bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Knowledge sharing and innovation in Spanish and Colombian high‐tech firms
Authors: Sáenz Josune , Aramburu Nekane , Blanco Carlos E.
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to empirically test the degree of influence of different knowledge sharing mechanisms (ICT‐based, personal interaction‐based, and embedded in management processes) on innovation capability (both on ideation and on innovation project management), as well as the influence of each first‐level innovation capacity on company performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was designed and addressed to the CEOs of the companies making up the target population (Spanish and Colombian medium‐high and high technology firms with more than 50 employees and R&D activities). Structural equation modelling (SEM) based on partial least squares (PLS) was then applied to test the hypotheses drawn from the research.

Findings

The results obtained show that knowledge sharing is a key issue in order to enhance innovation capability. With the exception of ICT‐based knowledge sharing mechanisms (whose influence on the generation of new ideas is not statistically significant), all types of mechanism considered exert a significant impact both on ideation and on innovation project management (although their degree of relevance varies), and account for a great deal of variance in both constructs. Differences between countries arise when it comes to the influence of each first‐level innovation capacity on company performance.

Research limitations/implications

Traditional limitations of cross‐sectional studies apply.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is to provide empirical evidence about the impact of knowledge sharing on innovation. Moreover, it reveals what the most effective knowledge sharing mechanisms are for this purpose and provide companies with a basic framework in order to shape their knowledge management strategies in this domain.
Bounded awareness and tacit knowledge: revisiting Challenger disaster
Authors: J. Ajith Kumar , Chakrabarti Amaresh
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This paper's aim is to highlight the relationship between individual tacit knowledge and bounded awareness in managerial decision making.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews pertinent literature on bounded awareness, individual tacit knowledge and decision making as well as that on the NASA Challenger disaster of 1986. The authors then build logical arguments towards three distinct propositions.

Findings

The distinct three propositions are: managers' dependence upon their existing tacit knowledge interacts with the bounds on their awareness in a cycle of positive reinforcement; different decision makers in the organization can experience differing bounds on their awareness towards the same piece of information; and the tension between experiences of success and failure influences the development of bounded awareness in individuals.

Research limitations/implications

This study reflects on only a single case of decision‐making failure in its analyses. A variegated sample of different failures in multiple contexts might lead to finer insights.

Practical implications

These realizations bring to the fore a paradoxical property of dependence on tacit knowledge that it can be beneficial but can sometimes be harmful. This has implications for the field of knowledge management, wherein tacit knowledge is often a central construct.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, the relationship between bounded awareness and tacit knowledge has not been explicitly discussed before. The propositions can open useful new avenues for future researchers on the antecedents of, and remedies for, bounds on managerial awareness during decision making.
Comparing young SMEs' growth determinants across regions
Authors: Federico Juan , Rabetino Rodrigo , Kantis Hugo
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The aim of this study is to advance the understanding of firm growth determinants by comparing the factors influencing young firms' growth in 13 countries corresponding to three contrasting regions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors propose an integrated model of venture growth where entrepreneurs' profile, firm resources and market characteristics are combined. This model is tested using three OLS regressions, one corresponding to each region.

Findings

The results show that compared with the remainder two regions, the less favorable business conditions verified in Latin American countries emphasize the relevance of entrepreneurs' human capital endowments in determining business development and its further growth. On the contrary, market‐related issues and the availability of financial resources are more important in South‐East Asia and Mediterranean Europe. Team size and particularly its growth are positively associated with firm growth in all the studied regions.

Practical implications

The results of this study confirm that a firm's growth determinants as well as their importance vary across regions. Consequently, policy interventions should take into account the specificity of each region when designing entrepreneurial policies, avoiding the adoption of “one size fits all” solutions.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is twofold: first, it collects empirical evidence about young firm growth in less studied regions; second, by comparing the results for each region differential effects of several determinants of firm growth in quite contrasting contexts are discussed.
Barriers to small business growth in Canada
Authors: Gill Amarjit , Biger Nahum
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The paper seeks to extend the findings of Okpara and Wynn and Robson and Obeng related to “barriers to small business growth” by using Canadian data.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilized survey research (a non‐experimental field study design). Small business owners from Western Canada were surveyed to gather information. Subjects were asked about their beliefs and feelings regarding barriers to growth of their small businesses. To test the hypotheses, p < 0.05 significance level was used to accept or reject a null hypothesis.

