bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pilot error in process of helicopter starting
Authors: Stojiljkovic Evica , Bijelic Bojan , Grozdanovic Miroljub , Radovanovic Marko , Djokic Igor
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify potential helicopter pilots’ errors during their interaction with the flight deck in the process of starting a helicopter in night-time conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach is used for the analysis of the pilot–flight deck interaction. This methodology was used for the identification of errors for 30 pilots during a period of 10 years. In total, 55 errors were identified, and most common errors noted are: error of omission, caused by pilots’ lack of attention or longer periods of no flying, and error of wrong execution, caused by misunderstanding a situation.

Findings

Hierarchical task analysis and classification of pilot’s tasks were used for the analysis of consequences, probability of occurrence, criticality and remedial strategies for the identified pilot error.

Research limitations/implications

This paper does not give an ergonomic analysis of the flight deck, as that is not its subject. However, results of the research presented in this paper, together with results presented in references, clearly show that there are disadvantages in the ergonomic design of flight decks.

Practical implications

Based on the identified pilot errors and with respect of existing ergonomic solution, it is possible to begin with the reconstruction of flight decks.

Social implications

Higher quality of pilot–flight deck interaction must be ensured for both pilots’ and passengers’ safety, as even a slightest error can lead to catastrophic consequences.

Originality/value

The value of this paper lies in the fact that it points to the need for synergy of ergonomic design and human reliability methods.
The influence of the cutting edge shape on high performance cutting
Authors: Burek Jan , Zylka Lukasz , Plodzien Marcin , Gdula Michal , Sulkowicz Pawel
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the influence of the shape of a cutting edge on high-performance milling high-performance cutting. The main purpose of the test was to determine the possibility of increasing the efficiency of machining AlZn5.5CuMg alloy, which is used mainly for the thin-walled structural aerospace components.

Design/methodology/approach

In all, eight cutters for machining aluminum alloys with different shape of the cutting edge (1 – continuous, 4 – interrupted, 3 – wavy) were tested. The influence of different shapes of a cutting edge on cutting force components and vibration amplitude was analyzed. Furthermore, the impact of a chip breaker on the form of a chip was determined.

Findings

The conducted test shows that using discontinuous shapes of a cutting edge has impact on the reduction of the cutting force components and, in most cases, on the increase of vibration amplitude. Moreover, using a chip breaker caused significant chip dispersion. The optimal shape of a cutting edge for cutting AlZn5.5CuMg alloy is fine wavy shape.

Practical implications

Potential practical application of the research is high-performance milling of AlZn5.5CuMg alloy, for example, production of thin-walled aerospace structural components.

Originality/value

Different shapes of a cutting edge during high-performance milling of aluminum alloy were tested. The influence of tested geometries on HPC process was determined. The most favourable shape of a cutting edge for high-performance cutting of AlZn5.5CuMg alloy was determined.
New fault-tolerant federated Kalman filters for integrated navigation
Authors: Liang Yueqian , Jia Yingmin
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to achieve accurate integrated navigation results for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems even in the presence of possible navigation faults in the subsystems of the federated Kalman filter.

Design/methodology/approach

The federated Kalman filter is modified from two aspects to get accurate navigation results under abnormity. First, time-variant vector distribution coefficients trading off the navigation accuracy and the observability degree of each state component are computed to replace the traditional scalar coefficients. Second, a fault-tolerant filter is proposed as the local navigation filter.

Findings

Simulations for the navigation of a UAV system show that the proposed method can be applied for accurate navigation purpose even in the presence of subsystem navigation faults.

Originality/value

New fault-tolerant federated Kalman filters for integrated navigation are presented to achieve accurate navigation solutions.
Cumulative learning and sustained engagement in an introduction to accounting course
Authors: Aldamen Husam , Duncan Keith , Ziegelmayer Jennifer L.
Published: November 2017

Purpose

Due to its technical focus, the introductory accounting course has a hierarchical knowledge structure that requires students to master and integrate abstract knowledge which builds on itself over time. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between engagement and examination performance for students enrolled in a hierarchically structured course.

Design/methodology/approach

This research involves a retrospective study of an introduction to accounting course examining the relationship between increased engagement and examination performance. Students are provided opportunities for engagement through assigned homework and optional ungraded assignments. Performance is measured by scores on each of three examinations conducted throughout the semester.

