bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A multi‐disciplinary profile of IS/IT outsourcing research
Authors: Alsudairi Mohamed , Dwivedi Yogesh K.
Published: July 2010

Purpose

In recent years a large number of studies have appeared on information systems (IS)/information technology (IT) outsourcing related issues but scattered in a number of distantly related publishing outlets which may hamper the use of such published resources and repetition of research conducted by various researchers. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic survey of the literature pertaining to research on IS/IT outsourcing.

Design/methodology/approach

The research aim was accomplished by extracting information on a number of relevant variables by conducting a review of 315 articles on IS/IT outsourcing published between 1992 and 2008.

Findings

The analysis is presented by listing and illustrating subject category, journals, year of publications and country, frequently published authors, productive institutions, the trend of collaborative nature (co‐author analysis) of research, the impact/influence of published research; topics/research issues and utilised methods, and the challenges and limitations of existing research.

Practical implications

Results of this research may have implications for both private and public sector organizations interested in outsourcing IS/IT services and applications, and various stakeholders of academic publishing (namely, researchers, journal editors, reviewers and universities) research on IS/IT outsourcing.

Originality/value

The primary value of this paper lies in extending the understanding of evolution and patterns of outsourcing research.
A decision support system for improving performance of inventory management in a supply chain network
Authors: Beheshti Hooshang M.
Published: July 2010

Purpose

This article seeks to present a decision support model for improving supply chain performance. The model aims to provide a holistic view of the supply chain as an integrated system by analyzing inventory options to facilitate the decision‐making process by business partners in the system.

Design/methodology/approach

In recent years, organizations have focused on incorporating both internal and external business activities of their supply chain into an integrated system. The goal of integration of all supply chain activities is to maximize total systems performance while minimizing costs. Literature review and professional experience in the field provided the foundation for the model development in this research.

Findings

The article demonstrates the usefulness of a decision support model in analyzing and developing a cooperative environment among supply chain members in order to reduce the cost of inventory as well as the cost of goods sold. The effects of utilizing such tools as just‐in‐time and electronic business systems are illustrated and discussed.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed model demonstrates disadvantages of individual optimization in an integrated supply chain system as well as the advantages of collaboration of supply chain members in finding the minimum cost. The model uses one manufacturer with multiple retailers and distributors. Future research in this area could expand the model to allow multiple manufacturers.

Practical implications

The decision support model allows decision makers along the supply chain to employ a series of what‐if analyses to evaluate different scenarios with regard to lowering the cost of products reaching the consumer.

Originality/value

The model developed in this paper provides the foundation for future research as well as support for decision making when various decision makers are involved.
Insights from action research: implementing the balanced scorecard at a wind‐farm company
Authors: Schneider Roman , Vieira Rui
Published: July 2010

Purpose

After a diagnosis of the existing management control systems (MCS) at a wind‐farm company, the paper seeks to develop a balanced scorecard (BSC) in order to enable the organization to compress and streamline management decision making and to show what is to be taken into account for a successful implementation of this framework.

Design/methodology/approach

An action research study, using Otley's performance management framework – to get a comprehensive view of MCS, identify strengths and weaknesses of the systems in place, and then develop a BSC – was conducted to the attainment of useful empirical knowledge, and to help achieve effective change within the organization.

Findings

The paper identifies the main issues related to performance measurement and presents a BSC designed for a wind‐farm company.

Practical implications

A comprehensive guide of the balanced scorecard methodology is described, including how the concept can be customized to the wind‐farm industry. The paper is especially of interest for practitioners.

Originality/value

The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, the paper describes how the BSC concept can be improved through customizing the normal four perspectives, by including additional perspectives that provide awareness about stakeholders, such as suppliers, community and government. Second, the research provides practical guidelines to design a performance measurement model, considering the organization's stakeholders and the strategies to ensure that value is created for them. Finally, and for the first time, the paper provides a systematization of the key performance indicators for a wind‐farm organization.
Latin America's critical management? A liberation genealogy
Authors: Mandiola Marcela P.
Published: July 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to articulate the need of new approaches for what has been regarded as a critical position within management studies. Particularly it aims to explore the gap among critical management studies in considering the colonial position of Latin America within traditional (international) management influences. It seeks to raise the liberation concept and genealogically explore in order to state a geopolitical critical enunciation for Latin America within international management.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses the theoretical frame of Laclau and Mouffe's Discourse Theory methodologically articulated by Glynos and Howarth to explore the antagonisms built around the liberation concept, as well as its radical possibilities in a current context in Latin America.