Findings

The findings of this paper indicate that lack of financing, market challenges, and regulatory issues are perceived as barriers to small business growth in Canada. The results also show that sales level of small firms (“past success”) has positive impact on small business growth in Canada.

Research limitations/implications

This is an exploratory study to determine perceived barriers to small business growth in Canada, so the findings do not necessarily apply to other North American countries. The present study asks for responses from fixed format, set‐questions survey tools, which could exclude additional factors.

Originality/value

The findings may be useful for the Canadian governments and small business management advisors.
Promoting health in small and medium‐sized enterprises
Authors: Williams Sharon J. , Snow Dawn M.
Published: November 2012

Purpose

Workplaces are described as “excellent” locations for promoting health as many employees spend more time here than in other locations, yet, many organisations overlook this opportunity. This paper seeks to examine the inhibitors and enablers that small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) face when promoting health within their workplaces. Previous research within workplace health promotion has largely focused on large, often multi‐national organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

A descriptive qualitative approach was adopted which involved interviewing health‐promotion champions/co‐ordinators within five SMEs located in south Wales in the UK. A thematic content analysis was undertaken and key themes identified.

Findings

The results identify key enablers to participating in health‐promotion programmes as being an external facilitator and the appointment of an internal health champion/co‐ordinator. The main inhibitors were resources, time and the longevity of the external support funded by a government initiative.

Practical implications

The paper identifies the enablers and barriers to SMEs promoting workplace health. An adaptation of a framework is provided to assist SME owner/managers to promote workplace health.

Originality/value

Few studies have examined the workplace health promoting activities of SMEs and particularly the role of externally supported programmes. This paper fills some of the gaps.
Approaches to personality disordered offenders: experiential and empirical lessons from the Forensic Personality Disorder Assessment and Liaison Service
Authors: Nathan Rajan , Cramond Laura , Brown Andrew , McEllin Bernadette , Whittington Richard
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The profile of personality disorder in forensic clinical practice has been raised by key developments over the last decade, although services remain in the large part piecemeal and disconnected. This paper aims to describe the lessons learnt from the development of one specialist service for personality disordered offenders.

Design/methodology/approach

The policy context in which the service was developed, the challenges of working in this area, and data relating to the clinical and risk profile of referred cases are presented.

Findings

Data demonstrate extensive comorbidity and heterogeneity amongst those referred to the service. With reference to the experience gained in the first four years of the service, it is suggested that a systematic and formalised model of “understanding” the psychology of the individual should be the core process of future developments for this group of offenders, and subsequently recommendations are made to enhance the practical utility of such formulations rate.

Research limitations/implications

Conclusions are mostly based on expert opinion and upon one particular service provision, and therefore care should be exercised in generalising the results of this study to existing services. The need for further research in order to enhance knowledge and understanding of this complex group is highlighted.

Practical implications

The heterogeneity and comorbidity within this group of offenders emphasises the need for services to offer a range of assessment methods and interventions to meet individuals' requirements.

Originality/value

The experiences and recommendations in this paper are valuable to professionals working with personality disordered offenders and to the development of more extensive services for such individuals.
OGIR: an ontology‐based grid information retrieval framework
Authors: Hung Chihli , Tsai Chih‐Fong , Hung Shin‐Yuan , Ku Chang‐Jiang
Published: November 2012

Purpose

A grid information retrieval model has benefits for sharing resources and processing mass information, but cannot handle conceptual heterogeneity without integration of semantic information. The purpose of this research is to propose a concept‐based retrieval mechanism to catch the user's query intentions in a grid environment. This research re‐ranks documents over distributed data sources and evaluates performance based on the user judgment and processing time.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses the ontology lookup service to build the concept set in the ontology and captures the user's query intentions as a means of query expansion for searching. The Globus toolkit is used to implement the grid service. The modification of the collection retrieval inference (CORI) algorithm is used for re‐ranking documents over distributed data sources.

Findings

The experiments demonstrate that this proposed approach successfully describes the user's query intentions evaluated by user judgment. For processing time, building a grid information retrieval model is a suitable strategy for the ontology‐based retrieval model.

