bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Consumer‐perceived appearance tolerances in construction quality management
Authors: Forsythe Perry
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To develop a method for measuring consumer‐perceived tolerances concerning the appearance of unitised construction finishes (e.g. tiling, brickwork, paving, jointed façades).

Design/methodology/approach

Consumer perceptions were converted into physical tolerances by drawing on an area of the behavioural sciences known as psychophysics. In particular, Weber's Law was used, which applies a formulaic approach to creating perception‐based constants. A trial of this approach was undertaken on floor tiling in 50 residential properties. Tiling was chosen because it was considered representative of situations where the appearance of the finished work was important to consumer perceptions. In particular, consistency of tile joint width was measured, which had the advantage of tapping into tiles laid askew, in poor alignment or affected by variable tile sizes.

Findings

Weber's Law offers an appropriate means of objectifying consumer perceptions into physically measurable tolerances. It was found that joint width in tiling can vary up to 70 per cent before consumers find the work beyond their threshold of acceptance – causing them to think the work “ugly”. Saturation of such joints can occur up to three times per 5m2 area without causing consumers to complain.

Practical implications

Such an approach can be easily applied to any unitised construction element where the regularity of appearance is important.

Originality/value

The study provides a new and more balanced approach to the assessment of construction quality by ensuring THAT consumer expectations are taken into account, as well as the normal emphasis on technical quality standards.
Are brands forever? How brand knowledge and relationships affect current and future purchases
Authors: Esch Franz‐Rudolf , Langner Tobias , Schmitt Bernd H. , Geus Patrick
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive model that combines brand knowledge and brand relationship perspectives on brands and shows how knowledge and relationships affect current and future purchases.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses structural equation modeling to test the significance of the overall model and the specified paths.

Findings

It is found that current purchases are affected by brand image mostly directly and by brand awareness mostly indirectly. In contrast, future purchases are not affected by either dimension of brand knowledge directly; rather, brand knowledge affects future purchases via a brand relationship path that includes brand satisfaction, brand trust, and attachment to the brand. Thus, brand knowledge alone is not sufficient for building strong brands in the long term; brand relationship factors must be considered as well.

Research implications/limitations

The present study did not examine feedback effects and included consumer categories only and no individual‐differences variables. It is recommended that future research examine feedback effects and include additional consumer categories, B2B categories and individual‐differences variables such as variety seeking and innovativeness.

Practical implications

Brand managers spend considerable resources on measuring brand awareness and brand image. It is recommended that practitioners also use brand relationship measures and develop strategic and tactical initiatives that ensure that consumers are satisfied with the brand, trust it and feel attached to it.

Originality/value

The paper is a cross‐paradigm paper: it is the first that combines the two separate broad‐based perspectives on brands into a simple comprehensive model for researchers and brand managers.
Customer advocacy and brand development
Authors: Lawer Christopher , Knox Simon
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to define and explore the strategic value of customer advocacy through the lens of the brand management literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews recent analysis of the value and vulnerabilities of brands and branding in order to understand why customer advocacy is becoming an attractive strategic option for many firms. A model of empowered consumer value drivers is constructed to demonstrate how they are becoming an important source of brand value. A framework for brand management in a customer advocacy context is introduced and examples of companies pursuing advocacy‐based strategies and practices are illustrated.

Findings

Through careful brand management, customer advocacy is capable of unlocking new consumer value.

Originality/value

The paper offers a discussion of the opportunities presented to brand management when developing customer advocacy.
Dimensions of price salience: a conceptual framework for perceptions of multi‐dimensional prices
Authors: Min Kim Hyeong , Kachersky Luke
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to conceptualize dimensions of price salience. Price salience influences price perceptions and deal evaluations. This is especially true when a price consists of more than a single number (multi‐dimensional prices). Yet, the very notion of what makes a price salient remains unanswered. By providing a clear conceptualization of different dimensions of price salience and their influence on price perception, we integrate and extend extant research findings.

Design/methodology/approach

By drawing on extant research on price salience and salience in general, the paper develops a framework of how different dimensions of price salience are defined and influence price perception.

Findings

The paper identifies the four basic dimensions of price salience: visual, semantic, computational, and magnitude salience. It is argued that each dimension has a unique influence on price perceptions.