Findings

The paper proposes a new articulation of the liberation concept as a resistance response facing a new form of oppression within current Latin American affairs; or in other words a new form of colonization: the colonization through managerial discourses.

Originality/value

The paper's contribution lies in an original consideration of an (im)possible critical standpoint to international management from the Latin American radical tradition. Also the paper joins the novel endeavors to mobilize Discourse Theory within the boundaries of management research.
Psychological knowledge for the governance of the South
Authors: Camilo Pulido‐Martinez Hernan
Published: July 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to achieve a critical understanding of the place of psychological knowledge with regard to the international regulation of the world of work. Specifically, it seeks to explore the place and operations of psychology involved in the constitution of workers as subjects in countries that do not produce this knowledge but appropriate, adapt and hybridise it.

Design/methodology/approach

The transition from a “traditional” passengers transport system to a “rapid bus service” named Transmilenio is considered as a “local” focus of analysis. Working conditions and some psychological practices established in a multi‐site ethnographic study conducted within the transport system are considered to illustrate ways in which psychological knowledge contributes to the production of drivers as subjects, and to perpetuate the relationships of international subordination.

Findings

The paper establishes the particular transformations that, in terms of working conditions, frame the application of psychological knowledge. It also shows how psychological practices applied in different types of transport companies are connected to produce “traditional” workers as “the other” which has to be transformed. Finally, the psychological practices are linked to some of the global flows which aim to produce a global management at a distance”.

Originality/value

Even though work psychology is a source of inspiration for management techniques, there is not much research related to the local‐global implications of its practices. Thus, this paper contributes to the understanding of the ways in which North‐Atlantic psychology operates when it is applied to work settings located in the South.
The discursive construction of decision making in interdisciplinary teams
Authors: Kure Nikolaj
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the analytical productiveness of a discursive power perspective in understanding interdisciplinary teams' inefficient decision processes, and to discuss the ethical consequences of such an approach.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a case study of an interdisciplinary team in a Danish hospital, the paper analyzes the team's decision practices as a result of discursive power operations that privilege and marginalize groups and persons.

Findings

The paper shows that a discourse of equality dominates the team's decision practices. This produces a tendency among members to word observations as reflections whereas expert assessments are rendered unlikely and unwelcome. The paper demonstrates that this analysis is productive in understanding why interdisciplinary teams struggle to develop efficient decision processes. Furthermore, the paper suggests that managers should respond ethically to these discursive power operations with political interventions.

Originality/value

A variety of theoretical models have been proposed to understand interdisciplinary teams' problematic decision processes. This paper makes an original contribution to this field by shoving how a discursive framework provides a productive analytical strategy. Moreover, the paper's proposition of political intervention as an ethical way of securing social sustainability is unprecedented.
Japanese business and poverty reduction
Authors: Sugawara Hideyuki
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine inspiring ideas in which Japanese companies are finding innovative ways to tap into base of the pyramid (BOP) markets to increase their profit while simultaneously reducing poverty and contributing to BOP society.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examines a potential and some issues of Japanese business in BOP market through case analysis of Yakult Honsha Co Ltd and Nihon Poly‐Glu Co Ltd.

Findings

The paper reveals that Japanese companies have a particular aptitude and strength for BOP business. The paper have three findings: Japanese company has a source of BOP business; Japanese companies have aptitude and strength for BOP business; and the time is ripe for Japanese companies to break into the BOP market.

Research limitations/implications

There are few cases of Japanese companies which are engaging in BOP business. It could be kind of difficult to get a general result on Japanese business.

Practical implications

This paper shows that a high potential for Japanese companies to succeed in BOP market and some issues facing Japanese companies.

Originality/value

This paper is the first which analyzed some cases of Japanese BOP business and revealed a high potential of Japanese companies for BOP business.
The impact of relationship quality on client's loyalty
Authors: Ben Naoui Feten , Zaiem Imed
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the theoretical foundation of the relationship quality concept and loyalty, and to study the relationship between relationship quality, its antecedents and loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical study was conducted in the parapharmaceutical sector. Data collection was carried out through the direct administration of a questionnaire to a sample of 300 pharmacists dealing with sales representatives of the parapharmaceutical products.

