bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Organizational resistance to performance‐enhancing technological innovations: a motivation‐threat‐ability framework
Authors: Bao Yongchuan
Published: January 2009

Purpose

Organizational resistance to technological innovations creates hurdles to diffusion of innovations in industrial technology markets. This study aims to examine the causes of this problematic phenomenon and develop useful strategies to overcome innovation resistance of organizational customers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper's conceptual framework is adapted from the motivation‐opportunity‐ability (MOA) paradigm of consumer and organizational information processing. The analysis draws on a body of multidisciplinary literature, empirical observations, and case studies.

Findings

The determinants of organizational innovation resistance encompass the psychological, economic, technological, political, strategic, and organizational structural aspects of a technological innovation. Information flow is the key to breaking through the resistance barrier and promoting diffusion of innovations among industrial customers.

Research limitations/implications

An empirical study is needed in the future to test the propositions developed.

Practical implications

The study offers useful strategies to overcome organizational innovation resistance and new approaches to segment and target organizational buyers in technology markets.

Originality/value

The paper fills a research gap in studies on diffusion of innovation by explaining organizational innovation resistance and proposing useful strategies to tackle this problem.
Theoretical and practical study of supply chain coordination
Authors: Soroor Javad , Tarokh Mohammad J. , Shemshadi Ali
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This research aims to focus on supply chain coordination and its three determinants, i.e. responsibility interdependence, uncertainty, and inter‐functional conflict, developing research propositions to conceptualize how supply chain coordination is driven by its determinants.

Design/methodology/approach

The research propositions are tested by a case study in a shoe factory to examine the differences between the theory and the practice of coordination.

Findings

The findings show that the firm carried out only piecemeal coordination in defining and fulfilling customer needs.

Originality/value

A supply chain is known as a network of facilities and distribution options that performs the functions of procurement of materials, transformation of these materials into intermediate and finished products, and the distribution of these finished products to customers. Supply chain coordination plays a critical role in integrating different actors along the supply chain to enhance performance.
Quality improvement in primary care: ethical issues explored
Authors: Tapp Laura , Elwyn Glyn , Edwards Adrian , Holm Søren , Eriksson Tina
Published: January 2009

Purpose

Quality improvement (QI) processes in family medicine are becoming increasingly complex. Their influence on the organisation of the sector and on the daily work processes is profound and increasing. The literature indicates that many ethical issues are arising from QI work. Therefore this paper aims to identify the experiences of professionals involved in planning and performing QI programmes in European family medicine on the ethical implications involved in those processes.

Design/methodology/approach

Four focus groups were carried out with 29 general practitioners (GPs) and administrators of general practice quality work in Europe. Two focus groups comprised EQuiP members and two focus groups comprised attendees to an invitational conference on QI in family medicine held by EQuiP in Barcelona in November 2006.

Findings

Four overarching themes were identified, including implications of using patient data, prioritising QI projects, issues surrounding the ethical approval dilemma and the impact of QI. Each theme was accompanied by an identified solution.

Practical implications

Prioritising is necessary and in doing that GPs should ensure that a variety of work is conducted so that some patient groups are not neglected. Transparency and flexibility on various levels is necessary to avoid harmful consequences of QI in terms of bureaucratisation, increased workload and burnout on part of the GP and harmful effects on the doctor‐patient relationship. There is a need to address the system of approval for national QI programmes and QI projects utilising more sophisticated methodologies.

Originality/value

This study provides data from GPs who are experienced quality improvers across 17 countries. Many ethical issues were identified and it was possible to clearly map the themes and their relationships and to summarise the identified solutions from an international perspective.
Factors affecting performance of hospital nurses in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Al‐Ahmadi Hanan
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors influencing performance of hospital nurses in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia. Specific objectives were to estimate self‐reported performance, and determine whether differences in employee demographics, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment, influenced performance.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 15 hospitals were randomly selected. The questionnaire was sent to all nurses (1,834) in these facilities and 923 nurses responded. Statistical analysis included correlation,t‐test, and regression analysis.

Findings

The study finds that job performance is positively correlated with organizational commitment, job satisfaction and personal and professional variables. Both job satisfaction and organizational commitment are strong predictors of nurses' performance. Job performance is positively related to some personal factors, including years of experience, nationality, gender, and marital status. Level of education is negatively related to performance.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study have a limited generalisability due to the fact that all measures used are based on self‐reports. Future research may be directed to other objective measures of performance.

