching: And, coaching's connection to self-regulated learning\nGoal-setting and self-regulated learning: A critical beginning\nAreas for coaching intervention: Aiding self-regulated learning\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to express the value of manager/supervisor coaching with the intent of improving employee self-regulated learning (SRL). It examines the concept of SRL and its components; how SRL can assist employee performance and contribute to organizational success; and ways in which managers may intervene with employees via coaching to assist employees' learning.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This discussion of SRL and coaching is based on an extensive literature review of recent research regarding SRL.\nFindings: There are many practical opportunities for managers to enhance SRL of employees through coaching in the workplace.\nOriginality/value: There are many practical opportunities for managers to enhance SRL of employees through coaching in the workplace.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Understanding organizational aspects for managing crisis situations: A comparison between military and civil organizations: Part I
|
[
"Psychological perspective",
"Safety culture",
"Organizational values",
"Human factor",
"Crisis and risk management",
"Military and civilian organizations comparison"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: This research originates from the personal story of an author, briefly reported here:I spent 5 years in the Italian Army, as young official. I went to the School of Infantry and Cavalry. During that years I have been appointed Second Infantry lieutenant, while, when I left the army, I was First Lieutenant. The move to the civil organization was traumatic: everything was different, mainly because the values around which, civil organization and military organization set, are completely different.During 2008 crisis, I wondered how it could be possible for complex organizations to disappear in a while. Looking back, I noticed that only two types of organizations endure during the centuries: some Churches or comparable religious organizations and various Armies. Why? What has the millennial immortality guaranteed to these organizations? They resisted to the most violent type of crisis: the war. A lot of wars. There will be one or more ingredients which identify the survival ability.In my life I experienced big differences between the two organizations. I felt the need to investigate, see and touch if what I have tried was proved by research data and if it was true or not that Armies could be a valid example used by civil organizations during their moments of crisis. This mainly because in literature such a punctual analysis and comparison between civil organization and military organization was not yet produced.(Prof. Giorgio Gabrielli, PhD)\n2. Theoretical framework: Schein (2004) affirmed that organizational culture has two main functions. First is to adapt to changes occurring in the external environment and second is to maintain internal cohesion. For this reason, a well-developed organizational culture should be clearly stated among all the organizational levels in order to allow organizational effectiveness and performance (Deal and Kennedy, 1982; Peters and Waterman, 1982). Organizational culture is also antecedent of safe and reliable performance and, therefore, crisis identification, management and resolution (Erickson, 1994, 2006; Cooper, 2001).\n3. Hypothesis and method: As other research works (e.g. Ericksson, 2000) have demonstrated, reliable performances are the result of two components: compliance with regulations and organizational culture. As reported earlier, various research works conducted have shown that, in particular, the organizational culture is the most important component in reliable performances.\n4. Results: The more explanatory and focused answers collected in the first two phases of the Delphi and the quantitative results collected in Delphi Round 3 are reported with the aim of highlighting the main differences between these two organizations.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The uncertainty of the current economic environment increases the risk of organizational failure. The traditional approach intends the crisis as a phenomenon that can be managed according to some predetermined and well-defined procedures. Although this traditional approach emphasizes on the technical dimension, it does not take into account the organizational dimension, which instead plays a crucial role in the circumstances of today's crisis. The purpose of this paper is to investigate which are the most effective organizational practices able to promote an adequate culture prevent or manage effectively crisis situations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A group of Italian military and civil opinion leaders took part in the study. Authors hypothesized that the military organizations, being defined as \"High Reliability Organization,\" have organizational characteristics that allow them to manage crisis situations more effectively, and, for this reason, they can be taken as a reference by civil organizations.\nFindings: The results show noticeable differences about organizational attributes concerning the two organizations. According to the results, military organization has the most appropriate organizational dimensions to prevent and manage the crisis situations.\nPractical implications: Based on the results, military organization is suggested to be taken as an example by civil organizations in the process of organizational change necessary to obtain reliable performance.\nOriginality/value: The originality of this paper lies in the empirical and theoretical framework provided to analyze risk and crisis management, based on the comparison between military and civil organizations. The paper aims to be a starting point from which a positive process of cultural osmosis between the two organizations can be promoted.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Informal payments for health care in Iran
|
[
"Health policy",
"Management",
"Health law or regulation",
"Political strategy",
"Emerging health care delivery structures",
"Health economics",
"Emerging health economies"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: According to a generally accepted definition, \"informal payment for health care is any direct payment which is made in addition to the contribution determined by the terms of entitlement, in cash or non-cash, by patients or others acting on their behalf, to health care providers for services that the patient is entitled to receive\" (Chereches et al., 2013; Gaal, Belli, McKee and Szocska, 2006). The nature of informal payments (IPs) for health care can be compulsory or voluntary. Compulsory IPs are received before any service delivery, and the patient's treatment is subject to paying extra payments, whereas voluntary IPs are usually made after receiving services and treatment is not conditioned on paying such payments (Meskarpour-Amiri et al., 2016; Meskarpour-Amiri, Assari, Sadeghi and Agheli, 2017; Meskarpour-Amiri, Assari-Arani, Sadeghi and Agheli, 2017; Miller et al., 2000). However, all IPs, regardless of their nature, are not reflected in health care workers' tax-deducted revenue and are not part of health care users' formal expenditures (Meskarpour-Amiri, Assari, Sadeghi and Agheli, 2017; Meskarpour-Amiri, Assari-Arani, Sadeghi and Agheli, 2017).\n2. Methods: 2.1 Study design and population\n3. Results: Although 2,550 households were asked to participate in the study, only 1,112 households agreed to do so. Therefore, 1,112 correct questionnaires were completed through face-to-face interview. The results showed that the prevalence of IPs for health care was 27.7 percent, which means about one-third of the study population had at least one experience of making IPs for health care during 2015. The prevalences of compulsory and voluntary IPs for health care were 21.4 and 11.5 percent, respectively, meaning that more than one-fifth of the respondents were forced to pay informally for health care services and more than one-tenth of them had made voluntary gratitude payments to health care personnel. Also, 5.21 percent of the respondents had paid both compulsory and voluntary IPs during the past year. Table II shows the prevalence of IPs for health care in 2015.\n4. Discussion: Over the past decade, there have been many efforts to reduce informal and out-of-pocket payments in Eastern European and Asian countries such as Moldova (Vian et al., 2014), Turkey (Tatar et al., 2007), Taiwan (Chiu et al., 2007), China (Fung et al., 2016) and Iran (Moradi-Lakeh and Vosoogh-Moghaddam, 2015). However, if the nature of IPs is not well identified, there is a risk that IPs will continue despite these efforts. Therefore, the first step in reducing IPs is to identify accurately the prevalence and nature of such payments (Meskarpour-Amiri, Assari-Arani, Sadeghi and Agheli, 2017; Meskarpour-Amiri, Assari-Arani, Sadeghi and Agheli, 2017). Using a cluster-stratified sampling method, the present study has provided relatively accurate estimates of the prevalence and nature of IPs in Iran, which can be used as an example in other countries.\n5. Conclusion: The results of the present study provide evidence for rejecting the claim that IPs have been eradicated in Iran. Although it seems that the implementation of HSEP has reduced IPs in Iran, it should be noted that this plan has not been completely successful in achieving the goal of eradicating IPs. However, it can be said that this plan is the first step toward eradicating IPs in Iran and should not be the last one. The results of the current study provide a useful report about the prevalence and nature of IPs after implementing the HSEP, which should be considered in designing the next steps.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Reducing informal payments (IPs) for health services has always been a top priority for health policymakers all over the world. As the newest attempts to reduce IPs, Iran's Government applied a set of reforms in the health care system in 2014 called \"Health Sector Evolution Plan\" (HSEP). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence and nature of IPs one year after implementing this plan.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was a nationwide survey on Iran's health sector informal payments carried out in 2016. To do this, a sample of 1,112 Iranain households was selected from all over the country using a multistage cluster-stratified sampling method. The prevalence and nature of IPs were determined through conducting face-to-face interviews using a standard questionnaire.\nFindings: One year after implementing the HSEP, about 27.7 percent of sampled Iranians had at least one experience of IPs for health services. The prevalences of compulsory and voluntary IPs were 21.4 and 11.5 percent, respectively. IPs were reported by 26.1 and 12.5 percent in the inpatient and outpatient services, respectively.\nOriginality/value: According to the results, compulsory IPs are still prevalent in both the outpatient and inpatient services of Iran's health system and it seems that the HSEP has not been completely successful in achieving the goal of eradicating IPs. It can be said that the HSEP has been the first step toward eradicating IPs in Iran and should not be the last one. The study provides useful results of the prevalence and nature of IPs after implementing the HSEP, which should be considered in designing the next steps.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Account-based recommenders in open discovery environments
|
[
"Discovery",
"Personalization",
"Recommendations",
"Machine learning",
"Open algorithm",
"Research libraries"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Throughout the past decade, development and enhancement of the library discovery system has seen great innovation. From federated searching to bento box style approaches, much work has focused on leveraging indexed data from journal article databases, the library catalog and digital library projects into one unified search box and result list (Antelman et al., 2006; Lown et al., 2013; Rochkind, 2013). Throughout this period, discovery projects have remained singularly focused on search.\nPrototype work: Proof of concept software\nConclusion and next steps: Most users of academic libraries who log in to their user accounts will never know to search the collections of other academic libraries nationally, nor are they likely to be aware of all the potentially relevant resources within their own library consortia, university system libraries or regional networks. Personalized recommendations can increase access, use and impact of the investments in digital content and research collections globally.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to introduce a machine learning-based \"My Account\" recommender for implementation in open discovery environments such as VuFind among others.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The approach to implementing machine learning-based personalized recommenders is undertaken as applied research leveraging data streams of transactional checkout data from discovery systems.\nFindings: The authors discuss the need for large data sets from which to build an algorithm and introduce a prototype recommender service, describing the prototype's data flow pipeline and machine learning processes.\nPractical implications: The browse paradigm of discovery has neglected to leverage discovery system data to inform the development of personalized recommendations; with this paper, the authors show novel approaches to providing enhanced browse functionality by way of a user account.\nOriginality/value: In the age of big data and machine learning, advances in deep learning technology and data stream processing make it possible to leverage discovery system data to inform the development of personalized recommendations.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Iceland: the story continues ... of nation-wide access to e-journals
|
[
"Document delivery",
"Electronic journals",
"Iceland"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Icelanders are \"e-gluttons\"Downloads in the nation-wide access speak for themselves:* 2001=96,989* 2002=214,563* 2003=375,644.These were our final words in our previous article (Hlynsdottir and Gylfadottir, 2004).In the present article written almost two years later by the same authors, using the same methodology the story will be taken further. First information on downloads of full-text articles in the nation-wide access are updated:* 2004=478,916; and* 2005=216,811 (January-June).Then these figures will be discussed in the light of remote document supply (RDS) at the National and University Library of Iceland (NULI). The scenery has changed in Iceland regarding increased demand on academics and researchers to \"produce\" - \"publish or perish\". We look at how Icelandic universities and research libraries respond to these demands and reflect on where Icelanders are heading.\nStatistics: In this article figures for both the calendar and academic years 2004 and January-June 2005 are studied.Retrieving statistics from the e-journal databases is a much easier job in 2005 than it was in 2003. The e-journal providers have in most cases automated this function in their databases so statistics can in most cases be retrieved through administrator's access when needed. In most cases we were able to have all the figures we needed for this article except the number of downloads from BlackwellSynergy January-June 2005 and Karger 2004 and 2005 January-June are estimated (hvar.is, 2005).While writing this article the authors tried in vain to retrieve statistics from Statistics Iceland on Icelandic libraries and their interlending library activities. Statistics Iceland has not been able to collect these figures from university and research libraries since 2002. The only RDS statistics available are from NULI. The figures for NULI's ILL and RDS activities are complete and accurate (National and University Library of Iceland, 2005).\nThe large picture: At the beginning of the nationwide access in 2001, the e-journals accessible were often the only e-journals smaller university libraries and research institutes offered to their customers. Only two libraries were financially able to subscribe to e-journal databases. These were NULI and the National and University Hospital Library (NUHL).The number of e-journals in nationwide access has increased by 51.6 per cent between 2001 and 2005. Some of our \"old\" e-journal databases have merged and new e-journal databases have been introduced (see Table I).In 2005, four years later with a broader academic and research community, individual universities subscribe to various e-journal databases on their own or in consortia with Icelandic or foreign universities. The number of e-journals outside the nationwide access is almost 10,000 so the e-journals sources Icelandic researchers and scientists have access to have almost tripled. In 2005 NULI and NUHL are still the biggest e-resource buyers but Reykjavik University is standing by their side (see Table II).Table I shows which e-journal databases were in the nationwide access at its beginning in 2001 and how the number of available journals has increased in four years, mainly by the growth of the databases. Table II shows what Icelandic academics and researchers have access to outside the nationwide access. Besides the e-journals, the NULI and NUHL, the oldest academic research libraries subscribe to a number of journals on paper. The number has decreased since 2003 since Iceland entered into e-only agreements in the nationwide access.\nDownloads from e-journal databases in nation-wide access: Figure 1 shows how much Icelanders have downloaded since the beginning of the nationwide access in 2000-2001, both during calendar and academic years. The academic year always tops the calendar year telling us that the biggest user group academic researchers and university and grammar school students. An exact picture of users can only be obtained by making a survey on the use and users of the nation-wide access. Such a survey has not been carried out yet.\nUse of e-journal databases in nation-wide access in 2003 and 2005: Comparing the use of the e-journal databases in these two years shows that BlackwellSynergy increased its popularity by 11 per cent. ScienceDirect is the only e-journal database that maintains its share. ProQuest loses 8 per cent. SpringerLink does not appear to benefit from the merger with KluwerOnline. According to the project manager of the nation-wide access, connection with SpringerLink was down from 27 January to 14 April 2005 due to technical problems during the merger of these two databases. BlackwellSynergy must therefore be claimed the big winner (see Figures 2 and 3).\nWhere downloaded: For the first time we look at where users download their articles. Is it mainly done within the RHnet, i.e. while on campus of the universities and at work in Iceland's a main research institute, or is it done while working on computers connected to the internet through one of the commercial internet service providers (ISPs)?Table III shows that from BlackwellSynergy, ProQuest and KluwerOnline around half of full-text articles are downloaded through commercial ISPs, i.e. either when the user is at home or at work outside the defined academic and research community. It is also surprising to see that 66 per cent of Karger articles are downloaded through the commercial ISPs, because their journals are all medical. Downloading statistics from ScienceDirect are the only figures that are in accordance with what could be expected, showing most downloads coming through the RHnet (Olafsson, 2004). Librarians at NUHL got similar results in a survey made among endocrinologists in Iceland in 2004 (Thorsteinsdottir, 2005).\nRDS at NULI 2000-2005: At NULI a few things have changed since our last study. Icelandic libraries have implemented the Aleph ILL module although it has not been made fully functional yet. For instance statistics from the system are still unavailable and therefore not used in this follow up study. That is also the reason for no statistics being available from the libraries participating in our last study as all Icelandic libraries are implementing or are already participants of Aleph, or Gegnir as it is called in Iceland. The figures from NULI presented here were hand-counted as this was the only way possible to get reliable figures. Every effort is made to make the RDS module fully functional from beginning of next year, i.e. 2006.To give an overall picture of where RDS at NULI is today an historical overview over a ten-year period shows an interesting picture (see Figure 4).A steady decrease is evident from 2000 when the nation-wide access to e-journals began on figures for both borrowing and lending activity in the department. It is not fair to look only at total figures to see where the effect of e-journals is most evident and in order to have the most up to date figures the academic year, from September to August each year is used in the following figures.Figure 5 shows the total count of borrowed items, both articles and books.The figure shows clearly that after the \"shock\" of 2001 when the impact of e-journals was fully felt there was a period of stability that lasted two years. Since autumn 2003 the need for borrowing is evidently less than before with NULI's users. One can state that they are getting hooked on accessing material on the internet.One cannot make any further assumptions without dividing these figures more and take a better look at borrowed article counts, as e-journals should not have any affect on how many books our users need, or should they?There has been an increasing need for interlibrary loan of books at the library (see Figure 6). However, the reason may lay elsewhere, in increased access to library catalogues on the internet, increased access to information and more user friendly databases and even in decreased funding for acquisitions of printed material.The only way to clearly see the effect of e-journals on interlending activities is by comparing the borrowed article figures (see Figure 7).Over five years a 37 per cent decrease in borrowed articles and a 40 per cent decrease in lending activity is clear, and evidently the cause of the nationwide access on the need for remote document supply. The decrease in lent articles shows on the other hand the effect of decreased printed journal holdings at the NULI, which cancelled a large amount of paper subscriptions in 2003. Another reason for this is increased access to electronic journals world-wide.\nInformation-literate nation: In 2004 the government of Iceland published a new vision on Iceland and the information society. Among other things it concluded that:The scientific community, business life and the public should be informed of and guaranteed continued access to international databases available through the Internet (www.hvar.is) (Prime Minister's Office, 2004).Here the nation-wide access has found its way into an official government policy. The authors find the words \"guaranteed continued access ...\" very important because before 2004 the cost of the nation-wide access was paid solely by Icelandic libraries. Since 2004 20 per cent of the nation-wide access has been funded by the government. At the end of 2005 the future of the nation-wide access is threatened. Libraries that have carried the cost of the e-journals are complaining more than ever before. New ways are being sought to distribute the cost, but none has been decided.A new report from Statistics Iceland shows a nation where 88 per cent of the population aged 16-74 years use computers and 86 per cent use the internet, mainly for information search and communication. a total of 78 per cent of the population state that they use the internet to \"read/download newspapers or magazines\" and 34 per cent \"seek health-related information\" (Statistics Iceland, 2005). The use of the internet and the nation-wide access has become a daily necessity for Icelanders.\nConclusion: The nation-wide access to e-journals has proved to be a boost to the Icelandic research community. The e-journal access along with traditional interlending service support all kinds of research, whether they are modern technology and science or humanity studies, that need more traditional methods of document supply.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this article is to update an earlier study on the impact of nation-wide access to 10,000 e-journals in Iceland.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The data of usage from 2000 to June 2005 are analysed by publisher, user type and institution.\nFindings: - Growth of downloads continued to 2004 and peaked at almost half a million but appears to have levelled off in the first six months of 2005. Document supply continues to decline from its peak in 2000.\nOriginality/value: - This is the first study that shows the impact of a large number of e-journals being made available to the whole population of a country without restriction.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Plant location, ISO 9000 certifications and quality management practices: An empirical investigation
|
[
"Quality management",
"Six sigma",
"Total quality management",
"ISO 9000 series"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The last two decades of the twentieth century have witnessed a new evolution and maturity of quality management practices, especially in the industrialized world. Managing quality has quickly moved from quality control (QC) to quality assurance (QA) to total quality management (TOM); a progression in which new developments do not negate their predecessors, but rather build on them. Quality management practices and paradigms will continue to evolve in the twenty-first century. One of these new paradigm is quantum quality (QQ) (Miller, 1993). Although the seeds of this new paradigm shift were planted more than 10 years ago, it has not been operationalized or tested yet.Youssef's (1992, 1993, 1994a, b, 1995) and Youssef et al.'s (1996, 2002) work on measuring the intensity of TQM and other time-based technologies such as group technology (GT), design for manufacturability (DFM), and just-in-time (JIT) is a step in this direction. In a nut shell, QQ will be based on continuous learning and organizational adaptability. Creating, managing, and sharing knowledge across the supply chain will be a critical success factor for this new paradigm. In addition, the principles of complex adaptive systems, especially the concepts of self-organization and managing the organization as if it was poised at the edge of chaos, will foster and promote an environment for the QQ mind-set. Because QQ paradigm has not been tested empirically, we alert the reader that this new paradigm and its practices will be tested in another paper.The quality management literature is replete with studies that address quality management practices, not only in the Western hemisphere, but also in a host of countries around the globe. Studies by Flynn et al. (1994, 1995), Ahire et al. (1996), Black and Porter (1996), Samson and Terziovski (1999), Hongmeng et al. (2000), Marcos et al. (2000), Sun (2000), Kuei et al. (2001), Park et al. (2001) and Chin et al. (2002), represent examples. An extensive search in the ABI Inform database using the term \"quality management practices/techniques,\" resulted in more than 2,500 articles that have a combination of these words in the title, abstract, or body of the text. Using other search terms such as QC, TQM or its abbreviation TQM, ISO 9000, quality management tools such as SPC and SQC, our search produced thousands of articles. Taking into consideration the number of doctoral dissertations and master theses written on the subject, one can easily say that quality management is one of the most talked about topics in the history operations and quality management literature.Notwithstanding this bulk of articles, there is an urgent need for more practical definitions of some or all of these practices/techniques and their classifications. Existing definitions and classification are divergent to the extent that some researchers refer to quality management practices in different ways. Some authors refer to these practices as \"techniques,\" \"factors,\" \"principles,\" or even \"guidelines\". In addition, existing classification of quality management practices are influenced mainly by quality awards frameworks and guidelines such as those of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards (MBNQA) and/or the European Model for quality management.The seminal work by Saraph et al. (1989) on quality management practices paved the way for more empirical research on quality management practices and their relationship to business performance. Since that seminal work, a number of studies have examined different facets of quality management practices (Flynn et al., 1994, 1995; Dow et al., 1999; Ahire et al., 1996; Douglas and Judge, 2001; Samson and Terziovski, 1999). The common thread that ties these studies together is that they utilize the MBNQA framework to classify quality management practices. We will examine these and other related studies in the literature review segment of this paper.This paper makes a unique contribution to the existing body of quality management literature in that it addresses quality management practices from a different perspective and emphasizes a number of important issues. First, it examines the efforts of more than 2,900 manufacturing plants towards achieving one or more of the international quality certifications such as ISO 9000, QS 9000, and ISO 14000. It also examines the extent to which six sigma, TQM, statistical process control (SPC), error proofing techniques (Poka Yoke), continuous improvement programs, and process capability measures have been implemented. More important, it examines how the progress toward achieving WCM status affects finished-product first-pass yield, scrap and rework cost as a percentage of sales, and warranty costs as a percentage of sales.The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, relevant quality management practices literature is carefully examined to establish the legitimacy of our research questions. Owing to the fact that quality management literature is pervasive, we limited our review to studies relevant to the subject of this paper. In Section 3 we state the research questions and hypotheses. Section 4 is about the research methodology and statistical methods. In Section 5, we present the analyses used in testing the research hypotheses. The final section of the paper draws some conclusions and makes suggestions for future work relating to quality management practices in North America.\n2 Relevant literature: In this part of the paper, we review the relevant and most recent literature on quality management practices and quality performance. However, we need to define the term \"quality management practices.\"2.1 Quality management practices defined\n3 Research questions and hypotheses: One of the main objectives of this study is to investigate whether manufacturing plants operating in the USA, Canada, and Mexico differ in their efforts to achieve one or more of the quality certifications such as ISO 9000, ISO 14000, and QS 9000. We opted to study manufacturing plants in Canada, Mexico, and the USA, for they are the most industrialized countries in North America. Additionally, plants' manufacturing strategies in these three countries are supposed to be comparable. Owing to the exploratory nature of this study, our H1 reads:H0. No significant differences in achieving quality certifications among manufacturing plants operating in the three countries.\n4 The research methodology: This paper uses data collected through a mailed questionnaire survey as part of the Industry Week/Pricewaterhouse manufacturing census database. The census manufacturing survey has been conducted for a number of years. Starting in 1999, the survey was administered in Canada, Australia, and Mexico. In this paper, we use the data collected in 2001 from USA, Canada, and Mexico as the three most industrialized nations in North America.4.1 Operationalization of variables\n5 Analyses: The statistical analyses in this paper were conducted in two stages. First, we discuss some key variables and profile of respondents in terms of workforce unionization, the progress toward achieving world-class manufacturing status, time since plant startup (age of the plant), and the size of the plants as measured by number of employees. In the second stage of the analysis, we utilized multivariate statistical techniques such as MANOVA, MANCOVA, one-way ANOVA, and multiple comparison procedures to test the three hypotheses. The analysis strategy is pictorially shown in Figure 1.5.1 Profile of the respondents\n6 Conclusion: The subject of quality management practices and their impact on business performance has been addressed frequently in the past two decades. Most of the empirical studies found in quality management literature built their classification of quality management practices on the MBNQA's framework. However, there have been divergent views in defining and classifying these practices. This paper's contribution to the existing literature is noticeable by the fact that it attempts to define and classify quality management practices differently. Our rationale for doing so is motivated by the lack of a universal method for defining and classifying quality management practices.The analysis in this paper was based on data collected from 2,908 manufacturing plants operating in three countries in North America. Our analyses show the existence of significant difference in the manufacturing plant's efforts to achieve ISO 9000 and QS 9000. Manufacturing plants operating in the three countries in North America differ in their efforts to attain ISO 14000. These findings indicate that some of the three countries give more attention to environmental issues related to quality. This is obvious in the case of the USA and CanadaThe extent to which the six quality management techniques were implemented in manufacturing plants operating in the three countries differed significantly, especially when covariates such as the progress toward achieving WCM status were introduced into the analysis. The age of the plant was not a good discriminator in the implementation of quality management techniques or in the quality performance.The analysis of plants' efforts toward achieving WCM status and quality management performance produced several interesting findings. Plants with a fully achieved WCM status have superior quality and lower costs. The implication of this finding is that multiple competitive advantages can be achieved.Among surprising results were that the percentage of manufacturing plants in the three countries who have fully achieved WCM status is very small. Only 3.3 percent of the 2,809 respondent achieved that status. The fact that WCM philosophy has been around for at least two decades, and more than 75 percent of the plants are twenty years or older, raises more serious questions about the productivity and competitiveness of manufacturing plants operating in these three countries. A longitudinal analysis of these phenomena may enable us to answer questions such as \"why did North American manufacturers lose their competitive advantages in most industries, and what should they do to retain their lead in global markets?\" Further, investigations are needed to address these and other related questions.Our findings have several implications for both academics and practitioners. For academics the issue of time-based performance of world class manufacturers must be revisited in light of new developments such as lean manufacturing, six sigma. New developments in complexity and chaos theories, especially the concepts self organization, managing at the \"edge of chaos,\" should guide researchers to develop appropriate methodologies to study the next generation manufacturing plants. Another area for further research is the operationalization and testing of the QQ paradigm. Although QQ paradigm has existed for more than 10 years, there is a serious need for testing its impact on business and organizational performance. For practitioners, the take home message is that accelerating the progress toward achieving WCM status will enhance the plant's quality and time-based performance, help companies achieve multiple competitive advantages, and pave the way for the extended enterprise.\n",
"role": "user"
},
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"content": "Purpose: - The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the country in which a manufacturing plant is located on its ability to achieve one or more of the ISO certifications, and the extent to which six other quality management practices have been implemented. It also examines the impact of achieving world class manufacturing status (WCM) on product quality. Product quality was measured by finished-product first-pass yield, scrap and rework costs, and warranty costs as percentages of sales.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The analyses are based on empirical data collected from more than 2900 manufacturing plants in the USA Canada, and Mexico.\nFindings: - The results show that there are significant differences in the plants' efforts to achieve quality certifications. Significant differences were also found in the extent to which six other quality management techniques are implemented. More important, our results show that there are significant differences in product quality performance among plants with different levels of progress toward achieving WCM status.\nOriginality/value: - The findings of this study have many implications for both academic and practitioners who are interested in studying the impact of ISO 9000 and Quality Management practices.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Advertising strategy and its effectiveness on consumer online search in a defaming product-harm crisis
|
[
"Spillover effect",
"Online search",
"Competitive reaction",
"Advertising strategy",
"Defaming product-harm crisis"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: A product-harm crisis is a discrete event in which a product is found to be defective and therefore dangerous to at least part of the product's customer base (Cleeren et al., 2017). Incidents involving Firestone Tire (2000), Kraft Peanut Butter (2007), Mattel (2007), Domino's Pizza (2009), Toyota (2010), and Volkswagen (2015) are just a few recent examples in which customers and the companies were seriously imperiled by faulty products (Ackman, 2001; Clifford, 2009; Consumer Reports, 2016; Goldman and Reckard, 2007; van Heerde et al., 2007; USA Today, 2004). Such crises are seemingly increasing in number due to ever-changing market environments, greater product complexity, closer scrutiny by business-monitoring organizations and government regulators, and stronger customer demands for high-quality and safe products (Ahluwalia et al., 2000; Berman, 1999; Dawar and Pillutla, 2000). A product-harm crisis endangers the well-being of customers and is a devastating threat to companies (Dawar and Pillutla, 2000; van Heerde et al., 2007); it can negatively affect sales, advertising effectiveness, and firm value (Chen et al., 2009; Cleeren et al., 2013; van Heerde et al., 2007; Zhao et al., 2011).\nLiterature: In their review paper, Cleeren et al. (2017) summarize the crisis research of real-life cases in various industries and fictitious product-harm cases in lab experiments, the determinants and effects of product recalls, marketing mixes for crisis management, and analysis approaches. Trends in product-harm crisis research show that secondary data studies (e.g. Liu et al., 2017) have increased compared to lab studies (e.g. Whelan and Dawar, 2016) and analytical studies (e.g. Rubel et al., 2011). Also, firms and investors have been increasingly popular as the subjects of research (e.g. Gao et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2017), while consumers are still the main subjects (e.g. Borah and Tellis, 2016; Cleeren et al., 2008; Zhao et al., 2011). Cleeren et al. (2017) point out that the social network aspect (e.g. online word-of-mouth) and competitive reactions in product-harm crises are under-researched. We examine competitive reactions of advertising and their effects on online search using a defaming product-harm crisis, which is new to literature, to fill the gap in this research stream.\nEmpirical context: To test our hypotheses, we turn to a case of a defaming product-harm crisis that involved two competing firms that account for over 90 percent of the market share. On December 23, 2010, a man posted on a famous Korean blog site a picture of a loaf of bread with a rotten rat in it. The bread was purchased from a franchise store of the largest bakery in Korea (hereafter, Firm P). This incident appeared to be a typical crisis, and people criticized Firm P for this awful product defect. But on December 31 (eight days later), information emerged that the man who posted the picture owned a franchise store of a competing firm, the second largest bakery in Korea (hereafter, Firm C). He had his son purchase the bread from the Firm P store that was near his own store, and then put the rat in it in an attempt to damage the sales of the competing store. Although the crisis period was short, sales for both companies dropped significantly, an estimated 17-18 percent during the 2010 Christmas season, compared with the previous year (Chosun Ilbo, 2011). Note that the Christmas season accounts for more than 30 percent of the bakery industry's annual sales.\nModels: We set up a series of vector autoregressive (VAR) models, which have appeared extensively in prior marketing literature, to find empirical evidence of dynamic relationships among variables (e.g. Dekimpe and Hanssens, 1995; Pauwels and Weiss, 2008). We also conduct Chow tests, considering the potentially different covariance matrices before and after the defaming product-harm crisis, to determine whether any structural change took place (Lutkepohl and Kratzig, 2004). The conceptual models with equations, derived in the following subsections, are as follows:\nData: We gathered the advertising data of the two firms from a leading advertising agency in Korea. Firm P is the largest firm and Firm C is the second largest firm in the Korean bakery industry with sales in 2015 of approximately $1.5 billion from 3,316 franchisees and $0.5 billion from 1,285 franchisees, respectively (Newsprime, 2016). Our data included the two firms' monthly advertising amounts from January 2005 to December 2013, as we depict in Figure 1, panel A.\nResults: We present the estimation results in Tables II-IV and interpret the results by focusing on the relationships between the advertising amounts of the two firms and the relationships between advertising amounts and online search volumes, as summarized in Figure 2.\nDiscussion: The results from the advertising model fill the gap in the literature in terms of competitive reactions. The existing studies on the product-harm crises use advertising as a determinant of sales (e.g. van Heerde et al., 2007), market share (e.g. Liu and Shankar, 2015), or abnormal returns (e.g. Liu et al., 2017), but they do not look into competitive advertising strategy. Different advertising responses of the offending firm and the victim firm can contribute to the product-harm crisis literature by extending our understanding of the interrelationships between firms (Cleeren et al., 2017). Specifically, after the crisis, the offending firm increased its advertising amount and changed its advertising schedule as shown in Figure 1. These changes may be a reflection of the offending firm's persistent advertising reaction in response to the changes in the effects of the offending firm's advertising amount in the previous month and the victim firm's advertising amount a year ago. The results imply that the offending firm might intend to restore its positive image and regain trust from consumers possibly through brand advertising. In contrast, the victim firm did not reactively change its advertising amount and schedule but implemented advertising plans based only on its advertising amount a year ago, a pattern different from that of the offending firm. The victim firm's less sensitive reaction to the offending firm's advertising may be related to its intention to be not associated with the offending firm or the crisis.\nConclusion: A defaming product-harm crisis, resulting from a false claim about a firm's product, requires a unique response strategy. In the case we studied, the true victim firm and offending firm were revealed after eight days. During this period, though, the bakery industry's peak season sales dropped significantly and it received strong negative responses from the public. When the truth emerged that the other firm was actually responsible, public opinion and consumers' responses changed. Using this defaming product-harm crisis, we examined the changes in competitive reactions of the two firms, as well as the relationships between advertising and consumer online search behavior.\nLimitations and future research: One case may not fully represent defaming product-harm crises. As with many other general product-harm crisis studies that focused on one case (e.g. Cleeren et al. (2008), van Heerde et al. (2007), and Zhao et al. (2011) used one recall case of two Australian peanut butter brands due to salmonella poisoning), the current study may have limited external validity. However, it aims to make a unique contribution to the existing marketing literature. Especially, this exploratory case study opens up a new arena of study by providing the first empirical evidence from a defaming product-harm crisis case. It is our hope that our study provides other researchers and practitioners with better directions for similar types of crisis management and future research.\n",
"role": "user"
},
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"content": "Purpose: Actual product-harm crises pose significant challenges to firms, but so can defaming product-harm crises, which are defined as crises caused by false or malicious rumors made by consumers or competing firms. Unlike typical product-harm crises, in defaming product-harm crises, the truth often emerges only after substantial damage has been done to the victim firm. Thus, crisis management strategies in these two cases may be different. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using a defaming product-harm crisis that involved two competing firms, this paper examines how the firms changed their advertising strategies and how the changes affected consumers' online search behavior regarding the two firms.\nFindings: The analyses show that after the crisis, the offending firm sensitively reacted to its own and the victim firm's advertising levels, but the victim firm did not react to the offending firm's advertising as it had previously. The effectiveness of advertising on consumers' online search weakened for both firms after the crisis.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides a new insight about marketing strategies and their effectiveness in the product-harm crisis literature.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Getting across cross-functional teams: Case study based in the public sector
|
[
"Innovation",
"Teams",
"Public sector",
"Cross-functional integration"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nReview: When is a team not a team? This sounds like the start of a bad joke, but despite its seemingly whimsical nature, it actually poses a fundamental challenge to some of the most successful modern management dynamics that have been used. For example, there is a good deal of pejorative talk about a \"silo mentality.\" Who reading this would put their hands up in a meeting of their bosses if asked if they worked in a silo? And yet working as part of a close-knit group of people, who trust each other implicitly and have each others' back, would be regarded by many as a huge plus point. And if you worked as part of a secret organization, skunkworks or other special unit, working in a silo would be positively encouraged.\nNew perspectives on innovation: Some organizations have fallen foul of cross-functional team (CFT) working, agile working, and other modern forms of process management, because they have either not adopted the methodology enough, choosing their own version which has subsequently broken down, or gone the whole hog to find it simply unworkable. Adopting such techniques has been a challenge for organizations outside the more technical industries, such as in the public sector, and this is the focus of the article \"Innovation and cross- functional teams: analysis of innovative initiatives in a Brazilian public organization\" by Stipp et al. (2018).\nTesting times: What the authors were aiming to uncover was the answer to the question of how CFT can be encouraged to adopt more innovative practices in a public sector environment. The received thinking about CFTs is that it can improve innovative performance and product development, ensure a team has a long-term focus while working in temporary teams, and result in overall improvements in performance. However, these gains have not received much proving in the realm of public sectors nor has the relationship between innovative practices and the work of CFTs. Hence, the focus is on the interaction of these three elements in the present study.\nMixed results: In total, the research team contacted 25 different employees across different sites and teams to fully understand the dynamics of innovation processes and CFTs in the organization. After assessing the feedback, they presented the results according to the three-phase framework they had devised:\nComment: The article \"Innovation and cross- functional teams: analysis of innovative initiatives in a Brazilian public organization\" by Stipp et al. (2018) provides ample evidence to show that innovation and cross-functional team workings are as vital in the public sector as in the private sector. What is perhaps most interesting is that cross-functional working does not have to be formally arranged and indeed allowing informal team to work together could have greater impact if they have the freedom to do so.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of the paper is 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: When is a team not a team? This sounds like the start of a bad joke, but despite its seemingly whimsical nature, it actually poses a fundamental challenge to some of the most successful modern management dynamics that have been used. For example, there is a good deal of pejorative talk about a \"silo mentality.\" Who reading this would put their hands up in a meeting of their bosses, if asked if they worked in a silo? And yet working as part of a close-knit group of people, who trust each other implicitly and have each others' back, would be regarded by many as a huge plus point. And if you worked as part of a secret organization, skunkworks or other special unit, working in a silo would be positively encouraged.\nPractical implications: This paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.\nOriginality/value: The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Business, society, and the need for stewardship orientation
|
[
"Adaptation",
"Strategic orientation",
"Stewardship",
"Sustainability performance",
"Dynamic managerial capabilities",
"Stock-listed enterprise"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Every organization has an impact on society due to its products and processes, and every organization depends to some extent on society for its resources (Harris and Crane, 2002; Millar et al., 2012). This mutual dependency becomes increasingly important with the awareness of societal trends such as climate change, increasing levels of inequality and the degradation of ecological systems (Sachs, 2015). Therefore, the management of the interface between business and society has become a strategic topic for many companies worldwide (Kemp et al., 2010; Orsato et al., 2015). In this context, the term \"strategic\" refers to topics which relate to the company's long-term prospects and which have a critical influence on its success or failure (Agarwal and Helfat, 2009). This study focuses on the role of strategic orientation: how does strategic orientation toward the interface between business and society affect sustainability performance and how can this effect be explained in terms of dynamic managerial capabilities resulting in the change toward higher levels of sustainability performance?\nHow strategic orientation impacts sustainability performance: Sustainability performance\nMethod: Research strategy\nResults: The interviews resulted in 330 quotes that referred to the main relationship between strategic orientation toward the interface between business and society and its influence on sustainability performance. Of these quotes, 371 themes were extracted because some quotes comprised more than one theme. To our surprise, we could not categorize these themes in relation to the two distinguished strategic orientations. Next to the stewardship orientation and instrumental orientation, a third category emerged from the data. That is why, from the interview results, three different strategic orientations could be distinguished in our sample: stewardship, instrumental and one which we termed equidistant because it lay in between the two previous orientations. In the discussion section, equidistant orientation is discussed. Here, the resulting classification of the strategic orientation and ESG performance for the selected companies in our sample is presented in Table I.\nDiscussion: In this discussion section, the distinct concepts found in this study are discussed in combination for each of the three strategic orientations and related to existing literature.\nConclusion and recommendations: This study aimed to determine whether and, if yes, how a strategic orientation toward the interface between business and society on the part of stock-listed corporations influences their sustainability performance. Based on this study, it can be concluded that a corporation with a stewardship strategic orientation does indeed show high scores on sustainability performance measured on the basis of ESG scores. An organization with an instrumental strategic orientation treats sustainability issues as an extraneous addition to their business, resulting in lower sustainability performance compared to organizations with a stewardship.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Organizational change involves optimizing a firm's sustainability performance. The purpose of this paper is to explore how strategic orientations concerning the interface between business and society influence organizations' sustainability performance. To explain how different strategic orientations - especially stewardship and instrumental orientations - impact sustainability performance, dynamic managerial capability theory is explored.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Ours is an inductive, qualitative study based on the template analysis of interviews conducted among sustainability managers from stock-listed multinational corporations headquartered in the Eurozone.\nFindings: Corporations with a stewardship orientation develop different dynamic managerial capabilities underlying sustainability performance than corporations that apply a more instrumental orientation. Results also show an \"in-between\" position: an equidistant orientation.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study proves the emergence of different dynamic managerial capabilities that depend on companies' strategic orientation, but follow-up research based on appreciative inquiry is needed to investigate the development of these capabilities over time.\nPractical implications: For achieving a higher level of sustainability performance, a stewardship orientation offers a stronger foundation than an instrumental orientation. Also companies with an equidistant orientation have a better sustainability performance than companies with an instrumental orientation, but based on a more central corporate level. The strategic orientation must be grounded in the development of fitting dynamic managerial capabilities that include an emphasis on shared cognition of long-term objectives, inclusion of stakeholders and setting objectives. Also strong internal and external ties, leadership of the CEO, educational background and how to deal with lack of knowledge are important aspects of managerial social and human capital.\nSocial implications: Due to its focus on the sustainability performance of companies and the identification of the supporting dynamic managerial capabilities, this paper is socially highly relevant.\nOriginality/value: Previous research has focused on strategic orientation, but little to no research has investigated how various strategic orientations toward the interface between business and society impact sustainability performance or what role dynamic managerial capabilities might play in the related change process.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The effects of luxury restaurant environments on diners' emotions and loyalty: Incorporating diner expectations into an extended Mehrabian-Russell model
|
[
"Emotions",
"Diner expectations",
"Diners’ emotions and loyalty",
"Luxury restaurant",
"Restaurant environment"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The global luxury goods market was valued at US$302 billion in 2012 (all monetary figures in this paper are in US$), more than 5 times the value of the industry in 1997 (Nueno and Quelch, 1998; Roberts, 2012). Scholars have long explored the luxury goods market and its consumers (Berthon et al., 2009; Chadha and Husband, 2006; Gardyn, 2002; Jolson et al., 1981; Nueno and Quelch, 1998), and scholarly interest in this market increased further after its success in the face of the ongoing global recession (Sullivan, 2009; Wood, 2009).\nLiterature review: Luxury restaurants - definition and previous studies\nMethodology: Qualitative pretests\nData analysis: Factor analysis\nDiscussion: This study examines the influence of luxury restaurants' stimuli and customers' expectations on diners' emotions and loyalty using a modified M-R model. The results of the data analysis support this study's proposed framework. Luxury restaurants' stimuli significantly influence organisms (diners' positive and negative emotions), which, in turn, affect diners' subsequent responses (i.e. loyalty). Most importantly, the results of this study confirm that customers' expectations (i.e. high or low) moderate the relationship between restaurants' stimuli and diners' emotions.\nLimitations, future studies and conclusion: This study narrows the gap in the luxury goods consumption literature by examining diners' luxury restaurant consumption behavior through a modified M-R model. As stated earlier, the luxury goods market and the restaurant industry have both experienced significant growth since the mid-1990s. However, few scholars have examined the consumption of luxury services. The results of this study contribute to the hospitality literature and practice in four ways. First, this study's proposed model can describe diners' luxury restaurant consumption experiences. Previous luxury goods consumption research has focused primarily on physical goods rather than intangible services. Second, this research incorporates a diner expectation variable into a modified M-R model. The results revealed that diner expectation can moderate diners' luxury restaurant consumption behavior. Third, this study considered and confirmed that customers influence diners' emotions. Few hospitality management studies have explored the effect of this factor. Fourth, the managerial implications for practitioners are considered to help them formulate better business strategies.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to examine diners' luxury restaurant consumption behavior by incorporating diner expectations into a modified Mehrabian-Russell model. Consumers dine at luxury restaurants for reasons beyond fulfilling basic needs. However, little is known about the factors that contribute to diners' emotions and loyalty toward luxury restaurants.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To examine the proposed six hypotheses, qualitative and quantitative studies were performed. Following exploratory qualitative research, 310 consumers who dined at Taiwan's five-star hotel restaurants were recruited for the main study. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.\nFindings: The results show that restaurants' stimuli influence diners' positive and negative emotions (organisms), which, in turn, affect their loyalty toward luxury restaurants (responses). Furthermore, customers with different levels of expectation react differently to stimuli.\nPractical implications: This study offers new empirical support for the proposition that diner expectation plays a role in building customer loyalty and, thereby, shades both theoretical and managerial understanding of the luxury restaurant consumption process.\nOriginality/value: This study conceptualizes diners' loyalty toward luxury restaurants (e.g. revisiting and recommending luxury restaurants) by examining the influence of restaurants' stimuli, diners' emotions and customers' expectations toward luxury restaurants. Additionally, this study offers some managerial implications for practitioners.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A new forecasting approach for the hospitality industry
|
[
"Tourism",
"Forecasting",
"Hospitality industry",
"Spain",
"Management",
"Neural networks"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: International tourism is becoming one of the most important activities worldwide. As a result, an increasing amount of financial resources are flowing to the hospitality industry. To efficiently allocate the increasing investments, both public and private sectors need accurate forecasts of tourism demand, especially at the destination level (Reynolds et al., 2013). Accurate estimates of the demand for tourism enable decision-makers and managers in the hospitality industries to improve strategic planning.\n2. ANN models: This is the first study that implements multiple-input-multiple-output ANN architectures to tourism demand forecasting. This framework allows the incorporation of common trends in inbound international tourism demand from all visitor markets to a specific destination in ANNs. Multivariate networks also allow the generation of predictions for all countries simultaneously, instead of implementing each model for each visitor market. Additionally, we repeat the analysis using different memory values to test the effect on the forecasting accuracy of the number of lags included in the models.\n3. Data set: In this study, we use the number of international tourist arrivals to Catalonia (first destination) from January 2001 to July 2012. Data were provided by the National Institute of Statistics. Table I shows a descriptive analysis of tourist arrivals to Catalonia for the out-of-sample period (January 2009 to July 2012). Because data characteristics, including the origin of tourists, have an influence on the predictive ability of the models, we used tourist arrivals from all source markets. The first four visitor countries (France, the UK, Belgium and The Netherlands and Germany) account for more than half of the total number of tourist arrivals to Catalonia. Russia is the country that presents the highest dispersion in tourist arrivals, while Italy shows the highest levels of Skewness and Kurtosis.\n4. Methodology: As the evolution of tourist arrivals from different visitor markets showed a common stochastic trend, we applied a multivariate neural network approach to obtain forecasts of tourism demand. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the performance of different ANN models in a multiple-input-multiple-output setting that uses the cross-correlations between the evolutions of foreign visitors from different markets to a specific destination. This approach also allows for the generation of predictions for all visitor markets simultaneously without having to replicate the analysis for each country.\n5. Results: When analysing the forecast accuracy, MLP and RBF networks showed lower RMSE values than Elman networks. Nevertheless, the no-change model outperforms both MLP and Elman networks. While RBF networks display the lowest RMSE values for longer horizons in most countries, the no-change model shows higher percentages of PLAE than the rest of the networks, especially for the shorter forecasting horizons. The fact that the no-change model generates more accurate one-period-ahead forecasts than other more sophisticated models confirms previous research by Witt et al. (1994) (Table IV).\n6. Conclusion: The increasing importance of the hospitality sector worldwide has led to a growing interest in new approaches to tourism demand forecasting. New methods provide more accurate estimations of anticipated tourist arrivals for effective managerial and policy planning. AI techniques are generating an increasing interest as a way to refine the predictions of tourist arrivals at the destination level. The main aim of this study is to develop a new forecasting framework to improve the forecasting performance of artificial neural networks. We use three models that represent alternative ways of handling information: the MLP, RBF and Elman recursive neural network.\n7. Limitations and future research: Nevertheless, this study is not without its limitations. First, a comparison between different tourist destinations would allow analysing to what extent regional differences have a significant influence on forecasting accuracy. Another question to be considered in further research is whether a combination of the forecasts from different topologies may improve the accuracy of predictions. Finally, there is the question of whether the implementation of alternative AI techniques such as support vector regressions could improve the forecasting performance of neural networks.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to apply a new forecasting approach to improve predictions in the hospitality industry. To do so, the authors developed a multivariate setting that allows the incorporation of the cross-correlations in the evolution of tourist arrivals from visitor markets to a specific destination in neural network models.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This multiple-input-multiple-output approach allows the generation of predictions for all visitor markets simultaneously. Official data of tourist arrivals to Catalonia (Spain) from 2001 to 2012 were used to generate forecasts for one, three and six months ahead with three different networks.\nFindings: The study revealed that multivariate architectures that take into account the connections between different markets may improve the predictive performance of neural networks. Additionally, the authors developed a new forecasting accuracy measure and found that radial basis function networks outperform the rest of the models.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research contributes to the hospitality literature by developing an innovative framework to improve the forecasting performance of artificial intelligence techniques and by providing a new forecasting accuracy measure.\nPractical implications: The proposed forecasting approach may prove very useful for planning purposes, helping managers to anticipate the evolution of variables related to the daily activity of the industry.\nOriginality/value: A multivariate neural network framework has been developed to improve forecasting accuracy, providing professionals with an innovative and practical forecasting approach.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Investigating teachers' and school principals' enactments of national testing policies: A Norwegian study
|
[
"Educational policy",
"Accountability",
"School principals",
"National test results",
"Teacher attitudes",
"Teacher experiences"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Recently, accountability-driven policies have gradually been introduced in many countries' education systems (Elstad, 2009). Concepts like accountability, choice, and competition are part of modern Norwegian educational discourse and policy (Aas et al., 2016; Lindblad et al., 2002; Moller, 2009). One definition of accountability policies highlights the types of coordination and control that the state and educational authorities have implemented to adjust the behaviors of local actors. Thus, accountability policies can be called \"regulation by results\" (Maroy and Voisin, 2015, p. 39). The consequences of a \"hard\" or high-stakes accountability system may include no advancement in salary, transfer or firing, and a loss of external reputation, such as with lower public rankings of schools. In \"soft\" or \"reflexive\" accountability systems (low-stakes systems), the consequences associated with accountability vary noticeably (Carnoy and Loeb, 2002; Harris and Herrington, 2006). For example, in a low-stakes context, an organization would be instructed to confront its results; use various measures to stimulate reflection on its practices; and foster changes in its practices, beliefs, or identity. From this perspective, Norwegian schools can be regarded as operating in a low-stakes accountability context.\nThe Norwegian accountability context: National tests include basic skills in reading, numeracy, and English[1] reading. In Norway, the government views test results as tools for improving school quality and enhancing individual student learning. Reading and numeracy are involved in all subjects, at all levels. Hence, teachers work to strengthen these skills in all text-based subjects.\nMethod: This paper is based on a study conducted in a Norwegian educational context to investigate school leaders' and teachers' enactments of policy demands, exemplified in the use of national test results data (Gunnulfsen and Moller, 2017; Gunnulfsen, 2017). The study reported on here is based on survey data from lower secondary teachers (n=176) in one Norwegian municipality. The population represents teachers with experience working with national test results in all lower secondary schools in the chosen municipality.\nResults: The survey mainly measured self-reported practices and attitudes related to the national test results. In terms of reliability, a validation of the 27 items as one construct showed a Cronbach's a=0.92. When each of the four areas was treated as a construct, Cronbach's a results were a=0.83 for \"facilitating principals,\" a=0.70 for \"teachers' individual work with the national test results,\" a=0.83 for \"the team's work with the national test results,\" and a=0.71 for \"teachers' attitudes toward the national tests.\"\nSummary and discussion: Summary of the results\nConcluding remarks: The overall findings of this study imply that there is a strong correlation between how well the principals facilitate work with the national test results and the teachers' practices and attitudes. There was a direct link between the principals promoting work with national test results and how the teachers benefitted from and understood how to use the results. Another important finding was the diversity in the responses among the schools in the municipality. The study contributes to an understanding of the inside-out (Coburn, 2004) and collective approach to crafting coherence, but it also strengthens the role of the individual principal. Still, this study has some limitations; specifically, the survey relied on self-reported responses, and the sample size was small. Concluding that there is a direct association between the research questions and objectives may threaten a study's validity when abstract concepts (Achinstein, 1968), such as \"attitudes\" and \"expectations,\" are involved.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine teachers' reported experiences, practices, and attitudes on the use of national test results in a low-stakes accountability context. Whether the stakes are high or low, teachers and school leaders have different experiences, knowledge, and beliefs concerning how to use national test results to benefit individual student learning. This paper addresses how teachers experience school leadership and policy requirements for using national test results in local schools.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper is part of a larger study conducted in a Norwegian educational context investigating school leaders' and teachers' enactments of policy demands via the use of national test results data. The sub-study reported in this paper is based on survey data from all lower secondary teachers (n=176) in one Norwegian municipality. Micro-policy perspectives and the concept of crafting policy coherence served as analytical tools.\nFindings: Diversity between the schools was found in how teachers perceive the principals' role. Practices and attitudes appeared restrained, somewhat conformed by, but still indifferent to the policy intention. However, there was a close relationship between the principals' facilitation of national tests and the teachers' practices of utilizing the results.\nOriginality/value: This study clarified how micro-policy works in local schools in a low-stakes context. A prominent difference was found between the policy intentions and local schools' practice of using national test results.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Scanning for competitive intelligence: a managerial perspective
|
[
"Competitive intelligence",
"Entrepreneurial attitude",
"Scanning",
"Market orientation"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The market orientation perspective on marketing intelligence (Kohli and Jaworski, 1990; Slater and Narver, 1995) states that organizations should strive to achieve higher value and profits through marketing intelligence gathering and sharing across departments. Scanning for competitive intelligence is a major vehicle for organizations to obtain needed information for marketing intelligence generation and market adaptation (Patton and McKenna, 2005; Sawyerr et al., 2000). Arguably, organizational competitive advantage rests on the ability of organizations to scan proactively for competitive intelligence and make effective responses (e.g. Brownlie, 1994; Oktemgil and Greenley, 1997; Pickton and Wright, 1998). However, scanning for competitive intelligence alone does not enable organizations to adapt to the market. It is members within organizations who construct competitive perceptions and dictate strategic responses (Gray, 1994; Wright and Ashill, 1998). As Hambrick (1981, p. 299) suggested, scanning for competitive intelligence is \"the managerial activity of learning about events and trends in the market\". The effectiveness of scanning behaviors determines managerial judgmental interpretation of the market.Over the years, researchers have explored various antecedents and consequences of managerial scanning behaviors. Antecedents widely discussed include the sources (i.e. internal, external, personal, or impersonal sources) from which managers obtain information (e.g. Keegan, 1974; Kobrin et al., 1980); the environmental segments (i.e. economic, technological, political or social segments) in which managers exert scanning efforts (e.g. Hambrick, 1981; O'Connell and Zimmerman, 1979); and the modes (i.e. inactive, reactive, or proactive mode) with which managers scan the market (e.g. El Sawy, 1985; Jain, 1984). More recently, an increasing number of researchers have examined the effect of managerial perceptions, such as perceived uncertainty and perceived source accessibility, on managerial scanning efforts (e.g. May et al., 2000; McGee and Sawyerr, 2003; Sawyerr, 1993). Competitive strategy and organizational performance have been widely studied as strategic consequences of managerial scanning behaviors (e.g. Beal, 2000; Thomas et al., 1993). Research findings suggest that managers rely mostly on personal and external sources for market information. Perceived uncertainty positively impacts the frequency and the scope of managerial scanning behaviors, and scanning of multiple market sectors enhances organizational competitive advantage.Despite the findings on scanning behaviors from the \"upper echelon\" perspective, questions remain about why managers differ in their scanning behaviors and how managerial scanning for competitive intelligence subsequently impacts their interpretation of organizational competitive advantage. These questions raise three concerns in the current research. First, little is known about the attitudinal antecedent to managerial scanning behaviors, an exploration of which might reveal rich insights into aspects of the psychological scanning process. Second, as noted by Elenkov (1997), few studies have examined the influence of managers' normative beliefs, embodied in organizational expectations and pressures, on managerial scanning behaviors. Third, with few exceptions (Thomas et al., 1993), little research has examined the effect of scanning behaviors on managerial interpretation of organizational competitive advantage. Understanding managerial sense-making through managerial scanning efforts is of strategic importance to both academicians and practitioners since managerial interpretation of organizational strategic position in the complex and dynamic market directly influences action alternatives and subsequent outcomes.The purpose of this study is to advance and investigate empirically how attitudinal and normative factors shape managerial scanning for competitive intelligence and how managerial scanning efforts subsequently influence managerial representations of competitive advantage. The \"Research model\" section of this paper outlines the constructs, the theoretical arguments, and the hypotheses among those constructs. The \"Research method\" section explains survey sample design, establishes the measurement scales, and presents the empirical findings of the hypothesized relationships. This paper concludes with discussions on the implications of the results, the limitations of the study, and possible avenues for future research.\nThe research model: In this study, the antecedents of the behavioral category of interest, i.e. scanning for competitive intelligence, and the cognitive consequence, i.e. managerial representations of competitive advantage, are integrated to develop a model (see Figure 1). The model seeks to describe the managerial sense-making process by examining the links between entrepreneurial attitude orientation, market orientation, competitive intelligence scanning, and managerial representations of competitive advantage.Scanning for competitive intelligence\nResearch method: Data collection\nDiscussion: The study was motivated by a desire to understand why managers differ in their scanning efforts and what implications scanning for competitive intelligence may have for managerial interpretation of organizational competitive advantage. Scanning for competitive intelligence requires managers to collect information from meaningful sectors of the market, monitor emerging trends, and evaluate the impact of situational changes on strategic decisions. Our results suggest that managers with a high level of entrepreneurial attitude orientation engage in more proactive scanning for competitive intelligence than those managers who demonstrate a low level of business motivation. We also revealed that market orientation significantly impacts the frequency and the scope of managerial scanning behaviors. Previous research has focused on the impact of a dichotomized organizational culture (with authoritarian or participative element) on managerial scanning efforts (Lauzen, 1995). The dichotomized organizational culture promotes the understanding of the organization itself, but fails to take into account the active role organizational members play in the organization. Our findings highlight the fact that managers are embedded in organizations and they are significantly influenced by the cultural orientation of organizations. Highly market-oriented organizations provide a supportive culture for managers to commit to proactive scanning for competitive intelligence. In contrast, less market-oriented organizations discourage managers from conducting rigorous scanning for competitive intelligence.The study also demonstrates that managerial representations of competitive advantage are influenced by managerial scanning efforts. Proactive scanning for competitive intelligence furnishes managers with knowledge about customers' needs and competitors' products, services, prices, etc. Managers' knowledge of customer and competitive actions enables them to better assess the strength and weakness of their organizations, which leads to better representations of competitive advantage.From a managerial standpoint, the study presents insights into three important areas for managers who are responsible for identifying opportunities and threats through collecting competitive intelligence from the rapidly changing market. First, the demonstrated predictive power of entrepreneurial attitude orientation on managerial scanning for competitive intelligence reveals the fact that competitive intelligence scanning is more an entrepreneurial activity than a routine activity for managers. Proactive scanning behaviors are always conducted by those managers who are innovative, have a strong desire to be successful, and have a strong business motivation in monitoring the external market. Second, managers in highly market-oriented organizations are in a better position to conduct frequent and extensive scanning for competitive intelligence since highly market-oriented organizations provide a strong supportive culture for competitive intelligence collection and dissemination. This means that managerial scanning efforts can be maximized in organizations that value competitive intelligence on customers and competitors. Third, managerial representations of competitive advantage are not formed in a vacuum; rather, they are influenced by the proactive activities with which managers scan for competitive intelligence. Managers need to conduct proactive competitive intelligence scanning before they can understand the impact of market forces on their organizations and develop effective mental representations of the strength and weakness of their organizations.This study synthesizes interdisciplinary research on entrepreneurship, competitive intelligence, and the formation of managers' mental models, offering new insight into managerial sense-making. However, a limitation should be noted: the study ignores the nonlinear aspect of the managerial sense-making process. We articulate and test a set of linear relationships by a procedural cognitive approach without examining the inherent cyclicity of the cognitive process. The cognitive processes in the mind set are not necessarily procedural and may cascade over time. For example, managerial representations of competitive advantage are constantly evolving. They are not only affected by managerial scanning behaviors, but also can alter managerial scanning behaviors.The limitations of the study point to future research opportunities. Future research might use longitudinal data to examine the nonlinear relationships between managerial scanning efforts, managerial cognitive framework of competitive advantage, managerial strategic decision making, and decision outcomes. As Thomas et al. (1993) suggested, a multi-year time frame may be able to tap each cognitive stage in the scanning cycle. Future research might also address the fundamental questions of appropriate methodologies in the field of managerial cognition. Most methods with a cognitive stance, such as repertory grid, causal maps, and taxonomic interview procedures, are still embryonic in their development. Although these diverse methods provide better ways to identify the variations in the cognitive dimensions of individual managers, adopting different methods might lead to complementary or even conflicting results with regard to managerial cognition. How to incorporate these methods in the study of managerial scanning cycles and clarify the similarities and differences of those methods through subsequent research findings is worthy of serious study.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to advance and investigate empirically how entrepreneurial attitude and normative beliefs influence managerial scanning for competitive intelligence and how managerial scanning efforts subsequently impact managerial interpretation of organizations' strengths and weaknesses in the competitive arena.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A structural equation model was tested with survey data from 309 managers in the USA.\nFindings: - The results indicate that entrepreneurial attitude orientation and market orientation significantly impact managerial scanning for competitive intelligence, which in turn leads to managerial representations of competitive advantage.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This paper demonstrates that scanning for competitive intelligence is more an entrepreneurial activity than a routine activity for managers, and that managerial scanning efforts can be maximized in highly market-oriented organizations that value competitive intelligence collection and dissemination. Proactive scanning for competitive intelligence enables managers to develop a fuller picture of the superiority or deficiency of their organizations. Future research needs to address the inherent cyclicity of the managerial sense-making process.\nOriginality/value: - This paper is the first effort to examine empirically the scanning cycle - that is, the relationships between managerial business motivation, intelligence scanning and sense-making. It offers strategic guides to both academicians and practitioners on how to achieve a better understanding of the complex and dynamic market through proactive scanning activities.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Analysing online reviews to investigate customer behaviour in the sharing economy: The case of Airbnb
|
[
"Business intelligence",
"Text mining",
"Social media",
"Consumer behaviour",
"Airbnb",
"Sharing economy",
"Online review",
"Text analysis"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The ongoing digitalisation has significantly spurred new business models since the recent decades. Unlike traditional business models that are based on ownership, the sharing economy is a business model \"based on sharing underutilized assets from spaces to skills to stuff for monetary or non-monetary benefits\" (Botsman, 2013). The principle is to leverage information technology to empower each party with information that enables distribution, sharing and reuse of excess capacity in goods and services (Heinrichs, 2013). The rise of the sharing economy can be attributed to the paradigm change in consumer behaviour (Puschmann and Alt, 2016). Consumers are moving away from owning goods to temporarily using goods and making goods available to strangers online (Bardhi and Eckhardt, 2012; Belk, 2013).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Airbnb in the sharing economy\n3. Methodology: To ensure the generalisation of the framework, the design of the methodology is derived from previous studies. Based on the methodology developed by Vecchio et al. (2018) and Cheng and Jin (2019), the two key phases for analysing data, such as online reviews from social media, are data collection and data analysis. In the data analysis phase, textual data have to pre-processed to obtain a noiseless and clean data set. In line with this, we create an additional phase, namely, data pre-processing phase, to emphasise the text pre-processing tasks as the data involved in this study are all textual comments. Furthermore, visualisation is found helpful in getting first-hand insights based on the analysis results (Mahgoub et al., 2008; Kulkarni and Kulkarni, 2016). Thus, appropriate visualisation tools are included in the proposed data analysis phase. Consequently, the methodology, as shown in Figure 1, can be divided into three phases which are data collection, data pre-processing, and data analysis. In data collection, raw unstructured data from Airbnb's website are collected. Data include attributes related to Airbnb's listings, guests' textual reviews and hosts' profiles. After the data are collected and aggregated, the data set is further split into sub-data sets according to years and seasons. In data pre-processing, the data are converted to a format that is appropriate for data analysis. In particular, the unstructured text needs to be converted into a semi-structured data set so that one can apply analytics techniques to discover hidden knowledge in the next phase, i.e. data analysis, where the hierarchical clustering method is used to assign keywords into a group of clusters. Details of each phase are described in the following sections.\n4. Results and discussion: To perform text mining, the data set is divided into sub-data sets according to year and season for longitudinal analysis and seasonal analysis, respectively. After that, each data set is inputted into QDA Miner. After data pre-processing as stated in Section 3, a list of words is generated. The frequency and Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) of each word is computed as shown in Table IV. Word clouds are used as a graphic representation of the frequency of the words. An example of a word cloud is shown in Figure 3. The size of the words indicates the frequency of the words. With the use of word clouds, managers can have a quick view to understand the keywords that are frequently mentioned by customers. It is an efficient tool for prioritising customer concerns to design and improve services offerings.\n5. Conclusion and future work: The rapid development of information technologies has allowed people to share their goods with strangers online. As a typical example of the sharing economy, Airbnb connects hosts and guests by sharing part or all of homes as rental properties for short stay. In general, people are wary of hosting a stranger or sleeping in a stranger's home. To deal with the online trust problem, Airbnb users are encouraged to share their Airbnb experiences by posting public reviews online after each stay. The purpose is to allow people to view other users' comments before agreeing to any transaction. Prior studies confirmed that consumer expectation of the stay comes from the earlier shared experiences they found in the reviews. Analysing online reviews can thus uncover important service attributes that influence accommodation booking intention.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate attributes that influence Airbnb customer experience by analysing online reviews from users staying in London. It presents a text mining approach to identify a set of broad themes from the textual reviews. It aims to highlight the customers' changing perception of good quality of accommodations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper analyses 169,666 reviews posted by Airbnb users who stayed in London from 2011 to 2015. Hierarchical clustering algorithms are used to group similar words into clusters based on their co-occurrence. Longitudinal analysis and seasonal analysis are conducted for a more coherent understanding of the Airbnb customer behaviour.\nFindings: This paper provides empirical insights about how Airbnb users' mindset of good quality of accommodations changes over a five-year timespan and in different seasons. While there are common attributes considered important throughout the years, exclusive attributes are discovered in particular years and seasons.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper is confined to Airbnb experiences in London. Researchers are encouraged to apply the proposed methodology to investigate Airbnb experiences in other cities and detect any change in customer perception of quality stay.\nPractical implications: This paper offers implications for the prioritisation of customer concerns to design and improve services offerings and for alignment of services with customer expectations in the sharing economy.\nOriginality/value: This paper fulfils an identified need to examine the change in customer expectation across the timespan and seasons in the case of Airbnb. It also contributes by illustrating how big data can be used to uncover key attributes that facilitate the engagement with the sharing economy.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Anxiety and search during food choice: the moderating role of attitude towards nutritional claims
|
[
"Food products",
"Personal health",
"Nutrition",
"Consumer behaviour"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.\nIntroduction: Consumers make food choices every day, which have health implications at the individual level and financial implications for society as a whole. At the individual level, unhealthy diet has been linked to obesity and related health problems (WHO, 2009). In financial terms, the yearly cost of obesity exceeds $100 billion in the USA with similar costs being reported in Europe (Suhrcke et al., 2006). Given this context, research in marketing has increasingly focused on issues related to food choice and consumption (Andrews et al., 2009; Chandon and Wansink, 2007; Howlett et al., 2008; Khare and Inman, 2006; Sun et al., 2009). A key issue related to food choice in today's marketplace is the increasing complexity of nutritional information at the point of sale. For example, food labels often list numerous ingredients such as fat, fibre, vitamins, antioxidants, omega-3, and minerals. Besides ingredients, labels can also display ethical and environmental information such as carbon footprint, recycling record, humane production methods, and sustainable environmental policies. In addition to the large volume of information, consumers may also find it difficult to understand the meaning of food information. For example, consumers may not know the health implications of ingredients, or the relative importance of ingredients for their health. Taken together, these factors suggest that today's consumers face a complex information environment during food choice.Past research indicates that complex information environments create anxiety, where anxiety is a negative feeling triggered by the potential future occurrence of harmful events (Lines and Denstadli, 2004; Roseman et al., 1990). For example, research on information overload indicates that individuals experience anxiety about choice outcomes when faced with excess information during choice (Keller and Staelin, 1987; Malhotra et al., 1982; Swait and Adamowicz, 2001). Similarly, research indicates that individuals experience anxiety when trading off attributes such as price and safety during choice (Luce et al., 1999). In our research, we began with a preliminary qualitative study to investigate the notion that consumers experience anxiety during food choice. This study consisted of sixteen in-depth interviews with Danish consumers - eight interviews with graduate students, and eight interviews with older adults. The interviews were semi-structured around the themes of food choice and healthy eating (McCracken, 1988). Interviewees were asked to think about recent food shopping trips, and describe their thoughts and feelings during the food selection process. Interviews were analysed using a hermeneutic method focusing on commonalities between interviewees' experiences and perspectives (Thompson et al., 1994). An emergent theme was health anxiety during food choice, with 12 out of 18 respondents recalling feelings of anxiety while shopping for food.Given these preliminary indications of anxiety during food choice, we addressed two issues in our subsequent quantitative studies. First, we investigated the effect of anxiety on information search. Past research indicates that search is an important first step in the choice process, a step that provides consumers with the information required to make optimal choices (Punj and Brookes, 2002; Ratchford et al., 2007). Hence we investigated the effect of anxiety on information search during food choice. Our second objective was to test a key moderator of the effect of anxiety on search, namely attitude towards nutritional claims. Nutritional claims, such as \"heart friendly,\" \"fat burner,\" or \"nutritious\" are frequently used on food labels. We propose and show that consumers' attitude towards nutritional claims moderates the effect of anxiety on search, such that anxiety has a stronger positive effect on search when consumers have a less positive attitude towards nutritional claims. The rest of the article is structured as follows. First we develop hypotheses regarding the effects of anxiety and attitude towards nutritional claims on information search. We then report the results of two studies using representative samples of Danish consumers that support our hypotheses. We conclude by discussing theoretical and practical implications of our results.\nTheoretical development: Information search\nPilot study: The pilot study was designed to identify food products with sufficient variation in anxiety, while minimising floor or ceiling effects in anxiety. Based on our initial qualitative interviews, we drew up a list of ten commonly purchased food products. Then in the pilot study, 89 students and alumni of a large Danish business school were contacted via email and, as part of larger study on food choice, asked to rate the candidate products on anxiety during purchase. Anxiety was measured with a single item seven-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree): \"When I buy [food product], I'm occasionally anxious whether it is good for me\". Notably, in our subsequent studies, we measured anxiety with multi-item scales. We then selected four target food products - ready-dinner meals, salad dressing, biscuits, and cakes - with anxiety ratings around the middle of the scale (i.e. 4.0) as well as sufficient variance in anxiety. The means and standard deviations of anxiety were: ready dinner meals: x-=4.50, SD=2.27, salad dressing: x-=4.26, SD=2.25; biscuits: x-=3.91, SD=2.01; cakes: x-=4.14, SD=2.11. Ready-dinner meals were used as the target product in study 1, and salad dressing, biscuits and cakes were used in study 2.\nStudy 1: Sample of respondents\nStudy 2: Sample of respondents\nPractical implications and future research: Our initial qualitative interviews suggested that consumers experience anxiety during food choice, marked by uncertainty about whether the food is bad for their health. Building on these initial results, we conducted two quantitative studies to examine the effect of anxiety on search, and the moderating role of attitude towards nutritional claims. Convergent results across the two studies indicated that anxiety increases search, and that the positive effect of anxiety on search is stronger when consumers have a less favourable attitude towards nutritional claims. Notably, our studies utilised representative samples of Danish consumers, and results replicated across four product categories namely ready dinner meals, salad dressing, biscuits, and cakes. Our findings make two theoretical contributions to the literature on consumer food choice.First, our results show for the first time that anxiety during food choice increases information search, in at least four commonly consumed products. This result is consistent with past research on emotion and motivation, which has argued that negative emotions signal problems in the environment that require corrective action. In the present research, we show that anxiety during food choice follows this template by motivating consumers to search for health information about food. While it has been recognised that long-term anxiety disorders can ultimately influence outcomes such as physical well-being (Endler and Kocovski, 2001), our results demonstrate for the first time that situational, choice-based anxiety can influence information search. A notable implication of this result is that anxiety during food choice may be a good thing from the public welfare point of view by prompting consumers to undertake search, and hence ultimately make more informed choices.Second, our studies demonstrate that the positive effect of anxiety on search is magnified when consumers have a less favourable attitude towards nutritional claims on the label. This interactive effect of attitude towards nutritional claims extends previous research on consumer attitudes towards other label elements such nutritional facts panel (Burton et al., 1999) and warning label (Andrews et al., 1990). For example, Burton et al. (1999) showed that consumer attitude towards the nutritional facts panel has a positive effect on ability to use nutritional information accurately. Beyond such direct effects, we show in the present research that consumer attitude towards nutritional claims has an interactive effect on information search. Regarding attitude towards warning labels, Andrews et al. (1990) found that certain types of warning labels - such as warning labels for alcohol products - were disliked by individuals especially when they had a favourable attitude towards alcohol consumption. While this past research focused on the antecedents of attitude towards warning labels, we examine the consequences of consumer attitudes towards nutritional claims. An important implication of our results is that public policy makers should educate consumers to be critical of nutritional claims, and not take such claims at face value. As consumers become more critical and have less positive attitudes towards nutritional claims, anxiety during food choice is more likely to motivate search. This information search, in turn, can ultimately be expected to create more informed consumers who make healthier food choices.Third, from a managerial point-of-view this suggests that providers of healthy food should provide extended health information for consumers that are sceptical about nutritional claims since their scepticism towards this type of condensed information will in fact motivate extended information search.Finally, our studies suggest several directions for future research. Future studies could identify other moderators of the relationship between anxiety and information search. For example, it is plausible that anxiety translates into increased information search only when consumers have the time and opportunity to search. However, today's consumers are often under time pressure, and some consumers may not have ready access to the internet. Under these conditions, increasing anxiety may not translate into increased information search. This is an important issue since consumers at the lower economic rungs are more likely to be under time pressure and lack internet access; and it is precisely these consumers who are most vulnerable to unhealthy diet and resulting obesity. Future research could examine this issue by manipulating time pressure and ability to search in an experimental setting. Such experimental studies would also replicate our cross-sectional survey results in a more controlled laboratory setting, and thus provide stronger evidence for the direction of causality in our model. Finally, future research could collect longitudinal data to assess the long-term effects of anxiety on information search and healthy food choice. Such an investigation would validate the notion that increased information search increases consumer knowledge and ultimately promotes healthy eating, as indexed by outcome measures such as body mass index.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to investigate the effect of anxiety on information search during food choice and to test a key moderator of the effect of anxiety on search, namely attitude towards nutritional claims.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - By means of qualitative study the paper investigates the notion that consumers experience anxiety about health outcomes during food choice. Further, by means of structural equation modelling based on two studies with representative samples of Danish consumers, the paper investigates the effects outlined above.\nFindings: - The authors show that anxiety during food choice increases information search in four product categories - ready dinner meals, salad dressing, biscuits, and cakes. Further, the results show that the positive effect of anxiety on information search is stronger when consumers have a less favourable attitude towards nutritional claims on the product label.\nPractical implications: - The results suggest that anxiety during food choice is desirable from the consumer welfare point of view since it leads to more informed consumers. The results also indicate that public policy makers should educate consumers to be critical about nutritional claims, since this would increase consumers' propensity to search for health information. In turn, from a managerial point of view this suggests that providers of healthy food should provide extended health information for consumers that are sceptical about nutritional claims since their scepticism towards this type of condensed information will in fact motivate extended information search.\nOriginality/value: - This paper contributes to research in marketing on food choice and consumption: a consumption area that is important but difficult to navigate due to an increasing complexity of nutritional information at the point of sale. This paper demonstrates that situational, choice-based anxiety and scepticism towards nutritional claims may actually be good things by prompting consumers to undertake search, and hence ultimately make more informed choices.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Climate risk perception and media framing
