bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of critical failure factors (CFFs) of Lean Six Sigma in real life scenario
Authors: Sreedharan V. Raja , V. Gopikumar , Nair Smitha , Chakraborty Ayon , Antony Jiju
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Many projects focus on the reliable operation of the activities in the project. Any failure in the process activities leads to major problems resulting in waste, defects, equipment damage, which has a direct impact on the consumers. In addition, Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is not new to this issue. LSS projects have faced an interruption in the process flow and unforeseen defects. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to identify the vital failure factors of LSS projects.

Design/methodology/approach

Through extant literature review, the researchers found 44 critical failure factors (CFFs) of LSS. Using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) SIMOS approach, the decision makers’ (DMs) rating and weight for each factor were collected. Moreover, the study was conducted in both the manufacturing and service industries to identify the impact of CFFs in LSS projects.

Findings

CFFs and their evaluation have received little attention in the literature. Most of the previous studies deal only with the identification of the success factors in general. Therefore, the study identified 44 CFFs and ranked them through DMs. In addition, the TOPSIS SIMOS approach ranked the vital failure factors enabling the management to avert the LSS project from failures.

Research limitations/implications

The study focused on project failures due to CFFs of LSS. Nevertheless, it did not consider other failure factors of project and knowledge management. Further, the sample used to test the approach was considerably small. Therefore, the study can be repeated with significant samples and the vital failure factors compared.

Practical implications

In real-life application, all the parameters in the LSS project need to be understood in a better manner. In such a condition, the practitioner needs to know that the project never fails due to the CFFs and TOPSIS SIMOS approach can prevent the LSS project failures.

Originality/value

The study applied TOPSIS SIMOS approach to rank the CFFs in an LSS project, which is first of its kind and aids the practitioners to make the right decisions in the business environment.
Performance measurement in the natural gas industry
Authors: Yusuf Yahaya , Gunasekaran Angappa , Papadopoulos Thanos , Auchterlounie Wendy , Hollomah Delphine , Menhat Masha
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a performance measurement model for the entire supply chain that includes balanced set of performance measures.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual model was validated empirically in case companies through semi-structured interviews and content analysis of documents.

Findings

Performance measures are important to companies in the natural gas (NG) supply chain to assess performance against set objectives in order to identify loopholes in performance. This is important in order to remain competitive. The research found that both financial and non-financial performance measures are employed by companies to measure performance. The results also indicate that six performance criteria of the conceptual model are vital to the NG supply chain. In addition, all identified measures under each of criteria impact on performance of the supply chain with customer service and financial criteria considered as most important.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical data collected from the NG supply chain in Ghana were relatively small; however, additional information was obtained from company data and relevant magazines. Also, getting through to specific target participant was a challenge due to busy work schedule but, in case companies where it proved impossible, other staff who were also involved in supply chain were interviewed instead.

Practical implications

This research provides a useful source of information on performance measures for practitioners in the NG industry who wish to measure performance of their supply chain. It also provides areas from which further and additional research can be carried out.

Originality/value

This research provides performance measures for the NG supply chain of Ghana. Typically, performance measures have been evaluated in discrete manufacturing supply chain, petroleum industry supply chain and oil industry supply chain. This research expanded on ideas from these studies and applied them in the NG industry.
Innovation driven ecosystem for quality skill development in India
Authors: Shrotriya Shishir , Dhir Sanjay , Sushil
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and analyze the challenges of quality skill development in complex and large economies like India and develop innovative processes of improving employability.

Design/methodology/approach

The problem areas and gaps have been identified through literature survey and published reports by governmental agencies on employability and quality skill development in India. The research focuses on prevalent challenges for large-scale skill development and utilizes TRIZ (Russian acronym for “Theory of Inventive Problem Solving”) for finding innovative solutions to the grand challenge of employability.

Findings

The applied research methodology in the paper leads to a model for the “Innovation driven ecosystem for quality skill development” and also defines the role and responsibilities of each stakeholders in the ecosystem.

Research limitations/implications

Solutions derived through TRIZ are qualitative in nature. The actual implication of solution needs to be tested after implementation. Further, intangible costs incurred, and harmful and useful effects cannot be easily quantified.