Research limiations/implications

Although widely employed as a key variable in pricing research, price salience has not been clearly defined and issues related to price salience are scattered in the literature. By integrating those issues under a single rubric, the paper enable's pricing researchers to tackle issues related to price salience in a systematic way. Further, it offers several propositions regarding price salience that future research could examine.

Originality/value

This article helps practitioners by providing a clear understanding of how each dimension of price salience influence price perceptions. By digesting this article, practitioners can better understand how their price presentations work and better formulate their pricing strategies.
Beyond branding: from abstraction to cubism
Authors: Ind Nicholas
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To point out the limitations of on over‐scientific approach to branding.

Design/methodology/approach

Discussion of case studies in a philosophical theoretical framework.

Findings

“Getting close to the customer” is a flawed concept. Rather the emphasis should be on people and the nature of relationships.

Practical implications

Brand managers should become unified with the customer rather than thinking they are close to the customer through the abstraction of market research.

Originality/value

Points out that credibility is not derived from statistical analysis alone, but through a genuine and deep understanding of the customer.
A framework for brand revitalization through an upscale line extension
Authors: Munthree Shantini , Bick Geoff , Abratt Russell
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The objective of the paper is to provide an understanding of how large organisations develop line extensions of their brands and to present guidelines for management when considering an upscale line extension.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research technique was used in this study. It involved case study research in the beverage industry, where 11 senior marketers were interviewed in depth.

Findings

A line extension into premium categories was seen to be an effective strategy to revitalise a brand. Respondents also stated that the line extension needs to be very closely linked to the core brand. Being an early entrant but not first‐to‐market or late‐to‐market was also important.

Originality/value

Guidelines to management are provided and a framework is developed for using upscale line extensions in brand revitalization strategies. Marketing managers have been given a three‐step approach to line extension management.
Synchronous support and monitoring in web‐based educational systems
Authors: Fidas Christos , Kapsalis Vasilios , Tranoris Christos , Avouris Nikolaos
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the design of a context‐aware service for synchronous support in web‐based educational systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed service supports synchronous interaction among tutors and students, based on their current context, thus increasing the communication channels, the reasoning and the exchanging of ideas.

Findings

The proposed service introduced here gives additional value to distance learning educational systems, as it transforms the web from a medium primarily used for asynchronous communication into a synchronous one.

Originality/value

As educational institutes move their content online and open universities support lessons through the internet, services like the proposed one are of general value.
Realising the potential of web services
Authors: Wusteman Judith
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To highlight the potential of web services for libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

A brief description of web services is followed by a discussion of the importance of web service standards and the role of initiatives to encourage the development and use of such standards in libraries.

Findings

Web services offer many advantages to the library community, but the majority of these advantages will only be realised if web services are standardised.

Originality/value

This paper is a call to the library community to prevent the proliferation of proprietary web services by supporting the development and use of standard web services.
JSTOR usage data and what it can tell us about ourselves: is there predictability based on historical use by libraries of similar size?
Authors: Gauger Barbara J. , Kacena Carolyn
Published: July 2006

Purpose

Sets out to explore what effects institutional size and the selections of JSTOR collections have on the overall (total) usage statistics.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a preliminary report of JSTOR use made by five academic libraries of similar size and scale; a sixth smaller campus is used to contrast/support findings. A comparison study of the five institutions' usage was conducted using JSTOR data logs, journal title and subject analysis.

Findings

The authors discovered that use of JSTOR is impacted by a complex blend of additional JSTOR collections.

Research limitations/implications

The authors suspect that faculty and their familiarity with the resource, plus information literacy programming, have a greater influence on JSTOR use. This study has identified a need for additional review of bibliographic instruction, integrated information literacy practices and the role of library marketing programs. A study of journal holdings (current and previous) compared with JSTOR usage may prove fruitful for collection management.

Originality/value

The authors expanded the knowledge base by investigating JSTOR usage data from six rural state‐funded institutions in South Dakota and Texas. This preliminary review identified trends in institutional and regional usage within JSTOR collections. Areas of further research are identified.
Some considerations when selecting digital library software
Authors: Cervone H. Frank
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of the aspects of system software selection for digital library system projects.