|
[
"Climate change",
"Risk management",
"Risk perception",
"Extreme weather events",
"Media coverage"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Extreme weather events (EWE) represent an increasing challenge for society and businesses (Guha-Sapir, Hoyois, & Below, 2015; Howard-Grenville, Buckle, Hoskins, & George, 2014). In comimg years, the EWE provoked by climate change are expected to intensify in terms of frequency and severity (IPCC, 2012). At the same time, the complexity of interconnected businesses as well as the increased population have augmented the societal vulnerability to EWE (Sodhi, Son, & Tang, 2012; van der Vegt, Essens, Wahlstrom, & George, 2015). Nonetheless, awareness of EWE impact is still surprisingly low (Mohor & Mendiondo, 2017).\n2. Theoretical review: 2.1 Extreme weather events (EWE)\n3. Methodology: We applied a longitudinal qualitative documentary analysis to investigate the media coverage of EWE and the related risk management activities in Brazil. Document analysis is a systematic procedure to evaluate printed or online documents and is appropriate for exploring and obtaining descriptions of a specific phenomenon (Bowen, 2009), such as the framing of weather extremes in Brazil. This method has been extensively used in the qualitative and longitudinal analysis of the relations among media coverage and natural disasters (Bohensky & Leitch, 2014; Devitt & O'Neill, 2017; Rashid, 2011).\n4. Findings: Brazil is characterized by different climates in different regions, and several phenomena influence the EWE. The compilation of Civil Defense reports demonstrates the recurrence of EWE and the predominance of drought and floods as the most harmful events in terms of people affected (including deaths, injured, sick, homeless, displaced and disappeared people). Table II provides the aggregate data of people affected between 2000 and 2010 as well as the annual numbers between 2011 and 2013. The data reveals that more people were affected by droughts (49 per cent) than floods (41 per cent).\n5. Conclusions: This paper investigated how media portrays EWE and how it contributes to risk perception of those events. The results demonstrate that the occurrence of EWE has gained more attention in media coverage; however, there is still lesser interest for risk management activities. Media coverage of drought and floods was unevenly distributed, and the two events are framed differently in terms of impacts to society and risk management responsibilities. Additionally, our results highlight the difference of media coverage in the cases of slow- and sudden-onset events.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to analyze the media coverage of the impact of extreme weather events (EWE) and related risk management activities in Brazil.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using a documentary analysis, the authors examined the media coverage of droughts and floods from 2003 to 2013 with concomitant official reports.\nFindings: The results indicate that although media coverage conveys the direct impact of floods and droughts on society, it underemphasizes the importance of risk management activities. Moreover, the private sector rarely engages in risk management and mitigation activities, despite the documented supply chain disruptions.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study focuses solely on media coverage as provided by wide-circulation newspaper in Brazil and would benefit by being extended to all media platforms.\nPractical implications: The results highlight the need for private sector involvement in risk management activities to facilitate the adaptation to climate change.\nSocial implications: The study reveals the deficiency of existing reports and lack of awareness regarding EWE.\nOriginality/value: The study contributes by focusing on climate awareness and how society can adapt to climate change, as well as how businesses can improve supply chain operations to facilitate smoother risk management.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Phishing counter measures and their effectiveness - literature review
|
[
"Phishing",
"Phishing counter measures",
"Internet",
"Literature review",
"Electronic commerce"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Over the last decade phishing attacks have grown considerably in the world wide web. Phishing is the process of enticing people into visiting fraudulent web sites and persuading them to enter their personal information on the same. Phishers usually make web pages visually similar to real web pages to spoof users. The word phishing is a variation of the word \"fishing\". The term was coined by hackers who managed to steal America online (AOL) accounts way back in the year 1995 (James, 2006). Hackers targeted AOL users and coaxed them into providing their username and passwords. At that time, hacked accounts were termed as \"phish\" and within a year, \"phish\" was actively being traded between hackers as a form of electronic currency that was of value to them. \"Phishers\" used to go after compromised e-mail accounts in order to send out spam e-mails.Phishing methodology is very similar to fishing where the bait is thrown with the hope that an unsuspecting user will grab it and bite onto it just like a fish. Thus, phishing is also known as the bait and hook method (Emm, 2006). In most cases, the bait is either an e-mail or an instant messaging site (Shein, 2011), which will take the user to hostile phishing web sites which in most cases would be a clever replica of credible financial institution's web site. The fake web site will have similar look and feel as of the original one and will be asking for the sensitive information like user name, password, credit card details, etc. (Hinde, 2004). When the victim (user) enters the information, the data is sent to the phisher who thereby uses the same for his personal gain. Phishing has become the most common channel for thieves to acquire personal information to aid them in identity theft (Mercuri, 2006; Brody et al., 2007; Anderson et al., 2008; Eisenstein, 2008).In the past, most criminals aimed their attacks at consumers in English-speaking countries only. However, phishers are now targeting consumers and companies all over the world (Sullins, 2006). Studies show a steady increase in phishing activities as well as the related cost. APWG (2010) in their annual report published in October 2010 reported 48,244 phishing attacks in the last 12 months. PhishTank the online web site which collects data on web sites engaged in phishing received 8,468 valid submissions of phishing web sites only in the month of October 2010 (PhishTank, 2010). In April 2009 Gartner group published results of a survey showing more than 5 million US consumers who lost their money to phishing attacks in the 12 months ending in September 2008; which is a 39.8 percent increase over the number of victims a year earlier (Gartner, 2010).1.1 Phishing attacks, solutions and requirements\n2 Methodology: Based on suggestions given by various authors (Reed, 1998; Webster and Watson, 2002; Green et al., 2006; Levy and Ellis, 2006; Ma and Nickerson, 2006; Armitage and Keeble-Allen, 2008) for writing a literature review paper, the following steps were adopted to search the sources for the review.Step 1: keyword search\n3 Review and discussion: The scale of the phishing problem has necessitated a response to help protect vulnerable users (Furnell, 2009). As a consequence, anti-phishing and wider identity protection features are a commonplace within both; web browsers and internet security suites. A huge number of phishing defences are available. Theses solutions range from quick fix changes to more substantial redesigns (Singleton, 2005). Emigh (2005) in his work examined the information flow in phishing attacks of all types, and provided detailed insights on the technologies used by phisher and the available countermeasures that can be used to prevent such attacks. In order to discuss such a vast range of defensive techniques it is necessary to examine the previous research efforts first and then provide the insight it is still not possible to stop phishing effectively.3.1 Phishing countermeasures\n4 Conclusion and future work: The academic work on phishing has been diverse; researchers have tried to understand the psychology of the process, how to block the spam e-mail from reaching the end-user, and how server operators might automatically detect fraudulent sites. This work tries to identify the previous works and the important trends in the literature on phishing and its countermeasures. It was found that the current anti-phishing approaches that have seen significant deployments on the internet can be classified into eight groups. Findings reveal that different approaches proposed in past are all preventive by nature. Phishers continually target the weakest link in the security chain, namely consumers, in their attacks. Various usability studies have demonstrated that neither server-side security indicators nor client-side toolbars and warnings are successful in preventing vulnerable users from being deceived. Jakobsson and Ratkiewicz (2006) have shown that even with the effects of modern anti-spoofing and anti-phishing efforts, more than 11 percent of the users will read a spoofed message, click the link it contains, and enter their login information. Although some of the work indicates that the education of online consumers, as well as the implementation and proper application of anti-phishing measures, can reduce the risk of consumers falling victim to phishing attacks. Educating the internet users about phishing, as well as the implementation and proper application of anti-phishing measures are critical steps in protecting the identities of online consumers against phishers.Phishing attacks have severe negative impacts on the web and the end-user's trust. This paper highlights several advanced anti-phishing methods. If one has to agree with the effectiveness of all these methods phishing should have been eradicated by now, but the same is not the case. All phishing problems are not solved by these methods. In one hand there are users who are completely ignorant about phishing and on the other hand there are criminals who are manufacturing new phishing ideas everyday. Hence it is necessary to have further work on new and effective phishing countermeasures.As concluded by Lynch (2005) there is no \"one solution\" at any \"one level\" that will solve the phishing problem. Stakeholders at each level can and must make greater efforts and initiate new practices to prevent this menace. Author also insisted that the stakeholders among the different levels must also collaborate with each other to find new solutions which will be cross level involving all parties.Phishing is a pervasive problem that will not disappear in the near future, but will most likely become even more sophisticated (Baker et al., 2006). Further research is also required to evaluate the effectiveness of the available countermeasures against fresh phishing attacks. Everyday newer and innovative attacks are being deployed on the internet. It is important to continuously evaluate the available tools against these new attacks.As discussed by Ye et al. (2005) users often understand security, but rank other things such as aesthetics or ease of use ahead of it. Further work will be useful which measures whether users still understand the security message when they are focussed on a stressful deadline, or whether users will leave browsers security features enabled when given the choice to disable them.Also there is a need to find out the factors which influence internet user's ability to correctly indentify phishing web sites. Future work needs to be done to understand why it works rather than what works. Many previous works discuss the impacts of various factors in identifying phishing web sites or spam e-mails, but fail to identify why those factors work. If this issue can be resolved then new training procedures or tools can be designed to address the same.End users, who are not well-versed with domain name system, confuse with the domain name and the brand or the product in question. Further work is required to evaluate effectiveness of single domain usage for companies against multiple domain or child domain and IP addresses for their sites.Work is required to provide a secure path from the end-users computer to the intended site. When a user types the desired web site address in the browser only the legitimate site or user's intended site should open. In one of my previous works I have proposed the use of virtual browser (VB) (Purkait, 2012); an on demand service for internet users who perform regular online transactions or have multiple password protected accounts over the internet. VB does not contain an address bar, thus making it impossible for users to stray away into unchartered territory as long as they are logged into the VB portal. Once logged into VB, the users can be rest assured that they are visiting a secure and legitimate site and not a spoofed one. Future work is also required in the direction of legal jurisdiction to discourage phishing attacks. Catching criminals would provide a strong deterrent as it shows the determination and capability of law enforcement. Internet has no international boundary neither do the phishers. There is a need to address the complexity of various political and legal hurdles of nations across the globe to facilitate greater information sharing between the law enforcement agencies.Another avenue of future work is to consider various characteristics of the web sites that can be identified as the phishing web sites. For example, IP address as domain name, many dots (.) in the URL address or the age of the web sites (phishing web sites are generally registered for few days) can be useful indicators to ascertain whether the web site in question is legitimate or not. Many phishing web sites come from the free hosting sites. Evaluation of all these characteristics can lead to a possible solution for effective phishing site detection.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Phishing is essentially a social engineering crime on the Web, whose rampant occurrences and technique advancements are posing big challenges for researchers in both academia and the industry. The purpose of this study is to examine the available phishing literatures and phishing countermeasures, to determine how research has evolved and advanced in terms of quantity, content and publication outlets. In addition to that, this paper aims to identify the important trends in phishing and its countermeasures and provides a view of the research gap that is still prevailing in this field of study.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper is a comprehensive literature review prepared after analysing 16 doctoral theses and 358 papers in this field of research. The papers were analyzed based on their research focus, empirical basis on phishing and proposed countermeasures.\nFindings: - The findings reveal that the current anti-phishing approaches that have seen significant deployments over the internet can be classified into eight categories. Also, the different approaches proposed so far are all preventive in nature. A Phisher will mainly target the innocent consumers who happen to be the weakest link in the security chain and it was found through various usability studies that neither server-side security indicators nor client-side toolbars and warnings are successful in preventing vulnerable users from being deceived.\nOriginality/value: - Educating the internet users about phishing, as well as the implementation and proper application of anti-phishing measures, are critical steps in protecting the identities of online consumers against phishing attacks. Further research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of the available countermeasures against fresh phishing attacks. Also there is the need to find out the factors which influence internet user's ability to correctly identify phishing websites.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Bilateral FDI flows in four major Asian economies: a gravity model analysis
|
[
"Foreign direct investment",
"Gravity model",
"Asian economies",
"Economic freedom index",
"Globalization index"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, private capital flows to emerging markets have been the topic of a number of studies. The high volatility of some of these flows, the observed fragility of financial systems in emerging markets associated with this volatility and the adverse effects of the financial crises in Asia, Russia and Latin America can be seen as reasons for the increasing attention this topic has received (Moosa and Cardak, 2006). Among several categories of private capital flows, foreign direct investment (FDI) has developed into the most important category since the mid-1990s. Its share in total private capital inflows to emerging markets and outflows from developed countries increased significantly thereafter (Chakraborty and Basu, 2002).\n2. Pattern of relative FDI flows in Asia: Thirty years ago, the mainstream Asian countries were worried about opening their market to allow foreign investment, which was expected to affect local economies. Almost all major Asian economies except Singapore had adopted restrictive regulations to control FDI firms in order to alleviate the harmful effects of FDI. However, attitudes towards FDI shifted by the early 1980s onwards and a large influx of FDI took place from developed countries. Though FDI inflows into developing economies of Asia in 1972 were only $1.4bn, they increased tremendously in 1982 by more than 1,200 per cent which amounted to $17.1bn. In 1993, the amount of FDI inflows was registered as $56bn which increased by 327 per cent over a decade. The FDI flows continued to increase by keeping on an average of 22 per cent of total FDI flows to the world during 2001-2012. Moreover, within Asian developing economies, the share of China and Republic of Korea in eastern region is 29.9 and 2.8 per cent, respectively. The share of India in southern region is 7.1 per cent and the share of Singapore in south-eastern region is 10.99 per cent during 2001-2012. These four countries only accounted for 50.82 per cent of the entire inflows to Asia during the 12 years.\n3. Brief review of empirical literature: Though there is no dearth of empirical literature across regions on the country-specific characteristics that attract and propel FDI flows, these are only few studies in the context of Asian economies. In this section, an attempt is made to have a critical review of the studies that have examined several host country characteristics (pull factors) and home country characteristics (push factors). Frenkel et al. (2004) study the determinants of bilateral FDI flows between major industrial countries and a total of 22 emerging economies for the period 1992-2002 using different specifications of the gravity model. Their findings suggest that market size, risk and economic growth play an important role in determining the extent of FDI flows. Furthermore, distance seems to be inversely related to FDI. Therefore, this paper considers a set of macroeconomic variables over and above the basic gravity variables. Likewise, using cross-country data from 1975 to 1995, Alfaro et al. (2004) show that countries with better financial institution attract more FDI. Asiedu (2006) shows that good infrastructure, large domestic market, natural resource endowment, low inflation, efficient legal system and good investment framework encourage FDI to Sub-Saharan Africa. Regional economic cooperation favours FDI flows to the region, while corruption and political instability affect them negatively. Escaleras and Register (2011) consider the relation between FDI in 94 countries between 1984 and 2004 and the number of disasters striking those countries, and find natural disasters to be negatively associated with a country's FDI. Aleksynska and Havrylchyk (2013) analyse bilateral investment flows originating from 163 countries towards 82 host countries for the 1996-2007 period, and find that countries, even suffering from institutional bottlenecks, still manage to attract considerable FDI because of their relative endowment of natural resources. In contrast to the above-mentioned studies, Blonigen and Piger (2014) conduct a meta-analysis of studies on the determinants of FDI and suggest that the effect of several variables generally included in the literature, such as host country institutions and infrastructure, is not robust.\n4. Theoretical background: One of the pioneering theoretical models that was first applied to explain the bilateral trade flows (and later extended to the bilateral FDI flows) is the gravity model (Tinbergen, 1962). The gravity model is inspired by the basic gravity equation in Newton's physics, wherein the FDI flows between two countries depend on the size of the two countries (host and source) and the distance between the two. The popularity of the gravity model comes from the literature on economic geography which makes use of the gravity equations.\n5. Empirical illustration: The present study makes use of two variants of the gravity model namely, Basic Model and Augmented Model and then subsequently the Augmented Model is divided into four parts, such as Augmented Model-I (AM-I), Augmented Model-II (AM-II), Augmented Model-III (AM-III) and Augmented Model-IV (AM-IV) to incorporate phase by phase the number of variables influencing FDI flows. The Basic Model uses traditional gravity model such as GDP and per capita income (PCI) of host and source countries and distance between them. AM-I uses some indicators of host country's macroeconomic health such as rate of growth of GDP (RoGG), rate of inflation (RoInf), rate of corporate tax (RoCT), rate of interest (RoInt) and rate of exchange (RoEx) along with traditional gravity model variables to see their effect on the bilateral FDI flows and to compare the results of the estimation. The model is further augmented in AM-II with dummy variables like common border (Combord), common language (Comlang), regional trade agreement (RTA) and bilateral investment treaties (BIT) between source and host country. AM-III and IV incorporate some institutional and infrastructural variables such as Openness (OPEN), telephone intensity (TelInt), globalisation index (Global), freedom index (Freedom) and some major sub-parts, such as economic globalisation (Ecoglob), social globalisation (Socglob) and political globalisation (Polglob) of the composite globalisation index (Global) and trade freedom, investment freedom, freedom from corruption of the economic freedom index (Freedom).\n6. Policy implications and recommendations: On the basis of empirical findings, a few recommendations are made to attract good quality and larger FDI inflows into major Asian economies. The negative sign of the distance variable is coinciding with the theoretical model that more the distance between the host and source country, less would be FDI flows due to an increased managerial and raw material supply chain cost. Similarly, since GDP and PCI enable more FDI flows into Asian economics. They should frame their economic policies in such a manner where these counties can strengthen their GDP as well as PCI. Furthermore, these countries should open up their economies more and more for better FDI flows as it seems that economic globalisation and economic freedom are major determinants of bilateral FDI flows. The respective governments should give more emphasis on creating better infrastructure in terms of road, building and telecommunication for more FDI flows. Since inflation and interest rate have negative impact on FDI flows, policy efforts should be made to downplay their negative role. Thus, interest rate and inflation may have to be controlled not only to minimise capital flights but also to maintain price stability to win over the confidence of foreign investors. When such issues are addressed in right earnest, both FDI and FII complement each another and work towards the harmonious growth of the overall economy.\n7. Scope for further research and limitations of the study: By way of pointers to future research, it is suggested that disaggregated data for each country could give a clearer performance analysis in comparison to an aggregate approach. Moreover, sector-level determinants of bilateral FDI flows may be studied to identify sector-specific determinants. Likewise a comparative study with reference to China or any of the emerging economies could also be attempted. The present study suffers from the following limitations.\n8. Conclusion: This study estimates and analyses the pull and push factors of FDI flows, from both home and host countries, using the basic as well as four augmented versions of the gravity model. Again each model is further estimated with respect to POLS, FEE, REE and FEVD. A positive GDP and PCI of the host country means the economically rich countries are providing FDI to Asian countries and FDI flow increases with increase in GDP and PCI of the source country. The negative sign of the distance variable is in tune with the theoretical insight that more the distance between the host and source country, more is the cost of management and regulation of fund, leading to a fall in FDI (Feenstra et al., 2001; Frankel et al., 1995). The negative sign of the macroeconomic stability variables, namely, inflation rate and interest rate indicates that the major Asian economies are not able to manage their monetary policy and administer their financial stability well. The positive coefficient of economic globalisation and economic freedom explains the well-documented relationship between these variables and FDI. If a country is well integrated in to the global economic structure with a relative ease on the movement of resources, commodities and capital, they tend to attract more foreign capital. Similarly countries with greater economic freedom with less policy led distortions on the market and larger mobility can attract more investment. Moreover, higher levels of achievement in the spheres of economic and social globalisation and freedom from corruption attract high FDI to the host country.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows from some leading developed countries (the USA, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and France) into major four Asian economies (China, Korea, India and Singapore).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using one basic and four augmented versions of gravity model technique, the authors tried to examine the determinants of bilateral FDI flows in four major Asian economies. The study used World Development Indicators, CEPII, KOF and Heritage Foundation data for period 2001-2012.\nFindings: The results revealed that besides the market size for host and source country, other criteria such as distance, common language and common border also influence foreign investors. Other macroeconomic factors such as inflation rate and real interest rate are among the key factors that attract more FDI. In addition to economic factors, institutional and infrastructural factors such as telecommunication, degree of openness, index of globalisation and index of economic freedom also stimulate the international investors from the developed world to the major Asian countries.\nResearch limitations/implications: It is altogether possible that only a set of home country specific characteristics or host country specific characteristics does not matter when determining FDI. Most empirical studies using indices such as the index of globalisation and economic freedom are subject to certain methodological limitations such as model selection, parameter heterogeneity, outliers and moral hazard.\nPractical implications: More distance between the host and source country would result in less FDI flows due to more managerial and raw material supply chain cost. Similarly, more gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita income (PCI) are leading to more FDI flows into Asian economics. Therefore, major Asian economies should frame their economic policies in such a manner where these counties can strengthen their GDP as well as PCI. Furthermore, above countries should open its economy more and more for better FDI flows as it seems that economic globalisation and economic freedom are major determinants of bilateral FDI flows. The negative impact of inflation and interest rate should be controlled.\nSocial implications: From policy perspective, higher scores of economic, social and political globalisation also attract high FDI to the host country. On the same line higher scores in economic freedom mean that less restrictions in terms of economic policies and the policy environment are conducive for free trade and resource transfers. Higher scores in trade freedom, investment freedom and freedom from corruptions also show more developed and conducive policy environment. In the same reasoning higher scores in the composite index of economic freedom which takes information from trade freedom, investment freedom and freedom from corruption and others also encourage flow of FDI in to the host country.\nOriginality/value: This is the first paper which combines the globalisation index, economic freedom index and distance along with some major macroeconomic variables.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The impact of servitization on firm performance: a meta-analysis
|
[
"Meta-analysis",
"Servitization"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Over the recent decades, servitization has received increasing attention from both practitioners and scholars, and evolved from a niche topic into a broad cross-disciplinary research area (Wise and Baumgartner, 1999; Oliva and Kallenberg, 2003; Baines et al., 2011). Since the term \"servitization\" was first coined by Vandermerwe and Rada (1988) to delineate the process of creating value by adding services to products, there have been growing studies in this field. Many manufacturing enterprises regard servitization as an important route to acquire growth, profitability, and economic stability (Spohrer and Maglio, 2008; Bandinelli and Gamberi, 2011). Neely (2008) reports that globally over a third of manufacturing firms have servitized. Increasingly, firms recognize and utilize servitization as a viable means of creating value and making profits. For example, the core business of IBM has gradually shifted to provide solutions for customers and Rolls-Royce's annual report in 2015 revealed that more than half of its total revenues were generated from maintenance on its engine products.\n2. Literature review and research framework: Prior literature reviews have summarized many characteristics, drivers, factors, and future research directions of servitization based on narrative methods (Baines, Lightfoot, Benedettini and Kay, 2009; Lightfoot et al., 2013; Luoto et al., 2017). Specifically, Baines, Lightfoot, Benedettini and Kay (2009) provide a clinical review of servitization literature, which consists of definition, origin, features, and drivers of servitization, while Lightfoot et al. (2013) perform a systematic review of the literature associated with the servitization of manufacturing firms and develop a descriptive and thematic awareness of servitization theory. In addition, Luoto et al. (2017) conduct a systematic analysis of the paradigmatic assumptions of servitization research and propose alternative directions for servitization research to challenge these paradigmatic dominances. In the extant literature, servitization is recognized as a multidimensional construct and has been defined from different perspectives (summarized in Table I).\n3. Research method: 3.1 Meta-analytic procedures\n4. Results: 4.1 The performance effect of servitization\n5. Discussion: 5.1 Theoretical contributions\n6. Conclusion: A meta-analytic approach is adopted to examine the empirical studies reported in 41 peer-reviewed journal articles. We tested the servitization-performance relationship and the impact of operationalization of constructs (servitization and performance) and control variables (industry and economic region) on the relationship. The results support our hypotheses.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Servitization has been recognized as an effective means for manufacturers to achieve superior performance. However, the servitization-performance relationship is controversial since prior empirical studies have provided inconsistent and even contradictory results. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to provide a quantitative review on the servitization-performance relationship based on research findings reported in the extant literature.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Studies from 41 peer-reviewed journal articles were sampled and analyzed. A meta-analytic approach was adopted to conduct a quantitative review on the relationship between servitization and firm performance.\nFindings: The results confirm a positive servitization-performance relationship. In addition, the results reveal that the observed servitization-performance relationship is influenced by the operationalization of constructs (servitization and performance) and control variables (industry and region).\nOriginality/value: As the first meta-analysis on the servitization-performance relationship, this study contributes to the servitization literature and provides future research directions.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
An integrated approach for prioritized process improvement
|
[
"Quality improvement",
"Patient satisfaction",
"Process improvement",
"Pareto chart",
"Performance metrics",
"Quality function deployment chart"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: American healthcare crashes the equivalent of a Boeing 747 each day; i.e., about 300 people die unnecessarily from medical errors (Institute of Medicine, 1999). According to Yang (2005), even staff in the best performing hospitals incur 10,000-50,000 defects per million opportunities. Increasing costs, coupled with absent commensurate quality improvement, is the primary causative factor for poor patient satisfaction. Kennedy et al. (2011) state that value is created for patients and payers when the best clinical outcomes and service are provided at the lowest cost and in the safest environment.\nHealthcare quality improvement initiatives: The healthcare continuous improvement philosophy is not new and has been used in different contexts for improving healthcare and reducing costs. Friesner et al. (2009) is a useful reference for improving patient satisfaction via a continuous improvement approach. A human factor and reliability approach involving risk identification, analysis, treatment response and monitoring for clinical risk management is another interesting continuous improvement application (Verbano and Turra, 2010), which could be used to improve health outcomes. Ovretveit et al. (2008) present a method for improving care-quality while simultaneously reducing costs and increasing long-term cost savings by providing the first comprehensive nationwide data on evidence-based practices and computer systems for managing chronic illness in primary care. The FASTHUG mnemonic (Feeding, Analgesia, Sedation, Thromboembolism prophylaxis, Head-of-bed elevation, stress Ulcer prevention and Glucose control), advocated by Vincent (2004) for improving bedside rounds, is a good example and a simple mnemonic-based check sheet, which goes a long way in assuring that relevant measures are assessed at the appropriate frequency. Atrius Health staff noted that it was taking MRI technicians and nurses ten minutes to turn over exam rooms between patients. After adjustment, such as removing cabinet doors so that technicians could get supplies more easily, it now takes five minutes, which resulted in processing two MRI patients per day, or 700 scans per year. Atrius Health managers recorded $3.5 million single-year savings from this change (Johnson, 2011). Some literature on QFD application specific to certain healthcare processes is also available. Chang and Cheng (2003) used QFD for discharge planning to search for a patient's real needs. Omachonu and Barach (2005) used a limited QFD application to redesign a managed care organization's member handbook. Benitez et al. (2007) applied QFD to design a standard medication order process for hospital staff.\nAn integrated approach for improving healthcare delivery processes: Our model assists practitioners to continuously improve processes while considering patient expectations and related internal measures. Before embarking on quality improvement initiatives, it is important that hospital administrators are supportive; otherwise, the initiatives are doomed. The root cause taxonomy for achieving safe patient healthcare (Dew, 2002) serves as a starting point for hospital administrators unwilling to champion quality initiatives. In the same context, Dean et al. (2004) explore primary healthcare members' perceptions and attitudes to quality improvement initiatives to identify potential obstacles to their adoption and implementation. The PDCA cycle, used to improve patient satisfaction and health outcomes, is illustrated in Figure 2.\nConclusions: Our research presents a holistic model that incorporates patient expectations and hospital performance metrics for improving patient satisfaction, safety and reducing medical errors - important outcomes for providers seeking continuous improvement. To realize these gains, we introduce a modified QFD chart to allow visual differentiation and a weighting scheme to differentiate hospital performance metrics, identify and incorporate critical, major and minor healthcare processes into continuous improvement. Additionally, the stacked Pareto chart provides an effective way to identify important contributory factor sat different levels, which helps improve hospital related performance metrics identified in the modified QFD chart. The modified QFD and stacked Pareto chart identifies key performance metrics by simultaneously considering customer and staff perspectives. The combined framework effectively identifies chief contributory factor(s) at different levels. The modified QFD chart is illustrated using healthcare examples. However, the proposed assessment tool's generality means it can be used in manufacturing and service sectors. The proposed approach permits healthcare practitioners to address changing patient expectations and the healthcare market on an ongoing basis. With success in competitive healthcare markets partially determined by effectively managing time and money, explicitly modeling these constraints, we believe, makes the model more realistic. Real-world application of the proposed quality improvement tools are being sought to fully explore the hypothesized benefits for continuously improving relevant manufacturing or service processes.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated framework to simultaneously identify and improve healthcare processes that are important from the healthcare provider's and patient's perspectives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A modified quality function deployment (QFD) chart is introduced to the field of healthcare quality assurance. A healthcare service example is used to demonstrate the utility of the proposed chart.\nFindings: The proposed framework is versatile and can be used in a wide variety of healthcare quality improvement contexts, wherein, two different perspectives are needed to be considered for identifying and improving critical healthcare processes.\nPractical implications: The modified QFD chart used in conjunction with the stacked Pareto chart will facilitate the identification of key performance metrics from the patient's and the hospital's perspectives. Subsequently, the chief contributory factors at different levels are identified in a very efficient manner.\nOriginality/value: Healthcare quality improvement professionals will be able to use the proposed modified QFD chart in association with stacked Pareto chart for effective quality assurance.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Use of AHP in decision-making for machine tool configurations
|
[
"Analytical hierarchy process",
"Decision making",
"Special purpose machines"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Decision making is an important step in many engineering applications and activities. More specifically, this process became very important in selection of machine tools for manufacturing companies (Ayag and Ozdemir, 2006). These companies need to make decisions which can reduce the delivery time to customers, achieve high quality of products, and reduce costs (Cimren et al., 2006; Carnero, 2014; Maletic et al., 2014). We believe this is an important issue in selection of machine tool configurations which is considered as multiple criteria decision-making problem. This is because selecting the suitable configuration depends on different criteria from design and manufacturing perspectives. Moreover, functionality of the machine tool is also important in selecting machine configurations, especially for the type of machine tool that can be reconfigured, which is still under investigation and development (Moon, 2006). Therefore, we developed a decision-making model based on analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to facilitate the selection of machine configuration for special purpose machines (SPMs) from available alternatives. The necessary criteria for this type of machine tool were determined and explained in Section 3 (methodology and implementation). The results presented and discussed in Section 4 reveal how different scenarios were achieved by changing the relative importance of the elements in the model. Background and literature review were given in Section 2 about SPMs and why the AHP method was selected in this work.\n2. Background and literature review: 2.1 SPMs principles\n3. Implementation and methodology: Two basic SPM configurations were determined as shown in Figure 4. These configurations are based on the following factors; how the workpiece is held during the machining operations, the size of the workpiece, and the types of machining operations. From these factors, criteria and sub-criteria were identified. Three main criteria were determined as; workpiece size (C1), workpiece transfer (C2), and operation type (C3). For workpiece size, the sub-criteria were the size range of the workpiece that can be machined by the standard design of SPMs (S1), and a special size of the part that needs special considerations in the SPM design (S2). For workpiece transfer, three sub-criteria were determined: self-centring clamping (SPB), double self-centring clamping (DSC), and special transfer (ST). SPB is used when one workpiece is machined in each station at one time, while in DSC, two workpieces are machined in each station at the same time as shown in Figure 5. The sub-criterion ST is applied when special design and size of the workpiece are considered out of the standard SPM design. For operation type, drilling and tapping were considered as sub-criteria in this work and referred as D and T, respectively.\n4. Results and discussion: Table X shows the results of the multiplication process using Equation (5), and the final weights of the alternatives.\n5. Conclusion and future work: In this paper, a model of the AHP method was developed to determine the appropriate configuration for SPMs. The criteria and sub-criteria were to build the hierarchy for the decision process. The model was applied to a selected workpiece and tested for other types of workpieces, and then programmed using Excel and Visual Basic. The developed model will assist the decision makers in the field of manufacturing systems and machine tool design to achieve the appropriate decision effectively and reduce the time for the design process of SPMs or other types of machine tools that have similar principles. In future research, this model will be integrated with an expert system and SolidWorks to build a complete system for designing SPMs.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a model of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multiple criteria decision-making method, to assist selecting suitable machine configurations for special purpose machines (SPMs) from available alternatives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The necessary criteria and sub-criteria were identified and used in the developed model. The assessment process was carried out by constructing the hierarchy of four levels. Then, pairwise comparison matrices were created for each level to compute the weights for the alternatives. The model was programmed and implemented by software for practical use.\nFindings: Different scenarios were obtained from the assessment process of the developed AHP model showing the influence of changing the relevant importance of the elements in the hierarchy on the selection of SPMs configurations. Selection of the suitable scenario was also affected by some factors of manufacturing preferences and industry recommendations such as cost and production rate.\nOriginality/value: This is a new application of AHP method which assists decision makers to select suitable configurations for SPMs, and reduce the time required for designing SPMs.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Testing the direct and indirect relationship between organizational justice and work outcomes in a non-Western context of the UAE
|
[
"Organizational politics",
"Job satisfaction",
"Behaviour",
"Legal principles",
"United Arab Emirates"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Organizational justice dimensions have been used extensively as explanatory variables in organizational research (e.g. Alexander and Ruderman, 1987; Deutsch, 1975; Folger and Konovsky, 1989; Greenberg, 1990; Lam et al., 2002; Leventhal, 1976; Lind and Tyler, 1988; McFarlin and Sweeney, 1992; Sweeney and McFarlin, 1993). Cremer (2005, p. 4) described organizational justice as \"a dominating theme in organizational life\". Organizational justice refers to staff perceptions of fairness of treatment received from an organization and their behavioral reaction to such perceptions (James, 1993). A two-dimensional conceptualization of justice has been widely used in the literature (Folger and Konovsky, 1989). Distributive justice is defined as the perceived fairness of the outcomes employees receive, while procedural justice describes the perceived fairness of the means used to determine those outcomes (Folger and Konovsky, 1989).Findings in Western literature showed that both distributive and procedural justice have been found to be consistently related to employee work attitudes and behaviors (e.g. Alexander and Ruderman, 1987; Folger and Konovsky, 1989; Greenberg, 1990; Lam et al., 2002; Lind and Tyler, 1988; McFarlin and Sweeney, 1992; Sweeney and McFarlin, 1993). A few studies have examined the relationship between organizational justice and work outcomes in a non-Western culture (e.g. Lam et al., 2002; Leung et al., 1996; Pillai et al., 1999; Suliman, 2007; Yoon, 1996). Findings in non-Western literature cautioned against generalizing American-based justice theories of organizational justice to different cultures. Lam et al. (2002, p. 2) argued that: \"studies of the effects of distributive and procedural justice do not provide consistent and mutually supportive conclusions as to generalizability across cultures\". Therefore, the justice-work outcomes relationship needs to be further examined in the non-Western context in general and in the Middle East in particular.Although many studies related distributive and procedural justice perceptions to job satisfaction and organizational commitment (e.g. Cohen-Charash and Spector, 2001; Colquitt et al., 2001; Loi et al., 2006), only few studies have examined their influences on turnover intention (e.g. Dailey and Kirk, 1992; Loi et al., 2006). Hence, the underlying processes through which organizational justice leads to employees' turnover remain largely unknown. Additionally, the role of some variables as mediators in influencing the relationship between justice and work outcomes has not been addressed adequately, particularly in the non-Western context.Based on the above, the present study extends earlier research in several ways. First, the study attempts to address the generalizability of a Western theoretical framework in a non-Western context. Second, the study attempts to further understand the nature of the relationship between justice and work outcomes by testing the mediating role of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Third, the study contributes to the turnover literature by examining the direct and indirect relationship between justice and turnover intention. Finally, the study is to examine the role of distributive justice as a mediator for the relationship between procedural justice and work outcomes. The distributive justice mediating effect has been largely neglected in previous studies that considered only direct effects of both distributive and procedural justice on work outcomes.\nTheoretical background and hypotheses: Organizational justice\nMethods: Data and sample\nResults: Measurement characteristics\nDiscussion: The major goal of this study was to examine the extent to which justice perceptions augment positive work outcomes among employees in a non-Western context of the UAE. The study also investigated whether job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and distributive justice mediate the organizational justice-work outcomes relationships. This study advances the literature pertaining to organizational justice by empirically demonstrating the importance of justice for developing positive work outcomes in a non-Western context.The study reaffirms the view of that justice perceptions have functional effects on work outcomes. The findings indicated that organizational members who tend to show positive feelings towards distributive and procedural justice are likely to report higher levels of job satisfaction, higher levels of organizational commitment, and lower levels of turnover intention.Consistent with many Western studies (e.g. Alexander and Ruderman, 1987; Folger and Konovsky, 1989; Greenberg, 1990; Lind and Tyler, 1988; McFarlin and Sweeney, 1992; Sweeney and McFarlin, 1993), the study revealed that procedural justice was more strongly related to organizational commitment than distributive justice. Contrary to the Western literature (e.g. Alexander and Ruderman, 1987; Folger and Konovsky, 1989; Greenberg, 1990; McFarlin and Sweeney, 1992; Sweeney and McFarlin, 1993) reported that distributive justice is more strongly related to personal outcomes (e.g. job satisfaction), the current study found that procedural justice was more strongly related to job satisfaction than distributive justice. Similar results were reported in some non-Western studies (e.g. Leung et al., 1996; Yoon, 1996). This finding indicates the importance of procedural justice in predicting job satisfaction in a non-Western culture of the UAE.Despite the considerable research on employees' turnover, the influence of employees' justice perceptions has not been adequately examined in existing turnover models. The present study attempted to address this issue by evaluating the effects of both distributive and procedural justice perceptions on employees' intention to leave in the UAE. Consistent with many Western studies (e.g. Cohen-Charash and Spector, 2001; Dailey and Kirk, 1992; Fileds et al., 2000; Hendrix et al., 1998; Hom et al., 1984; Loi et al., 2006), the findings largely support the study hypotheses that both procedural and distributive justice has significant functional impacts on intention to leave. Similar to the results reported by Alexander and Ruderman (1987), the study found that quitting intent exhibited a much stronger relationship with distributive justice that procedural justice. This finding support the view that employees chose to quit their job in response to low distributive justice in order to end inequity.Additionally, the findings that job satisfaction, organizational commitment and distributive justice mediate some of the relationships between organizational justice and work outcomes are noteworthy. The study showed that job satisfaction partially mediate the influence of both distributive and procedural justice on organizational commitment and turnover intention. The study revealed that employees who perceive both distributive and procedural justice positively are more likely to enjoy higher levels of job satisfaction, which in turn lead to higher levels of organizational commitment and lower levels of turnover intention. The study also revealed that organizational commitment partially mediates the distributive justice-turnover intention relationship but fully mediated the relationship between procedural justice and turnover intention. Hence, UAE employees who tend to show positive feelings towards procedural justice are more likely to report higher levels of organizational commitment and consequently more willing to remain in the organization.Moreover, the study is among the first studies to study the mediating role of distributive justice in the relationship of procedural justice with work outcomes. The study revealed that distributive justice partially mediated the influence of procedural justice on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention. These findings mean that positive perceptions of procedural justice will help employees to perceive distributive justice positively which in turn will have a functional influence on the three work outcomes.As with any research, this study has a number of limitations. First, our research design was cross-sectional, which prevents making inferences of causality among variables. Future research using a longitudinal design could address this limitation. Second, because self-report method was used, it is possible that the explained variances are increased because of common method variance. Third, the study investigated turnover intention but not the actual turnover of employees. Fourth, the study used the global approach over the dimensions approach to measure job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Although such an approach has been used in the literature, the dimensions approach would be preferable. Last, the study focused on distributive and procedural justice and did not explore the effects of interactional and informational justice.These limitations are balanced by certain strengths of the study. First, the study was the first study in the UAE and the Middle East to examine the relationship between both distributive and procedural justice and turnover intention. This enhances our understanding of the justice effects on turnover intention across the region. Second, the study is among the first studies to test whether distributive justice mediates the influence of procedural justice on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention. This helps in understanding how distributive justice would influence the nature of the relationship between procedural justice and work outcomes.There are several areas for possible future research. The results of this study suggest future replications and extensions in different parts of the region to circumscribe the generalizablity and applicability of findings reported here. These replications will reach more general conclusions about the nature of justice-work outcomes relationships and will help in making cross-cultural comparisons. In addition, future research needs to include the other justice factors (i.e. interactional and informational justice) in examining the relationship between justice and work outcomes. Also, researchers may investigate the reasons behind the partial mediation of satisfaction, organizational commitment, and distributive justice in justice- work outcomes relationship. And to find out if there is any other variables that are likely to have a full mediating effect.\nResearch implications: This study draws managers' attention to the influence of justice on work outcomes. This recognition would presumably enhance managers' ability to develop appropriate strategies to enhance the impact of justice on work outcomes. The study demonstrates that both distributive and procedural justice are important predictors of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention. According to the current study's results, managers in the UAE should give great attention to the means used to determine the amounts of compensations employees receive in order to enhance employees' satisfaction and commitment. Managers also should give great attention to the amounts of compensations employees receive in order to reduce turnover intention.The significant relationship reported between justice and work outcomes also suggests that managers should take appropriate action to ensure provision of sufficient distributive and procedural justice when managing their employees. Managers should communicate effectively with employees in order to affirm their perceptions of justice. This will help in examining organizational justice from employees' point-of-view in order to reduce the perception gap between superiors and subordinates. Moreover, managers should convey clear messages to employees that the organization feels responsible for, and values its employees.Furthermore, the result that job satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between justice, organizational commitment, and turnover intention would be benefit for UAE managers in the sense that they should bear in mind that fair procedures and outcomes lead to improve the level of job satisfaction and in turn enhancing the level of organizational commitment and reducing turnover intention. Similarly, the mediating role of organizational commitment in justice-turnover intention relationship indicates that managers should improve staff perceptions of both distributive and procedural justice in order to improve organizational commitment which will help in reducing turnover intention.In addition, partially mediating role of distributive justice in procedural justice-work outcomes relationship shows that UAE managers should make sure that the procedures used in distributing outcomes are faire in order to enhance employees' perceptions of distributive justice, which in turn lead to high job satisfaction, high organizational commitment and low turnover intention.\nConclusion: This study has explored for the first time in the UAE and the Middle East the role of organizational justice in influencing employees' satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention. Also, the study examined for the first time in the Middle East the mediating role of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and distributive justice in justice-work outcomes relationships. The results uncover that justice has a functional impact on employees' work outcomes. In addition, the study revealed that job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and distributive justice are partially mediating the relationship between justice and work outcomes. The implications of the study outcomes for both managers and researchers are also discussed in the paper.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This study has three objectives: to examine the impact of organizational justice on work outcomes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to test the mediating impact of job satisfaction and organizational commitment on the justice-turnover intention relationship, and to test distributive justice as a mediator of the relationship between procedural justice and work outcomes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Data were collected from 350 employees working in five large organizations operating in Dubai. A structured questionnaire containing standard scales of distributive and procedural justice, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intentions, and some demographic variables was used. After testing the scales' reliability and validity, the proposed linear relationships were tested using a series of separate hierarchical regression analyses. Proposed mediation hypotheses were tested using Baron and Kenny's recommendations.\nFindings: - Consistent with Western studies, the study revealed that procedural justice was more strongly related to organizational commitment than distributive justice. Contrary to Western literature, the study showed that procedural justice was more strongly related to job satisfaction than distributive justice. Moreover, job satisfaction was found to play a partial role in mediating the influence of organizational justice on organizational commitment and turnover intention. Also, organizational commitment was found to fully mediate the relationship between procedural justice and turnover intention. However, it partially mediated the relationship between distributive justice and turnover intentions. Finally, distributive justice was found to mediate some of the relationships between procedural justice and work outcomes.\nPractical implications: - The study has implications for enhancing work outcomes. In general, enhancing organizational justice can result in a higher level of employee outcomes. Also, managers should improve staff job satisfaction and organizational commitment in order to enhance the impact of both distributive and procedural justice on reducing turnover intention. In addition, UAE managers should provide sufficient distributive justice in order to improve the impact of procedural justice on the work outcomes of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention.\nOriginality/value: - The study is considered the first to examine the mediating role of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in the relationship between organizational justice and turnover intention in the Middle East. Also, the study is the first to test the role of distributive justice as a mediator for the procedural justice-work outcomes relationship in a non-Western context.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Consumer buying motives and attitudes towards organic food in two emerging markets: China and Brazil
|
[
"China",
"Brazil",
"Consumer attitudes",
"Values",
"Ecology",
"Cross-cultural studies"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Consumption growth is heralded as the solution to important global problems such as poverty, unemployment and inequality, but it is also dreaded as a cause of environmental degradation (OECD, 2011; Thogersen, 2014). Notably, a large and growing share of climate gases and other critical emissions is directly related to private consumption, and even more are indirectly related (European Environment Agency (EEA), 2012; The World Bank, 2012). Hence, there is an increasing awareness that future growth in consumption must respect planetary boundaries and be \"green\" (OECD, 2011) or sustainable (Commission of the European Communities, 2008; WBCSD, 2008). The success of such a \"green growth\" strategy depends, among other things, on individuals accepting the policy interventions that are deemed necessary as voters and choosing \"green\" products and services as consumers (Dauvergne and Lister, 2012; Kinzig et al., 2013).\nCultural differences in consumer choices: Culture arguably plays a key role for consumer choices (Cleveland and Laroche, 2007; Solomon, 2008; Usunier and Lee, 2009) and has also been ascribed an important role in the context of sustainability (Goodwin et al., 1997; Thogersen, 2010a; Wilhite et al., 2001). In order to properly understand this role, it is important to distinguish between functional and symbolic meaning systems (Merz et al., 2008). Researchers in the consumer culture tradition particularly emphasize the symbolic nature of many consumer choices (Arnould and Thompson, 2005; Sachs, 1983), not least when environmental or other ethical product characteristics are salient (Connolly and Prothero, 2008; Davies et al., 1995; Heffner et al., 2007; Petkus, 1992). A product's specific symbolic meanings, and consequently the consumer's buying motives, are ingrained in the cultural context (Craig and Douglas, 2006; Davies et al., 1995) and, hence, are likely to vary across cultural contexts (Usunier and Lee, 2009). This means that although consumers in different cultures buy an increasing number of globally standardized products, they most likely buy them for different reasons (De Mooij, 2010).\nMotives for buying organic food: With an estimated global turnover of US$64 billion in 2012 and a continued healthy annual growth rate of 6.4 percent during the slow-down of the world economy since 2008 (Sahota, 2014), Organic food is by far the most successful environmentally or ethically \"enhanced\" type of food product worldwide. Several reviews of the research on (predominantly) European and North American consumers' reasons for buying or rejecting organic food products are available (Aertsens et al., 2009; Hughner et al., 2007; Thogersen, 2010a; Torjusen et al., 2004). These reviews found that European and North American consumers' attitudes toward buying organic food are positive to the extent that they believe organic food is healthier, tastes better, and is better for the environment; the most important reasons for not buying organic food are high prices and limited availability.\nHypotheses: The objective of the empirical study is to investigate whether consumer motives for buying organic food differ across cultures and specifically if (and then how) they differ between two prominent emerging economies, China and Brazil, and between these two countries and western Europe. The cultural, legal, and economic contexts of China and Brazil are as different from Europe as could be, and substantially different from one another as well (Singh et al., 2006). For instance, in terms of key institutions, China got a government-authorized definition of organic food, a monitoring system for organic food production and a certified organic label only in 2005 (USDA, 2005) - 15-20 years after most European countries (Lockeretz, 2007). In Brazil, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Supply defined the criteria for organic production in 2003 and an official organic certification label was launched in 2009 (Brazilian System for Evaluating the Organic Conformity - SisOrg). In terms of GDP per capita, Brazil (US$12,594) and even more so China (US$5,445) lag far behind western Europe (e.g. Germany: US$44,021)[1]. This is true even in the most economically advanced metropolitan areas (McEwen et al., 2006; Polsa et al., 2005). In terms of Hofstede's (1980) cultural dimensions, western Europe is individualistic and short-term oriented whereas China is collectivistic and high in long-term orientation and Brazil score in between western Europe and China on both individualism and long-term orientation. China and western Europe are also found at opposite poles of Schwartz's (2006) \"Harmony-Mastery\" and \"Hierarchy-Egalitarianism\" cultural value dimensions with Brazil again occupying an intermediate position. These fundamental differences in both structural conditions and cultural values have been found to influence consumer acceptance of new products (Yeniyurt and Townsend, 2003). However, they have not barred organic food from entering the markets of Brazil and China, mostly through upscale supermarkets in big cities (Organic Monitor, 2010). Hence, although still in its infancy, there seems to be a market in Brazil and China for this type of food.\nMethod: Since organic food products are much less common in China and Brazil than in western Europe and North America and since the organic market is still in its infancy (Organic Monitor, 2010), a random sampling approach is not suitable for getting into contact with consumers buying organic food, or at least knowing what it is. Hence, instead mall-intercept type surveys were collected, in 2009, outside urban retailers in the two countries selling organic food. The questionnaire was originally developed in English and translated into the two national languages (and back-translated to check the validity of the translation). In both countries, potential participants were intercepted as they left the supermarket or farmers' market after grocery shopping.\nResults: Participants vs non-participants\nDiscussion: This study reveals mostly similarities, but also some differences in buying motives regarding an important type of \"green\" products, organic food, across two very different emerging markets. The similarities are perhaps most striking. We find that consumer attitudes toward buying organic food in China and Brazil are rooted in basically the same key beliefs about consequences, and basically the same as in Europe. Hence, the motives behind buying organic food seem to be practically identical across these very different cultural contexts. Furthermore, the buying motives are derived from the specific, defining characteristics of organic food. In addition, in both countries, the basic motivation behind buying organic food seems to be rooted in overlapping value priorities related to organic food being perceived as beneficial to \"the common good,\" just as in Europe (Thogersen, 2011). Believing that organic vegetables are pesticide-free is a significant predictor in China, but only marginally significant in Brazil. It seems obvious to relate the higher salience of this issue in China to the many extensively publicized food scandals in recent years, illustrating that local or national conditions do indeed play a role for which behavioral beliefs are salient in different countries.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate if consumer buying motives regarding organic food in emerging economies China and Brazil are culture bound or determined by key characteristics of the product.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A survey was collected in Guangzhou, China, and Porto Alegre, Brazil. Data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling, checking for measurement invariance between samples.\nFindings: The reasons why Brazilian and Chinese consumers buy organic food are strikingly similar to what is found in Europe and North America. Consumers' attitude toward buying organic food is strongly linked to beliefs about its healthiness, taste and environmental friendliness. Also, consumer attitudes toward buying organic food are positively related to what Schwartz's \"Universalism\" values in all studied cultures.\nResearch limitations/implications: Correlational (survey) data do not allow conclusions about causality and conclusions are limited by the covered countries and products.\nPractical implications: Key consumer value propositions with respect to organic food seem cross-culturally valid and universally accepted by a segment of customers that share these values. Hence, organic food can be marketed globally based on a universal set of key value propositions. The same could be true for other global products sharing similar types of certifiable value propositions.\nSocial implications: New insights of value for the cross-cultural marketing of \"green\" and ethical consumer products.\nOriginality/value: Fills a gap in research regarding the extent to which consumer purchase motives are culture bound or determined by the characteristics of the product.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A comprehensive approach to pistachio oil production
|
[
"Quality",
"Consumer preference",
"Extraction",
"Pistachio oil",
"Production costs"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is a native tree of the Middle East and Central Asia (Whitehouse, 1957) that has been successfully introduced in the Mediterranean basin and the USA. Its tolerance to dry and hot climates makes its cultivation possible in arid areas of Spain where its cultivation has intensified in the last years. The global production of pistachio has been increasing each year, reaching 916.921 t in 2013 (FAO, 2015), as consumption steadily rises due to it being considered a health-promoting nut within the Mediterranean diet.\n2. Materials and methods: 2.1 Raw material\n3. Results and discussion: 3.1 Oil yield, processing time and extraction efficiency\n4. Conclusion: A comparative evaluation of the costs and quality of pistachio oil obtained by means of two production lines, with two different presses, has been described. Through previous roasting in the hydraulic press extraction process the differences between the oils obtained with the two processes are minimized as temperature effect is included. Both production lines have proven to be useful to obtain high-quality pistachio oil with minor differences with regard to its physicochemical quality. Larger differences have been identified in their sensory properties, with more favourable valuations obtained for oil extracted using the hydraulic press.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The high content of unsaturated fatty acids and the elevated presence of bioactive compounds make pistachio oil a healthy product with great commercial potential. One of the primary constraints for its production is the lack of information regarding oil extraction from an industrial perspective. The purpose of this paper is to ensure the success of pistachio oil production at a commercial scale, attention should be paid to the effect of the main extraction procedures on the characteristics of oil, the consumer acceptance of these oils and their production cost.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Comparison and evaluation of the physicochemical and sensory characteristics and production cost of oil extracted using two different production lines (hydraulic press and screw press) are considered here.\nFindings: Slight differences were found in the physicochemical analysis, but significant differences were identified in the sensory analysis. Consumer judges preferred the oil extracted with the hydraulic press. According to production costs, the break-even value that makes screw press extraction sustainable is EUR70.4 per litre, while for the hydraulic press it is EUR91.0 per litre, mainly due to a lower extraction yield and the longer extraction time required. As production costs of both methods are high, pistachio oil quality should prevail, making the use of the hydraulic press more advisable.\nOriginality/value: Although significant research has been conducted to analyse pistachio oil composition and nutritional value, little attention has been paid to differences that appear regarding consumer preferences and production costs depending on the production method used. This paper provides a comprehensive approach to high-quality pistachio oil production from an industrial perspective.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Leaders can facilitate creativity: the moderating roles of leader dialectical thinking and LMX on employee creative self-efficacy and creativity
|
[
"Creativity",
"Creative self-efficacy",
"Dialectical thinking",
"LMX"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: As the rate of technological advancement and innovation has continued to accelerate in recent years, organizations are increasingly coming to understand that creativity is a necessary condition for organizational success. Consequently, promoting employee creativity has been called a leader's most important goal in the 21st century (Dess and Picken, 2001). One well-established stream of research in this domain centers on creative self-efficacy, an individual difference reflecting one's confidence that they are capable of yielding creative outcomes (Tierney and Farmer, 2002). Creative self-efficacy drives higher level of employee creativity because employee with such trait is more likely to be motivated and willing to engage in creative behavior (Tierney and Farmer, 2011).However, the process of generating and implementing new ideas is not as simple and straightforward and merely applying effort and time (Diliello et al., 2011; Hasse et al., 2018). Rather, several reviews and empirical studies have suggested that creative self-efficacy's effect on employee creativity may be contingent on particular circumstances, and these studies have called for research to identify such contingencies (e.g. Hasse et al., 2018; Richter et al., 2012). The logic of this conclusion aligns closely with the trait activation theory perspective (Tett and Burnett, 2003) for understanding personality in the workplace. In this case, the context may help to trigger one's expression of the trait-activated behavior.In this paper, we investigate the role of leadership in facilitating an optimal context for the creative process. Leaders may directly influence employee motivations and creativity (e.g. Bai et al., 2015) as well as foster a workplace climate that acts as a contextual factor for individuals (e.g. Diliello et al., 2011). Specifically, this study examines leadership as a contextual variable from dual cognitive and relational perspectives to activate employee creative self-efficacy: leader cognitive style (i.e. leader's dialectical thinking) as team context and leader-follower relationship quality (i.e. leader-member exchange) as supervisor-employee dyad context.Dialectical thinking involves accepting that seemingly contradictory information can coexist and that what is correct or appropriate for solving problems is constantly evolving (see Bai et al., 2015). Leader-member Exchange (LMX) refers to the quality of the social relationship between an employee and his/her supervisor (Dienesch and Liden, 1986). The reason we selected leader's dialectical thinking and LMX is bi-fold. First, they can both aid employees in fostering a supportive climate conducive for creativity (Dienesch and Liden, 1986). Second, currently most organizations are team oriented owing to the prevalence of team work. It is well-known that when talents leave an organization, they usually do not quit their companies, they quit their bosses. Hence, we chose leader's dialectical thinking and LMX in our study as we believe taken together they represent both the work and social contexts which are embedded within employees.Our paper makes two contributions. First, we examine the question of \"when creative self-efficacy better facilitates employee creativity\" (Chen and Zhang, 2019, p. 595). Bandura (1991) indicated that people are active agents who will impact and be impacted by the environment. Self-efficacy may not unvaryingly lead to higher creativity at every point in time. Much depends on the context because studies have shown that self-efficacy may adversely influence employee performance and motivation (Vancouver and Kendall, 2006). A better understanding of the boundary conditions will help us optimize an organization's human capital. However, thus far, few studies have examined this issue (see Diliello et al., 2011 and Richter et al., 2012 for exceptions). We expand this line of research by including another important contextual variable--leadership. Leadership often appears to be an antecedent of creativity, while leadership as context may activate an employee's creative self-efficacy as well to enhance his/her creativity.Second, we incorporate both cognitive (i.e. leader's dialectical thinking) and relational (i.e. LMX) perspectives by investigating the moderating roles of leadership on the strength of the relationship between creativity self-efficacy and employee creativity. Usually leaders influence teams and individuals through two meta-categorical ways: task/cognitive-oriented means and relations-oriented means (Yukl, 2012). In terms of task-oriented behaviors, leaders strive to encourage employees to solve task problems. Leaders with a dialectical mindset will be more likely to welcome different ideas and be open to seemingly contradictory solutions (Bai et al., 2015), which provides a favorable and supportive context for employees with high creative self-efficacy. LMX is essential to the relations-oriented behaviors. Employees with high-quality LMX relationships receive more support and trust from their supervisors and thus tend to feel more secure when they express their high creative-efficacy personalities (Dienesch and Liden, 1986). Both leadership variables could facilitate this trait-creativity process. As a result, it is of critical importance to study both of these two variables as moderators.Creative self-efficacy and employee creativity\nMethod: Sample and procedure\nResults: Analyses of multilevel measurement model\nDiscussion: Employee creativity is an important determinant of success for all organizations, but particularly for those involved in developing innovative ideas and products. Our study examines when employee creative self-efficacy would affect creativity. Specifically, employees will be more likely to unleash their creativity when they observe that the work environment is one which fosters their creativity-related personality. Our study found that having an open-minded leader, rather than having a personal relationship with that leader, will help to provide such a motivating environment. In other words, providing an inclusive and supportive context for different cognitive expressions will bolster high creative self-efficacy employee to achieve higher creativity.Recent meta-analytic evidence suggests that managers play a crucial role in the creative activities of their followers (Carnevale et al., 2017). In particular, the support of leaders for generating novel ideas both in terms of providing resources and time, but also psychological support has been noted as key antecedents of creative activity (Mumford et al., 2002). Researchers have argued that the processes by which leaders impact employee activity is under-researched (Atwater and Carmeli, 2009) and inherently complex as the role of the leader in the creative process should act in a flexible, dynamic, and non-linear fashion (Rosing et al., 2011). We studied the moderating role of leadership from dual perspectives (cognitive and relational) with the aim to draw a full picture of person-situation interaction. To our knowledge, this is among the very first studies that have utilized leadership as a moderator between the link of creative self-efficacy and employee creativity. Our study demonstrated that leader dialectical thinking can act as an important boundary condition on understanding the creative self-efficacy-creativity link such that employees' creative self-efficacy enhances creativity only when they have high dialectical thinking leaders. These findings expand our understanding of the processes that drive creative action. They also provide further evidence of the importance of studying the interplay between person and situation (Rauthmann et al., 2016). Moreover, they address calls within the leadership literature for investigations of how follower personality can interact with leader behaviors (Antonakis et al., 2012).Additionally, our study contributed to the call for \"when\" to unleash the employee potential for creativity. We were only able to locate three studies investigating the moderators between employee creative self-efficacy and employee creativity which identified both team-level (informational resources, Richter et al., 2012; work-group support, Diliello et al., 2011) and individual-level (regulatory focus, Chen and Zhang, 2019) factors as being important. Our study added to this growing body of research by demonstrating that having a leader with higher dialectical thinking helps tremendously in utilizing employee creative potential. This not only helps to expand what is known with regards to the relationship between creative self-efficacy and creative outcomes, but it adds to the accumulating literature documenting interactions between leader behaviors and follower personality as antecedents of work outcomes (Schyns, 2016). It also offers empirical evidence to support the tenets of the trait activation model of personality (Tett and Burnett, 2003) in that situational factors \"triggered\" specific behavioral responses of individuals depending on their personality characteristics.Although our study failed to find support for the moderating role of LMX for the creative self-efficacy-creativity relationship, the present study provides additional support for the positive effects of LMX in the creative process. While we can only speculate as to the reasons why our proposed model did not work, it is possible that LMX is simply too broad to act as an effective trigger condition for creative self-efficacy. That is, high LMX relationships can be developed in many ways (e.g. on the basis of shared values) and are not necessarily reflective of support for creative activities.Practically, our study reinforced the indispensable role of leadership in bridging the \"creativity gap\" between creative potential and creative performance. It has been established that supervisors play an influential role in shaping and refining employee efficacy (Eden, 1992). To that end, companies can provide training to supervisors to help elevate employees' creative self-efficacy which, in turn, would be expected to result in higher levels of creativity. Like other cognitive processes, dialectical thinking can be trained in both leaders and followers (Hanna et al., 1996). It is possible that doing so may make them more receptive to creative ideas and more likely to facilitate creative action in others. Companies concerned with creative activities could also consider how to integrate dialectical thinking into their internal communications and corporate culture. At the very least, it seems dialectical mindset as a selection criterion may be appropriate when choosing managers or leaders who will be responsible for teams tasked with creative goals.The present study also reinforces the value of both selecting for and developing creative self-efficacy in workers. Further, it reinforces the findings of previous research documenting the value of managers developing strong relationships with followers. Although both of these effects have been documented in prior research, there have been a number of studies suggesting possible moderating factors. To this end, the present study is suggestive that both creative self-efficacy and LMX are robust contributors of creative outcomes and human resource managers should promote the development of both.Limitations and future research\nConclusions: The present study examined potential boundary conditions surrounding the relationship between employee creative self-efficacy and creativity. We found evidence to suggest that when creative self-efficacy employees meet dialectical thinking leaders, they would achieve higher levels of creativity. While, we did not find evidence to suggest that good relationship with leaders magnified the effects of creative self-efficacy. These findings suggest that managers need to focus on cognitive, as opposed to relational, messages in order to promote creativity in their teams.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Research has shown that creative self-efficacy is an important antecedent of workplace creativity, but recent research indicates that this relationship may be moderated by contextual factors. The current study investigates whether leader dialectical thinking and leader member exchange moderate the relationship between employee creative self-efficacy and employee creativity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A survey sample of 222 employees in 43 teams from Chinese high-tech companies was collected and HLM was used to test our research model.\nFindings: The positive association between employee creative self-efficacy and employee creativity was strengthened when a leader displayed a dialectical thinking style. Additional analyses failed to find support for the moderating role of leader-member exchange (LMX).\nResearch limitations/implications: These findings establish leadership cognitive style as a potential boundary condition of the relationship between creative self-efficacy and employee creativity.\nPractical implications: Companies can make an active effort in recruiting and training leaders who have a dialectical mindset as they can play significant roles in facilitating employee creativity.\nSocial implications: Technological advancement and innovation is important for social welfare. This paper helps to improve the efficiency of creativity processes and finally benefits the whole society.\nOriginality/value: This is the first introduction of the leader's dialectical thinking as a moderator of the relationship between creative self-efficacy and creativity.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Problem-based learning in the Irish SME workplace
|
[
"Informal learning",
"Small- and medium-sized enterprises",
"Workplace learning",
"Problem-based learning",
"PBL",
"SME",
"Formal learning"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) learning research is often focused on a debate between formal versus informal learning. There is a direct correlation between formal learning and increased competitiveness (Ashton and Felstead, 1995; Conti, 2004). Formal learning involves \"acquisitional and individual learning, vertical or propositional knowledge within educational institutions\" (Malcolm et al., 2003). Formal learning a \"planned\" method of training, and the learning process is carefully constructed. It traditionally consists of a tutor teaching a set curriculum in a classroom. SMEs often feel that formal courses are not relevant to their highly contextualised needs, and there is a disconnect between what is learnt in the formal classroom and its application in the workplace (European Commission, 2003; Byrne et al., 2002; Westhead and Storey, 1997). SMEs need a method of learning that allows them to define their own curricula and facilitates immediate application of learning.\nResearch methods and data collection: This research proposes to both address these identified gap and practical concerns, by striving to achieve two key objectives, namely:\nStep 1. Reconnaissance/fact finding: Methodology\nStep 2. Planning: Adapting problem-based learning to satisfy Irish small- and medium-sized enterprise workplace learning needs: A brief overview of problem-based learning\nSteps 3 and 4. Executing and evaluating the workplace problem-based learning model: Between 25 April 2015 and the 31 July 2016, a standalone module entitled PBL for business professionals was delivered to 42 work-based learners in Europe. The module was accredited by the University of Limerick, and the students received six ECTS for undertaking the programme. Learners followed the wPBL process outlined in the previous section and were facilitated by a tutor from the University of Limerick. The learners formed cross-geographical PBL groups and were supported by an the ICT platform which provided them with the virtual space to work together on workplace problems. Furthermore, learners were guided through each of the wPBL process using online learning content. Learners were asked to complete a pre- and post-questionnaire confidence level at particular tasks, such as learning, gathering information and solving problems. Interviews were conducted with learners either face to face or over the phone, and the students were asked questions regarding their learning experience, satisfaction with the programme and challenges. A content analysis was conducted on the reflective learning entries of 19 students. Thematic coding was used for the analysis; the main themes were learner experience, skills acquired, challenges and benefits of the programme (O'Brien et al., 2019).\nConclusions and recommendations for more effective problem-based learning planning and delivery in the small- and medium-sized enterprise workplace: PBL provides a means to allow SMEs to structure informal learning around organisational needs. It can be conducted formally in workplace settings and informally, learning by doing in a manner that can be designed to satisfy the learning requirements of SMEs. PBL can be designed, delivered and supported in fashion that can particularly address those hard-to-inculcate skills as identified by SMEs, namely, improved teamwork, communication, problem-solving and higher-level critical thinking.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to explore how in Irish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), problem-based learning (PBL) could possibly provide a paradigm which addresses two key research objectives: What are the learning needs and challenges faced by Irish SMEs? and How could PBL satisfy these needs through integrating formal and informal learning?\nDesign/methodology/approach: An action research methodology was adopted using Lewin's (1994) action research cycle. In the reconnaissance stage, surveys and focus groups were conducted with a purposive research sample of Irish SMEs regarding their learning needs and challenges. Based on these results, a plan was formulated to adapt the traditional PBL model into a workplace PBL model (wPBL). Lastly, the wPBL model was implemented and evaluated in 42 SMEs.\nFindings: The research identified several specific learning needs for SMEs, namely, learning that is cost-effective, tailored to the company and its challenges, immediately applied, demonstrates a tangible outcome (is measurable), organically fostering a learning culture, addresses knowledge gaps, continuous, develops communication, team work, problem-solving and technical skills. The traditional PBL model was adapted into a wPBL model to meet the above learning needs of SMEs. It was found that the wPBL model had the potential to address long-standing company problems (making it cost-effective), facilitate continuous learning and develop horizontal and transversal skills such as problem-solving and communication.\nOriginality/value: Much of the learning that takes place in SMEs is incidental or informal, and often does not contribute to the long-term sustainability of the organisation. This paper aims to propose a practical framework using wPBL to structure incidental and informal learning in SMEs so that it provides an immediate benefit to the company. To date, there has been little research into the application of PBL outside higher education, and the paper proposes a framework to assist the transition of PBL to a workplace environment.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Use of dynamic pricing strategies by Airbnb hosts
|
[
"Hotels",
"Dynamic pricing",
"Sharing economy",
"Revenue management",