Practical implications

The parameter mapping for the TRIZ matrix was undertaken in this paper and this methodology when applied to other problem statements renders an organized process for improving total quality and innovative process management. The inventive principles were applied to find solution to contradictions and arrive at an integrated ecosystem which binds all stakeholders efficiently, to generate higher employability. The innovative solutions derived through the process are applicable to policy makers, researchers and practitioners.

Social implications

The process of improving employability through quality skill development, benchmarked by the TRIZ methodology can have far reaching social implications.

Originality/value

The research extends the body of knowledge of TRIZ modeling concepts in areas other than engineering, and depicts a unique total quality methodology which can be easily applied for other problem-solving contexts. The contribution can serve as a reference technique/tool for improving reliability and quality through a methodical process of working out innovative solutions to solve operational problems.
Characterising performance measurement systems as used in SMEs: a field study
Authors: Marchand Marie , Raymond Louis
Published: October 2018

Purpose

As calls have been made to characterize and theorise performance measurement systems (PMS) and as these systems are highly contextualised because of their mission-critical nature, the purpose of this paper is to generate empirically-valid and useful findings with regard to their characterisation as information technology artefacts through an approach founded upon the user’s perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Using both qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches, the authors conducted a field study through extensive interviews in situ with the owner-managers of 16 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Findings

The PMS are characterised, from their users’ point of view, in terms of their functional attributes as information systems dedicated to the management of organisational performance, that is, as being either operational, functional, managerial or organisational systems.

Research limitations/implications

Having modelled the PMS artefact in terms of its artefactual dimensions and features, the authors have empirically validated a characterisation approach that allows researchers to circumscribe this artefact within its specific usage context and to identify its salient attributes as study variables.

Practical implications

The research findings provide an empirical basis for the design and evaluation of PMS that is coherent with the specific context of their use in SMEs.

Originality/value

This study validates a novel and demonstrably useful artefactual perspective to characterize and theorise PMS as objects of empirical research.
Information management – a skills gap?
Authors: Kolding Marianne , Sundblad Martin , Alexa Jan , Stone Merlin , Aravopoulou Eleni , Evans Geraint
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore very recent data about how large organizations are dealing with a shortage of information and communications technology (ICT) specialists, in terms of its implications for information management.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on qualitative interview-based research with 11 large European companies, with an estimated ICT workforce of around 400,000 (about 14 per cent of ICT professionals in Europe), covering hiring, retention and upskilling of ICT staff, and expectations concerning graduates from European universities. These data are combined with International Data Corporation (IDC) analyst reports on the demand for different categories of ICT products and services, and data from the authors’ consulting work.

Findings

Larger organizations expect hiring to be a challenge, with strong competition for talent, whether from existing users or from the many rapidly digitalizing companies – digitalizing their organizations; their products and services; and their relationships with customer, suppliers and business partners. Upskilling and retraining workforces is seen by large organizations as a better approach than hiring, allowing them to create the right skills balance and retain their workers better. However, softer skills, such as communication and problem solving, are seen as just as important. ICT workers will benefit from a lifelong approach to learning, acquiring new skills and adapting existing skills. Many ICT companies have created academies for developing employee skills and certifications related to their own technologies, while the education sector has been working on creating curricula (alone or sometimes in partnerships with vendors) to improve graduate employability.

Research limitations/implications

The research is based on a small sample of large companies. The situation may be different in other companies and smaller organizations.

Practical implications

Organizations can cope with the skills shortage by anticipating and working with the market forces rather than trying to oppose them.

Social implications

ICT employees will show the way for employees in other sectors where skills are scarce, by demonstrating how to reinvent themselves as the skills needed change.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrates that employers have changed their expectations of universities. They expect less that graduates will be ICT-employment ready, and more that they will have the skills to make and keep themselves employment ready. This has significant implications for university course design.
Professional development: investigating the relationships between employee motives, learning opportunities, and activities
Authors: Dutton Kelly
Published: October 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings

Employees are increasingly becoming facilitators of their own professional career path and development. A highly motivated employee wanting to learn and train for their own personal development will be more aware of potential learning opportunities available to them, and will be more inclined to engage in them. For improved productivity and success, organizations need both engaged and committed employees and to offer a range of learning opportunities.

Practical implications

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.

Originality/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.
Do brands compete or coexist? A response to the responses
Authors: Koschmann Anthony , Sheth Jagdish
Published: October 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to respond to the responses made by Aaker, Keller and Tellis to “Do brands compete or coexist? How persistence of brand loyalty segments the market”.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a response to the comments of Aaker, Keller and Tellis.

