bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A modular serpentine rescue robot with climbing ability
Authors: Rimassa Luca , Zoppi Matteo , Molfino Rezia
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present new locomotion and steering modules conceived and designed for rescue serpentine robots with enhanced climbing ability. The locomotion modules apply sock locomotion technology that allows great motion efficiency in rubble and confined environment due to the very high propulsion ratio. The steering joints guarantee good orientation dexterity by exploiting actuation based on smart materials.

Design/methodology/approach

Great attention and time is dedicated to the design phase, digital mock‐upping and virtual comparative assessment of different solutions. Mechatronic interdisciplinary design methodology including mechanisms analysis, sensory actuation issues and functional materials characterization, control and communication integration has been adopted.

Findings

The locomotion modules are revised and updated versions improving climbing ability of the socked locomotion module originally proposed by the authors. New steering modules with high orientation workspace, based on smart actuation, are introduced.

Research limitations/implications

The evaluation of the findings on the field is planned but no experimental result is today available.

Practical implications

Agile serpentine robots are requested for quick and safe rescue and special risky interventions in environments where dense vegetation, rubble and confined spaces prevent human presence. These robots offer invaluable potential help in such risky interventions mainly by being agile in exploring the environment, robust, low cost, reliable, and tele‐operated.

Originality/value

The paper presents original issues in terms of concept and design of instrumental (locomotion and steering) modules for composing modular rescue robots with very high locomotion agility and climbing performances.
Robotic automotive paint curing using thermal signature feedback
Authors: Zeng Fan , Ayalew Beshah , Omar Mohammed
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a new closed‐loop radiative robotic paint curing process that could replace less efficient and bulky convection‐based paint curing processes in automotive manufacturing.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed robotic paint curing processes uses an Ultraviolet LED panel for a heat source, an infra‐red camera for non‐contact thermal signature feedback of cure level, and a robot control strategy that incorporates the cure‐level information in an inverse dynamics control of the robotic manipulator. To demonstrate the advantage of the closed‐loop process in improving cure uniformity, detailed models and discussions of the irradiation process, the robotics and the control strategy are presented.

Findings

A simulation‐based comparison of the closed‐loop robotic curing with the open‐loop robotic curing clearly shows the benefits of using thermal signature feedback in improving cure level uniformity.

Originality/value

This is a new approach proposed to exploit immerging technology and improve the efficiency of energy use in an automotive manufacturing process without sacrificing product quality.
Analysis of arc sound characteristics for gas tungsten argon welding
Authors: Wang J.F. , Chen B. , Chen H.B. , Chen S.B.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the characteristics of sound during gas tungsten argon welding (GTAW), which is very important to effectively monitor the welding quality in future by using the information extracted from sound.

Design/methodology/approach

The hardware used in the experiment is described. Then the paper researches the influence of welding techniques (gas flow, welding speed, welding current, and arc length) on arc sound and the distribution of the welding sound field. Finally, the relation between welding power and sound are studied based on Fourier transforms and recursive least square methods.

Findings

The sound pressure is affected greatly by gas flow, arc length, and current; welding sound source obeys the dipole model; the sound can be better predicted when the three orders derivative of the welding power are combined together.

Originality/value

This paper provides a new insight into welding sound resource model and a detailed analysis of the influence of the welding sound caused by welding techniques.
A wet‐etch method with improved yield for realizing polysilicon resistors in batch fabrication of MEMS pressure sensor
Authors: Singh Kulwant , Gupta Sanjeev K. , Azam Amir , Akhtar J.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a selective wet‐etching method of boron doped low‐pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD) polysilicon film for the realization of piezoresistors over the bulk micromachined diaphragm of (100) silicon with improved yield and uniformity.

Design/methodology/approach

The method introduces discretization of the LPCVD polysilicon film using prior etching for the grid thus dividing each chip on the entire wafer. The selective etching of polysilicon for realizing of piezoresistors is limited to each chip area with individual boundaries.

Findings

The method provides a uniform etching on the entire silicon wafer irrespective of its size and leads to economize the fabrication process in a batch production environment with improved yield.

Research limitations/implications

The method introduces one extra process step of photolithography and subsequent etching for discretizing the polysilicon film.

Practical implications

The method is useful to enhance yield while defining metal lines for contact purposes on fabricated electronic structures using microelectronics. Stress developed in LPCVD polysilicon can be removed using proposed approach of discretization of polysilicon film.