Design/methodology/approach

This article outlines the aspects of system software selection giving particular emphasis to those points where a digital library project differs from a traditional enterprise‐level software selection process.

Findings

Digital library system software selection differs in some significant ways from traditional software implementations. In particular, security and authentication issues, long‐term cost and maintenance considerations, vendor viability, as well as training and documentation are areas where the software selection team needs to devote greater attention if the project is to be successful.

Originality/value

This paper fills a gap in the digital project management literature by helping project managers understand how the software selection process for digital library systems projects differs from the traditional process used in software selection.
Storytelling in an automated environment
Authors: Brenner Aaron L. , Mihalega Anna Maria
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to report the results of a project incorporating metadata analysis for the creation of curated guides to a digital library of historic photographic images.

Design/methodology/approach

The general format and scope of the curated guides was determined by members of the project team. Automated processing was developed to analyze subject terms in metadata of digital images submitted to the digital library collection. The results of the metadata processing were used to narrow the themes of the curated guides, and to help create canned searches that would expose representative collection content. The curated guides were created and made available to users of the digital image collection.

Findings

Processing and analyzing metadata can be a useful tool in the creation of digital library collection guides. However, the usefulness of this method is highly dependent upon consistency and accuracy of the source metadata records.

Practical implications

Creators of digital library collections are shown a method of using existing resources to create collection guides. The value of metadata demonstrated by this application may affect considerations of the cost of metadata creation.

Originality/value

This activity discussed in this paper addresses an established need among digital library practitioners – the need to provide users with guided access to the content of their collections. The method discussed for creating curated guides is repeatable, and could be improved in further applications.
Protecting privacy in e‐cash schemes by securing hidden identity approaches against statistical attacks
Authors: Piotrowski Krzysztof , Langendörfer Peter , Maye Oliver , Dyka Zoya
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To enhance security and privacy of e‐cash systems that apply revocable anonymity by presenting a statistical attack that reveals the hidden ID and suitable protection means against this kind of attack.

Design/methodology/approach

The feasibility of a statistical attack that reveals the ID of user of e‐cash schemes with revocable anonymity is shown. To avoid such attacks the application of modulo operations while constructing e‐cash coins is proposed. Measurement results are used to back up the suitability of this approach.

Findings

Revocable anonymity systems can successfully be attacked. Applying modulo operations can prevent such attacks.

Practical implications

The recommendations given in this paper should be applied whenever an e‐cash scheme or similar system with revocable anonymity is designed. Otherwise the promised feature may be compromised very easily.

Originality/value

The paper identifies a formerly unknown attack against systems with revocable identities, and presents a mathematical solution to protect such systems against the attack presented.
Agyaat: mutual anonymity over structured P2P networks
Authors: Singh Aameek , Gedik Bugra , Liu Ling
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To provide mutual anonymity over traditionally un‐anonymous Distributed Hash Tables (DHT) based Peer‐to‐Peer overlay networks, while maintaining the desired scalability and guaranteed lookup properties of the DHTs.

Design/methodology/approach

Agyaat uses a novel hybrid‐overlay design, a fully decentralized topology without any trusted proxies. It anonymizes both the querying and responding peers through the use of unstructured topologies, called clouds, which are added onto the structured overlays. In addition, it regulates the cloud topologies to ensure the guaranteed location of data and scalability of routing. A unique characteristic of the design is the ability of users to tradeoff between desired anonymity and performance. The paper presents a thorough performance and anonymity analysis of the system, and also analyzes few anonymity compromising attacks and countermeasures.

Findings

The results indicate that Agyaat is able to provide mutual anonymity while maintaining the scalability of lookups, affecting the costs only by a constant factor.

Research limitations/implications

While Agyaat is able to meet its mutual anonymity and performance goals, there exist other security vulnerabilities like possible Denial‐of‐Service (DoS) attacks, both due to its design and the underlying DHT overlay. This is fertile ground for future work.