Findings

The paper finds the comments by Aaker, Keller and Tellis recognize the role of innovation for mature brands to maintain relevance and, by extension, loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

Scholars are encouraged to question conventional wisdom (such as brands compete head-to-head) and build their case for important ideas with strong arguments.

Originality/value

This paper suggests that only through innovation can mature brands hold on to loyal customers. Becoming the relevant brand in a given product space is challenging, but possible through evolutionary and revolutionary innovation of the brand architecture.
The influences of transformational leadership on employee employability
Authors: Yizhong Xie , Baranchenko Yevhen , Lin Zhibin , Lau Chi Keung , Ma Jie
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of job characteristics and social exchange in transformational leadership (TFL) and employability relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample is composed of 760 participants employed in Yangtze Delta and Pearl River Delta in China. The participants have worked under their line manager for more than one year. In order to better prevent data from possible common method bias, two waves of surveys (in 2014) on a stratified sample, included a mix of industries, such as construction, manufacturing, finance, insurance and communications, were used to investigate the proposed relationship between TFL, job characteristics, social exchange and employability.

Findings

The research has empirically tested the relationship between TFL and employability. While previous research has analyzed the relationship between them, the authors have enriched existing literature by exploring the mediating factors and illustrating the importance of indirect effects. Besides the direct effect, the results of this study showed that TFL could also improve employees’ employability through job demands, skill discretion, decision authority, perceived organizational support and team–member exchange, but not leader–member exchange.

Originality/value

The study opens up a debate around the employability of employees as it stands apart from the performance measurement. The authors believe that this new mediating model can provide an insight into complex mechanisms of employability enhancement from the perspective of leader development.
Challenges to the Omohundro–Bostrom framework for AI motivations
Authors: Häggström Olle
Published: October 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to contribute to the futurology of a possible artificial intelligence (AI) breakthrough, by reexamining the Omohundro–Bostrom theory for instrumental vs final AI goals. Does that theory, along with its predictions for what a superintelligent AI would be motivated to do, hold water?

Design/methodology/approach

The standard tools of systematic reasoning and analytic philosophy are used to probe possible weaknesses of Omohundro–Bostrom theory from four different directions: self-referential contradictions, Tegmark’s physics challenge, moral realism and the messy case of human motivations.

Findings

The two cornerstones of Omohundro–Bostrom theory – the orthogonality thesis and the instrumental convergence thesis – are both open to various criticisms that question their validity and scope. These criticisms are however far from conclusive: while they do suggest that a reasonable amount of caution and epistemic humility is attached to predictions derived from the theory, further work will be needed to clarify its scope and to put it on more rigorous foundations.

Originality/value

The practical value of being able to predict AI goals and motivations under various circumstances cannot be overstated: the future of humanity may depend on it. Currently, the only framework available for making such predictions is Omohundro–Bostrom theory, and the value of the present paper is to demonstrate its tentative nature and the need for further scrutiny.
Dissecting knowledge hiding: a note on what it is and what it is not
Authors: Issac Abraham Cyril , Baral Rupashree
Published: October 2018

Purpose

There are always ways of giving answers without actually giving them. This is highly visible across different organizations these days. When the emphasis is on openness and knowledge sharing, there is an equivalent construct which takes up a totally different position known as knowledge hiding. The purpose of this paper is to decipher this novel construct knowledge hiding and to understand how unique and different it is from other prominent organizational behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws from published literature on knowledge hiding research to illustrate the uniqueness of the construct within organizational contexts and possible knowledge management strategies.

Findings

The paper dissects the construct knowledge hiding in organizations, illustrates how different it is from other prominent organizational behaviors, identifies the strategic factors engendering knowledge hiding, and warrants the effective addressal of the same.

Practical implications

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.

Originality/value

The most critical element in the knowledge management process is not to facilitate knowledge sharing rather prevent inherent knowledge hiding. This paper attempts to address different dimensions of knowledge hiding and how to properly understand, analyze, and master the construct of knowledge hiding for organizational benefit.
The Kyoto Protocol and CO2 emission: is India still hibernating?
Authors: Bhat Aaqib Ahmad , Mishra Prajna Paramita
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between CO2 emission and its core determinants, namely, economic growth, energy consumption and trade openness in the pre- and post-Kyoto Protocol era in the Indian economy.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses the ARDL bounds test to analyze the long-run and short-run empirical relationship between the interested variables for the time period 1971-2013. A dummy variable representing the Kyoto Protocol regime has been included to examine the likely impact of international climate policies (Kyoto Protocol) in controlling and reducing CO2 emission in India.