Originality/value

The work is an outcome of regular fabrication work using conventional approaches in an R&D environment. The proposed method replaces the costly reactive ion etching techniques with stable reproducibility and ease in its implementation.
Ultrasonic tomography imaging simulation of two‐phase homogeneous flow
Authors: Hafiz Fazalul Rahiman Mohd , Zakaria Zulkarnay , Abdul Rahim Ruzairi , Nyap Ng Wei
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an implementation of ultrasonic tomography simulation to investigate the laminar flow of stratified liquid between water and oil.

Design/methodology/approach

The velocity of ultrasonic waves varies in water, oil, and different composition of water and oil. The composition of water and oil can be determined from the measurement of this propagation time. Sixteen pairs of ultrasonic sensors are mounted non‐invasively around the periphery of an acrylic pipe. The grease is used as the coupling material to mount these ultrasonic sensors. Different compositions of water and oil are used and the propagation times of the ultrasonic waves through the medium are measured. The composition of the water and oil of the flow is determined from the reconstructed images.

Findings

The paper finds that information about the distribution of the components within the sensing zone is obtained from the sensors' measurements. These measurements are then used to reconstruct the cross‐sectional image which can be analyzed to provide information, such as concentration of the flow components, the flow condition, velocity, mass flow rate, and identification of the distribution of mixing zones in stirred reactors and interface measurement in complex separation processes. The image can also be analyzed quantitatively for subsequent use to improve process control or develop models to describe individual process.

Originality/value

The paper shows that industries which may benefit from this technique could be the raw material processing industry, large‐scale and intermediate chemical production, and food biotechnology.
Truth and consequences
Authors: Bowring Michèle A. , Brewis Joanna
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which Canadian lesbians and gay men manage their non‐hegemonic identities in organizations, given the relative paucity of qualitative data in the area, the importance of work as a site for identity projects in the contemporary west and growing pressure on employers to attend to sexual orientation as part of diversity management initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered through 16 semi‐structured interviews with lesbian and gay workers from three Canadian cities.

Findings

The data emphasize the importance of organizational environments in which queer people feel able to integrate their identity at work with their identity in the rest of their lives. Role models were identified as especially important in this regard, particularly for women who talked of the organizational “double jeopardy” of being female and a lesbian.

Research limitations/implications

Although the data reported here are not generalizable, it is worrying that they echo many earlier studies on the negative aspects of lesbian and gay workplace experience. One key implication is that those employees who conform most closely to what Butler calls the heterosexual matrix are less likely to experience problems related to their sexual orientation.

Originality/value

This paper indicates several themes which are not extensively travelled in the existing literature, including the suggestion that coming out to colleagues is easier if one is in a long‐term relationship, as well as a sense that having to negotiate such disclosure simultaneously enhances work‐related interpersonal skills.
Between a rock and a hard place
Authors: Priola Vincenza , Brannan Matthew J.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The growth of women in management has been argued to offer a route to reduce organizational and social inequality. The purpose of this paper is to explore the careers and experiences of female managers from a variety of organizations operating in the West Midlands region of the UK.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on 56 interviews conducted with women managers within various sectors. The interviewees also completed pictorial careers maps, which along with interview recordings were analyzed.

Findings

The key themes to emerge from this research centre upon the factors that draw women into management (which we term seductive elements) as well as some of the hindering practices that prevent women from progressing. Significantly, we find that managerial careers are associated with gendered assumptions and practices (e.g. facilitating and developing people) which contribute to construct management (done by women) as bounded‐up characteristically with “feminized” behaviours.

Research limitations/implications

The research is based upon a relatively small sample that is multi‐sectorial. Wider studies that increase population size, together with deeper studies that hold sectorial variables constant would further add weight to the findings presented here.

Practical implications

The paper draws attention to the “lived reality” of doing management, which, we argue often, for women in particular involves the reconciliation of contradictions and conflicting pressures. We draw attention to the lack of “alternative models” of organization and highlight the potential for gender‐focus mentoring and management education.

Originality/value

The paper is of value in giving voice to a selection of women managers by allowing them to reflect upon and explore their experience of management. The paper also documents the day‐to‐day reality of women's managerial careers that require the re‐enactment and reproduction of stereotypical gender norms.
New ways of promoting equality and diversity in the workplace
Authors: Bennett Tony
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on the discussions that took place and the key themes raised at a conference focusing on the role of the union equality representative, held at the British Trades Union Congress (TUC), London, in February 2009.