Findings

The study finds that additional engagement in assignments has no significant impact on mid-semester examination performance; however, sustained engagement throughout the semester has a cumulative impact on final examination performance. Moreover, students that perform well on mid-semester examinations do not benefit from additional engagement, whereas students that perform poorly on the mid-semester examinations exhibit substantially higher final examination scores from sustained engagement.

Practical implications

This study illustrates the complex interplay between engagement and performance and the timing of performance gains. The implication for educators is that increased sustained engagement is likely to result in increased but delayed student performance gains in disciplines with hierarchical knowledge structures.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature in its examination of the timing of performance benefits gained from increased engagement in courses with a cumulative knowledge base.
Core entrepreneurial competencies of students in departments of electrical engineering and computer sciences (EECS) in universities
Authors: Chang Jen-Chia , Hsiao Yuan-Du , Chen Su-Chang , Tsung-Ta Yu
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate entrepreneurial competencies of students in practicums within departments of electrical engineering and computer sciences (EECS) in universities of technology. In total, 71 faculty members who advised in entrepreneurial competitions in universities of technology were participants in the questionnaire survey to find the entrepreneurial competencies during practicums of the EECS students.

Design/methodology/approach

Analysis was carried out based on the literatures related to off-campus internship in universities of technology and entrepreneurship competency. Then, through the questionnaire survey, the authors can understand what the entrepreneurial abilities should have when they after off-campus internships. The entrepreneurship competency expected of off-campus internship students within EECS was analyzed to derive at the important conclusion in this study.

Findings

As the results of this study, the authors found that entrepreneurial processes, entrepreneurial traits/behaviors, communications and interpersonal skills, and digital skills are the entrepreneurial competencies that are emphasized during practicums.

Originality/value

The paper suggests that, first, the EECS students take up innovative entrepreneurship programs and take electives such as marketing management, financial management, and related business administration courses. Second, respective universities of technology and internship organizations may co-arrange the incorporation of project-based learning (PBL), PBL into the internship work content. Third, establishing a platform that bridges communication for off-campus internship students.
Specialization and commonalization in multi-branded manufacturing corporations
Authors: Karlsson Christer , Sköld Martin
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify areas and issues for management to consider in balancing specialization and commonalization in large manufacturing corporations with multiple brands from a strategic R&D and manufacturing point of view.

Design/methodology/approach

Three global manufacturing corporations from the automotive sector are used as a strategic sample composing three sequential clinical research projects. The data come from complementary data-gathering methods combining documents and interviews and workshops with top executives, project leaders, platform managers and product brand managers, thus enabling triangulation.

Findings

The study shows that managing manufacturing corporations with multiple brands is not just on a scale between full specialization and full commonalization but instead has its own logic of categorizations and portfolio formations. In order to develop the value of the brand portfolio, management must simultaneously embrace and address a number of highly integrated corporate values and highly differentiated brand company values.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes primarily by relating economy of scale in relation to the need for differentiation of products and brands that have different values, customers and market positions. A model for balancing commonalization and specialization provides several opportunities for further research and development; however, generalizations are issue and context specific.

Practical implications

The critical issues in balancing how to deal with specialization and commonalization in a company with multiple brands are explored and summarized in a framework for the practitioner to use in analyzing a real situation.

Originality/value

Previous literature focuses on the maximization of synergies within one brand, missing the specific dynamics of large manufacturing corporations with many entities, such as individual products and brands. This paper adds knowledge regarding how to balance synergies from commonalization with important objectives to preserve the specialization and distinctiveness of each product brand.
Organizing for servitization: examining front- and back-end design configurations
Authors: Raja Jawwad Z. , Chakkol Mehmet , Johnson Mark , Beltagui Ahmad
Published: November 2017

Purpose

Research suggests that to structure for servitization, organizations should separate their front- and back-end units by reference to high vs low contact activities. However, these prescriptions are overly simplistic and largely based on anecdotal evidence that fails to account for context. The purpose of this paper is to explore the design decisions taken by organizations in support of servitization.

Design/methodology/approach

A large-scale exploratory case study was conducted, consisting of embedded cases in three divisions of a UK-based, global manufacturing firm.

Findings

Each division provided different combinations of offerings (i.e. product-, use- and result-oriented). The findings suggest that front-end/back-end configurations differ according to the offering and can exist concurrently within the same organization, challenging the assumption that different configurations within an organization are not possible. The findings show that underlying contextual factors, such as the complexity and temporality of the offering, as well as the power of the customer, have implications for the structuring of servitizing organizations.

