bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development of a school‐based intervention to promote fruit and vegetable consumption
Authors: Reinaerts Evelien , de Nooijer Jascha , van de Kar Angélique , de Vries Nanne
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to explore individual and social factors that are associated with children's F&V (fruit and vegetable) intake in order to develop a school‐based intervention to increase their F&V consumption.

Design/methodology/approach

Group interviews were conducted with ten groups of Dutch children (n=104), aged 4‐12 years, and two groups of parents (n=28). Additionally, a total of ten parents participated in an interview by telephone. Opinions about the actual F&V consumption, awareness of consumption patterns, attitudes towards F&V, promotion of F&V consumption by parents and F&V intake at school were explored. Transcripts were analysed using Nvivo 2.0.

Findings

Several factors that are likely to increase F&V consumption of the participants were identified, such as preferences, modeling of F&V consumption by teachers and parents and availability of F&V in ready‐to‐eat form at home and school. Although both children and parents favoured activities to promote F&V at school, most parents were not willing to participate in these activities.

Research limitations/implications

The present study obtains information from a broad perspective, and not from a representative sample.

Practical implications

This article is a useful source for health promotion planners that are developing food‐related interventions for children.

Originality/value

Information on factors that influence children's F&V consumption is usually acquired through parents. It is questionable whether parents are aware of the factors that influence their children's food choice. Therefore this study combined information gathered among parents with information gathered directly among children.
Mondial UK reduces absence and increases productivity
Authors: Thomas Jenneh
Published: September 2006

Purpose

Demonstrates how, through monitoring and management of staff sickness in 2005, Mondial UK successfully reduced sickness absence.

Design/methodology/approach

Draws upon the experience of Mondial's implementation of a sickness absence management programme, driven by the HR department but which brought together the business as a whole, from the executive board through to roadside technicians, to ensure its success.

Findings

Describes how staff absence levels within technical services and among shift workers in the operations centre were previously very high. The company focused on encouraging staff to take responsibility for their health and well being, empowering line managers better to address absenteeism and making changes to the profit‐related pay (PRP) scheme to target frequent short‐term absenteeism.Practical implicationsShows how a focus on staff health and well being as an integral part of a business can make a positive impact on its productivity and profitability.

Originality/value

Highlights a year‐on‐year reduction in average absence figures per employee.
Why diversity is being forced into the boardroom
Authors: Tickner Alison
Published: September 2006

Purpose

This article examines why diversity is becoming more important within organisations and introduces a tool designed to help executives to understand their organisations' demographics.

Design/methodology/approach

The article presents the views of the director of diversity at Academee.

Findings

Describes an online diagnostic tool that brings together data across small and large organisations to identify workforce demographics, employee perceptions and realities, understanding and, most importantly, to highlight “hot‐spot” areas that may need immediate attention.

Practical implications

Helps organisations to identify areas of good practice, so that this can be replicated elsewhere in the organisation.

Originality/value

Describes how the tool generates reports that instantly create a diversity and inclusion action plan for the organisation.
Strategy implementation: we got the people factor wrong!
Authors: Speculand Robin
Published: September 2006

Purpose

Challenges the notion that people resist change and puts forward a strategy for getting the majority of people in an organisation to support a change initiative.

Design/methodology/approach

Identifies four main groups within organisations – saboteurs, groupies, double agents and mavericks – and puts forward opinions on how best to lead each group.

Findings

Argues that mavericks need to be supported and rewarded for their contributions, groupies must be driven and encouraged, double agents have to be persuaded and convinced and saboteurs must be handled carefully and effectively and must not be allowed to become the focal point of leadership efforts.

Practical implications

Reveals that, with the right management styles, most people will support or go along with organisational changes.

Originality/value

Contends that leaders must lead from the front when dealing with saboteurs, lead from the middle with groupies, and lead from behind with mavericks. Double agents can be convinced only through actions.
Information systems managers' view about outsourcing in Spain
Authors: Gonzalez Reyes , Gasco Jose , Llopis Juan
Published: September 2006

Purpose

Outsourcing has been growing unstoppably all over the world in recent years. It is Information Systems (IS) managers that are having to face this phenomenon most directly in their departments. For this reason, the paper has as its aim to show IS managers' assessment of outsourcing in the Spanish case.