Design/methodology/approach

The conference was structured around the contribution of a number of keynote speakers, reports back from project workers and question and answer sessions with delegates. The paper is based on observation, summary notes and conference documents.

Findings

The conference demonstrated the potential for a new type of union representative to help address inequality and discrimination in the workplace, with clear examples of early successes reported by unions participating in the project. However, it also highlighted barriers that may still remain until the equality rep has the same legal rights and status accorded to other union representatives in the UK.

Originality/value

This report highlights a key new initiative from the British trade union movement in addressing equality and diversity issues at work through the recruitment, training, organising and ongoing support of a network of specialised union equality representatives.
Role as a mechanism for rotating leadership in a group
Authors: Sheard A.G. , Kakabadse A.P. , Kakabadse N.K.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

This study seeks to propose that executives need to be prepared to adopt roles as a mechanism for rotating leadership if those groups of which they are a part are to perform to their full potential.

Design/methodology/approach

A validated framework provides insight into the leadership roles executives can adopt when part of formal, informal and temporary groups. The methodology adopted is qualitative, focusing on the application of previously developed frameworks.

Findings

Adopting a role is found to enable the rotation of leadership within a group, which in turn facilitates development of the group.

Research limitations/implications

A one‐organisation intensive case study of a multinational engineering company engaged in the design, development and manufacture of rotating turbomachinery provides the platform for the research. The frameworks will require validating in organisations of different demographic profiles.

Practical implications

The concepts advanced and implications discussed provide an insight into the role‐based nature of leadership. The practical steps individual executives can take to adopt a role, and in so doing develop the group of which they are a part, are highlighted.

Originality/value

This paper is an investigation into, and study of, the process by which executives adopt roles as a mechanism for rotating leadership within a group. In so doing, it is suggested that executives contribute more positively to the development of the groups of which they are a part by being more adaptive and responsive to changes in their surrounding context.
A status‐based motivation for behavioural altruism
Authors: Wichardt Philipp C.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the question of how far costly transfers of economic benefits to others, often understood in economics as instances of (behavioural) altruism, can be motivated by individual group status concerns, i.e. without the common reference to other‐regarding preferences.

Design/methodology/approach

Results from both economics and social psychology are reviewed and spliced together so as to obtain a more comprehensive picture of group status‐based aspects of behavioural altruism. A more formal argument is provided in order to highlight specific effects. Applications (e.g. migration and workforce motivation) are discussed to support the argument and to illustrate its practical relevance.

Findings

The reviewed literature indeed supports the argument that individuals care about the status of the groups they belong to and are willing to trade this against economic benefits. Accordingly, certain altruistic acts can be motivated by the individual's (selfish) concern for group status. However, the effect apparently depends on the degree of the individual's identification with the respective group which opens ways to influence its strength.

Practical implications

The argument may help policy makers, chief executive officers, and people in similar positions who have to design decision environments, i.e. institutions, in a way that motivates the eventual decision makers to transfer economic benefits (e.g. donations, taxes, effort, …) to the respective institution.

Originality/value

The paper adds to the discussion about the driving forces behind altruistic behaviour. In particular, it points out the potential importance of group status concerns in connection with aspects of social identity for individual decisions to transfer economic benefits to others. The relevance of the effect in view of the design of institutions is discussed.
Exploring new ways of working using virtual research environments in library and information science
Authors: Sonnenwald Diane H. , Lassi Monica , Olson Nasrine , Ponti Marisa , Axelsson Ann‐Sofie
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present current and ongoing research investigating new ways of working across geographic distances and time within library and information science (LIS).

Design/methodology/approach

A total of four studies were conducted focusing on: the design of a virtual research environment (VRE) to facilitate the sharing of data collection instruments among students, researchers and professionals; new ways professionals and researchers can collaborate; collaborative decision making in the context of purchasing a library management system; and collaboration among LIS professionals.

Findings

Early results show that VREs within LIS can build on previous VRE research which focused on other domains. However, there are several unique characteristics of LIS that place requirements on VREs and which are not yet implemented within VREs and that offer unique opportunities for VREs to enhance LIS research, education and practice.