Research limitations/implications

This is a context-specific, qualitative case study conducted within a large original equipment manufacturer, yet the findings are analytically generalized.

Originality/value

In identifying the relevance of different design decisions in terms of customer contact, decoupling of activities and grouping of employees, the findings challenge the extant view that organizations simply split activities between the front- and back-end functions. The research identifies an additional design configuration – integrated project teams – involving a dominant customer dictating organizational interfaces. This research exposes the need for further investigation into how to organize for servitization in project-based contexts.
Supply chain agility, adaptability and alignment
Authors: Dubey Rameshwar , Altay Nezih , Gunasekaran Angappa , Blome Constantin , Papadopoulos Thanos , Childe Stephen J.
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine when and how organizations create agility, adaptability, and alignment as distinct supply chain properties to gain sustainable competitive advantage.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study utilizes the resource-based view (RBV) under the moderating effect of top management commitment (TMC). To test the research hypotheses, the authors gathered 351 usable responses using a pre-tested questionnaire.

Findings

The statistical analyses suggest that information sharing and supply chain connectivity resources influence supply chain visibility capability, which, under the moderating effect of TMC, enhance supply chain agility, adaptability, and alignment (SCAAA).

Originality/value

The contribution lies in: providing a holistic study of the antecedents of agility, adaptability, and alignment; investigating the moderating role of TMC on SCAAA; following the RBV and addressing calls for investigating the role of resources in supply chain management, and for empirical studies with implications for supply chain design.
Knowledge exchange and social capital in supply chains
Authors: Handoko Indria , Bresnen Mike , Nugroho Yanuar
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute toward a better understanding of the impact of social capital on knowledge exchange within supply chains. An exploratory case study approach is used to identify the effects of social capital across multiple organizational levels and to consider how these effects relate to the mode of supply chain governance.

Design/methodology/approach

A comparative case study investigation was undertaken of two Indonesian automotive component suppliers. Qualitative research methods were used with data collection involving semi-structured interviews with 64 participants at three different levels within each company (senior managers, middle managers and shop floor staff).

Findings

Comparisons between the cases highlight the major consequences that internal differentiation within organizations had in moderating the effect of social capital upon knowledge exchange in supply chains. Social capital had both enabling and inhibiting effects and these were dependent upon how social capital was constituted within and between organizations. Interaction effects between levels and with the mode of governance adopted were also important.

Research limitations/implications

Future research would benefit from a multidimensional analysis of social capital in supply chains which considers potentially disparate and contradictory effects which may be apparent when social capital is examined at different levels of analysis and in relation to different modes of governance.

Originality/value

The paper uses in-depth exploratory case research to complement existing survey-based work and contributes to the further conceptualization of relationships between social capital, knowledge exchange and modes of governance in supply chains.
Investigating the relationship between supply chain innovation, risk management capabilities and competitive advantage in global supply chains
Authors: Kwak Dong-Wook , Seo Young-Joon , Mason Robert
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose and validate a theoretical model to investigate whether supply chain (SC) innovation positively affects risk management capabilities, such as robustness and resilience in global SC operations, and to examine how these capabilities may improve competitive advantage.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical model was developed from extant studies and assessed through the development of a large-scale questionnaire survey conducted with South Korean manufacturers and logistics intermediaries involved in global SC operations. The data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling to validate the suggested model.

Findings

It was found that innovative SCs have a discernible positive influence on all dimensions of risk management capability, which in turn has a significant impact on enhancing competitive advantage. Therefore, this work provides evidence for the importance of SC innovation and risk management capability in supporting competitive advantage.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to providing an empirical understanding of the strategic retention of SC innovation and risk management capabilities in the SC management discipline. Furthermore, it confirms and expands existing theories about innovation and competitive advantage.

Practical implications

The finding provides firm grounds for managerial decisions on investment in technology innovation and process innovation.

Originality/value

This research is the first of its kind to empirically validate the relationships between SC innovation, risk management capabilities and competitive advantage.
Citizen feedback as a tool for continuous improvement in local bodies
Authors: Minelli Alessandro , Ruffini Renato
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the feedback discourse by exploring how public managers and politicians use complaints from citizens to improve the overall and specific performance of public services. The main research questions are: Can citizen complaints analysis be a useful planning tool in the public sector? What can public managers learn from citizen feedback?