Findings

The empirical results indicate the possibility of increase in CO2 emission from India even after the Kyoto Protocol regime. Evidence of inverted U-shaped relationship between CO2 emission and economic growth (EKC hypothesis) has been confirmed. However, compared to increase in CO2 emission, the magnitude of decrease due to improvement in economic growth is relatively lesser. Energy consumption and trade openness are also found to increase CO2 emission.

Research limitations/implications

The results indicate that there is a lack of commitment on the part of India to curtail CO2 emission, which can be disastrous for future prosperity. Financing the renewable electricity generation, R&D subsidy and tax-free renewable energy seems to be imperative to address this catastrophic problem.

Originality/value

This study is the first attempt to analyze the impact of international climate policy (Kyoto Protocol) on CO2 emission by incorporating a fixed dummy in the ARDL specifications.
Credit risk management
Authors: Akram Hassan , Rahman Khalil ur
Published: October 2018

Purpose

This study aims to examine and compare the credit risk management (CRM) scenario of Islamic banks (IBs) and conventional banks (CBs) in Pakistan, keeping in view the phenomenal growth of Islamic banking and its future implications.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of five CBs and four IBs was chosen out of the whole banking industry for the study. Secondary data obtained from the banks’ annual financial reports for 13 years, starting from 2004 to 2016, were analyzed. Multiple regression, correlation and descriptive analysis were used in the examination of the data.

Findings

The results show that loan quality (LQ) has a positive and significant impact on CRM for both IBs and CBs. Asset quality (AQ), on the other hand, has a negative impact on CRM in the case of IBs, but has a significantly positive relation with CRM in the case of CBs. The impact of 16 ratios measuring LQ and AQ have also been individually checked on CRM, by making use of a regression model using a dummy variable of financial crises for robust comparison among CBs and IBs. The model proved significant, and CRM performance of IBs was observed to be better than that of CBs. Moreover, the mean average value of financial ratios used as a measuring tool for these variables shows that the CRM performance of IBs operating in Pakistan was better than that of CBs over the period of the study.

Practical implications

The research findings are expected to facilitate bankers, investors, academics and policy makers to build a better understanding of CRM practices as adopted by CBs and IBs. The findings would be useful in formulating policy measures for the progress of the banking industry in Pakistan.

Originality/value

This research is unique in terms of its approach toward analyzing and comparing CRM performance of CBs and IBs. Such work has not been carried out before in the Pakistani banking industry.
The birth of an ICT project alliance
Authors: Lappi Teemu Mikael , Aaltonen Kirsi , Kujala Jaakko
Published: October 2018

Purpose

ICT projects, especially in the public sector, can have a substantial impact on society but are challenging due to organizational and technological complexities and uncertainties. Collaborative and cooperative project delivery models, namely, the project alliance method, can mitigate such challenges, but, thus far, have not been utilized in information and communication technology (ICT) projects. The purpose of this paper is to explore and understand the cross-field transfer process through which the project alliance model was applied to the ICT field from the construction sector.

Design/methodology/approach

An inductive case study of the ICT project alliance early stages was performed. Data were collected from the first known ICT alliance project, conducted in the context of the Finnish public sector digitalization.

Findings

The findings show how the activities of institutional entrepreneurs impact the cross-field transfer process during the ICT project alliance’s early stages. Furthermore, the results illustrate the characteristics of an ICT project alliance and compare those with more traditional project alliances.