Practical implications

Emphasis should be placed on effective supervision, empowerment, and a better reward system. Cultural diversity is a reality for most health organizations in Saudi Arabia; therefore, they need to adopt effective human resources strategies that aim to improve commitment and retention of qualified workers, and build a high performance organizational culture based on empowerment, open communication, and appreciation of impact of national culture on work attitudes.

Originality/value

This study fulfills a research gap in the area of nursing performance, and its relationship with work attitudes in Saudi Arabia. The paper also highlights the impact of national culture on job performance and work attitude among nurses in Saudi Arabia, and other countries facing the issue of multi‐national work force.
RFID in the healthcare supply chain: usage and application
Authors: Kumar Sameer , Swanson Eric , Tran Thuy
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purposes of this study are to first, determine the most efficient and cost effective portions of the healthcare supply chain in which radio frequency identification devices (RFID) can be implemented. Second, provide specific examples of RFID implementation and show how these business applications will add to the effectiveness of the healthcare supply chain. And third, to describe the current state of RFID technology and to give practical information for managers in the healthcare sector to make sound decisions about the possible implementation of RFID technology within their organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

Healthcare industry literature was reviewed and examples of specific instances of RFID implementation were examined using an integrated simulation model developed with Excel, @Risk and Visio software tools.

Findings

Analysis showed that the cost of implementing current RFID technology is too expensive for broad and sweeping implementation within the healthcare sector at this time. However, several example applications have been identified in which this technology can be effectively leveraged in a cost‐effective way.

Practical implications

This study shows that RFID technology has come a long way in the recent past and has potential to improve healthcare sector productivity and efficiency. Implementation by large companies such as Wal‐mart has helped to make the technology become much more economical in its per unit cost as well as its supporting equipment and training costs.

Originality/value

The originality of this study lies in the idea that few practical and pragmatic approaches have been taken within the academic field of study for the implementation of RFID into the healthcare supply chain. Much of the research has focused on specific companies or portions of the supply chain and not the entire supply chain. Also, many of the papers have discussed the future of the supply chain that is heavily dependent on advances in RFID technology. A few viable applications of how RFID technology can be implemented in the healthcare supply chain are presented and how the current state of technology limits the broad use and implementation of this technology in the healthcare industry.
Data mining in pharma sector: benefits
Authors: Ranjan Jayanthi
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The amount of data getting generated in any sector at present is enormous. The information flow in the pharma industry is huge. Pharma firms are progressing into increased technology‐enabled products and services. Data mining, which is knowledge discovery from large sets of data, helps pharma firms to discover patterns in improving the quality of drug discovery and delivery methods. The paper aims to present how data mining is useful in the pharma industry, how its techniques can yield good results in pharma sector, and to show how data mining can really enhance in making decisions using pharmaceutical data.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper is written based on secondary study, research and observations from magazines, reports and notes. The author has listed the types of patterns that can be discovered using data mining in pharma data.

Findings

The paper shows how data mining is useful in the pharma industry and how its techniques can yield good results in pharma sector.

Research limitations/implications

Although much work can be produced for discovering knowledge in pharma data using data mining, the paper is limited to conceptualizing the ideas and view points at this stage; future work may include applying data mining techniques to pharma data based on primary research using the available, famous significant data mining tools.

Originality/value

Research papers and conceptual papers related to data mining in Pharma industry are rare; this is the motivation for the paper.
The relationship between outsourcing and organizational performance
Authors: Bolat Tamer , Yılmaz Özgür
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate empirically the impacts of outsourcing, and to examine the relationship between the outsourcing process and organizational performance in hotels.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for the study were obtained from 80 hotels in the city of Antalya in Turkey through questionnaires. A paired‐sample t test, and correlation and regression analyses were used to analyse the data.

Findings

The analyses provide strong support for the impacts of outsourcing on organizational performance. Cooperation with a vendor has led to significant improvement in organizational effectiveness, productivity, profitability, quality, continuous improvement, quality of work life, and social responsibility levels. Hotel managers think that organizational performance has increased after outsourcing.