Design/methodology/approach

With this purpose, the normative Delphi method with two rounds, showing the results obtained in the second round, is used. The IS managers of the largest Spanish firms were the experts interviewed in the study.

Findings

The experts interviewed suggest a widespread growth of IS outsourcing but describe a somewhat hostile environment around this phenomenon. This could be the reason why IS outsourcing has not developed in Spanish firms as much as those experts think is possible and even necessary.

Originality/value

This paper offers the IS managers' view about outsourcing and shows that they look at it as a way to improve their information services. The Delphi method, that has been often used in the IS field, helped us to confirm, in the second round, the conclusions that we had reached in the first round.
Inter‐organisational intrusion detection using knowledge grid technology
Authors: Pilgermann Michael , Blyth Andrew , Vidalis Stilianos
Published: September 2006

Purpose

This paper introduces a solution for employing intrusion detection technology across organisational boundaries by using knowledge grid technology.

Design/methodology/approach

Employment of intrusion detection technology is currently limited to inside organisation deployments. By setting up communities, which maintain trust relationships between network nodes anywhere in the internet, security event data, structured into a common XML‐based format, can be exchanged in a secure and reliable manner.

Findings

A modular architecture has been developed which provides functionality to integrate different audit data generating applications and share knowledge about incidents, vulnerabilities and countermeasures from all over the internet. A security policy, based on the Chinese Wall Security Policy, ensures the protection of information inserted into the network.

Research limitations/implications

The solution is currently in a preliminary stage, providing the description of the design only. Implementation as well as evaluation is under development.

Practical implications

Trusting communities everywhere in the internet will be brought into being so that people may establish trust relationships between each other. Participants may decide themselves whom they trust as a source for security‐related information rather than depending on centralised approaches.

Originality/value

No approach is known combining the two technologies – intrusion detection and grid – as described in this paper. The decentralised, peer‐to‐peer based grid approach together with the introduction of trust relationships and communities results in a new way of thinking about distributing security audit data.
On security preparations against possible IS threats across industries
Authors: Jung‐Ting Chang Arthur , Yeh Quey‐Jen
Published: September 2006

Purpose

Modernized information systems (IS) have brought enterprises not only enormous benefits, but also linked information threats. Most enterprises solve their IS security‐related problems using technical means alone, and focus on technical rather than managerial controls, which may imply potential crises. This study examines whether the security preparation of firms matches the severity of IS threats they perceive in developing countries, especially in issues concerning “people” and “administration”. Additionally, this study discusses appropriate threat mitigation strategies for the four sectors as well.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an empirical study, this study explores the past and current concerns of IS threats of firms in different industries, and the countermeasures prepared by them to protect themselves from such threats. The empirical data was provided by 109 Taiwanese enterprises from four sectors.

Findings

The analytical results revealed the differences in both the IS threats concerned and the security scopes prepared among the four sectors. Moreover, the preparation scopes were not commensurate with the perceived severity of threats. All four industries rated the network as posing the strongest threat, following regulation and personnel issues, while among the countermeasures in use, these three issues have larger application deficiencies.

Originality/value

This study concludes that the firms do not well prepare themselves against IS threats entailed to non‐technical administration issues and discusses appropriate threat mitigation strategies for the four sectors. Specifically, firms should be aware of IS threats to their business and prepare suitable security protections.
Learning‐by‐doing in transnational operations networks
Authors: Spring Martin
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how insights from economic geography, which are typically explanatory or directed at policy prescription, might be utilized to provide managerial insight at firm level into the processes of and conditions for tacit knowledge transfer.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a theoretical paper. The approach used is to take insights from economic geography, in particular a spatial analysis of tacit knowledge transfer by Gertler, and to infer their implications for operations strategy, using a well‐known framework by Slack and Lewis.

Findings

The review section finds that the learning organization and operations management literatures are at present poorly connected and in turn, that neither adequately take account of the spatiality of organizations, particularly important when tacit knowledge and organizational routines are emphasized. The synthesis provides an initial suggestion as to operations strategy options, given this spatial perspective.

Research limitations/implications

The review is interdisciplinary: this is its strength, but also its weakness, in that it is necessarily selective in each of the fields it draws on. It provokes further reflection and, hopefully, empirical work to test out aspects of the framework suggested.