Findings

The results show that there is a significant relation between the antecedents of relationship quality, namely, interpersonal communication, relational contact, conflict resolution and client‐oriented behavior, and relationship quality itself. Relationship quality has also an impact on loyalty which is accounted for positively by satisfaction, and negatively by affective conflict.

Research limitations/implications

The authors limited the scope of the study to purifying measurement scales and testing the links between the various concepts.

Practical implications

The paper sheds light on the action leverages that suppliers have to work on so as to improve the quality of their relation with their clients.

Originality/value

Compared to most previous research works which did not go beyond the probing of antecedents of relationship quality separately, the most important contribution of the study lies in taking into account some important antecedents in the study of the influence of antecedents of relationship quality on each dimension of relationship quality.
Pharmaceutical innovation and generic challenge: recent trends and causal factors
Authors: Dubey Jayashree , Dubey Rajesh
Published: July 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the present trends in pharmaceutical innovation and the impact of generic competition.

Design/methodology/approach

A secondary research was conducted to collect data related to new drug approvals of various classes over previous years; trends of investment in research and development; and the pipeline of new drug products of pharmaceutical companies.

Findings

While the new molecular entity (NME) approval rate has not improved over previous years, innovators have been aggressively pursuing the radical innovation process. Further, there has been a significant increase in incremental innovation. Pharmaceutical companies' investment in research has gone up resulting in higher number of application for new drug approvals. In India, pharmaceutical companies have significantly increased their research investment. However, the NME pipeline is still slim though there has been a significant surge in generic filings.

Originality/value

It provides a concise understanding of trends in pharmaceutical innovation and analyzes how various factors are shaping up the innovation process. It also throws light on the evolution story of Indian pharmaceutical companies to become drug innovators.
Smart thermostats: are we ready?
Authors: Daim Tugrul U. , Iskin Ibrahim
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the important product features that are to be included in smart grid devices. This will help the decision makers to prioritize the product feature implementations.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides a quantitative approach to determine the important product features. Data used in the model have been gathered by conducting a survey among 22 potential customers who have been living in residential areas.

Findings

Although customers understand that a feature to respond to price signals could benefit them, they overwhelmingly prefer cost benefit that an energy demand system would provide.

Originality/value

At a time when many are rushing in to implement technologies such as demand side management and any smart devices that go with them, this paper shows that customers may have different preferences than those implementing the technologies.
Modified PROMETHEE approach for assessing energy technologies
Authors: Oberschmidt Julia , Geldermann Jutta , Ludwig Jens , Schmehl Meike
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate a multi‐criteria methodology for the performance assessment of energy supply technologies, which also takes into account the dynamics of technological change.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach chosen is based on the multi‐criteria outranking methodology Preference Ranking Organisation METHod for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE), which is linked to the concept of technology's life cycle by assigning criteria weights depending on the actual development phase of a certain technology. The modifications to the PROMETHEE algorithm are described and the modified methodology is demonstrated by evaluating heat and power supply alternatives for a municipal area in Germany.

Findings

The methodology is suitable for the evaluation of energy technologies taking into account varying preferences depending on their stage of maturity. It is a feasible alternative to other methodologies which allow for interconnections like the analytic network process. The results show that, based on a multi‐criteria life cycle approach, renewable energy technologies are competitive with conventional alternatives for supplying heat and power.

Practical implications

Appropriate methods are required to elicit life cycle‐dependent preferences. Decision support should help decision makers (DMs) to articulate preferences according to different development phases and illustrate the results in the most meaningful way.

Originality/value

The methodology provides the basis for a comprehensive analysis of energy technologies at different life cycle stages. It can be used to support decision making in different situations and by various actors.
Winery visitation sets
Authors: Alant Karin , Bruwer Johan
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discern the intra‐regional visitation patterns of wine tourists. Exploratory research was conducted in two branded wine regions, to conceptualise the spatial movement of wine tourists in a theoretical construct.

Design/methodology/approach

Information was obtained from a random sample of 214 visitors to 25 wineries in two branded wine regions in South Australia. Data were collected by means of face‐to‐face interviews using a highly structured questionnaire at each of the winery cellar door venues.

Findings

A conceptual theory regarding winery visitation sets (VSs) was developed. Discernable spatial visitation patterns to wineries result from the dynamic interaction of visitors’ needs and the incumbent winery profiles that exist in a hierarchy within a wine region. The grouping of sequentially visited wineries in the three‐tier hierarchy form specific VSs of wineries. Winery profiles are initially determined by visitation incidence: the most visited Regional Centre Point (RCP) winery is followed by sequentially less visited regional profile (RP) wineries and a third tier of regional attribute (RA) wineries. Visitation pattern trends are identifiable and differ between first‐time and repeat visitors.