Research limitations/implications

The most significant limitation of this study is the impact of outsourcing on organizational performance relying on perceived results rather than direct measures for measurable dimensions. In future research, financial metrics must be used to provide more objective evaluations of a hotel's outsourcing impact on the dimensions of profitability and productivity.

Practical implications

The results indicate that outsourcing is very important for organizational performance. Also, the effectiveness of the outsourcing process significantly affects organizational performance. If the outsourcing process is planned and implemented effectively, the required results can be achieved in terms of organizational performance.

Originality/value

Little has been found in the literature on the impact of outsourcing in hotels. This paper presents new data and empirical insights into the relationship between outsourcing and organizational performance in hotels in Turkey.
Motel accommodation: trigger points to guest accommodation selection
Authors: Lockyer Tim , Roberts Linda
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The understanding of the factors that influence the selection of accommodation by guests is an important issue for international accommodation providers. The purpose of this research is to gain a greater understanding not only of the factors that influence the selection of motel accommodation by guests, but also of when and under which situations these factors become trigger points for decision making, focusing in particular on the influence that the length of stay has on the trigger points that impacted the selection process.

Design/methodology/approach

To undertake this research, five focus groups were conducted, involving participants who had previous experience in staying in motel accommodation either for business, on vacation or a combination of the two. Participants were selected and invited from a large variety of occupations and backgrounds.

Findings

Three levels of trigger points were identified for different lengths of stay. For overnight stays requirements were “minimalist”, convenience being the prime trigger point, and visitors felt they could tolerate most situations. For stays of two‐four nights there were certain requirements, “essentials”, that provided the necessary requirements for sleeping, eating and relaxation, while for stays longer than four nights, additional requirements that enhanced the stay, “enhancers”, were sought, raising the provision of the “essentials” to a higher level of sophistication and comfort.

Originality/value

This research, although conducted in New Zealand and in a specific part of a market, illustrates how complex the process of accommodation selection is by guests and in particular how the trigger points for selection change with the length of stay. It indicates how the physical facilities provided need to be tailored to the market in relation to the length of the visitor's stay.
Elucidating the aesthetic and operational characteristics of UK boutique hotels
Authors: Mun Lim Wai , Endean Mel
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The paper seeks to clarify the aesthetic and operational characteristics of UK boutique hotels so as to obtain a clearer definition of boutique hotels.

Design/methodology/approach

Since an official list of boutique hotels is not available, the study looked at 15 consortia recognised as operating bona fide boutique hotels by a few authoritative sources (e.g. Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the RAC). Web sites of each boutique hotel were scrutinised by content analysing vital operational characteristics and aesthetic features that were presented. A comparative analysis was then carried out with the findings and interviews obtained from four boutique hotel managers to establish the common characteristics of boutique hotels.

Findings

The paper describes the aesthetics and operational characteristics of UK boutique hotels, indicating what can be found in a boutique hotel. One of the many important findings of this study suggests that the majority of boutique hotels are not privately owned, contradicting previous studies.

Research limitations/implications

The list of characteristics is not exhaustive, although the interest in UK boutique hotels is rather recent. The research method used in this study has not been used before, and it is therefore recommended that research on consumer perceptions of boutique hotels should help to augment and balance the findings of this study.

Practical implications

A meaningful and functional definition of boutique hotels will enable trade bodies and relevant associations to revise their grading systems, better serving the hotel industry, as well as business and leisure travellers.

Originality/value

This paper aims to give credibility to the sector so that not any hotel can claim to be boutique, as specific characteristics have to be fulfilled.
Franchisor's ongoing support and franchisee's satisfaction: a case of ice cream franchising in Korea
Authors: Roh Eugene Y. , Yoon Ji‐Hwan
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The primary purpose of this research is to investigate franchisees' satisfaction based on franchisors' pre‐opening support, central purchasing, congeniality and ongoing business support.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample was drawn from ice cream franchising operations in Seoul, South Korea, and its vicinity. Personal interviews were conducted, followed by a self‐administered questionnaire.

Findings

The franchisees learned about their business opportunities through friends and relatives. The brand recognition by the consumer is the major motive for franchisees to engage in franchising. While franchisees are least satisfied with their franchisors' ongoing business support, they are most satisfied with central purchasing support from the franchisor.