Originality/value

Most current semantic grid models focus on construction of the semantic grid, and do not consider re‐ranking search results from distributed data sources. The significance of evaluation from the user's viewpoint is also ignored. This research proposes a method that captures the user's query intentions and re‐ranks documents in a grid based on the CORI algorithm. This proposed ontology‐based retrieval mechanism calculates the global relevance score of all documents in a grid and displays those documents with higher relevance to users.
Online recruitment information as an indicator to appraise enterprise performance
Authors: Wang Bo , Guo Xiaojun
Published: November 2012

Purpose

Fraudulent financial statements and the manipulation of stock prices can seriously affect investors' judgment of company performance, especially in stock markets in emerging economies. Apart from financial reports, which run the risk of being misreported, are there any other information sources that the public can trust when it comes to the truth about a company's performance? The purpose of this paper is to address this issue by assessing the correlation between online recruitment information and company performance and provide investors with a new framework to assist them in making decisions and to identify fraud.

Design/methodology/approach

The research extracted the recruitment information of normal and fraudulent companies separately from the internet by employing techniques of natural language processing, opinion mining and competitive intelligence. A statistical tool was then used to study whether there is a difference in the correlation between the recruitment information intensity (RII) and the annually averaged stock price (AASP) of normal and fraudulent firms.

Findings

The experiments showed that recruitment information intensity is significantly correlated to company's stock performance for normal firms, which indicates that the company's recruitment activities are consistent with their performance. But for fraudulent companies, the fact that the result is quite the opposite may imply that the RII discloses the truth when managers make misreports.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that the intensity of a company's recruitment information is a valuable element for investors in evaluating the firm, and it also can be used as a reliable tool to assist in identifying fraudulent companies.

Originality/value

This paper provided a novel way for the public to break information barriers to reach the truth of companies' performance and avoid misleading fraudulent finance statements. It is also a useful application of natural language processing techniques.
Learning to lead the knowledgeable organization: developing leadership agility
Authors: McKenzie Jane , Aitken Paul
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This paper seeks to identify how leadership can positively influence knowledge work and to explore which leadership practices need to be developed to support organisational learning and agility in the face of continuous change.

Design/methodology/approach

The thinking combines a long history of leadership and change management advice and 12 years of knowledge management research with the insights from a collaborative research project involving 14 large organisations that are members of the Henley KM Forum.

Findings

The result is a framework of 12 leadership agility practices specifically focused on creating conducive conditions for knowledge sharing, learning, engagement and collaboration.

Practical implications

Those responsible for leadership development in the knowledgeable organisation could use this as a well‐grounded starting point for designing learning programs. Leaders in key roles can use it as a gauge for self‐assessment to identify development needs or reflect on how to change their approach when things are not working.

Originality/value

The 12 practices are complementary and mutually supportive. They focus on remedying potential causes of “dis‐ease” in learning and change, caused by the most frequently occurring conflicts and tensions in organisational life.
Ethical implications of the mediatization of organizations
Authors: Litschka Michael , Karmasin Matthias
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to give theoretical and empirical arguments for new forms of communication and structure of organizations within the media and information society. Organizations must legitimate their “licence to operate” through social discourses and stakeholder communication. Possibilities to institutionalize ethics within organizations and possible barriers to such a programme are analysed.

Design/methodology/approach

First, some theoretical arguments as to why mediatisation challenges organizations to prove ethical commitment are depicted, using a rights‐based and social contract approach. Second, empirical examples for structural and communicational barriers in Austrian companies show possible practical constraints.

Findings

Theoretical findings refer to the usefulness of applying business ethical models (especially rights‐based, and social contract models) to reorganize mediatised organizations. Empirical findings concern the lack of institutionalized ethics management in companies and the corresponding problem of “PR‐style” communication instead of stakeholder discourses.

Research limitations/implications

The research reported in one section of the paper relies on the qualitative survey of 14 experts in different branches of the Austrian economy. While interviews can give a picture on how respondents understand the relevant research question and construct the respective reality, they are far from providing a representative picture of communicative ethical problems in mediatised organizations.

Practical implications

Practical consequences should be possible, if companies understand the mediatised and communicative nature of their relationship with society and stakeholders and therefore react to that challenge by building up reputation through ethics management.

Originality/value

The paper gives new insights to the important relationship between organizations and the public and shows how, e.g. enterprises can legitimate their business models and secure their long‐term existence. New empirical research concerns cases from Austrian companies.
Technophilia, neo‐Luddism, eDependency and the judgement of Thamus
Authors: Coulthard Darryl , Keller Susan
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on society's relationship with technology and particularly our increasing dependence on electronic technology – so‐called eDependency. The paper argues that technology is not neutral and we must engage with the moral issues that arise from our relationship with it.