"Airbnb"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Airbnb has emerged as one of the stars of the sharing economy. In 2016, Airbnb was estimated to be valued at $30bn (Newcomer, 2016), and in markets like the New York City (Fox, 2016) and Toronto (Gibbs, 2016), Airbnb has been reported to represent 5 per cent of the tourism accommodation revenue. Despite such business success, Airbnb has struggled to optimize pricing by its hosts, potentially missing out on large financial gains. Pricing has been identified as one of the Airbnb's biggest challenges, and it has been estimated that Airbnb hosts forfeit up to 46 per cent of additional revenues because of inefficient pricing (LearnAirbnb.com, 2015). According to focus groups conducted by Airbnb, hosts become confused when trying to set their prices (Hill, 2015). Unlike the hotel business, which has trained professionals, industry benchmarking reports and technical tools to help set pricing for rooms, Airbnb units are generally managed by regular people with very limited support of pricing tools.\n2. Literature review: Dynamic pricing is a strategic revenue management tool used by businesses to maximize profit by continuously adjusting prices in response to fluctuations in demand (McGuire, 2015). Dynamic pricing is based on analytical, fact-driven decision-making to replace a \"gut feeling\" approach to pricing (Bodea and Ferguson, 2014). It involves changing the price charged for a product or service either over time (Fernandez et al., 2015), across consumers, or across products/services (Kannan and Kopalle, 2001). Originally developed by airlines (Chiang et al., 2006), it has spread to car rentals and hotels, which now heavily rely on it. These sectors share numerous characteristics that make them ideal application areas for dynamic pricing - perishability, fixed capacity, demand volatility, advance booking by customers, wide swings regarding the balance of supply and demand, microsegmentation of the market, lower cost competition and high fixed costs relative to variable costs (Ivanov and Zhechev, 2012). The implementation of dynamic pricing is an expensive proposition in terms of both technical and human cost. From a technical perspective, companies spend millions of dollars developing systems which can collect data, analyze results and recommend pricing in real time. Although the analytic engines used for dynamic pricing attempt to instantaneously update pricing, in many cases they still require human intervention to approve the recommendation (Bodea and Ferguson, 2014). Consequently, the implementation of dynamic pricing usually requires specially trained people. Interestingly, the hiring and training of specially trained revenue managers has been identified as one of the hotel industries biggest challenges today (Wang et al., 2015).\n3. Conceptual framework: Previous literature has stressed the informal nature of Airbnb (Guttentag, 2015) and hinted at the limited and inefficient strategies used by many hosts to price their spaces (Li et al., 2015). As discussed earlier, Airbnb hosts can be motivated by a variety of reasons (Karlsson and Dolnicar, 2016), and optimizing revenue might not be at the forefront when making decisions regarding their listing. Just the act of setting an initial price for a listing can be overwhelming to unprofessional hosts (Hill, 2015) rendering it very unlikely that they will frequently change their listing price. Even for professional hosts with multiple listings, minimizing time investments in the management of individual listings could be important. Also, as suggested in the literature review, in contrast with other sharing economy platforms, dynamic pricing has not traditionally been a key aspect of Airbnb and hosts have until very recently not had the tools to help them implement dynamic pricing. We therefore propose the following hypothesis:\n4. Methodology: Most Airbnb pricing research to date is limited to one market; for this reason, five cities in Canada were chosen for this research. Canada was chosen because it is ranked by the World Economic Forum (2015) as one of the top 10 most tourism-ready economies and is considered a top market for Airbnb because of a steep increase of listings in past years (Serebrin, 2014). The selection of multiple cities in Canada was also supported by a common currency, similar legislation for Airbnb and access to reliable datasets for both hotels and Airbnb.\n5. Results: 5.1 Key performance indicators: Hotels versus Airbnb listings\n6. Conclusions: Despite the importance of dynamic pricing for accommodations and widespread use by hotels, the study finds that it is not uniformly adopted by Airbnb hosts and identifies market, listing and host characteristics as important drivers of this heterogeneity. As such, it draws attention to differences in potential host motivations and abilities to financially benefit from the platform.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis of dynamic pricing by Airbnb hosts.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study uses attribute and sales information from 39,837 Airbnb listings and hotel data from 1,025 hotels across five markets to test different hypotheses which explore the extent to which Airbnb hosts use dynamic pricing and how their pricing strategies compare to those of hotels.\nFindings: Airbnb is a unique and complex platform in terms of dynamic pricing where hosts make limited use of dynamic pricing strategies, especially as compared to hotels. Notwithstanding their limited use, hosts who own listings in high-demand leisure markets, manage entire places, manage more listings and have more experience vary prices the most.\nPractical implications: This study identified a great need for Airbnb to encourage dynamic pricing among its hosts, but also warned of the potential perils of dynamic pricing in the sharing economy context. The findings also demonstrated challenges for hotel managers interested in actionable information related to Airbnb as a competitor.\nOriginality/value: This is the first Airbnb study to use a comprehensive set of data over a continuous period in multiple markets to look at a number of listing and host factors and determine their relation with dynamic pricing strategies.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The differentiated impacts of organizational innovation practices on technological innovation persistence
|
[
"Competences",
"Manufacturing",
"Knowledge management",
"Behaviour",
"Business performance",
"Organizational change"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Innovation persistence has been an important topic for applied industrial organization studies since the publication of Geroski et al.'s (1997) work. Subsequent empirical studies (Antonelli, 2011; Colombelli and von Tunzelmann, 2011; Dosi, 1997) offer increasing recognition that firms' competitive advantage largely depends on their ability to innovate over time. In the evolutionary tradition, sustainable growth is linked to firms' capacity to accumulate economically useful technological knowledge (Nelson and Winter, 1977; Pavitt, 2003). For the economy as a whole, the objectives differ slightly, because some part of productivity growth can stem from the creation of new firms that implement new products or process technologies.\n2. Technological innovation persistence: literature and hypotheses: For this study, we consider both organizational and technological (product and process) innovation and review existing analytical frames and empirical studies that deal with the determinants of innovation persistence. We then offer hypotheses about the influence of organizational innovation.\n3. Data, estimation, and results: 3.1. Data set, variables, and methodology\n4. Conclusion and suggestions for research: Innovation persistence is an essential research topic for any relevant understanding of technological change dynamics and of firms' economic growth. We have surveyed extensive literature to identify the most important factors underlying firm innovation persistence. In addition to outlining the basic mechanisms that enable firms to sustain innovation over time, we have explored a promising new avenue for research that seeks to link organizational and technological innovations. Organizational innovation is a determinant of innovation persistence and, more generally, of technological innovation, in line with previous research (e.g. Mothe and Nguyen-Thi, 2010,2012). In our analysis of detailed organizational practices, we offer strong evidence that KM is crucial for product innovation persistence; workplace organization undertaken in the past instead is associated with process innovation persistence.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the major determinants of technological (product and process) innovation persistence and provides evidence of the significant role of organizational innovation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data came from two waves of the Luxembourg Community Innovation Survey (CIS): CIS2006 for 2004-2006 and CIS2008 for 2006-2008. The longitudinal data set resulted in a final sample of 287 firms. A multinomial probit model estimates the likelihood that each firm belongs to one of three longitudinal innovation profiles: no, sporadic, or persistent innovators.\nFindings: The determinants have differentiated impacts on process and technological innovation persistence. Organizational innovation influences technological innovation persistence. In the analysis of detailed organizational practices, strong evidence emerged that knowledge management exerts a crucial effect on product innovation persistence; workplace organization instead is associated with process innovation persistence.\nResearch limitations/implications: The relationships of innovation persistence, organizational innovation, and firms' economic performance demand further exploration. The different persistence patterns of complex (process and product) and simple (process or product) innovators also are worth investigating.\nPractical implications: Organizational innovation matters for technological innovation persistence. However, the effects of non-technological innovation differ depending on whether the firm wants to innovate in processes or products. Managers must acknowledge these various effects and select appropriate strategies.\nOriginality/value: Few works account for the impact of organizational innovation strategies on technological innovation. This study is the first, based on recent CIS data, to address the role of organizational innovation practices for technological innovation persistence, which appears necessary for the sustainable dynamics of firms, industries, and regions.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Z and W charts for controlling service processes
|
[
"SPC",
"Service quality",
"W charts",
"Z charts"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Regardless of the benefits coming from the implementation of statistical process control (SPC), it is clear that the main utilization of SPC charts has been focused on process control and process improvement in manufacturing businesses (MacCarthy and Wasusri, 2002). In fact, some authors (e.g. James, 2005) state that SPC methodologies are not easily adapted to services.\n2. Translation of customer requirements: An important decision regarding the implementation of SPC focuses on which characteristics must be measured and monitored (Mason and Antony, 2000). This difficulty is even more obvious in what regards non-standard applications of SPC, i.e., those \"that cannot be considered as conventional applications in manufacturing processes or production systems\" (MacCarthy and Wasusri, 2002).\n3. Methodology: Figure 2 presents a methodology for decision support as regards the implementation of SPC.\n4. SPC for a significant amount of data: When there are sufficient data for estimating the processes' parameters, the Phase 1 of SPC must utilize the Shewhart control charts applied to each process and quality characteristic. Usually, for continuous variables,\n5. Conclusion: Services are very often characterized by simultaneous production and consumption. Therefore, it becomes critical the ability to convert customer's demands into technical characteristics, to select those which require controlling and monitoring. It was shown that QFD constitutes an interesting approach to address these issues.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the causes for the discrepancy between the utilization of statistical process control (SPC) in services and manufacturing. Furthermore, an approach for integrating customer demands and technical aspects of a service is presented. Services are very often characterized by a large number of characteristics, with relatively few observations. This research addresses a methodology based on Z and W charts, proposing it for the control of service features. An example associated with service provision is presented to illustrate the computation of Z and W as well as its interpretation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The shortcomings of traditional control charts are stated and compared with the control charts for Z and W. An example illustrates how to utilize these charts, their ability to monitor several characteristics simultaneously, along with a continuous monitoring of process capability.\nFindings: The proposed approach allowed the representation of several process characteristics in the same charts, even when those characteristics are not collected with the same periodicity. The Z and W charts are dimensionless and can be applied whenever it is possible to estimate process parameters, being an interesting approach to be utilized in Phase 2 of SPC. The difficulty for identifying the existence of non-random patterns emerges as the major shortcoming for these charts.\nResearch limitations/implications: The proposed approach is a contribute to overcoming the discrepancy that persists between the utilization of SPC in services and manufacturing. Nevertheless, service production and consumption are frequently simultaneous, which constitutes an issue hard to deal with that is not fully addressed in this piece of research. Furthermore, the Z charts also present some disadvantages, notably an increased difficulty for analyzing the existence of non-random patterns, which worsens as increases the number of products/quality characteristics to be checked.\nPractical implications: The proposed charts are very flexible and provide a rational utilization of resources. In fact, the representation of several processes is possible, along with the traditional analysis of patterns, thus providing an effective approach for controlling services processes.\nSocial implications: Several quantitative approaches that have been utilized in manufacturing for a long time are still scarce in services. However, services play a major role in modern economies, being clear that improvements in service provision might have a direct impact on society.\nOriginality/value: The approach was based on the utilization of Z/W with samples, but it can be extended to individual observations or even to the control of discrete variables. Additionally, a methodology for process capability analysis in real-time is also proposed.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Differences in personality and the sharing of managerial tacit knowledge: an empirical analysis of public sector managers in Malaysia
|
[
"Knowledge sharing",
"Personality traits",
"Tacit knowledge"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper builds on current understandings of different mechanisms for sharing managerial tacit knowledge among managers in the context of public sector organizations (Mooradian et al., 2006; Wang and Noe, 2010; Amayah, 2013). The paper provides a unique insight into the personality of public managers with different levels of managerial tacit knowledge. This is important because previous research has demonstrated that personality is not only related to performance in political organizations (Witt et al., 2002) but also influences knowledge sharing behaviour (Martzler et al., 2008) that has the potential for indirectly influencing the accumulation of managerial tacit knowledge. Our study focusses on the three factors of agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness from the Big Five Inventory (BFI) of personality on the basis of prior predictions and empirical findings. For example, Martzler et al. (2008) found that these three traits influence knowledge sharing behaviour. Furthermore, Witt et al. (2002) found that these three traits were also related with contextual performance in a political organization. No relationships were found between extraversion/neuroticism and knowledge sharing behaviours or performance. Other previous research on the effects of personality traits on knowledge sharing and team performance and motivation, also revealed that conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness consistently emerge as the main predictors, whereas the other traits are regarded as less significant (Cho et al., 2007).\nTheoretical Development: There continues to be a growing interest in knowledge management research because it can improve the quality of public services (Hartley and Allison, 2002; Currie and Suhomlinova, 2006; Al Ahbabi et al., 2019) and can be an effective approach to supporting individuals and teams in accomplishing tasks (Davenport et al., 1998). However, management of knowledge has received limited attention in the field of public sector management (Haque and Turner, 2013; Chen and Hsieh, 2015; Puppim De Oliveira et al., 2015). This is a major oversight because the barriers to knowledge management implementation in the public sector are restricted by bureaucratic structures, by political, cultural and individual behaviour, and by the nature of knowledge, all of which need greater understanding (Hartley and Benington, 2001; Kang et al., 2008).\nMethod: This study adopted a positivist research design using a hypothetico-deductive approach. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to respondents by mail and direct contact. Quantitative methods were then used to analyse the data to either support or refute the research hypotheses. We sampled a large number of respondents to allow us to generalize our findings to the wider target population.\nResults and analysis: On the basis that three of our research hypotheses (H1, H2 and H4) were concerned with determining whether the means of three groups (expert, typical and novice managers) were different in terms of levels of accumulated managerial tacit knowledge (H1), knowledge sharing mechanisms (H2) or personality types (H4), we used the technique of analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test these hypotheses. Post hoc multiple comparisons using Scheffe tests were then used to explore the differences between each of the three groups to reduce the risk of Type 1 errors (Field, 2009). Prior to conducting these analyses, Levene's tests were conducted to examine the homogeneity of the variance in these groups (Pallant, 2007). ANOVA is entirely appropriate for conducting comparisons of groups in this way (Hair et al., 2010; Sekaran, 2003) compared with more sophisticated methods of analyses, such as structural equation modelling, that are more suited to analyzing paths between multiple sets of variables when building theoretical models (Peyrot, 1996).\nDiscussion and conclusions: The results of this study confirmed that the level of managerial tacit knowledge among experts was higher than that of non-experts, which is consistent with Armstrong and Mahmud (2008) and Hedlund et al. (2003). A detailed explanation of these findings can be found in the following three sub-sections.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to identify differences in knowledge-sharing mechanisms and personality among expert, typical and novice managers within the Malaysian public sector. Strengthening knowledge sharing function is essential for enabling public institutions around the world to be more productive.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This quantitative study involves 308 employees from management and professional groups within 98 local authorities in the Malaysian local government. Stratified random sampling techniques were used and the sampling frame comprised 1,000 staff using postal surveys. Data analyses were carried out using analysis of variance and correlations to test the research hypotheses.\nFindings: The findings reveal that expert managers are more proactive in sharing their knowledge, particularly those with the personality traits of conscientiousness and openness. These two personality traits were also related to expert behaviours such as thoroughness, responsibility and persistence, which led to work competency and managerial success.\nOriginality/value: This study provides theoretical insights into how managerial tacit knowledge differs and can accumulate, depending on the personality traits of middle managers. The paper shows the different mechanisms of knowledge sharing, tacit knowledge and personality among expert, typical and novice managers. Practically, this study is important for guiding senior managers in their attempts to identify the most appropriate personalities of their middle managers. This study found that the expert group was higher in conscientiousness, openness and overall personality traits compared with the typical and novice groups. The paper also highlights the value of sharing managerial tacit knowledge effectively.\n",
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] |
The founder's psychological ownership and its strategic implications
|
[
"Case study",
"Strategy",
"Sweden",
"Psychological ownership",
"Founder heritage"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Psychological ownership is an evolving topic which requires further research (Ikavalko et al., 2010; Kraus et al., 2011). It has been developed with regard to the feeling of possession and ownership by employees of their workplace even though they are not formal owners (Pierce et al., 2001). Within, for example, the family business literature, psychological ownership has been applied when accounting for nonfamily members' attachment to the business (Barnett and Kellermanns, 2006; Sieger et al., 2011). Recent research has also used psychological ownership to understand the next generation of family members (Bernhard and O'Driscoll, 2011; Ikavalko et al., 2008), showing that psychological and formal/legal ownership are not mutually exclusive (Ikavalko et al., 2010); that is, an owner develops feelings of possession and psychological ownership toward the object that s/he owns.\n2. Frame of reference: 2.1 Ownership and psychological ownership\n3. Methods: To comprehend the heritage of a founder and the implications for the organization, a case study methodology (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 1989) is applied. This approach is especially suitable for attaining a comprehensive understanding of complex developments (Pettigrew, 1997), for instance, the consequences for psychological ownership when the founder leaves the company. Thus, an interpretive approach (Nordqvist et al., 2009) is used which captures the multifaceted nature of psychological ownership (Hall and Koiranen, 2007; Lahdesmaki and Matilainen, 2014). By using archival data and semi-structured interviews, the present case study offers a contextual understanding of the development concerning the founder and the firm (Pettigrew, 1997). Thus, the organizational implications when the founder sells the company can be interpreted from a psychological ownership perspective.\n4. Empirical case descriptions: In January 2017, the founder of Karlsson's, Erik Karlsson, died at 88 years-old. In Sweden, he was a well-known entrepreneur, acclaimed by the Swedish King and business society. At the age of 13, he started as an apprentice in a printing shop. In time, he began to proofread the advertisements, thereby developing a personal relationship with key people in the mail-order industry. Inspired by the local entrepreneurs, he then started his own mail order company in 1947, which was the dominating industry of the region (Ljungkvist and Boers, 2016). The business continued to grow, and in 1951, the company released its first mail order catalog. By 1968, Karlsson's reported a turnover exceeding EUR10m, and in 2014 the corresponding figure was 200 million EUR, with the number of employees surpassing 600. To this day, the company is active in the markets of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Russia, with Karlsson's headquarters located in the southwest of Sweden.\n5. Discussion of results: The empirical findings demonstrate how the founder's psychological ownership cultivates and changes when he exits the company but upholds a relationship with it. The founder's self-investment in the company was in this case extensive. From the company's establishment, he was part of it and took care of all functions and roles. A strong control and intimacy with the firm subsequently developed, which also meant strong imprints of his psychological ownership for coming owners. After the exit, the company and the founder maintained the relationship. However, he did not interfere with its management. Despite ownership transfers, which included a large international French firm, the founder's psychological ownership continued, but it became distanced and abstracted in a role-model form. Furthermore, the founder's personal approach to staff and customers were treated as central reference points (Boers and Ljungkvist, 2019; Brunninge, 2009) and thereby as artifacts which were used to manifest and develop the company's strategy and values (Raspa, 1990; Schein, 1983). In this way, such an approach also became a part of the firm's psychological ownership.\n6. Conclusions: In this paper, we demonstrate how the founder becomes an artifact that can be used to support either strategic continuity or discontinuity from a psychological ownership perspective. Theoretically, this paper extends the concept of psychological ownership in several ways. First, it is applicable to a founder who has sold his business. Thus, the initial unity of legal and psychological ownership is dissolved (cf. Hall and Koiranen, 2007); that is, whereas legal ownership is transferred, psychological ownership remains in a changed form with the founder. Second, the psychological ownership has a collective dimension (e.g. Koiranen, 2007; Sieger et al., 2011) which is not associated with a family but rather, assigned by employees to the founder. In other words, the employees re-confirm the founder's psychological ownership, which is also supported by the new legal owners who use the founder as an artifact. Finally, the present study indicates that norms, relationships and engagements, connecting to Pierce et al.'s (2001) three dimensions of psychological ownership, are materialized to artefacts when new owners have the purpose to show continuity and develop the founder's business approach and strategy. Hence, this study indicates that change can be seen as a long process of interaction between the organization and its founder which is mutual in nature. Even though that the present paper is a single-case study (see limitations below), the presented results contribute to the theoretical and generalizable understanding (Yin, 1989) of the concept of psychological ownership when founders exit the organization.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the change of the founder's psychological ownership when s/he sells the business and its implications for the organization's strategy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study contributes with a longitudinal study of psychological ownership, accounting for its development over time in a Swedish e-commerce company. By applying a case study methodology, conclusions are drawn from a vast amount of archival data and interviews. The empirical material covers the transition from a founder-run, family-owned to a first foreign-owned, and currently private-equity owned company.\nFindings: Theoretically, it extends understandings of psychological ownership and its strategic implications by including former legal owners; that is, how psychological ownership changes after legal ownership ceases. Thereby, it develops the individual dimension (founder and former owner) of psychological ownership as well as its collective dimension (employees toward founder). The paper contributes to the psychological ownership founder and exit-literatures by highlighting continuity after the formal sale of legal ownership and its consequences for the organization.\nPractical implications: It finds that new legal owners can use this heritage to signal continuity and launch strategic changes by transforming it into artifacts.\nOriginality/value: This study extends the understanding of development of psychological ownership of founders from foundation to exit and its consequences for the organization's strategy. This extension sheds new light on founders as artifacts of organizations and thereby their role for the organizational heritage.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Utilization and effectiveness of social media message strategy: how B2B brands differ from B2C brands
|
[
"Customer engagement",
"Message strategy",
"Social media marketing",
"Business-to-business (B2B)"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Despite potential benefits and opportunities that can be obtained from successful social media marketing, many business-to-customer (B2B) companies find social media very challenging, showing a need for more knowledge, resources and confidence (Jarvinen et al., 2012; Jussila et al., 2014). Bernard (2016) explores how social media are being used by chief marketing officers (CMOs) and shows that while many in B2C firms have understood how to use social media already, their CMO counterparts in B2B companies have not yet made up their minds. Hence, more studies about the social media marketing by B2B firms are needed to help managers better use social media in their marketing efforts.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 B2B social media marketing\n3. Research hypotheses: In this section, based on Importance-Performance Matrix framework (Martilla and James, 1977), we present following two logically related questions. The first question is about utilization of social media message strategy by B2B companies (performance issue), as explained in Section 3.1. The second question is about effectiveness of message strategy in enhancing customer's perceived value and engagement willingness (importance issue), as articulated in Section 3.2. We also compare the differences between B2B and B2C companies when discussing the above-mentioned two questions, based on classical marketing theories addressing the different features of B2B and B2C markets and marketing.\n4. Research methodology: 4.1 Content analysis\n5. Research findings: 5.1 Results of content analysis\n6. Discussion: 6.1 Conclusions and theoretical contributions\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to investigate how business-to-business (B2B) companies use message strategies on social media platform and how these strategies are effective in improving customer perceived value and encouraging customer engagement, as well as how B2B companies differ from business-to-customer (B2C) counterparts in terms of utilization and effectiveness of social media message strategy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on content analysis of Sina Weibo brand pages and survey of website visitors, this paper examines the differences of social media message strategies and their impacts upon customer perceived value and customer engagement between B2B and B2C companies.\nFindings: B2B companies use more rational appeals and less emotional appeals, have lower degree of informativeness and perform better in interactivity and variety than B2C companies. These five dimensions of message strategy have different roles in engaging customers via perceived value across B2B and B2C settings.\nOriginality/value: The research makes significant contributions to B2B social media marketing literature by answering two interrelated questions, namely, \"What companies are doing?\" and \"What companies should do?\" on social media websites. Besides, it provides insightful implications for B2B companies on how to implement appropriate message strategies in their social media marketing efforts by conducting Importance-Performance Analysis.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Q-Bot, the Quarantine Robot: Joint-media engagement between children and adults about quarantine living experiences
|
[
"Informal learning",
"EBooks",
"Children's media",
"Joint media engagement",
"K-3 education",
"Quarantine experiences"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Recent research on the psychological impact of quarantine reveals that some of the key ways to reduce stress during longer quarantine duration, is by providing clear reasoning for quarantine, creating a sense of altruism through describing benefits of quarantine to society at large, and providing clear protocols to follow during quarantine (Brooks et al., 2020). In the context of children in particular, some researchers believe that adults need to be more authentic about the uncertainty of the pandemic, and expand their conversations from scientific and practical information about the virus to include emotion-focused conversations (Dalton et al., 2020).\nMethods: An interactive eBook for children titled \"Q-Bot the Quarantine Robot\" was authored and illustrated by the researcher (Tiwari, 2020), and shared with parents and teachers through social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter).\nAnalysis: Comments from all social media platforms were combined in one document for analysis. Comments were saved in the form of threads, such as researcher's prompt and responses by commenters. Through open coding, these comments were analyzed to generate emerging themes.\nFindings: Open coding of comments on Q-Bot: The Quarantine Robot and content analysis of other eBooks generated the following emerging themes:\nDiscussion: This case study based on Q-Bot and content analysis based on other eBooks, provided an overview of usefulness, strengths, and weaknesses of using an eBook to facilitate conversations between children, families, and educators. Key findings suggest that Children's eBooks can be an effective tool for JME, and can act as prompts, probes, or communication tools. Guidelines for designing eBooks and other children's media to support conversations around the pandemic, emerged from analysis of existing eBooks on this theme. These guidelines can potentially help educators, authors, illustrators and researchers in designing better learning experiences for children using media.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Information about the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine can be challenging to communicate to children. The purpose of this study is to understand how a children's eBook can help facilitate conversations between children, families and educators about the pandemic.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A children's eBook Q-Bot: The Quarantine Robot was shared by the researcher with parents and teachers through social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). The story provides information (based on CDC guidelines) on the best health and hygiene practices to avoid catching the virus, while also drawing attention to the hardworking people who are helping us through this experience. Data was collected as public comments on the eBook. Secondary data included other children's eBooks available on the same theme and their public reviews.\nFindings: Through open coding of comments, the researcher found that the children's eBook helped in facilitation of discussion between children, parents and teachers; around the pandemic's effects on health and hygiene practices; and remote learning experiences. A content analysis of other children's books on this theme revealed a set of guidelines for designing helpful eBooks for pandemic quarantine situations in general.\nResearch limitations/implications: Education, media and health researchers may find this study helpful in understanding the potential of children's eBooks as probes, prompts or communication tools.\nPractical implications: Experts in pandemic-related issues, educators, illustrators and authors may find this study helpful in understanding guidelines for creating educational children's eBooks for similar situations in the future.\nOriginality/value: Both theoretical and practical values are addressed through this study, as it provides helpful literature from past research, offers new insights from current study and guidelines for future work in narrative media design for the pandemic and other similar situations.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Judging informal learning interventions: a vignette study
|
[
"Workplace training",
"Informal learning",
"Intervention",
"Mixed-method design",
"Vignette study"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Informal learning is seen as the most important way to acquire and develop skills and competencies required in work situations (Cerasoli et al., 2018; Skule, 2004; Spaan et al., 2016). Despite this interest and perceived importance, many organisations do not specifically focus on using the opportunities informal learning offers or on increasing it. There seem to be several reasons for this. First, informal learning is difficult to grasp and observe because it mostly occurs unintentionally and implicitly, while executing daily activities and during social interaction (Berg and Chyung, 2008; Spaan et al., 2016). This makes it hard to understand which factors contribute to informal learning; therefore, research results are often inconsistent (Berg and Chyung, 2008). Second, the work place seems to be an important factor influencing informal learning of employees, which makes it hard to generalise from one work context to the other (Eraut, 2004; Ellinger and Cseh, 2007). Finally, views on education and training have only recently shifted towards a more learner-centred approach (Noe et al., 2014). To appreciate and facilitate informal learning at an organisational level, it is necessary to allow employees to take responsibility for and control over their own learning (Eraut, 2004). As a result, informal learning is difficult to improve, and the number of existing interventions is small (De Boer-Visschedijk et al., 2017). To improve informal learning, De Boer-Visschedijk et al. (2017) express the need to design practical interventions and study their effect on engagement in informal learning activities. To address this need, for the present study several interventions were developed. Our aim was to assess the perceived usefulness and respondents opinions about these interventions.\nInformal learning: In general, informal learning can be conceptualised along two dimensions: formal versus informal; and intentional versus incidental. Informal as compared to formal can be described as unstructured (Eraut, 2004) and self-directed (Marsick and Watkins, 2001), taking place outside of classrooms (Berg and Chyung, 2008), via observations, practice and in social interaction with others (Cerasoli et al., 2014; Spaan et al., 2016). Note, however, that there is no mutually exclusive distinction that makes certain learning activities formal or informal. Many researchers agree that the formal-informal dimension is better considered as a continuum, in which some learning \"types\" or \"activities\" are closer to the formal end of the scale and others to the informal end (Eraut, 2004; Cerasoli et al., 2014; Kyndt et al., 2016; Marsick, 2009). According to Svensson et al. (2004), formal and informal learning in the workplace should complement each other.\nFactors influencing informal learning: Although there are many different and ambiguous definitions of informal learning, there is a general understanding that informal learning in the workplace should be studied from a \"person-in-situation\" perspective (Noe et al., 2014; Cerasoli et al., 2014, 2018). In line with this person-in-situation perspective, factors related to informal learning at work can thus be identified on the individual (personal factors) and organisational/situational levels (workplace factors) (Cerasoli et al., 2018; Van de Boer-Visschedijk et al., 2017). The factors identified in both literature reviews are essentially the same. Jeong et al. (2018) have added a set of group level factors (i.e. feedback, networking and interpersonal relationships), that are included in the workplace factors of Van de Boer-Visschedijk et al. (2017).\nEnhancing informal learning through interventions: It is difficult to directly link informal learning to learning outcomes in empirical studies (Marsick, 2009). This is probably the reason why informal learning is mostly studied from a theoretical perspective and in (case) studies using retrospective designs (Van de Boer-Visschedijk et al., 2017). In retrospective studies, respondents are asked to think back to the past and indicate which forms of informal learning they have used (Boud and Middleton, 2003). These retrospective methods yield much information about experiences people have with informal learning, what kind of activities they engage in and with whom they interact during informal learning (Boud and Middleton, 2003; Lohman, 2006). It is, however, not possible to make causal inferences based on such research designs. Therefore, they do not provide specific learning solutions but they do inform the design of possible interventions to enhance informal learning. Cerasoli et al. (2018) suggest that more studies should include experimental or longitudinal designs that support causal inferences and individuals in organisations could be helped to become better informal learners by providing them with tips and tricks. This latter suggestion entails using some kind of intervention to improve informal learning.\nThe present study: The DDO aims to use the opportunities for development of their employees that informal learning offers (Directie Aansturen Operationele Gereedheid, 2016). To address the vision of the DDO, four possible interventions to improve informal learning were developed, based on the model of factors that influence informal learning (Van de Boer et al., 2017). The aim of the present study is to assess how Dutch Military personnel perceive these interventions and to gather their opinions and preferences per intervention. To that end, we will answer the following research questions:\nMethod: Design and procedure\nResults: Descriptive statistics\nDiscussion: With the conducted study we aimed to answer the following research questions:\nLimitations, theoretical implications and suggestions for future research: For this study, we can identify several limitations. The first limitation is that we mainly invited Military personnel involved in education, training, and learning. Respondents could forward the invitation to their broader network. It is, however, not possible to trace back whether this has led to more of different respondents. Due to privacy reasons, we could not ask for specific job types. Therefore, the results cannot be compared for different groups of employees. Such information would have been useful, especially as successful implementation of an intervention depends on the goodwill and willingness of employees to participate.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Informal learning is seen as the most important way to acquire and develop the skills and competencies required for work. The Dutch Defence organisation (DDO) aims to use the opportunities for development of employees that informal learning offers better and is looking for suitable interventions. Four possible interventions to improve informal learning were developed, based on factors that influence informal learning. The purpose of this paper is to assess how Dutch Military personnel rate these interventions and to gather their opinions and preferences per intervention.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A total of 96 employees completed an online mixed-method vignette study. In the questionnaire, the four interventions were introduced by a visualisation in the form of a \"comic strip\" (vignette), and respondents' perceptions were measured with multiple choice and open-ended questions.\nFindings: Respondents clearly indicated a preference for two of the four interventions, i.e. informal mentorship and safe learning environment. They provided numerous advantages and disadvantages per intervention. They also indicated that all four interventions could be used throughout the entire Dutch Defence Organisation.\nResearch limitations/implications: The results contribute to a thoughtful design of interventions that can be used in practice; also, the interventions can be improved based on the advantages, disadvantages and suggestions formulated by the respondents in this vignette study.\nOriginality/value: The designs of interventions are studied in a systematic way by the target population before they are actually developed and implemented. In addition, the use of \"comic strips\" and visualisations in vignette studies is quite original.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
An adaptive strategy for managing knowledge in organizations
|
[
"Knowledge management",
"Adaptive system theory",
"Knowledge creation"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Knowledge management (KM) has become a trademark for sustaining presence in continuously changing environments (Grant, 1996). The ability of organizations to integrate its intellectual assets to capitalize on their core competencies is the key to a sustained competitive advantage in the market. The increased focus on KM led organizations to introduce new roles and implement various KM technologies. New roles started to emerge like the chief knowledge officer (Davenport and Prusak, 1998) and knowledge workers (Schultze, 2000). Various technologies have been touted for the creation and maintenance of organizational memories, like portals, repositories and collaborative systems. These products are positioned as competitive forces for organizations to dominate in the knowledge economy. Despite the hype surrounding KM, it is not clear from previous studies how organizations can manage knowledge in a way that will foster innovation and build dynamic capabilities.In this study, complexity theory is proposed as a new theoretical lens to derive an adaptive strategy for managing knowledge. The emerging theory of complex systems focuses principally on how parts at a micro-level in a complex system affect emergent behavior and overall outcome at the macro-level. One distinguishing feature of a complex system is the ability of the parts to self-organize rather than being subdued by a central control. The parts are constantly seeking to improve performance driving the system away from equilibrium to the edge of chaos (Kaufman, 1993). What is of significance is how the parts co-adapt to improve their fitness and that of the system as a whole.Most of the earlier studies on KM did not focus on identifying and studying how organizations can integrate pieces of knowledge to foster innovation. However, some were able to deduce that failure to manage knowledge is a result of the inability of some organizations to realize the effect of the interaction between elements of the infrastructure (Gold et al., 2001; McDermott, 1999; Schultze and Boland, 2000).The main objectives of this study are to identify the nature and characteristic of the interrelationships that can exist between pieces of knowledge within an organization and the effect of these relationships on the innovation-rate and performance of the whole system. In this study, the focus is on defining an adaptive strategy that allow for easy integration of the various specialized knowledge within the organization through a set of processes for capturing, integrating and applying knowledge. In particular the research attempts to answer the question of how an adaptive strategy for managing knowledge can foster innovation and build dynamic capabilities.The paper is organized as follows. The following section defines the nature of adaptive complex systems; the next section explains the different adaptive processes for managing knowledge in a complex adaptive system; the third section discusses the implications of these processes for a KM strategy; and the fourth section concludes with implications of the study to research and practice.\nAdaptive complex systems: Complex adaptive systems (CAS) is a term coined by Holland (1975) to describe \"nonlinear systems\" whose behavior is determined by the interaction of its adaptive parts. The numerous parts that make up the structure and the level of interaction that exists between the parts are the main distinguishing features of a complex system. The complexity of the system stems from the collective control that the parts exert on the whole. Although each part is governed by a set of simple rules, the interaction between the parts emerge complex patterns of behavior (Kurtz and Snowden, 2003). The lack of a central control unit makes it hard to determine the attribution of any one part to the performance of the whole. This is primarily because of the confounding effect of a change in one part on other parts and the whole. An interesting implication of the structure of a complex system is that a sub-optimal behavior of some of the parts may be the only means to optimize the behavior of the whole (Kurtz and Snowden, 2003).The adaptation of the system and the parts allow structures within the system to progressively change to improve its performance in its environment. The concept is borrowed from natural science's stand on the role of evolution in producing increasingly fit organisms within different environments. As such the adaptive processes are seen as optimization processes that progressively modify structures within a system in an attempt to \"get an edge\". The most intriguing phase is at the point at which new behaviors inexplicably emerge in response to change (McElroy, 2003), a phase believed to be between order and chaos (Kaufman, 1993).Adaptation of complex systems is governed by an adaptive plan. The plan determines which structure within the system to change and what structural operators to apply to make the structure and the whole system better fit in the environment in which it exists. Structures that enhances the system's performance are stabilized and repeated and those that fail to adequately respond to changes in the environment are rejected (McElroy, 2003). The adaptive plan evolves over time as the system has multiple interactions within its environment and generates and tests the different structures (Holland and Miller, 1991). The plan must retain its earlier successes in generating structures that are fit to deal with the environment as well as portions of its history that captures the \"plan-environment interaction.\" The plan uses both to increase its chances of success in generating new structures, which will improve the performance of the system as a whole in the environment in which it operates.Organizations as complex systems\nKnowledge creation in complex adaptive systems: The study of CAS was first introduced by the Santa Fe Institute in an attempt to provide a radically new perspective to the dynamics of complex systems. A CAS is composed of a large number of interacting agents that are diverse in form and ability (Holland, 1975). The system derives its complexity from the diversity of, and the level of interaction between agents. The higher the number of agents and the higher the level of interaction between them, the harder it is to predict the system's behavior (Kaufman, 1993). While agents act according to their own best interest, they collaboratively cause the system to move in a certain direction, which may be hard to predict.Over time, the extensive interaction between the various agents determines the behavior of the overall system within its environment. The agents learn from these interactions and restructure themselves to better adapt to the environment (Levinthal, 1997). The behavior of the individual agent in interacting with other agents or with the environment is determined by a collection of rules. The rules serve as strategies that define responses for the different stimuli initiated by other agents or triggered by the environment (Gell-Mann, 1994).Agents depend on several mechanisms to guide their interaction with other agents in the system and with the environment. Tagging is a mechanism that supports agents to selectively interact with others in the system (Holland, 1975). Depending on the tags attached to an agent, others may initiate a request for collaboration to perform complex tasks. These collaborations enable the evolution of an individual agent's behavior from simple ones to complex ones. In due time, an agent can evolve to be a conglomerate of agents which is a hierarchical structure that allocates resources to specialized but cooperating agents. Agents in a multi-agent hierarchy specialize based on their form and capacity (Kaufman, 1993). The networked intelligence of agents enables the CAS to innovate. Depending on the overall performance of the multi-agent, higher-level survival is determined (Kaufman, 1993). Unfit agents are removed from the structure as superior agents supersede them.Management of knowledge\nImplications for KM: Organizational innovations are iterative and build on already existing wellsprings of knowledge (Leonard-Barton, 1995). The majority of organizations capture past experiences and lessons learnt on different engagements. However, innovative organizations go beyond codifying and disseminating knowledge. They do not rest on the laurels of best practices and lessons learned but are continuously evolving new ones. Their organizational memories have a very fluid structure where knowledge assets are added, deleted, and restructured on a continuous basis. The disruption of the structure of the memory would be an inherent process that the knowledge workers engage in to sustain the interest of the organization in knowledge creation.The knowledge assets that innovative organizations manage at any point in time differ in specialty and structure. A leading software developing company, for example, has knowledge assets in the form of deliverables, best practices, and standards for developing the user interface. Each, obviously, has a different purpose. More importantly, they represent knowledge assets at different levels of abstraction. The deliverables are specific and detailed; best practices are filtered deliverables that have been associated with favorable outcomes; and standards and methods are aggregated but abstracted best practices. The emergence of best practices and standards and methods is only possible after the organization has had similar encounters in a specific domain. It is only after a pattern stabilizes that the organization is able to determine which actions are associated with favorable outcomes.An important realization of the innovative organization is that a number of knowledge assets can emerge to be best practices in retrospect. In exploring the possibility of emerging a new best practice, the innovative organization draws relationships between the different knowledge assets; the same relationships that you would expect between classes in a class model. Some assets may be associated in one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many relationships. Others may be consumed in an aggregation of multi-asset structure or shared among many aggregations. Continuing on the earlier example, a use-case is expected to be associated with a number of interactive models to allow for requirement traceability. Depending on the accuracy and level of detail of a particular deliverable, it can be generalized and abstracted to more than one context. Given the high level of connectivity between the assets, the organization is able to generate an innumerable number of solutions, each of which is logical in a specific context and at a specific period of time.Like agents in a true CAS, knowledge workers need to push knowledge assets outside their domain of origin and challenge the entrained thinking of the various professional communities, a process known as abrasive creativity. The transition of knowledge across boundaries is likely to create friction between the different schools of thought and generate new perspectives and emerge new knowledge. The disruption of entrained thinking should be cyclical rather than anecdotal motivated by a commitment to create a true learning organization.Adaptive processes for managing knowledge\nImplications: The insights offered by this study will prove useful to both scholars interested in studying KM and to practitioners responsible for the activities and practices of KM within organizations.Research focused on understanding the implementation of KM should benefit from an enriched appreciation of the adaptive processes of complex adaptive systems. These adaptive processes reflect episodes of massive organizational learning, which must be orchestrated and supported by time and resources. The findings will enable practitioners to better plan and carryout KM programs to radically improve organizational learning through the application of complex adaptive processes. In particular, four observations seem most important:1. New knowledge must be linked to already existing knowledge and the relationship must be defined. It is crucial to understand how new knowledge relate to existing information, what gaps it fills, and where best to apply it.2. From time to time, best practices and lessons learned need to be abstracted so that knowledge can be applied across domains. Abstracting knowledge would get rid of contextual information that tie knowledge to a specific domain and generalize so other units can find ways of benefiting from it.3. Successful KM programs demand, at their core, active attention to feedback. By its nature, KM involves learning from experience. Such learning requires that organizations collect feedback on the performance of the knowledge assets. As a consequence, resources and time must be invested in learning activities, and the learning that occurs must be fed back into the work processes.4. A best practice is only good in a specific situation; other knowledge assets may emerge to be best practices in retrospect. It is critical for an innovative organization not to forcefully entrench best practices, but to realize that any change in the experience may render the best practices obsolete. Innovative organizations must be constantly in search for the best practice, cross-fertilizing knowledge across domains in an effort to create new knowledge.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This article proposes an adaptive strategy for managing knowledge in complex organizations. Specifically, this article aims to extend understanding in the field of knowledge management (KM) by examining how an adaptive strategy for managing knowledge can help organizations become innovative and build dynamic capabilities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Literature on complexity theory and KM is reviewed to propose the development of an adaptive strategy that will assist organization in managing knowledge and becoming innovative. The paper is structured around the following constructs: complexity theory, complex adaptive systems, and KM.\nFindings: - A link between an adaptive strategy for managing knowledge, innovation and dynamic capability is established. The central proposition of the article is the organizations that follow adaptive complex processes for managing knowledge are better able to compete in the market today.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This article extends prior research on KM by proposing complexity theory as a framework for establishing adaptive strategies for managing knowledge and fostering innovation.\nPractical implications: - With the dramatic environmental changes and fierce competition that organizations are faced with today, managing knowledge becomes critical for driving creativity and adapting to changing markets. Organizations lack direction on how best to develop an adaptive strategy for managing knowledge. The revelation of adaptive processes for managing knowledge in complex systems can lead to more effective KM practices and a higher rate of creativity and flexibility.\nOriginality/value: - The study answers recent calls for defining processes for the second generation of KM that shift focus from the codification and transfer of knowledge to the creation of new knowledge. Although previous studies have established a link between complex adaptive systems and KM, this study takes it one step further in defining an integrative strategy for the creation of knowledge based on the processes of complex adaptive systems. The paper provides a foundation for future studies to test the causal relationship between adaptive processes for knowledge creation and innovation.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
AI: from rational agents to socially responsible agents
|
[
"Artificial intelligence",
"Data ethics",
"Digital technologies and society"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. What kind of rationality for artificial intelligence systems?: The expression \"artificial intelligence\" (AI) is gaining considerable attention from both private and public sector (Runkin, 2018; Roy, 2018). The hype is very high and, as it often happens in such situations, all this attention has generated confusion, even among experts, who refer to AI to talk about very different things.\n2. Bias of the forms of knowledge governing AI: The problem of bias in the data used by AI systems is well represented in the following excerpt of Cathy O'Neal's book \"Weapons of Math Destruction\" (O'Neal, 2016):\n3. Measures on datasets: 3.1 Overview of data sets used\n4. For artificial intelligence as a socially responsible agent: The exemplary measurements reported in the previous section highlight that when the biases of the world in which we live are inserted into the AI agents designed only to maximize a performance measure, certain injustices can only be perpetuated and exacerbated. In the recent years, an animated debate on this subject has risen in the scientific community and in the civil society, as the use of the so-called \"Big Data\" has shown all its potential in different areas, including that of AI. As we have seen in the previous section, in this field a relevant problem is that of unbalanced data sets, which overestimate or underestimate the weight of certain variables - often, once again, related to gender or linked to the belonging of individuals to some minorities - in the reconstruction of the cause-effect relationship necessary to predict events, as was the case with some algorithms used by the American police to prevent crimes (Lum and Isaac, 2016). The authors demonstrated that the algorithm used by police patrols for predicting future drug crimes, were fed with data that were under-representative of the white consumers of drug. As a result, predictions of the software constantly pointed to areas of the cities where nonwhite people resided, and police would follow those recommendations to focus crime prevention activities. Arrests would then be concentrated in those areas, and on the nonwhite people, creating a feedback loop that reinforces the initial bias.\n5. Conclusions: The advent of AI will change the way we make use of technology: suffice it to say that already today, it can be controlled through speech or gestures and that with the passing of the years more and more cognitive tasks will be performed by AI. This is already changing the way we live, and soon certain transformations will become widespread. It is necessary, therefore, to be aware of what we are achieving, to collectively design technologies that are both rational and fair. It is not enough, in fact, for AI to be able to carry out its functions driven only by narrow, task-oriented, optimization goals: it is important that it also contributes to building a more just society.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to analyze the limitations of the mainstream definition of artificial intelligence (AI) as a rational agent, which currently drives the development of most AI systems. The authors advocate the need of a wider range of driving ethical principles for designing more socially responsible AI agents.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors follow an experience-based line of reasoning by argument to identify the limitations of the mainstream definition of AI, which is based on the concept of rational agents that select, among their designed actions, those which produce the maximum expected utility in the environment in which they operate. The problem of biases in the data used by AI is taken as example, and a small proof of concept with real datasets is provided.\nFindings: The authors observe that biases measurements on the datasets are sufficient to demonstrate potential risks of discriminations when using those data in AI rational agents. Starting from this example, the authors discuss other open issues connected to AI rational agents and provide a few general ethical principles derived from the White Paper AI at the service of the citizen, recently published by Agid, the agency of the Italian Government which designs and monitors the evolution of the IT systems of the Public Administration.\nOriginality/value: The paper contributes to the scientific debate on the governance and the ethics of AI with a critical analysis of the mainstream definition of AI.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Employees' preferences for services and facilities offered in serviced offices
|
[
"User studies",
"Regression analysis",
"Service provision",
"Value management",
"Co-working",
"Serviced offices"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Although serviced offices have existed for many decades, a first substantial rise in their numbers can be seen in the 1990s (Brochner et al., 2004). However, by the change of the century, the market was said to still be relatively immature (McAllister, 2001). But the increased vacancy rates in single-tenant office buildings since the latest economic downturn, combined with a decrease in the average number of square meters per full-time equivalent because of New Ways of Working, has given the market a great push forward. This past decade, many landlords have converted vacant single-tenant office buildings to different types of multi-tenant offices to be able to offer a variety of smaller floor areas to multiple tenants, and as such serve the increasing flexibility of the Dutch labour market (CBS and TNO, 2015) and demands of a highly dynamic business environment.\nServiced offices and their services and facilities: The business model of serviced offices is funded based on the same principles as other forms of outsourcing, namely, the conversion of fixed costs to variable costs and the transfer of risk to another party (Dabson and McAllister, 2014). Instead of the fixed costs associated with regular long-term leases and facility contracts, serviced offices offer products with flexible contracts that can be classified as variable costs. As facility managers see a lack of flexibility in real estate as a very important risk (Bartelink et al., 2015), leasing space at serviced offices could help to reduce this risk. Tenants also benefit from the advantage of a \"one-stop shop\", which means that the search costs that clients may incur in procuring office equipment and facility services when they would lease regular office space are reduced substantially (Dabson and McAllister, 2014).\nOffice users and their characteristics: Serviced offices are used by a broad spectrum of organisations, employees and freelancers. A serviced office manager has to deal with two levels of office users, namely, companies, often referred to as tenants or occupiers, and the end-users, the people who work at these companies. For freelancers, this is the same person, but for larger organisations, it is not. Laterveer (2011) distinguished ten types of users of serviced offices based on a literature review: starting businesses; businesses that enter a new market; freelancers; virtual workers; flexible corporate employees; flex workers between appointments; organisations that need temporary office space; project teams; meeting teams; and video conference users. Although it has not been tested empirically and additional user types might exist, his typology provides an overview of users that have also been mentioned in other studies (Dabson and McAllister, 2014; Peltier, 2001). Moreover, his study provided insights into relevant characteristics on which serviced office users differ from each other.\nSurvey, sample and statistics procedure: A questionnaire was used to collect data on the end-users' demographics, job characteristics and purpose(s) for using serviced offices. It also included self-stated rating scales for measuring the perceived importance of 31 services and facilities on a five-point scale ranging from very unimportant (1) to very important (5). Rating scales were chosen, as in general respondents find this type of questions easy to answer and they provide more stable weights compared to other direct methods (Bottomley et al., 2000; Gustafsson and Johnson, 2004).\nResults: Sample description and reasons to work in a serviced office\nConclusion and recommendations: This exploratory study showed that several services and facilities offered in serviced offices are actually not considered to be important by most users. The results also indicate that user characteristics significantly influence how important services and facilities are considered to be by end-users of serviced offices, especially job-related characteristics and the purpose of using a serviced office. Although the results of this study do not offer direct tools that can be used to differentiate service menus from competitors, they do indicate that job characteristics and reasons for using a serviced office are likely more relevant for differentiation strategies than organisational and demographic characteristics.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Serviced offices are popular, offering many services and facilities to attract tenants. As research showed that most business centres occupy similar buildings, services are important to differentiate. All kinds of people use them (from freelancers to employees of large corporates) and their characteristics are likely to influence how they value different services. This study aims to identify which services/facilities are perceived as most important and whether end-user characteristics explain differences between users regarding these preferences. Serviced office owners and operators can use the insights obtained from this study to differentiate their product offer from competitors and aim for specific tenant market segments.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were collected through a questionnaire among 137 end-users in 13 serviced offices in The Netherlands. With principal component analysis, 31 services and facilities could be reduced to six independent factors and four additional services. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine effects of user characteristics (employee demographics, job characteristics and reasons for using serviced offices) on perceived importance of each service/facility (factor).\nFindings: Results showed that organisational characteristics had little effect on perceived importance of services and facilities. Especially the time spent at the office and the reasons for using it showed effects on importance of different services and facilities. Amenities like a gym and childcare were not deemed important by most of the respondents.\nOriginality/value: So far, research on office users focused largely on single-tenant offices and large corporates. Serviced offices have only been studied from the supply side until now.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Study of hospitals in Jordan shows negative effect of job stress on both perceived organizational support and organizational commitment
|
[
"Hospitals",
"Jordan",
"Organizational commitment",
"Perceived organizational support",
"Job stress"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: A study of 500 hospital workers in six hospitals in Amman, Jordan, revealed a significant negative effect of job stress on both perceived organizational support (POS) and organizational commitment. The results also highlighted the significant full negative mediating effect of POS on the relationship between job stress and organizational commitment.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The authors decided to study the impact of stress on performance in hospitals because long hours are common and high levels of performance are required at all times. Medical errors may cost lives and swift responses to patient needs are demanded. With so much pressure, it's not surprising that stress in hospitals is a common complaint from staff\nDesign/methodology/approach: To test their four hypotheses, the authors contacted all five public hospitals and the 41 private hospitals in Amman. Two public and four private agreed to participate. The end result was that 500 questionnaires were usable in the study. The respondents all completed the questionnaire, which contained 30 items - 13 to measure job stress, 11 to measure POS, and six to measure organizational commitment.\nFindings: The study of 500 hospital workers in six hospitals in Amman, Jordan, revealed a significant negative effect of job stress on both perceived organizational support (POS) and organizational commitment. The results also highlighted the significant full negative mediating effect of POS on the relationship between job stress and organizational commitment.\nOriginality/value: Based on the results of the research, they advise hospital management to focus on their human capital and ensure their leadership styles inspired high levels of organizational commitment. The results indicate that one way to inspire devotion and increase commitment is to manage stress levels. The research also reveals the positive impact of minimizing stress on POS.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Learning curves for quality and productivity
|
[
"Quality",
"Experiment",
"Productivity",
"Learning process",
"Cobb-Douglas mode",
"WLC"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The earliest learning curve representation is a geometric progression that expresses the decreasing time required to complete a repetitive operation. At present, Wright's learning curve (WLC) is the one most widely used and accepted (Yelle, 1979; Globerson, 1980; Belkaoui, 1986; Lieberman, 1987; Badiru, 1992; Jaber, 2006a, b; Jaber et al., 2008). However, WLC, as applied in previous works, chiefly focusses on the direct labor input per unit; this declines with regularity in conjunction with the number of units produced. Other than the productivity improvement expressed using the conventional WLC, specific production quality benefits from previous experience should not be ignored in the context of learning curve development. Thus, the proposed representation is intended to take quality into account, in addition to productivity, when modeling the learning curve.\n2. The Cobb-Douglas multiplicative power model: The Cobb-Douglas function of the general form presented below has been studied extensively (Goldberger, 1968; Bemis, 1981; Cox and Gansler, 1981; Waller and Dwyer, 1981; Gulledge and Khoshnevis, 1987):\n3. The experimental arrangement: The subjects who performed this experiment were students from the Industrial Engineering and Systems Management Department at University. There were 37 students aged between 18 and 23 years old. As a requirement, they were expected not to have previously taken part in any similar experiments. The experimental devices consisted of a reflective mirror, path paper, iPod Touch and pen, arranged as shown in Plate 1. The students were instructed to draw a line with a pen along the middle of the rail line on the path paper indirectly through the reflective mirror. The iPod Touch acted as a stopwatch to monitor the operating time taken to complete each experiment. The path paper is shown in Figure 1. To obtain consistent results, the students were given the following instructions:\n4. A statistical analysis of the results of the experiment: Because four students, when running their experiments, did not comply with the instructions listed in Section 3, their data will not be considered for further statistical analysis. The remaining 33 experimental results are shown in Appendices 1 and 2. Appendix 1 lists the operating time for each subject under various trials; similarly, Appendix 2 summarizes the standard deviation for each subject under different trials. Withdrawing the data from the bottom of Appendices 1 and 2, Table I shows the average operating time and the average standard deviation of all subjects with respect to first to tenth experimental trials. The standard deviation of the first trial, s\n5. Conclusion: Cost and quality in product and process designs are, more than ever, the necessary requirements for success in manufacturing. To be competitive, manufacturing sectors have to minimize the operating time and maximize the quality level in order to quickly and confidently gain customer loyalty. Previous works lack consideration of the quality-related aspect such as variability of quality level under the learning process. In this study, standard deviation is used to represent the variability in curve modeling. An experiment is presented in which the subjects draw a line on a path while looking at a mirror. The experimental data are standard deviation and operating time. The Cobb-Douglas model is adopted to regress (Equation 4) vs experimental trials and operating time. The found regression function is 0.3366x\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to build a curve that can portray quality level, with standard deviation, as a function of the production process related to elements such as operating time and cumulative units produced.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The Cobb-Douglas multiplicative power model will be introduced to represent the proposed function in simultaneously describing the learning process for productivity and quality. The experimental devices consisted of reflective mirror, path paper, iPod Touch and pen. They were arranged as shown in Plate 1. The students were instructed to draw a line with a pen along the middle of the rail line on the path paper through the mirror indirectly. The iPod Touch acted as a stopwatch to monitor the time taken to complete each experiment. The path paper is shown in Figure 1. This statistical analysis is completed by computer programs, SAS.\nFindings: This study presented an experiment in which subjects drew a line on a path while looking through a mirror. This study uses the Cobb-Douglas model to regress the S as a function of 0.3366xx\nResearch limitations/implications: All units produced are acceptable in quality, disregarding the magnitude of standard deviation in the produced quality level. Like Porteus (1986) with the fixed probabilistic distribution is assumed. The fatigues are ignored in presented curve. In fact, operators are easy to get tired for attending quality and productivity simultaneously. The initial value of operating time or standard deviation for the first unit is estimated from a subject having been trained for a sufficient period of time; however, this consideration does exist in the present experiment.\nPractical implications: The economic order (production) quantity model with learning effects in a production system could be considered. The other implication could be in a wider framework, such as multistage and multivariate of production development production systems and supply chains.\nSocial implications: For a life cycle application, the criteria considered in resolving the production problem should not only be limited to the costs involved in the production process, but also the quality-related costs incurred after the goods are delivered to customers.\nOriginality/value: Previous works regarding the learning process never mention the quality-related learning process. However, this study aims to achieve the above goals in finding the relationship of quality vs production volume and production time simultaneously.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Radio spectrum regulation as a matter of international affairs: discussing the effectiveness of the European Union at World Radiocommunication Conferences
|
[
"European Union",
"Regulation",
"Radiofrequencies",
"ITU",
"World Radiocommunication Conference",
"CEPT"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The international treaty regulating radio spectrum use worldwide, the so-called Radio Regulations (RR) (ITU-R, 2016a), is planned to be revised at the next World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), to be held in 2019 (WRC-19). WRCs are organised every three-four years by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN). At these conferences, countries, members of the ITU, discuss and revise the RR, taking into consideration recent technological and market developments (ITU, 2018a). The advent of the fifth generation (5G) of cellular mobile technology has thrown countries around the world into turmoil, national governments, telecommunications operators and other relevant stakeholders racing to gain first-mover advantage in shaping the future of 5G. 5G is expected to bring substantial social and economic benefits, enabling digitalisation across all sectors reliant upon mobile communications, including transport, energy, education and health. As society comes to increasingly hinge on mobile connectivity, major changes to the RR are expected to accommodate 5G spectrum needs (ITU-R, 2015a).\n2. Methodology: A thematic analysis was conducted to study the effectiveness of the EU at WRCs. Thematic analysis is described as a technique of pattern recognition in qualitative data (Braun and Clarke, 2006; Fereday and Muir-Cochrane, 2016). For this paper, qualitative data was retrieved from documents, which were selected based on the evidence necessary to answer the main research question (Dey, 1993). Given the research question of this study, four types of documents were selected for the analysis: research papers and book chapters which addressed aspects of EU participation in international organisations; research papers and book chapters analysing international aspects of radio spectrum regulation; official documents published by EU institutions providing information about the participation of the EU at WRC-07, WRC-12 and WRC-15; and official documents published by other entities, such as the ITU, and newsletters, reporting information on WRC-07, WRC-12 and WRC-15.\n3. The European Union as an international actor: theoretical considerations: This paper looks at the EU as an entity by itself, disregarding the nature of the EU as an international organisation (Bretherton and Vogler, 2006; Jorgensen, 2009; Klein et al., 2010; Waele and Kuipers, 2013). From a legal perspective, the EU is an international organisation, founded on international treaties voluntarily signed by its member states to confer supranational institutions the power to act, on their behalf, in different policy areas (Princen, 2011; Wessel, 2011). Notwithstanding the importance of understanding the EU internal processes of political and economic integration, this paper attempts to emphasise the international dimension of the EU.\n4. International radio spectrum regulation: This section is dedicated to the ITU, which is responsible for regulating the radio spectrum at international level. In particular, the radiocommunication sector of the ITU (ITU-R) is mandated to guarantee efficient use of the radio spectrum by all radio-based services, worldwide. To perform its duty, the ITU-R holds a WRC every three-four years, where national delegations, from most countries around the world, gather to discuss and decide on radio spectrum allocations to various radio-based services (ITU, 2018a).\n5. Radio spectrum regulation in the European Union: To assess EU effectiveness in international negotiations on radio spectrum regulation, it is necessary to understand how radio spectrum is regulated in the EU and who represents the EU at international level. In this regard, the aim of this section is to provide some clarity with respect to the EU policy and regulatory framework for radio spectrum and the EU external representation at WRCs.\n6. Comparing objectives of the European Union and outcomes of World Radiocommunication Conferences: In this section, the objectives of the EU prior to and the outcomes of WRC-07, WRC-12 and WRC-15 are outlined. The scope of investigation is limited to aspects of radio spectrum regulation for mobile broadband services in ITU Region 1. Potential differences between the positions of the EC, the EU member states and the CEPT, at each WRC, are highlighted.\n7. Discussing the effectiveness of the European Union at World Radiocommunication Conferences: In this section, the objectives of the EU prior to each WRC and the outcomes of each WRC are compared to discuss the effectiveness of the EU. EU objectives and WRC outcomes are summarised in Tables II-IV for WRC-07, WRC-12 and WRC-15, respectively.\n8. Conclusions: The aim of this paper was to assess the effectiveness of the EU in achieving its objectives related to the use of the radio spectrum for mobile broadband services at WRC-07, WRC-12 and WRC-15. To assess the effectiveness of the EU, the objectives of the EU, set prior to WRCs, and the outcomes of WRCs were compared. Based on this comparison, it was concluded that the degree of match between EU objectives and WRC outcomes could not be considered an indicator of the capability of the EU to fulfil its objectives.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to discuss the effectiveness of the European Union (EU) at World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRCs) by comparing EU objectives prior to and outcomes of recent WRCs.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A thematic analysis of qualitative data extracted from documents is conducted. The effectiveness of the EU is discussed by using the concepts of agenda-setting and coalition-building, borrowed from international relations literature.\nFindings: A clear conclusion on EU effectiveness could not be drawn based on the degree of match between EU objectives and WRC outcomes. Other factors need to be included in the analysis, such as relevance of the EU's participation at WRCs to the EU member states and availability and allocation of EU resources to the various stages of the WRC process.\nResearch limitations/implications: Further research is encouraged to investigate the role of the EU at WRCs. In particular, interviews with experts involved in the WRC process may help gather relevant information on EU relevance and EU resource availability and allocation.\nOriginality/value: This paper contributes to existing research on international radio spectrum regulation by drawing attention to the role of the EU as an international actor.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Financing agricultural activities in Afghanistan: a proposed salam-based crowdfunding structure
|
[
"Afghanistan",
"Crowd-funding",
"Islamic social finance/Islamic finance",
"Salam"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Afghanistan is an underdeveloped agricultural country that has faced major constraints in achieving financial sustainability and sustaining economic development in recent years. Afghanistan's economy is predominantly dependent on the agricultural sector. For instance, irrigated wheat, which is the country's major crop, contributes on average 6.3 per cent of the nation's annual gross domestic product (GDP). The livestock and horticulture subsector covers almost 14 per cent of land and employs more than 2 million people (World Bank, 2014). However, 40 years of war and a series of severe droughts have seriously affected Afghanistan's agricultural sector (Miller, 2006). Apart from that, the country's agricultural sector is said to be underutilised for a number of reasons. Firstly, there are large areas of fertile land in many provinces that are left idle owing to a lack of financing (Kawasaki et al., 2012). Secondly, the majority of farmers are unbankable and financially excluded. Farmers who do have banking access mostly cannot afford to obtain loans from banks owing to high interest rates and a lack of collateral (McCusker, 2005).\nAfghanistan's agricultural sector and Islamic finance: Background of Afghanistan's socio-economy\nSalam financing: Salam is a sale contract, whereby the selling price is fully paid in advance as a consideration for delivery of the underlying commodity at a specified future date (Hasanuzzaman, 2003; Al-Buhuti, 1982; Al-Sharbini, 1994; Al-Dardir, 1884). It is mandatory in a salam contract to specify the delivery date of the purchased commodities. Al-Halabi (1989) states that a valid salam contract should satisfy the following conditions:\nCrowdfunding: Crowdfunding is a community-driven activity where a group of people participates in a pool of investment by means of the internet. Traditionally, group lending or capital funding is done by entrepreneurs' presentation of strategic plans and business model to a small, restricted group of investors comprising high net worth individuals (Dresner, 2014). The advent of crowdfunding marks a major shift away from this traditional approach to raising capital. With the help of today's technological advancement and internet facilities, entrepreneurs are able to take advantage of Web-based social networking to raise adequate capital to finance specific projects, philanthropic ventures, business and art (Wahjono and Marina, 2015).\nProposed salam-based crowdfunding structure for financing agricultural activities in Afghanistan: This study proposes a salam-based crowdfunding structure that can be potentially adopted for financing agricultural activities in Afghanistan, as shown in Figure 5. Parties involved in this type of crowdfunding arrangement include:\nConcluding remarks: Financial innovations are undeniably crucial for a country to embrace Islamic banking and finance. Salam-based crowdfunding is an innovative form of finance, which combines the contemporary investment facilities of crowdfunding and the classical Shari'ah contract of salam. This study aims to propose a structure of salam-based crowdfunding for the purpose of raising adequate capital for agricultural development in Afghanistan. While this study has identified some advantages offered by salam-based crowdfunding, there are some concerns that can be further scrutinized in future studies. These include the treatment of investors and investors' protection against fluctuations of commodity market prices, credit and liquidity risk management and related Shari'ah issues. Future studies may consider investigating the public acceptance and perception of salam-based crowdfunding in Afghanistan to gain further insights on its feasibility.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to explore the potentials of adopting salam-based crowdfunding for financing the agricultural sector in Afghanistan.\nDesign/methodology/approach: It adopts a triangulation approach, consisting of a number of methods used in gathering relevant information about Afghanistan's agricultural sector, the concept of crowdfunding and salam (forward sale) contract. These methods include library research, reviewing documents provided by Afghanistan's banks and semi-structured interviews with Islamic finance experts.\nFindings: This study finds that salam-based crowdfunding is a viable Shari'ah-compliant investment platform, which may offer some advantages for both potential investors and farmers or entrepreneurs.\nOriginality/value: The novelty of this paper lies in the proposed structure of salam-based crowdfunding.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Effect of brand origin on brand personality perceptions: an empirical analysis from Turkey
|
[
"County of origin",
"Brand origin",
"Brand personality",
"Product involvement",
"Product familiarity",
"Turkey",
"Brands",
"Brand identity"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: In the 23 years since the publication of Tan and Farley\n2 Theoretical background: Consumers perceive brands through a cluster of associations connected to the brand name, which is known as brand image (Biel, 1993). As the place, region or country to which the brand is perceived to belong to by its target consumers (Thakor and Kohli, 1996, p. 27) brand origin, is also a part of brand image, was conceptualized in BP (Aaker, 1996; Thakor and Kohli, 1996). As the one of the brand intangibles, BP has a strategic role in brand positioning and can be used for a main communication tool for the companies. Moreover, different researchers agree that, BP is a good tool for differentiating similar products in terms of functionality (Plummer, 1984/1985; Biel, 1993; Halliday, 1996; Kim et al., 2001), it can create a base for consumers to express themselves (Malhotra, 1988; Belk, 1988; Aaker, 1996; Keller, 1998; Phau and Lau, 2001; Hellgeson and Suphellen, 2004), and it can lead some desired impacts on consumers such as favorable behavioral intentions toward the brand (Sirgy, 1980; Freling and Forbes, 2005), brand loyalty (Fournier, 1998; Kim et al., 2001; Magin et al., 2003), positive word of mouth (Kim et al., 2001), and creating brand equity (Batra et al., 1993; Aaker, 1996).\n3 Methodology and research design: Based on the three main findings mentioned above ((1) COO of a brand (COB) may be more an influential determinant of consumers\n4 Results: A total of 512 graduate students participated in the study, and 480 of them completed the survey properly, yielding a response rate of 94 percent. The distribution of samples among four subsets (114, 130, 131 and 105 respondents) indicated no conspicuous biases. Table V shows the distribution of the demographic characteristics of subjects. Before hypothesis testing, the influence of demographic characteristics on BP perceptions, product familiarity, and involvement was tested. The results showed that among the demographic variables, none had a significant effect on the mentioned variables.\n5 Discussion: The main goal of this study was to explore whether and to what extent COO associations translate into the BP perceptions of consumers. Supporting the importance of COB on BP perceptions, these results show that, in both product categories, subjects who were not given COB information perceived the competence dimension of BP significantly lower than subjects who were given COB information. As the original contribution of this paper, this result not only theoretically supports the role of image transfer on building BP perceptions through COB information but also practically implies that the general characteristics of countries can translate into the personalities of their brands that derive from the product categories that have a good reputation on international markets.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore whether and to what extent brand origin associations transfer to brand personality (BP) perceptions. Whether and in which ways product involvement and familiarity have some moderating effects on this relationship was also explored.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using experimental design, hypotheses were tested in two product groups.\nFindings: Results show that subjects not provided brand origin information perceived the competence dimension of BP significantly lower than subjects who were provided brand information. Also, product involvement positively moderates brand origin effect while product familiarity negatively moderates it. However, two-way interactions of brand origin and product involvement are more meaningful than all other interactions and main effects.\nResearch limitations/implications: The findings were based on data collected in an experimental setting from a convenience sample that was somewhat homogeneous. Also only one dimension of BP (competence) has been used in this study.\nPractical implications: Supporting the importance of brand origin on BP perceptions, these results show that the general characteristics of countries can translate into personalities of their brands from the product categories that have a good reputation on international markets. As the most significant implication for practitioners, the maximum effectiveness of marketing communication strategies can be achieved through the effect of brand origin on BP perceptions only if proper segmentation can be made with regard to involvement and familiarity.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study that has empirically demonstrated the role of image transfer on building BP perceptions through brand origin information.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Multiplayer online role-playing as information retrieval and system use: an ethnographic study
|
[
"Information systems",
"User interfaces",
"Games",
"Collaborative information retrieval",
"MMORPGs",
"System access",