Research limitations/implications

It is possible to detail the market segmentation of wine tourists quite accurately in terms of their psychographics and demographics and favoured visitation patterns within the branded wine region. This will also provide important insights into the balance of winery and cellar door roles in the region and confirm the “optimal” number of wineries required to fulfil the needs of the ever‐increasing numbers of wine tourists.

Originality/value

This paper is of value to academic researchers, wine industry practitioners and travel and accommodation providers alike as it provides the foundation for a conceptual theory to explain the discernable intra‐regional visitation patterns of wine tourists to the cellar doors of wineries.
The bank clerk in Victorian society: the case of Hoare and Company
Authors: Jeacle Ingrid
Published: July 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to consider the role of the bank clerk in the Victorian era and to provide insights into clerical life in a London bank during the period.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on the archival records of Hoare and Company. Founded in the seventeenth century, it is the oldest surviving independent bank in the UK.

Findings

Drawing on the company's archival records, the paper examines issues such as recruitment, house rules, acts of paternalism and the overwhelming concern with maintaining respectability. While Hoare's clerks humorously referred to themselves as the Association of the Sons of Toil, the records support the literature in revealing the relatively cosseted career of the bank clerk within Victorian clerical circles. He generally enjoyed a higher salary, longer holidays and more favourable working conditions than his clerical counterparts. It was therefore a highly sought after position. Only those of impeccable character however, were recruited into its ranks.

Practical implications

The paper suggests the potential significance of Victorian values to the recruitment and general working conditions of contemporary members of the financial community.

Originality/value

The paper's value lies in supplementing the existing literature with further insights into the life of the Victorian bank clerk.
Industrial engineering the Toyota Production System
Authors: Towill Denis R.
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the manifold linkages connecting the Toyota Production System (TPS) back to the Gilbreths and others, and to determine how these have contributed to enterprise‐wide best practice. Industrial engineering (IE) theory rapidly subsumed method study and thereby made considerable contributions to output in World War II (WWII). The outcome is the positing of “contemporary” IE.

Design/methodology/approach

Consideration is given to the Japanese Management Association (JMA) personal handshake route originated by Frank Gilbreth in which experiences were handed down in lecture note format by successive generations of industrial engineers. His interaction with the FW Taylor Scientific Management movement is a second theme. The internationally recognised “softer” approach to teaching and coaching due to Lillian Gilbreth is then discussed. Finally the Gilbreth MOI2 Process Chart is examined.

Findings

TPS has evolved over an extended period of time to achieve continuous material flow. There has been no single procedure or technical breakthrough. Much of the detail would have been familiar to the Gilbreths. These became evident in the USA and the UK auto industries soon after the First World War. Elements of JIT are recognisable even earlier in the building of the UK Crystal Palace in 1851. However the scenario of the current TPS enterprise would be new to the Gilbreths. Similarly the various ways in which the systems approach has been successfully implemented throughout the organisation would appear strange. This becomes self‐evident via a three‐axis model representation of contemporary industrial engineering.

Research limitations/implications

Newly appointed Toyota executives pursuing the shopfloor based Acclimatisation Course would immediately recognise the method study based waste elimination techniques at work. As Ohno remarked, such removal merely levels the playing field. Knowledge (and above all practice) in their use should be a pre‐requisite skill for employees at all levels. This is a sometimes “hidden” secret of TPS, but dates back to Lillian Gilbreth in 1914.

Practical implications

The paper supports the view that effective product delivery is best driven via sound industrial engineering expertise operating within an active learning organisation. The four level prism model applied to TPS highlights its system attributes.

Originality/value

The paper confirms there is a continuing role for well established method study techniques to be adapted to face new challenges, and output as “contemporary” industrial engineering.
House‐buyers' expectations with relation to corporate social responsibility for Malaysian housing
Authors: Hong Sharon Yam Lee , Stanley McGreal W.
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been widely acknowledged by contemporary businesses in the last 20 years. The purpose of this paper is to study how CSR is perceived by house‐buyers in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach, by way of house‐buyer focus group, was used to uncover house‐buyers' criteria for housing development, levels of satisfaction, expectations of developers' social responsibilities, and factors influencing their purchase decisions.