Originality/value

This paper reports on ongoing research and preliminary findings of unique studies investigating how VREs could enhance LIS research and professional practice, and how LIS research and practice can inspire the next generation of VREs.
VRE library services
Authors: Masson Alan
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to look at the changes to library services that arose from the institutional adoption of virtual learning environments and discusses how these may influence the development of user facing information services for researchers using similar virtual research environments.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews the impact of institutional VLEs on the provision of added value library services to learners and discusses the potential for these developments to influence the librarian‐researcher relationship and the information services provided to the research community using an institutional VRE.

Findings

The wide‐scale introduction of institutional VREs provides librarians with an opportunity to establish closer working relationships with academic researchers to support the development of a number of information discovery and management tools and services that are embedded in the workflows and virtual research workspace of the research community.

Practical implicatons

This provides a useful resource for librarians, academic researchers and university research policy makers who are engaged in the support of academic research.

Originality/value

The paper reviews the provision of information services to researchers and learners using virtual community environments in a contemporary context.
On‐demand virtual research environments and the changing roles of librarians
Authors: Candela Leonardo , Castelli Donatella , Pagano Pasquale
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to discuss how new technologies for supporting scientific research will possibly influence the librarians' work.

Design/methodology/approach

The discussion is conducted in a context that takes into account the emergence of e‐infrastructures as means to realise a new model of producing, using and sharing information resources and even to change the concept of information resource itself. At the core of this innovation there are virtual research environments, i.e. evolved versions of the current “research libraries”.

Findings

The environments provide scientists with collaborative and customised environments supporting results production and exchange around the globe in a cost‐efficient manner. The experiences made with these innovative research environments within the D4Science project is reported.

Originality/value

On the basis of this experience, possible professional profiles are suggested for librarians working in these new evolved “research libraries”.
Eliminating query failures in a work‐centric library meta‐search environment
Authors: Sfakakis Michalis , Kapidakis Sarantos
Published: June 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to describe how approaches such as semantic based query rewritings and FRBR work entities composition could solve existing problems and improve the overall behavior of a mediated based meta‐search environment. Moreover, it aims to present meta‐Composer, which is a meta‐search engine without query failures that composes work level entities for display, as well as an autonomous open service for discovering substitutions of unsupported access points, in the context of the Z39.50 environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Semantic Access Point Network (SAPN) engine, which is a system for substitution of unsupported access points by exploiting semantic access point information from an RDFS description, was extended as a query rewriting system taking into account user preferences for recall and precision. Additionally, the Library of Congress FRBR display tool was extended to create, in the first place, MARC21, UNIMARC and MODS wrappers for the production of work‐expression‐manifestation identifiers, and, secondly, the composition of work clusters. Finally, pazpar2, the open source meta‐search engine was used as both the middleware and the client platform for the integration of all the above components and the development of meta‐Composer.

Findings

Consistent extension of the meta‐search search functionality is possible from the lowest common denominator of the supported access points through semantic based query rewritings. Furthermore, enabling query specificity, which restricts the resulting records, could really improve the overall performance of the system and allow for more space for other extensions. Work centric result presentation gives a more compact and coherent view to the user compared to the typical record‐based de‐duplicated display.

Research limitations/implications

The technical limitation for retrieving all the results from all sources, especially for large result sets, indicates the need for further research for the development of heuristics in order to find the best sources for enriching the results by unique work clusters. The absence of tools, such as authority files, limits the accuracy of the FRBRization process and the discovery of correlations between related works.

Practical implications

Consistent meta‐search services require widespread use of international metadata standards and communication protocols.

Originality/value

The SAPN technology enforces implicitly the semantic interoperability in the context of the Z39.50 protocol. meta‐Composer is an open service which offers meta‐search within valuable sources world wide and it also provides the potential to evaluate new services. The SAPN open service gives the ability to any other mediator or client, to extend and improve consistently its search functionality, in the same context and by using web services technology.
Archiving in the networked world: betting on the future
Authors: Seadle Michael
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The goal of this column is not to argue the pros and cons of digital archiving, or to propose solutions to its problems, but to describe it as a research subject and a social phenomenon.

Design/methodology/approach

This column relies on cultural anthropology, in particular the approach that Clifford Geertz championed, and for cultural anthropology, language and its social context matter.

Findings

Archiving systems abound with competing claims about effectiveness. Transparency and evidence of public testing is rare, with a few exceptions. The lack of public testing does not mean that systems do less than they claim, but it does mean that libraries, archives and museums need to press for proof if they want to have confidence in the product.