Originality/value

The paper reminds managers that “knowledge” and “learning” do not exist in the ether, but are grounded to a large extent in what organizations do in and around their operations. Also suggests that the micro‐spatiality of operations in transnational organizations cannot be sidelined in strategic abstractions but are, in fact, central to how organizations work and learn, and why they exist.
Is trust really social capital? Knowledge sharing in product development projects
Authors: Bakker Marloes , Leenders Roger Th.A.J. , Gabbay Shaul M. , Kratzer Jan , Van Engelen Jo M.L.
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to focus on the role of trust in knowledge sharing. Social capital researchers have put forward trust as an important force behind the sharing of knowledge. This study aims to investigate whether trust indeed explains knowledge sharing relationships, or whether there are in fact much more important drivers of the sharing of knowledge in new product development projects.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey study was carried out in large new product development projects, including 23 teams and 91 individuals.

Findings

The main finding is that trust is a poor explanatory of knowledge sharing. Team membership, on the other hand, has the largest effect on the density of knowledge sharing relationships. Social capital thus does not reside in trust but in team membership, especially for longer‐lived teams.

Research limitations/implications

There should be more attention for other aspects affecting knowledge sharing, including team characteristics.

Originality/value

This article will be of use to organizations conducting new product development, wishing to manage knowledge sharing as social capital. Moreover, this article provides more insight on the value of the trust in knowledge sharing and offers directions for future theory development.
Critical success factors of public private sector partnerships
Authors: Jefferies Marcus
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions of Build‐Own‐Operate Transfer (BOOT) schemes in order to develop a framework of critical success factors (CSF).

Design/methodology/approach

Success factors are identified from relevant literature and a project specific CSF framework is produced with key issues discussed. Discussion focuses on a case study of a current Australian BOOT project, the Sydney SuperDome.

Findings

The SuperDome is proving to be an example of how both government and private industry is attempting to meet Australia's need for infrastructure in the new millennium. The project had a streamline finance process and project participants had an appetite for risk that exceeded the other tenderers. PPPs are now established as a worldwide means of developing public services with private sector finance and expertise.

Originality/value

The SuperDome model is setting the benchmark for Australian BOOT projects, acting as the framework for future PPPs initiated by the NSW Government.
Building Egypt 1 – a general indicator cost index for the Egyptian construction industry
Authors: Hassanein Amr A.G. , Khalil Bahaee N.L.
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The aim of this article is to develop a cost index to serve as a price indicator for the Egyptian construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The model (Egypt 1 indices) developed for building the indices in this paper has been derived based on the “Engineering News Record” (ENR) indices model with modifications to better suit the Egyptian market. Egypt 1 indices are comprised of three indices, which serve as a general construction price indicator for the construction industry price movement in Egypt. The period analyzed in this research is 11 years (1988 through 1998).

Findings

Validation of Egypt 1 indices numbers produced in this paper showed that each index does indeed represent the respective type of building for which it was computed. Further, the analysis of Egypt 1 indices compared to the ENR indices revealed that both indices exhibited trends that are generally similar from the year 1992 up to 1998 (the last year included in this study).

Originality/value

This research has the potential to introduce the use of construction cost indices and to put these into practice. This should help aid contractors and other construction parties operating in Egypt with an adequate tool for pricing and estimation of projects.
The effect of price as a marketplace cue on retail patronage
Authors: Moore Marguerite , Carpenter Jason
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of consumer price attitudes, which operate as marketplace cues, on retail format choice across a variety of store types in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross‐section of US consumers (n=365) constitutes the sample for the study. The apparel category was selected as the study's context due to the variety of formats it offers to consumers. A telephone survey was used to investigate price perceptions and format choice across seven different retail formats. Respondents were grouped into high and low groups for each of the price cue factors. The groups were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) for each price construct at each level of the dependent variable for format choice.

Findings

Findings suggest that price cues affect consumer format choice. Price consciousness and sale proneness tend to positively impact patronage of retail formats that implement low cost strategies, while prestige sensitivity and price/quality schema tend to positively impact patronage of retail formats that implement higher price strategies.