Design/methodology/approach

Society's relationship with technology is examined through the lens of Socrates' consideration of the technology of writing. It identifies “technophilia” as a major theme in society and “neo‐Luddism” as the Socrates‐like examination of the benefits of technology.

Findings

While rejecting both technology determinism and technology presentism the paper argues technology is not neutral and does afford social change within a particular social ecology. The authors suggest that ultimately the use of all technology, including the technology underpinning eDependency, leads to important moral questions which deserve considered debate. The paper concludes by arguing that the Information Systems (IS) discipline should take the mantle of King Thamus and that the study of these issues should become a key concern for the discipline.

Originality/value

In an age of technophilia, this paper calls considered debate on the moral issues that arise from our relationship with technology, how it is appropriated, to whose benefit, and how we change it and will be changed by it.
The international performance of standardizing and customizing Spanish firms
Authors: Almodóvar Paloma
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to shed new light on the multinationality‐performance debate by examining the performance of standardizing versus customizing firms from Spain.

Design/methodology/approach

The reasons for variations in performance of exporting firms build on the industrial organization and resource‐based views of strategy, which are shown to be linked to the integration (standardization) versus responsiveness (customization) framework of international business. The paper also incorporates the Uppsala model and the home region nature of international business activity. It develops hypotheses for both standardizing and customizing paths of international expansion for exporting firms. The paper uses the Survey on Business Strategies which has the support of the Ministry of Industry of Spain. This databank collects data of a representative sample of the Spanish manufacturing sector. The paper uses fixed‐effects regression models for the period 2000‐2008.

Findings

The paper provides evidence on how firms with a strategy of product standardization follow an M curve‐fourth degree polynomial relationship between the degree of internationalization (DOI) and performance. In contrast, product customization firms are observed to follow an inverted M curve relationship. Furthermore, by using both models, an appropriate level of internationalization can be suggested.

Originality/value

The paper provides theoretical and empirical support for the different relationships of standardizing and customizing firms when expanding abroad. This paper is one of the first to find empirical support for an M curve relationship between the DOI and performance, and certainly is the first one testing and corroborating an inverted M curve.
Measuring university service quality by means of SERVQUAL method
Authors: Abili Khodayar , Narenji Thani Fatemeh , Afarinandehbin Maryam
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine university service quality in the International branch of Amirkabir University (Iran).

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a total of 102 students in five courses (Electronic engineering, Civil engineering, Mechanical engineering, Chemical engineering and MBA) in the international branch of Amirkabir University, were asked to complete a SERVQUAL questionnaire. This questionnaire measured students’ perceptions and expectations in five dimensions of service that consists of assurance, responsiveness, empathy, reliability and tangibles. The quality gap of university services was determined based on differences between students’ perceptions and expectations.

Findings

The results demonstrated that in all of the five SERVQUAL dimensions there was a negative quality gap (p<0.05). Also responsiveness is the most important dimension for the students but had the largest gap. So improvements are necessary and the university must pay more attention to the students’ requirements.

Research limitations/implications

The current research was conducted among international branch of Amirkabir University, so the results are limited to those faculty, not to the whole of the university. Also, there were many questions in the questionnaire, which made the students tired and impatient.

Originality/value

There are limited researches that consider service quality in Iranian higher education. However, for the first time, the service quality of the international branch of Amirkabir University was measured in this research by SERVQUAL. Measuring education service via SERVQUAL in order to determine ways to improve quality is one of the major fields of application of the model. Continuous research in the field will benefit the welfare of the public society.
Exploring the impact of total quality service on bank employees’ organisational commitment
Authors: Kaur Gurjeet , Sharma Jyoti , Lamba Tejveer
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate total quality service (TQS) from employees’ perspective, as they have direct contact with both customers and management. The study is descriptive and exploratory in nature.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected from 195 frontline employees of a leading Indian private sector bank. The study is confined to that bank's branches operating in a northern city of India.

Findings

The study reveals that though employees have made serious contributions towards the success of TQS, bank policies do not leave much scope for their autonomy and management lags in its efforts in implementing TQS properly. SEM analysis indicates that TQS has a significant impact on employees’ organizational commitment.