Originality/value

The topic and results of the study are original and contribute to institutional research by identifying and studying the micro-level processes associated with the cross-field transfer process. The study also builds an initial understanding of a new method of organizing ICT projects and contributes to the project alliance literature. The managerial implications of the findings allow project practitioners to understand the emerging characteristics of an ICT project alliance, and enable managers in the ICT field to adjust and prepare their own organizations and processes for the application of the project alliance model.
Adoption of mobile self-service retail banking technologies
Authors: Giovanis Apostolos , Assimakopoulos Costas , Sarmaniotis Christos
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors influencing the adoption of mobile self-service retail banking technologies, and the degree of influence of each factors leading their usage. Having mobile banking (MB) as the reference service and drawing on previous studies in the field, an extended Uniﬁed Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model is proposed and empirically validated to investigate the impact of technology, social, channel and personal factors on potential customers’ usage intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

On evidence drawn, through a dedicated research instrument, from 513 non-users in Greece, the effects of the extended UTAUT’s drivers on MB adoption intentions are assessed using partial least squares path methodology.

Findings

The results indicated that technology-related factors, expressing innovation expected performance, and social influence are the leading determinants of MB adoption intentions, followed by the two channel-related factors, expressing perceived risk and trust toward MB usage, and potential users’ inherent innovativeness. Furthermore, the consideration of service experience as a moderating variable has shown that there is a significant difference in the effects of social influence and perceived trust on adoption intention between potential users with high and limited service experience.

Research limitations/implications

The sample is country specific and this may affect generalizability of findings. Also, the cross-sectional design adopted does not reflect the temporal changes.

Practical implications

From a practical point of view, the findings suggest that banks should consider, except of the technology-related factors of MB, the way that potential users perceive the channel-related factors as well as the individual differences in order to improve the MB acceptance level.

Originality/value

Although there are a few studies that use UTAUT to predict MB adoption, the proposed model is the first that combines four groups of MB adoption driving factors into a causal model in order to explain MB adoption intentions in a country which is facing severe financial crisis for the last eight years, Greece.
Effect of hydrogen on graphene growth from solid waste products by chemical vapour deposition: friction coefficient properties
Authors: Mat Tahir Noor Ayuma , Abdollah Mohd Fadzli Bin , Tamaldin Noreffendy , Mohamad Zin Mohd Rody Bin , Amiruddin Hilmi
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of hydrogen (H2) gas on the graphene growth from fruit cover plastic waste (FCPW) and oil palm fibre (OPF), as a solid feedstock, towards the coefficient of friction (COF) properties.

Design/methodology/approach

Graphene film growth on copper (Cu) substrate was synthesised from FCPW and OPF, as a solid feedstock, using the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method, at atmospheric pressure. The synthesised graphene was characterised using Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Electron Dispersed Spectroscopy (EDS). Surface hardness and roughness were measured using a nano-indenter and surface profilometer, respectively. Then, a dry sliding test was executed using a ball-on-disc tribometer at constant speed, sliding distance and load, with coated and uncoated copper sheet as the counter surface.

Findings

The presence of H2 gas reduced the running-in time of the dry sliding test. However, there is no significant effect at the constant COF region, where the graphene growth from FCPW shows the lowest COF among other surfaces.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is limited to graphene growth using the CVD method with selected parameters.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper on growing graphene from palm oil fiber via the CVD method and its subsequent analysis, based on friction coefficient properties.
Business environmental analysis for textual data using data mining and sentence-level classification
Authors: Kim Yoon-Sung , Rim Hae-Chang , Lee Do-Gil
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology to analyze a large amount of unstructured textual data into categories of business environmental analysis frameworks.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses machine learning to classify a vast amount of unstructured textual data by category of business environmental analysis framework. Generally, it is difficult to produce high quality and massive training data for machine-learning-based system in terms of cost. Semi-supervised learning techniques are used to improve the classification performance. Additionally, the lack of feature problem that traditional classification systems have suffered is resolved by applying semantic features by utilizing word embedding, a new technique in text mining.

Findings

The proposed methodology can be used for various business environmental analyses and the system is fully automated in both the training and classifying phases. Semi-supervised learning can solve the problems with insufficient training data. The proposed semantic features can be helpful for improving traditional classification systems.

Research limitations/implications

This paper focuses on classifying sentences that contain the information of business environmental analysis in large amount of documents. However, the proposed methodology has a limitation on the advanced analyses which can directly help managers establish strategies, since it does not summarize the environmental variables that are implied in the classified sentences. Using the advanced summarization and recommendation techniques could extract the environmental variables among the sentences, and they can assist managers to establish effective strategies.