Originality/value

As US retail markets continue to move toward saturation and consumers take advantage of price competition, understanding the role of price as a driver of retail choice is important for strategic planning. This is particularly important when communicating store pricing policy to the target consumer. The research extends previous price cue research, which focuses on products and brands, to the retail store level.
Heterogeneity of consumer demand: opportunities for pricing of services
Authors: Taher Ahmed , El Basha Hanan
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework to help marketers of services price their products by looking beyond costs and competitive forces. By analysing the value of information; consumers' price sensitivity; and transaction costs other than search costs, against the characteristics of their service they could make more profitable pricing decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

A critical review of the academic and professional literature reveals a rich array of possibilities for pricing services. A simple framework is developed in the form of a matrix crossing the three dimensions of heterogeneity of consumer demand with the four characteristics of services. Each cell represents a set of pricing options.

Findings

Services should be priced in a way to reflect the customers' price sensitivity, the nature of the transaction and its cost, and the value of information. The pricing should also reflect the four characteristics of services: intangibility, perishability, lack of standardization, and inseparability of production and consumption.

Originality/value

This paper fills a conceptual and practical gap for a structured review of the current state of knowledge about the pricing of services. It offers practical and solid advice and examples demonstrating the application of the different types of pricing strategies for service providers.
Semantic overlays in educational content networks – the hylOs approach
Authors: Engelhardt Michael , Hildebrand Arne , Lange Dagmar , Schmidt Thomas C.
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The paper, aims to introduce an educational content management system Hypermedia Learning Objects System (hylOs), which is fully compliant to the IEEE LOM eLearning object metadata standard. Enabled through an advanced authoring toolset, hylOs allows the definition of instructional overlays of a given eLearning object mesh.

Design/methodology/approach

In educational content management, simple file distribution is considered insufficient. Instead, IEEE LOM standardised eLearning objects have been well established as the basic building blocks for educational online content. They are nicely suited for self‐explorative learning approaches within adaptive hypermedia applications. Even though eLearning objects typically reside within content repositories, they may propagate metadata relations beyond repository limits. Given the explicit meaning of these interobject references, a semantic net of content strings can be knotted, overlaying the repository infrastructure.

Findings

Based on a newly introduced ontological evaluation layer, meaningful overlay relations between knowledge objects are shown to derive autonomously. A technology framework to extend the resulting semantic nets beyond repository limits is also presented.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides proof of concept for the derivation and use of semantic content networks in educational hypermedia. It thereby opens up new directions for future eLearning technologies and pedagogical adoption.

Practical implications

The paper illustrates capabilities of the hylOs eLearning content management. The hylOs is built upon the more general Media Information Repository (MIR) and the MIR Adaptive Context Linking Environment (MIRaCLE): its linking extension. MIR is an open system supporting the standard XML, CORBA and JNDI. hylOs benefits from manageable information structures, sophisticated access logic and high‐level authoring tools like the eLO editor responsible for the semi‐manual creation of meta data and WYSIWYG like XML–content editing, allowing for rapid distributed content development.

Originality/value

Over the last few years, networking technologies and distributed information systems have moved up the OSI layer and are established well within application‐centric middleware. Most recently, content overlay networks have matured, incorporating the semantics of data files into their self‐organisational structure with the aim of optimising data‐centric distributed indexing and retrieval. This paper elaborates a corresponding concept of semantic structuring for educational content objects. It introduces and analyses the autonomous generation and educational exploitation of semantic content nets, providing proof of concept by a full‐featured implementation within the hylOs educational content management system.
Good enough is good enough: cataloging lessons from the University of California Libraries
Authors: Medeiros Norm
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to seek to inspire discussions about cataloging practices in academic libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The article reviews the recent University of California Libraries report, Rethinking How We Provide Bibliographic Services for the University of California.

Findings

The UC report is sprinkled with a sufficient and warranted number of alarming statements about the future of libraries. It should serve as a wake‐up call.

Originality/value

Readers will be acquainted with a recent, important work, the premises of which are central to the services provided by academic libraries.
Inviting the user into the virtual archives
Authors: Yakel Elizabeth
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss ways that Web 2.0 features are being used in archival access systems and how more might be incorporated in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

This article uses a modified content analysis to highlight archives and special collections using features and functionalities associated with Web 2.0 and social navigation.

Findings

A limited number of archives and manuscript collections have made forays into the world of the Web 2.0 and included interactive features on their web sites as well as tried to foster social navigation. The examples in the article do not represent all repositories employing these features, but demonstrate how they can be used to build different relationships with researchers and even among the researchers themselves.

Practical implications

This article discusses ways that Web 2.0 features are being used in archival access systems and how these might be incorporated into other sites the future.