Design/methodology/approach

Applying an empirical approach (Yin, 2005), the multiple case studies treated in the paper aim to clarify a series of decisions (particularly, why feedback is not used to its maximum potential). The overall design includes a defined set of questions, and the research protocol includes data retrieval, collection and analysis. A new cataloging model is proposed to homogenize the spectrum of analysis. This model is intended to create a parallel between two local bodies different in size, mission, and complexity, but which have front office facilities and are in the same territory and have the same potential target population.

Findings

In total, 698 complaints and 183 corrective or preventive actions were analyzed. Public managers’ attention seems to focus on technical or normative issues rather than on aspects of public services. This may be explained by the lack of funds for training, the scarce use of relational and human capital development leverage, and the concomitant necessity to guarantee at least the same level of services as provided in previous years, confirming the “Blame the rich and credit the poor” mantra.

Originality/value

This paper offers a strategic approach to learning from citizen’s feedback that other scholars or practitioners have not yet provided. There are many academic studies on customer feedback as a continuous improvement tool for the private sector, but few for public administration.
Modeling specialty store customers’ buy/no-buy decisions
Authors: Goudge Darrell , Good Megan C. , Hyman Michael R. , Aguirre Grant
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop, test, and validate a model in a specialty retail environment to assess the influence of a salesperson’s sales- or customer-orientation and customer characteristics related to buy/no-buy decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

Backward stepwise discriminant analysis was used to identify variables that most differentiated buyers from non-buyers. The discriminant model was estimated with survey data provided by a judgment sample of consumers asked to recall details about a recent in-store purchase experience (n=240). One significant discriminant function emerged. The model correctly classified 87.5 percent of buy/no-buy decisions by consumers in a separate validation sample (n=40).

Findings

Customers who believe a salesperson is sales oriented (i.e. only interested in closing) are more likely to make a no-buy decision even when retailer-related attributes – such as positive prior experience with the retailer, susceptibility to normative interpersonal influence, and positive attitude toward retailing – suggest otherwise. Surprisingly, neither customer orientation nor susceptibility to interpersonal informational influence relates significantly to making a buy/no-buy decision.

Practical implications

Specialty retailers should avoid a sales-outcome-based orientation. To add value in a competitive marketplace where buyers can avoid salespeople, the focus of a sales interaction should be on identifying customer needs and characteristics.

Originality/value

Adaptations of sales people’s personas and selling efforts – fostered by new managerial training practices – and the need for specialty retailers to adopt behavior-based control systems are suggested. In addition, sales or customer orientation typically is reported by the salesperson. Here, customers’ belief – which is more germane to modeling buy/no-buy decisions – designates the salesperson’s orientation.
With or without CU
Authors: Parshakov Petr , Shakina Elena Anatolievna
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of efficiency of corporate universities. An efficiency is defined in relative terms: as having relatively better performance in comparison to other companies. Different indicators of performance were employed in order to analyze short-term and long-term efficiency. A comparative analysis of European companies and emerging Russian companies is performed in order to understand if there are country differences in the efficiency of corporate universities.

Design/methodology/approach

To avoid potential omitted variable bias, fixed effect within estimator is employed. This estimator enables controlling for a firm-specific time-constant effect which conditions company’s performance and is responsible for other individual traits. The rest of the characteristics are controlled with a proxy, which are traditional for corporate finance studies.

Findings

There are contradictory results for the efficiency of a corporate university; for the European companies, a corporate university brings positive effect for the short-term performance, nevertheless, as the authors have found that it destructs value in long term. A company with a corporate university has 70 percent less market value added than an average company. There is a negative short-term synergy while the long-term synergy is positive. The results for the Russian sample are very consistent: corporate universities have negative or neutral effect on the performance.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature about strategic management and human resources management. It addresses the issue on efficiency of corporate universities in companies considering this as one of the key strategic investment in human resource policy. It appears that the corporate university is not a panacea for all companies to develop their human development policy.
Intellectual capital and university performance in emerging countries
Authors: Cricelli Livio , Greco Marco , Grimaldi Michele , Llanes Dueñas Leidy Paola
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) and performance of public universities in emerging countries in order to identify patterns and provide recommendations that may turn the universities’ IC into development opportunities, in terms of research, innovation, and education.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis targeted the whole population of the public universities in the Republic of Colombia. A cluster analysis, based on five performance variables, has been conducted. Then, the IC of the universities pertaining to the three resulting clusters has been compared. Subsequently, for each performance variable, the IC of above-average and below-average universities has been benchmarked.