Findings

Research findings showed that majority of house‐buyers in Johor Bahru expected a socially responsible developer to provide more CSR features such as more green spaces, recreational parks and facilities, security features, and good infrastructure. However, less wealthy buyers were more sensitive to house price and fulfilling their basic accommodation needs. Thus, developers need to be prudent in pricing products for different purchaser groups. Although all participants indicated their readiness to pay for CSR features, it is less clear as to how much premium house‐buyers would pay for such extras. Clearly, the pricing of CSR features emerges from this study as a key issue and how this varies by property type.

Originality/value

Most CSR research has been conducted in developed countries, very little has been documented about practices in developing world. These research findings will be beneficial for developers in developing more socially responsible products to cater for the house‐buyers' increasing expectations.
Work conditions for workers with good long‐term health
Authors: Aronsson Gunnar , Blom Victoria
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to investigate which work‐ and private life factors are associated with long‐term health, operationalized as low sickness absence and low sickness presence.

Design/methodology/approach

A representative sample of 2,297 individuals responded to a questionnaire on two occasions at an interval of one year. In total, 28 percent were classified as having good long‐term health.

Findings

Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that some quality‐related work environment factors were rather strongly associated with long‐term health. For some variables women showed a clear dose‐response pattern on the three‐level scale alternatives in relation to health, while men had a more asymmetric response pattern. The results are discussed in relation to the symmetry in the work environment factors, i.e. if there are different factors that explain health and illness.

Practical implications

Issues concerning health and health‐enhancing factors are of considerable interest to practitioners concerned with management issues, organizational structure, and rehabilitation.

Originality/value

The paper shows the importance of including a positive health variable within the health research paradigm to supplement the dominance of variables focusing on illness and disease.
Can housing rights be applied to modern housing systems?
Authors: Kenna Padraic
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to outline and examine the growing corpus of housing rights and assess their relevance and applicability to complex contemporary housing systems across the world.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper sets out the principal instruments and commentaries on housing rights developed by the United Nations, regional and other bodies. It assesses their relevance in the context of contemporary analysis of housing systems, organized and directed by networks of legal and other professionals within particular domains.

Findings

Housing rights instruments are accepted by all States across the world at the level of international law, national constitutions and laws. The findings suggest that there are significant gaps in the international law conception and framework of housing rights, and indeed, human rights generally, which create major obstacles for the effective implementation of these rights. There is a preoccupation with one element of housing systems, that of subsidized or social housing. However, effective housing rights implementation requires application at meso‐, micro‐ and macro‐levels of modern, dynamic housing systems as a whole. Epistemic communities of professionals develop and shape housing law and policy within these domains. The housing rights paradigm must be further fashioned for effective translation into contemporary housing systems.

Research limitations/implications

The development of housing rights precedents, both within international and national law, is leading to a wide and diffuse corpus of legislation and case law. More research is needed on specific examples of effective coupling between housing rights and elements of housing systems.

Originality/value

This paper offers housing policy makers and lawyers an avenue into the extensive jurisprudence and writings on housing rights, which will inevitably become part of the lexicon of housing law across the world. It also highlights the limitations of housing rights implementation, but offers some new perspectives on more effective application of these rights.
Using banks
Authors: Ball Jane
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show the different attitudes to bank ownership and regulation, residential lending and eviction in the UK and France, with their effects in the credit crunch and how these factors are connected. UK non‐interventionism stems from a history of private banking, where competition produced plentiful finance but high risks for borrowers, where eviction is certain and fairly quick, but not necessarily disastrous for borrowers within a flexible system. The French history of post‐war interventionism for reconstruction and cautious banking has had successes and failures, culminating in large‐scale special loans to lower‐income borrowers, improving lending liquidity and stability. The French lower lending levels, intervention and caution can be partly explained by the disastrous effects of French debt and eviction processes on borrowers, but with overlay of delay and social protection.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a historical institutionalist approach, calling on historical materials, statistics (where available) and the law and procedure of banking, mortgages, eviction and insolvency. Quantitative comparison of mortgage evictions is difficult, but procedures illuminate this.

Findings

National approaches to banking are path dependent and this effect is underestimated, particularly concerning attitudes to public intervention and eviction. Awareness of these connected effects could improve comparative research to assist lending to lower income groups, particularly concerning special French loans.

Practical implications

This can improve open‐mindedness, and promote ideas to house young people rather than simply calling for heavy regulation in the UK, or criticising French interventionism.