"Systems ethnography"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper investigates digital gameplay as a type of information interaction, particularly information retrieval. Its focus is on information in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), games which can have player numbers in the millions and include types of content that require the simultaneous coordination of dozens of people to fully access and to successfully complete (Harviainen and Vesa, 2016). These games are types of virtual worlds that their players use primarily for hedonic purposes (Goh and Yoon, 2011), in some cases also for other reasons such as professional play (e.g. eSports, gold farming; Lehdonvirta and Castronova, 2014). The enjoyable use of such worlds usually requires social interaction and the efficient, enjoyable retrieval of systemic content. The central purpose of the work is to test the hypothesis of Harviainen and Savolainen (2014) that at the core of MMORPG play is indeed a system interaction, which consists of information retrieval done with game elements as its \"keywords,\" and to describe how that so far only shallowly discussed retrieval takes place.\nMMORPGs as information systems: core concepts from existing research: To function as meaningful play, MMORPGs require several interconnected information systems: the retrieval core (discussed in this paper), a social system formed by the players and their play, and external information sources (i.e. analytic and descriptive paratexts on game structure and play including blogs, forums, and videos) that together can be considered to be an external information system (Harviainen and Savolainen, 2014). Without understanding social interactions in virtual worlds, it is not possible to understand their technological capabilities (Davis et al., 2009). In gaming-oriented virtual worlds, the focus of play is usually in players overcoming challenges presented by the system, i.e., the game's core algorithms, which is a type of information retrieval and use. Multiplayer online games are a kind of data polyrepresentation (as per Larsen et al., 2006) that combines also sources and representations from outside the information system (e.g. task-based relevances assigned by other players in a group). The focus of this paper, as explained below, is on interaction with the primary retrieval system (see e.g. Harviainen and Savolainen, 2014).\nPlay as retrieval: Games, MMORPGs included, are simultaneously artefacts and processes. Designing the artefact that is used for play therefore affects the forms of play it makes possible (Wardrip-Fruin, 2009). Like other information systems (e.g. Vakkari, 1999), MMORPGs consist of both a retrieval system and social systems (Harviainen and Savolainen, 2014). They exemplify Buckland's (1991) division of information systems into two types: the task and data retrieval core function as an information-supplying system, whereas the social level of play is a cognitive system, used for becoming informed (as per Shaw and Culkin, 1987).\nOptimizing retrieval difficulty: A key problem with information systems has for decades not been the lack of information, but rather in the ability to utilize the information (Simon, 1981). Attention, instead of information, is more often the scarce resource. The bigger in scale they become, the more games too face this issue. The popular \"sandbox-type\" game environments (open world games where almost everything seems possible), MMORPGs included, are unfocused information systems, even if they have a central plotline or a few. Players often use them also against designer intent, in \"functional bad play\" (Myers, 2010) or, in information systems terms, \"adaptive use intention\" (Chandra et al., 2012). Sandbox games therefore contain many incentives for going toward pre-narrated retrieval content. Doing so is more likely to provide meaningful play. It is nevertheless up to players alone to decide whether they want to follow the designer-intended course or not.\nMethodology: This paper uses an ethnographic approach to its topic: the understanding of parts of MMORPG gameplay as information retrieval and information system use, as well as the implications thereof. The data set was gathered by (second author) in three segments during October 2012-September 2016 from one of the most popular MMORPGs in the world, WoW, for the primary purpose of studying why players found their play rewarding (Rapp, 2017a, b, c). The fieldwork followed a reflexive approach, exploring the ethnographer's experience together with that of other participants (Cardano, 2009; Rode, 2011; Van Maanen, 2011). Differently from the \"realist teller\" of the \"objective\" ethnographies, reflexivity paints the observed reality from the ethnographer's subjective point of view (Van Maanen, 2011). It adopts an auto-ethnographic stance where the fieldworker's perspective is considered an important part of the collected data set (Tedlock, 1991).\nFindings: In the preceding sections, we have discussed the hypothesis of MMORPG play being a kind of experiential information retrieval, supported by the interface, the various types of \"keywords,\" and processes such as the development of procedural literacies. This previously discussed lens is now applied to an ethnographic data set collected in WoW. Through this renewed perspective, new data and interpretations emerge, producing novel insights on how design, information and players are tied together. The analysis focuses on three main themes: controlled access, procedural literacies, and emphatic \"keywords.\" All direct quotes below come from respondents in the data set.\nDiscussion: As has been discussed in this paper, functional gameplay depends on optimal yet at the same time restricted access to retrieval tasks. It also requires the skills needed to complete the retrieved challenges, i.e., to play well. Information systems typically have three often overlapping facets with different purposes (Buckland, 1991). The cognitive system aspect leads to users becoming informed, by providing the required information and by connecting with the user's prior knowledge and skills. Managerial systems aspects function as tools for allocating information and resources, and are judged by the quality of the system and the benefits of its use. The economical aspect, in turn, determines whether potential users have a possibility of seeing interaction with the system as worthwhile. An information system can be considered economical if at the same time: its perceived benefits exceed its expected costs of use, it is more attractive than alternative options are, and the user considers the task continually worth resolving (Buckland, 1991, p. 159). In the case of voluntary play, \"worthwhile\" usually of course equates with \"enjoyable, or at least interesting, to do.\" This is reflected in our interviewees' answers, in which the word \"enjoy\" in its various forms keeps popping up in many contexts.\nConclusions and implications: This paper has explored the question \"how do multiplayer digital games function as information retrieval systems?\" In MMORPGs, information retrieval is a pre-arranged formulation of search focus, implemented by the game in its function as an information system. By fostering contextual relevances through processes such as controlled content access, multiplayer games guide their players to perform information retrieval tasks. The interfaces of the games make these retrievals mostly individual-level actions, even in group situations. The players nevertheless turn the results of many retrieval tasks into collaborative, shared work.\n",
"role": "user"
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{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to expand the research of games as information systems. It illustrates how significant parts of massively multiplayer online role-playing function like information retrieval from a library database system.\nDesign/methodology/approach: By combining ideas from earlier contributions on the topics of game environments as information systems, the paper explores how gameplay connects to information retrieval, restricted content access, and information system structure. The paper then proceeds to examine this idea through an ethnographic study conducted in World of Warcraft during 2012-2016.\nFindings: By discussing how multiplayer digital game play is a form of information retrieval, the paper shows that players enjoy the well-restricted access to information that is a constitutive element of gameplay. Examining controlled access, procedural literacies and emphatic keywords, the paper finds that content relevances and system use may be influenced by hedonic concerns rather than task efficiency.\nOriginality/value: The study of retrieval issues related to gaming enriches our knowledge on inferences in retrieval. It shows that people may prefer that their access to information be limited, in order to make system use more interesting.\n",
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] |
30 years of IJPSM publications: an analysis
|
[
"Public management",
"Publications",
"Journal"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The 30th anniversary of the International Journal of Public Sector Management (IJPSM) seems like a good opportunity to analyse the publication patterns in the field. The number of journals on public management has gone up in recent years. Nowadays, there are several journals with an explicit focus on management such as: Public Management Review, International Journal of Public Management, Internal Public Management Journal and Public Performance & Management Review . And there are also journals that focus on specific aspects of public management such as public personnel (e.g. Review of Public Personnel Administration), financial management (e.g. Public Money and Management), or sector specific journals on for example education (e.g. International Journal of Educational Management) or healthcare (many titles). This increase in the number of journals is probably related to the generic increase in the importance that universities award to article publications, as opposed to book publications, and the increasing use of the internet. IJPSM is one of the oldest journals in the field of public management, and therefore offers the possibility to take a longitudinal perspective to track publication trends.\nEditors: Unfortunately, not all data from all years are available. For one, we have not been able to trace back who the first editor was; lack of digitalization and human memory loss are to blame here (if you know more, please feel free to contact the editor). We pick up the trace circa 1992, four years after the journal was established, when Colin Talbot (now at Manchester, UK) took over as the Editor. He reformed the journal; originally there was a strong focus on developmental issues. Colin Talbot turned IJPSM into a mainstream public management journal - fitting with the title of the journal. Colin served for about eight years as the Editor-in-Chief. Around the year 2000, Joyce Liddle (Teesside UK, later based in Aix-en-Provence, France) joined him as the Co-Editor, and she took over as the Editor-in-Chief in 2001. She appointed two Associate Editors: Mike Row and Amanda Smith. Joyce served as the Editor for 14 years. In those years, the number of issues was extended, the editorial board was internationalised and the journal was included in Scopus. In 2015, the current Editor-in-Chief, Sandra van Thiel (Nijmegen, The Netherlands), was appointed. She appointed two new Associate Editors: Christina Edwards (Sao Paulo, Brasil) and Deanna Malatesta (SPEA, Indiana, USA). While the journal has always had an international appeal, mostly through the networks of the editors, the last appointment fitted in the strategy of the publisher, Emerald, to make the journal truly international and less UK-based. In that line, the editorial board was also revised with many new appointments, leading to a more diverse board. The former Editor, Joyce Liddle, is now the Chair of the editorial advisory board.\nNumber of articles and authors: Nowadays, IJPSM publishes seven issues per year, with six articles on average, making a total amount of 42 articles per year. In the past, the number of issues and articles used to be much lower though: starting with 15 articles in the first volume (four issues), reaching maximums of 46 and 47 articles around 2009 (overall average: 35.8 articles), see Table I.\nThemes and topics: IJPSM is a generic public management journal, hence articles deal with a large array of topics. Table II gives an overview of the special issues in the past ten years, to give just a small indication of the topics dealt with, ranging from: local government reforms, to state-owned enterprises; typical public management reforms such as marketization, partnerships and outsourcing; in specific parts of the world like Nordic countries, Asia, Southern Europe and North America; and in specific policy sectors such as health, education and regeneration. Interestingly, there are also several issues dealing with the level of the individual public manager or public servant (see e.g. issues on identity and work place aggression). In that sense, one might conclude that IJPSM was already interested in what is nowadays known as behavioural public administration (Olsen et al., 2017).\nResearch methods: The majority (>90 per cent) of articles in IJPSM is empirical, reporting on the findings of research. And most of those articles, 70 per cent of the total number of articles, describe the findings of qualitative research, usually case studies (single or multiple). Recently, the number of quantitative, statistical articles has gone up from about 15 per cent in the first years to over 40 per cent nowadays. Purely conceptual papers were popular in the early 2000s but have decreased again. Unfortunately the numbers do not tell whether this is caused by a decrease in the number of conceptual submissions, or whether it is part of the editorial strategy to prefer empirical work over conceptual papers. These developments are in line though with findings on other journals in public administration (Groeneveld et al., 2015) (Figure 2).\nOrigin of authorship and readership: Finally, we turn to the question: where do our authors and readers come from? Table III shows that most authors come from countries where English is a native language: UK, Australia, USA, Canada, and New Zealand. In the past, other countries also hosted authors, in particular Hong Kong and Ireland - where English is also the lingua franca. There are also authors from other countries, but the journal clearly attracts - or accepts work of - authors from the western world, in particular Europe. In the early years of the journal, many publications about developing countries were written by western authors.\nConclusions: Our analysis of 30 years of publications in the IJPSM has revealed a number of trends. First, we saw that the number of articles is increasing, pointing to a trend of growing importance of journals as an outlet for academic research. Second, most articles are nowadays co-authored; only about one-third is single-authored. Academics are apparently increasingly collaborating in their research, and sharing the credits for publications. Third, we noted that the variety of topics is increasing. Public management touches upon a variety of aspects, which also seem to find their way to our journal more often. A similar finding, fourth, was made regarding the use of research methods. Although qualitative research is still the most frequently used method, the percentage of quantitative studies is clearly on the rise. That cannot yet be said for the origin of authorship and readership, which was our fifth and final finding: IJPSM is still a mainly western, or more specifically English-speaking communities, focussed journal. That remains our challenge for the near future: to make the journal truly the IJPSM.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: By using the analysis of 30 years of publications in the journal International Journal of Public Sector Management, the purpose of this paper is to discover trends in publications, such as single vs joint authorship, topics and country of origin in authorship and readership.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using secondary sources, such as Scopus and the Manuscript Central system, quantitative data are collected and then analysed with simple descriptive statistics.\nFindings: Single authorship has gone down, while the number of articles has gone up. The authors still mainly come from English-speaking countries, as do the readers who cite the articles. The majority of publications still reports findings from qualitative, empirical research but on an increasing number of varying topics.\nOriginality/value: The findings give insight into the publication patterns in public management, indicating developments in the academic practices of the discipline.\n",
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] |
Turnaround in the bandits of Bravo Company
|
[
"Organizational change",
"Armed forces",
"United States of America"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Organizations are increasingly operating in an environment that has become global (Ghoshal, 1987), intensely competitive (David, 2006), and economically volatile (Hoskisson et al., 2000). Simultaneously, organizations are dealing with significant technological changes (Wanberg and Banas, 2000) and workforce changes (Lerman and Schmidt, 2006). Organizations intent on sustained survival and competitiveness do not have the luxury of being content with status quo. Failure to anticipate and respond to these environmental changes can result in loss of competitive position, erosion of shareholder support, and even the demise of an organization (Collins, 2001; Vollman, 1996). Consequently, organizations cannot be content with current success or complacent with dysfunctional units, but must instead look for continual improvements and actively seek to turn-around dysfunctional units (Grinyer and McKiernan, 1990; Pearce and Robbins, 1994; Robbins and Pearce, 1992, 1993). Contemporary organizational change literature typically focuses on corporations, with tangential or anecdotal consideration of selected governmental or non-profit organizations such as hospitals (Nutt, 1986; Rousseau and Tijoriwala, 1999). However, America's military must also deal with change, not only at the organizational level (Hartman, 2007), but also at the unit and individual levels as well (Agency Group 05, 2006; Thompson et al., 2007).In the US Army, one significant cause of change is personnel turnover in all-concomitant organizations. Army soldiers can expect new commanders approximately every two years at the battalion level and every 12-24 months at the company level. Despite all the official policies, procedures and stacks of manuals, each change in leadership brings consequent changes to the organization, with some organizations becoming more efficient while others do not. One case of a unit increasing its effectiveness during a leadership change was the change of the bandits of Bravo Company (a pseudonym for an armor or tank company) over an intense, eight-month period. This tank company quickly rose from one of the worst of six companies in the brigade to one of the best companies. The purpose of this paper is to retroactively study a positive change in an organization showing how the elements of readiness creation and the change strategies outlined in a widely accepted change model (Armenakis et al., 1999) applied to specific elements of the change, an approach that ultimately enhanced the overall success of the commander's efforts.The Armenakis et al. model was selected because Armenakis et al. view the implementation of a change initiative as a process, rather than providing a prescriptive recipe for the change manager to follow. As Burnes (1996, p. 187) observes, \"[...] change should not be [...] seen as a series of linear events within a given period of time; instead, it is viewed as a continuous process\". Pettigrew (1987) likewise argues that change must be considered through the complex interaction of the content of the change, the process of the change, and the context (both internal and external) in which the organization and the intended change exist. As such, such n-step prescriptions for change such as that recommended by Kotter (1996) should be viewed with caution. Process models, such as the Armenakis et al. (1999) model are not necessarily as widely discussed as the prescriptive models largely due to the associated level of their complexity. Nevertheless, the Armenakis model is one that has proven viable as a lens through which to view change in organizations (Bernerth, 2004; Holt et al., 2007; Self, 2005; Walker et al., 2007).Evolution of the bandits study\nChanging a dysfunctional military unit: Defining the problem in the company\nConclusion: While the bandits' change is significant and reflects a successful transformation in an organization, the company commander was unfamiliar with many popular change models. Nevertheless, in an effort to effectively lead the tank company through the necessary changes, the underlying logic of the Armenakis et al. (1999) change model was demonstrated as the commander unknowingly applied the model in implementing the necessary changes for the company to become successful. Although the commander was unaware of the model, he used all of the elements to create readiness: discrepancy, appropriateness, principle support, valence, and efficacy. In effecting the change, the commander demonstrated elements of all of the seven change strategies: active participation, persuasive communication, diffusion practices, management of internal and external information, rites and ceremonies, formalization activities, and HRM practices. By doing this, he was able to positively affect a change in the company that allowed it to succeed in peacetime training and in combat.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to retroactively study a positive organizational change by showing how the elements of readiness creation and the change strategies in a widely accepted change model applied to a 20-month change in one US Army company.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The commander was not familiar with many of the contemporary change management models. Retrospective analysis of the change strategies reveals congruence with components of a widely accepted change model. The commander's actions, matched with the model's components, highlighting the model's potential value in the military.\nFindings: - The most significant finding is that a military commander with limited theoretical experience in organizational change successfully turned around a military unit while unconsciously paralleling an existing change model, suggesting that the military should study the model further.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The paper is limited by the number of organizations studied.\nPractical implications: - One implication is that military leaders and other professionals can benefit by looking outside traditional sources for tools and inspiration to solve challenging problems in their unique environments.\nOriginality/value: - This application of the organizational change model outside a business setting suggests that the model may have greater utility than previously thought. Additionally, the application of business change management strategy in a military organization impacts on military professionals who are seeking new ways of conducting operations. Finally, the paper is original because of the retroactive change model application, suggesting the model is grounded in leadership and organizational development theory and practice.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Sabre Yachts: a case study
|
[
"Strategic management",
"Marketing mix",
"Product differentiation",
"Boats"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Differentiated firms are those firms that compete in the marketplace by employing a strategy that appeals to a market (or a market segment) with the message \"we are not the cheapest, but we are the best\" or if not the best then certainly dissimilar from our competitors. The purpose of a differentiated strategy is to build customer loyalty through an excellent image of the organization and its products and services. This loyalty creates a wall between the organization and its competitors (especially new entrants) and ensures that customers see important product and service distinctions. They see greater profit per unit and therefore have less need for high production capacity. (Porter, 1985)Of course there are risks associated with a differentiation strategy. Organizations pursuing a differentiation strategy may find that:* Changes in market structure make product differentiation an unprofitable strategy. As markets change from oligopolies to monopolies, and from imperfect competition to perfect competition, product differentiation becomes an unprofitable strategy.* Product differentiation is difficult to maintain, given the emergence of imitators. Innovative products and services, unless protected by patents and copyrights, may be easily duplicated by competitors and differentiated companies are constantly searching for new ways to become different from their competitors.* The cost difference between low-cost competitors and differentiated firms becomes too large to sustain brand loyalty. When the price-gap becomes so large that customers cannot justify paying premium prices, even for higher quality products, firms will be forced to change their differentiation strategies.* Technological changes that nullify or minimize past investment or learning. For firms who differentiate their products or services through product innovation, or who use technology as part of their distribution channel, new technologies and product development can destroy technologically-driven competitive advantages (Pearce and Robinson, 2005).A focused strategy, on the other hand, concentrates on the particular needs of a market segment, usually a segment that is atypical of the normal customer and has specialized requirements and needs. An organization that follows this strategy may service isolated regions, have unique service delivery systems, or modify their product to meet a specific customer group. The rationale behind a focused strategy is relatively simple. The firm knows that it does not have the capabilities of servicing the entire market and wants to carve out a part of the market which best matches the firm's skills and competencies. This allows the firm to concentrate on the needs of that market segment and transforms the firm into a market segment specialist (either low-cost provider or differentiator) (Porter, 1985).However, focused strategies are not without risk. Risks may include:* The focused strategy is imitated.* New entrants further segment the market. New entrants who do not want to compete will look for narrower market segments to service.* The target segment becomes structurally unattractive because demand has dwindled and the market segment has disappeared.* Broad competitors overwhelm the market by reducing the differences between the segments and therein increase their competitive position (Pearce and Robinson, 2005).Firms that practice a focused, differentiated strategy, are therefore operating at relatively higher risk than other firms. They must pay particular attention to monitor both their operations and external environment and therein be flexible enough to change their marketing mix (and their competitive position) in order to sustain a good fit with their environment (Sherman et al., 2006). The following case examines some of the strategic and tactical options available to a focused, differentiated firm, Sabre Yachts, as it tries to react to perceived changing market conditions.Intended audience and learning objectives\nThe Case: Sabre Yachts[1]: \"Spring is usually the start of the busiest time of year for sales and inquires in the industry,\" said Bentley Collins, Marketing Manager of Sabre Yachts to Daniel Zilkha, CEO and Chris Evans, president and COO. \"Yet I'm concerned, since the phone isn't ringing with its normal frequency. I wonder if the current slow down is just a lull in sales activities or something more drastic.\"It was April, 2001, and Bentley Collins, the Marketing Manager of Sabre Yachts, a luxury sail and power boat builder from South Casco, Maine, was in his office reviewing some of the normal spring-time marketing details. He was checking boat show schedules, updating co-op advertising details for various dealers, and finishing arrangements for Sabre's World Cup Regatta and Rendezvous. These two events were gatherings of Sabre yacht owners, where sailboat racing and social events took place at an East coast location. Early spring was traditionally the beginning of the \"boating fever\" time. The noise level from his phone and fax machine and the pace of activities from abutting offices had been frenetic for the past seven spring seasons, but this year the phone wasn't ringing with its normal seasonal frequency and the nearby offices were uncharacteristically quiet. Dealers confirmed that new boat inquiries and orders were off, as compared to that of recent years. Bentley was concerned by the \"deafening\" silence. Bentley muttered out loud:The boat building business can be profitable, but it can be risky. Risk generally comes as a markets slows down and manufacturers are not prepared with a smaller scale plan. Market information is critical for this reason. Power boat builders are generally more profitable because volumes are higher. Sailboat builders tend to build fewer units and are therefore more susceptible to risk. Sailboat builders tend to be less well funded.Sabre Yachts' product line\nCase analysis: Case summary\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze Sabre Yachts, a firm that manufactures specialty sail and power boats.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A case research method including field interviews and secondary research was carried out. The case describes the dilemma that the Marketing Manager, Bentley Collins of Sabre Yachts faced in developing a profitable marketing mix given the firm's competitors, product line, industry and national economic trends and provides an analysis of the situation through structured case questions and answers.\nFindings: - Sabre decided to \"stick to the knitting\" (Peters and Waterman) and not expand geographically, as the authors suggested, into the largest state market segments. Instead, they took a more conservative approach and expanded their product line which expanded the breadth of their market into other boat market (size) segments.\nOriginality/value: - The case analysis applies strategic management and marketing concepts to a specific real-life business situation and demonstrates the value of using theory in practice.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Managing different forms of distances in Dutch healthcare organizations: The relation between managers and professionals as a dynamic continuum of distance and proximity
|
[
"Management theory",
"Distances",
"Healthcare governance",
"Organizational ethnography",
"Dichotomous “gap” thinking",
"Creating proximity"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: It is often assumed that New Public Management (NPM) reforms, such as upscaling and performance management, have increased the \"gap\" between professionals and managers (Clarke and Newman, 1997; Hunter, 2003; Gray and Harrison, 2004; Duyvendak et al., 2006). \"Gap\" thinking relates to seemingly competing and contesting professional and managerial logics (Noordegraaf and van der Meulen, 2008; Noordegraaf, 2011a, b; Noordegraaf and Schinkel, 2011); professionals are burdened by \"bureaucratic\" systems (Noordegraaf and Steijn, 2013) and they feel alienated through meaningless policies (Tummers et al., 2013).\n2. Different worlds and logics in healthcare organizations: The relationship between managers and professionals in healthcare can be considered as a \"negotiated order\" in which multiple parties and interests are united (Strauss et al., 1985). Raelin (1985) already noticed a \"Clash of cultures\" between managers and professionals based on differences in educational background, socialization, interests, work habits and outlook. Noordegraaf and Schinkel (2011) show that professional and managerial logics have become competing logics, since the rise of managers back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. Global and local developments in NPM reforms changed methods of governance (Hood, 1991; Clarke and Newman, 1997; Hunter, 2003; Pollitt, 1993, 2003) and led to a higher degree of specialization (Abbott, 1988; Mintzberg, 1996; Glouberman and Mintzberg, 2001a, b; Gray and Harrison, 2004; Duyvendak et al., 2006) especially to a disassembling of managerial and professional work. Managers tried to reassemble the relation by organizing more grip on professional service delivery through the introduction of business like goal-setting, budget control and accountable performance structures, thereby steering cultures and behaviors of professionals (Hood, 1991; Mintzberg, 1996; Freidson, 2001). The professional work became more standardized (Timmermans and Berg, 2003; Harrison, 2004; Zuiderent-Jerak, 2007) and organizations increased in scale (Helderman et al., 2005).\n3. Distance as a concept: 3.1. Different forms\n4. Research method: In order to learn how healthcare executives actually experience and manage distance, the work of three healthcare executives was observed and is described \"from the inside out\" by means of ethnographic research (Geertz, 1973; Spradley, 1980; Alvesson and Skoldberg, 2000; Creswell, 2003; Bevir and Rhodes, 2003; Strauss and Corbin, 1990; Yanow and Schwartz Shea, 2006). Organizational ethnography aims to engage with questions of how a particular group operates, using qualitative research methods, especially observation, in a participatory way (Neyland, 2008). Within the scope of this study, three healthcare executives were shadowed (Barley and Kunda, 2001; Arman et al., 2012; Tengblad, 2012; Nicolini, 2013) during six working days each, on some occasions in a more or in a less participatory manner. In cooperation the researcher and the executive selected six significant days that featured different meetings, work visits or other planned moments of contact with clients, managers or professionals. The observations were captured by means of detailed field notes. In order to generalize the specific findings to more general notions of healthcare management, organizations from three different healthcare sectors were selected: a general hospital, an organization for care and support of mentally disabled people and a nursing home.\n5. Three pictures of healthcare organizations: 5.1. Large and dispersed\n6. Perceived forms of distance: The three case studies show that perceived distances are situational adapted to the different kinds of organizations and the more or less contingent variables within. Although physical distance is often the most literal meaning assigned to the concept of distance by the respondents, it seems that the perceived meaning of distance most respondents in this research refer to - although they do not call it so - is mental distance. Mental distance does not only exist between managers and professionals, but also between various departments and professional domains. Enforcing an excessively radical application of rationality, objectivity and abstraction, arising from managing from a \"business\" rather than from a \"relational\" perspective, leads to a hardening of the mental distance between managers and care givers, causing them to drift apart. Within the scope of the case studies, temporal distance becomes manifested in various ways. Temporal distance between management and frontline staff is experienced in terms of the speed of decision-making. The different layers of management are then described as having a delaying effect. Managing will consequently revolve around finding an appropriate pace for decision-making. Social distance is created and maintained by the structure of the organization. Structuring organizations in different layers is intended to overcome the distance between executives and frontline staff, but in practice, it can be observed that these organizational layers produce distance instead. The translation of the information through all different layers from the frontline to the executive takes place by increasingly drastic abstractions of direct patient care. The information is passed on to the next layer in more and more truncated and summarized versions. This causes the organizational layers to be indicated not only as links that pass on or translate information, but also as filters or buffers. Because intermediate layers identify themselves with the management, the information is transferred from \"top to bottom,\" but not \"translated.\" Information that is too abstract when it reaches staff causes a sense of mental distance in relation to the management.\n7. Coping with distance: The four described methods provide points of departure to describe how respondents cope with distance in a manner that is balanced and tailored to the situation in which a particular kind of distance is perceived. In the three organizations under study, documents - budgets, policy statements and protocols - are sent out as extensions (see Table II) from the board. Sometimes the managers and even the executives are experienced as \"extensions,\" In the geographically disparate organization for caring for the disabled, distance is mostly managed by the use of \"meeting places.\" In the hospital, the border conflicts between the different wards and professional worlds are a way of life, and \"connectors\" such as quality managers that are able to use the languages of both managers and professionals, play a translating and cohering role. The nursing home/special care organization mainly works to increase connections, while at the same time maintaining boundaries between the different locations. The management methods designed to cope with distance can be found in all three case studies, each in a specific shape that is tailored to the situation.\n8. Conclusion: The work of healthcare executives was studied by theoretically and empirically exploring the concept of distance. Combining theoretical and empirical findings led to a theoretical framework of four different kinds of distance (e.g. physical, temporal, mental, social distance) and four mechanisms to cope with distance (e.g. extensions, connections, meeting places, boundaries). The different kinds of distance and the four coping mechanisms show how organizational practices are made of continuous interactions between distance and proximity. Distance can be both desirable as reprehensible as well.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Dichotomous \"gap\" thinking about professionals and managers has important limits. The purpose of this paper is to study the specific ontology of \"the gap\" in which different forms of distances are defined.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In order to deepen the knowledge of the actual day-to-day tasks of Dutch healthcare executives an ethnographic study of the daily work of Dutch healthcare executives and an ontological exploration of the concept \"gap\" was provided. The study empirically investigates the meaning given to the concept of \"distance\" in healthcare governance practices.\nFindings: The study reveals that healthcare executives have to fulfil a dual role of maintaining distance and creating proximity. Coping with different forms of distances seems to be an integral part of their work. They make use of four potential mechanisms to cope with distance in their healthcare organization practices.\nOriginality/value: The relationship between managers and professionals is often defined as a dichotomous gap. The findings in this research suggest a more dynamic picture of the relationship between managers and professionals than is currently present in literature. This study moves \"beyond\" the gap and investigates processes of distancing in-depth.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Interviewers' perceptions of impression management in employment interviews
|
[
"Impression management",
"Employment interview",
"Faking",
"Personnel selection"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Impression management (IM), or job applicants' attempts to create a particular image in interviewers' minds during employment interviews, has been studied extensively in the last decades (Stevens and Kristof, 1995; Ellis et al., 2002; Kristof-Brown et al., 2002; Barrick et al., 2009). The use of IM behaviors is related to interviewers' ratings (Kristof-Brown et al., 2002; Kacmar et al., 1992). Nearly all job applicants engage in IM (e.g. Ellis et al., 2002; Turnley and Bolino, 2001; Levashina and Campion, 2007), but different types of interviews encourage some and discourage other types of IM behaviors (Ellis et al., 2002; McFarland et al., 2003). Furthermore, IM can be more or less honest or deceptive (Levashina and Campion, 2007; Gilmore and Ferris, 1989). Honest tactics are used by applicants to truthfully describe their actual job-related abilities, accomplishments, and experiences. In contrast, deceptive tactics are used by applicants to embellish their actual job-related credentials or to create credentials that fit with the job requirements.\nConvergence between interviewers' perceptions and applicants' self-reports of IM: Interviewers are the targets of applicant IM. Self-reports of IM reflect applicants' intentions to convey certain images during the employment interviews, which may or may not be what interviewers actually perceive and use to evaluate applicants. If interviewers are indeed inaccurate in their perceptions of IM, this may threaten the validity of the interview. For instance, interviewers may be unable to see when applicants are being deceptive, which may explain why deceptive IM use is sometimes related to better interview evaluations (e.g. Levashina and Campion, 2007).\nInterviewers' perceptions and interview evaluations: Interviewers are likely to make inferences regarding applicants' qualities based on perceived use of honest IM tactics, such as self-promotion. They expect applicants to be able to \"promote their candidacy\" (Ralston and Kirkwood, 1999, pp. 202-203), and to engage in self-promotion behaviors in interviews. They may also consider such behaviors as \"normal\" adaptations to the situational demands of the selection context. Not using self-promotion tactics may even be perceived by interviewers as inappropriate or as an indication that applicants are not interested in a job (Bozeman and Kacmar, 1997). Because self-promotion tactics make applicants' actual abilities more apparent, interviewers may infer that applicants using them possess social skills and view them as a better fit with the job (Kristof-Brown et al., 2002; Lipovsky, 2006; Rosenfeld, 1997). Moreover, they can consider applicants' ability to present themselves well in the selection process as a good predictor of subsequent ability to do so in future interactions in the organizational setting (Griffith et al., 2009). This may be especially important in jobs requiring interpersonal skills (e.g. sales jobs) (Swider et al., 2011). Recent findings even suggest that the use of self-promotion in the interview predicts actual job performance (Kleinmann and Klehe, 2010). In addition, self-promotion constitute honest attempts to attribute past success to one's own actions. Attribution theory suggests that such internal attributions tend to be positively evaluated by observers (Beauvois and Dubois, 2001; Pansu and Gilibert, 2002). Thus, interviewers may evaluate applicants more positively when they perceive them to use self-promotion and describe past job outcomes as being under their personal control than when applicants do not engage in self-promotion or when job outcomes are attributed to external and uncontrollable events (Silvester, 1997; Silvester et al., 2002):\nMethod: We now present a field study with real selection interviews conducted in recruiting agencies, with professional interviewers interviewing experienced applicants for actual jobs.\nResults: IM use, interviewers' perceptions, and convergence\nDiscussion: This field study simultaneously investigated interviewers' perceptions and applicants' self-reports of self-promotion, deceptive ingratiation, image protection, and slight and extensive image creation tactics in real employment interviews. Next, we discuss how our results extend previous research on IM in the employment interview. We first discuss our main findings, then we describe implications for theory and practice, and suggest ways to continue to explore this line of research.\nConclusion: In a recent meta-analysis, Barrick et al. (2009, p. 1349) explained that \"what they [employers] see in the interview may not be what they get on the job\". Our research supports this conclusion by showing that interviewers and applicants do not see IM behaviors in the same way. It may be in organizations' best interest to develop specific training programs or to implement interview formats (e.g. more structured interviews or past-behavioral questions, see Kristof-Brown et al., 2002; Bolino et al., 2008; Ellis et al., 2002; Levashina and Campion, 2007) that help interviewers see things more clearly.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Applicants often use impression management (IM) in employment interviews, and such tactics can considerably influence interviewers' evaluations of their performance. Yet, little research has examined interviewers' perceptions of such behaviors. This paper aims to examine if interviewers' perceptions of various IM behaviors converge with applicants' self-reports and the impact of interviewers' IM perceptions on interview outcomes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Findings are based on data from a field study of 164 real employment interviews, conducted in recruiting agencies in Switzerland.\nFindings: Interviewers' perceptions do not converge with self-reported applicant IM. Interviewers' perceptions of self-promotion and perceived applicant transparency are positively related to interview evaluations, while perceptions of slight image creation tactics are negatively related to interview evaluations. Perceptions of deceptive ingratiation, image protection, and extensive image creation were not related to evaluations.\nPractical implications: It may not be that easy for interviewers to identify when applicants use IM, partly because they may be prone to overconfidence in their judgments and may (wrongly) believe they can \"see through the applicant\". Also, what may actually matter in interviews is not the impression applicants think they are making, but interviewers' perceptions of applicant IM.\nOriginality/value: This study investigates interviewers' perceptions in addition to applicants' self-reports of five types of IM in real employment interviews, and how such perceptions are related to interview outcome.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Role conflict and ambivalence in the aged-parent-adult-child relationship
|
[
"Role",
"Ambivalence",
"Inter-generation relationship",
"Parent-child"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The parent-child relationship is the first and one of the most long-lasting relationships in an individual's social life. Facing the population ageing problem, it is increasingly important to understand this relationship, especially between aged parents and their adult children. According to the Socioemotional Selectivity theory, as the perception of future remaining time becomes limited, the elderly tend to rely more on the familiar persons around them instead of building new social partners (Fung and Carstensen, 2004). The quality of parent - child relationship is crucial to senior citizens' emotional well-being.\n2. Related work: Previous research has unveiled the conflict between aged parents and their adult children caused by their status change. The theory of ambivalence is one of the most popular and systematic theories in this area. Ambivalence describes the mixed feelings of both positive and negative emotions toward the same relational objects (Freud, 1913). This theory was introduced by sociologists to study the relationship within family members recently (Luescher and Pillemer, 1998; Connidis and McMullin, 2002a). Quantitative studies based on the ambivalence theory were held to understand the coexistence of kinship and conflict between aged parents and their adult children. The ambivalence is shown to be negatively correlated to psychological health, life satisfaction and well-being of the senior population (Pillemer and Suitor, 2002; Bengtson et al., 2002; Lowenstein, 2007).\n3. Role conflict model in parent-child relationship: 3.1 Preliminaries\n4. The family role conflict and ambivalence testing scale: This scale is developed to test the following correlations:\n5. Conclusions and future work: As time passes, children transit to adults and parents grow old. This transition brings inevitable changes in the parent-child relationship. Both parties feel complexity between the extension of previous interaction pattern and the conflict caused by new power contrast. In this paper, we proposed a novel perception to understand this transition process and explain related problems based on the analysis of the leader-follower relationship between the parents and their children. Some parents experience negative affect from their children's support. Meanwhile, some others accept the same situation well and enjoy the relation. Why this paradox exists widely in both research results and real life is a research question worth exploring. According to our proposed role conflict theory, the key to answering this question is neither based on behaviors nor personal characteristics, but based on the role structure of the family. If the child has ability and would like to provide support to his/her parent, then he/she will request to be the leader of the family. In one case, his/her parent expects him/her to be the leader. The focal individual's role requirement matches the role expectation from his/her family. He/she will enjoy the harmony of role playing as a family leader in this case. The parent-child relation will show less tension and ambivalence. In the other case, if the parents do not want to give up their previous leadership by accepting the support from their children, the role conflict happens. The parent-child relation between will show an ambivalence tendency. To validate this model, we developed the Family Role Conflict and Ambivalence Scale to test the role conflict of family members and ambivalence in the parent-child relation.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The parent-child relationship is important to the solidarity of families and the emotional well-being of family members. Since people are more dependent on their close social relationships as they age, understanding the quality of relationships between aged parents and their adult children is a critical topic. Previous research shows that this relationship is complicated with both kinship and ambivalence. However, there is little research on the causes of this complexity. This paper proposes a role model to explain this complexity by studying the leadership transition within a family as the child grows.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In this paper, we proposed a novel perception to understand this transition process and explain related problems based on the analysis of the leader-follower relationship between the parents and their children.\nFindings: When a child is born, his/her parents become the leader of this family because of their abilities, responsibilities and the requirements of the infant. This leader-follower role structure will last a long time in this family. Decades later, when the parents become old and the child grows up, the inter-generational contracts within the family and the requirement of each members change. This transition weakens the foundation of the traditional leader-follower role structure within the family. If either the parent or the child does not want to accept their new roles, both of them will suffer and struggle in this relationship. This role conflict will cause ambivalence in the relationship between aged parents and their adult children.\nOriginality/value: Based on the quantitative study model provided in this paper, we can moderate the relationships between aged parents and their adult children. This effort is meaningful in enhancing the quality of life and emotional wellbeing for senior citizens.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Effect of store atmospherics on employees' reactions
|
[
"Store ambience",
"Clothing",
"Employee behaviour"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The highly increasing competition in retailing requires from managers working in this field to consider the customers' satisfaction at the core of their strategic thoughts. Such an orientation appears clearly through the implementation of new techniques and strategies that may lead to a more pleasant shopping experience. The growing number of the stores known as \"atmosphere stores\" (Filser, 2001) is an illustration (i.e. Sephora; Nature & Decouvertes). Their main objective is to reach a better positioning of the retail stores (Filser, 2001). Indeed, these stores are designed in such a way that consumers may easily differentiate their offer (assortments, prices, promotion, etc.) from the competitors' one, and also obtain an intrinsic value derived from living a gratifying and hedonist experience of leisure and social interactions (Dawson et al., 1990).The store atmosphere, becoming a largely adopted retailing strategy, is also a subject matter that gained a growing interest among academicians. Indeed, several researchers focused on identifying the environment's components and particularly their influence on customer behaviour (Kotler, 1973-1974; Baker, 1986; Berman and Evans, 1995; Bitner, 1992). They stressed to the need to consider the retail store environment as a multidimensional concept made up of music, scents, colours, lights, design, etc. Recently, social dimension represented by stores employees has been also included among these dimensions (Baker, 1986; Baker et al. 1994).Studies addressing the impact of store atmospherics give support to their significant effect on the customers' emotional, cognitive and behavioural responses, as well as on the quality of the interaction between customer and contact personnel (Bitner, 1992; Machleit and Eroglu, 2000; Hoffman and Turley, 2002; Turley and Milliman, 2000; Grewal et al., 2003; Dion, 2004; Eroglu et al., 2005; Machleit et al., 2000; Wirtz et al., 2007; Wirtz and Mattila, 2007; Mattila and Wirtz, 2008). Despite the accumulated body of knowledge, little interest has been directed to how these store atmospherics might affect employees. This seems somehow controversial for at least three reasons. First, the widely recognized strategic importance of internal marketing (Barnes, 1989; Gronroos, 1997) and the growing interest to the employees' satisfaction-performance relationship in service delivery (Baker, 1986; Chebat et al., 2002; Lovelock et al., 2008; Singh, 2000). Second, the results of experimental studies in human factors design (ergonomics) supporting significant effects of ambient conditions (lighting, noise, temperature, ventilation, etc.) and equipment design in different contexts (design of computers, automobiles, employee work stations, etc.) on human reactions, stimulation level and pleasure (Munsterberg, 1915; Bennett, 1977; Oborne, 1987; Sanders and McCormick, 1987). Third, the recognition by some marketing scholars of the effects of the commercial environment design not only on customers but also on employees (Bitner, 1992). Consequently, we gain more in knowledge by investigating into how sales people react to store atmospherics. Consistent with this objective, this study aims to discover the impact of atmospherics on employees' attitudinal and behavioural responses in a service setting, namely, in clothing stores.In the following, a review of the literature on store atmospherics and their impact on customers is first presented. In the second section, the methodology of the exploratory study conducted among 13 clothing stores employees is detailed. Then, the study results are reported and discussed. Finally, limitations and future research avenues are presented.\nLiterature review: Many definitions of environmental factors are suggested in marketing literature. They revealed that this concept had undergone a considerable shift in its meaning. In services marketing, Kotler (1973-1974) is recognized to be the first author to suggest atmospherics as a marketing tool. He refers to these as \"the conscious designing of space to create some effects in buyers that enhance his purchase probability\" (Kotler, 1973-1974). Subsequently, Bitner (1992) suggested the servicescape's concept to refer to the environment in which services were delivered and where the firm and customer interacted (Hoffman and Turley, 2002). It is the \"built environment\" or, more specifically, the \"man-made, physical surroundings as opposed to the natural or social environment\" (Bitner, 1992, p. 65). This complex mix of environmental features includes lighting, colour, signage, textures, quality of materials, style of furnishings, layout, wall decor and temperature. These factors could be controlled by the firm to enhance (or constrain) the employee's and customer's actions (Bitner, 1992, p. 65). Thus, atmospherics can be considered as an emotionally oriented design of space which can affect the customers as well as the employees. Therefore, the critical dimensions of the store atmospherics range from tactile, sensory, gustatory, olfactory, and visual to social factors. Table I summarizes the different classifications of store's atmospherics dimensions suggested in the literature.As presented in Table I, the store atmospherics dimensions had undergone a refinement which was primarily motivated by the increasing recognition of their role in determining the customer affective and behavioural responses in service settings. In the following section, a synthesis of research on atmospherics impact on the consumer's responses is presented.Atmospherics influence on the consumer's reactions\nStudy design and methodology: To better understand the effects of store environmental factors on individuals, marketing scholars have often focused on quantitative approaches (Turley and Milliman, 2000). However, according to Vernette (2007), qualitative approaches offer a high potential to discover or rediscover the hidden meaning of the buyer's experience. In line with Hirschman and Holbrook (1982) and Wells (1993), several researchers also support the suitability of qualitative methods to study the behaviour and consumption experiences (Aaker et al., 2001). Besides, qualitative approach is recognized to be more fitting to investigate understudied populations (Morrow and Smith, 2000; Shinnar, 2007) and also to allow \"access and get a rough idea about person's perspective\" (Aaker et al., 2001, p. 184). Since marketing literature on the employees' reactions to store environmental factors is limited and that our study's purpose is to uncover these responses, a qualitative methodology is deemed to be appropriate.Accordingly, interviews were undertaken with 13 sales people aged between 22 and 29 and working in four internationally and locally reputed retail clothing companies operating in an emerging market, namely, Tunisia (see Table AI in Appendix for more details on the respondents and companies). It should be noticed that the initial list of contacted companies included all the clothing ones often renowned for being leaders in using atmospherics in their marketing strategies. Only four companies among them agreed to let their employees participate to the study. Selected stores were located mainly in Tunis and Sousse, very important towns in terms of population and commercial activity.A semi-structured interview guide, which allows for conversational two-way communication, was used and interviews lasted for an average of 35 min. This guide covered four main topics:1. the assessment of store environment in general;2. the range of manipulated atmospherics and the effect they elicit among them;3. the relationship they have with other people (customers, colleagues and the superior); and4. the factors that can disturb their interactions with others.The interviews were recorded after getting the interviewee's consent. Responses were transcribed after that. Data gathering continued until no critical added information was generated when interviewing a further informant (Mucchielli, 1991, p. 114).Data analysis was performed based on Miles and Huberman (1984) recommended three steps approach:1. data reduction;2. data display; and3. drawing and verifying conclusions.To these purposes, data reduction was performed subsequent to close readings of the transcriptions. These readings allowed being more familiar with the content and also contributed to identify and define the unit of analysis, namely, the themes. Within each theme, search for subtopics and overlapping aspects was also carried out. After having reduced the material into themes and identified the subtopics and related aspects, a role matrix was generated (Miles and Huberman, 1994). Rows designated the interviewees and columns the assigned theme/themes. The process of drawing conclusions with respect to the impact of the store environmental factors on their attitude and behaviour was then carried out.It is important to note that throughout the preparation of raw data and analysis, the trustworthiness of the findings had been carefully assessed mainly through checks of coding, categorisation and interpretations consistency between the first and third authors (Miles and Huberman, 1994; Thomas, 2006). Then, the three authors met together to discuss the constructions and interpretations. Any disagreement in the interpretation was openly discussed going back to the data until a consensus was reached (Shinnar, 2007, p. 349). Patton (1980, p. 339) describes this process of going back to data as one where qualitative analysts return to their data \"over and over again to see if the constructs, categories, explanations, and interpretations make sense\" (Creswell and Miller, 2000, p. 127).Comparison with findings from previous research on the same topics or on related ones (findings from human research management, environmental psychology) was also used (Erlandson et al., 1993; Thomas, 2006) to assess the credibility of the drawn results.\nResults: Data analysis shows that the interviews do not give the same attention to all store atmospherics. It reveals that music and crowd have the most effect on the informants. Such a result highlights the importance of these factors in retail store settings. The kind of relationship among employees themselves and the relation between salespeople with their sales manager also has an effect on their responses (respectively nine and seven informants agreed on those effects). The items sold and their assortments were also considered by three informants as they may influence their attitudinal and behavioural responses.Music effects on the employees' reactions\nConclusion: This study aimed for a better understanding of the employees' responses to retail store atmospherics. The case of clothing stores employees' has been chosen to explore such responses. Findings show that employees are mainly sensitive to the presence of the music, to crowding and to the products sold and their display. The social environment factor refers to the nature of the relationships within the work team and between employees and their managers. This factor appears also to have an effect on the employees' internal responses, which in turn generate either an approach or an avoidance behaviour.Furthermore, the impact of retail store atmospherics on the employees can be twofold. First, they could be stimulating, motivating and evoking enthusiasm. This is likely to result in affiliation, a desire to interact with the customer and to deliver a better service. Second, under some circumstances, they could be stressful, irritating and confusing. This may result in avoidance behaviours such as withdrawal, disturbance, stress, collapse, employee's avoidance, etc.Moreover, this study helped to identify some moderators of the relationship between the environmental factors and the employees' internal and behavioural responses.Such results appear to be of great help in explaining and predicting the employees' responses nature when managing the store atmospherics. Managers should make trade-offs between the desired consumers responses and the actual employees responses to environment factors. In addition, they should be aware of the cognitive and psychological overload that might be generated especially in sales periods when consumer affluence is high. Preparing the employees to these events, training them and being responsive to their needs would solve conflicts and enhance performance.\nLimitations and future research: A number of limitations can moderate our study findings. The first one is related to the complexity of the subject matter. Indeed, not all clothing stores manage atmospherics in the same way. Besides, these stores do not use all the atmospherics identified in a servicespace marketing to gain responsiveness among consumers. That may explain why our informants had not identified more environmental factors. This could limit the generalization of the study results to other types of services settings.Moreover, the cultural impact on the service atmospherics perception was not examined. It would be very insightful if we consider that effect in further studies. In this regard, a cross-cultural study, conducted in two hypermarkets located in France and Tunisia by Dion and Bonnin (2004), revealed significant difference in behaviours between people from the two cultures. People from a high contact culture (i.e. Tunisia) may exhibit less negative attitude to crowd density. Another limitation of this study is related to the informants' characteristics, which could have influenced the findings.Further studies could be carried out to empirically assess the proposed framework predictability. Besides, the atmospherics dimensions in the employee case deserve to be studied more thoroughly. Perhaps, we should consider that employee's servicescape differs from consumer's servicescape suggested by Bitner (1992) for both consumers and employees.Finally, we consider that this study may represent a starting point for future investigations aiming to refine and improve the theoretical and empirical approaches related to the understanding of the mechanisms by which retail store atmospherics influence the employees' responses.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to better understand the effect of store atmospherics on the employees' cognitive, affective and physiological responses. It tries to build on store atmospherics literature to gain more insights on how these store atmospherics - often handled to produce positive outcomes among consumers - affect employees' attitudinal and behavioural reactions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This study adopted an explanatory approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 employees working in internationally reputed clothing stores. A content analysis was carried out.\nFindings: - The study reveals that employees could adopt avoidance behaviours because of the environmental factors. Specifically, it suggests that the lack of variation in the musical program, incongruence of music genre - salespersons musical preferences, long exposure to the same rhythms, task complexity, crowding, might affect the employees' attitudinal and behavioural responses. In addition, the relationships between the sales force team are found to influence employees' reactions.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Because of the complexity of the subject matter and the research approach adopted, the study findings may lack generalisability. Further studies are required to test the suggested framework in different service settings.\nPractical implications: - The study finding stresses the need that in an attempt to produce positive reactions from consumer, clothing stores managers should also devote attention to employees' responses to store atmospherics as they might inhibit the quality of the service delivery process.\nOriginality/value: - This paper fulfils a recognized call to thoroughly understand the impact of store atmospherics on employees' reactions in services marketing. The study enlarges the scope of store atmospherics research in marketing to encompass not only the consumer's reactions but also the employee's ones.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Knowledge-based anti-money laundering: a software agent bank application
|
[
"Knowledge management",
"Money laundering",
"Intelligent agents"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Since the mid-1980s, money laundering (ML) has been increasingly recognized as a significant global problem, with serious economic and social ramifications (Camdessus, 1998). Today, ML has become a key funding mechanism for international religious extremism and drug trafficking, and curtailing these illegal activities has become an important focus of governments as part of their ongoing wars on terrorism and drug abuse. Following the terrorist activity of September 11, 2001, there has been an increased focus in the United States and across the globe on the prevention of ML and terrorist financing. Increasingly, anti-money laundering (AML) systems are being implemented to combat ML. However, the traditional fixed-rule-based solutions suffer from a number of drawbacks, such as ineffective thresholds, high false positive problem, lack of pattern recognition function, and insufficient data processing capability.In our research, we focus on ML control and prevention, which aim to automate the monitoring and diagnosing of ML schemes in order to report suspicious activities to banks. With a view to providing a knowledge-based solution for AML, we propose to apply the technology of intelligent agents to deal with the possible ML schemes in the electronic transaction environments in a single bank. Given specific knowledge and capabilities, intelligent agents are capable of dealing with complex problems and vast amounts of information collaboratively in dynamic and unpredictable environments. Moreover, based on previous research and experimental results, some properties of intelligent agents, such as reactive and proactive behaviors, are directly applicable for tracking abnormal transactions in a systematic and goal-driven manner (Wang et al., 2002; Wang and Wang, 1997).AML is a complex process involving many entities, where activities are delegated to a society of both autonomous and collaborative intelligent agents. Data collecting agents are responsible for collecting data of electronic transactions. Based on such data, monitoring agents may keep track on the transaction processes. When a possible ML scheme is detected, a diagnosing agent will be initiated and attempt to identify the problems. According to the output from the diagnosing agent, a reporting agent will report to the appropriate personnel. Our proposed multi-agent framework is a stand-alone system, which is integrated with the bank systems. The software agents only capture the transaction data from the bank operational system, and will not interrupt normal banking operations.In order to achieve a knowledge-level resolution, intelligent agents are developed with specific knowledge such as business rules and business strategies to reason about business actions for ML. Business rules are extracted from AML practice, and applied to the design of individual agents to make them act autonomously to fulfill the organizational goals. By separating business logic from the business model, such a \"business rules\" approach can enhance the flexibility and adaptability of our agent-based AML solution.The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. The next section briefly reviews the relevant literature on ML, AML, AML systems, and intelligent agent theory. Then the approach of applying intelligent agents into knowledge-based AML is investigated. Following this approach, we develop a multi-agent system framework for AML. The final section addresses our contribution as well as the future work.\nBackground: Money laundering and anti-money laundering\nIA-supported knowledge-based anti-money laundering: As noted before, IAs equipped with specific domain knowledge and their properties of autonomy, reactivity, proactivity, and social ability are well suited to business monitoring applications that perform limitless, error-free routine calculations and interpretation rapidly to the precise requirements of business managers. Here, we will illustrate how to apply IAs into the electronic environment to realize a knowledge-based solution for AML.Knowledge-based intelligent agents\nMulti-agent framework for anti-money laundering: After the above discussion on the application of IAs for the knowledge-based AML solution, we now develop a multi-agent framework of AML in electronic transaction environments for banks.Deployment of intelligent agents\nConclusion: This paper explores the approach of applying intelligent agents for knowledge-based AML in electronic transaction environment. A conceptual framework for a multi-agent system based on AML process is developed, in which various classes of intelligent agents are proposed to provide a set of functionalities for AML in electronic transaction environment for banks. In order to make software agents act autonomously and collaboratively to fulfill the organizational goals and objectives, business knowledge such as business rules and business strategies are extracted from AML practice, and applied to the design of individual agents. A generic structure for rule-based agents is also outlined, in which business logic is separated from business model with a view to enhance the flexibility and adaptability of such kind of rule-based system.Following this framework, we have started to build a prototype in Java so that agents can run on heterogeneous platforms and make use of lightweight applets as temporary agents. After the implementation, a number of ML cases will be built based on the real-world cases for prototype evaluation purpose. Evaluation of the prototype consists of two parts. First, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with the AML experts to collect their feedback on the prototype. Their feedback will be used to refine the prototype. Second, a laboratory experiment(s) will be conducted to evaluate the prototype effectiveness in terms of AML decision support.Our proposed system focuses on internal data monitoring in one bank, which lacks the capability to monitor multi-bank transactions. ML is becoming more and more complex, which includes multiple banks, financial institutions, countries, etc. How to share data and knowledge between these multiple entities is becoming an important issue. Out future work will explore such multi-entity involved AML solution.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Criminal elements in today's technology-driven society are using every means available at their disposal to launder the proceeds from their illegal activities. While many anti-money laundering (AML) solutions have been in place for some time within the financial community, they face the challenge to adapt to the ever-changing risk and methods in relation to money laundering (ML). This research seeks to focus on ML control and prevention, which aim to automate the monitoring and diagnosing of ML schemes in order to report suspicious activities to banks.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The research adopted the technology of intelligent agents to provide a more adaptive, flexible, and knowledge-based solution for AML.\nFindings: - Based on the analysis of monitoring, diagnosing, and reporting of ML activities occurring in electronic transactions, several types of intelligent agents are proposed and a multi-agent framework is presented for AML. Furthermore, business knowledge such as business rules and strategies are extracted from AML practice, and applied to the design of individual agents to make them act autonomously and collaboratively to fulfil the goal of ML detection.\nPractical implications: - The proposed multi-agent framework is a stand-alone system, which can be integrated by banks to combat ML. Although it is a uni-bank framework at present, it can be extended to multi-bank application in the future.\nOriginality/value: - The research explores the approach of applying an intelligent agent for knowledge-based AML in an electronic transaction environment for banks. By separating business logic from the business model, such a business-rules approach can enhance the flexibility and adaptability of the agent-based AML system.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Reliability analysis of multi-state system with application of multiple-valued logic
|
[
"Reliability",
"Multi-state system",
"Multiple-valued logic",
"Structure function"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Mathematical representation of the system considered is an important step in reliability engineering. This representation gives the methodology of system evaluation, in particular. There are two principal representations of the considered system. The first ones are known as binary-state systems (BSSs) because they permit defining only two states in system/component performance - functioning and failed. BSSs have been widely used in classical approaches of reliability engineering (Zio, 2009; Rausand and Hoyland, 2004). However, they are not very suitable for the analysis of complex systems because their use requires drawing the line between situations in which the system is functioning and when it is considered to be failed. Very often, this is impossible and, therefore, other types of mathematical models are used. According to Zio (2009), multi-state systems (MSSs) are one of the most prospective mathematical representations.\n2. MSS: 2.1 MSS mathematical representation\n3. Logical differential calculus for analysis of critical states of MSS: 3.1 Critical states of MSS\n4. Estimation of CSSs (exact boundary states) of MSS: CSS of MSS is defined as the system state of the specified performance level for which the indicated change of one component state causes the fixed change of the performance level. The fixed change of the performance level can depend on changes of some component states too. CSS of one component can be determined based on CSSV that can be interpreted as a system state with the change of this component state from s to\n5. Conclusion: The theoretical background of the use of MVL mathematical methods in the analysis of MSS is considered in this paper. The interpretation of the MSS structure function as an incompletely specified MVL function by (4) allows us to analyse MSS by MVL mathematical methods. In particular, in this paper the DPLD is used for the analysis of CSSs. In MVL these derivatives allow investigating MVL function value sensitivity depending on the change of a variable value. In terms of MSS reliability analysis these derivatives allow defining the state vector for which the change of the fixed component state causes the change of the system performance level. Every DPLD has four parameters: the initial state of component s, the changed state of component\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a new mathematical method for the reliability analysis and evaluation of multi-state system (MSS) reliability that agrees with specifics of such system. It is possible based on the application of multiple-valued logic (MVL) that is a natural extension of Boolean algebra used in reliability analysis.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Similar to Boolean algebra, MVL is used for the constriction of the structure function of the investigated system. The interpretation of the structure function of the MSS in terms of MVL allows using mathematical methods and approaches of this logic for the analysis of the structure function.\nFindings: The logical differential calculus is one of mathematical approaches in MVL. The authors develop new method for MSS reliability analysis based on logical differential calculus, in particular direct partial logical derivatives, for the investigation of critical system states (CSSs). The proposed method allows providing the qualitative and quantitative analyses of MSS: the CSS can be defined for all possible changes of any system component or group of components, and probabilities of this state can also be calculated.\nOriginality/value: The proposed method permits representing the MSS in the form of a structure function that is interpreted as MVL function and provides the system analyses without special transformation into Boolean interpretation and with acceptable computational complexity.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Evaluation of personal cloud storage products in China
|
[
"Evaluation",
"AHP-TOPSIS-GRA",
"Cloud storage provider (CSP)",
"Multiple-criteria-decision making (MCDM)",
"Personal cloud storage product (PCSP)"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Are you attracted by the ad \"share 100 photos in two seconds\" when you open Baidu cloud? Which tool will you select if you have a large amount of valuable photos, videos and music to storage, USB driver disk, mobile hard disk or cloud storage? Maybe most of you prefer a cloud storage product because of its significant advantages, such as low cost, charge on-demand, high capacity and scalability. Cloud storage has gained tremendous momentum in recent years. According to the research made by Gartner - The top 10 strategic technology trends for 2014, the personal cloud is the fourth trend. To a large extent, it has been generally accepted to place all kinds of data, which provides a new management model for personal information going online (Ardissono et al., 2009; Li et al., 2009; Wang and Chang, 2014). On cloud, netizens can query, storage, share and backup their resources effectively anywhere at any time through their mobile devices.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Cloud service selection\n3. The comprehensive evaluation model: AHP-TOPSIS-GRA: Figure 1 presents the flow chart of the model, which visually displays the logical relationship among steps and the specific method used in each step.\n4. The empirical analysis of PCSPs: To improve the credibility and universality, in this research, the top five PCSPs in China are selected as the evaluation and test objects (Yun, 2015), they are Baidu cloud, Tencent cloud, Qihoo 360-cloud, Kingsoft cloud and Huawei Bank, respectively. These CSPs mainly have two profit patterns, free and charging. Considering the universality of this study, we adopt free pattern to cater for more ordinary individual users as evaluating the interface, the intrinsic function and the transmission speed of PCSPs. In addition, this part evaluates the PCSPs synthetically from two terminal platforms: PC browser and PC client. It aims at providing some valuable references for users to select a suitable product and CSPs to improve the quality of products and services. The versions of the PC clients are Baidu cloud (v5.2.0), Tencent cloud (v2.4), Qihoo 360-cloud (v6.5.2.1120), Kingsoft cloud (v5.4.16) and Huawei DBank (v3.2.1.3).\n5. Conclusion and suggestions: This paper established an evaluation index system of PCSPs based on the former literatures, and the first class indicators consist of interface function, intrinsic function and comprehensive speed. In view of the indicators that can be measured, five PCSPs in China are investigated and analyzed from above three aspects. The final evaluation results show that individual users pay most attention to intrinsic function and transmission speed from the weight of each index in Table II; Qihoo 360-cloud gets the highest evaluation value than others because of its large capacity, file editing and fast transmission speed; CSPs like to drive users using PC client or mobile app continuously by limiting the transmission of the files in size of GB from the PC browser, it presents the situation that the future application platform of PCSPs will tend to PC client or mobile app; and for both the highest Qihoo 360-cloud and the lowest Tencent cloud in this evaluation, the transmission speed of PC client has an overwhelming advantage against the speed of PC browser.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare and evaluate the personal cloud storage products (PCSPs) in China and find the gap among them for promoting their service level. There are five representative products including Baidu cloud, Tencent cloud, Qihoo 360-cloud, Kingsoft cloud and Huawei DBank.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study, first, extracts corresponding indicators based on the extant literature to evaluate PCSPs, and then collects the data about each index by investigation and the performance test, finally proposes a model to rank PCSPs, which applies analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to determine the indexed weights and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution-grey relational analysis calculate evaluation score of each PCSP.\nFindings: Among them, Qihoo 360-cloud gets the highest evaluation score contributed by large space, file editing and fast transmission speed. The rest are Kingsoft cloud, Baidu cloud, Huawei DBank and Tencent cloud in order. These storage products are all want of the addition or improvement of the online editing service similar as Google Docs.\nResearch limitations/implications: AHP method is subjective, some of the data is incomplete, and some accidental error and systematic error exist in the actual testing process.\nPractical implications: The findings can assist users in selecting more suitable products and offer cloud storage providers (CSPs) a general direction of improving their product performance.\nSocial implications: Contributing to improve the overall level of the cloud storage services in China.\nOriginality/value: The study perfects the evaluation index system of the PCSP and fills the research gap in studying PCSPs in China, and expands the application field of the multiple criteria decision-making problems. This evaluation process and results have implied that CSPs in China should provide good services of large capacity, cooperation and security with the good internet environment of economical, high and stable speed by institutions and internet access providers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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How to keep your best people: develop a "level 4" mindset in your line managers
|
[
"Leadership development",
"Coaching",
"Management development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Sam was an account manager with a medical equipment company, enjoyable and well-paid. His manager, Bob, was a great source of support. Bob respected Sam's opinions, recognized his potential for promotion, and invested heavily in his proteges development. Bob was now promoted and wanted Sam to step into his shoes. Bob assured Sam of the superior financial package. Sam felt honored, the job seemed virtually his and he would continue to report to his mentor.\nIt is all about the manager: Most gripes would appear to be under the control of the immediate supervisor. So the manager is pivotal. Dissatisfaction here features far more strongly at exit interviews than does dissatisfaction with pay and conditions.\nSo what can we do?: Investors in People (Connolly, 2013) found the most admired quality in managers is trusting employees to do the job. Having experience and being approachable also scored highly, as did being well organized. Over half of those who said they work well with their manager are happier at work, whereas a quarter of them admit to working harder because of this and say they will stay longer in their position.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This purpose of the paper is to highlight the disturbing incidence of disengagement in the modern workplace. By highlighting why professionals leave their jobs, the author aims to change how managers think about motivation. Only then can they get the best out of their staff and retain their best employees.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The author uses his own experience of performance coaching, management, and leading without formal authority. The author critically evaluates classic motivational theories, preferring some more enlightened and recent research.\nFindings: People leave managers not jobs. Disengagement results from faulty assumptions about what drives today's professionals. Personal values or emotive needs matter much more than \"extrinsic\" rewards such as money and promotion. So the problems will not be solved by \"making the carrots crunchier and the sticks sharper\"; a new mindset is needed. While powerful and more or less universal motivators exist, every individual is different. However, uncovering what really matters can be very straightforward indeed. There is a need to be proactive and curious about what really drives the staff rather than wait till the best people tell the staff at the exit interview.\nOriginality/value: The author uses a real-life example to show what really happens under the surface. The author shows what is involved in adopting a \"higher level\" mindset and the resulting approach that might be taken with the people. Motivation mastery can be easier than what is thought about.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Enhancing workplace learning for adolescents: the use of metacognitive instruction
|
[
"Workplace learning",
"Education",
"Employees"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This paper describes a study of the feasibility of metacognitive instruction for workplace learning. At issue is helping high school students prepare themselves so that they can optimize their learning in their work-based education (WBE) programs. WBE refers to learning experiences for high school students, often developed through partnerships, which include workplace mentoring, paid work experience, instruction in general workplace competencies, and co-operative education (Harmon, 2000; Smith and Betts, 2000). In this study, the three students were enrolled in co-operative (co-op) education, the most prevalent form of WBE in Canada. The students were enrolled in full-time study and were earning high school credits for extended periods of unpaid experience (half-days for one term) in workplaces that had formed partnerships with their schools. Each student was in a first co-op placement. Assessments of the co-op students were made by their workplace supervisors on both generic workplace skills and skills specific to their placements, and periodic observations were made by the co-op teachers. Metacognition is defined as \"the knowledge and control one has over one's thinking and learning activities\" (Swanson, 1990, p. 306). Metacognitive instruction is designed to help students to activate metacognitive processes while learning or solving problems, usually by asking themselves a series of questions (e.g. Hutchinson, 1993; Kramarski and Mevarech, 2003). Metacognitive instruction has been used extensively in teaching mathematics and reading, but rarely in career development (e.g. Hutchinson et al., 1996) or WBE.The first section of the paper gives the theoretical background to the development of the instructional materials. The second section describes the methods used in the three cases, and the third section presents the findings from the cases. The final section discusses the results of this research on instruction for the workplace. The instructional materials (\"pages\") are appended.\nTheoretical background to metacognitive instruction for the workplace: This section of the paper provides the background to the development of the instructional materials. It begins with a brief review of recent orientations to workplace learning, and then considers the argument for devising metacognitive instruction. Next this section reviews our theory on the metacognitive function of routines. This leads to considering other concepts within the workplace that appear to have potential for metacognitive instruction. The section ends with a description of the development of the instructional materials.Orientations to workplace learning\nMethod: We conducted three case studies which focused on the experiences of high school students with the instructional materials. The selection of the three cases followed the protocol of extreme-case sampling based on teachers' assessments of the academic achievement of the students (McMillan and Schumacher, 2005) to provide widely different examples of co-op work placements and students. In each case the high school student, the co-op teachers, and the placement supervisor were involved in the research.Each case was conducted by a member of the research group. The first case was at a flying school with a high achieving co-op student we call Erin. (Academic achievement levels are the descriptions used by the respective co-op teachers, and all proper names are pseudonyms.) The second case was within a long-term care facility with Konstance, a medium achieving student. Erin and Konstance had the same co-op teacher. The third case was conducted at a logistics business with a low achieving student named Nick, who had a different teacher. Data were collected during the third and fourth month of a five-month placement. Data collection consisted of:* an interview with each teacher before and after the placements;* five observations and interviews with each co-op student; and* one interview with each workplace supervisor.For the observations, the researcher followed the student as he or she performed tasks, making notes, and asking questions. Field notes were typed directly after each visit, and interviews were taped and then transcribed verbatim. The interviewer checked the transcript for accuracy and made corrections as necessary. The data set for each case was then analyzed for themes and categories - standard methods of qualitative analysis (McMillan and Schumacher, 2005). Then cross-case analyses were conducted. The three researchers who had collected the data worked collaboratively on the data analyses. Table I contains a brief summary of descriptive information for the three cases. The following descriptions were derived from the interviews and observations.Case 1: Erin at the flying school\nFindings: During the first meeting with each teacher, the researcher introduced the instructional pages, explained the nature of metacognitive instruction, and asked the teacher to include the pages in lessons before students began their placements. The teachers agreed. During the case studies, it became clear that the students were not familiar with the instructional materials. In interviews, the teachers reported that they had met the intent of the instruction; however, students denied that they had been taught about the ideas in the materials.The views of the students, teachers, and supervisors concerning each section of the instructional materials are reported below in the order in which the concepts appear in the instructional pages: routines, purpose, next steps, the hidden page, belonging. Student perspectives on the usefulness of the instructional materials are evident through the students' recognition of each of the concepts in the workplace, and the application of each of the concepts to their work.Routines\nDiscussion: This study, based on the use of metacognitive instructional materials in only three contexts, revealed a contrast between three workplace supervisors' views of the instructional materials and the views of two teachers which should be pursued in additional research. The workplace supervisors expressed enthusiasm about the materials, which they believed would benefit new employees and students in WBE. The teachers, in contrast, were unconvinced about the usefulness of the instructional materials, believing that they had told their students all this information during the pre-placement activities. The teachers failed to grasp the importance of students asking themselves the questions. However, the teachers expressed interest in using the instructional pages as an assessment tool (a checklist or a reflective assignment) consistent with focus group data that shows teachers constantly seek assessment tools to demonstrate student learning in the workplace (Berg et al., in press). The teachers' lack of understanding of the metacognitive instruction suggests that the researchers paid insufficient attention to the implementation of their ideas with the educators who would use them (Fullan, 2001).The explanation may be more complex for the teachers implied in their interviews that the co-op students already knew both the questions to ask themselves and the actions to take to succeed in the workplace. However, by their words and their actions, the students demonstrated they did not have such knowledge. Like the workplace supervisors, the students saw the materials as informative and effective for cueing novices. It would appear that when it comes to workplace learning - teachers think students know; but students and workplace supervisors know that students do not know. And workplace supervisors appreciate clear instructional aids consistent with the mentoring relationship they develop with co-op students.Perhaps the instructional materials were viewed as effective in the workplace because they were effective in that context, having been based on case studies conducted in workplaces, and designed to be easily read and discussed informally. Perhaps the materials were not effective by the criteria used in schools, which tend to focus on direct teaching of declarative knowledge (Munby et al., in press).The \"pages\" were designed to assist novice workers in developing a metacognitive stance in which they ask questions about their workplace, its routines, and their role in the workplace to develop knowledge that serves them beyond that specific context. Metacognition comes into play when processing or learning falters. Our ten years of case study research suggest that supervisors and students, in the workplace together day after day, recognize when students falter and together find ways to overcome these difficulties so the work gets done. Co-op teachers, by comparison, visit the workplace only occasionally to conduct brief observations in which they may never see the faltering or the need for students to develop a metacognitive stance. All of this suggests that the \"pages\" may be more effectively deployed in workplaces after a brief introduction in the school setting. Perhaps, as the students and supervisors suggested, they would serve well as a guide for the students' initial visit to the workplace and during their early days on the job. If students and supervisors saw the \"pages as giving permission for students to ask questions and as cues to the questions to ask, it might remove a communication gap apparent in some of our case studies. We have seen students afraid to ask questions and supervisors unaware that students had questions, although the supervisors recognized that the students were not meeting their basic expectations for concepts represented in the pages (e.g. taking initiative and understanding one's role in the organization) (e.g. Versnel et al., 2003).This preliminary evaluation of metacognitive instruction for the workplace suggests that the instructional materials are relevant to learning in the workplace. Despite differences in the cases, the three co-op students were able to recognize and to apply the concepts in their respective workplaces as predicted by the theory of metacognitive function of routines (Munby et al., 2003). Yet the study raises questions for further research: how should metacognitive instruction be presented and deployed, for which students might this approach be particularly effective, and what form of implementation would encourage WBE teachers to adopt metacognitive instruction to enhance workplace learning.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to describe an instructional study of three cases of work-based education students (in co-operative education in Canada), described by their teachers as ranging from high achieving to low achieving.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The three students are given metacognitive instruction to enhance their workplace learning. The instruction is based on findings from a population of recent case studies of learning in the workplace and is shared with the students, with their teachers, and with their workplace supervisors. Interviews and observations are used to describe the variable success of metacognitive instruction in the three workplace settings.\nFindings: - The paper finds that, while the teachers do not implement the materials fully, both the employers and the students find the metacognitive questions that make up the instructional materials to be useful and have suggestions for how the instructional materials should be used in workplaces. The instructional materials are appended.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides useful information on enhancing their workplace learning among work-based education students.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Effects of ethical leadership and formal control systems on employee opportunistic behavior in China
|
[
"China",
"Opportunism",
"Ethical leadership",