Originality/value

The feature selection technique developed in this paper has not been used in traditional systems for business and industry, so that the whole process can be fully automated. It also demonstrates practicality so that it can be applied to various business environmental analysis frameworks. In addition, the system is more economical than traditional systems because of semi-supervised learning, and can resolve the lack of feature problem that traditional systems suffer. This work is valuable for analyzing environmental factors and establishing strategies for companies.
Perceived financial well-being and its effect on domestic product purchases
Authors: Hampson Daniel Peter , Ma Shuang (Sara) , Wang Yonggui
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Global brands are attracted to emerging markets because of increasing wealth among their middle classes. However, amid increasing levels of consumer financial stress in many emerging markets, evidence points towards increased preferences for domestic products. The purpose of this paper is to examine the psychological constructs that mediate and moderate the relationship between reduced perceived financial well-being (PFWB) and domestic product purchases.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors develop a model drawing from three theoretical perspectives: consumer stress and coping, consumer information processing and social identity theory. Hypotheses are tested via structural equation modelling and moderated mediation analyses using data from a survey of Brazilian consumers (n=1,043).

Findings

Results show that the positive relationship between reduced PFWB and domestic product purchases is partially mediated by perceived value of global brands and frugality descriptive norm. Further analyses demonstrate that consumer confidence moderates the mediating effects of perceived value of global brands and pro-social consumer ethnocentrism on the relationship between reduced PFWB and domestic product purchases.

Research limitations/implications

The antecedents of domestic product purchases identified in this study indicate opportunities for marketers of domestic and foreign products to respond to reduced PFWB, especially in relation to pricing, branding and communications. Future research should examine implications of PFWB on different populations, including other emerging markets, developed markets and lower-income consumers.

Originality/value

This study contributes to international marketing literature by examining the hitherto unexplored influence of reduced PFWB on domestic product purchases.
Multi-stage expectation-confirmation framework for salespeople expectation management
Authors: Oh Joon-Hee , Ma Judy
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Despite its significance in salespeople management, salespeople expectation management has received little attention in the literature, especially in the industrial marketing literature. In response, the purpose of this study is to leverage the expectation confirmation theory to present a conceptual framework that provides an effective tool for salespeople expectation management.

Design/methodology/approach

This study first explores the application and strategic implications of expectation-confirmation theory in salespeople expectation management and theorizes that salespeople establish pre-expectations (expectations that are developed before joining the firm), experience multiple stages of the expectation-confirmation process throughout their sales career with a firm and – in each stage – establish either a longer-term commitment to or permanent disengagement from the firm.

Findings

A winning strategy for sales organizations is to recognize salespeople expectations and to meet or beat these expectations. Salespeople expectation management is particularly important in sales organizations that frequently find aligning sales force management strategies with organizational imperatives to be challenging.

Research limitations/implications

This study extends expectation-confirmation theory by presenting a conceptual framework that: identifies the existence of pre-expectations of salespeople and their outcomes; recognizes that the expectation-confirmation process occurs across multiple stages in the salespeople’s career cycle; recognizes that the level of expectations in previous stages of one’s career cycle influences the level of expectations in subsequent stages; and conceptualizes the non-linear relationship between expectations, tenure and turnover intentions.

Originality/value

The multiple expectation-confirmation framework can be used for effective salespeople expectation and turnover management and may also serve as a general model of organizational interventions.
Customer centricity and guanxi prevalence as social capital: a study of international business relationships
Authors: Scheinbaum Angeline Close , Wang Stephen W.
Published: October 2018

Purpose

This research blends perspectives of the Eastern phenomenon of guanxi with the more Western perspectives of relationship marketing and customer centricity. Extending scholarship on guanxi in marketing (e.g. Park and Luo, 2001; Sheu and Hu, 2009; Luo et al., 2008; Fowler and Reisenwitz, 2014), the objective is to highlight the indirect role of customer centricity (i.e. how visible or central it is for the business partner to communicate with/have information sharing with), for firms in regions with a prevalence of guanxi.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical model is tested in context of global marketing in the business-to-business (B2B) logistics industry (n= 508). A total of 508 global logistics employees and managers with experience in global business participated in the survey in Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis with multi-group analyses.

Findings

Customer centricity intensifies positive outcomes of guanxi prevalence. Specifically, a high level of customer centricity strengthens established associations among guanxi prevalence, trust, relationship commitment and firm performance.