Practical implications

The study offers valuable insights for strategic management as to recruitment, selection, and ongoing support provided by franchisors.

Originality/value

This research is particularly valuable to franchisors who are contemplating expanding their franchising business internationally.
Cheating in virtual worlds: transgressive designs for learning
Authors: Kafai Yasmin B. , Fields Deborah A.
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to present and discuss cheat sites and cheating practices associated with Whyville.net, a virtual world with over 1.7 million registered players aged eight to 16 that includes game and science activities. The goal is to examine how the development of cheats can present learning opportunities for players and designers alike.

Design/methodology/approach

The types of cheats were categorized and science content examined in hundreds of cheat sites created for Whyville. The work of a cheat site designer in developing a cheat together with other Whyville players was observed.

Findings

It was found that a great variety of cheats are available in educational worlds and that science games that require more than one simple answer also require the development of more sophisticated cheats.

Originality/value

Cheating is a transgressive practice widely accepted in gaming but mostly condemned in schooling. The features of cheating and its associated practices allow us to consider transgressive designs for learning in virtual worlds that offer opportunities for youth to participate in creative and critical media production, to engage in science inquiry, and to raise ethical issues.
Virtual worlds, conceptual understanding, and me: designing for consequential engagement
Authors: Gresalfi Melissa , Barab Sasha , Siyahhan Sinem , Christensen Tyler
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to advance the idea of consequential engagement, positioning it as a necessary complement to the more common practices of supporting procedural or conceptual engagement. More than a theoretical argument, this notion is grounded in examples from the authors' work in enlisting game‐based methodologies and technologies for supporting such engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the presentation of two example designs, an elementary statistics curriculum and an undergraduate educational psychology course, the paper attends to the potential of narratively‐rich, multi‐user virtual environments for positioning students to critically engage academic content. In particular, it discusses the importance of designing spaces that afford opportunities to understand and apply disciplinary concepts in making sense of, and potentially transforming, conceptually‐revealing scenarios.

Findings

The paper discusses the role of consequential engagement in supporting meaningful procedural and conceptual engagement, and the potential of these designed spaces for positioning learners to develop an appreciation both of the power of the conceptual tools they engage, and of themselves and their peers as people who use these tools.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a framework for design that can be applied to both real and virtual learning environments.
Digital literacies for the disengaged: creating after school contexts to support boys' game‐based literacy skills
Authors: Steinkuehler Constance , King Elizabeth
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to reviews the structure and format of an after school incubator program that leverages online games for literacy learning, particularly for adolescent males. It also aims to describe its dual function as both quasi‐natural context and design experiment laboratory and to discuss some early findings that illustrate the kinds of literacy practices the authors are beginning to see within their homegrown community to date.

Design/methodology/approach

For the past year, the authors have been engaging game‐loving boys in digital and print literacy practices, not by playing matchmaker between them and those game communities that engage in such practices naturally, but by growing such a community of their own. Following the lead of other games‐based educational programs and known characteristics of game‐related indigenous online communities, the design encourages distributed expertise and collective intelligence in place of standardization and peer‐to‐peer learning in the form of modeling and networked apprenticeship.

Findings

The goal is to leverage teenage boys' existing interests in games to strengthen and enrich their engagement in literacies with payoff both in school and beyond. The findings suggest that the laboratory has met with initial success, particularly in terms of the use of literacy as a tool for solving problems, researching and assembling online multimodal game‐related resources, and synthesizing in‐game and out‐of‐game information.

Research limitations/implications

There are challenges inherent to taking this sort of “piggyback” approach to literacy learning, yet some characteristics that emerge from such approaches warrant further investigation. Specifically, virtual worlds enable what we call “networked apprenticeship” and function as “levelers” in their ability to let mastery rather than credentials decide who is considered expert in any given situated interaction. Such social contexts for learning, despite the challenges of fostering them, warrant additional research.

Practical implications

While previous literature has blamed videogames as the culprit behind boys' lagging success in literacy‐related coursework and assessments, this program inverts this equation and instead investigates the ways in which games can function as a sort of “gateway drug” for important digital literacy practices.