Originality/value

TQS is a systematic way of guaranteeing that all activities within an organization happen as per plan and meet the customers’ expectations. TQS aids the service marketers in the task of establishing and maintaining the customer base, which is the greatest challenge in today's competitive world. In this context, the present study seeks to evaluate the overall TQS prevalent in banking services.
Business excellence through total supply chain quality management
Authors: Rashid Kamran , Haris Aslam M.M.
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show how the quality practices such as leadership and strategic quality planning, supplier relationship management, customer focus, quality data and reporting, process management and human resource management are as relevant to supply chains as they are to an individual firm.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the review of relevant literature, propositions have been framed to stimulate future research. In order to evaluate the quality management (QM) practices in Pakistani supply chains, three cases have been presented. These cases provide information about QM practices of the case companies with respect to the supply chains they represent. Based on the case comparisons, common themes regarding the state of QM in Pakistani supply chains have been identified.

Findings

The current study shows that the state of QM in the supply chain context is at a primitive level in Pakistan. Most organizations have instituted quality departments and devised quality policy and planning inspired by ISO 9000 standards. However, quality culture that promotes bottom‐up improvement throughout the organization is nonexistent. Compared with the proposed framework of total supply chain quality management (TSCQM), Pakistani organizations have a long way to go before any significant integration can be achieved in the quality functions at the supply chain level.

Originality/value

Building upon the current literature in the field of supply chain and QM, the current study proposes a new, more comprehensive framework TSCQM.
Chinese hoteliers' take on hotel co‐branding in China
Authors: Denizci Guillet Basak , Tasci Asli D.A.
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to explore Chinese hoteliers' perspectives on co‐branding between hotels and products of other industries or sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey with both structured and open‐ended questions was distributed to 300 Chinese hotel executive level hoteliers attending the 2009 International Forum on China Hotel Brand Development.

Findings

The results of the 72 surveys indicate benefits as well as drawbacks for both hotels and their potential co‐branding partners in the Chinese hospitality industry, the most important being the lack of brand awareness for both Chinese and Western brands.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the existing literature by adding the Chinese hospitality industry context into the much studied Western industry context: the research is timely given the position and significance of the Chinese market in the world tourism arena.
Sustainability, daily practices and vacation purchasing: are they related?
Authors: Pereira Ester M.V. , Mykletun Reidar J. , Hippolyte Camilla
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to explore relationships between consumers' sustainable purchasing practices and their related cognitions, evaluations, and beliefs when considering purchases of tourist products or general goods.

Design/methodology/approach

“Cognitions” refers to consumers' familiarity with the concept of “environmentally‐friendly”, their “evaluations” are considerations of the importance of responsible practices, and “beliefs” are convictions of the effects of buying environmentally‐friendly products. Data were collected by questionnaires distributed to convenience samples of 142 passers by on streets close to museums, parks, and other recreational facilities.

Findings

The cognitive, evaluative, and belief dimensions were interrelated and supposedly reflect positive attitudes and/or motivations towards sustainability. These “inclinations‐to‐act variables” were positively related to the appreciation of sustainability in daily purchases, vacation purchases, and tourism provider profiles. The importance of history and culture in relation to tourism purchases was also examined. Sustainability orientation in daily purchases also correlated to vacation purchases and appreciation of tourism providers with sustainability‐oriented profiles.

Research limitations/implications

The study used a small convenience sample and did not measure actual purchasing behavior. Future research should explore the relation between the variables examined in this paper and actual purchasing behavior in a larger random sample of the general population.

Originality/value

Previous related research involved respondents on vacation travel or as non‐representative samples. This study demonstrates relationships between consumers' sustainable purchasing practices of tourist products or general goods and their related cognitions, evaluations, and beliefs when sampling from populations in general.
An evaluation of the synergic implementation of TQM and TPM paradigms on business performance
Authors: Kaur Mandeep , Singh Kanwarpreet , Singh Ahuja Inderpreet
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the contributions of synergic implementation of total quality management (TQM) and total productive maintenance (TPM) paradigms towards improving business performance in the Indian manufacturing industry.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a large number of manufacturing organisations have been extensively surveyed, to ascertain contributions made by TQM‐TPM paradigms in the Indian manufacturing organisations towards realizing business performance improvements. The correlations between various organisational initiatives towards TQM‐TPM implementation and business performance improvements have been evaluated and validated by employing various statistical tools.