"Formal control systems"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the decades, since Kerr and Jermier (1978) proposed the substitutes for leadership model, research literature on leadership has attempted to examine the moderating effect of various contextual variables such as task structure, quality of leader-member relations, role clarity and subordinates' job maturity on the relationship between leadership behaviors and employee outcomes (Podsakoff et al., 1996; Muchiri and Cooksey, 2011; Howell et al., 1986). These contextual variables may act as neutralizers or enhancers of the effects of leadership. That is, they may serve to either reduce or reinforce the effects of leadership on employee outcomes such as job performance and attitudes. For example, organizational formalization such as specification of plans, goals and rewards is a key contextual factor that strengthens the effect of leadership behavior on employee outcomes (Hu and Liden, 2011; Whittington et al., 2004; Villa et al., 2003; Kerr and Jermier, 1978). Grounded in this stream of research, the current study investigates how an element of the organizational setting, formal control systems, and an element of leadership, ethical leadership, interact to influence employee opportunistic behaviors. Formal control systems have been defined as \"the formal, information-based routines and procedures used by managers to maintain or alter patterns in organizational activities\" (Simons 1994, p. 170), and have been shown to function as an enhancer of leadership behavior. Ethical leadership refers to \"the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relationships, and the promotion of such conduct to employees through two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision-making\" (Brown et al., 2005). Ethical leadership has been demonstrated to have significant influence on the ethical behaviors and attitudes of followers. Therefore, this research examines the joint effect of ethical leadership and formal control systems on opportunistic behaviors of employees working in functional departments of companies in China.\n2. Theoretical background and propositions: 2.1 Ethical leadership and opportunism\n3. Method: 3.1 Data collection\n4. Analysis and results: 4.1 Reliability and validity\n5. Discussion: Ethical leaders help team members focus on team interests rather than self-interests by communicating and role modeling, and also foster trust and respect among team members (Walumbwa and Schaubroeck, 2009). Thus, ethical leadership can be expected to be an important antecedent of opportunism. The result that ethical leadership and opportunism are negatively linked in significant ways is consistent with prior research on ethical leadership (Mayer et al., 2010, 2012; Walumbwa and Schaubroeck, 2009) and demonstrates that ethical leaders suppress employees' unethical behaviors such as opportunism because of their idealized influence.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how ethical leadership and formal control systems influence employee opportunistic behavior.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using survey data collected from Chinese employees (N=430), the authors conducted regression analysis to test hypothesized relationships between ethical leadership and formal control systems and employee opportunistic behavior. Both direct effects and an interaction effect were tested.\nFindings: The authors found that both ethical leadership and formal control systems individually play significant roles in reducing employee opportunistic behavior. In addition, the results indicate that ethical leadership and formal control systems function as complements to jointly constrain employee opportunistic behaviors.\nOriginality/value: This study contributes to an understanding of the relationship between supervisors and followers in China by demonstrating the effects of ethical leadership and formal control systems on employee opportunistic behaviors, including an interesting interaction effect.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The determinants of customer loyalty in the Indonesian ride-sharing services: offline vs online
|
[
"Sharing economy",
"SERVQUAL model",
"IS success model",
"Ride-sharing"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Several factors have led to an increase in motorcycle production and sales with various models in Indonesia, including an increase in per capita income, the level of development of transportation and information technology (in the form of online marketing). Increase in the number of vehicles on the highway that are not compensated by widening and increase in the number of highways causes congestion in almost all provinces on the island of Java, especially in Jakarta.\n2. Theoretical review: 2.1 Sharing economy\n3. Research methodology: The measurement of research variable used online questionnaires through Google Forms with the measurement of five-point Likert scale. Its target respondents were the customers of ride-sharing service with motorcycle as transportation mode from two largest ride-sharing companies in Indonesia, namely, Gojek and Grab. Statistical analysis is a structural equation model based on covariance which consists of two main stages, namely, measurement model and structural model. The first variable for offline motorcycle taxi service is offline service which has five dimensions (second order), namely, tangible, assurance, reliability, responsiveness and empathy as adopted from SERVQUAL model of Parasuraman et al. (1988). The first variable for online motorcycle taxi service is online service which has three dimensions (second order), namely, information quality, system quality and service quality as adopted from Delone and McLean (2003). There are 523 respondents who filled an online questionnaire and valid data received were 507.\n4. Result and discussion: 4.1 Measurement model analysis\n5. Conclusion and recommendation: 5.1 Conclusion\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to analyze the effect of service quality on trust, satisfaction and loyalty by adopting two models, namely, conventional service quality model from Parasuraman and information systems (IS) success model from Delone and McLean.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Respondents of this study were users of shared-motorcycle services who filled out a complete questionnaire totaling 507. This research used a second-order structural equation model. All question items had quite high reliability and validity based on the result of confirmatory factor analysis with a value of average variance extracted and composite reliability which was higher than 0.70. The goodness of fit was quite good with the values x2/df = 2.493, incremental fit index = 0.921, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.917, comparative fit index = 0.921 and root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.054.\nFindings: Online and offline ride-sharing services reveal a strong and positive influence on trust and satisfaction. Trust reveals a strong and positive influence on satisfaction and loyalty. Finally, satisfaction reveals a strong and positive influence on loyalty. The research in general shows that the quality of offline service is more influential than the quality of online service in the case of ride-sharing service provided by two companies in Indonesia.\nResearch limitations/implications: The sampling frame of the research was diverse, including students of various collages and junior high schools, various private company workers and government employees. So, the results cannot be generalized to all populations especially to all Indonesian customers. It is recommended to increase the number of samples by focusing on the community groups of customers of public motorbikes, so that these groups can be compared. Next, the research finds that both service quality based on IS and service quality models reveal a strong and positive influence on loyalty both directly and indirectly.\nOriginality/value: The research uses respondents who use motorcycle services both online and offline. The findings of the research are important for online and offline ride-sharing motorbike service providers. They have to maintain their excellent services to the customers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Critical factors for culture of judicial excellence: benchmarking study of Emirati courts
|
[
"Organizational culture",
"Benchmarking",
"Court excellence",
"Critical factors",
"IFCE"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The International Framework for Court Excellence (IFCE) was developed to improve court performance. It consists of a model with a set of criteria that serve as guidelines and a roadmap to achieve excellence, plus a self-assessment questionnaire that can be used by each court to evaluate itself against the model criteria. The results can be compared and benchmarked with other courts measuring similar results, which provides opportunities to explore best practices and enhance performance (National Center for State Courts, 2013).\nBackground: Excellence in courts\nResearch methodology: Research context\nData analysis: In line with proposals from Saaty and Vargas (2012), the geometric mean approach was used, rather than the arithmetic mean, to combine the individual pair-wise comparison judgments to obtain the consensus pair-wise comparison judgment matrices for the model. Figure 3 shows that the second step in the AHP is to determine pair-wise comparisons between the criteria applied.\nDiscussion and conclusion: Discussion\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the organizational culture of courts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the culture type required to achieve business excellence. This research also aims to benchmark the criteria weights of the International Framework for Court Excellence (IFCE) in the UAE and suggest new weights that better reflect courts' local priorities and national work culture.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method was used to prioritize the IFCE criteria and select the most important culture types to consider. A questionnaire was designed and data were collected from first instance courts in UAE. The respondents were judges in management roles, to ensure that the opinions provided reflected experience of judging and were aligned with the courts' strategic objectives.\nFindings: The results show that the IFCE model criteria have different levels of importance in UAE than in the original model. The major differences are in court proceedings and processes, and affordability and accessibility of services. Adaptability and mission seem to be the most important cultural traits.\nOriginality/value: No previous studies have investigated court excellence in UAE. This study should supply court managers and administrators with a clearer understanding of the priorities for achieving court excellence. There is inconsistency about the culture needed to boost good performance in public service organizations like courts, and decision makers may use these findings to enhance the cultural attributes that are particularly associated with excellence in courts.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The impact of workplace spirituality on work-based learners: Individual and organisational level perspectives
|
[
"Religion",
"Well-being",
"Culture",
"Spirituality",
"Work-based learning",
"Professional ethics",
"Business",
"Human resource development",
"Moral issues",
"Organizational values"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The late and the early twenty-first centuries have seen a growing interest in spirituality in general and its role in the workplace in particular (Wagner-Marsh and Conley, 1999; Bell and Burack, 2001; Ramdass and Van Tonder, 2009; Sedikides, 2010) and whilst organisations are attempting to understand the complexity of spirituality, Deshpande (2012) warns that workplace spirituality is a prominent reality in the current business environment and it should not be dismissed. However, despite this growing interest in spirituality and its place within the organisation, the concept remains undertheorised (Dirkx, 2013). Scholars have not significantly come up with a greater reductive explanation for the phenomena, to the extent that the concept even lacks a generally accepted definition (Alas and Mousa, 2016; Hassan, 2016). The literature is dominated by speculative discussion, fragmentation, dearth and incomprehensibility, an American perspective and a marked lack of empirical data, especially quantitative research (Ali et al., 2015; Khaled et al., 2012). Matthieu (2017) goes on to note that, much of this work is in fact, useful and thought provoking, but it needs to be extended with experience or empirical data to prevent theories being remote from the phenomenon they intend to describe. Therefore, this paper aims to contribute to the small corpus of empirical work on spirituality by examining whether:\nPerspectives on spirituality: Given the highly subjective nature of what spirituality is and of what it is comprised, it is not surprising the phenomena lacks a universally accepted definition. Consequently, the literature on the topic is characterised by varying degrees of emphasis, focus, components and levels of analysis. In general, terms, spirituality has traditionally been viewed dichotomously as essentially a religious phenomenon in the search for the sacred, or as a humanist phenomenon with no religious connotations whatsoever. Historically, spirituality was rooted in religion, and this belief still commands powerful support (Cavanagh, 1999). However, as Miller and Thoresen (2003) acknowledge, religion is to spirituality as medicine is to health, and although religion is only one expression of spirituality, it is an important one. As a consequence, there is a strong focus on the religious interpretation of spirituality in the literature (Mitchell, 2013).\nSpirituality in the workplace: In a time of public debate about spiritual tolerance and cultural freedom in a multi-cultural society, it is important to gain a true understanding of how differing religions and spiritualties can manifest within organisations (Wall and Knights, 2013; Stokes, 2011). Hofstede (1997) claims that it is important to gain a true understanding of how differing religions and spiritualties can manifest themselves within an organisation. Furthermore, as Wall (2017, p. 304) suggests, \"the UK faces a time of huge transition and transformation. We believe we must work towards putting people much more at the heart of business thinking and practice\". Yet, given the paucity of empirical research into the subject of spirituality, this is often easier said than done. Some organisations, however, such as Coca-Cola and Boeing have introduced initiatives into their workplaces (Bishnoi et al., 2012). Initiatives include the implementation of strategies that allow spiritual individuals to practice Bible, Quran or Torah study groups, to conduct voluntary prayer groups and interfaith dialogue groups, as well as meditation exercises.\nResearch methodology: The research objectives of the current survey are; to examine whether spirituality is perceived as a source of conflict within the workplace; to examine whether respondents felt able to express their spiritual beliefs; to examine whether respondents felt able to observe their spiritual beliefs; and to examine the extent to which respondents felt that the organisation recognised their spirituality via its culture, dialogue, policies and procedures. The sampling unit was a multi-national retail United Kingdom (UK)-based organisation with an ethnically diverse national workforce. The study was tested by collecting data from managers and employees of this large multi-million pound retail chain organisation in the UK consisting of 55 stores and 1,249 employees. The self-developed questionnaires were sent through the internal e-mail (electronically) to the General Managers and Sales Managers who printed them off, completed theirs and then distributed the employee surveys to their respective staff. The questionnaires were only distributed to individuals who expressed some form of spirituality whether it be nihilistic, materialistic, humanistic or religious. (Kourie, 2006).\nResults: A Cronbach coefficient a reliability test for the sample was 0.804 and thus with a reliability score above 0.70 showing a high degree of consistency within the scale data, parametric and non-parametric analysis can be conducted.\nDiscussions and conclusions: This paper investigated the extent to which employees felt they were under pressure to compromise their basic values at work, the policies and procedures in operation and the management support available on issues relating to employees' spirituality. The range of responses was generally consistent, with responses leaning more towards the strongly disagree end of the scale. As mentioned, probably the most striking aspect of the results was the consistency of response across all faith groups in the sample. This is in striking contrast to the results present by Digh (1999), Forstenlechner and Al-Waqfi (2010) and Weller et al. (2001). This contrast might be due to UK specific factors, but given that this is the first study of its kind in the UK, this is purely speculation.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the emerging spirituality debate with the aim of generating and sustaining tolerance for spirituality in the workplace, with a specific focus upon the impact this can have upon work-based learners. \"Spirituality\" is gaining impetus worldwide as a growing number of organisations are proactively accommodating their multi-ethnic and multi-faith workforce by adapting their policies to meet employees' spiritual needs. As yet in the UK, the majority of organisations fail to recognise neither the basic spiritual well-being of their employees nor the impact this can have upon work-based learning processes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study adopts a quantitative approach with questionnaires distributed to a multi-national retail UK-based organisation with an ethnically diverse national workforce. The study was tested by collecting data from managers and employees of this large, multi-million pound retail chain organisation in the UK, consisting of 55 stores and 1,249 employees, in order to gather employees' perceptions on spirituality within their place of work regarding policies, communication and perceived source of conflict.\nFindings: The results revealed that the majority of employees deemed spirituality was not something they felt comfortable discussing or appropriate to practice within the workplace and there were no clear policies and procedures in place to support either management or employees.\nResearch limitations/implications: This paper highlights areas for further research in the broad professional areas of spirituality in relation to organisational approaches to work-based learning. The research is from one organisation and utilising one method - qualitative research would add depth to the knowledge.\nPractical implications: This paper highlights areas for further research in the broad professional areas of spirituality in relation to organisational approaches to work-based learning.\nOriginality/value: Employee spiritual well-being is under-researched and overlooked by organisations. Changing the current spiritual intransigence is long overdue as employees' spiritual fulfilment leads to high-trust relationships in the workplace and can further support those engaged in work-based learning.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Institutional characteristics, signaling variables and IPO initial returns: A study on OECD countries
|
[
"IPO",
"Legal origin",
"Auditors’ reputation",
"Corruption level",
"Ownership retention",
"Underwriters’ reputation"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The variations in the environment of initial public offerings (IPOs) principally originate from the differences between an IPO's offer price and its first-day closing price (Ibbotson et al., 1988; Ritter, 1998), which is known as initial return[1]. IPOs have long been a subject of debate and substantial interest among researchers because of the internal (firm-specific) and external uncertainties surrounding the IPO environment. Uncertainty has been documented as being at the heart of an IPO process (Ljungqvist, 2007), which contributes significantly to the volatility in IPO initial returns across the globe. This study revisits the uncertainty issue in a global context using three signaling variables (auditors' reputation, underwriters' reputation, and ownership retention). The main motivation of this study is the exploration of the IPO uncertainty issue from the perspectives of institutional characteristics (legal origin and corruption levels).\nHypothesis development: Background\nData and methodology: Data\nEmpirical results: Descriptive statistics\nConclusion: This study examines the difference in the signaling relationship between underwriters' reputation, auditors' reputation, and ownership retention on IPO initial returns in the common law and civil law OECD countries. The moderating role of corruption level on the abovementioned relationship is also studied. A sample of 6,182 companies from 2003 to 2012 is examined, and the results indicate that the institutional arrangements (i.e. legal origin and corruption levels) play a pivotal role in the relationship between the signaling variables and IPO initial returns. The empirical evidence from this study is in line with the signaling hypothesis and the asymmetric information model, suggesting that underwriters' reputation, auditors' reputation and ownership retention represent attributes and actions that send signals to the potential investors on firm quality and reduce the information asymmetry and ex ante uncertainty between issuers and potential investors. The presence of a stronger relationship between the signaling variables and IPO initial returns in the civil law countries highlights the importance of reputable underwriters/auditors and ownership retention in minimizing information asymmetry and ex ante uncertainty in these countries. The negative moderation effects of the corruption levels in the common law and Scandinavian civil law countries also indicate that corruption levels also play a role in decreasing information asymmetry and uncertainty in these legal contexts.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to provide empirical evidence on the extent of alteration institutional characteristics, i.e. legal origin and corruption levels, may have on the signaling effects of auditors' reputation, underwriters' reputation and ownership retention on initial public offering (IPO) initial returns in OECD countries.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Cross-sectional data composed of 6,182 IPOs from 30 OECD countries are used for 2003-2012. Ordinary least square with multiple linear regressions is used to test the hypotheses.\nFindings: The findings indicate that the legal framework and corruption level of a country alters the signaling effects of underwriters' reputation, auditors' reputation and ownership retention in an IPO environment. These three variables mitigate information asymmetry, signal firm value to potential investors and ultimately decrease IPO initial returns. This relationship is more significant in the civil law countries. Corruption levels negatively moderate the relationship in the common law and Scandinavian civil law countries but have no significance in the German and French civil law countries, indicating the importance of the signaling variables in these two civil law countries.\nOriginality/value: This study examines the extent of the alterations that the legal framework and the corruption levels cause to the signaling relationship between auditors' reputation, underwriters' reputation and ownership retention on IPO initial returns in selected OECD countries.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Circulation analysis of an engineering monograph approval plan
|
[
"Academic libraries",
"Circulation systems",
"Collections management",
"Monographs",
"Lending services"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: This article describes an evaluation of the usage of engineering books acquired through an approval plan with Yankee Book Peddler (YBP) (a Baker & Taylor Company) at Rowan University's Campbell Library. Rowan University, originally Glassboro State College, became a public university in 1995 when Henry Rowan gave the institution $100 million to build an engineering school to serve southern New Jersey. The College of Engineering graduated its first class in 2000 and earned ABET accreditation in 2001.To build a core engineering collection quickly in support of accreditation, the library administration decided to use an approval plan. The engineering approval plan, which constitutes a significant percentage of the library's book budget, has now been in place for 11 years. The engineering faculty is satisfied with the collection that has resulted. But with the current budget crisis in the state of New Jersey, it became imperative to undertake a more scientific assessment of the plan's effectiveness, to make sure the library is making the best use of state resources.The College of Engineering offers four undergraduate programs, leading to bachelor of science degrees in chemical, civil & environmental, electrical & computer, and mechanical engineering. Nearly 40 full-time faculty teach approximately 500 students, primarily undergraduates. There is a small group of graduate students (about ten per year) enrolled in a master of science in engineering program. But research is not limited to the graduate level. Faculty involve undergraduates in research projects with local industry as part of the Engineering Clinic program, a sequence of courses taken each year by all students in the College of Engineering. Learning to find information about a research problem using library resources is part of the syllabus for every Engineering Clinic course, so books about current faculty research areas at Rowan University are used by both students and faculty.Apart from the Engineering Clinic program, undergraduate engineering coursework consists primarily of problem sets, which don't require the use of library books. Graduate students and faculty in engineering tend to use journals much more than books for their research. Therefore, Campbell Library's engineering collection cannot be expected to get the same level of use that the humanities collection does.This study was conducted to determine if circulation of engineering approval plan books at Rowan University's Campbell Library is significantly higher than for the engineering collection as a whole. If not, then perhaps the approval profile should be modified to fit patron needs better, or the approval plan dropped entirely in favor of individual book ordering for engineering.\nLiterature review: In his article \"Vendors and academic libraries: development and change\" (Nauman, 1997) marketing manager Matthew Nauman of Blackwells USA explains that \"approval plans began in the 1960s as a response to the situation in which library staff resources were inadequate for spending all available materials funds\" (Nauman, 1997, p. 165). They became more heavily used in the 1990s when decreasing library budgets and skyrocketing subscription costs led management to experiment with outsourcing of library technical services, including book selection. Typically, vendors supply books based on a profile worked out with the library, and librarians review the books and decide whether to keep them or return them. As long as the libraries keep most of the books, the plan works out well for everyone.A survey of academic health sciences libraries (Sweetland, 2001) found that 66 percent had used an approval plan in the previous four years. However, 16 percent of those libraries had cancelled their approval plans during that time period. Reasons given included \"budget constraints, increased serials costs (leading to less money for books), profiling problems, and vendor performance problems\" (Sweetland, 2001, p. 166).One way to survey the usefulness of approval plans is by circulation analysis. This approach can analyze either the length of time since last circulation or the frequency of circulation. The former is usually used when weeding a collection, whereas frequency is more commonly used when assessing usage of new titles. Littman and Connaway (2004) point out that in academic libraries, circulation periods can be quite long (such as an entire semester for faculty), which could have a significant effect on circulation frequency when using a relatively short study window. They also note an inherent weakness of circulation analysis, namely that it does not include in-library use of materials, only external usage (circulation).Littman and Connaway also found that 60 percent of e-books and 64 percent of print titles were not used at all during the study period. The authors point out that \"if this study was conducted over a time frame of at least several years, these rates can be expected to drop substantially\" (Littman and Connaway, 2004, p. 261). Similarly high rates of non-usage in library collections were found in a study by Julie Banks of Southeast Missouri State University's Kent Library (Banks, 2002). Banks says that \"for each of the last five years there has been a steady downward trend of overall circulation per week ... \" which is \"a 31 percent decline\" (Banks, 2002, p. 117). Also, she notes that \"43 percent of the random sample titles studied never circulated, and 18 percent only circulated once\" (Banks, 2002, p. 118).A review of the literature shows that Marcie Kingsley at Western Michigan University (Kingsley, 1996) conducted a study of the circulation of approval plan books. She explains that \"measurement of collection use by circulation figures is a 'natural' for evaluating approval plans that are designed for building core current collections\" (Kingsley, 1996, p. 1). She adds that \"... while circulation would not be as valid in interpreting use of research material, domestic approval books are generally bought for the purpose of current activity\" (Kingsley, 1996, p. 1).After five months of availability, half of the 1,068 books purchased by Western Michigan University (WMU) through an approval plan had circulated at least once, compared with 29 percent of non-approval books. After 16 months, she found that 67 percent of the approval plan books had circulated compared with 47 percent of other books. She also looked further at the category of vendor selection slips (an adjunct to the approval plan) within the non-approval plan set, which turned out to have the highest circulation rate: 77 percent had circulated at least once.\nMethodology: This study compared the circulation of books purchased using Fiscal Year 2005 (FY05) dollars through our YBP Engineering Approval Plan to the circulation of books in the Library of Congress class \"T\" during FY05 (7/1/04-6/30/05). These two datasets did not match exactly due to a couple of factors: a few of the books purchased through the engineering approval plan ended up being cataloged in other LC classes than T; and some of the books the library owns in class T would not normally be considered engineering books (for example, the books on photography and home economics, in LC classes TR, TT and TX).Our engineering approval plan profile (as of spring 2006) included all academic and professional level books from major scholarly publishers in LC classes T, TA, TC, TD, TE, TG,TH, TJ, and TP. Books in LC classes TF, TK, TL, TN, TR, TS, TT and TX were not included in our profile. The FY05 titles were used because they are the most recent complete year that is available. The library acquisitions department supplied a list of titles which were ordered and received through the approval plan. Because this process required going through the paper invoices, it was not feasible to collect this data for the entire collection. The number of check-outs for each title was then determined. In order to have a comparison group, all books in class T which circulated during the period 7/1/04 - 6/31/05 were checked to see how many times each of them circulated.Creating a break-down of titles by subject area for each dataset proved to be challenging because our engineering departments do not correspond exactly to LC classes. There are also a substantial number of \"general engineering\" books which we receive through the approval plan, which cannot be classified under a particular subject area. However, receiving interdisciplinary books is one of the benefits of having the approval plan, since individual departments might not order these types of books.Electrical engineering and chemical engineering were easy to match with TK and TP respectively, but mechanical and civil engineering were harder. Titles in subclass TA from 500 to 1400 (geomechanics, structural engineering), as well as TC, TD, TE, TF, TG, and TH, were designated as civil engineering. Since Rowan does not have specialized aeronautical, materials or mining engineering departments, titles in TL, TN & TS in the general collection, as well as TJ, were designated as mechanical engineering. The 151 titles checked out during FY05 in TR, TT and TX were not used in the comparison since no approval titles were purchased in these areas (see Table I).Lastly, the total number of engineering titles in our catalog was determined for benchmark purposes. This data were then regrouped to correspond to the same divisions described above, and sorted by publication date to get an idea of the age of each collection. It can be assumed that none of the titles published before 1996 were purchased on the approval plan.\nResults and analysis: A comparison was undertaken of the circulation of engineering approval books with the total circulation of books in the engineering (T) section over the same period of time that the approval books were available, to assess the usefulness of the approval books to our users. For this study two ways to measure the value of books to library users were employed: percentage of books in a section that circulate, and the number of transactions (check-outs) per item.Rowan University's Campbell Library purchased 235 books through the YBP engineering approval plan in fiscal year 2005. Of these, eight were classified as Reference/Non-circulating. No electrical engineering books were automatically purchased because this section was designated as \"send slip only\" in our profile (which was not known previously). Thirteen books were cataloged in an LC class other than T (designated as \"non-engineering\" in Table II).Of the 227 engineering approval books available for circulation (non-reference), 52 (23 percent) actually circulated. The chemical engineering books were the most popular, with 37 percent of the available books circulating. The average of more than two transactions per title is much higher than for any other area, although it is based on only 11 books (see Table III).During the period 7/1/04-6/30/05, 639 engineering books were checked out of Campbell Library. Due to the rapidly changing nature of technology, engineers generally prefer books published in the past 20 years for research. However, standard textbooks in the basic engineering sciences, used by students to supplement course materials, have a longer life. A breakdown by publication date shows that six of the 639 engineering books that circulated (1 percent) were published in 2005, and five of the six were from the approval plan. In the past ten years (1996-2005) 67 percent (430 titles) were published, and 19 percent (122 titles) were published between 1986 and 1995. A total of 552 of the 639 titles (86 percent of the books) were published in the past 20 years. The remaining 14 percent (87 titles) were published more than 20 years ago.A total of 6 percent of engineering books circulated during this time period (meaning 94 percent did not). The level of circulation was approximately the same for all the subject areas (less than 10 percent), but there was some variation: 8 percent of the civil engineering and chemical engineering sections circulated, compared with 4 percent of the mechanical engineering section. Electrical and general engineering reflected the 6 percent circulation level of the collection as a whole. The transactions per title were all very similar levels, with chemical engineering having the highest circulation, just as it did with the approval books.Looking back at Table I, it is interesting to note that the mechanical engineering books, by far the oldest collection, did have the lowest circulation. However, more books in chemical engineering circulated than electrical engineering, despite the electrical engineering books being newer. This may reflect a greater disciplinary preference for the use of books in chemical engineering.Overall, it is clear that the engineering approval books, by comparison to the collection as a whole, were much more heavily used. In total, 23 percent of the approval books circulated compared to 6 percent of the collection; 24 percent of general engineering approval books circulated, compared with 6 percent of general engineering books in the collection. The chemical engineering approval books were the most used, with 36 percent circulating compared to 8 percent of the collection. The mechanical engineering approval books were also more in tune with user needs than the mechanical engineering collection as a whole, with 21 percent of the approval books circulating and only 4 percent of the whole collection. The civil engineering area showed the smallest difference between the approval book circulation and the collection as a whole: 17 versus 8 percent.The fact that we were not receiving any electrical engineering books through the approval plan was a concern; our profile was updated as a result of this study to include electrical engineering (TK) books.\nConclusions: While some of the Campbell Library engineering collection does consist of books purchased prior to beginning the approval plan, more than half of the titles in the collection were published in the past ten years and can still be considered current. Our approval plan books (the most recent ones) circulated at a much higher rate than the engineering collection as a whole, indicating that they are filling a real need. For example, we are receiving many interdisciplinary engineering books that we might not know about otherwise through the approval plan. At this point it is felt that the circulation level for the approval books is high enough to justify keeping the approval plan, but the situation will continue to be carefully monitored.It is hoped that this study will provide some benchmarks for other engineering libraries which are assessing their monograph usage, and for academic libraries which are considering an approval plan.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this article is to describe the quantitative evaluation of an engineering monograph approval plan using circulation analysis.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The circulation frequency of titles purchased under the approval plan was analyzed, and compared with the circulation frequency of all engineering books during the same time period, purchased both individually and through the plan.\nFindings: - It was found that 23 percent of the approval plan books circulated, compared with 6 percent of engineering books as a whole. There was considerable variation in circulation frequency between engineering disciplines, but approval plan books circulated much more frequently in all subject areas.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This study assesses circulation only during the most recent complete year, which means that the approval plan books are all new books. However, more than half of the books in the engineering collection are less than ten years old, so age is unlikely to be the only reason for the much higher circulation of approval books.\nPractical implications: - Since this evaluation concludes that the approval plan does have value for Rowan University's users, such a plan might be worth considering by other academic libraries looking for a better way to obtain new engineering monographs which serve user needs.\nOriginality/value: - While the circulation data described in this study reflect the unique needs of the Rowan University user community, they can serve as a useful benchmark for engineering librarians who want to assess the usage of their monograph collections. The study also has value for academic librarians who are evaluating an approval plan from YBP or another vendor.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A perfect match: decoding employee engagement - Part II: engaging jobs and individuals
|
[
"Employee attitudes",
"Job satisfaction",
"Personality",
"Business environment"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In Part I of this article (published in Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 40 No. 3, 2008), I addressed the environmental and leadership factors that contribute to employee engagement. Even though such factors have vital importance, however, one cannot reasonably ignore the importance of the job and the person. Arguably, some jobs are simply more meaningful, safe, and rewarding than others. Also, one can hardly expect people's distinct experiences, interests, and personality traits not to result in unique reactions to environmental and leadership characteristics. In fact, two employees may work for the same leader in the same organization performing a very similar job - and yet they might exhibit different levels of engagement.Next, I will add job and person to the engagement equation. First, I will summarize the characteristics of engaging jobs. Then, I will review individual personality traits that engaged individuals are more likely to exhibit: hardiness, internal locus of control, active coping style, high self esteem, low neuroticism, and high extraversion. Finally, I will discuss the importance of a \"match\" between the employee's preferences and the general work conditions and offer performance improvement implications.\nJob characteristics: I was very determined; I really wanted to see the results. I felt that I could help those people (the factory employees) to speak out and get what they needed (\"Julia,\" OD consultant and manager).I feel engaged when (...) I can identify the impact of my actions to the organization and know that what I'm doing can be perceived as something valuable to the final client (\"Lucy,\" OD consultant and manager).Both Julia and Lucy reported feeling engaged when their work was considered important. While Julia felt engaged because she could \"help\" other employees, Lucy wanted her actions to impact the organization as a whole. Julia and Lucy, therefore, wanted their work to be meaningful (Kahn, 1990). Previously, we discussed the connection between meaningfulness and a value-rich organizational environment. Meaningfulness also results from an employee's perception that her work matters. Meaningful work is perceived both by the employee and by his coworkers as relevant to the goals of the organization.Meaningful work is not only important - it is also challenging, requiring constant learning and progress. Challenging jobs increase feelings of accomplishment on completion (Kahn, 1990). Indeed, Kahn's (1990) research suggested that individuals crave jobs that reasonably combine routine and novelty. For instance, Jenny, the manager of a large training division in Latin America, and George, a US American HR director reported:I feel energized when I have new projects to work on, a new problem, something new to solve, a situation that is usually beyond anyone else's capabilities to solve (\"Jenny,\" training manager).I had spent much time doing a training analysis of supervisory skills (...) which resulted in developing a week-long training program (...). Prior to the first week of actual training (...), I definitely felt a great deal of apprehension about being able to successfully deliver the material, maintain the interest of the class, and successfully transfer the required knowledge. Amazingly, once the initial ice was broken on the first morning of training, it felt as if the rest of the week just flew by. The many different obstacles that I had created in my own mind never materialized ... I was never at a loss for words, never was stumped by questions (...), maintained the attention of the class, and almost never had to refer to the variety of notes I had created as back-up (...). It turned out to be a great experience (\"George,\" Director of HR).Jenny and George's examples exemplified a clear common \"theme\": both involved challenging assignments that \"stretched\" their professional experience and expertise. Their experiences illustrate not only the importance of challenge but also the logic of Csikszentmihalyi's (1990) \"Flow\" concept. A \"Flow\" situation demonstrates an optimum balance of a particular challenge and the resources needed to face it. Too little challenge could lead to boredom. Too much could backfire and cause burnout.A last key engagement-related job characteristic is the level of control experienced by the employee. Maslach et al. (2001) suggested that employees need to sufficiently control their resources and their job in order to succeed. The connections between control, engagement, and burnout were further supported by studies conducted by Kahn (1990); Lindblom et al. (2006); and Koyuncu et al. (2006). Moreover, employees could need control to be successful and fulfill their professional expectations. A person's inability to reach her expectations, on the other hand, could cause considerable stress (Kahn, 1990).Lack of control, therefore, could result in stress and burnout. Even if low control jobs are stressful, however, individual stress tolerance levels vary greatly (Howard and Howard, 2001). The value attributed to the levels of meaningfulness, challenge, and control of a given job could, likewise, differ from person to person. Individual and personality characteristics of engagement-prone individuals will be addressed next.\nIndividual characteristics and personality: In \"The search for the missing person\" Gubman (2004, p. 42) argued that if engagement is \"a heightened personal connection to the organization\" research should focus on the person rather than on other factors. Is it possible for someone to remain engaged in spite of a negative environment, a particularly difficult job, or a poor boss? And if so ... how can we find those \"permanently engaged\" people?So far, most of the available research focused on the personal characteristics related to burnout rather than engagement. A few themes, however, seem to emerge from burnout research. Possibly, the person most likely to be engaged even under less than ideal circumstances is hardy, has an internal locus of control, and is able to actively cope with whatever problems come her way. In addition, personality traits could matter - individuals more likely to experience burnout are more anxious than average, and engaged individuals are more likely to be extraverted.The first three traits - hardiness, locus of control, and coping style - were identified by Maslach et al. (2001). Hardiness means openness to change, the ability to survive when \"the going gets tough,\" resilience. Internal locus of control means that the individual is more likely to attribute events and achievements to her own abilities and efforts rather than to external events. Finally, individuals more likely to remain engaged have an active rather than passive coping style. They seem more assertive, expressing their needs more clearly.Self-esteem is another trait that positively impacts engagement. Indeed, Janssen et al. (1999) found that individuals with high self-esteem were less likely to become emotionally drained and exhausted. Possibly self-esteem allowed individuals to see situations more positively. Janssen et al. (1999) admitted, however, that at this point it is still unclear whether self-esteem is a cause or simply a consequence of engagement. After all, engaged individuals are more productive and happy, and productivity and happiness could enhance their self-esteem. Further research is needed to properly establish the direction of the relationship between self-esteem and engagement.Recently personality traits were connected to both burnout and engagement. Langelaan et al. (2006) found that burned out individuals were more likely to score high in \"Neuroticism\" (a correlated set of traits that includes pessimism, anxiety, worry, and other negative emotions). As a contrast, engaged individuals scored lower in neuroticism and higher in extraversion. In particular, the extraversion-engagement connection makes sense: after all, extraversion is connected with enthusiasm, outgoingness, and a feeling of \"take charge\" (Howard and Howard, 2001). Reasonably, \"take charge\" kinds of persons will attempt to change undesirable environments in order to suit their needs.\nIn search of the \"perfect match\": A moment of disengagement for me came when I attempted to sell insurance. I am an introverted person and a person of great imagination. Both of these personal attributes are not important in an insurance sales position. For instance, many say that if one calls or sees enough people, one will make a sale. For a person with an introverted personality, the number of calls ones makes for a sale becomes a great burden. Trying to deal with a large number of people (...) resulted in a hatred for the phone and the doorbell. I had hoped to work in the marketing area of the company; however, I had no chance for promotion into the marketing department because my sales were not good enough. Where I could have become engaged in marketing, I could not become engaged in sales and ultimately left the company (\"John,\" OD consultant).John's story exemplifies a common organizational problem: promotions are based on the employee's current performance, rather than on his/her future potential (Howard and Howard, 2001). This practice assumes that an employee's behaviors in one particular area predict his/her behaviors in another. John's inability to engage in sales would inevitably predict his failure to engage in marketing.There is, however, an intrinsic fallacy to this logic. Quite possibly, different environments engage different people. Rather than an absolute and inevitable condition firmly attached either to an employee's personality or to his general environment, engagement could simply be the result of a \"perfect match\" between the employee and all her work conditions. Concretely, the very introversion and originality that disengaged John, the salesman, could help him write brilliant marketing pieces in the solitude of his office.Conceptualizing engagement as a \"match\" issue seems to make sense if we consider once again Csikszentmihalyi's (1990) \"Flow\" theory. Csikszentmihalyi explained that \"Flow\" experiences are highly enjoyable because they bring within them an acute sense of discovery, an increase in skills, and a \"stretching\" of one's capabilities. Of course, the question that bears answering is - would such \"stretching\" be of interest to everyone? Perhaps not. For instance, a study in the retail industry (Eisgenberger et al., 2005) found that the high skill/challenge combination was more pleasurable to employees with high need for achievement. Others might prefer comfortable tasks and routine responsibilities. Simply put, anyone could be engaged or disengaged, in a state of \"Flow\" or in a state of acute stress.This logic may not apply only to job-related challenges and opportunities. A given organizational environment or leadership style could represent a better \"match\" for some people than others. The same individual who would be happy and engaged in a free-spirited advertising agency might be miserable working in a bank. The key to success, therefore, might not lie in the search for Gubman's (2004, p. 42) elusive \"missing person\". Instead, those of us in the performance improvement business should make it mission to constantly search for the missing link between like-minded individuals, leaders, and organizational cultures.\nPerformance improvement implications: In Part I of this article, I introduced engagement as a voluntary, spontaneous, and variable phenomenon. Individuals are unlikely to become engaged because someone told them they should. Engagement occurs naturally, when the conditions are right, when the leaders are inspiring, when individuals find the ideal place in which to apply their strengths. If this is true, performance improvement professionals might consider the following interventions:1. Educate the leaders. Leaders should understand:* the importance of engagement,* the personal and business benefits of engagement,* their role as leaders inspiring engagement,* leadership styles most likely to enhance engagement and most especially,* the importance of matching employees to areas in which they are more likely to be happy, engaged, and successful.In addition, leaders should understand environmental and personal conditions most likely to lead to burnout and disengagement. This understanding could help leaders create an environment more likely to engage all employees - including those who are anxious, non-resilient, non-assertive, and have poor self-esteem.2. Focus on career development. Help employees inventory their strengths and weaknesses. Personality and competency assessments could be particularly helpful. Regularly educate employees on various opportunities within the organization. Encourage employees to find a place within the organization where they can make the strongest contributions. Actively promote job openings internally - and make applications easy and risk-free.3. Champion work-life balance. Excessive workloads could prevent vital recovery processes (Sonnentag, 2003). Indeed, Sonnentag's research revealed that yearly vacations are too spaced out to help - employees need regular recovery time in order to re-energize and re-engage. Beware of workaholism. Include wellness programs in your curricula.4. Encourage relationships. Promote formal and informal opportunities for employees to get to know one another on a personal basis. Consider offering regular team building processes. Champion a culture of celebration and camaraderie.Above all, remember that engagement is a complex topic and a challenging goal. An engagement-friendly culture values the diversity of talents employees bring to the table, respects individual needs, and inspires all employees to pursue a common and exciting vision of the future. Logically, engagement will not be impacted by a single training program, regardless of its quality. Enhancing engagement is a long-term proposition.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Part I of this paper addressed the environmental and leadership factors that contribute to employee engagement. Next, the purpose of this paper is to add the job and person to the engagement equation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Summarizes the characteristics of engaging jobs. Then, reviews individual personality traits that engaged individuals are more likely to exhibit: hardiness, internal locus of control, active coping style, high self esteem, low neuroticism, and high extraversion. Finally, discusses the importance of a \"match\" between the employee's preferences and the general work conditions and offers performance improvement implications.\nFindings: - Engagement is a complex topic and a challenging goal. An engagement-friendly culture values the diversity of talents employees bring to the table, respects individual needs, and inspires all employees to pursue a common and exciting vision of the future. Logically, engagement will not be impacted by a single training program, regardless of its quality. Enhancing engagement is a long-term proposition.\nOriginality/value: - Individuals are unlikely to become engaged because someone told them they should. Engagement occurs naturally, when the conditions are right, when the leaders are inspiring, when individuals find the ideal place in which to apply their strengths. If this is true, performance improvement professionals might consider the following interventions: educate the leaders; focus on career development; champion work-life balance; encourage relationships.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A zero-one integer programming for preventive maintenance scheduling for electricity and distiller plants with production
|
[
"Optimization",
"Scheduling",
"Preventive maintenance",
"Maintenance planning",
"Maintenance optimization",
"Zero-one integer programming"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Nomenclature\n1. Introduction: The cogeneration is basically defined as the production of several forms of energy, such as heat, electricity, freshwater, etc. One of the extensively used procedures for freshwater production is cogeneration. Freshwater is essential for life, and many countries suffer from a shortage of freshwater. The United Nation (UN-Water) declared that 2.1bn people lack access to safe drinking water, and water scarcity already affects four out of every ten people around the world (www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/water/).\n2. Problem background: Around 120 countries have adopted the cogeneration power plants for producing power and water (see Figure 1). A total of 50 percent of them are the Middle East region (Wangnick, 1990). Among these Middle Eastern countries that have been extensively using the cogeneration power plant is the state of Kuwait. In Kuwait, the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) is responsible for supplying power and water to the population. The MEW has met the growth in demand for electricity and water in the last 30 years by the construction of a system of cogeneration plants, exceeding 12 Gigawatts (GW) and 400 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) (MEW, 2017). There are six power plants in Kuwait, namely, Doha East, Doha West, Shuaiba, Al-Zour South, Sabiya and Shuwaikh. These plants employ both thermal steam turbines and gas turbines for power generation. These plants are identical in layout but different in sizes and installed capacities. Each plant has a boiler, a turbo-generator and a distiller. The boilers produce a high pressure steam from fuel; the turbo-generators produce an electric power from the high pressure steam and the distillers produce desalinated water from the salty water using low pressure steam. A common steam header connects the boilers of a plant so that the steam from a boiler in one unit can be used by a distiller in another unit. The water produced is stored in reservoirs which are used to meet the predicted demand at each time period of planning horizon. The plants should also satisfy the demand for electric power and water during each time period (see Figure 2).\n3. Problem description and mathematical formulation: The problem of MS addresses in this paper is defined formally as follows. Let S be a set of stations with S = {1, ..., s}, where s is the total number of stations, and let P be a set of plants with P = {1, ..., P}, where P is the total number of plants. There is a set of m units of type boiler-turbine (electricity) and a set of g units of type distiller. Each unit must undergo a maintenance procedure for a period of time, where more than one unit can go through maintenance simultaneously. The maintenance durations of the units are not necessarily identical. Throughout maintenance, a minimum number of units for each plant must stay in operation. The objective is to schedule the PM tasks for s stations of p plants, consisting of m units of boiler-turbine and g units of distiller in a way that maximizes the number of available units over the operational planning time-horizon T.\n4. Computational study: The input data have been provided by the MEW of Kuwait. The computational study is based on one station consists of three plants, and each plant has seven units, which means that the total number of units in the station is 21 units. These inputs are identical to water in terms of number of plants and number of units. This means that there are 21 units for electricity, and 21 units for water to be scheduled separately for PM. Since there is just one station listed here, therefore, all notations containing a station will be modified by canceling the station symbol (j), for example, xjidk will be modified to be xidk. The earliest time is Eid = 1 and the latest time Lid=52, for all units, in all plants, so all units can start maintenance within the period (1,52), this also applies to electricity units. The operational planning time-horizon d is 52 weeks (one year). Manpower is available throughout the operational planning time, so there is no Manpower limit. The objective of this experiment is to search for the minimum value of standard deviation, which means maximizing the availability number of operational units in each plant during the operational planning time-horizon T.\n5. Conclusion: The problem of generating optimal PM schedules for generating units to maximize the number of units available in each plant, taking into consideration the satisfaction of a number of constraints, such as demand, maintenance completion period, reservoir water quantity and maintenance window constraints for 52 weeks maintenance, where addressed in this paper. This has been presented for 21 boiling turbine units and 21 distiller units for three plants, of one station. These inputs were provided by the MEW in the State of Kuwait.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a method that has been set up to schedule preventive maintenance (PM) tasks for power and water plants with all constraints such as production and maintenance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The proposed methodology relies on the zero-one integer programming model that finds the maximum number of power and water units available in separate generating units. To verify this, the model was implemented and tested as a case study in Kuwait for the Cogeneration Station.\nFindings: An effective solution can be achieved for scheduling the PM tasks and production at the power and water cogeneration plant.\nPractical implications: The proposed model offers a practical method to schedule PM of power and water units, which are expensive equipment.\nOriginality/value: This proposed model is an effective decision-making tool that provides an ideal solution for preventive maintenance scheduling problems for power and water units in a cogeneration plant, effectively and complies with all constraints.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Performance measurement driving change: a case from the defence sector
|
[
"Performance measurement",
"Balanced scorecard",
"Strategic transformation",
"Operational improvement",
"Partnering",
"Service",
"Defence",
"Partnership",
"Defence sector"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: While much has been written about organisational change, less has been said about the role of performance measurement within change programs. From an academic point of view this may be due to the historical gap between those literatures dealing with change and those dealing with performance measurement. From an industrial perspective, performance measurement systems have been criticised for their lack of dynamic ability and are therefore seldom used while a change program is underway.To fill this gap this paper investigates a defence sector case study, which utilises the balanced scorecard performance measurement tool as both an operational performance measurement system tracking day-to-day achievement and a catalyst to help implement a large-scale change program.This paper emerged as a result of the academia/industry partnership between the University of Strathclyde Business School and the Babcock International Group - Marine Division. Together the authors, two academics and two practitioners within Babcock, felt there was an interesting story to tell by analysing the progress made by Babcock in driving change through the use of a performance measurement system at Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde (HMNB-C). This change was necessary due to the inclusion of HMNB(C) in the MoD partnering strategy whereby service supply is outsourced from government to industry with the aim of realising efficiency savings.The main aim of the research is to provide a better understanding of the role of performance measurement systems in transformation programmes by providing empirical evidence from a rich case study. The objectives of this research are to use this case study to:* Identify the critical success factors for transformation and analyse whether these CSFs were present in the transformation of HMNB-C.* Investigate the role of performance measurement in the change program.* Explore the issues associated with performance measurement within a change program.This paper begins by reviewing the literatures associated with change and with operational performance measurement. It then describes the case study context before going on to analyse the change and how the performance measurement system contributed to its success. Conclusions are then drawn on the effectiveness of performance measurement systems as a tool for implementing change.\n2. Linking change and performance measurement: Change management theory originated in the fields of group dynamics and behavioural psychology before evolving in the 1940s as an independent discipline as factory managers worked to understand how to reduce resistance amongst employees to changes in working conditions and practices (Burnes, 2005). Since then, it has expanded from an interest solely in employee behaviour to encompass the management of all aspects of the change process. Today organisational change management operates on a broad canvas often driven by the strategic desire to move from existing business models that are not achieving the required results to new, more effective business models that will (Armenakis and Bedeian, 1999; Kilmann et al., 1988; Francis et al., 2003).As part of this journey significant work has been done to characterise the nature of change (Bessant and Caffryn, 1997; Todd, 1999; Weick and Quinn, 1999), the contextual forces that drive it (Kilmann et al., 1988; Drew and Coulson-Thomas, 1997; Francis et al., 2003); and the processes through which it can be achieved (Lewin, 1951; Kilmann et al., 1988; Garvin, 2000).This work has produced a number of models that claim to define change and interestingly there is much agreement in the content of these models as they all tend to include similar elements, however this body of theory, while consensual, is not simple. Most change models such as the transformation framework (Miles, 1997), the Change Cube, (Mintzberg et al., 1998), the Star Model (Galbraith et al., 2001), the change kaleidoscope (Balogun and Hope-Hailey, 2002) suggest that multiple factors such as strategy and structure (Miller, 1996; Miles, 1997; Mintzberg et al., 1998; Galbraith et al., 2001; Wischnevsky, 2004), people and culture (Blumenthal and Haspeslagh, 1994; Miles, 1997; Mintzberg et al., 1998; Bititci, 2007), and resources and competencies (MacIntosh and MacLean, 1999, 2001; Wischnevsky, 2004) must be considered when implementing successful change.Although comprehensive these models tend to exist at a high level and have attracted criticism, as they are so generalised and abstract that they miss the detail of what is actually going on in the organisation (Beech and Johnson, 2005). This issue has never been fully resolved in the literature so these models tend to exist as descriptive packages of elements that should be considered when undertaking a change program while not being particularly useful in the act of implementing it.To plug this \"implementation\" gap in the change literature it is necessary to turn to the operations management literature which contains a number of approaches dealing with the \"how\" of change. These \"toolset approaches to change\" were conceived mainly in the 1980s and 1990s in Japan and the United States as competitive advantage was sought in manufacturing efficiency and product quality. Possibly the most widely known is business process reengineering Hammer (1990), which is concerned with the total overhaul of the processes in an organisation with a view to improving performance. Further analysis of the literature reveals an abundance of methodologies including just-in-time (Safayeni and Purdy, 1991), Lean production (Womack et al., 2009), total quality management (Schonberger, 1992), and most recently six sigma (Raisinghani et al., 2005).Concurrent with the growth in these operational change programs was an explosion in the literature on performance measurement. Johnson and Kaplan (1987) were among the first to argue that traditional accounting approaches had lost their relevance, seeing them as backward-looking and limited in scope to only one aspect of the organisation. Since then theory and practice have developed substantially, with the emergence of more comprehensive and relevant measurement frameworks (Epstein and Manzoni, 1997; Kennerley and Neely, 2003; Neely et al., 2002) with the development of the Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan and Norton, 1996) receiving the most attention in the academic literature (Bourne et al., 2003). Balanced Scorecards changed the way performance was measured by supplementing traditional financial and operational measures with measures focused on customer satisfaction and learning and growth giving a more balanced view while strengthening the strategy-performance link using the strategy mapping technique Kaplan and Norton (2004). Today the balanced scorecard is seen as a means of \"linking an organisation's long-term strategic intentions with its short-term operational actions\" (Atkinson, 2006).However recent years have brought new challenges particularly for organisations in higher cost economies that are being forced to implement change in a much more dynamic environment. These changes include the adoption of new business models and high value strategies, embracing more innovative ways of working, increased servitization and new partnerships with customers and suppliers (Lusch et al., 2007). The literature is not short on commentaries describing such change programs. However despite this Melnyk et al. (2010, p556) argues that whilst there has been much written on organisational change \"measuring and managing performance in a changing environment presents a challenge that has not yet been satisfactorily resolved\".Although historically the literatures of change management, operations management and performance measurement, have existed very much in isolation more recently work has emerged (Bititci, 2007; McAdam and Bannister, 2001) linking the operational and change literatures using performance measurement as the operational catalyst that enables change. While this brings some coherence to the literature and further work (Baggaley, 2006) is beginning to emerge analysing the relationship between performance measurement and change programs, Jayashree and Hussain (2010) point out that few empirical studies have assessed the role of performance measurement in change.This research seeks to fill this gap by presenting a case investigating whether performance measurement is viewed by those involved as being a critical success factor in driving change.\n3. Case study: Methodology\n4. Critical success factors and change: The researchers wanted to establish an understanding of the critical success factors for change and look at whether they were present during the change at HMNB-C and consider their impact on the change.Methodology\n5. Using performance measurement systems in change: Bititci (2007), states that measures are \"the cement that binds all transformation components together\", however if they are not linked to change goals and reviewed regularly, there is a danger of going off track, which in turn will delay the achievement of the programme.Staff at all levels agreed that performance measurement was accepted in the business as important to driving the change while many of the other critical success factors were perceived differently depending on where people sat in the organisation (for example there was a big gap in the perception of the directors and other employees when it came to issues such as clear vision and effective communication). The balanced scorecard performance measurement system appears to provide a link between employee levels, span departmental boundaries and enable a number of the other critical success factors such as interdepartmental collaboration and fostering of a conducive culture.Whilst performance measurement was seen as being important in the change, the literature had warned of potential problems in using performance measurement systems in dynamic transformational environments. The researchers therefore wanted to review the effectiveness of the performance measurement system, with a view to establishing if any of these issues were a problem at the Naval Base.In October 2009, an in-depth review of the balanced scorecard was conducted (Bayliss, 2010). The review covered three broad areas:1. alignment of performance measures to objectives;2. the quality of the performance measures; and3. cost overhead to maintain the performance measurement system.Alignment to objectives\nConclusions: This paper set out to investigate the role of a balanced scorecard based performance measurement system within a change program at Her Majesty's Naval Base-Clyde (HMNB-C) made necessary by new contractual arrangements between the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Babcock International Group.A review of the literature identified nine success factors that are critical to change; leadership capability, senior management commitment, clear and shared vision, employee buy-in, conducive environment/culture; effective communication, collaboration and teamwork; clear transformation plan and performance measurement in place.In surveying employees the authors found the critical success factors were present to varying degrees in this change process. Some such as employee buy-in and performance measurement were clearly thought to be present and others such as the availability of a clear transformation plan were not. Therefore it is apparent from the data that the CSFs identified in the literature did not all contribute equally during the transformation program. Overall only one of the CSFs exhibited some consistency in agreement across employee groups and this was performance measurement. The performance measurement system was strongly linked to the successful change because it was embedded in the organisation and had an influence on many of the other critical success factors.Further the research demonstrated that a performance measurement system can be a useful tool to monitor the pace of change and communicate its status. Also in the absence of other critical success factors a performance measurement system can provide structure and focus. The tangibility of the measures within the balanced scorecard; its proliferation within all areas of the business; and its presence within the reporting hierarchy were all seen as factors that supported the change program. Most of the information generated from the balanced scorecard was clear and unambiguous and could be directly acted upon to realise operational improvement. The balanced scorecard was used to report ongoing business performance so the information generated on how well or how badly the business was performing gained some profile in the organisation. The balanced scorecard therefore created a bottom-up set of improvement initiatives that have served to help the organisation reach its operational targets and move some way towards its strategic goals. This use of the balanced scorecard served therefore to change the emphasis of the change program. The change program was conceived clearly as a top-down strategic initiative initiated by the change of ownership of the base due to the political imperative of the government. In the absence (or at best marginal presence) of the CSFs that support a strategic change the balance scorecards as an operational mechanism stimulated change from the bottom-up helping, through a series of ground level change programs, to realise the efficiency gains that the company needed to achieve the overall strategic targets.Finally this research contributes the following insights for academia and for organisations planning to use performance measurement to drive change. First, at the outset, measures must be aligned, using a strategy mapping tool, with the goals of the organisation. Then, more importantly, throughout the duration of the transformation program, work must be done to ensure the measures stay aligned. Second, metrics must be incorporated within the balanced scorecard that measure the progress of the change initiatives. Then as the change program moves forward measures will become obsolete as improvement initiatives are completed and so these must be discarded. If this does not take place the performance measurement system will become overloaded and this resonates with the findings from the literature (Anthony and Govindarajan, 1998; Kasurinen, 2002; Tuomela, 2005).Thirdly, measures must be integrated with the normal management processes of reporting so avoiding the duplication of a parallel system and the associated administrative overhead (Ittner and Larcker, 1997; Tuomela, 2005). Here, while some duplication of effort was found in relation to parallel data-gathering and reporting systems, there was little evidence of an additional cost burden as, in the main, performance measurement activities were integrated in to existing roles so there were few additional personnel involved. This leads to the conclusion that integrating the performance system within the roles of existing staff rather than adding new staff is a more cost effective implementation method.In summary this paper has presented a complex case study linking performance measurement systems and change programs. It has contributed understanding of the differences between a performance measurement system implemented in a static environment, where measures do not change over the business lifecycle, and a performance measurement system implemented in a dynamic environment where measures not only evolve but are used to identify change initiatives and drive the improvements which comprise the change program.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to present a case study demonstrating the role of performance measurement systems (PMS) in driving strategic transformation.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Using a case study approach this paper analyses how Babcock Marine, a service provider to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), is using performance measurement as a catalyst to bring about strategic transformation at Her Majesty's Naval Base - Clyde. Transformation is required to facilitate a new public-private sector contractual and financial relationship.\nFindings: - This paper highlights the differences between the use of PMS in static and dynamic (transformational) environments. It proposes that the balanced scorecard is a useful tool to monitor the pace of change and communicate the status of the change. It indicates that during the transformation program care must be taken to ensure that the measures used stay aligned with strategic objectives and that the balanced scorecard does not become cumbersome in terms of number of measures and administrative overhead. Finally it suggests that even in the absence of other critical success factors normally associated with transformation (such as a clear transformation plan and a strong ongoing communication mechanism), the balanced scorecard can provide structure and focus which will help to maintain the pace of change. It therefore demonstrates that the introduction of a performance management system can be complementary to the process of strategic transformation.\nOriginality/value: - The paper provides empirical evidence of PMS supporting transformation even in the absence of other critical success factors normally associated with strategic transformation.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Effects of business environment on international retail operations: case study evidence from China
|
[
"Business environment",
"Operations strategy",
"Retail operations",
"Field study",
"China",
"Retailing",
"Strategic planning",
"Emerging markets"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: An increase in the internationalisation of retail companies and markets appears to be one of the most significant trends in today's business environment (Vida and Fairhurst, 1998). Large retail operations are increasingly international in their operations and orientation (Myers and Alexander, 2007). The changing nature of the international business environment calls attention to the impediments to internationalisation (Evans et al., 2008). The retailer aiming to expand its business in a global market faces with the complexity and uncertainty inherent in the dynamic nature of the market, for example, new business environments, unfamiliar consumer preferences, location choices for performing business activities, and effective co-ordination of global operations (Dawson, 2003; Burt et al., 2003; Vida and Fairhurst, 1998). In today's environment the risks associated with strategic errors are significant (Dawson, 2003), and companies are forced to constantly adapt to fast-changing circumstances. It is argued that an operations strategy is a vital ingredient for the success of many retailers (Lowson, 2005; Yu, 2011). Companies seeking to achieve success in global markets must formulate appropriate operations strategies that are suited to the external environments, and employ resources in ways that support these strategies (Prasad et al., 2001; Yu, 2011). Therefore, the present study examines the impacts of business environment on operations strategy in the international retail sector.A few previous studies in manufacturing environments have found evidence of a relationship between environmental factors and operations strategy (e.g. Ward et al., 1995; Amoako-Gyampah and Boye, 2001; Anand and Ward, 2004). However, all of these studies involved collecting samples drawn from multiple manufacturing industries and deriving conclusions purely based on a purely statistical analysis of pre-formatted questionnaires. Also, there is no previous study that focuses on the link in the context of retail operations. Over years there have been some calls for more case and field research in operations strategy (e.g. Voss et al., 2002; Stuart et al., 2002), especially in the service sector.Although the approaches to a company's internationalisation have received considerable recognition in the academic community, few empirical studies have examined how the retail internationalisation process evolves, particularly regarding how to formulate retail operations strategy in emerging economies (Vida and Fairhurst, 1998). Some scholars (e.g. Prasad et al., 2001) have called for more research that examines international operations strategy development in a developing country context. China provides a particularly interesting setting for this study because of its rapid economic growth. As one of the main service industries in China, the retail sector has been experiencing unprecedented development during the transformation process from a centrally-planned to a market economy (Yu, 2011). However, a review of the literature reveals that relatively little is known about the operations strategies adopted by multinational retailers in China. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of business environment on international operations strategy, using a case study of a multinational retailer in China.The remainder of this paper is organised as follows. First, a theoretical framework is proposed building on previous studies. Second, the design of this study and the methodological procedures are described. Third, the findings of the study are presented and discussed, and a set of managerial implications are drawn. Finally, we conclude with a summary of findings and conclusions, as well as discuss the main limitations of this study and opportunities for future research.\n2. Theories and conceptual framework: 2.1 Business environment\nResearch method: 3.1 Field research\n4. Findings: We report the findings from our in-depth interviews in this section. This case study will largely be formatted in the same way as the dimensions outlined in our conceptual framework (see Figure 1). The main body of findings directly examines the current business environment of China's retail market within which A-Retailer operates, including the costs of doing business cost in China, competitive hostility, and environmental dynamism.4.1 The cost of doing business in China\n5. Discussions: To survive in today's competitive and dynamic business environment, A-Retailer has developed appropriate operations strategies (such as low cost, quality, delivery and flexibility). The main empirical insights from our case study are discussed further throughout the remainder of the section.Business environment and low cost strategy\n6. Conclusion: This study has investigated the effects of business environment on retail operations strategy, using a case study of a fast-growing foreign retailer in China. The study enriches the literature on international retail operations in a number of different ways. Our study has indicated that retailers that intend to expand their businesses in emerging markets face many challenges on new business environment, such as rising operating costs, cultural differences, government regulation, and increasing consumer awareness. Our results are consistent with findings in the international retail literature that identified a range of factors that impede the process of internationalisation (e.g. Vida and Fairhurst, 1998; Dawson, 2003; Burt et al., 2003; Evans et al., 2008). Our case analysis has further suggested that business environment appears to have substantial impacts on retail operations strategy (such as low cost, quality, flexibility and delivery). More specifically, a flexibility strategy is particularly important for international retailers to survive in an increasingly dynamic and complex environment. Foreign retailers need to be flexible and agile, adapting to Chinese culture in many ways in order to succeed. These findings are consistent with previous research showing that the environmental factors that drive and inhibit retail internationalisation also influence the business strategy adopted in foreign markets (Evans and Bridson, 2005; Evans et al., 2008). Moreover, this research has provided new insights into international retail operations strategy (competitive priorities of cost, quality, flexibility and delivery), especially in the Chinese context. Our results have confirmed the findings obtained by empirical studies in operations strategy using questionnaire surveys (e.g. Ward et al., 1995; Yu and Ramanathan, 2011), and provided some detailed empirical evidence which was not given by those previous studies.Our study has its limitations which opens opportunities for future research. Like all case studies the external validity of our proposed model needs to be empirically tested in a much larger sample. The research reported here draws on a very small sample. As such, any analytical generalisations drawn from a limited number of case studies, no matter how carefully sampled and researched, clearly deserve healthy caution. Most notably, future efforts should include measures which capture environmental complexity (Miller and Friesen, 1983; Dess and Beard, 1984), dimensions not explored in this research. Since China's market and retailers will evolve with social, cultural, and historical change, and the business environment is constantly changing, longitudinal follow-up studies should be designed to identify these changes and re-examine whether and how these relationships are changing. Moreover, empirical research into the international retailing in terms of operation management should be welcomed. Future research could undertake further empirical investigation into the problem areas encountered and the root causes of those problems, with particular attention to international retail operations strategy. Operations strategy in this study was characterized by four familiar competitive priorities of cost, quality, flexibility, and delivery performance. However, the traditional four critical success factors in operations have counterparts in service companies (Roth and van der Velde, 1991). Future study may identify more foremost critical success factors for service companies. Moreover, future research can explore the unique characteristics of service operations in other service industries (e.g. banking, insurance, tourism, and hospitality sectors) and also confirm the results obtained in this research. Our present study focuses on Chinese retailers. Since similar studies have been carried out in other country context, a comparative study of Chinese and other retailers may be an interesting future course of research.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of the business environment on operations strategy encompassed by competitive priorities in China's retail sector.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This is a case study of a multinational retailer to understand how the company develops appropriate operations strategies to survive in the competitive and dynamic Chinese business environment.\nFindings: - The study identifies that companies intending to expand their businesses in emerging markets face many challenges in the new business environment, and that various dimensions of the business environment (e.g. business cost, competitive hostility, and environmental dynamism) affect the development of retail operations strategy. The strategy of flexibility is particularly important for international companies to survive in an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment. Foreign retailers need to be flexible and agile, adapting to the Chinese market environment in many ways in order to succeed.\nOriginality/value: - This study seems to be the first in investigating the effects of the business environment on international operations strategy in the service (retail) sector, especially in the Chinese context.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Identifying and managing risks involved in the transition to the EU nZEB decree
|
[
"Risk management",
"Construction management",
"Building services",
"Building maintenance",
"Energy consumption",
"Building management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The EU is in the frontline of fighting against climate change. The EU has set ambitious CO2 reduction goals - by the year 2050, the reduction should be 60 per cent as compared to the 1990 levels (Commission of the European Communities, 2007; Portal of the EU, 2007). In Finland, the cool climate results in energy usage for buildings, which is responsible for 46 per cent of the country's CO2 emissions (Statistics Finland, 2011). It is self-evident that reductions in the energy usage of buildings need to take place in the near future if the goals are to be met. Therefore, the EU has passed a decree which states that all new buildings after 2020 are to be \"nearly\" zero-energy buildings (nZEB) (Official Journal of the EU, 2010). Each member state sets the standards to fit their own climate, and there is room for interpretation in the EU decree. The decree states, however, that the energy consumption of the nZEB building should be very low, and most of its energy needs have to be satisfied with renewable onsite energy management solutions (Official Journal of the EU, 2010). The results of this study may not apply to areas with differing climate from the cold Nordic climate, because the nZEB definition and the technology used are dependent on the climate.\n2. Zero-energy buildings technology: Low-energy design differs depending on the climate. In Finland, the Nordic climate increases the heating needs of buildings considerably in comparison to those in Central Europe (Kurnitski, 2012). On the contrary, heat gains in the summer do not pose such a large issue. Windows are designed to be large in mild climates to increase the amount of daylight and designed to be small in cold climates to reduce the heat loss. In a cold climate, thick insulation has to be designed as a part of the building envelope, and furthermore, heat cannot be allowed to leak out of the building. Therefore, nZEB buildings are designed to be extremely airtight in Finland. The air leakage value in the two existing nZEB apartment buildings are 0.4 m3/h.m2 at 50 Pa (Nollaenergia.fi, 2013). To secure the indoor climate quality, the air is ventilated in a controlled manner and the heat of the outgoing air is transferred to the incoming air. This is handled by a heat recovery unit that can have an efficiency rate of 80 per cent (Hoval, 2011; Nollaenergia.fi, 2007).\n3. Need for transition: In a changing environment, companies that fail to adapt to the new circumstances are destined to lose market share (Newman, 2010). People are in the centre when managing change and especially when managing a leap-in-development type of change. The psychological reaction to large changes in the working environment or to an employee's job description may be negative. Learning anxiety is usually highest amongst aged employees who have not experienced any major changes in the construction process in a long time (Warr and Downing, 2000). Young employees usually have low learning anxiety, and they might even have a greater understanding of the latest innovations in the business due to having recently finished their studies.\n4. The research method: The change in the nZEB technology is a leap-of-development type of change, and the risks involved affect all building projects. The risks are not identical in different types of projects, but they are similar. This means that the risk identification and preparation can be made to some extent at a company level, and even some regulations to secure the quality can be made at a state level. To investigate those general risks and to come up with solutions or tools for those, we organised an expert workshop.\n5. Results: The discussion about the risks and challenges that the nZEB decree will bring in the transition phase started off differently in different groups. Two of the groups came up with many detailed notes quickly, whilst the other two groups discussed in a more unstructured way. Both approaches were successful and all the groups came up with six to ten ideas. A surprisingly low amount of them were overlapping, but some were also off the topic. For example, a sound idea of starting a competence testing procedure for the foreign workforce in Finland was disregarded as off-topic, as the problems it derives from do not only concern nZEB projects but all projects. After discarding the off-topic ideas, we are left with the 11 relevant risks and threats listed below, based on the workshop:\n6. Discussion: Most of the participants in the workshop saw the transition pace in accordance with the nZEB decree as the main problem. The participants agreed that collaboration between parties and efforts made in the early stages of a project are key elements to the success in nZEB construction projects in general. Integrated project delivery (IPD) is a modern collaboration-based project delivery system that has been tested in a few construction projects in Finland. In IPD, a multi-party contract between at least the constructor, the owner and the designer is set up and financial success, as well as the risks, are shared by using the Target Pricing reimbursement method (Kenig, 2011; Lahdenpera, 2012). In practice however, enhancing collaboration and putting effort in the early stages of the project were seen as challenging. Collaboration was seen as highly person- and circumstances-related and difficult because of the lack of trust between parties. Putting effort into the beginnings of projects was seen as difficult because of the lack of resources on the owner's side.\n7. Conclusions: In the workshop, we discovered several recommendations to be taken into action to avoid the risks and threats of the transition period in accordance with the EU 2020 nZEB decree. The clearest of those are the requirement for a designer competence license in nZEB projects and the requirement in the building code for a commissioning consultant to be hired for all large- and medium-scale nZEB projects. These are both state-level regulations, and they are the most important concrete recommendations that were yielded from the workshop.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the risks and challenges related to the change in building construction projects to the European Union (EU) zero-energy building (nZEB) decree in the year 2020. Another goal was to create solutions to those risks and challenges.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A workshop method was chosen to gather up-to-date information from the construction cluster in Finland.\nFindings: In the workshop, the main concern was the level of knowledge and know-how with all the parties working with construction projects. As an answer to this challenge, serious and substantial education in the organisations and competence requirements for designers and piloting as much as possible in the next few years was offered. Commissioning consultant was also seen as vital for nZEB project. Tight schedules and unfit project delivery systems were also seen as a risk for nZEB projects. However, modern project delivery systems were seen to be problematic in practice even if they were functional in theory.\nOriginality/value: The results of the workshop are valuable for all parties working with building construction projects in Finland and the whole EU area.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Transaction credit in the unstructured crowd transaction network
|
[
"Crowd intelligence",
"Crowd transaction network",
"Transaction credit model"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, the e-commerce platform in China has developed dramatically and has made remarkable achievements. At the same time, however, it has also exposed some inherent defects, such as lack of interaction, isolated information on the platform, lack of personalization during searching and matching and lack of accuracy and inability to prevent aggression when evaluating the transaction credit.\n2. Literature review: Although this paper studies the credit problem of the unstructured crowd transaction network, the trust management technology of the e-commerce platform is significantly relevant to this paper. From the perspective of network structure, the crowd transaction network is built on the basis of peer-to-peer (P2P) computer network. The trust management technology of P2P network also has important reference significance for this paper. Therefore, the following will be elaborated from the above aspects.\n3. Transaction credit model based on the crowd transaction network: In the crowd transaction network, when buyers have purchase demands, they need to search for corresponding commodities in the crowd transaction network with six degrees of separation. Then, they can accurately match and get a list of recommended commodities. When buyers browse their desired products, before making the purchase decision, they need to check the seller's credit information and the product's evaluation information in the crowd transaction network, and then calculate the seller's credit. After the transaction completion, the buyer evaluates the seller, calculates the seller's transaction credit and updates it and then releases the evaluation and relevant credit data to the circle of friends. Such process is summarized in Figure 2.\n4. Simulation: This section verifies the accuracy and anti-aggression of transaction credit model through simulation experiment. The simulation experiment was carried out on NetLogo (see http://ccl.northwestern.edu.pitt.idm.oclc.org/netlogo), which is a prevalent multi-agent simulation modeling tool in the field of artificial intelligence.\n5. Conclusion: Motivated by the common problems existing in current transaction credit models such as the one-sided measurement, low accuracy and insufficient anti-aggression solutions, this paper studies the transaction credit model based on the unstructured crowd transaction network.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Current models of transaction credit in the e-commerce network face many problems, such as the one-sided measurement, low accuracy and insufficient anti-aggression solutions. This paper aims to address these problems by studying the transaction credit problem in the crowd transaction network.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study divides the transaction credit into two parts, direct transaction credit and recommended transaction credit, and it proposes a model based on the crowd transaction network. The direct transaction credit comprehensively includes various factors influencing the transaction credit, including transaction evaluation, transaction time, transaction status, transaction amount and transaction times. The recommendation transaction credit introduces two types of recommendation nodes and constructs the recommendation credibility for each type. This paper also proposes a \"buyer + circle of friends\" method to store and update the transaction credit data.\nFindings: The simulation results show that this model is superior with high accuracy and anti-aggression.\nOriginality/value: The direct transaction credit improves the accuracy of the transaction credit data. The recommendation transaction credit strengthens the anti-aggression of the transaction credit data. In addition, the \"buyer + circle of friends\" method fully uses the computing of the storage ability of the internet, and it also solves the failure problem of using a single node.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Predicting intention to quit in the call centre industry: does the retail model fit?