Originality/value

Comparative evictions related to the history of banking intervention are considerably understudied. The paper addresses the issues.
Service quality implementation: problems and solutions
Authors: Sharabi Moshe , Davidow Moshe
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the problems in the measurement of service quality, why management seems to ignore some of the costs of poor service quality, as well as the repercussions of this, and how to implement service quality correctly in organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper defines service quality and highlights some of the main points of the literature. The paper then focuses on developing a matrix to categorize quality costs which offers insights as to why more managers have not fully implemented service quality in their organizations.

Findings

Utilizing this quality costs matrix, the paper focuses on describing several of the main problems or pitfalls in service quality implementation.

Practical implications

In light of these findings, the paper discusses the practical implications and focuses on recommendations how to implement service quality correctly.

Originality/value

The paper suggests a novel categorization of quality costs and suggests recommendations that will assist managers to correctly implement service quality and eliminate the problems of poor quality. There are also future research recommendations to further the knowledge of service quality theory and implementation.
Quality improvement activities in Swedish industry: drivers, approaches, and outcomes
Authors: Poksinska Bozena , Pettersen Jostein , Elg Mattias , Eklund Jörgen , Witell Lars
Published: July 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to present and discuss the current state of quality‐improvement activities in Swedish companies. The paper focuses on the drivers for quality improvement; types of approaches, tools and techniques, and organizational aspects influenced by quality improvement; and potential areas for improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents results from a survey on quality improvement work in Swedish industry. Data for this paper were collected using a web‐based questionnaire that was distributed to 800 production managers working in Swedish service and manufacturing organizations. Of the 800 questionnaires sent, a total of 118 questionnaires were filled out, which resulted in a response rate of 16 percent.

Findings

The result shows that the major drivers for quality improvement work in Swedish industry are economical aspects as the need for cost reduction, the need to become more competitive and the wish to increase market share. Drivers such as pressure from shareholders and trends in management have a minor role. The underlying approaches for quality improvement work are standards such as ISO 9000 and ISO 14000. A total of 72 percent of respondents stated that they work with quality management systems; 59 percent, with environmental management systems. The aspects that were most positively influenced by the improvement work were employee motivation, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, product/service quality, and flow in internal processes.

Research limitations/implications

Empirical results obtained in Sweden may differ to some extent in other countries.

Practical implications

This paper is intended as a source of inspiration for researchers, consultants, and managers who are interested in the current trends and future developments in the quality field.

Originality/value

The paper provides valuable insights into the current state of quality improvement activities in Swedish industry, as seen from the perspective of the production manager.
On Islamic branding: brands as good deeds
Authors: Alserhan Baker Ahmad
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The paper aims to clarify some of the most important issues pertinent to the emerging field of Islamic branding (IB). Namely, it answers the following questions: what does IB mean? Why is it important and what makes it different from conventional branding? What are its types? What is the future of IB?

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual research paper that builds on the author's vast expertise and knowledge of the Islamic market and Islamic marketing and branding practices, ethics, and motivations to answer the various research questions.

Findings

Although IB is qualitatively different from conventional branding, international branding experts still view it from the same perspective and, therefore, use conventional branding techniques when branding to Muslims. The motivations to underlying IB are not fully appreciated and the concept remains bound by an abstract understanding of Halal and Haram.

Research limitations/implications

This is a conceptual paper and, as such, it is subject to the same limitations surrounding similar conceptual academic works.

Practical implications

The paper will be of great value to marketers because it will help them improve their branding strategies when targeting the Muslim consumer and engaging the Islamic market.

Social implications

The IB practices have the potential to add a human touch to the exploitive conventional branding practices common among today's marketers.

Originality/value

This is the first paper of its kind that conceptualizes and clarifies the various facets of IB.
The constructs mediating religions' influence on buyers and consumers
Authors: Muhamad Nazlida , Mizerski Dick
Published: July 2010

Purpose

There is limited conceptual and theoretical knowledge among marketers and practitioners regarding the measurement of religious influences in consumer market‐place behaviours. The purpose of this paper is to review religious factors that appear to influence buyer and consumer behaviour in the light of findings from marketing and religious psychology.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilises academic databases to search for marketing and religious psychology papers that deal with influences of religion and constructs that have been suggested to mediate them. Findings from religious psychology are utilised as the backbone for understanding religious influence. The paper also compares and groups terminologies and concepts used in marketing studies, suggesting a holistic view of religion and factors that may mediate religious influences on consumers' market‐place behaviours.