Originality/value

This article identifies archival web sites that support social navigation.
One‐stop shopping: a perspective on the evolution of electronic resources management
Authors: Latham Skaggs Bethany , Welch Poe Jodi , Weatherford Stevens Kimberly
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolution of the processes and procedures utilized by Jacksonville State University's Houston Cole Library to manage its varied electronic resources collection.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based upon the library's experiences managing electronic resources in five major categories: e‐books; electronic government documents; electronic journals; e‐reserves; and web sites.

Findings

Electronic resources librarians, an emerging specialty, must develop effective practices to manage the varied electronic resources that continue to be accessioned within most libraries.

Practical implications

This article provides a practical model to address these management issues.

Originality/value

Provides common practices for the management of electronic resources and insights into possible problems that can arise when creating a one‐stop shopping archetype for electronic resource management.
South Carolina goes digital
Authors: Boyd Kate , King Douglas
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the University of South Carolina's Digital Activities Department's history and development.

Design/methodology/approach

This article recounts the development of the Digital Activities Department and examines local policies and procedures. In addition, the article discusses the fundamental issues of choosing a digital repository, creating metadata, and scanning images. The authors take a practical, in‐depth approach in discussing their experiences.

Findings

After just a few years, the Library has launched the department and successfully provided online access to a growing number of digital collections. Collaboration has been the key element in the department's success.

Originality/value

The lessons learned will help other institutions develop digital activities departments and provide online access to digital archives and collections.
A collaborative model for service provision by multiple public‐sector agencies
Authors: Fu Hsin‐Pin , Chang Tien‐Hsiang , Chao Pei , Chiou Chyou‐Huey
Published: September 2006

Purpose

This study proposes an integrated collaborative web site among government agencies to enhance customer satisfaction with the service quality of government agencies.

Design/methodology/approach

The present authors invited all involved public‐sector agencies to integrate their service processes into a model of one‐stop shopping and established collaborative mechanism for providing customized service.

Findings

The present study has identified five factors that were critical for success in such an undertaking. These factors included: establishing appropriate regulations for the implementation process; designing a viable collaborative‐service system; establishing a closely connected virtual organization; ensuring the participation of senior managers from all agencies; and obtaining the cooperation of the facilitators from various agencies (including appropriate merit and bonus incentives).

Practical implications

The real challenge for establishing the collaborative‐service web site was managerial – in combining the service processes of a dozen or more agencies to make the model work. Managerial issues that need to be addressed were the design of service processes, the overall organizational structure, the establishment of audit and supervision procedures, and the establishment an operational model for the web site.

Originality/value

This web site serves as a successful “one‐stop‐shopping” model that increases customer satisfaction with the service quality of government agencies. This study provides information for other government agencies that might wish to establish similar collaborative models to enhance service in the public sector.
Leapfrogging toward the “singularity”: innovative knowledge production on market‐driven campuses
Authors: Harkins Arthur M. , Kubik George H.
Published: September 2006

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on the production and application of seven knowledge production Modes in support of continuous innovation societies (CIS).

Design/methodology/approach

Seven tertiary educational archetypes are constructed as engines for creating and supporting CIS, with attention to the modal types of knowledge that each produces together with markets for this knowledge.

Findings

The most important “on the horizon” type of knowledge identified for the future of tertiary education is Mode III, or knowledge produced by and for the individual. The division of knowledge production is projected within tertiary education through leadership or lagging indicator choices, and the associated roles of faculty, students, and stakeholders.

Originality/value

Special emphasis is placed on the future of leapfrog campus, or the campus capable of, or aspiring to, new leadership status in support of CIS.
Review of The New Knowledge Management: Complexity, Learning and Sustainable Innovation by Mark McElroy
Authors: Loan Peter
Published: September 2006

Purpose

This paper sets out to review Mark McElroy's article which looks at the new knowledge management.

Design/methodology/approach

A critique of McElroy's work: The New Knowledge Management: Complexity, Learning and Sustainable Innovation is presented.

Findings

The new KM requires changes in traditional organizational practices: managers should defer to workers, creating optimal knowledge production environments; organizations should become open, broadly sharing the knowledge production process. The adoption of the new KM is critical to the organization's ability to remain competitive in the Knowledge Age.