Findings

The results of this study show how different aspects of IC are associated with University performance. Among the many, the authors found that universities should achieve a critical mass to obtain outstanding research and innovation results. The findings also identify the particular importance of both students and scholars’ international mobility programs for most of the performance variables.

Social implications

This study provides a baseline for the assessment of the impact on society of the IC available in the universities of emerging countries. The application may serve as a guide in the choice of public policies, dedicated to the strengthening of the universities’ IC in order to improve their performance.

Originality/value

This paper proposes an innovative model to analyze the relationship between IC and university performance in emerging countries. The model identifies the association between the IC accrued in the universities and their capability of transferring it to the society under the form of science, innovation, and education.
Exploring the antecedents and consequences of the transactive memory system: an empirical analysis
Authors: Huang Chi-Cheng , Chen Ping-Kuo
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This study aims to explore the influence of social interaction processes on transactive memory system (TMS) practice, the mediation of knowledge integration to the relationship between TMS and team performance and the moderation of team psychological safety to the relationship among TMS, knowledge intentions and team performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected data from a sample of 366 team members from 55 research and development (R&D) teams in Taiwan and conduct the analysis using the partial least squares method.

Findings

The results of this study indicate that social interaction processes have a positive effect on a TMS; a TMS can foster team performance, but knowledge integration mediates the relationship between the TMS and team performance; and team psychological safety can moderate the relationship between the TMS, knowledge integration and team performance.

Originality/value

Existing studies not only fail to explore the influence of social interaction processes on a TMS practice but also lack empirical analyses to explore knowledge integration as a mediator and team psychological safety as a moderator. This study fills that gap by developing a model that includes these types of relationships and suggests the importance of the TMS in the context of R&D.
It is more blessed to give than to receive: examining the impact of knowledge sharing on sharers and recipients
Authors: Zhu Yu-Qian , Chiu Holly , Infante Holguin-Veras Eduardo Jorge
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This study aims to debunk the myth that knowledge sharing will harm one’s competiveness, and argues, from the learning theory perspective, that sharing knowledge benefits both knowledge sharers and knowledge recipients.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected from 233 respondents across a variety of industries in Taiwan and the data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares analysis.

Findings

The results showed that both knowledge sharers and knowledge recipients benefitted from knowledge sharing, developing deeper and wider knowledge, leading to better performance, and that the benefits were greater for the knowledge sharers.

Practical Implications

It is suggested that managers advocate knowledge sharing as a learning activity for both knowledge sharers and knowledge recipients. Regular knowledge sharing activities are advised, with knowledge sharers engaged fully in active learning, and knowledge recipients encouraged to take a more active role, by not only listening but also starting to share themselves.

Originality/value

This research adds to the knowledge management literature by investigating the results of knowledge sharing for both the sharer and recipient through a learning theory lens. It challenges the conventional view that employees will be worse off if they share knowledge, and debunks it with theoretical argument and empirical evidence. It offers insights into the impact on knowledge breadth and depth at the individual level, which was previously only studied at the organizational level.
Factors affecting Web 2.0 adoption: exploring the knowledge sharing and knowledge seeking aspects in health care professionals
Authors: Singh Jang Bahadur , Chandwani Rajesh , Kumar Mayank
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This research aims to explore the factors that affect the adoption of Web 2.0 among knowledge workers. The research specifically investigated the role of factors related to both knowledge seeking and knowledge sharing, in the context of Web 2.0 use by health care professionals.

Design/methodology/approach

For this research, a cross-sectional survey design was adopted. The data were analyzed using the partial least square-structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results confirmed that the intention to adopt Web 2.0 depends upon both the knowledge-seeking and the knowledge-sharing attitudes. However, between the two, it is knowledge-sharing factors that are more important. Health care professionals tend to share knowledge driven by intrinsic motivators rather than by extrinsic motivators. On the other hand, knowledge-seeking attitude was determined by usefulness of knowledge and was not affected by the effort involved.

Research limitations/implications

All the respondents were health care professionals from India, and convenience sampling was used to reach them. This may limit the generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

This research provides useful insights on implementing Web 2.0-based knowledge management systems, specifically for health care professionals. Particularly, it emphasizes the need to focus on reinforcing intrinsic motivators like self-efficacy and the joy of sharing.