Findings

Five factors of religious influence have been identified. These are commitment, motivation, affiliation, knowledge about a religion and awareness of the social consequences of following a religion. The characteristics, importance and applications of these factors are discussed.

Originality/value

The paper applies knowledge from the area of religious psychology to offer a holistic view in understanding factors that tend to mediate religious influences on consumer behaviours.
Is spiritual tourism a new strategy for marketing Islam?
Authors: Haq Farooq , Yin Wong Ho
Published: July 2010

Purpose

Spiritual tourism has recently been accepted as a growing segment of tourism in business and research circles. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a new dimension in Islamic marketing and investigates spiritual tourism as a new strategy for marketing Islam as a religion.

Design/methodology/approach

In this exploratory research, convenient sampling was employed to select Muslim spiritual tourists and Islamic organisations arranging spiritual tourism in Australia. A total of 34 face‐to‐face interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis was used to identify factors relevant to the research themes regarding spiritual tourism and marketing Islam.

Findings

Some religious organisations used religious gatherings and festivals as spiritual tourism products to market their religion – Islam. These organisations attracted Muslim and non‐Muslim spiritual tourists to the Islamic places, gatherings, occasions, and festivals by promoting them as spiritual tourism products.

Practical implications

The paper identifies spiritual tourism journeys and events that could be strategically used by religious organisations for marketing Islam.

Social implications

This paper aims to build bridges for better understanding of Islam among the Australian public. The paper could be replicated to study the marketing of other religions in other geographical locations.

Originality/value

The paper originates in recognising a genuinely new strategy of spiritual tourism that could be used more effectively for marketing Islam. A future quantitative study could be conducted to test the findings of this paper.
Islamic perspectives on marketing
Authors: Arham Muhammad
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The paper aims to conceptually exhibit modern marketing theory from an Islamic perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is conceptual and qualitative in nature. It originated from two mainstream publications. The first belongs to the ones which discuss Islamic economics and Islamic banking and finance. The second source comes from those which discuss Islamic business ethics. Both sources are essential in developing the conceptual theory of Islamic marketing.

Findings

Religious teachings, at least Islam, could be applied in the realm of modern marketing theory. Though not all of its elements could be applied in Islamic society, modern marketing theory will provide some elements which could be utilised in developing Islamic marketing theory.

Research limitations/implications

The lack of papers on Islamic marketing makes the depth of discussion rather limited.

Originality/value

Although several papers already exist in discussing Islamic business ethics with some elements of the marketing mix, it could be argued that this paper is the first of its kind which specifically discusses the concept of modern marketing from an Islamic perspective.
Contingency factors influencing the availability of internal intellectual capital information
Authors: Choo Huang Ching , Tayles Michael , Luther Robert
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore several contingency variables, namely environmental uncertainty, business strategy, technological advancement, market to book ratio, size, profitability and industry type in the context of management accounting and the availability of internal intellectual capital (IC) information.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was developed and posted to the managers of Malaysian companies. A multiple regression statistical technique was employed to analyse the data.

Findings

It is found that business strategy and technological advancement of customer service relate positively to the availability of internal IC information in Malaysian companies.

Research limitations/implications

The relatively small response of usable replies to the questionnaire survey is a limitation of this paper. The finding implies that companies with more internal IC information are more likely to be those of product differentiators and those who have undergone technological advancement of customer service. Malaysian companies tend to have a strong customer orientation and place great emphasis on managing customer capital (CC). Future research can investigate the types of IC information used by Malaysian managers to manage their CC.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature as it examines the relationship between context and IC within a contingency theory framework. Unlike other research which relates to external IC disclosures with firm‐specific variables, this research links contingency factors to internal IC information from related fields (management accounting and external IC reporting).
Comparisons on selected ratios between IFRS and US GAAP companies
Authors: Bao Da‐Hsien , Lee Jooh , Romeo George
Published: July 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence of the effect of the differences related to reporting inventory, property plant and equipment, intangible assets, and development costs between International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Both univariate tests (t‐tests) and multivariate tests (ANOVA, probit and logit analyses) are used to compare the ratios between IFRS and US GAAP companies.

Findings

Results consistently show that IFRS‐country firms have a significantly higher current ratio, a significantly lower asset turnover ratio, and a significantly lower debt‐to‐asset ratio.