|
[
"Call centres",
"Employee turnover",
"Stress",
"Australia"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Workforce turnover is well-recognized as an issue of critical importance to managers. Lack of employee continuity and organizational stability, the high costs involved in the induction and training of new staff, and organizational productivity are some of the challenges that arise as a consequence of turnover. It is not surprising then that organizational psychologists and other researchers have made concerted efforts to identify the antecedent factors associated with employee turnover in order to assist managers to institute measure to prevent it.Indeed, many models of workforce turnover have been proposed over recent years (e.g. Armstrong-Stassen et al., 1994; Igbaria and Greenhaus, 1992; Koeske and Koeske, 1993; Tinker and Moore, 2001). These models typically incorporate core variables such as job satisfaction, stress, organizational commitment, and supervisor support, along with a selection of other variables such as self-esteem, locus of control and intention to quit. Seldom, however, has the temporal stability or cross-setting generalisability of such models been reported.In this paper, we report on an investigation of the generalisability of one such model of turnover. The model to be tested was proposed by Firth et al. (2004) in reporting their study of shop floor retail clothing sales personnel working in a large department store. Using path analysis they found that employees' commitment to the organization for which they worked, job satisfaction, stress, supervisor support, self-esteem, and the perceived stressors in the job accounted for 52 per cent of the variance in intention to quit. Emotional support from supervisors and self-esteem mediated the impact of stressors on stress reactions, job satisfaction, commitment to the organization and intention to quit. The model proposed by Firth et al. (2004) is presented in Figure 1.The question arises as to whether Firth et al.'s model would be useful in other sales contexts. In this study we aimed to address the question in another sales sector, specifically the call centre industry. This industry is an emerging component of the sales sector that is characterized by features different to those found in the conventional retail context. For example, in contrast to the conventional retail sales setting where face to face interactions are the norm, they primarily utilize telecommunication and information technologies to generate sales, to provide company information and to help maintain good customer service relations (Bakker et al., 2003; Lewig and Dollard, 2003). However, call centre work has been described an advanced form of Taylorism (Knights and McCabe, 1998), with workers, Call Centre Representatives (CCRs), being required to engage in routine, scripted interactions that are continuously and automatically distributed to them by the technology upon which call centres are based, and under the extreme emotional demand of maintaining a friendly manner (Holman, 2003). These conditions generate highly demanding, repetitive and stressful work roles that are associated with high levels of absenteeism and high staff turnover rates (Australian Communications Association Research (ACA), 1998, 1999, 2001; Australian Council of Trade Unions Call Centre Unions Group, 2001; Australian Communications Association Research (ACA), 1999; Deery et al., 2002; Holman, 2002, 2003).The importance of understanding turnover in call centres is evident when the growth of this industry is considered. In Australia it employed 160,000 CCRs in 1999 (Australian Services Union Research, 1999) and grew at rate of 20 per cent annually from 1998 to 2001 (Australian Communications Association Research (ACA), 1998; Australian Council of Trade Unions Call Centre Unions Group, 2001). At the same time, the average staff turnover rate in the industry rose from 18 per cent to between 23.7 per cent and 29.5 per cent, with the rate doubling in highly-stressed call centres (Australian Communications Association Research (ACA), 1998; Australian Communications Association Research (ACA), 2001; Hallis, 2000). Such high turnover rates inevitably increase the number of inexperienced CCRs and lower the standard of professional services provided to customers (Australian Communications Association Research (ACA), 2001), resulting in higher operating costs for the organization (Australian Communications Association Research (ACA), 1999). Research (Australian Communications Association Research (ACA), 1998; Australian Council of Trade Unions Call Centre Unions Group, 2001) has estimated that the annual cost of staff turnover in these centers has risen from $100 million to $330 million, with stress-related absenteeism incurring an additional $7.5 million per annum (Australian Council of Trade Unions Call Centre Unions Group, 2001). On average, the cost of losing a CCR in 1998 was estimated at $10,000 (Australian Communications Association Research (ACA), 1998). Extrapolating from the above statistics, that average would have increased to between $20,136 (101.4 per cent increase) and $25,063 (150.4 per cent increase) in a successive three-year period to 2001. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors that lead to outcomes such as employee turnover in the call centre industry in order that they might be modified by management.In this study, we aim to replicate the study conducted by Firth et al. (2004) to determine whether the model of turnover derived from the shop floor retail sales environment (see Figure 1) would be robust in the call centre context. We expect that the same variables would be associated with quitting intention, but that given the different nature of the work in department stores and call centres, the pathways to intentions to quit would be different. In particular, in light of the research and anecdotal evidence that call centre work is highly stressful, we expect that stressors and stress symptoms would play a bigger role in turnover intentions.\nMethod: Participants\nResults: The data were analyzed using SPSS/PC for Windows (Version 12) and AMOS (Version 5). The intercorrelations between variables, and the means, standard deviations, and Cronbach's alpha for each variable are presented in Table I.Structural model\nDiscussion: In this study we set out to determine whether the pathway model of quitting intention proposed by Firth et al. would be replicated when applied to populations other than conventional retail salespeople. Our findings in the call centre environment indicate that, overall, the variables in the model accounted for similar proportions of the variance in quitting intentions. However, within the model the variables appear to behave in a different manner. This suggests that call centre management may need to consider different worker turnover intervention strategies to those recommended for management in conventional retail contexts.As has been noted above, call centres are highly stressful workplaces, and as expected stressors (role conflict, work family conflict, role overload, and role ambiguity) play a substantially more detrimental role in this context than they do in conventional retail. The average level of stressors reported by CCRs was at the mid-point of the scale used however, these stressors contributed more substantially to a stress reaction (that is, feelings of burnout, anxiety and somatic complaints) than reported by retail staff (0.70 versus 0.23). While not tested in the current model, it might be that the routine and repetitive nature of call centre work, rather than role ambiguity and role conflict as measured here, contribute to high levels of stress reaction. It might be that managers need to consider varying the roles that staff occupy in order to reduce this repetitive demand identified by much previous research (Australian Communications Association Research (ACA), 1998, 1999, 2001; Australian Council of Trade Unions Call Centre Unions Group, 2001; Australian Services Union Research, 1999; Deery et al., 2002; Holman, 2002, 2003).Certainly support offered by supervisors contributed to an increase in job commitment and job satisfaction among CCRs and all three of these variables made a substantial contribution to reducing intention to quit. As expected based upon the retail model, stressors were not directly predictive of intention to quit among CCRs. Rather stressors are indirectly related to intention to quit via supervisor support, job satisfaction, and job commitment for a total effect of 0.48) however, the flow through of this effect onto turnover intention was lower than on the shop floor (-0.30). In contrast to the conventional retail context, we see that stress reaction leads the CCR to a loss of commitment to the organization, but not directly to a loss of job satisfaction or to an intention to quit. For conventional retail workers, stress reaction leads directly to lower job satisfaction and an intention to quit, but not to a lack of commitment to the organization. This difference could reflect a stronger sense of organizational identity on the part of retail sales personnel than on the part of CCRs. The loading of stress onto job commitment rather than directly onto job satisfaction or intention to quit by CCRs can be explained in terms of expectations and lack of face to face interactions with customers. Social knowledge of call centres may lead CCRs to have low expectations of job satisfaction. They may expect their employment to be short term due to the anticipated stress. Therefore, the experience of stress does not directly impact on satisfaction or on intentions to quit. Rather, it re-inforces a lack of commitment that may be played out in actions such as absenteeism, which is not measured in this study, as well as indirectly on intention to quit. The lack of face-to-face interaction may further assist CCRs to rationalize and depersonalize stress, and so avoid it impacting directly on job satisfaction and intentions to quit.While not the most manifest difference, job satisfaction plays a role in the intention to quit both directly (-0.40 for CCRs versus -0.23 for retail sales personnel) and indirectly (total effect of -0.52 for CCRs versus -0.41 for retail sales personnel). This suggests that call centre managers could reduce intention to quit by establishing which intrinsic and extrinsic factors contribute most strongly to job satisfaction amongst CCRs and taking steps to enhance them. For example, job security, physical conditions, recognition received for work done, and the freedom given to do one's best at the job may all be malleable factors, depending on the call centre.The above findings may be related to different social perceptions of call centres and conventional retail contexts. In the department store setting, employees are covered by industry-wide agreements that govern working conditions. They may expect the environment to be pleasant, be thinking of having a career there, and expect to be committed to the job. In the call centre setting, there is likely to be little expectation that the work environment will be pleasant, as call centres generally have a bad reputation, and are widely known to be stressful. People who work there are unlikely to be thinking of establishing a career there, as evidenced by the relatively short call centre career our participants had (71 per cent less than two years versus 25 per cent of the retail sales personnel in the job less than three years). Specifically, in Australia many students and other part-time workers take on the role of CCR as a short term, convenient way of generating income, and with little intention of staying in the industry on a long term basis. Thus, they are unlikely to have a high level of commitment, and lack of commitment is likely to have less impact on their intention to quit. Quitting intention may be due to personal factors as much as the factors included in the turnover model.While this study provides some insights into call centre turnover, there are some limitations. Amongst these is the diversity of call centres that could not be controlled here. Some call centres are purely inbound, and CCRs are employed to answer incoming calls to provide information or handle business; others are outbound, and it is the role of the CCR to make calls to solicit information or business. There may be significant difference between these types of call centres that need to be investigated further. In addition, we measured intention to quit as a proxy for turnover. While intention to quit is not the same as voluntarily turnover, many authors (e.g. Igbaria and Greenhaus, 1992) have used intentions as indicative of actual quitting behaviour on the basis of the evidence that intentions are the most immediate determinants of actual behaviour (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980; Armitage and Connor, 2001; Kim and Hunter, 1983). The use of intention to quit is also of practical merit from a research perspective, as once people have actually implemented the behaviour to quit, there is little likelihood of gaining access to them to understand their prior situation. Indeed, in this study we were unable to access call centre staff who had actually quit due to privacy legislation prohibiting the call centres from providing their details to us.The validity of studying intentions to quit in the workplace rather than actual quitting behaviour can be drawn from Sager's (1991) longitudinal study of salespeople, in which intention to quit was found to discriminate effectively between leavers and stayers. In a more recent study of turnover among psychiatric nurses, Alexander et al. (1998) found that intentions were significant predictors of turnover (b=0.23), and that the majority of variables in their model impacted on turnover through intentions to quit. However, other researchers (e.g. Griffeth et al., 2000; Hon and Griffeth, 1995) have argued that intentions to quit do not explain a large amount of the variance in quitting behaviour.To account for variability in findings about the relationship between intention to quit and actual turnover, Allen et al. (2005) have suggested that personality factors such as self-monitoring, and risk aversion may moderate the relationship. Other researchers (e.g. Cote and Morgan, 2002; Day et al., 1998) have also implicated personality in turnover intentions, and the inclusion of this variable in the current model may have increased the amount of variance in quitting behaviour for which we accounted. Firth et al. (2004) suggested in their model of intention to quit amongst retail salespeople on the shop floor (see Figure 1) that self-esteem is one factor that may mediate the impact of stressors on stress reactions, job satisfaction, commitment to the organization and intention to quit. In the current study, self esteem played a less important role. It is arguable though whether or not such individual differences play a moderating or mediating role in the relationships. Unfortunately, one of the limitations of this study was that the sample size was not large enough to examine this issue.However, it is important to note that the purpose of this study was to ascertain whether the model of turnover which had been found by Firth et al. (2004) to be useful in explaining for intention to quit with retail salespeople on the show room floor would be equally applicable to the call centre environment. In this regard, the study was successful.\nConclusion: As in the case of retail sales personnel, the variables in the model tested accounted for a large proportion of the variance in call centre turnover intention. Thus, the model would seem to have cross-setting utility. However, as expected, in the different environments the variables interact differently and it is these interactions which indicate the need for management-specific policies. For the call centre manager, the findings suggest that the core stressors are associated strongly with lack of supervisor support, and play a significant role in reducing satisfaction, and increasing stress symptoms. In turn, supervisor support raises organizational commitment which then reduces quitting intentions. Many of these are malleable factors, and if addressed appropriately, notably through supervisor support and where possible greater role varity, could reduce turnover and thereby increase the productivity of call centres.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Models of workplace turnover are rarely assessed in contexts other than that in which they were developed. This reduces their generalizability and their usefulness in providing managers with guidance as to what they might do to reduce workers intentions to quit. The purpose of this study is to test a model derived from a study of shop floor retail salespeople in the call centre environment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A questionnaire measuring the variables in the model was completed by 126 call centre representatives recruited from 11 call centres in Melbourne, Australia.\nFindings: - Although the model was supported, the interactions among the variables differed. In particular, stressors played a bigger, albeit indirect, role in the intention to quit.\nPractical implications: - Call centre managers need to consider carefully the aspects of the work environment that may be stressful. If appropriately addressed, turnover may be reduced, and productivity increased.\nOriginality/value: - This paper demonstrates that the model of turnover derived from shop floor salespeople is generally robust in the call centre setting. It provides management of call centres with some guidance as to the factors associated with turnover and areas that can be addressed to reduce it.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
SME competitive strategy: learning from Taiwan's ODM industry
|
[
"Competitive strategy",
"Small to medium‐sized enterprises,Innovation"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: 1.1 Taiwan's small and medium original design manufacturers (ODMs) in transition\n2. SEMs need new R&D strategies: Hamel (2000) emphasized in Leading the Revolution that the spirit of Silicon Valley is not electronic commerce but innovation and imagination. He argued that start-up internet companies created a market development trend and developed superior technology and, most importantly, structured a new business model. The concept of the new business model assists the entrepreneurial business model in responding to changes in the industrial climate, rather than improving the traditional operating model for meager profits. Hamel (2000) believed that continuous improvement can slightly raise added value, however, this is only from the perspective of what customers need to drive the innovations then can develop a new business model. Chesbrough (2007) proposed the idea of an open business model (OBM), which further explains how new business models integrates resources to increase competitive advantages.The OBM transforms innovation and technology into economic results. Using a combination of innovative strategies and continuously integrating internal and external resources, the OBM promotes corporate competitiveness, establishes a network of collaboration relationships, and forms intercommunication platform models between corporations and corporations, and between corporations and research institutes. There are two benefits to using OBM business model innovations:1. Creating value (where the value chain occurs via the process of transforming raw materials to end users).2. Capturing value (where unique resources generated by the value creation process enhance the competitive advantages of the corporation).Lee (2001) indicated that an innovative division of labor and effective coordination and margin sharing in the value chain is only possible with effective information sharing and a resource integration platform. The innovative OBM strategy moves key techniques and intellectual property rights from upstream suppliers in the intermediary market to downstream suppliers. By using intermediary markets, the OBM orient business models toward corporate intellectual property rights. These different revenue sources create higher economic benefits for innovation. Additionally, leads in external techniques and resources during R&D can effectively reduce innovative R&D cost, saving funds and time, as Figure 1 shows.Chesbrough (2007) pointed out that traditional business models have been impacted by both rising R&D costs and decreasing TLCs (technology life cycles), and that OBM's innovative business strategy can overcome the shortcomings of traditional business models. The innovative margin sources of OBM can be divided into two phases: R&D costs and intermediary market revenue. The margin source of the first phase arises from the innovative division of labor, using outside R&D resources to reduce internal costs and time. R&D time and results can be accelerated by obtaining external R&D energy and manpower resources while the internal core R&D team proceeds with technology transfer or collaborative R&D. This approach reduces R&D costs, and further stimulates and fosters internal R&D competency. In the second phase, the intermediary markets proceed to authorization and asset partitioning or selling/transferring. The OBM generates greater economic benefits using the innovative division of labor and the intermediary market mechanism of intellectual property rights.Lichtenthaler (2008) believed that corporations will incur large R&D costs to meet the needs of their target markets. Therefore, corporations need external resources to make up for the shortcomings of internal corporate techniques. By exchanging unused technology with external corporations, a company can form an interactive collaborative network. In the past, intellectual property management did not consider the link between intellectual property rights, corporate innovation procedures, and business models. Rising NPD costs and decreasing TLCs have reduced the profitability of R&D investment in closed business models.\n3. Case study: 3.1 Taiwan's R&D intermediary market\n4. Conclusion: In the traditional closed business model, the operating efficiency of the ODM industry has been impacted by both the rise of innovative R&D costs and shortening of the revenue period. The new OBM strategy can overcome the shortcomings of costly R&D in the traditional business model. The case study in this paper shows that there are four new profit sources in the OBM using the innovative division of labor. These profit sources include the following:1. The integration of internal and external R&D resources to reduce R&D costs.2. The innovative division of labor, using external R&D resources to reduce internal costs and time.3. The sale/transfer of patents.4. The authorize of patents.The purposes of 1 and 2 are to integrate external resources, and, through industry-academy association, to shorten R&D time and decrease costs. This approach further achieves the dual goals of cost reduction and improved R&D production.In the traditionally closed regional economic model, corporations will have a competitive advantage as long as they surpass their own achievements. However, in today's open global economic model, only the acquisition of balance in the industrial supply chain and fulfilling the needs of the intermediary market can be counted as a competitive advantage. Chesbrough (2007) believed that the OBM's value comes from a structure of collaboration, interflow, and development. Corporate prospects and guiding policies that foster continuing innovation promote customer value and establish a good network relationship and intercommunication among the corporate community. Therefore, innovation is only a primary element. Using technological innovations, procedures, and strategies to satisfy partnership needs in the supply chain, and not just pursuing the most beneficial case for the corporation, but also establishing the mutually beneficial sharing as outlined in the OBM and creating industrial competitive advantages.4.1 Notes to promoting OBM\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - From 2002 to 2005, Taiwan's ODMs concentrated on PCs and consumer electronics. Even though they lacked any well-known brand names, they managed to develop an outstanding 34 percent compound annual growth. The purpose of this study is providing a viewpoint of SMEs competitive strategy from Taiwan's ODM industry.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - In this article, we first examine the SMEs Transition of ODMs in Taiwan, highlighting the challenges executive face between Taiwan and Mainland China for better competitive strategy. Next, we introduce some of the ODM strategies using the innovative division of labor from the SEM in Taiwan and describe how they can play a role in overcoming the challenge in the global market.\nFindings: - In the traditional closed business models, the operating efficiency of the ODM industry has been impacted by both the rise of innovative R&D costs and shortening of the revenue period. The new open business model (OBM) strategy can overcome the shortcomings of costly R&D in the traditional business models. The case study in this paper shows that there are four new profit sources in the OBM using the innovative division of labor.\nOriginality/value: - The study is the first to shed light on the role of the OBM using the innovative division of labor for the SMEs. The findings may have noteworthy implications for the SMEs. From this article, managers may gain insights into the innovative division of labor for the SMEs ways to integrate these insights into their managing.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Growth expectations through innovative entrepreneurship: The role of subjective values and duration of entrepreneurial experience
|
[
"Entrepreneurs",
"Growth",
"Decision making",
"Entrepreneurial orientation",
"Motivation",
"Small firm/new venture strategy"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: A rich body of research has examined the determinants of firm growth (e.g. Davidsson, 1991; Steffens et al., 2009; Wiklund et al., 2003), identifying three prerequisites that must be fulfilled for a firm to grow: opportunities available for the firm, the ability to recognize and capture these opportunities successfully, and firm decision makers' need for expansion (Davidsson, 1991). While objective measures of the above determinants influence actual growth, the motivation for growing is related more to subjectivity (i.e. the way these three determinants are perceived). According to Autio and Acs (2010), among these factors, the third one, which refers to the willingness to grow, has received less attention. Several theoretical and empirical studies have pointed out that there are many factors influencing both firms' and entrepreneurs' intentions and willingness to grow (e.g. Cliff, 1998; Davidsson, 1991; Gundry and Welsch, 2001). For example, it has been suggested that some entrepreneurs have an innate desire to grow, whereas other entrepreneurs rationally evaluate the best choice among strategic orientations (Van Gelderen, 2012). In this regards, Rosenbusch et al. (2011) pointed out that entrepreneurs are likely to conclude that innovation benefits firm development irrespective of the circumstances. Considering that prior research has suggested that entrepreneurs do not necessarily follow normative[1]/rational models in their thinking, their knowledge structures, assessments, judgments, and decisions may be different than those of managers (e.g. Busenitz and Barney, 1997; Gaglio, 2004; Mitchell et al., 2007; Townsend et al., 2015). Indeed, even when personality variables and motivations have been included in the analysis (e.g. Verheul and Van Mil, 2011; De Clerq and Arenius, 2006), there is still little evidence about how heuristics, such as mental simulations leading to subjective values, may foster over-optimistic growth expectations. Considering the contributions that the cognitive perspective has provided to the field (cf. Baron, 2004; Shepherd, 2015), it has been suggested that studying the impact that mental simulations may have on several dimensions of the firm is fertile territory for further research.\nTheoretical background and hypotheses: A heuristic-based approach argues that individuals are subject to cognitive biases due to their utilization of simplified decisions rules (Busenitz and Barney, 1997; Mitchell et al., 2007). Having a heuristic-based logic enables individuals to make sense of uncertain and complex situations. It has been suggested that entrepreneurs are particularly involved in situations where heuristics not only affect the process of opportunity recognition but also impact strategic decision making under uncertainty (Busenitz and Barney, 1997; Hodgkinson et al., 1999). In this sense, heuristics - as a cognitive tool of intuition - help entrepreneurs deal with unorthodox interpretations. However, by using heuristics, individuals take greater risks than they think they are taking because given the nature of heuristics, there are unperceived risks involved in the decision-making process as relevant information (e.g. proper data or sufficient analysis) is ignored.\nMethod: The model is tested using the individual-level data for 24 countries that participated in the APS carried out as part of the GEM project during 2011. These countries are South Africa, Hungary, Romania, UK, Sweden, Poland, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, China, Pakistan, Iran, Algeria, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Venezuela, Uruguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Bangladesh, and Taiwan.\nEmpirical results: Descriptive statistics\nDiscussion: Key findings and implications\nConclusions: The entrepreneurship literature has remarked on the importance of studying entrepreneurial thinking, particularly those cognitions that relate to entrepreneurial decision making. As such, this research focuses on perceptual processes. The findings are of interest because they provide a wider vision of how entrepreneurs' cognitive structures influence firm-level decisions and managerial expectations. This research responds to previous calls regarding the importance of focusing on how entrepreneurs configure their cognitive processes in response to strategic managerial decisions - instead of analyzing mental maps that may generate certain behaviors - to obtain a more interactive comprehension of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (e.g. Mitchell et al., 2007; Shepherd, 2015). Thus, this research reveals some antecedents of how entrepreneurial expectations are built by developing a model of moderated mediation that involves cognitions and strategic decisions.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose a model suggesting that innovation may act as a motivating force that increases entrepreneurs' growth expectations, in which entrepreneurs' growth expectations are shaped by their subjective values and entrepreneurial experience moderates this relationship.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper conducts statistical analysis on a sample of 11,579 entrepreneurs from 24 countries who participated in the IIIP survey of innovation in 2011 under the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project.\nFindings: The results suggest that entrepreneurs involved in innovative entrepreneurship are more likely to have higher growth expectations, with subjective values playing a direct and indirect role in entrepreneurs' expectations of firm growth. Additionally, the results indicate that the duration of entrepreneurial experience moderates the relationship between strategic orientation and confidence in innovation. This finding suggests there is feedback between having beliefs about the benefits of innovation and being an innovative entrepreneur, resulting in an over-estimation - at least in comparative terms - regarding firm growth rates. This relationship is stronger for novice entrepreneurs since experienced entrepreneurs tend to be more cautious about their expectations of growing.\nOriginality/value: This study deepens our understanding of the complex processes through which organizational-level decisions ultimately influence individual-level factors. The present findings contribute to progress in this task by suggesting that strategies aimed at cultivating innovation feed entrepreneurs' subjective values of innovation as well as expectations of growth. Although the duration of entrepreneurial experience moderates the relationship between acting as an innovative entrepreneur and subjective values of innovation, the results suggest that entrepreneurs' expectations are primarily driven by their internal perceptions of reality.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Evaluating and rewarding OCBs: Potential consequences of formally incorporating organisational citizenship behaviour in performance appraisal and reward systems
|
[
"Human resource management research",
"Performance measures",
"Motivation (psychology)",
"Individual behaviour"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Rather than using traditional hierarchical structures with clear lines of authority and distinct jobs, many organisations have gone to more autonomous team-oriented organisational environments (LePine et al., 2002). This shift has increased the importance of individual initiative and cooperation (Ilgen and Pulakos, 1999). Because of this change, organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), or behaviour characterized by individuals voluntarily making prosocial contributions to the organisation that are above and beyond their job duties, has received increasingly more attention from both scholars and managers (Allen et al., 2004; Bolino and Turnley, 2005; Bolino et al., 2004; Coleman and Borman, 2000; LePine et al., 2000; Paine and Organ, 2000; Podsakoff et al., 2000; Vey and Campbell, 2004).Since OCB first appeared in the organisational behaviour and management literature (Bateman and Organ, 1983; Smith et al., 1983), it has been the subject of considerable research. Much of this research has focused on antecedents of OCB such as job satisfaction, interpersonal trust, organisational commitment and employee mood (Bateman and Organ, 1983; Becker, 1992; George, 1991; Konovsky and Orgon, 1996; Niehoff and Moorman, 1993; Moorman and Blakely, 1995; Organ and Konovsky, 1989; Podsakoff et al., 1990; Smith et al., 1983; Williams and Anderson, 1992; Williams and Wong, 1999) and consequences of OCBs such as performance, customer service and satisfaction, sales revenue and financial efficiency (Koys, 2001; Podsakoff et al., 2000; Podsakoff and MacKenzie, 1994; Podsakoff et al., 1997; Walz and Niehoff, 2000, 1996). Because of OCB's association with such important outcomes, research indicates that OCB is beneficial to organisations (Bolino and Turnley, 2003) and is critical to organisational functioning (Bateman and Organ, 1983; Organ, 1988). OCB is also viewed as desirable because such behaviour is thought to increase available resources and decrease the need for more formal and costly mechanisms of control (Organ, 1988). Based on the existing research, it appears that organisations and managers should be interested in encouraging employee citizenship behaviours. One possible way in which organisations could encourage OCBs is to explicitly measure and reward such behaviours through the performance appraisal process and reward systems such as compensation and employee recognition programs. In fact, some researchers have begun to address the possibility of including OCBs in formal performance appraisal and reward systems (Bolino and Turnley, 2003; Denisi and Griffin, 2005; Paine and Organ, 2000; Vey and Campbell, 2004) and some organisations have already started to explicitly recognize OCBs (Levering and Moskowitz, 2003; The Sunday Times-London, 2002).Research has shown that OCBs influence managers' decisions regarding training, promotions, rewards (Allen and Rush, 1988) and perceptions of how much an employee's performance contributes to the financial performance of an organisation. Whether through formal or informal means, when managers evaluate the performance of employees, they apparently factor citizenship behaviours into their assessments (Podsakoff et al., 2000). Therefore, in most performance appraisal systems, OCB dimensions are being evaluated, although not formally or consistently. As a result, OCBs may contribute to the unreliability or inaccuracy of employee performance appraisals (Bolino et al., 2004). From a measurement perspective, one could argue that it is important to formally capture these OCBs since they are associated with organisational functioning and managers consider them in evaluating direct reports regardless of whether they are formally explicated on the appraisal instrument. However, if this is done, it is possible that unanticipated negative outcomes may occur. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to examine the possible consequences of formally evaluating and rewarding OCBs.\nThe OCB construct: The term \"OCB\" was first introduced by Bateman and Organ (1983). Organ (1988, p. 4) originally described OCB as \"individual behaviour that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, and that in aggregate promotes the effective functioning of the organisation\". Organ further described OCB as behaviour that contributes indirectly to the organisation through the maintenance of the organisation's social system.Organ's early work has been the subject of much research and debate. Organ's original definition prompted a debate in the literature concerning whether OCB is really distinct from in-role behaviour. Some researchers have argued that employees accept OCB as part of their in-role requirements even though they may believe them to be discretionary forms of behaviour that are not formally rewarded by the organisation (Morrison, 1994). Moreover, at approximately the same time, the construct of contextual performance was introduced (Borman and Motowildo, 1997; Borman et al., 1995; Motowildo and Van Scotter, 1994; Van Scotter and Motowildo, 1996), which was suggested as a replacement for the OCB construct. Contextual performance encompasses much of the same behaviour as OCBs but does not stipulate that the behaviour has to be discretionary and non-rewarded, as OCB was originally conceptualized. Perhaps, in response, Organ later redefined OCB to include behaviour that contributes \"to the maintenance and enhancement of the social and psychological context that supports task performance\" (Organ, 1997, p. 91). Although this revised definition recognizes OCB's relevance to task performance, OCBs are still primarily viewed as behaviours that are generally discretionary and less likely to be formally or explicitly rewarded in an organisation (Podsakoff et al., 2000).One conceptualization of OCB that has been widely used in the research literature views it as comprised of five dimensions: altruism, generalized compliance, sportsmanship, courtesy and civic virtue (Podsakoff et al., 2000; Organ, 1988). Altruism is behaviour directed at helping a specific person at work (e.g. coworker or supervisor). For example, altruism involves activities such as volunteering to assist a coworker with a project in which you are not directly involved, or, without being asked, assisting new employees in assimilating into the organisation. Generalized compliance is employee conscientiousness that surpasses enforceable work standards. For example, generalized compliance involves activities such as doing more than what is required to meet minimum task requirements or offering specific ideas to solve organisational problems without being asked. Sportsmanship is the tolerance of nuisances on the job (e.g. when employees endure impositions or inconveniences without complaint). Sportsmanship involves activities such as not complaining or making huge issues out of minor problems or inconveniences. Courtesy is the act of touching base with others before taking actions or making decisions that would affect their work (e.g. issuing reminders to coworkers, giving coworkers advance notice and passing along information). Civic virtue is the active participation and involvement of employees in company affairs and includes activities such as attending meetings, responding to messages and keeping up with organisational issues. As an example of different conceptualizations of OCB.Furthermore, additional research has been conducted to further refine and define the citizenship behaviour construct. While a complete review of the history of the OCB construct is beyond the scope of this paper, a brief overview is useful. Some researchers focused on developing new frameworks that incorporated alternative constructs such as prosocial behaviour, organisational spontaneity and contextual performance (Coleman and Borman, 2000; Podsakoff et al., 2000). Others have concentrated on redefining the OCB construct, especially concerning its discretionary nature (Morrison, 1994; Tepper et al., 2001). Still others have attempted to produce a more parsimonious model of OCB. Williams and Anderson (1991) suggested OCB could be distilled down to two dimensions: OCB-I, which refers to citizenship behaviours focused toward an individual, and OCB-O, which incorporates behaviours targeted at the organisation or unit. A three-factor model of citizenship behaviour emerged from the work of Borman et al. (2001b) and Coleman and Borman (2000). This model of citizenship behaviour is comprised by the following three dimensions: interpersonal citizenship performance, organisational citizenship performance and job/task citizenship performance. Table I presents both Coleman and Borman's (2000) three-factor model and Organ's (1988) five-factor model and provides examples of behaviour for each factor.It should be noted that the conceptualizations of OCB are diverse and, despite the proliferation of research on OCB, consensus surrounding its nature and dimensionality is still elusive. Consequently, the results of OCB research, including this paper, are partially a function of how OCB is defined and which dimensions are studied.Possible consequences of formally evaluating and rewarding OCBs\nImplications for practice and research: This paper explored the potential consequences of formally incorporating OCBs into performance appraisal systems. As depicted in Figure 1, there are potential advantages and disadvantages associated with such incorporation. Given the popularity of the OCB construct in the literature, it seems likely that more and more organisations will move toward formally measuring and rewarding OCBs. Practitioners in organisations who are aware of the importance of OCBs and are considering incorporating them into their performance appraisal systems should be mindful of possible consequences. Although measuring and rewarding OCBs may have important benefits such as improving self-efficacy and LMX and reducing role ambiguity, negative effects such as decreasing intrinsic motivation and creating role conflict may also occur.In terms of the potential negative consequences of evaluating and rewarding OCB, there are several possible ways to ameliorate potential negative effects. First and most importantly, practitioners must be careful to ensure that the weight given to OCB is proportionate to its importance to overall job performance. In this regard, Bolino and Turnley (2003) have noted that citizenship behaviours are generally not a substitute for traditional job performance. Furthermore, employees may find citizenship behaviours more enjoyable or fulfilling than their normal job activities, which may prompt them to focus more on citizenship behaviours than their regular job duties (Bolino and Turnley, 2003). Practitioners must take steps to ensure that the weighting of the performance dimensions does not encourage more personally gratifying OCBs at the expense of other important job behaviours, namely, those associated with task performance. Organisations must carefully consider the weight given to all dimensions in the performance appraisal and rewards system, especially OCB dimensions. Moreover, employees must clearly understand the relative importance of OCBs in the performance appraisal and reward systems. Practitioners who include OCB in performance appraisal and reward systems must be certain to clearly communicate the relative weight or importance of OCBs and traditional dimensions of job performance to both raters and employees.A second precaution practitioners can take to limit potential negative consequences of including OCB in performance appraisal system is to focus on rater training. Rater training should be an important aspect of any performance appraisal system, but especially if one includes OCBs. If performance appraisal systems encompass citizenship behaviours, raters may be even more susceptible to committing rating errors. For example, raters may be more inclined to commit the halo error concerning in-role behaviours if an employee demonstrates high levels of OCB (e.g. ratings of helping others do their work may positively influence ratings of technical competence). Additionally, OCB that is motivated by impression management is more likely to occur in close temporal proximity to the appraisal. In this situation, raters may be more susceptible to the recency error, i.e. placing more emphasis on recent employee behaviour as opposed to behaviour occurring throughout the appraisal period. Both rater-error training and frame of reference training should help avoid rating errors such as recency and halo and employee impression management tactics.Third, practitioners must pay careful attention to whom provides ratings when OCBs are factored into performance appraisal and reward systems. Many citizenship behaviours might not be seen by supervisors (i.e. helping and supporting coworkers, offering suggestions, showing courtesy) while other behaviours might not even be seen by members inside the organisation (e.g. favourably representing the organisation). Additionally, with impression management motivated OCB, many of these behaviours may be exhibited only when the supervisor is present, so input from peers and subordinates may provide a more accurate perspective of such behaviour. Given the above considerations, 360deg feedback or multi-rater formats may be more appropriate for evaluating and rewarding OCB.Fourth, as mentioned earlier, heavy emphasis on OCB in a performance appraisal and reward system may cause increased job stress and work-family conflict. Consequently, companies may especially need to help their employees balance work and family demands. Work-life balance policies and practices such as flex time, telecommuting, compressed workweeks, paid family leave in addition to FMLA and job-sharing may be especially useful when OCB is formally appraised and rewarded.Fifth, practitioners must also create ways to encourage employees to offer critical analyses and feedback concerning organisational practices and processes even when organisational support, loyalty and expressing satisfaction are important elements in the performance appraisal and reward system. Gain sharing is one method that could be used to encourage employees to bring forward ideas to improve operations or practices, as it allows employees to share any cost savings resulting from their suggestions for improvement. Since gain-sharing implies an organisational philosophy that engenders cooperativeness and trust (Graham-Moore and Ross, 1990), it might help to counteract any reluctance employees feel toward being viewed as critical of the organisation and/or its decisions.Sixth, defining OCB in observable and behavioural terms will help organisations avoid the problems associated with trait-based appraisals. If OCB dimensions are behaviourally defined, then legal risks should be reduced, performance feedback more useful and employee development more successful. Additionally, behavioural definitions should help to minimize the use of appraisals as a \"political\" tool (i.e. supervisors who manipulate performance ratings in order to meet their personal objectives or ulterior motives). One way to accomplish this is to utilize behaviourally oriented appraisal techniques such as behaviourally anchored rating scales and behavioural observation scales. This would help to ensure that dimensions are more observable and concrete and should also improve the usefulness of OCB-related performance feedback.In conclusion, this paper provides researchers with theoretical frameworks and accompanying research propositions with which to approach their study of OCB in appraisal and reward systems. As more organisations formally incorporate OCBs into their performance appraisal and rewards systems, field studies could empirically test these propositions. Additionally, longitudinal studies could be utilized to help establish the causal effects of explicitly appraising and rewarding OCBs. There are other topics that could also be studied in the context of appraising and rewarding OCBs. For example, what are the emotional and psychological effects of rewarding employees for performing discretionary behaviours when they are not naturally inclined to engage in them? Also, does motivation to engage in citizenship behaviours mediate the relationship between rewarding OCBs and outcomes such as productivity and turnover? These are only a few additional areas for future research, but it seems that this largely unexplored area is rich with opportunities for further study.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The paper aims to address a topic that has not been systematically studied in the organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), performance appraisal and rewards literature. Specifically, this paper seeks to examine the potential effects of rewarding OCBs by explicitly incorporating them into performance appraisal and reward systems.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A review of relevant theory and literature is provided and propositions concerning the possible effects of assessing and rewarding OCBs are offered.\nFindings: - The findings show that there are potential advantages and disadvantages of formally incorporating OCBs into performance appraisal systems and that it seems likely that more organisations will move toward formally measuring and rewarding OCBs.\nOriginality/value: - While most research indicates that OCBs are associated with positive outcomes, this paper also addresses potential negative consequences of formally evaluating and rewarding OCB.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Moderating effect of organizational citizenship behavior on the effect of organizational commitment, transformational leadership and work motivation on employee performance
|
[
"Organizational commitment",
"Transformational leadership",
"Employee performance",
"Work motivation",
"Organizational citizenship behaviour"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The role of the Regional Secretariat apparatus is to assist the implementation of the activities led by the Regional Secretariat which is subordinate and accountable to the Regional Head. The tasks of Regional Secretariat are to assist the Regional Head in implementing the governance, administration, organization and management, as well as to provide administrative services to all local government agencies. Therefore, every employee working in the scope of the Regional Secretariat is required to work in a professional manner, in accordance with their competence, responsibly and innovatively in providing services, committed to carry out the tasks, as well as highly motivated in establishing the synergy with the elements of SKPD (Regional Government Agencies), so that the organization of regional government can be held properly, effectively and efficiently in providing services to the public.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Transformational leadership\n3. Research methods: This study examines the relationship between transformational leadership, organizational commitment, motivation, OCB and employee performance. From the description given, the research model is illustrated in Figure 1. This research is located in the Province of Papua, and more specifically at the District Secretariat Papua Province. The study was conducted in the months from April to June 2016. This study tested the effect of transformational leadership, organizational commitment, work motivation, OCB and performance Officer Regional Secretariat Papua Province, then the variable research is transformational leadership, organizational commitment, work motivation, OCB and performance Officer. Structural equation modeling (SEM) calculation tool is commonly used is the analysis of moment structures (AMOS) program.\n4. Result and discussion: 4.1 Measurement of structural equation model\n5. Conclusion and recommendation: Based on the results and discussion in the previous chapter, the conclusions of this study are as follows: A good transformational leadership from the effect of idealism, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration can improve the OCB, reflected in the aspects of alturism, conscientiousness, sportsmanship, courtesy and civic virtue. The high organizational commitment, seen from the affective, rational and normative elements can improve the OCB, reflected from the aspects of alturism, conscientiousness, sportmanship, courtesy and civic virtue. The high work motivation, seen from the indicators of valency, expectation and instrument can improve the OCB, reflected from the aspects of alturism, conscientiousness, sportmanship, courtesy and civic virtue. The moderating of OCB not significantly effect in relationship between organizatioanl commitment, transformational leadership, work motivation and the performance of employees at the District Secretariat in Papua Province.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to examine the relationship between transformational leadership, organizational commitment, motivation, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and employee performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research is located in the province of Papua, and more specifically at the District Secretariat Papua Province. The study was conducted in the months from April to June 2016. This study tested the effect of transformational leadership, organizational commitment, work motivation, OCB and performance Officer Regional Secretariat Papua Province, then the variable research is transformational leadership, organizational commitment, work motivation, OCB and performance officer. Structural equation modeling (SEM) calculation tool is commonly used is the program analysis of moment structures.\nFindings: The results of studies show that moderating OCB does not significantly affect the relationship between organizational commitment, transformational leadership, work motivation and the performance of employees at the District Secretariat in Papua Province.\nOriginality/value: Originality of this paper is on the comprehensive study that combines the variables of transformational leadership, organizational commitment, work motivation, OCB and performance into a complete model of study. Originality for this paper shows the moderation effect of OCB on the effect of organizational commitment, transformational leadership and work motivation on employee performance. This research is located in the Province of Papua, and more specifically at the District Secretariat Papua Province.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Technology: advancing retail buyer performance in the twenty-first century
|
[
"Retail trade",
"Buyers",
"Communications technology"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Has the advent of new technologies had an effect on retailing, particularly in the area of buying merchandise? From one perspective, little has changed in the fundamental buyer/seller relationship in the past 200 years. Basically, buyers want something the seller has; the seller names a price and buyers either accept and pay the price or negotiate for a lower price and better terms (e.g. advertising allowances, extended payments). This relationship has not changed; however, what has changed in the buyer/seller relationship is the growing utilization of technologies.What was unthinkable not too many years ago, such as instant transmission of sales data, is common practice in the retail industry today. While technology has not made the job of the buyer easier, it does enable the buyer to enhance their job performance through information accessibility and automization of routine tasks. In addition, buyers are modifying existing technologies in current business practices and further developing new technologies to meet and anticipate the needs of their customers (Fiorito and Gable, 2011). Therefore, the purposes of this article are to explain how buyers can more effectively and efficiently utilize technologies to improve their performance and to inform top executives in retail firms how these technologies can be used to improve the overall performance of the retail store.\nBuyer responsibilities: The role of the buyer has long been recognized as essential to the achievement of the retailers' corporate objectives (Fiorito and Fairhurst, 1993). Throughout recent history, buyers have been involved with buying tasks that can be categorized into six main areas (Fiorito and Fairhurst, 1993):1. Analysis of past sales and promotions. Analyzing customer buying patterns and then predicting future trends and customer wants and desires.2. Planning financial budgets. Developing sales and purchase plans, analyzing gross margins, anticipating markdowns and calculating markups.3. Developing merchandise. Selecting and pricing merchandise; attending market trade fairs, meeting vendors, and sourcing merchandise for private label brands.4. Vendor planning and negotiations. Selection of vendors and building relationships.5. Initiating marketing plans. Meeting sales goals through advertisements; creating store traffic.6. Training and development of staff. Providing planners product information, setting sales goals.A more detailed listing of activities under each of these six responsibilities is included in Table I. The number and details of these activities have changed throughout the years as buyers have moved to more centralized buying positions, merchandise assortments have grown, and the separation between buying and selling has widened. Specialty, discount, department and category killer stores each have their own ways of buying and selling, thus creating the buyer's job to suit the organization. It is safe to say that the resulting uniqueness of a buyer's job, lies in the details of their activities, rather than the major responsibilities that seem to tie all buyers' jobs together. In addition to looking at detailed activities, another view of the buyer's responsibilities can be observed as a percentage of time that buyers spend on each responsibility. Figure 1 is a pie chart illustrating these percentages for a buyer in a department store. Another perspective of a buyer's job and responsibilities is shown in Figure 2, which illustrates the sequence of buyer activities beginning with customer's selecting and purchasing merchandise. Notice however, that this sequence is a loop that continues over and over again, symbolizing the interrelationship of the responsibilities and activities.\nEffects of technology on retail buyers: The impact of technology on the performance of a firm has been the topic of a continuing stream of research (Earl, 1993; Kearns and Lederer, 2003). Further, the relationship between the buyer and supplier has proven to be enhanced though information technology (Subramani, 2004). An important distinction regarding the function of technology is made by Sanders (2008) in a study of information technology use on the buyer/supplier relationship. Drawing on learning theory (March, 1991), Sanders categorizes the function of technology as either exploitation or exploration. This is further synthesized with literature from information systems research that theorizes technology either automates or informates tasks for a firm (de Sanctis and Poole, 1994; McNurlin and Sprague, 2002). Thus, automating assists in making current tasks more effective, and informating assists in the exploration of actions. Informating, which is defined as dispensing information, was first used by Zuboff (1988) of the Harvard Business School and is widely used today. Sanders (2008) found that each task has a different impact on the success of the company and that the efficiency of technology is dependent upon its' proper implementation and utilization. In order to achieve the utmost value out of technological advancements, retailers must understand the necessity of the human component. Thus, the function of the buyer is improved though technology but not replaced by it.With an increase in the overall amount of data collected and available today, there has been a shift in the function of technology for buyers. In the past, technologies were predominantly functioning in an automation capacity such as, speeding up routine tasks and communications. However, with the advancements made through data mining (DM), for example, informating capabilities of technology have expanded to surpass the automating capabilities. While automation is still important for buyers, informating functions are used to strategize new ways to use information to increase profits and customer service and have become a necessity in doing business for buyers.Technologies used in the development of hardware and software, such as electronic data interchange (EDI), point-of-sale (POS) technologies, inventory management systems (IMSs) and customer relationship management (CRM) and DM, have assisted in both automating and informating many of the buyer's responsibilities. Table II presents a brief description of the technologies that will enable buyers to improve their performance and will be discussed as to the role each plays in the buyers' ability to make a profit and meet customers' needs and wants. Table III enumerates the major responsibilities of buyers and the technologies used by buyers to fulfill these tasks, each labeled as to whether it automates and/or offers information about the task. Although some technologies, such as DM, function solely in an informating capacity, others such as POS have automating as well as informating facilities.\nRetail technologies: A discussion of all possible technologies that are used or can be used by retail buyers is beyond the scope of this paper. However, those technologies presented are being used by retail buyers to support all major responsibilities of their job. The discussion begins with DM and data warehousing (DW), which are necessary in the analysis of past sales and are components of a CRM program that is vital to the retailing industry today. Following these are a brief description of EDI and POS systems which are invaluable tools to the buyer in getting and sending data quickly and accurately. This discussion is followed by a presentation of two tracking devices, barcodes (BCs) and radio frequency identification (RFID); both of these are building blocks for the IMSs used by retailers. There are four IMSs that are discussed: quick response (QR), efficient consumer response (ECR), just-in-time (JIT) and collaborative planning forecasting and replenishment (CPFR). We conclude the retail technology section with a look into the future, examining both e-showrooms and social networks.Data mining and data warehousing\nInventory management systems: Tracking devices (BCs and RFID)\nAutomatic replenishment systems (QR, ECR, JIT, and CPFR): Retail buyers have long struggled with inventory issues. As product variety has increased and product life cycles decreased, the balance between overstocking and understocking has become a critical problem. The main goal of retail inventory strategy is to manage this balance while increasing profits. IMS technologies that are involved in the automatic replenishment of merchandise have both automated and informated processes for manufacturers and retailers. Inventory management replenishment strategies include QR, ECR, JIT, and CPFR, which are discussed in the next section of this article. Although these strategies are different in their implications to buyers, they all require proper integration and collaboration between buyers and vendors in order to ensure success.Quick response\nThe future of retail buying: The technologies discussed in this next section are being used by a few innovators, but appear to be the future for retail buyers. These technologies include e-showrooms and social networking. These are technologies that many believe are the way into the future for retail buyers.E-showrooms\nConcluding statement: Technologies developed over the past 20 years have changed the way buyers execute their responsibilities. While retailing has become more technologically dependent and competitive, and gross margins are under attack and falling, technological investment should be well planned, and the value that technology provides must be carefully evaluated. However, given that technology investments can exceed millions of dollars, and that many retailers' margins and inventory productivity have been eroding over the last ten years, the stakes for information technology decisions have grown exponentially (WWD CEO, 2008).A positive perspective shows that advancements in various technologies have allowed for faster transmission of data resulting in the ability of buyers to immediately react to inventory and pricing issues. For example, sales data analysis has been completely revolutionized with emerging technologies. While the need for many of the tasks are the same as they always have been, the potential for more accurate results, however has vastly increased. The goal of this article was to present and discuss technologies that have enhanced the role of buyers. While the buyer's main responsibilities and tasks have not changed, technology has transformed the manner, efficiency, and time in which they are executed.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to explain how buyers can more effectively and efficiently utilize technologies to improve their performance and to inform top executives in retail firms how these technologies can be used to improve the overall performance of the retail store.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Using a descriptive approach, the paper identifies current technologies that are being used and shows how technology can be used by retail buyers.\nFindings: - Technologies developed over the past 20 years have changed the way buyers execute their responsibilities with advancements in various technologies; faster transmission of data results in the ability of buyers to immediately react to inventory and pricing issues. However, given that technology investments can exceed millions of dollars, and that many retailers' margins and inventory productivity have been eroding over the last ten years, the stakes for information technology decisions have grown exponentially, so care must be taken in making these decisions.\nPractical implications: - This subject matter is most important for retail practitioners because it identifies areas where the performance of buyers can be improved. It is also valuable to college professors who teach retailing and buying and to their students because it provides current subject matter that should be incorporated into classes.\nOriginality/value: - This paper identified the most current technologies being used by buyers in a variety of stores to improve their performance. In addition, this paper identified the future trends in technology adopted by innovative retailers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Fund managers' herding and mutual fund governance
|
[
"Fund governance",
"Reputational herding"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Previous literature has extensively investigated the sources of herd behavior and suggested that if investors learn about managerial abilities from past performance, agency problems could encourage managers to discard their private information and follow the herd (Scharfstein and Stein, 1990; Prendergast and Stole, 1996; Avery and Chevalier, 1999; Chevalier and Ellison, 1999a; Graham, 1999; Holmstrom, 1999). This study is the first to explicitly examine the strict relationship existing among managerial herding intensity, investors' capital allocation, and fund internal governance. Using the FHM measure proposed by Grinblatt et al. (1995) over the period 1992-2007, I provide intriguing empirical evidence on the information content of mutual fund herding as measured by FHM, and more importantly on the role of investors' flows and managerial incentive schemes in curbing such strong herding pressures.\n2. Data and methodology: 2.1. Data sources and sample selection\n3. Results: 3.1. Managers' attributes as implicit incentives to fund herding behavior (FHM)\n4. Conclusion: In this paper, I conduct for the first time an analysis of the effectiveness of mutual fund flows and internal governance mechanisms in discouraging managerial herding behavior. Using the FHM formulated by Grinblatt et al. (1995), I first show that FHM is a strong monotonic function of the implicit incentives generated by career concerns and that low-FHM funds significantly outperform high-FHM funds. This result survives even after controlling for manager-specific attributes indicating that, although managers' tenure and age - as proxies for career concerns - could trigger herding behavior, skills continue to be the major driver of the significantly negative impact of FHM on various performance measures. In addition, I show that low (high) FHM funds are characterized by lower (higher) total volatility and turnover as they base their trading less (more) on noise. Second, I provide evidence that investors are unaware of the valuable information content of correlated trading as indicated by the lack of a significant relationship between fund flows and FHM even before controlling for investor performance-chasing behavior. Third, I illustrate that when managers face a less elastic investor demand they may decide not to limit the intensity of their herding behavior, consequently persisting in their cover-seeking strategies. Our last contribution is related to the internal governance of mutual funds. In particular, I document that where more effective managerial incentives schemes are put in place by the management companies to monitor managerial behavior, fund managers are more likely to be better informed, resulting in fewer incentives to mimic the trading decisions of their peers. Our findings also indicate that funds with lower frequency of breaching fiduciary duties are associated with lower levels of the FHM measure. On the contrary, I show that board quality seems to be less effective in monitoring managerial herding behavior due to the limited scope of directors' duties when it comes to evaluating the day-to-day investment decisions of fund managers.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the implications of managerial herding for investors' wealth and capital allocation across funds, and the critical role played by fund governance in monitoring herding incentives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The author adopt the fund herding measure first proposed by Grinblatt et al. (1995) over the long sample period 1992-2007. Univariate and multivariate tests are then constructed to examine the relationship between managerial herding, performance, and investors' sensitivities. OLS, fixed-effect panel data models are utilized to conduct the tests.\nFindings: The author show that managers that do not herd have above-average managerial skills, trade less on noise, and significantly outperform herding managers. The author also illustrate that although fund herding could be used as a signal of managerial quality, underperforming herding funds manage to survive in equilibrium, indicating that investor flows do not adequately respond to the information content of a persistent herding behavior. Finally, the author demonstrate that better governance in the form of stronger managerial incentive schemes constitutes a significant deterrent against detrimental herding strategies, representing an effective monitoring device of the response of fund managers to poor flow-performance sensitivity.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides original evidence on the efficacy of external and internal governance in deterring wealth-reducing herding strategies. The author document that where more effective managerial incentives schemes are put in place by the management companies, fund managers are more likely to be better informed, resulting in fewer incentives to mimic the trading decisions of their peers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A design-based approach to support and nurture open educational practices
|
[
"Teacher professional development",
"Open educational resources",
"Design-based research approach",
"Open educational practices",
"Open scholarship"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The imperative for open educational practices (OEP) has been on the rise for some time now. Foremost, this comprises; open access to educational opportunities; open learning, at the heart of which is time, place and pace flexibility; and open scholarship which means free and open access to educational resources for use, reuse, adaptation, retention and redistribution to others. The concept of openness is not new. Open access to educational opportunities and flexible approaches to learning and teaching have been always a core defining characteristic of open, flexible and distance learning which sees openness and flexibility in relation to time, place and pace of learning as a value principle, much like we see diversity, equity or equality in education and society more broadly. Openness and flexibility are at the heart of what distance educators do and promote. And in the contemporary world, both in the developed and developing contexts, technological infrastructure is a key component of it.\nReview of literature: Opening up education through OEP\nKey research question: The key research question of this study was as follows:\nMethodology: The project implemented by OUSL involved the integration of OER and adoption of OEP by student teachers of the Faculty of Education, and ascertaining its impact on the use of instructional materials by teachers, and changes in pedagogical perspectives and practices of teachers. The focus of the current study was to explore how a DBR approach impacted on supporting OEP among the teachers.\nResults and discussion: Changes in instructional resources usage\nConclusions and implications: It was evident that OEP among practitioners can be supported and \"promoted\" through a DBR approach using iterative analysis, design, development and implementation of carefully planned intervention strategies at different stages. Significant changes were observed in teachers' use of instructional resources, their pedagogical thinking and pedagogical practices, due to this DBR intervention. The specific strategies designed and implemented in an intensive sequence of activities in the intervention during a series of workshops and provision of an enabling online environment supported both practitioners and researchers to gradually move through the four phases of DBR, analyzing issues, developing solutions, testing and refining solutions and reflecting on the experiences in their collaborative journey towards OEP.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: A critical attribute of open educational practices (OEP) is the pursuit of open scholarship which comprises the release of educational resources under an open licence scheme that permits no-cost access, use, reuse, adaptation, retention and redistribution to others. The degree of openness in relation to this attribute will depend on the context and culture of the place and the people in it. When left to chance, the adoption and practice of open scholarship by educators is at best sketchy. For optimum impact, a design-based approach is essential. A central focus of such an approach will need to target educators' belief systems and practices about their scholarship. Any such work will involve researchers collaborating with practitioners in real-life settings to improve educational practices through iterative analysis, design, development and implementation. The purpose of this paper is to report on how the development and use of such a design-based approach, implemented by the Open University of Sri Lanka, impacted the adoption and uptake of open scholarship among teachers in the Sri Lankan school system in terms of changes in their use of instructional resources, pedagogical thinking and pedagogical practices.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study adopted a design-based research (DBR) approach (Reeves, 2006), which involved researchers collaboratively working with practitioners in real-life settings to improve their educational practices along three aspects - instructional resource use, pedagogical perspectives and pedagogical practices. Based on the four stages of the DBR approach - analysis, solution, testing and refinement, and reflection, a professional development intervention programme was designed and implemented to support teachers on the integration of open educational resources (OER) and adoption of OEP in their teaching-learning process. Data collected throughout the process using multiple strategies such as questionnaire surveys, concept mapping, lesson plans, focus group interviews, self-reflections and \"stories\", were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods.\nFindings: By the end of the intervention, significant changes were observed in teachers' use of instructional resources, their pedagogical thinking and pedagogical practices. While resource usage has shifted from no or low usage of OER to reuse, revise, remix and creation of OER, the pedagogical thinking and practices of teachers moved from a content-centric and individualized patterns to more constructivist, context centric and collaborative ways. The diffusion of OEP was prominent along two dimensions - enhancements in the individual practices in innovative OER use as well as collaborative practices of sharing of resources, knowledge and good practices.\nPractical implications: The systematic and flexible methodology adopted based on the DBR approach via a framework designed as a contextualized, process oriented and a self-reflective enquiry has been very useful to support changes in OEP among practitioners over time.\nOriginality/value: This iterative process allowed the researchers to function as \"designers\", while investigating real-life issues in collaboration with the practitioners through reflective enquiry to further refine innovative practices towards OEP. This provides valuable insights for improved design solutions for future interventions in similar contexts.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Effects of gender and price knowledge on offer evaluation and channel transition in retail and e-tail environments
|
[
"Consumer behaviour",
"Prices",
"Gender",
"Internet",
"Electronic commerce",
"Channel transition",
"Retail versus e‐tail",
"Gender differences",
"Price knowledge"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: For reasons that range from convenience to perceptions of savings, consumers are increasingly migrating away from traditional retail stores and are embracing the internet as their preferred channel for shopping. Indeed, the last decade has seen a tremendous increase in the volume of online commerce. The total e-commerce sales have steadily increased over the past decade from $32.6 billion in 2001 to $145 billion in 2009 and, by some estimates, is expected to exceed $218 billion in 2012 (emarketer.com, 2008). However internet sales form only a small proportion (4 percent) of total retail sales. Hence, it is not surprising that though several retailers still rely on sales in their traditional channels they have evolved into multi-channel operators using both \"brick and click\" operations and are adopting the internet as a facilitating technology (Yan, 2010; Venkatesan et al., 2007).\n1. Conceptual development: Retailing vs e-retailing\n2. Method: Stimuli\n3. Analysis and results: All participants correctly recalled the assigned purchase context (online; retail store). After eliminating incomplete surveys the final analysis included 108 respondents. To form groups with differences in price knowledge participants' subjective price knowledge scores were arranged in ascending order (overall M=3.74) and participants were classified into high (M=5.09) and low knowledge (M=2.16) groups with significant differences on knowledge between these groups (t=18.60, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between males and females in price knowledge (Mmales =3.92 versus Mfemales =3.68; t=0.72, p > 0.10).Using price knowledge as a factor, the participants were distributed in a two (gender) x two (shopping environment) x two (price knowledge) mixed factorial design with 63 participants (37 males and 26 females) evaluating the retail offer while 45 participants (23 males and 22 females) evaluating the online offer.Role of gender\n4. Discussion: This research set out to explore how gender and price knowledge moderate the effect of shopping environment on consumers' evaluations and search intentions. Overall, results lend moderate support for our expectations regarding the moderating role that gender plays in determining how consumers evaluate identical offers presented in retail versus e-tail environments and the likelihood that they will transit from one medium to another in search of a better price. In addition, we found strong support for the claims that price knowledge also moderates the effect of shopping environment on both offer evaluation and channel transition.Implications\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine how consumers evaluate identical price offers in retail versus e-tail environments. Within that context, it seeks to examine the likelihood of shoppers to continue searching for a better price within the same channel and their intentions to transit to another channel.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - In total, 120 subjects provided information on gender and price knowledge and evaluated an advertised offer for a camera in one of two settings (retail or e-tail). The offers in the two settings were identical in all respects. Then, subjects indicated the likelihood of finding a better price within the medium versus if they made a transition to a different medium.\nFindings: - Analysis reveals that consumers' evaluations and search behaviors are influenced by characteristics of the medium (retail versus e-tail), but this effect is moderated by both gender and price knowledge. Females prefer a brick and mortar environment and are likely to seek information at such retailers, even when similar products are available online. However, males evaluate online offers better than identical store offers, and are less inclined to engage in channel transition. Finally, evaluations of online offers are positively related to price knowledge, whereas a reverse pattern of results is obtained for retail offers.\nOriginality/value: - The findings shed light on how consumers evaluate identical online versus retail price offers, and their associated search intentions. These findings have practical implications for merchants who adopt a dual presence.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Developing a multi stage predicting system for corporate credit rating in emerging markets : Jordanian case
|
[
"Neural network",
"Jordan",
"Credit ratings",
"Default risk"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The importance of credit risk forecasting has gained substantial concerns due to financial market volatility and the globalized capital markets. Recently, research has been devoted to build prediction models for credit ratings. In our study, we aim to create a credit rating model using Jordanian non-financial firms.\n2. Credit rating an overview: In this part of the study we are interested in discussing the previous NNW studies. Credit rating is still of a major concern for academics. In a recent study, Al-Najjar and Elgammal (2013) apply logit analysis to their UK sample and report that credit ratings are positively related to innovation and other firm characteristics such as profitability, growth, and firm size.\n3. Data and methodology: 3.1 Data\n4. Results: The overall objective of credit rating prediction is to build systems that can extract knowledge of credit risk evaluation from past observations and to use them to evaluate credit risk.\n5. Conclusions: The main objective of this study is to build a corporate credit rating customized to meet the needs of Jordanian companies to be credit rated. Our sample includes non-financial companies listed at Amman Stock Exchange during the period from 2000 to 2007. The first stage of the analysis is to build this model is to apply Kohonen network for clustering purposes, the second stage is to use financial indicators to provide each cluster with a credit rating, and the third stage is to adopt the previous outcome (credit rating) for building BPNN. Our main conclusion is that our neural network technique predicts correctly the firms which are in a default situation in Amman Stock exchange for our investigated period.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to build a neural network system to predict corporate credit rating in Jordanian non-financial firms, using 19 different financial characteristics such as profitability, leverage ratios, liquidity, bankruptcy, and sales performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study adopts two neural network techniques namely, Kohonen network and Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN). Our sample includes the manufacturing firms that have provided the required financial information for the period from 2000 to 2007.\nFindings: BPNN has successfully predicted firms with high performance gaining A rating and the bankrupted firms with D rating for the period from 2005 to 2007.\nOriginality/value: This study is the first study to investigate credit rating in Jordan using Neural Network technique.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Assessing the value and market attractiveness of the accessible tourism industry in Europe: a focus on major travel and leisure companies
|
[
"Tourism",
"Disability",
"Partnerships",
"Accessible tourism",
"Market analysis",
"Travel and leisure"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nResearch highlights: The general demand for accessibility in Europe alone exceeded 120 million people in 2005, more than 27 per cent of the European population at the time. It is estimated that by the end of 2025 this demand will reach an approximated 160 million people.\nIntroduction: Paper aim\nLiterature review: Definitions of accessible tourism\nData collection methods: Accessible tourism has received increasing attention due to a hypothetical increase in demand for this type of vacation, and subsequently suggests it is an attractive market for major travel and leisure companies to be active in. This study differs from those previously undertaken in that the population for this study is major travel and leisure companies. This was considered critical, as it is believed travel and leisure companies provide the best insight into accessible tourism provision.\nFindings and discussion: This section is split into two parts:\nConclusion: It is clear from data in this paper and evidence in the wider literature that people with disabilities are being served poorly by the tourism industry.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the accessible tourism market potential, alongside the implications of operating in the accessible tourism market and an assessment of major travel and leisure company involvement. The research focused on providing a market value forecast using historic data from 2005 and extrapolating this to 2025. An examination of the reasons for and against major travel and leisure company involvement in the accessible tourism market was accompanied by an analysis of managerial perceptions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The exploration of travel patterns of disabled tourists, in particular spend per head per holiday, was used to measure the value of the demand side of accessible tourism. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with employees of major travel and leisure companies in managerial positions.\nFindings: The study indicates that the accessible tourism market is a distinct sector, possessing the capacity for extensive future growth, and thus presents major travel providers with a potentially substantial and lucrative market, generating potential revenues of EUR88.6 billion by 2025.\nResearch limitations/implications: Due to a lack of existing data an assumption had to be made on the evolution of travel spend per head per holiday. However, the formula used, using GDP/Capita growth, is a recognised way of forecasting this kind of data in the travel and leisure industry.\nOriginality/value: This is the first paper to provide an examination of the reasons for and against major travel and leisure company involvement in the accessible tourism market, as well providing a forecast of the market value up to 2025.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Construction material supply risk management using Asian option contracts: the case of a pipeline project
|
[
"Pipeline projects",
"Asian options",
"Price risk",