Originality/value

It is perhaps the first study that integrates the factors related to knowledge sharing and seeking in a single theoretical model, thereby presents and tests a more realistic model of knowledge management.
How employees perceive organizational learning: construct validation of the 25-item short form of the strategic learning assessment map (SF-SLAM)
Authors: Mainert Jakob , Niepel Christoph , Lans Thomas , Greiff Samuel
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This study aims at the employees’ view on organizational learning (OL). OL is originally assessed in the Strategic Learning Assessment Map (SLAM) at the level of the firm by addressing managers, who rated OL in the SLAM on five dimensions of individual, group, organizational, feed-forward and feedback learning. However, as employees are getting their jobs done discretely and are increasingly making their own decisions, their perspective on OL genuinely matters. Hence, the authors assessed OL at the level of the individual by addressing employees on all levels, who rated OL in a short form of the SLAM (SF-SLAM).

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors focused on the construct validity of this SF-SLAM by investigating its reliability, factorial validity and nomological network. First, they asked whether the SF-SLAM reliably measures OL on five dimensions of individual, group, organizational, feed-forward and feedback learning. Next, they asked whether the SF-SLAM was associated with its nomological network of engaging in innovation-related learning activities, behaving innovatively on the job and showing higher educational levels, intelligence and individual job performances. They used a diverse German employee sample of skilled and unskilled workers and managers (N = 434) and analyzed the data with structural equation modeling.

Findings

The SF-SLAM was reliable, but revealed both constrained factorial validity and validity on the basis of its nomological network. First, five dimensions found support in the employee sample, but their correlations were high or very high, except for individual learning. Second, the SF-SLAM showed only few differential relations with variables from its nomological network.

Originality/value

Taken together, the SF-SLAM is short, reliable and only valid for examining individual learning.
Managing organisational knowledge through recruitment: searching and selecting embodied competencies
Authors: Jøranli Ingvild
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The creation of customized, technology-based services is highly dependent on experience-based knowledge embodied in individual expert employees. Therefore, knowledge upgrading through recruitment is fundamental to advanced services firms. Paying particular attention to the role of pre-existing knowledge bases and organisational contexts, this paper aims to investigate how software services firms search and select new employees. By doing so, it addresses an underdeveloped part of the human resource management (HRM) literature that concerns the relationship between recruitment and organisational learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis uses qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews with HR managers and executives in 12 software firms located in the Norwegian capital, and supplementary information from technologists’ CVs. The firms are strategically chosen to support conceptual development and to allow theoretical generalizations that have relevance for practitioners, and for future research.

Findings

The findings point to a challenging tension associated with the need to create stable individual knowledge linkages internally in consultancy-based business environments where technologists tend to develop their careers through external labour market mobility.

Practical implications

Mangers should reflect upon the balance between external and internal competence investments. The creation of an organisational labour market represents one way of co-investing in integrative capabilities and thus of avoiding over-dependency on external sources of knowledge.

Originality/value

The study provides a conceptual model linking recruitment to organisational learning, and emphasises the importance of knowledge management functions at the intersection between external labour markets and the internal organisation.
Developing a deeper understanding of positive customer feedback
Authors: Nasr Linda , Burton Jamie , Gruber Thorsten
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance and extend the understanding of the underresearched concept of personal positive customer feedback (PCF). By comparing and contrasting front-line employees’ (FLEs) and customers’ perspectives, this study aims to develop a deeper understanding of the main elements, characteristics of PCF, its various impacts and the perceived importance of this phenomenon for both parties.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory research study was conducted using a novel integrated methodological approach combining two well-established qualitative techniques: structured Laddering interviews and various elements of the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique. In total, personal interviews with 40 participants consisting of 20 customers and 20 FLEs were conducted.

Findings

This study conceptualizes personal PCF in the service literature by identifying the various PCF elements and characteristics. The authors extend PCF understanding beyond what the current literature shows (i.e. gratitude, compliments) by identifying nine characteristics of PCF. This study also proposes a number of impacts on both customers and FLEs. While both customers and FLEs have a similar understanding of the various elements and characteristics of PCF, the significance of the various elements and the subsequent impacts vary between the two groups. Finally, three key themes in PCF handling that help position PCF within the extant customer management literature are identified and discussed.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to a well-rounded understanding of customer feedback by counter-balancing the prevailing focus on customer complaining behaviour and proposing a complimentary look at the positive valence of personal feedback. It also provides managerial implications concerning the management of positive service encounters, an emerging topic within service research.