Research limitations/implications

This paper only focuses on inventory, property plant and equipment, intangible assets, and development costs. Other financial variables are not considered.

Practical implications

The results are useful for individuals who are interested in reporting and investing in countries using different financial reporting systems.

Originality/value

This paper is a timely examination of the recent emphasis of mandating IFRS.
Artificial Triple
Wolbachia
Infection in
Aedes albopictus
Yields a New Pattern of Unidirectional Cytoplasmic Incompatibility
Authors: Fu Yuqing , Gavotte Laurent , Mercer David R. , Dobson Stephen L.
Published: July 2010

Obligately intracellular
Wolbachia
bacteria infect numerous invertebrates and often manipulate host reproduction to facilitate the spread of infection. An example of reproductive manipulation is
Wolbachia
-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), which occurs commonly in insects. This CI has been the focus both of basic scientific studies of naturally occurring invasion events and of applied investigations on the use of
Wolbachia
as a vehicle to drive desired genotypes into insect populations (“gene drive” or “population replacement” strategies). The latter application requires an ability to generate artificial infections that cause a pattern of unidirectional incompatibility with the targeted host population. A suggested target of population replacement strategies is the mosquito
Aedes albopictus
(Asian tiger mosquito), an important invasive pest and disease vector.
Aedes albopictus
individuals are naturally “superinfected” with two
Wolbachia
types:
w
AlbA and
w
AlbB. Thus, generating a strain that is unidirectionally incompatible with field populations requires the introduction of an additional infection into the preexisting superinfection. Although prior reports demonstrate an ability to transfer
Wolbachia
infections to
A. albopictus
artificially, including both intra- and interspecific
Wolbachia
transfers, previous efforts have not generated a strain capable of invading natural populations. Here we describe the generation of a stable triple infection by introducing
Wolbachia w
Ri from
Drosophila simulans
into a naturally superinfected
A. albopictus
strain. The triple-infected strain displays a pattern of unidirectional incompatibility with the naturally infected strain. This unidirectional CI, combined with a high fidelity of maternal inheritance and low fecundity effects, suggests that the artificial cytotype could serve as an appropriate vehicle for gene drive.
Molecular Detection of Hepatitis E Virus in Sewage Samples
Authors: La Rosa Giuseppina , Pourshaban Manoochehr , Iaconelli Marcello , Spuri Vennarucci Valentina , Muscillo Michele
Published: July 2010

Human hepatitis E virus (HEV) is considered an emerging pathogen in industrialized countries. In Italy, the true burden of HEV infection is unknown. Molecular HEV screening of raw sewage samples from 11 wastewater treatment plants yielded 19 positives (16%; 18 genotype I, 1 genotype III) evenly distributed throughout Italy. Evidence that HEV could be establishing itself in our region is accumulating and may justify more active surveillance to monitor its spread.
Proteorhodopsin-Bearing Bacteria in Antarctic Sea Ice
Authors: Koh Eileen Y. , Atamna-Ismaeel Nof , Martin Andrew , Cowie Rebecca O. M. , Beja Oded , Davy Simon K. , Maas Elizabeth W. , Ryan Ken G.
Published: July 2010

Proteorhodopsins (PRs) are widespread bacterial integral membrane proteins that function as light-driven proton pumps. Antarctic sea ice supports a complex community of autotrophic algae, heterotrophic bacteria, viruses, and protists that are an important food source for higher trophic levels in ice-covered regions of the Southern Ocean. Here, we present the first report of PR-bearing bacteria, both dormant and active, in Antarctic sea ice from a series of sites in the Ross Sea using gene-specific primers. Positive PR sequences were generated from genomic DNA at all depths in sea ice, and these sequences aligned with the classes
Alphaproteobacteria
,
Gammaproteobacteria
, and
Flavobacteria
. The sequences showed some similarity to previously reported PR sequences, although most of the sequences were generally distinct. Positive PR sequences were also observed from cDNA reverse transcribed from RNA isolated from sea ice samples. This finding indicates that these sequences were generated from metabolically active cells and suggests that the PR gene is functional within sea ice. Both blue-absorbing and green-absorbing forms of PRs were detected, and only a limited number of blue-absorbing forms were found and were in the midsection of the sea ice profile in this study. Questions still remain regarding the protein's ecological functions, and ultimately, field experiments will be needed to establish the ecological and functional role of PRs in the sea ice ecosystem.