Originality/value

The paper focuses on a program whose target audience is adolescent boys identified as “at risk” and failing in literacy‐related classes yet highly motivated by games.
Not just a dollhouse: whatThe Sims2can teach us about women's IT learning
Authors: Hayes Elisabeth R. , King Elizabeth M.
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe how a popular computer game, The Sims2, engages players in computing practices that are foundational to information technology (IT) fluency, and to draw implications for engaging young people, particularly girls and women, in computer‐related learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is framed within a conceptual perspective on learning as a process of acquiring situated understandings through participation in meaningful activity. The paper draws on two years of work with girls developing IT fluency through playing and modding The Sims. It also draws on interviews with adult women who are highly engaged in creating Sims content.

Findings

The paper identifies a set of practices inherent in Sims game play that are foundational to IT fluency: managing complex systems; cheating and glitching; tinkering with tools; and making, manipulating, and reasoning with spatial representations.

Practical implications

The paper suggests how existing practices associated with games might be leveraged for the development of IT fluencies.

Originality/value

This study contributes to efforts aimed at rethinking how educators might conceptualize and support the development of IT fluencies. The paper offers new perspectives on the nature of IT fluency in the context of participatory culture and productive uses of new media.
Mobile media learning: multiplicities of place
Authors: Squire Kurt
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This paper seeks to build a theory of mobile media learning by studying indigenous use of these media and theorizing what impact they might have on learning and education.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a critical approach, the paper reviews contemporary developments in mobile media learning particularly those happening outside of schools. It includes reviews of games and/or media, literature (particularly firsthand accounts published by designers and/or users), and analyses of online communities.

Findings

Although mobile media learning has mostly been framed as “anytime, anywhere” their more profound impact may be in the experience of place. Mobile media enables a multiplicity and hybridity of place that causes opportunities and challenges to learning and education.

Research limitations/implications

To date, there has been relatively little close study of how youth use such media in educational and learning contexts, and more case studies are needed to understand the impact of mobile media on learning.

Practical implications

Those designing learning environments for a mobile media‐enabled world will need to rethink some basic assumptions about classroom configurations and learning. Rather than designing for large groups, educators might design for students to be in multiple places in time and place.

Originality/value

As handheld computing initiatives continue to proliferate, educators might benefit from taking a step back and reconsidering how mobile media is understood, and this paper argues that looking at mobile media as media with unique affordances makes new kinds of interactions come to light.
Exploratory study to understand the phenomena of adoption of wireless handheld devices in the Australian healthcare system
Authors: Hafeez‐Baig Abdul , Gururajan Raj
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the phenomenal of wireless handheld technology in healthcare environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a mixed method approach and a qualitative approach with focus group and survey techniques.

Findings

The study indicates that organizational readiness, technical readiness, clinical practice, social aspects as well as compatibility of new hardware with the existing system, play a crucial role in the adoption of wireless handheld devices in Australian healthcare systems

Research limitations/implications

Future research in this domain needs to examine implications of wireless handheld technology at an organizational level in the healthcare environment and its adoptability to unique healthcare settings

Originality/value

The research has established that access to data, communication enhancements, policy development, high quality information transmission and easy interfaces, are some of the factors influencing the acceptance of wireless technology in Australian healthcare systems. The study also identified challenges, such as the lack of management commitment, in realizing the acceptance.
Perceived importance of EMR functions and physician characteristics
Authors: Meinert David B. , Peterson Dane
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate why physicians in the USA have been reluctant to embrace electronic medical record (EMR) technology. More specifically, the present study aims to examine physicians' perceptions regarding the importance of various functions of EMR systems and the extent to which physician characteristics were related to the perceived importance of the functions.

Design/methodology/approach

A mail survey was sent to 358 physicians affiliated with a large, multi‐specialty clinic located in the Midwest region of the USA.

Findings

Although previous studies suggest that the age, computer sophistication, and medical specialty of physicians impacts the extent to which they use EMR technology, the present study found very little evidence that these characteristics of the physicians were related to the perceived importance of EMR functions.

Practical implications

Since the results demonstrate that physicians view EMR technology as highly important, it was concluded that difference in the use of EMR technology among physicians was not primarily the result of differences in the perceived importance of EMR technology. Rather, it appears that a lack of computer skills may account for much of the resistance to adopting EMR technology. Thus, training to increase computer proficiency among physicians may be the key to increasing the acceptance of EMR technology.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful information on physicians' perceptions of EMR technology.
The effect of experience on web procurement
Authors: Hernández‐Ortega Blanca , Jiménez‐Martínez Julio , José Martín‐DeHoyos M.
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The main objective of this paper is to analyse how important the previous experience of firms with different information technologies is for their acceptance of web procurement.