Originality/value

When betting on the future, these cannot be certainty, but bets placed should be based on knowledge.
Leveraging public‐private partnerships to improve community resilience in times of disaster
Authors: Stewart Geoffrey T. , Kolluru Ramesh , Smith Mark
Published: June 2009

Purpose

As noted in the Department of Homeland Security's National Response Framework, disasters are inherently local and ultimately the responsibility of the lowest jurisdictional level present within the impacted area. Given these parameters, this paper aims to sharpen the concept of national resilience by recommending a framework which positions community resilience as an integral variable in understanding the ability of impacted areas to effectively manage the consequences of disasters. Conceptualized as a dependent variable, community resilience is influenced by the relationships government (public) agencies develop with private sector partners and the resilience of relevant supply chains and critical infrastructures/key resources which exist in their communities.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors augment a topical literature review of academic and practitioner journals by synthesizing existing findings into a holistic framework of community resilience.

Findings

This paper argues that interdependent systems like social and economic networks will ultimately influence the ability of communities to adapt and respond to the consequences of disasters. In addressing the resilience of these systems, all levels of government must recognize and embrace the public‐private interfaces that can improve their ability to manage the response and recovery phases of disaster management. While 85 percent of critical infrastructure is owned by the private sector, 100 percent of it exists within communities and impacts the ability of the nation to recover from disasters. Resilience calls upon active management and relies upon assessment and a willingness to take action in the face of adversity.

Originality/value

Resilience is discussed within economics, behavioral sciences, supply chain management and critical infrastructure protection. This paper integrates these research streams to develop a framework for shaping national resilience.
Minimizing supply chain disruption risk through enhanced flexibility
Authors: Skipper Joseph B. , Hanna Joe B.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of a strategic approach (contingency planning) to minimize risk exposure to a supply chain disruption. Specifically, the relationship between several attributes of a contingency planning process and flexibility are examined.

Design/methodology/approach

This effort develops a model that will provide both researchers and practitioners a means of determining the attributes with the highest relationship to flexibility. The model is then tested using multiple regression techniques.

Findings

Based on the sample used in this survey, top management support, resource alignment, information technology usage, and external collaboration provide the largest contributions to flexibility. Flexibility has been shown to enhance the ability to minimize risk exposure in the event of a supply chain disruption.

Research limitations/implications

In this research effort, the multiple regression results produced an R2 of 0.45, indicating that additional variables of interest may need to be identified and investigated. Furthermore, a wider range of respondents could make the results more generalizable.

Practical implications

This effort will help to allow managers at multiple levels to understand the primary planning attributes to use to increase flexibility.

Originality/value

The paper develops a model that can be used to identify the specific areas that can lead to improved flexibility. Based on the model, managers, and planners can develop appropriate strategies for minimizing risk exposure in the event of a supply chain disruption.
Numerical simulation of pulsatile turbulent flow in tapering stenosed arteries
Authors: Xiao Bin
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the geometric effects and pulsatile characteristics during the stenotic flows in tapering arteries.

Design/methodology/approach

The low Reynolds number k − ω turbulence model is applied to describe the stenotic flows in the tapering arteries in this paper. The results are divided into two sections. The first section characterizes the geometric effects on the turbulent flow under steady condition. The second section illustrates the key physiological parameters including the pressure drop and wall stress during the periodic cycle of the pulsatile flow in the arteries.

Findings

The tapering and stenoses severity intensify the turbulent flow and stretch the recirculation zones in the turbulent arterial flow. The wall shear stress, pressure drop and velocity vary most intensively at the peak phase during the periodic cycle of the pulsatile turbulent flow.

Originality/value

This paper provides a comprehensive understanding of the spatial‐temporal fluid dynamics involved in turbulent and transitional arterial flow with stenoses. The low Reynolds number k − ω turbulence model method is applied for the analyses of the geometric effects on the arterial flow and fluid feature during the periodic cycle.
Geometrical and Rayleigh number effects in the transient laminar free convection between two vertically eccentric spheres
Authors: Lamine Sow Mamadou , Sarr Joseph , Mbow Cheikh , Mbow Babacar , Claudet Bernard , Mansour Kane Mamadou
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the transient natural convection of a Newtonian fluid which develops in a closed spherical annulus delimited by two vertically eccentric spheres by using a bispherical coordinates system. The inner sphere is heated by a heat flux of constant density and the outer one is maintained isothermal.