Originality/value

While most work on guanxi has a focus in China, this research focuses on Taiwan. While building on a wealth of literature, relatively less work has focused on customer centricity.
The moderating role of governmental support in the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth
Authors: Saberi Maria , Hamdan Allam
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find out the extent to which governments of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries play a moderating role in the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a 10-year time series (2006-2015) for six GCC countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Secondary sources of data were collected from The World Bank database, general available statistics on the GCC, the Global Entrepreneurship Index from the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI) and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) database.

Findings

Results indicate that governmental support has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth in the GCC. Furthermore, the strongest indicators of entrepreneurial investments in the Gulf have been found to be risk capital and high growth, which indicate a rapid growth in entrepreneurial investments. The lowest scoring indicators were found to be technology absorption and innovation process.

Research limitations/implications

Despite the necessary measures taken to assure standard results such as testing data validity, care should be taken when generalizing the research results mainly because the time series of the study (2006-2015) could have been affected by the International and Financial Crisis, though the study has taken this into consideration.

Originality/value

This study has clarified the significant role of GCC governments in moderating the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth. Thus, the findings of this study are important because they help the GCC governments recognize their significant role and hence to utilize this role by supporting new and existing entrepreneurs particularly through regulatory quality, risk capital, technology absorption and process innovation. Furthermore, this study proves the extent to which entrepreneurship can help enhance the GCC economic growth, hence elaborating the importance of the sustainable resource, such as the human capital, in achieving diversification of sources to move from an oil-based to a more diversified economy.
An explanatory and predictive PLS-SEM approach to the relationship between organizational culture,organizational performance and customer loyalty
Authors: García-Fernández Jerónimo , Martelo-Landroguez Silvia , Vélez-Colon Luisa , Cepeda-Carrión Gabriel
Published: October 2018

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the impact and predictive capacity of organizational culture on both customer loyalty and organizational performance in health clubs using data from managers and customers of health clubs in Spain.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 101 managers were asked to measure organizational culture and organizational performance and 2,931 customers were asked to indicate their customer loyalty. The proposed hypotheses were tested and their predictability assessed through PLS-SEM. A composite concept was adopted to analyze the relationships between the different constructs and their indicators.

Findings

The findings suggest that organizational culture has a positive relationship with both customer loyalty and organizational performance. The four main dimensions of organizational culture that influence this relationship are, in order of significance, organizational presence, formalization, atmosphere and service-equipment. The authors’ model has a very good predictive power for both dependent variables.

Originality/value

Customer loyalty is an aspect of health clubs that can be improved. This study highlights the importance of creating a strong organizational culture in health clubs, as it enhances and predicts customer loyalty and organizational performance. Its predictability has already been tested with samples of managers and customers, with the analysis being performed from the perspective of the organization’s management and customer perceptions. This study also contributes to the field of sport management, using a predictive PLS-SEM technique.
A novel product recommendation model consolidating price, trust and online reviews
Authors: Huang Ying , Wang Nu-nu , Zhang Hongyu , Wang Jianqiang
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a model for product recommendation to improve the accuracy of recommendation based on the current search engines used in e-commerce platforms like Tmall.com.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the proposed model comprehensively considers price, trust and online reviews, which all represent critical factors in consumers’ purchasing decisions. Second, the model introduces the quantization methods for these criteria incorporating fuzzy theory. Third, the model uses a distance measure between two single valued neutrosophic sets based on the prioritized average operator to consolidate the influences of positive, neutral and negative comments. Finally, the model uses multi-criteria decision-making methods to integrate the influences of price, trust and online reviews on purchasing decisions to generate recommendations.

Findings

To demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed model, a case study is conducted based on Tmall.com. The results of case study indicate that the recommendations of our model perform better than those of current search engines of Tmall.com. The proposed model can significantly improve the accuracy of product recommendations based on search engines.

Originality/value

The product recommendation method can meet the critical challenge from the search engines on e-commerce platforms. In addition, the proposed method could be used in practice to develop a new application for e-commerce platforms.
Crowd funding in libraries: by the people and for the people
Authors: Sawant Sarika
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Crowd funding is a method to raise funds for a specific cause or project by asking a large number of people to donate money, usually in small amounts, and usually during a relatively short period, such as a few months. This paper aims to explore the global as well as Indian crowd funding platforms and literature as well to find out the success stories of crowd funding.