"Supply management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: An active transmission piping network forms the heart of water, oil and natural gas transportation systems (Bao, 2015). A substantial share of the energy and water requirements of nations is transported through pipelines; consequently, many regions are economically linked to the flow and continuous operation of these systems (Al-Khalil et al., 2005; El-abbasy et al., 2014). Nonetheless, the report card for America's infrastructure (ASCE, 2017) indicates that a large portion of the USA pipeline networks exhibits substantial deterioration.Aside from service interruptions, the deterioration of pipeline networks from wear and tear could result in environmental catastrophes, economic losses and casualties (Senouci et al., 2014). On the other hand, the increasing demand for construction of new pipelines and rehabilitation of the 4.2 m miles of existing pipelines will require a substantial irreversible investment that could put intense pressure on the public budget. It is estimated that renewal of the current aging water distribution networks alone would require more than US$1 trillion in expenditures, a significant portion of which comprises material costs (ASCE, 2017).Mason et al. (2010) reported that a considerable fraction of modern pipeline-oriented delivery systems are made of steel. This means that the total cost of material-intensive projects will hinge upon the price of steel. Uncertainty in the price of materials embodies an enormous risk for contractors when bidding for fixed-priced projects and will affect their final decisions (Ilbeigi et al., 2016). Figure 1 depicts fluctuations in the producer price index (PPI) of stainless steel from December 2019 to October 2018. As shown, the price of steel often was subjected to significant volatility over a short period. For example, after falling by nearly 15% in December 2017, the market was followed by a short period of stability, and then the index experienced dramatic growth by about 40% in June 2018.Construction projects, including those for pipelines, are surrounded by uncertainty and risk over their life cycles (El-Sayegh and Mansour, 2015; Firouzi et al., 2016; Hammad et al., 2016). Experts such as Chiara et al. (2007), Ilbeigi et al. (2016) and Xiong and Zhang (2016) reported that, in fixed price projects, owners might offer price adjustment clauses (PACs), minimum revenue guarantees (MRGs) and renegotiation clauses to handle the risk and lessen contractor's concern regarding the price risk. In contracts in which the risk is transferred to the contractors, they may consider further risk premiums to address the issue (Ilbeigi and Castro-Lacouture, 2017). This may result in overestimation in the bid prices submitted, which in turn may lead to loss of competitiveness and profitability by the contractor (Xenidis and Angelides, 2005). In this uncertain environment, both the owner and contractor must seek for instruments to manage price risks most effectively.New project delivery methods for developing infrastructures such as energy transmission networks include public-private partnerships (PPPs), which are typically closed deals. This makes it hard to impose changes in the time and total cost of a project, which is prone to financial risks due to material price fluctuations (Soltani and Firouzi, 2020). As pointed by Chen et al. (2017), financial risks can be hedged by the use of derivatives by financial institutes and the construction industry. Derivatives generally refer to financial contracts such as forwards, futures, swaps and options and are alternates to reduce financial risks (Chen and Lin, 2010).Chen et al. (2017), Chen and Lin (2010) and Firouzi and Vahdatmanesh (2018) argued that in competitive and risky environments, the use of exchange or over-the-counter (OTC) globally traded financial derivatives could be a beneficial method by which construction companies can hedge material price risks; however, they are costly. Option contracts are financial derivatives that provide their owner with more flexibility in trade. In a standard call option contract, the contract guarantees an upper limit for the material purchase price if the spot price of a construction material plus the option premium at the expiration date falls below the option exercise price. When this occurs, the owner has the right to void the contract (Hull, 2015). Options can be classified according to their characteristics. Table 1 provides a brief description of the four most common option styles.Considering characteristics of pipeline projects including the long duration of the contract, repetitive operation, besides multiple price fluctuations of material within a short period (Figure 1) and the use of these kinds of financial derivatives regardless of local regulations. It appears to the authors that Asian option contracts (also known as averaging) could be a practical approach for hedging the steel price risk. A review of Chen and Lin (2010), Chen et al. (2010, 2012, 2017) and Moynihan and Al-Zarrad (2015) suggested that, despite the effectiveness of this approach, few studies have employed derivative instruments in order to manage the material supply price risk. These papers tended to concentrate on general aspects of deploying financial instruments for construction companies and material suppliers and introduced techniques to determine if it is beneficial to use these instruments for small to medium-sized companies.Vahdatmanesh and Firouzi (2018) proposed a methodology based on exchange-traded European option contracts for managing material price risk in build-operate-transfer (BOT) railway projects. They confirmed that this kind of financial derivative is a beneficial, yet practical approach for managing steel price risk for railroad construction firms. Firouzi and Vahdatmanesh (2019) suggested a new methodology for hedging the material price risk using the Bermudan collar option. They found that these OTC options are appropriate risk management instruments that conform to the characteristics of highway construction. They also found that, by using OTC-traded Bermudan collar options, a construction company would be able to more accurately estimate its total operational cost at the preconstruction phase of a project. This can result in the reduced likelihood of unpredicted cost overruns during the construction phase of the project.Although these works are considered as the first steps toward employing option contracts in the construction industry, the knowledge gap about the use of derivative instruments for managing financial risks in pipeline projects despite the shortcomings of current price risk management approaches is the focus of the current study. An in-depth analysis of available studies indicates that no published work exists on the application of Asian option contracts to hedge financial risk (material price risk, exchange rate and funding) in pipeline projects or the construction sector as a whole. This gives rise to the need for the present study, the aim of which has been to introduce a methodology that deploys Asian option contracts for hedging steel price risks in pipeline fixed price projects. The pipeline project participants who handle the price risk can use the methodology to surmount the risk of an increase in steel prices during the period from the date of signing the contract to the end of the construction phase.This paper initially introduces the financial options hypothesis and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of existing project price risk managing solutions. After this, Asian option contracts and the related geometric pricing formulas are presented. A nine-step methodology is then presented, which deploys Asian option contracts to manage raw steel material volatility for pipelines. The applicability of the methodology is illustrated using a case study.The results of Asian option valuation have been compared with those for European and American option contracts and demonstrate the advantages of the proposed methodology. It is hoped that the proposed methodology will serve as a useful price-hedging tool for both project owners and contractors in fixed price pipeline projects. Facilitating a price risk management strategy can ensure participants that the project will be completed within the pre-estimated cost. This study can be considered as a gateway toward the use of derivative instruments in energy infrastructure projects, which can provide pipeline project participants with insight regarding pipeline construction price risk management. It is expected that the results could be expanded to a broader range of construction projects.\n2. Research background: 2.1 Derivative usage for risk-hedging purposes\n3. The proposed methodology: Figure 3 is an overview of the nine procedural steps of the proposed methodology:Specify the required input data. The first data set is the project's estimated monthly raw material requirement and tolerable upward price limit movements based on steel storage limitations and the risk management strategy of the company. This information is used to determine the amount of steel that must be hedged and strike prices of contracts that must be bought by the hedger. The second data set is the historical and futures prices of the material, risk-free rate of interest and volatility of steel prices (Eqn (5)) that are used for Asian options valuation and modeling of the future price movement of the material price.Develop a Cox-Ross model using Eqn (16) to characterize evolving uncertainty regarding future steel prices. This helps to gain a clearer insight into prospective fluctuations in the steel price. The results can be used for the cost-benefit comparison step.Develop a hedging policy that consists of the determination of the percentage of raw material required during a specific period of the construction contract that must be hedged, the tolerable upper steel price and the style of averaging and exercising strike prices.Calculate the Asian option price using Eqns (6)-(15) to determine the cost of purchasing an Asian option contract.Add the transaction cost of trading Asian options to the total cost of contracts using the official trading fees by brokers.Conduct a cost-benefit comparison using the results of stages 2, 4 and 5 to determine whether or not the use of an Asian option contract is beneficial for the hedger.Conduct a sensitivity analysis using Eqn (18) to determine the Asian options price sensitivity to changes in volatility.Implement by trading Asian option contracts via a broker OTC.Monitor, analyze, report and repeat.The applicability of this methodology is shown in the following example, and its results have been compared with European style option contracts as a nonexotic option.\n4. The case study of a gas pipeline project: The case study has been provided to illustrate the benefits of the proposed methodology; which, can be practically used for pipeline price risk management. The results have been compared with those from exchange-traded standard European and American option contracts to demonstrate its effectiveness. A sensitivity analysis using vega and various strike prices has been conducted to account for changes in the option price caused by a change in volatility of the underlying asset. 4.1 Pipeline project profile\n5. Conclusion: Pipeline construction is a material-intensive project with a long contract duration and a continual need to supply materials that can experience material price volatility. Possible risk mitigation strategies include PACs and MRGs; however, a review of published research suggests that these approaches have drawbacks. To address the material supply risk, a stepwise risk hedging methodology based on Asian option contracts has been introduced. This style of financial instrument intrinsically reduces the effect of price volatility over the period in question and is relatively more economical in terms of total expenditure compared to similar European and American option contracts for the case study. The numerical results indicated that the use of Asian option contracts could limit unwanted material price fluctuations to tolerable price movements.An analysis of three price scenarios as a case study confirmed that the use of Asian option contracts is a reasonable supply risk-hedging approach for pipeline construction. Because of the continuous price movements in the commodity markets, the sensitivity analysis is of paramount significance for effective decision-making regarding the use of Asian option contracts. The results of Asian option contract pricing, when compared with those of European and American options, indicated that Asian options were a more cost-effective hedging approach for the GD project.It can be concluded that the proposed methodology using Asian option contracts can lead to more accurate price estimation in the pre-bidding phase of pipeline projects that could decrease the cost overrun risk throughout the phases of the project. The proposed approach uses a different style of options and has applied it to a pipeline project for the first time. The results conform with the findings of Chen et al. (2017, 2012), Vahdatmanesh and Firouzi (2018) and Firouzi and Vahdatmanesh (2019) about the applicability of financial derivatives to construction projects.The risk-hedging methodology, which employs Asian option contracts, is a new approach to developing effective methods for pipeline construction risk management of cost overruns, especially in countries where legal barriers prevent the project participant from employing other techniques. Although a pipeline construction case study has been used to confirm the proposed methodology, the proposed approach could be used as a plausible risk-hedging tool for construction industry participants tackling supply cost escalations.The current research had two limitations. First, although the primary intention of the study has been to show the applicability of a new methodology for hedging price risk in pipeline projects using a case study, the results are only as good as the input data exclusively related to that case study. Second, for simplicity and due to the negligible managerial and transaction costs, they have not been included in this research. For actual trades, hedgers must consider such costs in their total expenditures.Future research should examine the effectiveness of other types of financial options, such as the Australian (multiple-exercise) and Bermudan option contracts, for pipeline project price risk management in comparison with Asian options. Although the current research study showed the applicability of Asian options in material price risk management, it also would be advantageous to examine the applicability of Asian option contracts in other risk mitigation strategies associated with infrastructure project investments (e.g. exchange rate, interest rate and funding). This would provide the project participants with more insight into how price risk management approaches based on option contracts can lessen financial risks during the various stages of an infrastructure project.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Steel price uncertainty exposes pipeline projects that are inherently capital intensive to the risk of cost overruns. The current study proposes a hedging methodology for tackling steel pipeline price risk by deploying Asian option contracts that address the shortcomings of current risk mitigation strategies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A stepwise methodology is introduced, which uses a closed-form formula as an Asian option valuation method for calculating this total expenditure. The scenario analysis of three price trends examines whether or not the approach is beneficial to users. The sensitivity analysis then has been conducted using the financial option Greeks to assess the effects of changes in volatility in the total price of the option contracts. The total price of the Asian options was then compared with those of the European and American options.\nFindings: The results demonstrate that the Asian option expenditure was about 1.87% of the total cost of the case study project. The scenario analysis revealed that, except for when the price followed a continuous downward pattern, the use of this type of financial instrument is a practical approach for steel pipeline price risk management.\nPractical implications: This approach is founded on a well-established financial options theory and elucidates how pipeline project participants can deploy Asian option contracts to safeguard against steel price fluctuations in practice.\nOriginality/value: Although the literature exists about the theory and application of financial derivative instruments for risk management in other sectors, their application to the construction industry is infrequent. In the proposed methodology, all participants involved in fixed price pipeline projects readily surmount the risk of exposure to material price fluctuations.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Exploring education-related use of social media: business students perspectives in a changing India
|
[
"Education",
"Youth",
"Social media",
"Student engagement"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Indian education has an age old tradition of large number of students packed into small classrooms (Carlson, 2000), discipline problems (Maxfield, 2009), teacher absenteeism (Kohli, 2016), dusty blackboards and political interference. Though the education sector has been modernizing in recent times, rote learning or \"learning by repetition\" and the dreaded year-end exam continue to be popular. No doubt social media is emerging as the latest platform for information and communication among the Indian communities yet the notion that social media could be an effective tool for educational purposes has received recent attention in India. While the impact of social media is certainly experienced in the higher education sector in India, the effectiveness of this role and its potential future role as a facilitator and enhancer of learning is worth investigating. Due to the relative freshness of the approach in India and fairly restricted use in the Indian higher education system, empirical studies are few and far between and the impact of social media on student engagement in the higher education system in India is not known.\nSmartphones: driving the revolution: India has witnessed an enormous surge in the number of mobile internet users. As technology became more concise and eminently affordable the popularity of smartphones in India has grown tremendously. As per a very recent study \"Smartphone Incidence in Urban India,\" conducted by Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights, smartphones have gone on to become a broad-based phenomenon in the Indian mobile phone market. There are more than 27-million smartphone users in urban India, and a huge number being added every year. The survey has found that the highest incidence of smartphone ownership is among young adults. According to a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India, 66 percent of the 180 million internet users in urban India regularly access social media platforms. A recent survey conducted by Tata Consultancy Services puts the number of students using social media at roughly 40 million. The report observes that more than 70 percent of students in India own a personal smartphone and six out of ten student respondents who participated in the survey owned a smartphone. In a country of 1.3 billion people, mobile phone subscriptions in India have already reached 1 billion mark, according to the latest data supplied by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. This shows the high comfort levels that the present generation in India exhibit with digital technology, social networking, smartphones and gaming.\nConnectivism: a learning theory for digital India: Siemens (2005) and Downes (2007) proposed the Connectivism theory, where social learning is incorporated with social media technologies. It is a theory of learning which elucidates how the internet has generated different and varied chances for human beings to learn from the internet and from each other. Learners are given full scope to browse the web and share what they find with a networked community. Within this approach, learning is seen to occur when peers collaboratively share opinions, viewpoints and critiques through conversation and dialogue on a more mutual basis than the traditional teacher/student relationship (Friesen and Lowe, 2011). Connectivism is fed by diversity and autonomy (Downes, 2010). With the growth of technology software and hardware, Connectivism was coined to create a clear learning theory in which teachers, instructional designers and, more importantly, learners can integrate and utilize tools that provide a two-way learning environment that is capable of equipping students with critical thinking, problem solving and global participation (Eliott and Martin, 2011).\nResearch design: The current study investigates the adoption of social media for educational purposes in India among students in the discipline of commerce and business in India. While laying emphasis on qualitative research, it embodies a \"mixed methods\" approach. The study draws on the perspectives of the students. The basic research question for this study is:\nFindings and interpretations: Four clear themes emerged. These include: widespread usage of social media, definite usage in business education, strengths of social media in business education and the flip side of learning with social media. Quotations used in each theme show word-for-word annotations by the respondents. Respondents are referred to by a number.\nFlip side of social media in education: Continual partial attention\nDiscussions and implications: Indian youth are using the internet as a tool to gain social skills and then they apply these to real life situations. In India, despite the widespread use of online social media for communication and entertainment, the use in the educational sphere seems to be less. As teenagers go through a vital transitionary period in their lives, attention and popularity becomes important to them. They tend to use these sites for socializing and making new friends rather than for educational reasons. At this age, they become vulnerable to the next \"big\" \"new\" thing. Recently tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn which were used to take a break from studying are now being leveraged as a study tool by India technology-savvy students. The students had formed several Facebook study groups and commented that these groups are immensely useful for sharing information, question banks and study tips. Senior students and faculty are not averse to joining these groups and their inputs prove immensely useful. The students make full use of Twitter to send updates about class schedules, study tips and to keep all group members more fully engaged in team projects. Several students commented that over time they had developed a great appreciation for the use of SNSs in their learning. It also provides several pedagogical opportunities in higher education including open publishing, new communication styles and texts, expressing personal identity and experience, co-creation and collaboration, and content management (De Wever et al., 2015; Wheeler, 2010).\nConclusion: Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today. The education sector in India is poised to witness major growth in the years to come. Smartphones, social media and the internet are a part of life of the modern generation. The use of social media approaches to learning certainly enhanced the experiences of undergraduate and post-graduate business students in this study. Several other studies have reiterated the helpful aspects of social media in student learning (e.g. Chen et al., 2010; Dunlap and Lowenthal, 2009). Hrastinski and Aghaee (2012) have, in particular, shown how technologies enhance academic performance and help to better manage administrative communication with students.\nRecommendations of the study: Based on various insights from those who participated in this study and the researchers' experience, strategies for incorporating SNSs in teaching and learning are suggested. As this study has shown, a number of colleges and universities in India are including social media in their pedagogy in a rather exterior fashion yet the challenge lies in effectively aligning it with the curriculum. This requires pedagogical rethinking by challenging existing approaches to curriculum design, delivery and assessment (Conole and Alevizou, 2010). Meaningfully integrating social media into teaching and learning in India would require profound and multilayered commitment rather than just its exterior utilization. Adoptive instructors are likely in an experimental stage of implementation as they look for alignment between course activities and the SNS applications (Bennett et al., 2012). Faculty should fit all this into the larger curricular framework rather than use it as yet another tool in the overcrowded curriculum.\nFurther research: This study brings out further unanswered questions concerning the educational use of social media in the Indian context. Answers to several questions might be different in India and other developing countries than they would be in highly advanced countries where such issues have been largely \"solved.\" Future research is required how social media can be used for greater student engagement in the Indian setting. Additional research is also needed to understand how social media is being used by Indian faculty. Considering the potential opportunities as well as challenges outlined in this paper, there is a need to understand better the best practices and guidelines concerning the correct social media usage in the educational setting. It may be useful to appraise the social presence besides inspiration and pressure and study how young students' psychological circumstances shape social media use. Whether and how students leverage the use of social media would be also be worth investigating in further research. A lot of attention needs to be paid to research in India on how social media could profitably be used to educate the marginalized communities and the potential for differential impacts upon groups within those communities.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Within a connectivist learning model, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption of social media for educational purposes in India, a hitherto unexplored area of research. The basic research thrust is on students' experiences when social media is incorporated into higher education. This research tries to gather evidence on the effectiveness of this role and its potential future role as a facilitator and enhancer of learning in the Indian system.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The current research draws on the perspectives of the students regarding the adoption of social media for educational purposes. The data collection was done in two separate stages. Stratified random sampling was applied and a structured questionnaire was sent via e-mail. Usable responses were received from 568 respondents. The second stage consisted of an exploratory qualitative study using in-depth interviews and reflections of 250 students from the original sample.\nFindings: Four clear themes emerged from the responses collected via the structured questionnaire and particularly from the in-depth interviews. These include: widespread usage of social media, definite usage in business education, strengths of social media in business education and the flip side of learning with social media. One thing is certain: social media will continue to play an important role in the Indian education sector. A number of colleges and universities in India are including social media in their pedagogy, but the challenge lies in effectively aligning it with curriculum.\nPractical implications: Despite the widespread use of online social media for communication and entertainment, the use in the educational sphere seems to be less. This year-long study tries to gather evidence on all these issues. No doubt social media's contribution in the classroom depicts a rising interest in technology as a tool to assist learning but it also reinforces a paradigm shift in the way students learn.\nSocial implications: With nearly a billion people on mobile phones, the online system certainly has vast potential to create the right kind of learning. As this study has shown at a micro-level, technology-led reach and easy access is bringing about a socio-economic difference in the lives of Indian learners. While this study certainly supports digital learning in India it points out that higher educational institutions are yet to exploit its full advantage for better student engagement.\nOriginality/value: One key characteristic of this generation is that they are very education oriented. Due to the relative freshness of the approach in India and fairly restricted use in the Indian higher education system, empirical studies are limited and the impact of social media on student engagement in the higher education system in India is not known.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Sustainability survey to assess student perspectives
|
[
"Sustainability",
"Survey",
"Pedagogy",
"Environmental science",
"Student perspectives"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: College campuses are an interesting place to study perceptions of sustainability and to measure changes in perspective over time. As freshmen come into college, they bring their preconceived notions from their high schools, family, and cultural background. A sustainability survey can measure these perspectives in freshmen and measure how those change through their time at the university (Meyer, 2016). Furthermore, sustainability surveys can be used to educate the people taking the survey and to gather information for the advancement of sustainability at the institution itself (Horvath et al., 2013; Decamps et al., 2017).\nThe Institute for Community Sustainability: The Institute for Community Sustainability was created in 2012 as part of an internal grant competition called Unbounded Possibilities. The focus of the institute was to conduct student driven research to help the community (including businesses) with sustainability projects. The institute also promoted sustainability on campus but did not make campus awareness a large part of their efforts through the period of this study. We assess respondents' awareness of sustainability efforts on campus in a qualitative open-response question.\nHypotheses: Several hypotheses will be explored in a series of manuscripts currently under development. In this initial paper, we examine broad changes in sustainability beliefs over time on our campus. Specific hypotheses tested here include:\nMethods: The survey\nResults: We have administered a sustainability survey on our campus every year for the past eight years (2010-2017). An average of 7% of the student body completed the survey each year, along with multiple staff, faculty members, and other individuals from the community outside of campus. We had lower response rates (1%-3%) in two years; 2010 was the first year of the survey and the lead investigator was on sabbatical in 2014 so a large class was not dedicated to data collection on this project.\nDiscussion: The annual nature of this survey allows us to track changes in incoming students' knowledge/awareness of sustainability over time, the effect of education in the college setting on this awareness, the impact of campus sustainability efforts on students' knowledge/awareness, and the value students place on sustainability on campus. Participants demonstrated an increase in concern for the environment over the eight years of this study. The average student moved 0.18 points on a five-point scale from the top of neutral to somewhat concerned with 79.49% of students answering somewhat to extremely concerned that humans are harming the environment. This result, along with an even stronger response of affiliates (people not part of the immediate ISU community at 0.24-point increase), suggests that the population as a whole is experiencing an increased concern for the health of the environment. This is similar to findings from the Yale Six Americas studies over time that show an increase in the Alarmed and Concerned portion of the population while the Doubtful and Dismissive portion remained the same from 2010 to 2018 (Leiserowitz et al., 2010; Leiserowitz, 2019).\nConclusions: The vast majority of the 8,030 respondents over eight years express concern about humans' effect on the environment and climate change. This concern has only increased over the period of the study (2010-2017) for the incoming freshmen, as students advance through college, and also for the affiliates (respondents from outside the university population). A small majority (50.4%) of respondents were not aware of any sustainability efforts on campus and those that were aware mainly cited recycling (40.4%) as the only effort of which they were aware. Of the students that were aware of more than one item, the average awareness of 2.5 items with the most being eight sustainability efforts that they could name. This latter point demonstrates that while the majority of respondents are concerned about the environment, very few respondents were aware of sustainability efforts on campus. To address this gap, the Institute of Community Sustainability rebranded to the Office of Sustainability and changed their focus to student engagement in addition to community engagement.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess environmental concern at a Midwest university, analyze trends in concern over time and determine the effect of the development of a campus sustainability office.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A multi-question survey was administered through peer-to-peer recruitment from an undergraduate environmental science class each fall from 2010-2017. This exercise was originally developed as a pedagogical exercise on the scientific method.\nFindings: Over eight years, incoming freshmen have expressed more concern that humans are harming the environment and students also express greater concern as they progress through college.\nResearch limitations/implications: The first year of the survey (2010) and the year that the lead PI was on sabbatical (2014) saw reduced response rates (~1%-3% of the student population) compared to 6%-9% of the student population in other years.\nPractical implications: Responses to all of the questions in the survey provide guidance for university administrations and sustainability offices about the concerns of the campus community, awareness about campus efforts and support for sustainability activities on campus.\nOriginality/value: Few studies have been published on students' perspectives on environmental concern and sustainability activities on university campuses. These data provide an overview of environmental concern, perceived government action and empowerment to action over an eight-year period. This approach is recommended as a technique to teach the scientific method in introductory classes and as a means to collect data about student perspectives on sustainability.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Exploring the contribution of workplace learning to an HRD strategy in the Scottish legal profession
|
[
"Human resource development",
"Workplace learning",
"Law",
"Legal profession",
"Scotland"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Whilst competition is common across all business sectors, the partnership structure and presence of the professional body sets legal practices apart from private sector companies; \"[...] most firms are partnerships, where partners are the ultimate owners of the firm's capital, usually receiving some form of profit share in addition to salary or fees (Hunter et al., 2002, p. 9).\" The law society authorizes and provides technical training and continuous professional development, leaving little scope for HR specialists (Hunter et al., 2002).This increasingly competitive environment and the need to accommodate the views of a large number of owners has contributed to the practice of establishing an executive board to represent and execute the views of the partnership, enabling firms to implement business strategies (Hunter et al., 2002). Consequently, only recently have law firms appointed HR specialists or designated partners with responsibility for staff issues (Saru, 2007). Functions which have no fee earning capacity are seen as an overhead and therefore need to effectively and visibly demonstrate their capacity to add value. Whilst a competitive marketplace may provide compelling reasons to support the development of an HRD capacity in most sectors, the characteristics which differentiate law firms from other organizations may act as barriers to its applicability. However, workplace learning could enhance the solicitor learning in law firms. The research questions guiding this paper are:RQ1. Do the characteristics of the legal professions' work environment act as a barrier for the implementation of HRD?RQ2. Is workplace learning a suitable approach to align HRD to professional and organizational needs?\nTheoretical framework: Factors influencing HRD in legal firms\nMethodological overview: Case organization background\nAnalysis of findings: 1 The competitive marketplace\nConclusion and contribution to human resource development: In conclusion, HRD currently has a low profile in an industry which has only (fairly) recently accepted the need for a HR function, and whilst this case study firm provides evidence of this recent development, further research would be required to assess the progress and development of HR and HRD in firms of varying sizes.In addressing the question:RQ1. Do the characteristics of the legal professions' work environment act as a barrier for the implementation of HRD?The case study, firm illustrates a number of characteristic factors which currently influence HRD and may present challenges to its implementation; these include the partnership structure; the pervasiveness of time-billed targets in the solicitor community; and HR's profile and acceptance among the solicitor community.Despite attempts to respond to the competitive environment by, for example, implementing a SEB, this research shows that the partnership structure presents limitations to such strategic actions. The most compelling evidence from this firm is that every broad theme discussed in the SEB is then \"debated by every partner\" (SM 1). This restriction on the efficacy of legal firms to respond strategically comes at a time when the competitive forces of the marketplace are changing the strategies of firms and subsequently generating non-technical learning requirements at solicitor level; \"Solicitors need to be better at spotting opportunities and making the most of them.\" (SM 1). However, this research shows that any such advance in solicitor development will take second place as \"workload will always take precedence\"; this corroborates evidence from the literature review.The findings of this exploratory research suggest that HR within the firm does have the support of senior management and is given an appropriate profile amongst the partners; \"The crucial role played by people in the success of the firm means that it is essential for HR to have an involvement at this level\" (SM 1). However, it has been marginalised and disconnected at the solicitor level, rather than seen as an integral part of solicitor learning; \"HR does not really impact [my] learning and [I am] not aware of any training coming from HR. Learning takes place at a departmental level\" (Solicitor K). This quote typifies a degree of disdain for HR which strongly supported the view that in legal practice \"qualified lawyers are insiders; functional professionals tend to be outsiders\" (Hunter et al., 2002, p. 10). This finding illustrates that whilst the prestige attached to the profession may limit HR's role in implementing HRD, it does not necessarily threaten the development of HRD by another professional in this case study firm.In addressing \"Is workplace learning an approach to align HRD to professional and organizational needs?\" this research suggests that evidence of workplace learning is already apparent and accepted practice in legal practice and therefore offers a tangible way to enhance solicitor learning.While the literature points to a strong, powerful professional body influencing solicitor development, the findings of this research did not support the view that the law society represented a threat to HR's scope or to a HRD implementation. On the contrary, the professional body was underrepresented in the solicitor's responses and a solicitor stated their objection to the law society's role in monitoring continuous professional development.Whilst this research suggests that the partnership structure is not always complementary to a HRD strategy, it shows that partners are an important stakeholder in solicitor learning and development, often bolstering the support provided by line managers. Partners are linch pins in all firms and future research is needed to assess their impact on solicitor's learning in other practices, for example whether solicitor learning and development is a feature of their performance appraisal and whether they benefit from structured learning interventions to support their input. A better insight into the partner's role in solicitor learning may also assist an individual tasked with implementing a HRD strategy to understand how they can harness this resource.The solicitors were very clear that each division and their respective departments have their own identity and thus specific learning needs. Whilst this was presented as a rejection to a one-size-fits all approach, it exemplifies why workplace learning would be suited to this environment. Whilst this research provides evidence of different forms of learning in the workplace, it is not consistent across the firm. There is a clear bias towards technical training needs rather than development learning, evidenced by both solicitors and managers. The research reveals less support for improving self-managed learning, reflection skills and non-technical skills learning. Further research in other firms would be useful to identify the balance between technical and non-technical training, this research suggests that, at present, there is not any reason for the solicitors to move outside their comfort zones.This research concludes that either HR or another appointed resource needs the profile within the solicitor community to champion learning and development and to build on the current practices taking place. Communication with peers is highly visible, providing learning opportunities for solicitors, through social events and meetings. However, availability of these is also influenced by the ability of managers to identify and organize these. Having been left to develop their own local learning and development provisions, the departments have become more aware, perhaps not of their individual needs, but certainly of their group's technical learning needs; an awareness that would be vital for workplace learning initiatives. The high-profile nature of the departmental training provision among the solicitors was an indication that they are accepting and cooperating with learning activities and are willing to provide input to the process. These are positive indicators for developing a workplace learning strategy. Whilst the culture and senior management support for workplace learning is evident, learning could be enhanced with a focus on non-technical skills development, reflection skills and tools to encourage self-managed learning. Further research is needed within law firms to assess the presence of workplace learning and its development within firms. An insight into how workplace learning is first integrated into solicitor's learning across a range of firms would help to inform implementation methods. This sort of research would also help to reveal the extent of workplace learning's potential contribution to business progress and the solicitor community.This research aims to contribute to HRD knowledge by highlighting characteristics of law firms which differ from the more widely documented examples across other areas of the private sector. In so doing, it is hoped to prompt further enquiry which may improve current understanding of learning within the solicitor community. Workplace learning is suggested as a tangible way for practitioners to consider the benefits of HRD for their organizations and offers evidence of workplace learning practices which are already benefiting solicitor development in the case study firm.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to explore the relevance of human resource development (HRD) for law firms in the UK. It examines how the characteristics of legal professional practice in the UK, including the partnership structure, long established methods of targeting solicitors and the law society, may act as barriers to the implementation of HRD.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper uses an exploratory case study research approach to investigate characteristics and issues influencing the adoption of HRD in a Scottish legal firm. Primary data are collected via semi-structured interviews with a cross-section of representatives.\nFindings: - Despite recognition of the importance of learning, the characteristic elements of law firms, including the partnership structure; the pervasiveness of time-billed targets in the solicitor community; and HR's profile and acceptance among the solicitor community, remain as barriers to the applicability of HRD. The research also exposes variability on the level and scope of development opportunities, an emphasis on technical skills development, and a lack of solicitors' self-managed learning ability.\nResearch limitations/implications: - While the research findings provide a useful insight into the barriers to HRD in one legal firm, this does not allow for any generalisations being drawn from the study.\nPractical implications: - The paper explores the suitability of workplace learning to support legal professional development.\nOriginality/value: - There is a dearth of research into HRD in legal practices in the UK. The paper contributes to the contextual influences that limit the applicability of HRD to legal professional practices.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Guarding against discrimination: How to keep lawsuits at bay
|
[
"Discrimination",
"Equal opportunities",
"Recruitment"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: As the emphasis on equality in the workplace increasingly reverberates around the business world, few self-respecting organizations will knowingly deploy practices that might be perceived as discriminatory. However, despite honorable intentions, many companies remain blissfully unaware that some of their practices may not be quite what they seem.\nAn open university: So how can organizations identify and remedy issues that may at best threaten workplace harmony or at worst leave them facing a lawsuit? They could take a proactive approach, as the University of Westminster has done. Like other public bodies, this UK institution had to comply with requirements of the amended Race Relations Act. The university, though, went much further and widened the scope to examine the impact of its policies, systems and processes not only on ethnic minorities but in other areas too.After an initial pilot of the impact assessment program in selected academic schools and service departments, the exercise was carried out institution wide. During the test stage, diversity focus groups identified potential areas of concern and then program leaders created a template to help the university make informed decisions that would ensure across the board consistency for its policies and activities. Even more important was the aim to identify those activities that might negatively impinge on certain groups.Immediate consequences of the impact assessment program included:* each school and department becoming responsible for taking necessary measures to ensure that their own practices positively contribute to equality and diversity objectives. Action plans formed are monitored at both department and institution level;* a checklist was created so that those involved in policy making could better assess the impact on equality and diversity; and* recommendations were reviewed and integrated within corporate planning activities.\nA novel way to monitor training: On this evidence alone, it's clear that the university is passionate about equality and diversity. And that's without considering its trump card - the diversity workbook introduced following a training needs analysis. Part of the diversity training program, the book is distributed to all staff with its purpose being to improve knowledge and raise individual awareness of attitudes and prejudices. Content includes case studies to illustrate good practice, and understanding is measured using questionnaires throughout each section and a short test at the end completed online or by telephone. Those who score above a certain level earn a certificate and the institution benefits from having a shrewd method of monitoring not only the effect of its training but also how many employees are properly taking part.According to twentieth century US historian Hannah Arendt, equality only results through human endeavor. The University of Westminster clearly buys into this belief because efforts to safeguard against potential discrimination don't stop there. For instance, the impact assessment revealed that the level of diversity within its 23,000 strong student population was not mirrored among staff. However, employee turnover is remarkably low and a less dedicated organization might perhaps use this fact as justification for not addressing the issue. But this institution is nothing if not committed and attention soon turned to the selection process itself. Investigations revealed that ethnic minority candidates were frequently eliminated during the latter stages of the process and it was acknowledged that:* the university was demanding higher qualifications than were needed; and* selection was based solely on interview performance.Action since taken now means that:* instead of expecting the highest levels of qualification at the outset, the university aims to offer more career development opportunities (this applies to all staff);* in addition to interview, candidates also undertake tests in order to demonstrate they possess the relevant capabilities; and* those on the interview panel receive training to ensure fair play during recruitment and selection.Assessment also indicated that ethnic minorities were particularly under-represented in academic positions. The university's response? To create a scheme aimed at attracting outstanding students from diverse backgrounds who were eager to follow an academic career. A comprehensive process is used to select the students, who are then financed for three years while they gain teaching practice and study for a PhD. If all goes to plan, the students will obtain the qualification and then secure an academic post at this or another university. It's important to realize that Westminster needed to fight to secure funding for the scheme by proving that it wasn't simply a show of positive discrimination.\nProtecting the interests of all: We all know that discriminatory behavior can affect anyone and this university has left no stone unturned in its efforts to promote equality and diversity. These efforts have also focused on:* Raising disability awareness so that people become more familiar with different forms of disability and what adjustments might be needed in terms of working patterns, specialist equipment and the physical environment.* Staff harmony. Support staff felt undervalued even though many boast high levels of qualification. One solution was to set up programs to help academic and support staff work more closely. And seeing that many considered the term \"non-academic\" to be derogatory, inclusive language was also encouraged.* Providing part time staff with the same development opportunities and subjecting them to the same selection process as their permanent counterparts.* Promoting warm feelings between people of different faiths.Throw in gender specific training programs, subsidized childcare costs and a HR program that helps employees prepare for retirement and you quickly realize that this institution has every group's welfare at heart. Its finger is clearly on the pulse and constant monitoring and discussion ensures it remains there.However, the university's experience illustrates that any impact assessment demands:* Effective management. The workload is challenging and time consuming.* Commitment from staff. This will only occur if they consider the exercise meaningful and receive appropriate training and support.* A model chosen through collaboration and appropriate to the specific culture and needs of the organization.* A template relevant to all concerned. In this case, the template proved more suitable to such as HR and academic schools than to service or delivery departments.\nPlaying by the book: Whereas most companies will be aware of their obligations towards existing employees, the same might not be true in relation to those applying to join the ranks. Bur rules apply here too and any organization not following the letter of the law could soon find itself in hot water.Every employer seeks to choose the right candidate. Nevertheless, many can and do get it wrong - sometimes with disastrous consequences when, for example, the new employee exhibits violent tendencies or behaves dishonestly. Lawsuits can arise in such cases and US juries are increasingly blaming the organization for not properly carrying out its homework beforehand. Employers fortunate enough to win their case often still have costs and bad publicity to contend with.Prevention is invariably better than cure and it's certainly no different here. Astute organizations realize this and will perform thorough background checks. Informing the candidate of such procedures may even serve to scare off the more unsavory applicants.But to guard against discrimination claims, employers must carry out their vetting procedures strictly by the rules. This involves:* Asking the applicant for consent to carry out checks.* Making sure that the application form clearly states that providing false information will result in dismissal.* When asking about criminal records state that convictions won't necessarily prevent employment and that the nature of the offence must be taken into consideration. Employers must be particularly aware of their obligation to provide valid reasons for exclusion on these grounds.* Protecting the candidate's privacy and taking great care of credit or other personal information in the company's possession.Seeing that some aspects of law may be country or state specific, one cap can obviously never fit all where this matter is concerned.\nLegal or illegal?: The fear of prosecution is never far from some US employers' minds. Just ask those who hire immigrant workers. Such employers are coming under increasing pressure because of government crackdowns on the use of illegal immigrant labor.Many have successfully hired immigrants for years and have always ensured that the correct documentation is in place. However, that Social Security cards, work visa and green cards appear authentic may no longer be enough. Even though employers admit to having no way of knowing if documents are genuine, the onus is falling on them to ensure that everything is above board. The situation has taken a turn for the worse because those suspected of violating the rules can now be charged with criminal offences.Sure, government certification programs are in place. But many are flawed and stifled by bureaucracy. As a result, even employers who submit applications well in advance of when labor is required are not guaranteed to receive clearance in time. This not surprisingly plays havoc within farming and other industries that have seasonal demands.Many employers are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea because rejecting an applicant's papers exposes them to a discrimination charge should everything turn out to be valid. Under the circumstances, it's little wonder that some companies choose to ignore the law altogether.These companies feel the risk is worth taking. What's more, they believe further advantage can be gained by exploiting the illegal status of the workers. How? By paying them considerably less than the minimum rate and depriving them of other rights. Such companies are playing with fire because even illegal workers are protected by employment laws, as the Equal Opportunities Commission and other agencies are quick to point out to employer and employee alike. Tough legal and financial penalties await those found guilty of unscrupulous practices.Under these conditions, compliance is clearly difficult if not almost impossible. Perhaps one way forward is for employers to develop effective ways of self auditing the necessary documentation. But with the specter of discrimination hovering, it would be wise to carry out these checks for all workers, not just certain groups.\nComment: The review is based upon: \"University of Westminster: assessing equality\" by Kate Godwin, \"Trouble on the hiring front\" by Susan Ladika, and \"How to avoid the repercussions of negligent hiring\". Godwin provides a fascinating account of how the University of Westminster actively promotes equality and diversity. The author describes in detail the assessment program and subsequent monitoring, and notes the impact of many of the changes that have been implemented. The article by Ladika focuses on the dilemma faced by US companies that hire migrant workers. She remarks how these employers are being forced to comply with more stringent laws, while also facing accusations of discrimination from rejected workers. The final piece warns against negligence when hiring new staff. It urges employers to carry out thorough checks in order to eliminate unsuitable candidates but points out that those who fail to properly carry out procedures may face lawsuits from unsuccessful applicants. All of the articles will enlighten any practitioner about different issues surrounding discrimination.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.\nFindings: - As the emphasis on equality in the workplace increasingly reverberates around the business world, few self-respecting organizations will knowingly deploy practices that might be perceived as discriminatory. However, despite honorable intentions, many companies remain blissfully unaware that some of their practices may not be quite what they seem. So how can organizations identify and remedy issues that may at best threaten workplace harmony or at worst leave them facing a lawsuit? They could take a proactive approach, as the University of Westminster has done. Like other public bodies, this UK institution had to comply with requirements of the amended Race Relations Act. The university, though, went much further and widened the scope to examine the impact of its policies, systems and processes not only on ethnic minorities but in other areas too.\nOriginality/value: - Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Complementarity of capabilities across cultures: Innovation, customer involvement, and competitiveness of service firms across India and the UK
|
[
"Innovation",
"Customer involvement",
"Emerging markets",
"Firm-level capability",
"Service firm competitiveness",
"Social institutions"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Customer involvement reflects the intensity of an individual customer's participation and engagement in the value creation and delivery process of a firm. Its proponents have suggested that, within interactive and dynamic business environments, it represents a strategic imperative for new product/service development (e.g. Freng Svendsen et al., 2011; Carbonell and Escudero, 2015; Storey and Larbig, 2018; Cornelius and Gokpinar, 2019). It also generates enhanced corporate performance, including sales growth, superior competitive advantage and profitability (e.g. Brodie et al., 2011). The empirical analyses of the effect of customer involvement on firm performance have, however, yielded mixed results (Anning-Dorson, 2018a). While some studies have found positive effects (e.g. Bendapudi and Leone, 2003; Bone et al., 2015; Bilro et al., 2019), other findings have shown negative outcomes (e.g. Hsieh et al., 2004), and others have reported mixed results (Morgan et al., 2009). Another important aspect that is missing in the customer involvement literature is the cross-cultural management dimension in terms of how different contexts may impact on its outcome. This study seeks to shed light on the issues through capability-bundling and social institutional conditioning as the underlining boundary conditions capable of explaining customer involvement effectiveness. This is undertaken in two different cultural contexts (India and the UK) to explain how customer involvement-firm competitiveness fit must be aligned with the socio-cultural context within which the firm operates. This study proposes that; first, the efforts of involvement should be that of complementary of other capabilities such that an alignment with other capabilities to increase the effectiveness of itself and also enhance the efficacy of the aligning capabilities. Second, the contexts within which involvement capability are deployed exert influence on its effectiveness. This study, therefore, argues that cultural contexts will define the effectiveness of involvement capability in achieving firm competitiveness as culture can explain the relative importance of a firm's relationship-building capacity such as customer involvement capability (CIC).\n2. Conceptual background and hypotheses: The competitiveness of the current business environment is unprecedented (Kramer and Porter, 2011). The phenomenon and its impact on international business operations are even more severe (Buckley, 2016). Firms across the world, large and small, continuously look for strategies to be competitive in order to improve their fortunes. Firm-level competitiveness is at the top of firm priorities (Ernst and Haar, 2019). Several studies have attested to its importance in contemporary management studies (see Anning-Dorson, 2018a, b; Diaz-Chao et al., 2016; Tan and Sousa, 2015). According to the capability theory, the best to building firm's competitiveness is through capability building and exploitation (Roberson et al., 2017; Helfat and Peteraf, 2015; Wang and Hsu, 2018). Firms that build the necessary capabilities over time are competitive (Teece and Pisano, 2003; Winter, 2003). It must be noted that the effectiveness of a capability creating the necessary competitiveness may be context dependent. The relationship between a capability and competitiveness is therefore context driven.\n3. Methods: 3.1 Data setting and collection\n4. Results: To assess the hypotheses, all paths were estimated simultaneously in a single structural model with sub-group analysis using SPSS Amos 22. SEM approach is preferred in causal modeling method as it allows for measurement error control; provides information on the degree of fit of the tested model (Lu et al., 2010). The general model had competitiveness as the dependent variable; the stated controls; and the direct effect of customer involvement and product innovation. As a way of assessing H2 which involved interaction effect, the study adopted the multiplicative approach as recommended by Marsh et al. (2004). The study specifically followed Ping (1995) to create single indicant for the interaction variable by multiplying the two variables involved. To mitigate possible multicollinearity problems due to the usage of interactive terms, product innovation and involvement capability were mean-centered before the interaction as recommended by Little et al. (2007). The created variable was then included in the model. The structural model produced satisfactory fit indices that paved way for the analysis of the hypothesized model. The indices met the respective criteria as recommended by Schreiber et al. (2006), thus, (kh2(9)=25.599; NFI=0.98 TLI=0.96; IFI=0.98; CFI=0.98; RMSEA=0.066; SRMR=0.042. Table II shows the results of the SEM.\n5. Conclusions and implications: The objective of this study was to understand how two firm level capabilities (involvement and product innovation) complement each order to produce positive effect on firm level competitiveness even if their effects are negative. The analysis has shown that involvement capability would have negative effect on competitiveness in the UK in isolation but has positive complementary effect with product innovation. The study found that cultural orientation of India lends to the positive effect of involvement capability on competitiveness of service firms. It also revealed that involvement capability has a positive complementary effect with product innovation. These findings present significant implication for both theory and practice.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how service firms across two different cultural contexts use their customer involvement capabilities to create competitive advantage. The study further assesses the possible complementarity effect of innovation and involvement capabilities in enhancing firm competitiveness. Lastly, the study draws on the complementarity of capabilities and social institutions to examine whether different cultural contexts explain the use of involvement capability among service firms.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study sampled service firms from an emerging economy (India) and high-income economy (The UK), which have different cultural contexts (collectivism/individualist) to assess the hypothesized relationship. Data collection processes were adapted to the contexts to optimize reliability and relevance. Multi-group structural equation modeling was used in analyzing the data.\nFindings: The study finds that cultural contexts explain the positive relationship between customer involvement capability and firm competitiveness such that in collectivist cultures, involvement capability is more positively related to competitiveness but negative in individualistic contexts. However, in both contexts, service firms can through capability bundling increase firm competitiveness. The study found that the complementarity effects of innovation and involvement capabilities were found to be positive in both contexts.\nOriginality/value: This study departs from previous studies by arguing that customer involvement is a complementary capability that helps exploit the potential of innovation capability of service firms. This study further demonstrates that cultural context defines the effectiveness of involvement capability in achieving firm competitiveness.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Understanding regulatory focuses: The role of employees' regulatory focus in stress coping styles, and turnover intent to a five-star hotel
|
[
"Promotion focus",
"Regulatory focus",
"Prevention focus",
"Stress-coping styles",
"Turnover intent",
"Five-star hotel"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Motivation is a key theme in organizational behavior (Lee et al., 2010) that refers to internal or external power supporting and maintaining an individual's behavior (Steer and Porter, 1991). A person's regulatory focus is a specific strategic and motivational orientation adopted during goal pursuit (Higgins, 1997; Pham and Chang, 2010). Higgins (2000) used the term regulatory focus to explain motivation in the process of pursuing one's goals. Two types of independent self-regulatory focuses can be distinguished (Higgins, 1997, 2000):\n2. Literature review and conceptual model: 2.1 Regulatory focus, stress-coping styles and turnover intent\n3. Research methodology: 3.1 Procedure and participants\n4. Results: 4.1 Measurement model\n5. Discussion and conclusion: 5.1 Conclusion\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine whether five-star hotel employees' promotion focus significantly influences their task-coping style, and whether their prevention focus has a significant effect on their emotion- and avoidance-coping styles. This study also investigates the moderating impact of employees' tenure on the relationships between stress-coping styles and turnover intent.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A total of 342 five-star hotel employees in South Korea participated in the study using a self-administered questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to examine the hypothesized relationships between the constructs.\nFindings: Hotel employees' turnover intent decreases when they are motivated by strategies corresponding to their regulatory focus. This study found that hotel employees' promotion focus had a significant positive effect on their task-coping style, whereas prevention focus had a significant negative effect on the emotion- and avoidance-coping style. In addition, employees' task-coping style negatively affected their intent to leave the organization, while their emotion-coping and avoidance-coping styles positively affected turnover intent. Finally, moderating effects were related to tenure in the causal relationships among stress-coping styles and turnover intent. Thus, one can infer that the emotion-coping style has a greater effect on turnover intent in employees with a relatively short tenure than in those with a long tenure.\nPractical implications: This study verified that hotel employees' regulatory focus plays an important role in employee behavior within organizations just as individual characteristics such as personality or values do. Thus, a substantial application plan for employees' regulatory focus was proposed for the organizational dimension. In addition, diverse plans were presented for employees' flexible coping with stress, based on differing turnover intent, depending on employees' stress-coping styles. Through this, a plan for reducing employee turnover intent was pursued.\nOriginality/value: This study associated employees' stress-coping styles, which had been dealt with in the human resources management area, with their regulatory focus and showed that different stress-coping styles might be derived using such regulatory focus; the resulting turnover intent might also be different. The study results can provide a theoretical basis for understanding relationships among regulatory focus, stress-copying styles and turnover intent as such research is relatively lacking. Finally, this study is meaningful in that it applied the regulatory focus theory centered on customer behaviors to employees and verified the moderating effect of employees' tenure between stress-coping styles and turnover intent.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The role of liquidity in asset pricing: the special case of the Portuguese Stock Market
|
[
"Portugal",
"Stock liquidity",
"Asset pricing",
"Commonality",
"G10",
"G11",
"G12"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In recent years, a large part of financial research has been devoted to the study of equity market liquidity. Initial studies focused on the liquidity of individual assets and its impact on returns (Amihud and Mendelson, 1986; Brennan and Subrahmanyam, 1996; Datar et al., 1998; Eleswarapu and Reinganum, 1993). However, recent studies have been based on the analysis of commonality in liquidity (Chordia et al., 2000; Hasbrouck and Seppi, 2001; Huberman and Halka, 2001) and demonstrate that individual liquidity co-moves with aggregate or systematic liquidity. Consequently, another strand of liquidity-related studies has emerged, which focuses on the link between asset returns and liquidity risk (Amihud, 2002; Pastor and Stambaugh, 2003) Acharya and Pedersen (2005). However, these previous studies have focused on the analysis of the US stock market and the evidence for tiny markets as the Portuguese one is limited.\n2. Previous empirical evidence: Studies about liquidity primarily concentrated on analysing the impact of individual assets liquidity on returns (Amihud and Mendelson, 1986; Brennan and Subrahmanyam, 1996; Datar et al., 1998; Eleswarapu and Reinganum, 1993). However, the evidence reported is ambiguous: some authors find a positive relation between asset returns and illiquidity, but others only find such a positive relation in January. The work of Amihud and Mendelson (1986) was one of the first to examine the role of liquidity in asset pricing using the bid - ask spread as a proxy for illiquidity. They document a positive relation between expected return and illiquidity. However, Eleswarapu and Reinganum (1993), who extended the sample period by 10 years, find that the existence of a positive liquidity premium is only limited to January. Brennan and Subrahmanyam (1996) examine the liquidity premium and find a positive return-illiquidity relation even after taking price, size and book to market factors into account in the Fama-French framework. Nevertheless, it is important to note that these authors consider liquidity as a stock characteristic rather than an aggregate risk factor of concern to investors.\n3. Data: In this study, we use monthly and daily data for the period from 2 January 1988 to 31 December 2013, retrieved from Thomson Datastream. The data obtained include the following variables: price, trading volume, market capitalisation and book-to-market ratio.\n4. Asset pricing with liquidity: Previous empirical evidence suggests that there is commonality in illiquidity in Portugal (Miralles-Marcelo et al., 2015). In this sense, as Chordia et al. (2000) argue, commonality in liquidity could represent a source of systematic risk, and in that case the sensitivity of an individual stock to liquidity shocks could induce the market to require a higher average return. Hence, in this section, we analyse the role of liquidity in asset pricing, within the context of CAPM and Acharya and Pedersen (2005) models. Our main goal is to ascertain whether liquidity level and/or liquidity risk is priced in the Portuguese stock market.\n5. Conclusions: In this paper, we examine whether liquidity levels and liquidity risk are priced in the Portuguese stock market. The motivation for our study is provided by the growing interest in stock liquidity that has emerged in literature over recent years and the multiple roles that liquidity could play in asset pricing, as liquidity could represent a desirable stock characteristic and/or a source of systematic risk which is priced with a higher return.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine the role of liquidity in asset pricing in a tiny market, such as the Portuguese. The unique setting of the Lisbon Stock Exchange with regards to changes in classification from an emerging to a developed stock market, allows an original answer to whether changes in the development of the market affect the role of liquidity in asset pricing.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors propose and compare two alternative implications of liquidity in asset pricing: as a desirable characteristic of stocks and as a source of systematic risk. In contrast to prior research for major stock markets, they use the proportion of zero returns which is an appropriated measure of liquidity in tiny markets and propose the separated effects of illiquidity in a capital asset pricing model framework over the whole sample period as well as in two sub-samples, depending on the change in classification of the Portuguese market, from an emerging to a developed one.\nFindings: The overall results of the study show that individual illiquidity affects Portuguese stock returns. However, in contrast to previous evidence from other markets, they show that the most traded stocks (hence the most liquid stocks) exhibit larger returns. In addition, they show that the illiquidity effects on stock returns were higher and more significant in the period from January 1988 to November 1997, during which the Portuguese stock market was still an emerging market.\nResearch limitations/implications: These findings are relevant for investors when they make their investment decisions and for market regulators because they reflect the need of improving the competitiveness of the Portuguese stock market. Additionally, these findings are a challenge for academics because they exhibit the need for providing alternative theories for tiny markets such as the Portuguese one.\nPractical implications: The results have important implications for individual and institutional investors who can take into account the peculiar effect of liquidity in stock returns to make proper investment decision.\nOriginality/value: The Portuguese market provides a natural experimental area to analyse the role of liquidity in asset pricing, because it is a tiny market and during the period studied it changed from an emerging to a developed stock market. Moreover, the authors have to highlight that previous evidence almost exclusively focuses on the US and major European stock markets, whereas studies for the Portuguese one are scarce. In this context, the study provides an alternative methodological approach with results that differ from those theoretically expected. Thus, these findings are a challenge for academics and open a theoretical and a practical debate.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Controversial advertising: transgressing the taboo of gender-based violence
|
[
"Gender",
"Advertising ethics",
"Advertising representations",
"Controversial advertising",
"Sexual violence",
"Taboo advertising"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Within marketing and advertising research, remarkably little work has been done on controversial advertising as a whole (Sabri, 2012), and, importantly for this paper, there has been scant consideration of the societal impact. Variously described as controversial (Erdogan, 2008; Fam et al., 2004) or offensive advertising (Christy, 2006; Christy and Haley, 2008) or \"shockvertising\" (Parry et al., 2013), this strategy has been assessed for its impact on sales and brand perception (Dahl et al., 2009). This managerial focus identifies various factors as relevant: the sensitivity of the product; the inclusion of profanity; and the potential of the medium (location) to cause offense (Barnes and Dotson, 1990; Christy and Haley, 2008; Dahl et al., 2009). Most considerations of offensive advertising concentrate on whether the advertisement is sexually explicit, which is curious because amongst the five controversial issues in advertising (death, suffering, nudity, sex and violence), the most negative consumer views were in reference to violence (Manceau and Tissier-Desbordes, 2006). Age and gender moderate responses to sexually aggressive advertising (Capella et al., 2010; Dahl et al., 2009) showing that such portrayals of women are viewed more negatively by women than by men (LaTour, 1990; Manceau and Tissier-Desbordes, 2006) and that younger adults are more tolerant (Dahl et al., 2009). One of the very few studies in marketing that investigated why women are more offended by controversial advertising found that women's feelings of concern for the negative impact of advertising came from feelings of protection for other women, a need to curb poor influences on behaviour and feelings of responsibility for advertising's negative influence on the social order (Christy, 2006). While some questions have been raised about whether portrayals of violence against women in advertisements have the potential for increasing acceptance of this behaviour (Capella et al., 2010), there is very little work in marketing on the societal impact of advertising in this regard. A key contribution from Schroeder and Borgerson (1998) is a valuable exception, as we show in the next section.\nThe power of images and violence: In contrast to the attention paid to managerial considerations, Schroeder and Borgerson (1998) demonstrate and explicate the relevance of advertising imagery to culture and the constitutive role advertising plays in gender relations, a view that is widely supported in cultural studies (Attwood, 2007; Gill, 2007, 2008; Goldman, 1992; Hatton and Trautner, 2013). As representations of gender relations, advertising can \"confirm stereotypes about gender roles and the relations of power\" (Schroeder and Borgerson, 1998, p. 75), and, through the nonverbal cues of images, advertisements can also carry deeper symbolic messages. Drawing on art theory and criticism, a feminist oeuvre and Goffman's seminal work on gender representations in advertisements, they present an interpretive method for analysing visual images that acknowledge the discursive power of images to shape understanding. Schroeder and Borgerson (1998) establish the insightfulness of interpretive visual analysis techniques through a consideration of a series of advertisements that show increasing levels of violence in a \"mock assault\" (Schroeder and Borgerson, 1998, p. 175). A \"mock assault\" suggests male aggression towards women can be playful because despite the portrayal of violence, the woman shows no fear but rather has a blank expression. However, the woman's apparent lack of fear betrays a deeper symbolic level of men's power to do as they please with women, implying that male violence towards women is not only normal but also linked to masculine expressions of passion (Schroeder and Borgerson, 1998, p. 187). The ambiguity shown in this analysis resonates with our upcoming commentary on the fluidity of social taboos. On the one hand, violence against women is often presented as taboo - for example in a war - but on the other hand, men can be overcome with passionate intent which excuses such transgressions.\nViolent advertising and taboo transgression: The term taboo describes a forbidden thing, act or contact dangerous to the doer and his or her group (McClenon, 1998). Distinct from social norms, a taboo not only forbids behaviour and practices but also thinking or considering such behaviour (Fershtman et al., 2011). In advertising, exploiting taboo themes is widespread (Simoes and Freitas, 2008). Taboo execution in advertisements represents the use of images, words or settings that evoke a socially prohibited behavioural or verbal act (i.e. suicide, murder, dead bodies or sexually deviant practices) unrelated to the product or the brand (Sabri and Obermiller, 2012; Simoes and Freitas, 2008; Manceau and Tissier-Desbordes, 2006). Whilst current research offers valuable insights into the effectiveness of taboo representations in advertisements on consumer perception, recall and purchase intentions (Sabri and Obermiller, 2012; Sabri, 2012), these studies tend to overlook the macro functions of taboo in society (Harris, 1993) and the troublesome consequences of taboo transgressions for society (Douglas, 1984; Lambek, 1992).\nMethodology: To investigate taboo transgression in advertising campaigns in relation to the present tabooisation of violence against women, our research study encompassed two stages. First, advertisements using violent imagery of women (see Appendix) were analysed through various critical visual analysis techniques (Schroeder, 2006). Second, a critical discourse analysis (Fairclough and Wodak, 1997) was conducted on the justifications provided by the client organisations in response to the public outrage generated by the campaigns. This two-staged analysis facilitated an understanding of the gendered subjectivities in violent advertisements in addition to the power relations that arise from the pollution and disorder such advertisements can create.\nSubject positions offered to women in violent advertising representations: From our visual analysis, three subject positions were identified for women in the advertisements - The Tease, The Piece of Meat and The Conquered. These subject positions offer insights into how transgressions against the taboo of gender-based violence are enacted and the repercussions of this for gendered subjectivities.\nDiscursive strategies to justify violent advertising representations: Invariably, we see a similar pattern emerge with \"shockvertisements\". A provocative advertisement is released; public outcry and controversy ensues; the client organisation is given widely distributed free press; complaints are made about the advertisement, which may result in the advertisement being pulled; and finally the client releases a statement in response to the debate. In analysing the statements provided by the client organisations for the advertisements analysed, three discursive strategies - subverting interpretations, making authority claims and denying responsibility - were identified that aimed to reproduce the dominance of the clients/advertisers and persuasively defend the taboo transgressions.\nConcluding discussion: Our paper has identified the ubiquitous and varied representations of violence against women in advertisements and three discursive strategies utilised by industry to defend their use. To slot women into these hyper-visible subject positions yet invoke discursive \"excuses\" highlights how advertisers both convey societal messages but avoid conveying them at the same time. Yet, in negotiating this tightrope, important societal implications arise, namely, that such transgressions dangerously perturb the taboos that articulate how we understand women and their right to be portrayed in manner that respects their safety. Moreover, the development of non-violent gendered subjectivities in society is highly undermined. Advertising which transgresses the taboo of violence against women introduces disorder, pollution and contagion to gender politics. This is highlighted when considering advertisements as performative speech acts (Austin, 1962). Utilising Butler's (1990) concept of performativity, advertisements through their reiterative and repeated presence in society can have the power to produce what it shows or names. The repeated and widespread use of violent representations of women in advertisements can thus re-state ideas about gendered subjects and, as a result of accumulated repetitions, can produce or \"fabricate\" certain gender identities and subjectivities that eventually become standard and seen as \"natural\". In this instance, we see women constructed as sexualised teases to be controlled and conquered. When these representations are questioned, advertisers and their clients turn the focus on those offended by the advertisements and downplay their own role in their construction. A key theme across these strategies is to draw upon the ambiguous interpretation of such representations as possibly an affirmation of women's sexuality as opposed to a degrading representation of women (McNair 2002; Gill, 2008). Should one feel empowered or shocked by such representations? If one is shocked, are they not \"progressive\" or ignorant in some way? Given the fluid and constructed nature of taboos, this not only contributes to the weakening of the taboo of violence against women but moreover creates polluting uncertainties about existing gender codes in society. By undermining important progress that has been made in moving away from gender binaries (Butler, 1990), advertising is playing an ongoing and increasingly problematic role in broader gender societal relations - bringing gender into existence through recurring traditional portrayals of women in heterosexual and submissive ways that reinforce stereotypical gender norms. Consequently, we contend that greater scrutiny of the process of generating advertisements is needed. It behoves us to ask the question - to what extent are advertising agencies accountable and responsible for the construction and reinforcement of normalising women as the \"other\"? And how might they critically engage with the practice of producing controversial advertisements that transgress taboo boundaries for shock value?\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: To date, the cultural and societal effects of controversial advertising have been insufficiently considered. This study aims to investigate how advertising that uses violent representations of women transgresses the taboo of gender-based violence.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study encompasses a visual analysis of the subject positions of women in five violent advertising representations and a critical discourse analysis of the defensive statements provided by the client organisations subsequent to the public outrage generated by the campaigns.\nFindings: The authors identify taboo transgression in the Tease, Piece of Meat and Conquered subject positions, wherein women are represented as suggestive, dehumanised and submissive. Client organisations seek to defend these taboo transgressions through the use of three discursive strategies - subverting interpretations, making authority claims and denying responsibility - which legitimise the control of the organisations but simultaneously work to obscure the power relations at play.\nPractical implications: The representational authority that advertisers hold as cultural intermediaries in society highlights the need for greater consideration of the ethical responsibilities in producing controversial advertisements, especially those which undermine the status of women.\nSocial implications: Controversial advertising that transgresses the taboo of violence against women reinforces gender norms and promotes ambiguous and adverse understandings of women's subjectivities by introducing pollution and disorder to gender politics.\nOriginality/value: This paper critically assesses the societal implications of controversial advertising practices, thus moving away from the extant focus on managerial implications. Through a conceptualisation of controversial advertising as transgressing taboo boundaries, the authors highlight how advertising plays an important role in shifting these boundaries whereby taboos come to be understood as generative and evolving. However, this carries moral implications which may have damaging societal effects.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