Design/methodology/approach

The transfer equations are written by using a bispherical coordinates system. The Navier‐Stokes equations are solved and coupled with the energy equation by using the alternating direction implicit (ADI) and the successive over relaxation (SOR) methods.

Findings

The study of the stream function and the Nusselt number shows that the convection motion is reinforced for the geometries characterized by positive values of the eccentricity with heat exchange increasing. The Nusselt number increases with the modified Rayleigh number. The heat exchange increases with the radius ratio. The results show that the steady state is reached faster when the modified Rayleigh number increases and the influence of the eccentricity is very low on the establishment of the steady state. The fluids flow depends strongly on the eccentricity and the modified Rayleigh number.

Research limitations/implications

Simulations are performed for modified Rayleigh numbers ranging from 103 to 106, for eccentricities varying between –0.6 and +0.6 and for radius ratio between 1.5 and 2.

Originality/value

The results of eccentricity and modified Rayleigh number effects in transient natural convection between vertically eccentric spheres have been displayed.
Do multinational companies have effective transfer pricing systems of intangible assets and e‐commerce?
Authors: Abdallah Wagdy M. , Maghrabi Ahmed S.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the way that multinational companies can design effective transfer pricing systems of intangible assets with special consideration of the effect of e‐commerce within the restricted regulations of tax authorities of American and Foreign governments.

Design/methodology/approach

The new trends in transfer pricing and the nature of intangible assets are discussed. Different strategies of multinationals' ownership techniques are examined. The selection of the appropriate transfer pricing methods is analyzed.

Findings

The paper concludes that the most effective transfer pricing system should include: tax and non‐tax strategies to manage global earnings of the company; objectives behind the system; potential global income tax consequences; selection of the best transfer pricing method; and key issues to help in avoiding tax audits in the future.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills an urgent need for an effective transfer system of the e‐commerce to meet tax regulations of different countries.
Will the human factors of relationship selling survive in the twenty‐first century?
Authors: Williams J.D. , Everett Robert , Rogol Elizabeth
Published: June 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate whether this savored relationship goal within business‐to‐business selling will survive through this century's formidable stumbling blocks. The fundamental question may very well be, if not the present sales model(s) then is it time to formulate a new sales models?

Design/methodology/approach

The research examines the relevant sales challenge elements and sales beneficial factors as components of a new sales return on investment (ROI) model. This has generated a series of subordinate research objectives, which attempt to rationalize the contribution and weighted value of each of the modeled elements. The use of secondary research reveals a consistent thread of relationship‐selling challenges for sales teams.

Findings

Client management and sales are key functions in most organizations, and companies are increasingly realizing the importance of preserving and developing relationships with their existing clients, in addition to developing new clients. The challenge is to manage customers strategically, by constantly expanding the scope of the offering and the strength of the impact on the customer's business performance. Achieving differentiation with strategic customers requires new buyer‐seller relationship strategies that assist customers in implementing their own strategies. The capability to manage strategic customer relationships as the most critical assets in the business remains elusive.

Research limitations/implications

Effective salesperson follow‐up would logically include specific components designed to interact, connect, know, and relate with their customers: interact – the sales person acts to maximize the number of critical encounters; connect – the salesperson maintains contact with the multiple individuals in the buying; know – the salesperson coordinates and interprets the information gathered; relate – the salesperson applies relevant understanding and insight to create value‐added interactions.

Practical implications

The contribution of this paper have been directored towards offering sales and marketing organizations the foundational elements of a grass‐roots ROI modeling technique to apply towards their respective sales endeavors. This author believes that successful implementation of these key factors should enable sales teams and their sale management to achieve their respective institutional sales, client, and growth targets.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the subject knowledge of sales and sales techniques by creating new sales models, which address the twenty‐first century marketing environment challenges.
Strategic planning in growth oriented small firms
Authors: Mazzarol Tim , Reboud Sophie , Soutar Geoffrey N.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The paper aims to examine the management practices of owner‐managers of small businesses seeking to grow their firms. It seeks to better understand their strategic thinking in relation to internal and external environmental issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 204 owner‐managers who had indicated their desire for growth was surveyed using a questionnaire developed from earlier research that examined their strategic and operational behaviour. Follow‐up discussions over their results were conducted face‐to‐face. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and discriminant analysis.