Design/methodology/approach

To analyse the different types of experience a study was conducted using structural equation modelling techniques. A multi‐sample analysis was also carried out to test whether there are significant differences in behaviour according to the sector of activity to which the organisation belongs.

Findings

The findings show that using various precursor information technologies, such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or the internet generates knowledge that both facilitates and encourages subsequent web procurement. Once a firm has acquired this knowledge its impact is the same in all sectors.

Practical implications

The work examines the importance of making a continuous investment in IT and shows that previous experience of earlier information systems determines the future technological development of a firm. Thus, firms should be aware that this type of knowledge would help them to obtain competitive advantages and improve their profitability.

Originality/value

The main contribution of the study is its analysis of experience from a multiple perspective. First, the use of different applications: EDI, internet, commercial management software and web procurement. Second, to proxy for experience, the paper considers aspects other than intensity of use: perceived ease of use and usefulness. Finally, the relevance of technological experience for any economic activity is empirically tested.
Strategic alliances between microfirms
Authors: Jaouen Annabelle , Gundolf Katherine
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This paper aims first to identify the patterns and governance modes of strategic alliances between microfirms and second, to show that alliances between microfirms have specific characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopts a qualitative approach, based on a survey of 20 alliances. It uses semi‐directive interviews with entrepreneurs of multi‐activity sector firms and discourse analysis.

Findings

The paper proposes a typology of microfirm alliances, and highlights the importance of a coherent vision on the part of the partners: egocentered or co‐development logic. First, it explains alliance motivations, and presents the different alliance configurations: patterns, purposes, and entrepreneurs' relationships. Then, it analyses these configurations and governance modes, and shows several specificities: lack of formalisation, absence of contractual relationships, trust, and constrained trust. Finally, the paper questions the impact of strategic alliances on the development of microfirms.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the knowledge of microfirms' strategic behaviours by showing new results about the functioning of strategic alliances. It shows that informal relationships predominate, and it confirms the research into the role of trust for construction and success of interorganisational collaboration.
The evolution of models of public relations: an outsider's perspective
Authors: Laskin Alexander V.
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the historical development of the models/dimensions of public relations. The extensive criticism of the models and dimensions is provided to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of the concept.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a critical literature review to understand the roots of the models, their empirical tests, the modifications applied to the models over time, and finally the proposed shift from models to dimensions of public relations.

Findings

The study concludes that the attempt to translate the public relations models into the dimensions failed because of a variety of conceptual and methodological flaws. Yet, the idea of developing dimensions of public relations is a viable and practical step in advancing public relations research; however, such dimensions must be continuous, dichotomous and measurable.

Originality/value

Models of public relations first became a dominant theoretical perspective in public relations only to virtually disappear from the research agenda later. This paper calls the attention back to the models/dimensions to revive the research in this area.
Reconstruction of public relations history through publications in Public Opinion Quarterly
Authors: Podnar Klement , Golob Ursa
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a historical development of public relations from its early days until 1970. The study aims to show that in the early stages of development public relations was closely linked with public opinion research.

Design/methodology/approach

A historical content analysis is used to establish a “story of identity” through a review of selected articles from Public Opinion Quarterly from 1937 to 1970.

Findings

A clear finding is that public relations was once an integral part of public opinion science but later changed its focus to the management field, interested in reaching different publics. From the very beginning public relations was a subject of academic interest.

Research limitations/implications

This paper has a few limitations; one that stands out is that selected articles were analysed from only one journal, which does not offer the recent material (after 1970 and especially from the 1990s). At the end, the paper raises some questions, which should aid the discussion about the identity crisis of public relations discipline (and managerial function) in the postmodern era.