Findings

The research focuses upon the significant contributions of TQM‐TPM organisational initiatives like quality related queries; top level support and level of total employee involvement; culture of continuous improvement; TQM and TPM core strategies; and transfusion of TQM and TPM, towards affecting improvements in business performance. The inter‐relationships between various TQM‐TPM organisational initiatives with the business performance improvement parameters have been evaluated, to efficiently manage the synergic TQM‐TPM paradigms to realize organisational objectives of growth and sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

The study establishes that focused TQM‐TPM implementation over a reasonable time period can strategically contribute towards realization of significant manufacturing performance enhancements.

Practical implications

The study stresses upon the need for improving the synergy between maintenance and quality functions in the organisations for meeting the challenges of highly competitive environments. The study highlights that significant achievements in manufacturing performance can be achieved through strategic synergic TQM‐TPM implementation over a considerable period of time.

Social implications

The analysis of initiatives adopted by Indian entrepreneurs towards TQM‐TPM implementation has been presented in the study to demonstrate the commitment for quality and maintenance aspects of organisations to realize manufacturing excellence through TQM‐TPM paradigms.

Originality/value

The study highlights the strong potential of synergic TQM‐TPM implementation initiatives in affecting business performance improvements. The achievements of Indian manufacturing organisations through proactive TQM‐TPM initiatives have been evaluated and critical TPM success factors identified for enhancing the effectiveness of TQM‐TPM implementation programs in the Indian context.
Creating and maintaining Fair Trade
Authors: Le Mare Ann
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the meanings and business practices of four Southern Fair Trade enterprises (SFTEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on research with four SFTEs in Bangladesh, taking an ethnographic approach with qualitative methodologies such as semi‐structured interviews, recorded meetings, informal discussions, analysis of grey literature, and observation with managers, staff, field workers and artisans of the organisations.

Findings

The meanings of Fair Trade are located in personal, family, business and national understandings of fairness and development. Such meanings inform the business practices of the SFTEs, used to achieve both commercial success and social goals, confirming the role of SFTEs in creating and maintaining ideals of fairer trade.

Research limitations/implications

There is a need for more research on Fair Trade from the perspective of SFTEs.

Practical implications

The research draws attention to the key roles and business practices of the SFTE, increasing the understanding of what happens in the name of Fair Trade, and also provides lessons for other socially responsible enterprises.

Social implications

The research highlights the importance of Southern meanings and practices, which should be included in the conceptualisation of Fair Trade, thus facilitating both informed debate and understanding the possibilities for the promotion and extension of fairer trade.

Originality/value

This research is unusual in concentrating on the central role played by the SFTE, particularly in the handicraft sector and with businesses rather than cooperatives. The business practices and decisions of SFTEs are often hidden in representations of Fair Trade.
QoS‐aware and autonomic‐oriented multi‐path TCP extensions for mobile and multimedia applications
Authors: Diop Codé , Dugué Guillaume , Chassot Christophe , Exposito Ernesto , Gomez Jorge
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The goal of this paper is to provide contributions aimed at illustrating how the autonomic computing concept may be applied within a multi‐path transport protocol called multi‐path TCP (MPTCP) with the aim of providing as high as possible a quality of service (QoS) for mobile and multimedia applications.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper's general vision is to define how to use the general IBM Autonomic framework for the design of a new and generic autonomous transport layer aimed at fitting as best as possible both QoS requirements and network constraints.

Findings

Several QoS‐aware mechanisms are proposed and evaluated and an ontology‐based semantic model for the dynamic discovery of MPTCP mechanisms is also presented. This work was done within the A2NETS project funded by the ITEA 2 program, a strategic pan‐European program for advanced pre‐competitive research and development (R&D). A2NETS aims at developing a set of common services for M2M devices communicating within heterogeneous networks.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper is the study of the QoS benefits induced by the implementation of the “partial reliability” concept in MPTCP for interactive video applications based on the codec H.264. The second contribution of the paper is that it deals with the decision process that has to be enforced to provide such an adaptable MPTCP with self‐autonomic capabilities. Towards this goal, a semantic ontology‐based model has been proposed allowing to classify and to define clearly the semantic of the different QoS‐oriented mechanisms that have been proposed for MPTCP. This ontology is aimed at being used by the autonomic manager during the decision process step.
Towards mobile cloud applications
Authors: Flores Huber , Narayana Srirama Satish , Paniagua Carlos
Published: November 2012