Findings

Firms that possessed formal written business plans were found to be more likely to have stronger support network partnerships, formal quality assurance and the ability to lead change among employees. A relationship was found between an above average level of annual sales turnover and the personal vision of the owner‐managers.

Research limitations/implications

Although the sample was atypical, in that it was comprised of owner‐managers who had a growth orientation, the study suggests that owner‐managers who have a strong growth orientation are likely to have an enhanced sense of their strategic vision, and the ability to communicate this vision to their employees.

Practical implications

The findings in this paper suggest that owner‐managers from small firms should seek to benchmark their business against industry best practice, but that such benchmarking must be supported by a clear strategic vision and the capacity to communicate this vision to others, particularly employees.

Originality/value

The literature relating to strategic thinking and behaviour within small firms remains underdeveloped, and this paper provides valuable insights into this area.
Entrepreneurs' attitudes towards failure
Authors: Politis Diamanto , Gabrielsson Jonas
Published: June 2009

Purpose

This paper employs theories of experiential learning to examine why some entrepreneurs have developed a more positive attitude towards failures compared to others.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper conducts statistical analysis on a sample of 231 Swedish entrepreneurs that have started new independent firms in 2004.

Findings

The empirical findings support the guiding proposition that more favourable attitudes towards failure could be learned through entrepreneurs' life and work. The results suggest that previous start up experience is strongly associated with a more positive attitude towards failure. The paper also finds that experience from closing down a business is associated with a more positive attitude towards failure. In addition, a more fine‐grained analysis suggests that experience from closing down a business due to reasons of poor performance is a highly valuable source of learning while closure due to more personal reasons does not lead to the same result.

Research limitations/implications

In sum, the findings add to the knowledge of why some entrepreneurs have a more positive attitude towards failure compared to others. It also provides some general implications for the understanding of entrepreneurial learning as an experiential process.

Practical implications

A positive attitude toward failure might be a significant asset for entrepreneurs as it might help them to deal with and learn from their mistakes and to move forward. The results indicate that the attitudes toward failure are not homogeneous among entrepreneurs. Rather, this attitude can, at least to some degree, be influenced due to new experiences and new information.

Originality/value

The paper provides novel insights with regard to the role that critical career experiences can play for the development of entrepreneurs' attitudes towards failure.
Ethnicity and sheepskin effects in the returns to education in Sri Lanka
Authors: De Silva Indunil
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the sheepskin effects in the returns to education in the Sri Lankan labor market by ethnicity.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on the latest Sri Lankan Consumer Finance and Socio‐economic Survey. The study employs the quantile regression method for each conditional quantile wage group, rather than the mean regression analysis used in most labor market analysis. The quantile regression technique fits hyperplanes through out the conditional wage and is ideal for characterizing the entire wage distribution. The standard Mincerian wage equation was estimated for the full sample of male workers and separately for the two main ethnic groups in Sri Lanka.

Findings

The empirical findings are broadly encouraging. Quantile regression results suggest that average returns to education for both ethnic groups differs significantly from the returns at the two extreme ends of the wage distribution. In general, the returns to education are positive for both groups, but the returns are higher for Sinhalese workers than for Tamil. An increasing trend in returns to education is evident for both ethnic groups when moving up wage distribution. Sinhalese workers experience higher returns to education than for Tamil especially at the bottom of the wage distribution, but the difference becomes less at the upper part of the distribution. Estimated results with spline in years of education suggest that returns to secondary education are higher for Sinhalese workers, but the returns to tertiary education are greater for Tamil workers at the upper part of the wage distribution. Findings indicate that returns to experience are also higher for Sinhalese workers than for Tamil workers.

Originality/value

This is the first study that examines sheepskin effects in the returns to education by ethnicity in Sri Lanka in a Mincerian framework, employing quantile regression models.
The corporate university: meeting the learning needs of a changing workforce
Authors: White Audrey
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to detail the importance of providing structured learning solutions and to give an overview of the Alcatel‐Lucent University.

Design/methodology/approach

The article looks into the Alcatel‐Lucent University itself, its approach, the benefits to employees and customers and its future.

Findings

This article shows that a structured, comprehensive approach to learning, such as a corporate university, can bring company‐wide benefits.