Originality/value

The new KM falls somewhat short of McElroy's claim for it to be an implementation strategy for organizational learning, because of its limiting assumption that knowledge is a product. The theory of knowledge that supports the new KM does not adequately deal with knowledge and the knower, or with truth or wisdom. This theoretical weakness does not detract from the power or value of its insights; rather it renders problematic the placement of KM within the organization and the organizational relationship of managers and employees.
Blue oceans, temporary monopolies, and lessons from practice
Authors: Abraham Stan
Published: September 2006

This report on the Fifth Annual Conference of the Association of Strategic Planning (ASP), “Strategy in action: lessons from practice,” was held in Long Beach, California. This report covers the two keynote speakers plus highlights from a selection of the presentations (for more information see the ASP website: www.strategyplus.org). Purpose – The article summarizes the highlights of the Association for Strategic Planning's 2006 Annual Conference held on February 28, 2006 in Long Beach, California, one of the premier strategic‐planning conferences in the US. Design/methodology/approach – This is reportage on the annual ASP conference. Findings – The remarks of the two keynote speakers are summarized: W. Chan Kim's on “blue ocean strategy” that makes the competition irrelevant, and Milind Lele's remarks on situational monopolies that also, for a time, gets rid of competition. Both authors' remarks were based on recently published best selling books. In addition, of 40 other presentations offered in concurrent sessions, the article highlights a select few, enough to give a flavor of the conference theme of “Strategy in action – lessons from practice”. Practical implications – The actual conference (and this report) was targeted both to practitioners and strategic consultants eager to learn about the latest methods and pitfalls in doing strategic planning. Originality/value – Both audiences will benefit from reading this article principally by learning about the experiences, experiments, and successes of other companies' and consultants' efforts in actually doing strategic planning.
Periscopic media tour
Authors: Henry Craig
Published: September 2006

Purpose

Over a two‐month period, the editor of this review has searched worldwide for the most interesting and useful media articles on the topic of strategic management for the July/August issue of Strategy & Leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

In addition to his own collection of finds, the editor sorted through suggestions by a team of veteran top managers and senior academics for new strategic concepts and actions.

Findings

The result is a surprisingly diverse set of media discoveries on such topics as best‐in‐class metrics, the value of an MBA, consumer market evolution, new Internet marketing concepts, price cut traps, must win battles, Google business model innovations, the strategy/design interface.

Practical implications

URL links and references have been provided for the articles so that managers can easily follow up this quick scan of the media by reading the articles in full.

Originality/value

Provides a snapshot of what managers are reading and a guide to trends and fresh thinking.
Adoption of corporate social responsibility – incorporating a stakeholder perspective
Authors: Enquist Bo , Johnson Mikael , Skålén Per
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The aim of the present paper is to study what effect CSR has had on the practice of organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

Since the effects of CSR on practice are an understudied topic the paper adopts a single case study design and studies Swedbank. Theoretically the paper approaches the problematic from the perspective of neo institutional theory and stakeholder theory.

Findings

If CSR approaches colonize organisational practice, a fundamental shift from a shareholder strategy, to a social harmony strategy may be experienced, i.e. that the current focus on shareholder needs in contemporary organizations is balanced with the needs of other stakeholders. CSR adoption is surprisingly high at Swedbank and the paper thus argues that CSR might change the practice of organizations toward social harmony.

Research limitations/implications

The case study design does not make possible empirical generalizations. Therefore, further research should focus on generalizing the findings. Further research might also conduct case studies by using the adoption framework in other empirical settings.

Originality/value

The paper offers new insight on of the adoption of CSR in organizations and connects this issue to stakeholder theory. Additionally, framing the adoption of CSR from an institutional perspective is also novel.
Characteristics of target costing: theoretical and field study perspectives
Authors: Everaert Patricia , Loosveld Stijn , Van Acker Tom , Schollier Marijke , Sarens Gerrit
Published: September 2006

Purpose

Despite appearing in the literature over 10 years ago as a potentially exciting cost management technique, there is still limited agreement about the nature of target costing. The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics of target costing, and to test whether these characteristics were adopted in three European companies that used target costing.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on case study data, collected at three manufacturing companies (consumer electronics, machinery, and transportation equipment).

Findings

The paper identifies eight characteristics of target costing, based on the early Japanese case descriptions. These characteristics are related to the way a target is set and how progress towards that target is measured. The findings of the case studies confirm these characteristics. However, some differences were found regarding the interpretation of the strict rule that “the target cost cannot be exceeded at product launch”.