An exploratory and comparative assessment of the governance arrangements of universities in Ghana
|
[
"Governance",
"Higher education",
"Tertiary education",
"Ghana"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction and problem statement: Organisations exist primarily for their own survival and improvement, to fulfil their own potential and to become as great as they can be (de Geus, 1997). However, in recent times, institutional governance has attracted significant attention, fuelled by numerous high-profile corporate failures and scandals across the globe; Enron, WorldCom, Societe Generale, Arthur Andersen, Tyco, etc. In the educational sector, especially in universities, for more than a decade, governance issues have been raised in several Commonwealth Government Reports, particularly, about the size and composition of university governing bodies as well as their roles and responsibilities (ANAO, 1999).Ghana, the first British colony to gain independence in 1957, has a long history of university education dating back to the 1940s with the establishment of its premier public university, the University of Ghana in 1948 and then later, other public universities. A recent development in Ghana's university history is the establishment of private universities. As at June 2006, there were 14 private universities and five public universities (National Accreditation Board (NAB), 2006).Governance has consequently become crucial in Ghanaian higher educational institutions following this upsurge in the number of universities, especially private, in recent years. This upsurge has been caused by: increased demand for tertiary education resulting from high population growth; and expanded enrolment at basic and secondary levels, which far exceeds the capacity of the public universities. The National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) estimated that enrolment in universities increased by 436 per cent from 11,867 in 1991/1992 to 63,576 in 2003/2004 academic year. From 1996/1997 to 2003/2004, the percentage of applicants admitted into the universities in Ghana ranged from 25 per cent to 40 percent. It shows that a large majority of qualified applicants are turned down (Effah, 2004).To ameliorate this situation, private participation in the delivery of tertiary education was invited following educational reforms in the late 1980s and the establishment of the NAB and the NCTE in 1993 (Effah and Mensa-Bonsu, 2001). Since private universities are also expected to deliver quality education for the human resource development of Ghana, there is no doubt that the governance systems that these universities apply to their work is crucial to meeting these expectations. Although various structures have been put in place by the Ghanaian government and other stakeholders to ensure their effective functioning, there is the need to understand how these universities are structured and governed so that appropriate suggestions for their improvement can be proposed.As Cutting and Kouzmin (2001) note, one of the prime determinants of whether an organisation will survive, prosper and fulfil its inherent potential, is the quality and adaptability of governance that it is able to exert on its being, its development and its processes of achievement. University governance has been a subject of periodic attention and review in developed countries; in Australia, the federal government argued in a policy statement that universities needed to be run in a more businesslike fashion and that, current arrangements are anachronistic and not conducive to sound decision making (Coaldrake et al., 2003). Obviously, if countries with many world-class universities still look at the governance arrangements of their universities, then a developing nation like Ghana can ill afford not to examine how its universities are being governed.In spite of the importance of organisational governance in the success of an organisation, little is known about how Ghanaian private universities are being governed. A cursory search through literature indicates that there is some information on governance in Ghanaian public universities (Daniels, 1996; and Effah and Mensa-Bonsu, 2001), and a host of publications by the NCTE, but nothing has been found regarding private universities in Ghana. Since Ghanaian private universities have become a formidable force in university education in the country, it is important to know how they are governed. It is against this backdrop that this study has been undertaken to unravel the issues regarding university governance in Ghana both in the private and public sector.\nObjectives of the study: The study seeks to compare and examine the organisational and governance structures of Ghanaian public and private universities and the extent to which their efficiency and effectiveness is facilitated.Specifically, the study sought to achieve the following objectives:* Explore and compare the models of governance employed by private and public universities.* Examine and compare the structure and nature of decision-making in the public and private universities and the extent of their effectiveness.* Establish how work of various units/departments and committees of the public and private universities are coordinated and their effectiveness.* Ascertain whether checks and balances for effective governance exist in Ghanaian private and public universities.\nHypotheses: The study also aimed at verifying the following propositional statements:* Ghanaian private universities would be more likely to follow the managerial (or business) model of governance than public universities.* Decision-making structures would be more flexible in private universities than public.* Checks and balances would be more effective in Ghanaian public universities than private.\nSignificance of the study: This study will help bridge the information gap on governance in private universities thereby providing policy makers and other stakeholders of both private and public universities in Ghana with the right information for appropriate policies and actions to be taken. Additionally, it will inform the universities about the state of their governance arrangements and whether any improvements are required. It would also provide valuable information and input for those desirous of establishing new universities.\nLiterature review: Governance as a concept has several meanings. Cutting and Kouzmin (2001) suggested the following generic notions (leaving aside the specific modes):* Governance is applicable at each level of the individual, the group, organization or company, society or nation.* It has to do with the rule, management, regulation, direction, control or leadership of the affairs or participants of such units.* It is a system, pattern or structure of participants in such a way that they are a distinctive unit with some notion of a shared purpose.* It is an acknowledgement of the autonomy and roles played by the individual participants or elements.From the organisations' perspective, corporate governance (CG) is concerned with how entities are structured and managed in such a way as to lead to effective performance in achieving desired outcomes and satisfaction of stakeholders (Edwards, 2003). Historically, two major models of CG have received immense attention; the Anglo-American or agency approach and the stakeholder approach (Wikipedia, 2006). The agency approach depicts a structure in which shareholders elect the board of directors to make major decisions affecting the company and set its direction and strategy. The board in turn appoints company officers, most notably the Chief Executive Officer, who heads the corporation's management, and the Chief Financial Officer, responsible for the company's accounts and financial reporting, to carry out the company's objectives. Embeded in this is the transactional cost of checks and balances due to lack of trust among these parties.The stakeholder model (also described as the pluralist or communitarian approach, Bhasa, 2004) on the other hand postulates that the CG structure involves multiple actors referred to as stakeholders who affect the performance of the organisation. These stakeholders include suppliers, employees, creditors, customers, volunteers and the community at large. The stakeholders articulate their interests; influence how decisions are made, who the decision-makers are and what decisions are taken. Decision-makers must, thus, absorb this input into the decision-making process and also be accountable to those same stakeholders for the organisation's output and the process of producing it.One of the key issues in the structure of the organisation is how to coordinate or integrate different activities. Mintzberg's (1991), structural configuration model postulates that any collection of people that is faced with accomplishing some complex task faces two issues: how to \"divide up the labour\", and how to \"coordinate\" their efforts. As regards coordination, he suggested three mechanisms: mutual adjustment, direct supervision, and standardization (of which there are three types: of work processes, of work outputs, and of worker skills). In explaining how these coordinating mechanisms fit into organisational tasks, Mintzberg (1991) stated that simple tasks are easily coordinated by mutual adjustment. As organisational work becomes more complicated, direct supervision tends to be added and takes over as the primary means of coordination. When things get even more complicated, standardisation of work processes (or, to a lesser extent, of outputs, or of skills) takes over as primary, but in combination with the other two. Then when things become really complicated, mutual adjustment tends to become primary again, but in combination with the others.University governance\nMethodology: An exploratory and comparative methodological approach was used for the study. Saunders et al. (1997) identified a number of research strategies involving experiments, survey, case study, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, noting that in spite of the differences that may exist among these strategies, there is no definite rule for one in selecting one method over another. Indeed, the choice varies according to the nature and any other constraints affecting the collection of the data.The exploratory approach was used because of the seeming dearth of knowledge about the governance arrangements of private Ghanaian universities. The comparative approach was used because the study sought to compare two types of organizations (universities) in a systematic way (Jankowicz, 1995); whilst the survey method was used because it draws most of its data from the present, i.e. within the period when the study is conducted (Jankowicz, 1995).Sampling\nData analysis and results: Questionnaire responses were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive instruments used were measures of central tendencies as well as percentages. The chi-square was the inferential statistical instrument used. It was employed to test for significant differences between two groups using data, which were on a nominal scale.\nDiscussion of empirical findings: Models of governance used by Ghanaian universities\nConclusions: Based on the foregoing, the following conclusions may be drawn from the study:* Both private and public Ghanaian universities have features of stakeholder, business, and trusteeship Models. Though private universities were slightly tilted towards the business model and public ones skewed to the stakeholder model, the difference is not very significant, showing that both types of university have some way to go to meeting the worldwide shift from \"collegial governance\" to \"managerialism\" (Cutting and Kouzmin, 2001; Young, 2004).* Nature and structure of decision making in both types of university were similar; both following a bicameral decision-making system, employing the Governing Council and Academic Board. Decision-making structures are equally effective in both types of university but it is more flexible in the private than public, seemingly contrary to Marginson and Considine's (2000) opinion that the traditional model practiced by public universities hinders effective governance and management.* Mintzberg's (1991) coordinating mechanisms are all used in coordinating the activities of units/departments and committees of both types of institution but those predominantly used are supervision by higher bodies and meetings.* Checks and balances are instituted to ensure appropriate use of authority in both types of university, including hierarchy of authority, periodic audits, statutes, counter-signatories to cheques and other documents, external evaluation and rights of appeal. Though effective they seem to be more so in private than public universities.* Overall, the degree to which governing structures have facilitated efficient execution of work of the universities studied is just a little above average for private and close to average for public universities, an indication that more work needs to be done.\nRecommendations and further research: The study recommends the infusion of the positive features of each of the models into the other's governance systems; the adoption of best practice approaches to governance in all universities, especially the OECD principles; recruitment of technocrats and professionals into university governance; and continuous training in governance for university council members.Future research might expand the sample size to test the initial perspectives gained from this present study as well as investigate differences between governance arrangements of faith based and non-faith based private universities in Ghana.\n",
"role": "user"
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{
"content": "Purpose: - Institutional governance has recently attracted significant attention, fuelled by increasing numbers of global high-profile corporate failures and scandals. In many countries issues have been raised about university governance. In Ghana, university governance has become crucial following the upsurge of private universities in recent years arising out of: increased demand for tertiary education resulting from high population growth; and expanded enrolment at basic and secondary levels, which have far exceeded the capacity of existing institutions. This study aims to explore and assess the governance arrangements of private and public universities in Ghana.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select three private and two public universities. An exploratory and comparative approach was used to examine the governance arrangements of private and public universities in Ghana.\nFindings: - Both private and public universities in Ghana follow the \"traditional\", \"business\", and \"trusteeship\" models of university governance, although in different proportions. Additionally, both types of institutions follow the bicameral system of decision making.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Only five of 19 universities in Ghana were sampled. Future research might expand the sample size to test and validate the initial perspectives from this study and also investigate differences between governance arrangements of faith based and non-faith based private universities.\nOriginality/value: - The paper reports the findings of the first nation-wide investigation into governance arrangements of Ghanaian universities. It will interest policy makers, university authorities, and other stakeholders in the higher educational sector.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Knowledge risk management: a framework
|
[
"Knowledge management",
"Risk management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: In recent years, corporate disasters, such as the collapse of Enron, have heightened the need for effective corporate governance, while catastrophic natural disasters, such as the tsunami of 2004, and man-made tragedies, such as the September 11 terrorist attacks, have increased awareness of risk and its consequences (see Otterson, 2005; Liesch et al., 2006). A recent survey found that 81 percent of organisations feel they are vulnerable to a serious operational incident (Taub, 2002). The consequences of poor risk management - such as financial loss, safety violations, unethical behavior - are significant. Researchers have found that inadequate government regulation, poor internal controls, and misalignment of firm incentives are to blame (Marshall et al., 1996). It is increasingly common for senior executives, held to account for corporate disasters, to plead ignorance (Neef, 2005). However, large institutional investors, which own 75 percent of the world's publicly listed companies' shareholdings, are no longer willing to accept that executives do not know what is going on in their organization (Emblemsvag and Kjolstad, 2002). Knowledge informs decision makers and improves the manageability of risk (Verhaegen, 2005).\nLiterature review: Risk management theory\nMethods and data: Method\nAnalysis: The analysis section has three purposes: first, to present the way the RAN manages technical risk using conventional decision tree methods; second, to develop an alternative method based on knowledge management constructs; and third, to test the method on EngServ respondents.Decision tree method\nConceptual development: This research aimed to examine the validity of decision tree methods for managing organisational risk; and to develop an alternative risk management method derived from knowledge management constructs. Previous research has argued that traditional methods are ineffective (Fischhoff et al., 1984). Our aim was to understand more about why decision tree methods do not work, and to use this knowledge to develop an alternative method. Our alternative is grounded in an emerging field of research, knowledge risk management (KRM), which uses knowledge management constructs to help differentiate the nature of organisational risk and prioritise for action. Our conceptual model aimed to improve upon existing decision tree methods by addressing cognitive constraints. The knowledge management literature provides three constructs we can use in the development of our conceptual model: individual, knowledge, and organizational characteristics.Individual characteristics\nResearch findings: The research findings are presented in the following way. First, we calculate a risk score for each EngServ activity based on traditional decision tree methods (Step 1 in Figure 6). This analysis reveals a \"clustering\" effect, which exposes the weaknesses of the RAN's existing approach to risk management. Second, we calculate a knowledge score for each EngServ activity based on aggregating scores for three KRM constructs: individual characteristics, knowledge characteristics, and organisational characteristics (Step 2 in Figure 6). Third, the risk score and the knowledge score are combined using a two dimensional matrix to derive an overall risk response score (Step 3 in Figure 6). This is used to prioritise risks in terms of their urgency. The results illustrate managers' cognitive processes when evaluating risk. In doing so, the case study discussion exposes the weaknesses in traditional decision tree methods (Step 1). It also demonstrates the power of the conceptual model by identifying the objective criteria necessary to prioritise risks for action.\nThe risk score: Activity importance\nThe knowledge score: The second step in the conceptual model presented in this paper was to derive a knowledge score (see Figure 6). Respondents were asked to assess the risks associated with the knowledge necessary to manage the main risk factors for each of EngServ's activities (see Tables V and VI) using the guidelines explained in the earlier section: Conceptual Development (see Figures 3, 4 and 5). In this way, each Risk Factor was allocated three scores between 1 and 25. We calculated the mean to derive an overall knowledge score. The results are summarised in Table IV.\nDiscussion: The discussion of the research findings is presented in three sections: the value of the conceptual model, the implications for managers or practitioners, and the research contribution for academics.The value of the conceptual model\nConclusions: The paper had two objectives. The first was to examine the effectiveness of conventional decision tree methods for managing organizational risk. The second was to develop an alternative model based on knowledge management constructs. The Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) Technical Regulatory System (TRS) follows a traditional decision tree approach to managing risk. The research findings showed that the TRS has addressed a main criticism of decision tree methods, individuals' cognitive constraints, by connecting risk levels (see Figures 1 and 2) with competency levels and positions (Table III). This ensured only suitably qualified staff (CAs) made decisions necessary to manage the RAN's risk. The process of delegated authority was effective because it fixed risk levels with competency levels. However, the RAN's risk management approach had two fundamental weaknesses. The first was related to environmental complexity, which was manifested at the RAN by the sheer volume of technical decisions required to manage organizational risk. This created a need for a model which helps manager's priorities risk factors for action. The second weakness was cognitive bias inherent in individual perception of the importance of the risk activity. EngServ respondents tended to have higher risk ratings for core as opposed to non-core activities, which suggests they are thinking about the consequences of the activity not being done, rather than the risk factor itself.This paper has argued that the inclusion of knowledge management constructs would offer managers deeper insight into the real nature of organizational risk. The knowledge score was offered as a better alternative than the risk score because it better differentiates amongst the risk factors. This would address the cognitive constraints posed by conventional methods by reducing the clustering effect and offering more objectivity. This would be particularly helpful in high volume decision environments where individuals need to prioritise risk for action. This might also help reduce environmental complexity by clarifying risks that matter. It also fits nicely with more contemporary risk management theories and complexity theory by changing the boundaries from the risk event to the knowledge necessary to manage the risk event (see Midgley, 2008), and by expanding the social setting to include experts on the impact across the organization (see Seidl, 2007). In this way the KRM model presented in this paper provides a context for social dialogue amongst experts which takes them away from the cognitive bias of the risk event itself, and introduces a more objective assessment of the organizational-wide issues.Knowledge risk management (KRM) appears to be a promising area for empirical research. It sits at the intersection of two exciting fields - risk management and knowledge - and has practical utility for managers and practitioners. The conceptual model presented in this paper (see Figure 6) uses knowledge management (KM) constructs to differentiate risks. Previous research on this topic argues that knowledge makes risk 'learnable' by moving decision makers from the unknown to the known; while knowledge management mobilizes the knowledge and expertise of employees (cited in Neef, 2005), by transferring knowledge to decision makers, improving knowledge accessibility, embedding knowledge in controls and processes, and generating new knowledge (cited in Marshall et al., 1996). Our contribution to KRM is to use three KM constructs - individual, knowledge, and organizational characteristics - to identify a deeper level of insight about the nature of risk then is provided by conventional decision tree methods. This insight allows us to address both of the main weaknesses illustrated by the RAN's risk management approach. This paper is an exercise in theory development which, naturally, should be followed by further research in theory testing to empirically validate the model presented.\n",
"role": "user"
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{
"content": "Purpose: - There has been increased interest in application of knowledge management (KM) in managerial issues as a way of demonstrating the field's value. There has also been an increasing focus on risk management (RM) in response to growing organisational awareness of corporate and social responsibilities. This paper seeks to contribute to the emergence of a new field of research - referred to as knowledge risk management (KRM), which applies KM tools and techniques to the management of organisational risk.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The approach takes the form of building on an empirical study of the Australian Department of Defence using case study methods.\nFindings: - The paper examines how conventional approaches to risk management based on decision tree methods are ineffective, and proposes and tests an alternative KRM model.\nResearch limitations/implications: - A limitation is that the paper is based on a single case study.\nOriginality/value: - The model provides managers with a way to differentiate amongst risks and prioritise for action. Its main value is to reduce the cognitive bias inherent in traditional decision methods for risk assessment. The KRM model improves the accuracy of risk assessment by reducing subjectivity caused by cognitive bias.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Factors influencing financial performance of small hotels in Tanzania
|
[
"Hotels",
"Small enterprises",
"Tanzania",
"Profit"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Many nations in sub-Saharan Africa are identifying the development of hospitality industries as an important source of economic diversification. As a consequence, the analysis of hotel and restaurant businesses in these nations is becoming a significant research issue. For instance, the contribution of aggregate tourism activity in Tanzania is as much as 5.5-8 percent of national gross domestic product (GDP) (MIGA, 2002). Recent estimates suggest that small hotels and restaurants add over 70 percent of these contributions, they also provide employment opportunities in these otherwise high unemployment rate nations, and are a critical source of entrepreneurial activity (Sharma, 2004). While Tanzanian government has promoted foreign direct investment (FDI), systematic policy support for small businesses is still lacking. As a consequence, small hotels may be facing obstacles that are influencing their performance.Given the importance of small businesses in the nascent stages of a nation's development, especially in rural regions, it is critical that firm level dynamics are better understood to guide management decision and policy formulation. The purpose of this paper is to inquire about the factors that are influencing performance of small hotels in Tanzania. The paper contributes towards improving the understanding of small hotel performance in sub-Saharan African nations.\nLiterature review: As stated earlier, small businesses represent up to 70 percent of hotel and restaurant industries. In developing nations, these numbers could be higher (Christie and Crompton, 2002). Yet, there is a paucity of systematic research to improve our understanding small hotels' operational dynamics (Buick, 2003). Small business and entrepreneurship perspectives from manufacturing and other industries suggest that financial performance of these businesses is strongly influenced by the markets in which they operate; entrepreneur's objectives and characteristics; and their management practices (Cragg and King, 1998). Similar model for analyzing small hotels revealed that owners employed business oriented strategies to optimize performance and that these strategies were in close association to their individual backgrounds (Glancey and Pettigrew, 1997). Other studies that have evaluated small hotels and restaurants suggest that profitability is sensitive to revenues, pricing policies, and the level of investments in fixed assets (Kaufman et al., 1996; Poorani and Smith, 1995). Operators' previous experience, marketing resources, and capital structure mix are some of the factors found to influence performance of these businesses, including the skills and educational levels of operators and employees (Romer, 1986, 1990). Even though on-the-job training is largely prevalent in hotels and restaurants, there is inconclusive evidence to suggest that such efforts yield successful results (Worsfold and Griffith, 2003; Zhang et al., 2002). While policy and institutional framework is considered to be a mediating factor influencing performance, there is no clear indication from previous literature on how this impacts performance of small hotels and restaurants in developing nations. While these studies provide an overview of small hotel research in the developed nations, the study of small hotels in developing countries is in its nascent stages. This lack of research is surprising due to the growing importance of these businesses in contributing to economic diversification in these nations. Given that a government's resource allocation decision towards an economic activity is based on the ability of this activity to contribute toward national economic development, it is crucial that small business performance dynamics are better understood in these developing nations (Ruggles, 1999).In economic theory, Schumpeter (1942) emphasized the significant role that small businesses play in fueling a capitalistic and free market economy. A recent study conducted by the World Bank, Doing Business in 2004, also emphasizes the role of small and locally owned businesses in economic development of a nation, especially in developing countries (World Bank, 2004a). Other studies have identified small business policies to be most effective for reducing regional economic disparities (Petrakos, 1996). Even though most economies are dominated by small businesses, researchers agree that there is an evident lack of understanding at both empirical and theoretical level of the process by which human, financial, and technical capital is accumulated in these businesses (Regnier, 1998).Significant to hospitality organizations' performance are the influence of immediate and distant environments and various dimensions of these environmental forces (Olsen et al., 1998). The concept of environment includes forces and factors external to organization's boundaries. Given the important role of entrepreneurship in small business development, prior research suggests that external environments can be hostile to these businesses in developing countries (Smallbone and Welter, 2001). For example, the scarcity of resources, informal networks, lack of capital, and overall pace of market reforms in these economies can constraint entrepreneurial activity. Fogel and Zapalska (2001) emphasize macro-economic policies and procedures as another dimension of the external environment important for small business development. For example, evidence suggests that fixed capital formation in small businesses is a function of external financial resources, especially when free cash flows are not a stable source of internal funding (Gilchrist and Himmelberg, 1995; Kadapakkam et al., 1998). Therefore, if financial markets are weak, it could impact the ability of these small firms to form productive capital. In context of these issues, evidence suggests that countries with minimum legal and institutional barriers are likely to have a better functioning and developed private sector that would allow opportunities and a stronger likelihood of business start-ups.Based on the existing gaps in our understanding of small hotel performance in developing nations, the research questions posed by this study are as follows:1. What are the factors that influence profitability and performance of small hotels in Tanzania (and other sub-Saharan nations)?2. What are the implications for industry, policy formulators, and researchers?The study represents an ongoing effort of researchers and international development organizations to improve the understanding of hospitality business dynamics in Tanzania and other southern African nations. Given that most sub-Saharan countries are in a similar phase of development as Tanzania, findings from this study could be applied to future investigation elsewhere in that region.\nMethodology: This study used a questionnaire to gather data through a face-to-face structured survey approach. This data gathering strategy was deemed essential due to a complete lack of statistics on the hotel industry's financial and operational aspects. Due to the high costs of structured surveys, this study selected Arusha, which is the northern region of the country. Arusha is considered the most important region for Tanzania's hospitality and tourism industry as it attracts many international and domestic tourists that visit Tanzania's national parks. Given that there is no clear agreement on the definition of small hotels, this study defined small hotels as those with less than or equal to 50 commercially rentable rooms. The study considered a total of 53 small hotels in Arusha region. Of the 53 hotels, only 25 were considered to be operating in the \"formal economy\". From these 25 small hotels 18 agreed to participate in this survey, representing a response rate of approximately 72 percent. The surveys were conducted with owners and/or senior business managers. The questionnaire for the hotel survey was developed using the World Bank's Regional Enterprise Program Development (REPD) study guidelines (World Bank, 2004b). The RPED studies have been conducting studies of small enterprises in developing countries and therefore this methodology for assessing the operational aspects for small hotels was considered appropriate. This approach is also consistent with the survey used by the OECD for their sector analysis (OECD, 2000) The data were analyzed using non-parametric statistics because the purpose of the study is to identify key factors that could be influencing the operational performance of small businesses. The accounting data from hotel survey responses was organized into income statements using mean-performance and median performance estimates of business revenues, operating costs, and investment and financing activities, to calculate financial ratio analysis. If outliers and small sample sizes are likely to bias mean-performance measures, it is usually acceptable to use median-performances as estimates. Given the likelihood of outliers and a relatively small sample size of this study, median-performance estimates have been used throughout the analysis. To control for observation bias, a single researcher conducted face-to-face surveys. It was clearly declared to the respondents that the purpose of this study was purely for research, and not representing any interests of government or any other non-government agency.The respondents were also assured that their individual responses will remain confidential and only accessible to the researcher. This also helped control for any response biases. In addition to hotels, four commercial banks were also surveyed to understand the financial and investment climate for small businesses. These four banks represented the total population of commercial banks accessible to small hotels in Arusha. The surveys were conducted with small business relations executives or the general manager of the bank. Due to the small sample size format of these surveys were unstructured with the purpose of exploring bankers' opinions of small hotels, and financing that these banks provide to small hotels.\nFindings: The average capacity of hotels that responded to this survey was 20 rooms (Table I). The average price of a hotel room was $34 in high season and $25 in low season. The average food and beverage checks were $3 and $1, respectively. Room occupancy in these hotels was 75 percent (high season) and 35 percent (low season). High season days over a calendar year were calculated at approximately 227 and the remaining 137 were relatively low season. Ownership structure of the businesses was skewed towards sole-proprietorships that represented 59 percent of the total surveyed businesses. Of the remaining, 23 percent were partnerships and 18 percent were privately held companies. The average operating age of these businesses was three years. Clientele of these businesses was 46 percent from foreign travelers and the remaining 54 percent from regional and local travelers.Operations and technology\nConclusions: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that are influencing financial performance of small hotels. As it appears, the factors that are influencing financial performance of small hotels in Tanzania are diverse and include both that are internal and external to these businesses. They range from micro level factors of operational inefficiencies - due to employee training, investments in equipment, availability of financing options - to macro level issues such at institutional environment and product service standardization system. Small business activity in sub-Sahara nations such as Tanzania is an integral part of the economic growth and development process. Therefore ensuring that such businesses prosper and stay competitive is crucial to supporting grassroots development. Another critical reason for these businesses to succeed is that predominantly local investors own and manage small hotels that are largely located in rural regions of the nation.Previous understanding of small hotel performance is largely based on the perceptions of research on larger and chain properties. Resources such as capital, labor, technology, and market power that these two types of operations have are or can be significantly different, and can also be a function of location. Given that small businesses are an integral part of the process of economic development, it remains to be investigated how small hotels compete in developing and developed nations. This investigation raises the issue that even though factors related to small hotel performance may appear to be similar to those faced by larger and chain properties, their underlying dynamics remain unclear. This is especially true for countries where government policies are not entirely investor-friendly, and resources available to private investors are particularly limited. To complicate matters, there is limited or no reliable information on such businesses.Yet, these businesses are important for economic development of the nation, particularly because they are owned by local entrepreneurs. Opening these lines of investigations in future studies is one of the more significant contributions of this paper.Certain challenges experienced in this project can also provide guidance to future research endeavors. Some of these are as follows:* Find innovative ways to increase the response and participation rate of small hospitality businesses in the survey process.* Increase regional coverage of Tanzania and extend future project to other sub-Sahara African nations.* Most importantly, begin to develop time-series observations of quantifiable indexes that would allow the development of causal econometric models.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper was to investigate the factors influencing financial performance of small hotels, particularly in developing countries like Tanzania.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This investigation used financial ratio analysis on business performance data collected from small hotels in Tanzania through face-to-face interviews. Currently there is no existing data on such aspects of the hotel industry in Tanzania. As a consequence, Arusha region was selected as the sample for this study due to a significant amount of hospitality industry activity in this area.\nFindings: - Findings of this investigation suggest that operating factors in small hotels such as inefficiencies due to lack of employee training, low investments in fixed assets and technology may be equally responsible for low profitability as are government policies that ignore appropriate emphasis on ensuring safety and security, and quick processing of licenses and permits.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Even though this is one of the few studies that has investigated the profitability of small hotels in a developing country, its findings are based on the analysis of one (even though a prominent) tourist area of East Africa.\nPractical implications: - Nevertheless, findings provide preliminary evidence for professionals and policy makers to critically evaluate factors that would ensure profitability of small hotels in countries such as Tanzania.\nOriginality/value: - As this paper highlights, this is critical because such businesses are locally owned and may truly and positively influence economic development.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The relationship between urbanization and economic growth: An empirical study on ASEAN countries
|
[
"ASEAN",
"Urbanization",
"Economic growth",
"Driscoll and Kraay",
"Granger",
"D-GMM",
"PMG"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Throughout mankind's history, urbanization has been a key factor in the development process (Bairoch, 1988). Arguably, the two processes are interdependent, i.e. development cannot take place without urbanization and vice versa. However, the causal relationship between these two processes is not clear (Jacobs, 1969). Urbanization is not only the result but also a cause of the economic development (Gallup et al., 1999). In conjunction with the economic development, the proportion of the urban population in the world increased from 30 percent in 1950 to around 50 percent in 2010 (United Nations, 2007).\n2. Literature review: Urbanization is a global trend that is ongoing with different speeds in different continents. The speed and level of urbanization vary with the geographic region, level of development and size of the country. The big cities face many environmental and ecological problems associated with the urbanization, including poor-quality housing (slums), pollution, crime and overload (a typical problem is traffic). At the same time, urbanization provides tremendous opportunities for the economic and institutional innovation and cultural development. According to Bloom et al. (2010), a city is \"a place has greater concentration of population, or is more important than a town or a village.\" For statistical purpose, the three concepts that are often used to identify areas and urban complexes are as follows: city area, urban agglomeration and metropolitan area.\n3. Methodology and study data: 3.1 Research model\n4. Analysis of research results: 4.1 Urbanization at ASEAN countries in the period 1993-2014\n5. Conclusion and policy applications: This study examined the relationship between urbanization and economic growth. The techniques and methods used in this study are as follows: econometric technique used is Granger causality test; the estimation methods with static panel data regression used are FE, RE, Driscoll and Kraay; and the methods used for estimating dynamic panel data regression are D-GMM and PMG. Some conclusions drawn from the results of this study are as follows.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between urbanization and economic growth in ASEAN countries for the period 1993-2014.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The Granger causality test and the regression estimation method with static and dynamic panel data (FE, RE, Driscoll and Kraay, D-GMM and PMG) were used. The sample includes seven ASEAN countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.\nFindings: The results show that at least a causal relationship exists between urbanization and economic growth and urbanization positively impacts economic growth. However, the relationship between urbanization and economic growth is non-linear. The urbanization reaches a threshold after which it may impede the economic growth. The estimated threshold is 69.99 percent for the static model and 67.94 percent for the dynamic model.\nResearch limitations/implications: The evidence from this study suggests that there is a non-linear relationship between urbanization and the economic growth. Urbanization has the potential to accelerate the economic growth, and this potential will depend on the establishment of favorable institutions and investments in appropriate public infrastructure.\nPractical implications: The decision on the model of urbanization needs to be based on social and environmental considerations as well as market-based economic efficiency. The quality of urbanization manifests in the way that people and businesses perceive when they come to cities and their position in the labor market, urban housing, niche commodity markets, supply chain, collaborative network and physical space for the operation of the business. Most ASEAN countries have not yet reached a high level of urbanization, despite having a number of policies for promoting urbanization to contribute to the economic growth. However, policymakers should find ways to facilitate the development of urbanization that contributes to economic growth, employment growth, environmental sustainability, rather than the pursuit of speeding up the process of urbanization.\nOriginality/value: Between urbanization and economic growth at least a causal relationship exists. Urbanization positively impacts economic growth. However, the relationship between urbanization and economic growth is non-linear. The urbanization reaches a threshold after which it may impede the economic growth. The estimated threshold is 69.99 percent for the static model and 67.94 percent for the dynamic model.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Reliability and validity of the masculine subordination stress scale in a rural Bangladesh sample
|
[
"Reliability",
"Validity",
"Masculine subordination stress",
"Bangladeshi rural men"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Masculine stress is one of the central issues in the discussion of masculinity, men's health and their psychosocial behaviors. Studies show that the men who experience higher levels of masculine stress are more likely to be engaged in verbally and physically abusive behaviors (Copenhaver et al., 2000; Franchina et al., 2001; Schmidt, 2003).\nWomen's empowerment and MSS in rural Bangladesh: Gender inequality is very widespread in rural Bangladesh. It is indeed an example of classical patriarchal society. From household to community, men are the main decision-makers. Men exercise full control over their wives and children. Women's marriage, sexuality, labor, property, etc. are traditionally controlled by men/husbands. The common features of gender inequality in rural Bangladesh are women's lack of land and property ownership, lack of access to education and employment, a high prevalence of male violence against women, etc.\nMSS: the concept: The crisis of masculinity such as masculine stress has often been discussed in the contexts of increasing unemployment among men, as well as women's increasing participation in the labor market, particularly in traditional male domains (Eisler and Skidmore, 1987; MacInnes, 2001). Therefore, the crisis of men is seen as a backlash by men against women's socioeconomic advancement (MacInnes, 2001). In the context of socioeconomic development and women's progress in industrialized countries, men's dominant gender identity as \"household provider\" has mostly changed over time (Bernard, 1981). But, in the context of low-income patriarchal societies, masculinity is still crucial in household domains, such as the identity of household headship (Haque and Kusakabe, 2005). Therefore, in the contexts of women's empowerment, where women are increasingly participating in the labor market and also acquiring new status as household provider, men may experience masculine stress related to subornation to women, which may in turn increase their abusive behaviors (Copenhaver et al., 2000; Gelles, 1974; Haque and Kusakabe, 2005; Schmidt, 2003).\nMSS: the measurement: Measures of \"masculine stress\" assess the extent to which men appraise stress when failing to uphold usual masculine standards (Eisler and Skidmore, 1987). The measures of \"MSS\" assess the level of masculine gender role stress (MGRS) appraisal among men when they are supposed to be subordinated to women (Eisler and Skidmore, 1987). The MSS scale validated in this study was adapted from the MGRS scale developed by Eisler and Skidmore (1987).\nMethods: Introduction\nResults: Sample profile\nDiscussion and conclusion: The seven-item Bengali version MSS scale was considered a valid and reliable instrument for assessing men's masculine stress appraised from the situation of being subordinate to women. The construct validity of the scale was supported and this showed that the items were made of a single factor, as conceptualized in this study (Copenhaver et al., 2000; Eisler and Skidmore, 1987). The study also showed that the MSS has adequate internal consistency and good concurrent validity. The coefficient a for the scale suggests that the scale can be used with good reliability. Consistent with previous findings, the MSS is also found here to have a negative correlation with men's gender ideology (Schmidt, 2003); and a positive correlation with marital violence (Copenhaver et al., 2000; Schmidt, 2003). The effect sizes are also shown to be moderate; all reached a significance level of 0.001. The study also supports that masculine stress might be deep-rooted in gender ideology and how a man endorses his cultural beliefs about gender roles (Eisler and Skidmore, 1987; Pleck et al., 1993; Schmidt, 2003). In the context of low income patriarchal societies, masculinity is crucial in household domains, such as the identity of household headship (Haque and Kusakabe, 2005). Therefore, in the contexts of changing gender relations in patriarchal societies, where women are increasingly participating in the labor market as well as acquiring new status as household provider, men may experience masculine stress related to subornation to women, which may in turn increase their abusive behaviors toward women (e.g. male violence against women) (Copenhaver et al., 2000; Gelles, 1974; Haque and Kusakabe, 2005; Schmidt, 2003). However, further study should extend the examination of predictive validity by looking at its association with other conceptually associated variables, such as men's anger, and their drug abuse, and sexual behaviors (Copenhaver et al., 2000; Courtenay, 2000).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the masculine subordination stress (MSS) scale in a rural Bangladesh population.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The scale was validated using a sample of 342 Bangladeshi married men from five northwest villages of the country.\nFindings: Exploratory factor analysis revealed a single-factorial structure of the scale: MSS. The MSS also showed adequate reliability and concurrent validity. It appears that the MSS is a reliable and valid instrument to measure MSS for rural Bangladeshi men.\nOriginality/value: The current study provides empirical support for the validity and reliability of the MSS in the rural Bangladesh context. Academicians and researchers who are seeking an instrument to assess masculine subordination-to-women stress may find it useful. Moreover, it may stimulate researchers to think about strategies for helping men to cope up with masculine stress from a positive viewpoint. It may also help practitioners to improve men's mental health at different settings.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
A neural network forecasting model for consumable parts in semiconductor manufacturing
|
[
"Neural nets",
"Forecasting",
"Manufacturing systems",
"Maintenance",
"Taiwan"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The IC packaging and testing industry has been in Taiwan for over 30 years. In the last decade, there has been a growing number of competitors in the industry due to the attraction of high profit. However, the gross profit had been dropping rapidly from 40 to 25 percent between 1986 and 1996 because of competition and the unbalance of supply and demand. Recently, the gross profit is around 20 percent. For this reason, most of the IC packaging and testing companies have to enforce costs reduction and restraint on major expenses in mechanical equipment and spare parts purchases and maintenance.Around 10 percent of production costs are related to the expendable parts and components in wafer manufacturing (Dellar et al., 2002). In wafer foundry, the cost of mechanical equipments is around a couple of million US$, yet, the loss for crash may cost US$300,000 per hour. In an advanced wafer foundry, the yearly expense of expendable parts is about US$30 million to 150 million. That is to say, the inventory value of parts and components is large.This research attempts to create a sable life cycle forecasting model for consumable parts by using neural networks. It focuses mainly on a consumable probe card used in the semiconductor wafer testing operation. In practice, the usable life cycle of probe cards is uncertain because variances may happen in the production process. The traditional generic forecasting method for usable life cycle usually results in large variations. This might cause complex production management. According to the analysis of past production data, it can be found that consumable probe card has the following properties:* It is a high-unit price customized part used in different kind of specific product.* When there is a malfunction, the production process will be stopped.* The required quantity is based on the order quantity but it cannot be forecasted by the economical lot size model.* For smooth production, the inventory of spare cards is necessary.* There is no effective management model to maintain and forecast the usable life cycle.Owing to lack of applicable model and the production process involve complex factors, we build a management framework for probe cards. A neural network approach is used to forecast the life cycle of probe cards. This can assist manager to effectively control the quality of probe cards during manufacturing. On the other hand, the stock of spare cards can be fully controlled to ensure smooth system. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 reviews related researches in the forecast models of the consumable parts. Section 3 discusses the management model of probe cards. In Section 4, the proposed model is verified via a case study. Section 5 is the conclusions.\n2 Literature review: The stocks of enterprise consist of finished goods, partially completed parts, subassemblies, and raw materials. Expendable parts are similar to raw materials that have to be replaced when they are not useable. Therefore, spare parts are a must for efficient production. From the financial viewpoint, inventory accuracy means correctly record the inventory in stock, material purchase and update excessive inventory. Chase et al. (2002) indicated that the critical issue in managing inventory is to record and control the stock present.In the age of mechanization, production machines and systems have been used to assist manufacturing processes and increase productive efficiency. In the manufacturing processes, the machines operative maintenance and preventive maintenance (PM) are important since a breakdown of machinery will affects the whole outputs. Machine and plant maintenance are major cost centers in the industry. If the maintenance is ignored, it would be impossible to sustain a continuous production procedure. That is to say, the manufacturing lead time, products quality, and good will be out of control. Waeyenbergh and Pintelon (2002) pointed out that proper maintenance helped to keep the life cycle cost and ensured proper operations. Recently, maintenance has become more and more integrated.Full automation moves the manual or functionally automated operation into an integrated enterprise-wide solution; however, it is a high cost-added operation as well. On this consideration, companies need to consider the cost strategies for different equipments, PM, corrective maintenance, and inspection.There are many factors involved in the quality of probe card or productive process. Therefore, the creation of a management model for probe cards is essential. The organization of productive data and quality status of probe cards provide information for earlier decision making. This is a key factor to improve production efficiency. The comparison of the proposed management model and current literatures are listed in Table I.There are many applications of ANNs in estimation of network reliability (Chat et al., 2002), in production scheduling, lot-sizing problems and in job-shop problems (Yildirim et al., 2006). Various types of ANNs have been developed since their inception in the 1950s and continue to arise from ongoing artificial intelligence research. Fonseca and Navaresse (2002) and Priamuthm et al. (1998) showed the efficacy of the neural network approaches for financial risk classification, a domain characterized by frequent data noise, lack of functional structure, and high-attribute interactions. Furthermore, they provide insights into the structural characteristics of neural networks with respect to the input data used as well as possible mechanisms to improve the learning performance. Bertel and Mneuberg (1999) presented an ANNs model to evaluate the performance of companies based on qualitative criteria, such as organizational and managerial variables. They created a similar model using the back-propagation learning algorithm and compare its classification performance with the linear model. They also tested the robustness of the two approaches with respect to uncertain information. Managiameli (1999) developed the neural classification models in a quest for a robust method. He investigated the accuracy and robust nature of the mixture-of-experts (MOE) neural network, and demonstrated that MOE performs well against back-propagation neural networks. Besides, he concluded that the MOE neural network may be the robust classification scheme being sought for use with the two-group problem.\n3 The management model of probe cards: The major function of probe cards is the wafer probing. The probe card is a tool for testing semiconductors used at \"Wafer Test\" to check quality of IC or LSI in the semiconductor manufacturing. The probe card is expendable. In the manufacturing process of semiconductors such as IC and LSI, many IC chips are fixed on a wafer, then the wafer is diced and the diced chips are incorporated into packages. Before hundreds of IC chips fixed on a wafer are diced into chips with a few square millimeters, \"Wafer Test\" is performed to check the quality of IC chips. At wafer test, the needles of the probe make contact with the bonding pads of IC chips or LSI chips fixed on a wafer. After that, the electric characteristics are measured to check the quality of IC chips. In the processes, the probe cards were used to eliminate faults and enhance the readable for customers' requirements. Before building the model, we need to discuss the characteristics of probe card.3.1 Characteristics of probe card\n4 Case study: operation of probe card management: This section uses the probe card management operation at Aegis Semiconductor Technology Inc., Taiwan, which is a professional semiconductor testing company to verify the management model of this study.4.1 Manufacturing information system\n5 Conclusions: In this study, the problem analysis using multiple variable model output results is used to forecast the life cycle of probe card and the number of total tested wafers. In practice, production problems are usually affected by multiple factors. This study showed that the neural network forecast model is easy and usable application in our case. In the manufacturing system, the procedure is to collect the production, maintenance and repair data, and then analyze those data by using a neural network methodology to forecast the life cycle of probe card's. With the effective forecast technique we can integrate those data to derive an optimum timing of placing a probe card inventory level. Finally, the approach can be reduced to deal with the different parameter design by appropriate modification when the input factors are appropriate selected.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to create a usable life forecast model for consumable parts using neural network approach. It focuses on a consumable probe card used in the semiconductor wafer testing operation. Referring to the relevant resources and the semiconductor testing operation, a fundamental concept is built to develop a probe card management system.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A neural network analysis software package, Q-net2000, is applied in this study. In this case, there is one hidden layer and the neural network learning rates and momentum are set to 0.1 and 0.7. Forecast the usable life by inputting the initial values of the neural network variables into a back-propagation neural network.\nFindings: - In this system, the first thing is to collect the production, maintenance and repair data, and then analyze those data by using a neural network methodology to effectively forecast a probe card's usable life. Those data are integrated to derive an optimum timing of placing a probe card order using an inventory control technique. Finally, the actual production data of a company are used to verify the feasibility of this research.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The results presented are based on a representative expendable probe card manufacturing process in the Taiwan industry, a range of alternative scenarios and changes to the process design can be investigated using the simulation model.\nPractical implications: - For the semiconductor industry, the research supports the introduction on lifecycle forecast technology for expendable probe card manufacturing process.\nOriginality/value: - The paper proposes a neural network forecast analysis to solve the case company's current management problem of determining the life cycle of probe cards in an earlier time.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Under-over benefitting perceptions and evaluation of services: Nonlinear relationships in a four-sample investigation
|
[
"Fairness",
"Customer satisfaction",
"Nonlinear",
"Asymmetrical",
"Maximization",
"Under-over benefitting perceptions"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: One of the main challenges of service organizations is to design satisfactory and efficient transactions between the organization and its boundary employees, on the one hand, and its customers, on the other. To be competitive, service organizations offer goods and experiences that should be satisfactory and compensate for the efforts and costs invested by customers. This is the rationale underlying distributive justice, which refers to the degree to which customers perceive that the outcomes/benefits associated with the service received are fair based on their efforts in terms of the investments they have to make (Adams, 1965; Zhao et al., 2012). Customers expect compensation when they pay for a service and make an effort (e.g. time). If the exchange is perceived as inequitable, customer reactions are negative (Oliver and Swan, 1989). In fact, it is easy for customers to access information about costs and outcomes, and previous research has confirmed that distributive justice is the strongest precursor of customer satisfaction with services (Clemmer and Schneider, 1996; Martinez-Tur et al., 2006; Smith et al., 1999).\nConnecting under vs over benefitting perceptions to ROQ and customer delight: Our competing hypotheses about the links from under vs over benefitting perceptions to customer reactions have similarities with two relevant approaches: ROQ and customer delight. ROQ is based on the idea that quality is a financially accountable investment (Rust et al., 1995, 1999). Accordingly, some quality efforts can be ineffective because too much money is spent or because these efforts are directed toward the wrong things. Based on this assumption, various scholars have explored factors that can explain where quality investments are (in)effective. For example, Niraj et al. (2008) observed that, from a returns point of view, improvement efforts should be directed toward some specific types of customers. Similarly, Rust et al. (2011) argued that companies are able to identify and choose profitable customers, invest in them, and achieve better results over time. Nonlinearity is implicit in the assumptions of ROQ because not all increases in investments in quality lead to equal increments in economic benefits. In the current study, both the fair and asymmetric hypotheses also assume this nonlinearity (see, Figure 1), as they propose that high investments in customer benefits do not correspond to an increase in positive customer reactions to services. However, the ROQ approach focusses on the managerial perspective and tries to identify the factors that contribute to the control and optimization of quality efforts, whereas our investigation focusses on the customer's perspective, thus offering a complementary contribution to the ROQ. We concentrate on the customer by theoretically and empirically defining the specific process that explains whether linear or nonlinear patterns predominate and, in the event that a nonlinear pattern is confirmed, what its specific form is (fair vs asymmetric). Each of the three hypotheses in Figure 1 reflects a different human view and offers potential explanations from the customer's perspective about how investments in benefits for customers can be (in)effective. Thus, our research study offers a complementary approach to the results of efforts to provide customers with benefits in service settings.\nMaximization, fairness, and asymmetric hypotheses: The maximization hypothesis is proposed in a number of approaches from different disciplines. Individual self-interest was part of the foundation of economics and has been one of its critical assumptions for at least a century (Hodgson, 2014). Expected utility theory and models of rational choice have reinforced this view of human economic behavior (e.g. Friedman and Savage, 1948). Several psychological approaches also emphasize the pursuit of pleasure as a mechanism to understand human behavior. Some examples are the pleasure principle, introduced by Freud (1900), or the social learning theories and individuals' engagement in seeking positive reinforcement from the environment, proposed by Bandura (1977). According to the maximization hypothesis, humans try to maximize their benefits in their social interactions and define justice in a flexible way based on their own interests. For example, Bediou et al. (2012) observed in an experimental game that participants who contribute less to a task prefer an equal distribution of outcomes (50-50 percent), while participants who contribute more prefer an equity norm for the distribution of outcomes (contribution-based). Thus, it is assumed that there is a tendency in humans to actively seek resources from the environment that facilitate success and pleasure. In the evolutionary view of human history, selfishness is seen as a necessary condition for the survival and success of individuals in the natural selection process (e.g. Alexander, 1987; Dawkins, 1976).\nSummary of the competing hypotheses: In summary, the current study tests which of the three hypotheses fits the empirical data. The first hypothesis (maximization) is represented by a perfect linear relationship that explains customers' motivation to maximize their benefits. The second hypothesis is described by a symmetrical curvilinear relationship (fairness) where both under- and over-benefitting perceptions reduce positive customer evaluations. Finally, the third hypothesis (asymmetric) refers to a third alternative situated between maximization and fairness, where customers' responses in under-benefitting situations are stronger than their responses in over-benefitting circumstances. These three hypotheses are tested in real service organization contexts.\nMethodology: Data collection and participants\nResults: Table I shows the means, standard deviations, Cronbach's a, and bivariate correlations among the variables. We observed significant positive links from under-over benefitting perceptions to customer satisfaction (Samples 1 and 2 in hotels) and service performance (Samples 3 and 4 in restaurants). Maximization of benefits for the customer, in terms of over-benefitting perceptions, was associated with better evaluations of the service. Nevertheless, regression analyses described the nature of this relationship in a more accurate way.\nDiscussion: The current research study tests the links from under-over benefitting perceptions (between customers, on the one hand, and boundary employees and the organization as a whole, on the other) to customer evaluations of services. Our findings confirmed an asymmetric curvilinear relationship where positive customer evaluations are radically reduced when customers perceive extreme under-benefitting situations (they invest much more than they receive). In contrast, the highest positive evaluations emerge around balanced situations and at certain levels of advantageous inequality for the customer. Finally, customer evaluations of services stabilize and even decline slightly when customer perceptions approach the extreme over-benefitting zone (they receive much more than they invest). These results were confirmed in four samples and with two types of service evaluation measures (customer satisfaction and service performance). The test-retest strategy also indicated that this pattern is stable over time. In the following sections, we describe theoretical and managerial implications, limitations, and opportunities for further research.\nConclusion: Despite its limitations, the current study contributes to previous knowledge about the service exchange by computing nonlinear relationships between under-over benefitting perceptions and customer evaluations of services. The worst customer evaluations of services are observed in under-benefitting situations. Service evaluations improve sharply when perceptions hover around balanced situations and a certain level of advantageous inequality for customers. However, service evaluations do not improve in the most favorable zone for the customer. This asymmetric hypothesis offers a complex view of the psychological nature of customers in their interactions with boundary employees and service organizations that simultaneously considers both maximization and morality.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: In the context of service exchanges, the purpose of this paper is to examine the form of the link from under-benefitting (customers receive less than they invest) vs over-benefitting (customers receive more than they invest) perceptions to customer service evaluations. The authors assess three competing hypotheses: maximization, fairness, and the asymmetric hypotheses.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Linear and nonlinear relationships between under-over benefitting perceptions and service evaluations are examined following a test-retest approach. These relationships are investigated in four samples from two survey studies: hotels (Time 1, n=591; Time 2, n=512) and restaurants (Time 1, n=536; Time 2, n=473).\nFindings: Results confirmed the existence of asymmetrical curvilinear relationships. Service evaluations improve sharply when perceptions move from under-benefitting perceptions to balanced situations. However, service evaluations do not improve in high over-benefitting situations.\nPractical implications: The design of employee tasks and services should avoid both under-benefitting perceptions and a disproportionate maximization of customer benefits.\nOriginality/value: Previous research studies have investigated these types of relationships by computing linear relationships or comparing different groups of customers. The current research tests the link from under-over benefitting perceptions to customer service evaluations by also considering nonlinear relationships. This approach supports an asymmetrical curvilinear relationship that captures the complexity of service exchanges.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
The effect of globalization and credit market imperfections on the incidence of child labour
|
[
"Development",
"Globalization",
"Income distribution",
"Trade",
"Child labour",
"FDI and credit market",
"F16",
"J21",
"O15",
"O16"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between globalization, defined as an increase in trade openness and penetration of foreign direct investment (FDI), and the incidence of child labour while taking into account the role of credit market imperfections. The empirical assessment is based on the panel data comprising of 129 developing countries for four decades from 1970 to 2010. The basic proposition is that trade sanctions may reduce the demand for unskilled workers and minimize their wages; poor families when unable to borrow may have no alternative but to send their children to work. The paper contributes to the existing literature of globalization and child labour not only by exploring the role of credit market imperfections but also by highlighting the changes in exports, incorporating the Jafarey and Lahiri (2002) model of trade sanction and credit market imperfections. It further critically examines Edmonds's (2009) argument that the channel through which trade could affect child labour is income because the proportion of child labour in the exporting sector is negligible.\n2. Theoretical foundation: Empirical analysis of this paper is based on the theoretical model which was proposed by Jafarey and Lahiri (2002) and on arguments put forth by Edmonds (2009). Jafarey and Lahiri (2002) considered a case of small open economy, net exporter of unskilled goods, having two periods and producing two goods per period. Assuming the normality in all goods, Jafarey and Lahiri evaluated the household education decision as a function of price and a given interest rate. They came up with the conclusion that with the increase in interest rate, the welfare of the lender rises while that of the borrower falls, this induces a lower choice of schooling decision. Jafarey and Lahiri precede their analysis by considering three scenarios in credit market.\n3. Methodology: Child labour has always been considered as a phenomenon which is poverty driven but as mentioned earlier this study specifically explores the link between globalization, income and credit with child labour. In order to do so the following simple model is estimated:(1)\n4. Data sources: The study uses the data on percentage of the population 10-14 year olds that are engaged in work. Data are taken from the ILO database of Economically Active Population, Estimates and Projections (EAPEP - 4th editions (1996)). The data are available with ten-year intervals. For empirical assessment, the study uses the data of 129 developing countries from 1970 onward. The ILO has computed the activity rates by using the household survey data of individual countries. In order to make the data comparable across countries and time, several adjustments had been made by ILO. The adjustments were made because the individual country survey data vary in terms of definition of economically active population followed, geographical areas covered, type of survey available, age groups considered, etc. Furthermore, survey years also differ for each country. Although EAPEP provides comparable information on individual countries across time but the problem with this data is that very few countries have multiple observations available over time. Therefore, much of the variation in child labour data is because of the imputations and adjustments made by ILO. This puts a question mark on the reliability of the estimates as well. However, in the absence of the cross-country comparable estimates with respect to time, many empirical studies have used this data set for the assessment purpose (e.g. Cigno et al., 2002; Dehejia and Gatti, 2002; Rogers and Swinnerton, 2001 and many others). Although this study acknowledges the limitation of this data set but in the absence of any comparable estimates, the empirical assessment is also based on this data set as well.\n5. Results: This section first highlights some determinants of income, second it discusses the main results and then compares alternative measures of income and finally discusses the role of trade openness and exports.\n6. Conclusions: The purpose of this paper was to investigate the link between globalization, defined as increase in trade openness and penetration of FDI, and incidence of child labour, while taking into account the role of credit market imperfections. The empirical assessment was based on the cross-sectional analysis of 129 developing countries for four decades, from 1970 to 2010. This study showed that income does affect child labour. The only difference in this study and all the previous studies is that it predicts the negative effect of income using two different measures of income after correcting endogeneity bias. To the best of the author's knowledge, these measures have not been incorporated in earlier studies at the cross-sectional level.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of globalization and credit market imperfections on child labour.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Analysis is based on cross-country regression framework, incorporating 129 developing countries for the period 1970-2010.\nFindings: The findings indicate that countries that are more open to trade and having higher foreign direct investment inflow have lower incidence of child labour. As child labour in export-related industries is hard to find, trade sanctions may not have a significant effect on child labour. Further study concludes that income of the bottom quartile of the population is the best representation of the income of the poor when studying child labour.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study uses the data compiled by International Labour Organization (ILO). Though much of the variation in the data is because of the adjustments made by ILO, this is the only comparable cross-country estimates available. Hence in the absence of the cross-country comparable estimates, many empirical studies have used this data set (e.g. Cigno et al., 2002; Dehejia and Gatti, 2002; Rogers and Swinnerton, 2001). This study acknowledges this limitation but again in the absence of any comparable estimates, the assessment is also based on this data set.\nOriginality/value: Study contributes in the literature by comparing the effect of export and trade and by exploring the effect of an alternate measure of the income, estimated by using Gini coefficient, on child labour. Further studies exploring the effect of globalization did not explore the presence of imperfect credit market, however, this study has explored the effect of credit market imperfections as well.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Epidemiological shift of hepatitis A in EAGLE countries - a projection
|
[
"Environmental",
"Human Development Index",
"Epidemiology",
"Emerging and growth-leading economies",
"Hepatitis A vaccination policy",
"Linear regression"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The global effects economic development may have on infectious diseases related to environmental factors is a topic that has several gaps in literature, as the exponential growth of many economies is somewhat recent (BBVA, 2016). The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship of economic development and the shifting epidemiology of hepatitis A infection in a rapidly developing economy. This study's regression model, which was created to support the objective of this study, provides insight not only on how best to utilize hepatitis A interventions, but may also deliver useful information in the analysis of how to prevent other infectious diseases affected by environmental cleanliness and water sources in the near future.\nMethods: In this study concerning areas of the world experiencing rapid economic growth, a subsection of countries was used, each of which is defined as having an \"emerging economy\" according to World Economic Outlook. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) states that the main criteria used by the WEO to determine inclusion into the category of \"emerging economies\" are per capita income level, export diversification, level of integration in the world financial system, and purchasing power parities (Nelson, 2012). As of 2016, the following emerging economies are classified as emerging and growth-leading economies (EAGLEs): Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam (BBVA, 2016). An EAGLE is defined as an emerging economy whose world economic growth contribution over the next decade is expected to be higher than the average of the G6 countries. This is determined by the ranking of each country's incremental GDP, or the increase of real GDP adjusted for PPP during the next 10 years (Ruiz and Navia, 2011).\nData sources: The data sets used for the regressions and regression model (shown in Tables I-III) were obtained from The Global Burden of Disease study, a research program that examines disease burdens across the globe (GBD, 2016), the annually updated data from the World Health Organization (WHO, 2016) and individual annual HDR from the United Nations Development Programme (HDR, 2013a, b). The data signifying EAGLE categorization were obtained from the BBVA (2016) Research EAGLE Economic Outlook Annual Reports.\nAnalysis: In an attempt to determine if a pattern emerged in hepatitis A mortality within EAGLE countries as they experienced rapid development, mortality rates were graphed against each included country's HDI value, as shown in Figure 1. No cohesive notable pattern was revealed. Bangladesh, India and Iran experienced the steepest decline in mortality rate, with linear regressions of given data showing a decline of 4.0365, 8.299 and 3.3963 deaths per 100,000 people, respectively, for each increase of one in HDI value. China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey and Vietnam all experienced mild decreases in hepatitis A mortality rates as HDI increased. Brazil, Egypt and Malaysia were the only countries out of the fifteen included regions to face a steady increase in hepatitis A mortality rate as they experienced development. Mexico also experienced an overall increase in mortality as its HDI increased within the given data. However, unlike the other countries whose hepatitis A mortality rates increased in the given time period, it showed a decrease after a peak mortality rate in 2005. China enacted a hepatitis A vaccination policy in 2009 (Fangcheng et al., 2012), so further surveillance beyond 2010 may have shown a decrease in hepatitis A mortality, but is not visible in this figure.\nResults: Though it was difficult to find a large amount of data on hepatitis A mortality, as it is one of the most underreported and under-investigated diseases (CDC, 2003), the given data produced regressions that had very good fits when considering significance levels and R2 values. An overall pattern emerged when comparing HDI and hepatitis A mortality, with a constant decline of mortality as HDI increased. For each increase of one in HDI value in this hypothetical country, mortality rate declined by 2.3016 deaths per 100,000 people, as seen in Figure 2. As expected from the criteria needed to be categorized as an EAGLE country (BBVA, 2016), the hypothetical entity showed an increase in HDI over time, with the HDI value increasing by 0.0073 each year, as seen in Figure 3. Finally, the regression model made from year and mortality data found a decrease in hepatitis A mortality rate of 0.0168 per 100,000 people each year, as shown in Figure 4.\nDiscussion: The results from the regression show a clear pattern of decrease in hepatitis A mortality as HDI value increases over time. This was to be expected, particularly if one were to compare the USA and Rio de Janeiro data and outcomes of another study by the author (Ghildayal, 2018). Using this measure of benefit, hepatitis A is projected to be less of a burden in rapidly developing areas of the world in future years. As a majority of these countries on which the regression model was based do not have hepatitis A vaccination policies or other such interventions, this again raises the issue of whether universal vaccination policies are actually necessary, when the mortality rates seem to be decreasing on their own as socioeconomic conditions improve. However, as is discussed below along with other limitations, a future study in which additional hepatitis A outcomes are projected would be immensely beneficial in contributing to the discussion of what hepatitis A vaccination policies should be enacted across the globe in coming years.\nLimitations: The hypothetical country created from the regression of data from EAGLE countries is simply a model. It is intended to display an example of the health and economic changes occurring in these rapidly developing regions, now and in the future, in order to help prepare for and understand the importance of a necessary greater focus on hepatitis A research and the consistent update of policies. Additionally, due to the unavailability of data, a small number of HDI data points were linearly extrapolated.\nImplications: In an earlier study, it was found that a universal hepatitis A vaccination policy in Rio de Janeiro is very cost-effective as compared to no vaccination, and the author would recommend a change to a universal hepatitis A vaccination policy in the region. As can be seen in the hypothetical rapidly developing country's linear regression model, the economies of these EAGLE countries are quickly changing year-by-year, and changes in healthcare are likely to follow. The takeaway from the study of Rio de Janeiro and other similarly rapidly developing regions, such as this study's hypothetical entity, would be that constant reevaluation with updated annual data is essential in the future, as many of these countries are on the cusp of large change and may also benefit from new vaccination policies. Hepatitis A cost-effectiveness analyses are uncommon, and countries remain unstudied for years at a time between the few studies that do exist, particularly in less developed areas. A greater, more consistent research effort must be applied to the disease in order for policy to keep up with rapidly changing economies and resulting changes in health trends, as maintaining updated healthcare policies plays a major part in moving toward a more developed society. When evaluating the cost-effectiveness of hepatitis A vaccination policies, focusing on these rapidly changing economies is a good place to start.\n",
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"content": "Purpose: Many world regions are developing quickly and experiencing increasing levels of sanitation, causing an epidemiological shift of hepatitis A in these areas. The shift occurs when children avoid being infected with the disease until a later age due to cleaner water sources, food, and hygiene practices in their environment; but if they are infected at later age, the disease is much more severe and lost productivity costs are higher. The purpose of this paper is to examine what could occur if an epidemiological shift of the disease continues in these regions, and what type of future burden hepatitis A may have in a hypothetical rapidly developing country.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Initially, annual hepatitis A mortality was regressed on the Human Development Index (HDI) for each country classified as an emerging and growth-leading economy (EAGLE) to provide an overview of how economic development and hepatitis A mortality related. Data from the various EAGLE countries were also fit to a model of hepatitis A mortality rates in relation to HDI, which were both weighted by each country's 1995-2010 population of available data, in order to create a model for a hypothetical emerging market country. A second regression model was fit for the weighted average annual hepatitis A mortality rate of all EAGLE countries from the years 1995 to 2010. Additionally, hepatitis A mortality rate was regressed on year.\nFindings: Regression results show a constant decline of mortality as HDI increased. For each increase of one in HDI value in this hypothetical country, mortality rate declined by 2.3016 deaths per 100,000 people. The hypothetical country showed the HDI value increasing by 0.0073 each year. Also, results displayed a decrease in hepatitis A mortality rate of 0.0168 per 100,000 people per year. Finally, the mortality rate for hepatitis A in this hypothetical country is projected to be down to 0.11299 deaths per 100,000 people by 2030 and its economic status will fall just below the HDI criteria for a developed country by 2025.\nOriginality/value: The hypothetical country as a prototype model was created from the results of regressed data from EAGLE countries. It is aimed to display an example of the health and economic changes occurring in these rapidly developing regions in order to help understand potential hepatitis A trends, while underscoring the importance of informed and regular policy updates in the coming years. The author believes this regression provides insight into the patterns of hepatitis A mortality and HDI as these EAGLE countries undergo rapid development.\n",
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