Design/methodology/approach

General literature was reviewed. Various crowd funding platforms were scanned, especially Indian, to find the successful crowd funding stories.

Findings

It was found that plenty of crowd funding initiatives have been taken in India, especially to build libraries, to decorate libraries, for collection development, to provide services, etc. Nongovernmental organizations/trusts are the ones who are undertaking these initiatives. There is a need to create awareness of such activities by experienced library professionals/nonprofessionals who have done crowd funding and for them to share their experiences and practices of crowd funding among other professionals, so that others can also explore such methods.

Originality/value

This paper promptly presents the Indian crowd funding initiatives and the success stories.
Immigrant entrepreneurs in the USA
Authors: Awotoye Yemisi Freda , Singh Robert P.
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Given the growing number of immigrant entrepreneurs in the USA, the purpose of this paper is to better understand the behaviors of this subgroup of entrepreneurs. Specifically, the paper aims to understand the unique challenges faced by immigrant entrepreneurs and how environmental challenges affect decisions to grow or abandon their ventures.

Design/methodology/approach

To make the theoretical arguments in this conceptual paper, the authors draw on the theory of planned behavior developed by Ajzen (1985), which suggests that a person’s behavior is predicted by their intention, and intentions are predicted by one’s attitudes, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control.

Findings

The paper provides theoretical insights on the effect of demands of immigration on the intentions of immigrant entrepreneurs to engage in three specific entrepreneurial behaviors: new venture formation, growth and abandonment. The authors propose that immigrant entrepreneurs deal with increased stress yet continue to maintain higher intentions to found new ventures compared to non-immigrants. Contrastingly, the authors also propose that the stress and obstacles immigrant entrepreneurs face reduce their intentions to grow their firms and increase their intentions to abandon their firms. The authors also explore entrepreneurial resilience as a possible moderating factor between stress and entrepreneurial intentions of immigrant entrepreneurs.

Research limitations/implications

First, the authors do not distinguish between immigrants from different nations or parts of the world or having different backgrounds. Second, the authors do not fully develop or incorporate the element of coping. Also, our paper is limited to behaviors of immigrant entrepreneurs with micro- and small-businesses.

Practical implications

Venture capitalists could benefit from empirical results of these propositions as funding decisions may need to include consideration of the proposed effects of stress and demands of immigration.

Originality/value

This paper meets an identified need to examine the effects of immigrant-specific issues such as the demands of immigration on the behaviors of this growing group of entrepreneurs.
Elastoplastic response of as-built SLM and wrought Ti-6Al-4V under symmetric and asymmetric strain-controlled cyclic loading
Authors: Agius Dylan , Kourousis Kyriakos I. , Wallbrink Chris
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanical behaviour of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V under cyclic loading. Using as-built selective laser melting (SLM) Ti-6Al-4V in engineering applications requires a detailed understanding of its elastoplastic behaviour. This preliminary study intends to create a better understanding on the cyclic plasticity phenomena exhibited by this material under symmetric and asymmetric strain-controlled cyclic loading.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper investigates experimentally the cyclic elastoplastic behaviour of as-built SLM Ti-6Al-4V under symmetric and asymmetric strain-controlled loading histories and compares it to that of wrought Ti-6Al-4V. Moreover, a plasticity model has been customised to simulate effectively the mechanical behaviour of the as-built SLM Ti-6Al-4V. This model is formulated to account for the SLM Ti-6Al-4V-specific characteristics, under the strain-controlled experiments.

Findings

The elastoplastic behaviour of the as-built SLM Ti-6Al-4V has been compared to that of the wrought material, enabling characterisation of the cyclic transient phenomena under symmetric and asymmetric strain-controlled loadings. The test results have identified a difference in the strain-controlled cyclic phenomena in the as-build SLM Ti-6Al-4V when compared to its wrought counterpart, because of a difference in their microstructure. The plasticity model offers accurate simulation of the observed experimental behaviour in the SLM material.

Research limitations/implications

Further investigation through a more extensive test campaign involving a wider set of strain-controlled loading cases, including multiaxial (biaxial) histories, is required for a more complete characterisation of the material performance.

Originality/value

The present investigation offers an advancement in the knowledge of cyclic transient effects exhibited by a typical α’ martensite SLM Ti-6Al-4V under symmetric and asymmetric strain-controlled tests. The research data and findings reported are among the very few reported so far in the literature.