Originality/value

The corporate university solution of the Alcatel‐Lucent University has brought a number of benefits to both employees and customers and proved the best solution to Alcatel‐Lucent's learning needs.
Being the change you want to see: developing the leadership culture at Ernst & Young
Authors: Hawkins Peter , Wright Andrew
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The article's aim is to describe a leadership development program that is being conducted internationally with over 500 partners in Ernst & Young. Globally Ernst & Young has 135,000 people in 140 countries with worldwide revenues of US$24.5 billion. In EMEIA it has over 60,000 people in 87 countries and a turnover of $11.4 billion.

Design/methodology/approach

This article looks at specific issues relating to the Ernst & Young partner development program, including the need for leadership development at partner level, the leadership challenge of the program and the success of the initiative.

Findings

Leadership resides in the relationships leaders create, not within the leaders themselves. Many leadership development programs in large organizations fail to deliver the hoped‐for value as they focus on developing leadership skills within individual leaders.

Originality/value

Market leadership depends on how an organization engages with its clients. How employees engage clients is affected by how they are engaged by their management and leadership. Moving towards market leadership, therefore, requires a change to internal culture, which requires a transformation of the leadership culture and the relationships being formed.
Advances in tourism marketing research: introduction to a special issue on consumer behavior in tourism destinations
Authors: Gnoth Juergen , Andreu Luisa , Kozak Metin
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this editorial is to introduce the reader to six articles related to consumer behavior in tourism destinations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper introduces the papers in this special issue.

Findings

Tourists are part of the tourism production process. They engage with supply networks and interact with destinations.

Originality/value

The paper provides an introduction to six contributions that are particularly relevant for understanding and managing the content of the interaction between the network nodes, in particular business‐to‐consumer relationships.
Exploring non‐linear effects of determinants on tourists' satisfaction
Authors: Campo Sara , Jesús Yagüe María
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The effect of the antecedents of satisfaction on consumer satisfaction is an issue still under debate in the academic literature. Thus, the primary goal of this article is to analyze the relationship between two of the most important antecedents of consumer satisfaction – namely perceived quality and price.

Design/methodology/approach

To analyze the relationship between tourist consumer satisfaction and its main antecedents, we performed an empirical study on such issues with regard to the purchase of a package tour.

Findings

The results of this research are that the tourist's perception of quality has a positive and significant effect on his or her satisfaction. This effect is of greater magnitude than the effect produced by perceived price. The present study identifies two components in the total effect of perceived price on satisfaction. Those components have opposite signs: the negative effect of the sacrifice perceived by the consumer and the positive effect that shows the influence of price as a sign of quality. One can estimate the first effect from the price that the consumer recalls paying, which shows a non‐linear negative effect on satisfaction (following the model of “decreasing returns”). One can estimate the positive effect by the range of minimum and maximum prices that the consumer considers acceptable to pay for the product.

Originality/value

Entrepreneurs must know how improvement in service quality influences customer satisfaction and what price levels they might consider to increase consumer satisfaction and to influence positively the quality perceived by the consumer.
A framework for tourist expectations
Authors: Rodríguez del Bosque Ignacio , San Martín Héctor , Collado Jesús , del Mar García de los Salmones María
Published: June 2009

Purpose

As there is still only limited research about expectation formation in destination marketing, the aim of this paper is to enhance this body of knowledge by providing theoretical and empirical evidence about the role of different factors which generate tourist expectations. In particular, since expectations may significantly condition not only the tourist choice process but also the perceptions of experiences, the objective of this paper is to examine the factors contributing to the expectations of a tourist destination. Based on service expectations literature, a theoretical framework postulates the main factors generating tourist expectations.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical research tests the research hypotheses. More specifically, several in‐depth interviews and focus groups (qualitative research) and a survey conducted in a holiday destination (quantitative research) led to data collection.

Findings

Tourist expectations are a second‐order factor based on inter‐correlations among several first‐order factors (i.e. past experience, external communication, word‐of‐mouth communication and destination image). In addition, image can be considered as the main factor generating expectations of a destination.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of this study is the geographic area (tourist site) of the research process. The tourist destination under investigation significantly influences the characteristics of the sample, of which national tourists are the main constituent.

Originality/value

Managing the destination image and the quality of experience is critical to induce favorable expectations of the destination in the tourist's mind. In addition, the coherence and reliability of destination communication need to be controlled in expectations management.