Originality/value

This multidisciplinary study is the first to extend the understanding of personal PCF by comparing and contrasting customers’ and FLEs’ perspectives. The findings of this study highlight the need to explore the positive side of service interactions to create positive service experiences.
Gender-equal organizations as a prerequisite for workplace learning
Authors: Johansson Kristina , Abrahamsson Lena
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how gendering of the learning environment acts to shape the design and outcome of workplace learning. The primary intention is to reflect on the idea of gender-equal organizations as a prerequisite for workplace learning.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of literature relating to gender and workplace learning was conducted with the relation between gender-(un)equal organizations and the design and outcome of workplace learning as the focus of the analysis. This was followed by an analysis of the characteristics of an organization that promote both adoptive and developmental workplace learning.

Findings

The literature shows how the gendering of the learning environment acts to shape workplace learning, often by preventing development learning and limiting adoptive learning to already privileged groups. To facilitate development, workplace learning requires that organizations are guided by nuanced knowledge of work organization and strategically use workplace learning to challenge existing power relations; that they are not characterised by gender segregation; and that the presence and protection of gendered practices and identities do not dominate learning activities.

Practical implications

Stressing gender-equal organizations as a prerequisite for learning requires stakeholders to integrate a gender perspective in the design of workplace learning.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature considering workplace learning by highlighting how gender-equal organizations constitutes a prerequisite for workplace learning and in defining a few basic characteristics of such organizations.
Unseen and unheard? Women managers and organizational learning
Authors: Martin Lynn M. , Lord Gemma , Warren-Smith Izzy
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to use (in)visibility as a lens to understand the lived experience of six women managers in the headquarters of a large multinational organization in the UK to identify how “gender” is expressed in the context of organizational learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers take a phenomenological approach via qualitative data collection with a purposeful sample – the six female managers in a group of 24. Data were collected through quarterly semi-structured interviews over 12 months with the themes – knowledge, interaction and gender.

Findings

Organizations seek to build advantage to gain and retain competitive leadership. Their resilience in a changing task environment depends on their ability to recognize, gain and use knowledge likely to deliver these capabilities. Here, gender was a barrier to effective organizational learning with women’s knowledge and experience often unseen and unheard.

Research limitations/implications

This is a piece of research limited to exploration of gender as other, but ethnicity, age, social class, disability and sexual preference, alone or in combination, may be equally subject to invisibility in knowledge terms; further research would be needed to test this however.

Practical implications

Practical applications relate to the need for organizations to examine and address their operations for exclusion based on perceived “otherness”. Gendered organizations cause problems for their female members, but they also exclude the experience and knowledge of key individuals as seen here, where gender impacted on effective knowledge sharing and cocreation of knowledge.

Social implications

The study offers further evidence of gendered organizations and their impacts on organizational effectiveness, but it also offers insights into the continues social acceptance of a masculinized normative model for socio-economic practice.

Originality/value

This exploration of gender and organizational learning offers new insights to help explain the way in which organizational learning occurs – or fails to occur – with visibility/invisibility of one group shaped by gendered attitudes and processes. It shows that organizational learning is not gender neutral (as it appears in mainstream organizational learning research) and calls for researchers to include this as a factor in future research.
Abrupt generalized pustules in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and interstitial lung disease
Authors: Deng Wei , Miao Chaoyang , Zhang Xiaoyan
Published: November 2017

We report a case of a 30‐year‐old Chinese woman with rheumatoid arthritis and interstitial lung disease who abruptly developed generalized pustules and a high fever for 10 days. She had been taking oral prednisone, iguratimod and total glucosides of peony regularly for 5 months prior. In addition, she had taken metronidazole for 3 days 20 days prior which she had used before with no adverse reaction. She had no history of similar lesions and psoriasis. A biopsy of a pustule on the back showed spongiform pustule of Kogoj. She was suspected of having generalized pustular psoriasis or acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis. Finally, she was diagnosed with generalized pustular psoriasis (von Zumbusch type) considering the characteristics and clinical course of the rash. In addition to the above three drugs, systemic cyclosporin (5 mg/kg per day) was applied, and the lesions and fever resolved within the proceeding 2 months.
Economic assessment of actual prescription of drugs for treatment of atopic dermatitis: Differences between dermatology and pediatrics in large‐scale receipt data
Authors: Komura Yoko , Kogure Takamichi , Kawahara Kazuo , Yokozeki Hiroo
Published: November 2017