Purpose

Cloud computing becomes mobile when a mobile device tries to access the shared pool of computing resources provided by the cloud, on demand. Mobile applications may enrich their functionality by delegating heavy tasks to the clouds as the remote processing and storage have become possible by adding asynchronous behavior in the communication. However, developing mobile cloud applications involves working with services and APIs from different cloud vendors, which mostly are not interoperable across clouds. Moreover, by adding asynchronicity, mobile applications must rely on push mechanisms which are considered to be moderately reliable, and thus not recommended in scenarios that require high scalability and quality of service (QoS). To counter these problems, and the purpose of this paper, is to design a middleware framework, Mobile Cloud Middleware (MCM), which handles the interoperability issues and eases the use of process‐intensive services from smartphones by extending the concept of mobile host.

Design/methodology/approach

MCM is developed as an intermediary between the mobile and the cloud, which hides the complexity of dealing with multiple cloud services from mobiles. Several applications are presented to show the benefits of mobiles going cloud‐aware. Moreover, to verify the scalability of MCM, load tests are performed on the hybrid cloud resources using well known load balancing mechanisms like HAProxy and Tsung.

Findings

From the study it was found that it is possible to handle hybrid cloud services from mobiles by using MCM. The analysis demonstrated that the MCM shows reasonable performance levels of interaction with the user, thus validating the proof of concept. Moreover, MCM decreases the effort in developing mobile cloud applications and helps in keeping soft‐real time responses by using its asynchronous approach.

Originality/value

MCM fosters the utilization of different types of cloud services rather than the traditional mobile cloud services based on data synchronization. By offloading heavy tasks to the clouds, the framework extends the processing power and storage space capabilities of the constrained smart phones. The applications mentioned in the paper bring an added value by being success stories for mobile cloud computing domain in general.
Faceted navigation framework for XML data
Authors: Komamizu Takahiro , Amagasa Toshiyuki , Kitagawa Hiroyuki
Published: November 2012

Purpose

XML has become a standard data format for many applications and efficient retrieval methods are required. Typically, there are roughly two kinds of retrieval methods, namely path‐based method (e.g. XPath and XQuery) and keyword search, but these methods do not work when users do not have any concrete information need. To expand feasibility of XML data retrieval is an important task and this is the purpose of this paper.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper's strategy is to apply faceted navigation for XML data. Faceted navigation is an exploratory search which enables the exploration of data making use of attributes, called facets. General faceted navigation methods are applied for attributed objects but XML data have no criteria because XML nodes are objects and facets. Thus, the paper's approach is to construct a framework to enable faceted navigation over XML data. It first extracts objects based on occurrence of nodes and facets. Then it constructs a faceted navigation interface for extracted objects and facets.

Findings

The framework achieves semi‐automatic construction of faceted navigation interface from an XML database. In the experiments, the show feasibility of the framework is shown by three faceted navigation interfaces using existing real XML data. On the other hand, the user study shows the retrieval method helps users to find required information.

Originality/value

There are only a few works which apply faceted navigation for XML data and these works are based on predefined objects and facets which need human effort. In contrast, this framework needs human decision making only when choosing objects and facets to be used in the faceted navigation interface.
Using Wikipedia for extracting hierarchy and building geo‐ontology
Authors: Ngo Quoc‐Hung , Doan Son , Winiwarter Werner
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to serves two main purposes: First, it seeks to provide an overview of the location hierarchy from the highest divisions (continents) to the lowest divisions (wards, villages) in reality and in the Wikipedia pages. Secondly, it aims to introduce an approach to building a geographical ontology from Wikipedia.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper first reviews existing applications which extract information from Wikipedia and use it as a data resource to develop natural language processing tools. The paper also reviews the structure of Wikipedia pages which show the location's information. Based on the analysis, the paper then proposes an approach to extract location hierarchy as well as geographical characteristics for the geo‐ontology. The approach also rebuilds the relations between locations in the ontology.

Findings

Existing location name systems are mainly based on probabilistic locations, which are mined from the data and they lack the administrative relations between locations for full levels and all countries and territories. The literature review in geographical hierarchy and using Wikipedia for natural language processing tasks offers an approach to build a geographical ontology from Wikipedia pages. The proposed approach is believed to be the first which provides a full geo‐ontology for all countries.