Research limitations/implications

The results indicate that future research on the adoption of target costing cannot be disconnected from its characteristics. Further studies might investigate whether degree of openness to suppliers, leadership position, time pressure and position in the supply chain can explain the noted differences in characteristics among companies.

Practical implications

The characteristics identified in this paper provide an aid to researchers and managers considering target costing. Detailed case descriptions provide best practices examples for other companies.

Originality/value

This study is the first empirical paper concerned with describing the typical characteristics of target costing. By exploring the characteristics, we hope to inspire others to further explore this interesting phenomenon.
Exploring the experiential intensity of online shopping environments
Authors: Demangeot Catherine , Broderick Amanda J.
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the gap in the literature on experiential elements of online shopping environments.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a theory‐building approach to understand how consumers perceive their experience of the navigation of an online shopping environment and identifies the facets which make up their experiential intensity. The paper first reviews the literature on the experiential attributes of web sites. It then outlines the methodology and explains the use of a “shopping with consumers” approach to uncover consumer perceptions.

Findings

Combining think‐alouds with in‐depth interviews, four dimensions of experiential intensity are found (context familiarity, product presence, visual impact and site‐user understanding), and related to four perceptions of a shopping navigation, as: an experience, a tool, an environment, and a dialogue between shopper and web site.

Originality/value

This conceptualisation adds to the literature on experience creation, which is critical in delivering consumer value. It is more specific and extensive than extant typologies, clarifies the construct and increases its explanatory power. Think‐alouds and depth interviews are shown to yield valuable insights. Consumer perceptions reflect the expectations they have of shopping environments. When shopping online, consumers think like shoppers, not computer users. They want to feel in a familiar shopping context. They want to examine products closely and seek the sense of personal relationship and involvement induced by site‐user understanding. Marketers need to harness technological developments to respond to these expectations. Practically, the study provides e‐retailers with a framework to assess the current levels of experiential intensity, or initiate the creation of more intense experiences.
Exploring children's perceptions of material possessions: a drawing study
Authors: Chan Kara
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to explore children's perceptions of material possessions in Hong Kong using drawing and open‐ended questions.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 42 Chinese children aged 6‐12 were asked to draw what comes to their minds for two statements: “This child has a lot of new and expensive toys”; and, “This child does not have a lot of toys.” After drawing, children were personally interviewed to answer four questions associating material possessions with its social meaning and symbolic significance.

Findings

Analysis of drawings and interviews indicated that there were significant difference in children's perception of someone with a lot of toys and someone without many toys in terms of observable qualities and personality traits. Younger children were more likely to relate material possessions with happiness, friendship, and feeling good about oneself. Older children were more likely to relate materialistic possessions with wastefulness. There is evidence that young children were able to appreciate the value of possessions based on emotional attachment, personality association and social meaning. It was contradictory to John's model of consumer socialization that young children could only understand the surface value of possessions.

Research limitations/implications

Based on the findings, this paper proposed three hypotheses about children's perception of material possessions that can be further tested in a quantitative survey.

Originality/value

The paper may be of value to markets and advertisers who target at Chinese children. They should be sensitive to children's negative association of material possessions including wasteful and showing off. They can encourage the instrumental materialism of how to use material goods to protect the Earth's resources, to enhance friendship, and to achieve self‐defining goals.
Concurrent engineering teams II: performance consequences of usage
Authors: Boyle Todd A. , Kumar Vinod , Kumar Uma
Published: September 2006

Purpose

This is the second paper in a two‐part discussion of the determinants and performance consequences of concurrent engineering (CE) team usage. In this paper, a model is developed outlining the relationship between the extent of CE team usage and three measures of performance, specifically NPD financial performance, NPD development performance, and communication quality.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the model, 2,500 questionnaires were mailed to NPD managers from the machinery, computer product, electrical equipment, and transportation equipment manufacturing industries. Of the 2,500 questionnaires mailed, 189 usable questionnaires were retuned for a usable response rate of 7.5 percent.

Findings

Results of performing partial least squares analysis indicate that the frequency of use of CE teams and functional involvement on CE teams influences communication quality, which in turn, influences both NPD financial and development performance.