Originality/value

The paper attempts to cover the gap in an interactive relationship between two disciplines: communication studies and public relations. It contributes to the knowledge of historical development of public relations as an academic discipline.
The appraisal of data centres: deconstructing the cash flow
Authors: McAllister Patrick , Loizou Pavlos
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the appraisal of a specialised form of real estate – data centres – that has a unique blend of locational, physical and technological characteristics that differentiate it from conventional real estate assets. Market immaturity, limited trading and a lack of pricing signals enhance levels of appraisal uncertainty and disagreement relative to conventional real estate assets.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the problems of applying standard discounted cash flow, an approach to appraisal is proposed that uses pricing signals from traded cash flows that are similar to the cash flows generated from data centres. Based on “the law of one price”, it is assumed that two assets that are expected to generate identical cash flows in the future must have the same value now. It is suggested that the expected cash flow of assets should be analysed over the life cycle of the building. Corporate bond yields are used to provide a proxy for the appropriate discount rates for lease income. Since liabilities are quite diverse, a number of proxies are suggested as discount and capitalisation rates including indexed‐linked, fixed interest and zero‐coupon bonds.

Findings

The application of conventional discounted cash flow approaches to the appraisal of data centres requires information about a wide range of inputs that is difficult to derive from market signals or estimate analytically. In practice, discounted cash flow appraisals of data centre facilities are forced to incorporate non‐market assumptions that are inevitably subjective. Cash flows from data centres tend to be more complicated because of the high levels of current and capital expenditure compared with conventional assets. This requires an understanding of the appraisal of liabilities as well as income. Whilst the use of price information from similar cash flows such as corporate bonds is helpful, there are rarely assets and liabilities that have identical cash flows and risks and some approximation is necessary.

Originality/value

The digitalisation of business and society has produced a different form of real estate asset that is specialised, physically complex and whose operation, maintenance and management require specialist staffing and high levels of current and capital expenditure. The complexity of the cash flows and the lack of active trading create significant appraisal problems. This paper proposes an alternative approach to appraisal that utilises external pricing signals to appraise the various incomes and costs.
Reasons for implementing public private partnership projects
Authors: Cheung Esther , Chan Albert P.C. , Kajewski Stephen
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This paper sets out to present the findings of a study to investigate the reasons for implementing Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was conducted in Hong Kong (also commonly referred to as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), Australia and the United Kingdom. The survey respondents were asked to rate the importance of nine identified reasons for implementing PPP projects.

Findings

The findings of the top three ranks for each respondent group were investigated. Ranked top by the survey respondents in Hong Kong was “Private incentive”. Ranked second by all three groups of survey respondents was “Economic development pressure demanding more facilities”. Third in Hong Kong and first in Australia was “High quality of service required”. The reason “Inefficiency because of public monopoly and lack of competition” was ranked third by the Australian respondents. And finally ranked first and third by the British respondents was “Shortage of government funding” and “Avoid public investment restriction”. The rankings showed that in general those rated highly in the United Kingdom focused on financial elements whereas those rated highly in Hong Kong and Australia were more related to the overall performance of improving public projects.

Originality/value

These findings were believed to provide an idea of the possible reasons for implementing PPP projects, and as a result illustrate a clearer understanding of the process.
Business process verification – finally a reality!
Authors: Wynn M.T. , Verbeek H.M.W. , van der Aalst W.M.P. , ter Hofstede A.H.M. , Edmond D.
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that process verification has matured to a level where it can be used in practice. This paper reports on new verification techniques that can be used to assess the correctness of real‐life models.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed approach relies on using formal methods to determine the correctness of business processes with cancellation and OR‐joins. The paper also demonstrates how reduction rules can be used to improve the efficiency. These techniques are presented in the context of the workflow language yet another workflow language (YAWL) that provides direct support for 20 most frequently used patterns found today (including cancellation and OR‐joins). But the results also apply to other languages with these features (e.g. BPMN, EPCs, UML activity diagrams, etc.). An editor has been developed that provides diagnostic information based on the techniques presented in this paper.

Findings

The paper proposes four properties for business processes with cancellation and OR‐joins, namely: soundness, weak soundness, irreducible cancellation regions and immutable OR‐joins and develop new techniques to verify these properties. Reduction rules have been used as a means of improving the efficiency of the algorithm. The paper demonstrates the feasibility of this verification approach using a realistic and complex business process, the visa application process for general skilled migration to Australia, modelled as a YAWL workflow with cancellation regions and OR‐joins.