Practical implications

The paper builds a geo‐ontology with full levels for all countries and territories. The administrative relations between locations are needed for real‐world applications.

Originality/value

The comprehensive overview on existing work on geo‐ontology provides a valuable reference for researchers and system developers in related research communities. The proposed approach to build a geographical ontology by using the Wikipedia offers a promising alternative to build a knowledge system from free online multi‐language encyclopedia.
Young consumers' views of infused soft drinks innovation
Authors: Yoon Kin Tong David , Fa Tong Xue , Yin Evon
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This study has two aims: first, to develop a conceptual model for infused drinks innovation using the subjective norm and lifestyle as predictors; and second, to adapt the beverage science experimental variables and assess young consumers' experience of the taste, mood and health of infused drinks using the moderated mediation method.

Design/methodology/approach

Using quota sampling, the data were collected from three faculties in a private university. The conceptual model was developed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The model was validated by the first‐ and second‐order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of SEM. The multi‐dimensional variables of the taste, mood and health of the infused drinks were computed by the moderated mediation process and the final mediation effects were confirmed using Aroian tests.

Findings

The subjective norm and lifestyle variables predict innovation in infused soft drinks. The results from the moderated mediation analyses indicate that both male and female young consumers prefer the innovation of drinks to suit local tastes and be produced locally; the drinks should also have health and well‐being benefits.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size of 350 students was sufficient but the generalisability of the result was limited by the students being recruited from one university.

Practical implications

Parents may influence their children to change their favourite drinks if they are expensive. For this reason, the pricing strategy is important to price‐sensitive consumers. Offering favourite infused drinks to friends is often part of the lifestyle in Malaysia. In practice, implied recommendation is possible. If this happens, there is the likelihood that it may be communicated through the social network. Marketers should use this platform for promoting new drinks. Beverage innovators should learn from the local popular infused drinks as the baseline for drinks innovation and should innovate to suit local tastes. In particular, beverage manufacturers should consider satisfying the market segmentations for flavour lovers and health seekers. Lastly, for effective soft drinks advertising, it is recommended that beverage marketers should use trendy components in promotions.

Originality/value

The study highlights the possibility of conducting social research by incorporating variables from experimental studies. By using this method, external validation is possible when the measures are applied in an uncontrived setting. In addition, it could provide a better assessment of consumers' needs for product innovation.
Role of NGOs in the implementation of active labour market policies
Authors: Babila Sama Thomas
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This is a mixed method comparative case study. The aim of this paper is to find the role played by non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) in the implementation of the active labour market policies (ALMPs) of Finland and Sweden, and also the relationship that the NGOs have with the government of the two countries.

Design/methodology/approach

Two NGOs were selected in Finland and one NGO was selected in Sweden for the data collection. The two selected NGOs in Finland were Jyväskylän Katulähetys in the City of Jyväskylä and Pirkanmaan Sininauha in the City of Tampere. Meanwhile, the one selected NGO in Sweden was Stockholms Stadsmission in the City of Stockholm. Primary data were collected through questionnaires and interviews, while secondary data were collected from literature reviews, books and internet websites. A total of 130 employees responded to the questionnaires from the two selected NGOs in Finland, while 140 employees responded from the one selected NGO in Sweden. The questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS.

Findings

The findings revealed that first, the selected NGOs play active role in the implementation of the ALMPs of Finland and Sweden by employing long‐term unemployed people in the labour market. Second, the findings revealed that the selected NGOs play active role in the implementation of the ALMPs of Finland and Sweden by providing social services, mobilizing local resources and undertaking other types of activities which have created jobs for the unemployed. Last, the findings revealed that the selected NGOs play active role in the implementation of the ALMPs of Finland and Sweden by providing voluntary work to volunteers – some of who acquire skills that can help them to find a job in the open labour market.

Originality/value

The relationship between the NGOs and the Governments of Finland and Sweden was found to be one of partnership cooperation through the local Employment Offices and the City Councils. However, Finland was found to have a more bureaucratic system than Sweden in the implementation of their ALMPs with regard to NGOs. The main similarity between the two countries was that the implementation of ALMPs with regard to NGOs, takes place at the local level through the local Employment Offices and the City Councils. This study concluded that although Finland and Sweden are two “Nordic countries”, the two countries slightly differ in the implementation of their ALMPs with regard to NGOs.