Research limitations/implications

To researchers of NPD, the major implication of this study is that it highlights possible reasons (e.g. not considering the extent of usage or not including functional involvement or communication quality in their models) why they are obtaining such inconsistent results when examining the relationship between NPD practices and performance. The major limitation of this study is that only CE teams have been selected for investigation or risk the problems associated with developing a very long questionnaire.

Originality/value

To practicing NPD managers, the value of this research is that it highlights that CE teams which do little to improve communication quality will not lead to improvements in NPD performance.
Managing organizational context for engineering team effectiveness
Authors: Doolen Toni L. , Hacker Marla E. , Van Aken Eileen
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a study investigating the role of organizational context on the effectiveness of engineering work teams.

Design/methodology/approach

Previous research was used to operationalize organizational context and work team effectiveness, and a survey was developed to assess both in this research. This study was conducted within two engineering units of a high‐technology company. In total, 16 teams of engineering knowledge workers participated in the study. Correlation and path analysis were used to investigate both direct and mediated relationships between nine organizational context variables and team effectiveness.

Findings

Direct relationships between eight organizational context variables and team member satisfaction and between two organizational context variables and team performance were found. Effects of five variables on team member satisfaction were either fully or partially mediated by team processes (TP).

Research limitations/implications

This study empirically validated existing models of team effectiveness and identified multiple dimensions of organizational context that are important to the development of effective teams as measured by team member satisfaction and team performance. The study took place within a single organization. Additional research is necessary to generalize the findings.

Originality/value

A broader cross‐section of organizational context variables were included in this study than in previous studies. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by empirically studying organizational‐team relationships using intact work teams. This research addressed an increasingly important set of teams – teams of knowledge workers. Finally, this research was designed to specifically test for the existence of a mediating variable (TP).
The combined use of quality management programs and work teams
Authors: Angeles Escriba‐Moreno M. , Canet‐Giner M. Teresa
Published: September 2006

Purpose

The main goal of the work presented here is the study and comparative analysis of the changes that take place in the structure of organizations when managers decide to establish work teams in the context of quality management. It can be observed that team characteristics change and adapt to evolving management programs.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors selected a qualitative research method, in particular the case study methodology. The comparative analysis of organizational changes was analyzed in three different business units that had implanted advanced quality management programs using work teams.

Findings

There is a relationship between the quality management approach and the degree of integration of the teams into the organizational structure; when the quality approach is an advanced TQM approach, teams are more integrated into the organizational structure. Results show that a reduction of hierarchical levels in the organizational structures favors the integration of work teams and vice versa. It also facilitates effective development of the teams.

Practical implications

As a result of the findings, supervision should be reduced and a great deal of autonomy and resources should be assigned to teams. In any case, the existence of linkage positions (a leader or facilitator that forms a part of the team) makes the required supervision easier and more flexible.

Originality/value

The paper shows that significant organizational changes requiring different uses of design variables can be obtained with the simultaneous establishment of TQM programs and work teams. The paper is relevant to managers attempting to use teams as an effective asset for obtaining the competitive advantage of their firms.
Strategic motivations of Finnish FDIs in Asian countries
Authors: Tahir Rizwan , Larimo Jorma
Published: September 2006

Purpose

To empirically investigate how the location‐specific variables and strategic motives influence the ownership strategies of Finnish manufacturing firms in ten South and Southeast Asian countries from 1980 to 2000.

Design/methodology/approach

Because of the nature of the dependent and independent variables, the binomial logit model is used in the analysis. The regression coefficient estimates the impact of independent variables on the probability that the wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) is market, efficiency and/or a risk‐reduction seeking type of foreign direct investment (FDI). A positive sign for the coefficient means that the variable increases the probability of choosing WOS and undertaking a certain type of investment.

Findings

The research results indicate that the low cultural distance, large market size, and high levels of economic welfare in the target country increases the probability of choosing WOS in order to undertake market‐seeking and efficiency‐seeking FDIs. Similarly the low level of risks in the target country increases the probability to choose WOS in order to undertake risk‐reduction seeking FDIs.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the lack of information about the absolute and relative size of FDIs and competition related data could not be included in this study. Adding those variables would also be interesting for future research.

Practical implications

This study may also help the different governments to understand the strategic motives of different multinational firms and fine‐tune existing investment policies or criteria to better satisfy some of their motives.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study trying to analyze how the location‐specific variables and strategic motives have influenced the ownership strategies of Finnish manufacturing FDIs in Asian countries.