Originality/value

Business processes sometimes require complex execution interdependencies to properly complete a process. For instance, it is possible that certain activities need to be cancelled mid‐way though the process. Some parallel activities may require complex “wait and see” style synchronisation depending on a given context. These types of business processes can be found in various domains, such as application integration, B2B commerce, web service composition and workflow systems. Even though cancellation and sophisticated join structures are present in many business processes, existing verification techniques are unable to deal with such processes. Hence, this paper plays an important role in making process verification a reality.
An object oriented intelligent environment for ERP systems
Authors: Subramoniam Suresh , Tounsi Mohamed
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate object‐oriented (OO) features in a language, suitable for artificial intelligence (AI), which will execute in a web environment. Earlier researchers have claimed that such a possibility will pave the way for better enterprise systems of tomorrow.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the key OO features, inheritance and polymorphism, are presented using suitable examples. Visual Prolog™ is the language used to demonstrate the examples and the same executes in web environment.

Findings

This premise definitely matches the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of existing systems which can aptly be called business process reengineering (BPR) in this field of study. A monolithic/homogeneous expert database design based system supporting AI and OO capabilities which executes in web environment is the result of this study.

Research limitations/implications

There is no argument about the optimality of the search which is carried out while using this environment, which is purely based on the computer language used.

Practical implications

The power of similar environment has enormous potential in developing better enterprise systems of tomorrow. This declarative environment helps enterprise resource planning (ERP) evolve faster towards strategic decision making rather than remaining as transaction processing systems.

Originality/value

It is hoped that this paper will inspire other researchers in the field of BPR of existing ERP systems.
Information flows and business process integration
Authors: Berente Nicholas , Vandenbosch Betty , Aubert Benoit
Published: January 2009

Purpose

Many business process improvement efforts emphasize better integration, yet process integration can mean many things. The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of information flows to modern business processes, and draw upon recent organizational and information systems literature to characterize process integration and to derive four principles of process integration: accessibility, timeliness, transparency, and granularity of information flows.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a field study, the four principles of process integration are applied to analyze ten different business processes across five organizations.

Findings

In total, 18 generalized activities are identified that describe non‐integrated behavior, and “keying in known data” was found to be the most common. Among other findings, analysis highlights the importance of documentation to modern business processes, especially for coordination roles, and the paper describes three different purposes for documentation found in the data: content, process validation, and posterity.

Research limitations/implications

The articulation of “business process integration” offers a foundation for future research in this area. Findings are limited in generalizability to various levels of processes, as well as possible instrument‐related biases.

Practical implications

The principles of process integration provide a lens through which practitioners can analyze processes. Empirical findings stress the role of documentation, forms of documentation, and types of non‐integrated work.

Originality/value

The paper characterizes process integration in relation to other commonly‐used constructs such as organizational integration, data integration, and application integration. Principles are derived from the literature that can guide future inquiry and practice associated with business process improvement.
Weak links in the supply chain: measuring fragility and sustainability
Authors: Stonebraker Peter W. , Goldhar Joel , Nassos George
Published: January 2009

Purpose

There is significant anecdotal evidence of increasing global supply chain fragility; and, for this reason, robustness and operational sustainability are of notable concern to senior executives. Though the issues are myriad, four factors dominate these concerns: increasing complexity of products, processes, and technologies, increasing structural complexity of supply chains, increasing diversity and global nature of business systems, and the environmental costs and impacts of extended supply chains. This paper aims to focus on these factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual, theoretical paper differentiates corporate sustainability and operational robustness in terms of profitability and costs, then defines and develops internal, external, and uncontrollable fragility factors. A process that measures and integrates these factors is proposed for brainstorming and decision making. Additionally, methods to represent and compare alternatives, progress against internal or external targets, and industry goals or known competitor values are offered.

Findings

This study describes and demonstrates an easy‐to‐implement process to address the potentially disastrous consequences of supply chain fragility.

Practical implications

This study offers both academicians and practitioners a model to research, assess, and identify the risks and costs of current levels of supply chain fragility and to weigh various solutions.

Originality/value

Unfortunately, few research efforts define these issues or identify the associated risks. Further, little has been put forward to posit, model, and facilitate the practical decision process to address these factor relationships. To these ends, the paper proposes a “fragility index” to help supply chain managers assess sources and potential costs of fragility, sustainability, and the associated environmental stress in their supply chains.