Using large‐scale receipt data, we analyzed the differences in the prescription of drugs and their costs between dermatology and pediatrics in the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) in children. Between August 2010 and July 2011, 50 706 patients were diagnosed as having AD, and the data of 21 075 (15 257 dermatology, 5818 pediatric) patients aged 0–14 years were included in this study. The use of classes I (strongest), II (very strong), and III (strong) topical corticosteroids and tacrolimus was significantly higher in dermatology than in pediatrics (class I, 2.88% vs 0.76%; class II, 27.68% vs 8.32%; class III, 52.53% vs 39.88%; tacrolimus, 5.05% vs 2.82%; all P < 0.05). Although total drug costs were higher in dermatology than in pediatrics, mean drug costs per person were significantly higher in pediatrics. Moisturizers and protective agents had the highest cost (~ ¥690 million). The introduction rate of generic drugs was low at 8.3% among classes I–V. The introduction rate of moisturizers and protective agents, for which costs were the highest, was approximately 9%. The prescription of generic classes II–V topical corticosteroids and moisturizers and protective agents was also significantly higher in dermatology than in pediatrics (P < 0.05). Among patients younger than 2 years, 4405 received drugs for AD; classes I and II topical corticosteroids and tacrolimus (against the guidelines) were administrated in 35 (0.8%), 474 (10.8%) and 29 patients (0.7%), respectively. The introduction of generic drugs is still low, and the use of generic moisturizers and protective agents should be addressed further.
The Effects of Inflation on Market Participation and Search Intensity
Authors: Huangfu Stella Xiuhua
Published: November 2017

Inflation leads individuals to work harder to spend and not carry their money holdings. Two alternative margins have been used to model this effect: the extensive margin (the frequency of shopping per period) and the intensive margin (the average shopping time per trip). This paper investigates how inflation affects these two margins. It deviates from the previous literature by allowing individuals to vary both margins simultaneously. The analysis reveals that the impact of inflation on these two margins is determined by the interaction between the opportunity cost of carrying money and direct search costs.
Second Major Redesign of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
Authors: Langton Lynn , Planty Michael , Lynch James P.
Published: November 2017

Research Summary

Since 1973, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) has served as a key source of data on the level and nature of crime and its consequences. To keep pace with the changing landscape of crime, as well as with the technological advances in survey research, occasional “redesigns” of the survey are necessary to modernize and improve the utility of data collected.

Policy Implications

This article describes recent and ongoing efforts to redesign (a) the NCVS survey instruments to reflect the changing demographics of victims, emerging crime types, and timely issues related to victimization risk and victim responses to crime and (b) the NCVS sample to generate state and local estimates of crime. The implications of these improvements for researchers and policy makers are discussed.
Seed loss before seed predation: experimental evidence of the negative effects of leaf feeding insects on acorn production
Authors: CANELO Tara , GAYTÁN Álvaro , GONZÁLEZ‐BORNAY Guillermo , BONAL Raul
Published: November 2017

Insect herbivory decreases plant fitness by constraining plant growth, survival and reproductive output. Most studies on the effects of herbivory in trees rely on correlational inter‐individual comparisons and could, thus, be affected by confounding factors linked to both herbivory and plant performance. Using the Mediterranean Holm oak (Quercus ilex) as a study model, we followed an experimental approach in which leaf‐feeding insects (mainly Lepidoptera caterpillars) were excluded from some shoots in all study trees. Shoots subjected to herbivore exclusion exhibited lower defoliation rates and produced more acorns than control shoots. Defoliation constrained shoot growth throughout the study period, but had no effect on the number of female flowers produced per shoot. Acorn production was, however, lower in control shoots due to their higher abortion rates, and also to their greater mortality risk during summer drought, as shoots with fewer leaves were less likely to survive. Plant reaction to herbivory inhibits certain physiological pathways involved in plant growth, which, together with the effects of physical damage, reduces the amount and efficiency of the photosynthetic tissue. This increases their vulnerability to environmental stresses, such as water deficit, which limit resource assimilation. Defoliation is likely a key factor affecting oak regeneration, as it may be a significant source of seed loss prior to pre‐dispersal acorn predation. Further experimental studies could help to elucidate its effects in contrasting environments. In Mediterranean regions, the harsher droughts predicted by climate change models could worsen the effects of insect herbivory on oak reproductive output.