Originality/value

Agyaat uses a novel topology architecture and associated protocols that are conducive to providing mutually anonymous services.
Regroup‐And‐Go mixes to counter the (n‐1) attack
Authors: Shi Jin‐Qiao , Fang Bin‐Xing , Shao Li‐Jie
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The (n‐1) attack is the most powerful attack against mix which is the basic building block of many modern anonymous systems. This paper aims to present a strategy that can be implemented in mix networks to detect and counter the active attacks, especially the (n‐1) attack and its variants.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the analysis of the preconditions of a successful (n‐1) attack and the limitations of previous countermeasures, this paper presents Regroup‐And‐Go mix (RG mix) for detecting and foiling the (n‐1) attack. Messages are divided into groups by the sender, regrouped and forwarded at the intermediate mixes, and reordered and sent to the receiver at the last mix. The grouping information for each mix is encrypted with the public key of the corresponding mix. The messages are forwarded only when all the messages in the same group have arrived. When the regrouping of messages triggers a timeout alert, the mix detects the ongoing attack and takes countermeasures.

Findings

RG mix can help foil and detect the (n‐1) attacks from both internal and external attackers because the grouping information for the other mixes is unavailable for them. They can only guess which messages can constitute a group and randomly select some messages to have a try. Analysis and experiments show that the probability of successful attack is low.

Originality/value

RG mix uses the hidden correlations between messages for active attack prevention and detection. RG mix does not have unpractical requirements and can be used in the real‐world implementations.
Design benchmarking, user behavior analysis and link‐structure personalization in commercial web sites
Authors: Jenamani Mamata , Mohapatra Pratap K.J. , Ghose Sujoy
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To create a benchmark for design evaluation of commercial web sites, to model customers' site navigation behavior, and to develop and implement algorithms for link‐structure personalization.

Design/methodology/approach

The principal methodology used for design benchmarking is a survey of corporate web sites of some US Fortune 500 companies and top Indian companies and statistical analysis of the data so collected. The principal methodological approach for modeling user behavior, user's interest and algorithms for link‐structure personalization, is the development of a Markov decision process (MDP) in the overall framework of a semi‐Markov model and implementing the same in a link‐structure personalization system.

Findings

It is observed that the functional web site features significantly differ for the sites dealing with various product categories whereas the non‐functional features do not. The over‐stressed or under‐stressed features in the Indian web sites are found. The statistics generated from the user behavior model are validated against the real life user behavior and found satisfactory. The appropriateness of the link‐structure personalization algorithms is established by comparing the set of links generated by the algorithm with the links generated by the optimal policy of the underlying MDP.

Research limitations/implications

The corporate that have been considered are conglomerates offering a number of products and services. But we categorize these sites based on their major product offering. Our approach of modeling the user behavior as a semi‐Markov process is possible because of our advanced implementation infrastructure. Undesirable network effects like delays, bandwidth, etc. may not make such a model that attractive in a very traditional type of environment. But the data collected in such environment can still be mined after adequate pre‐processing and appropriate normalization

Practical implications

Using the benchmark proposed in this model a webmaster can evaluate his web site. The sites with low site evaluation index can be improved by adding features with high weight depending on the product offering of the company. Webmaster can design the three level information architecture described in the paper and subsequently implement link‐structure personalization algorithm to improve site navigability. Besides improving site navigability the user behavior data collected thereon can be mined to generate other valuable information.

Originality/value

To assess and enhance the usability of an ecommerce site our work proposes: a benchmark to evaluate commercial web site design; a stochastic model to study and understand user behavior; an algorithm to personalize link‐structure of a commercial web site, and a general framework to implement a link‐structure personalization system.
Automatic new topic identification in search engine transaction logs
Authors: Cenk Ozmutlu H. , Cavdur Fatih , Ozmutlu Seda
Published: July 2006

Purpose

Content analysis of search engine user queries is an important task, since successful exploitation of the content of queries can result in the design of efficient information retrieval algorithms of search engines, which can offer custom‐tailored services to the web user. Identification of topic changes within a user search session is a key issue in content analysis of search engine user queries. The purpose of this study is to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies genetic algorithms and Dempster‐Shafer theory, proposed by He et al., to automatically identify topic changes in a user session by using statistical characteristics of queries, such as time intervals and query reformulation patterns. A sample data log from the Norwegian search engine FAST (currently owned by overture) is selected to apply Dempster‐Shafer theory and genetic algorithms for identifying topic changes in the data log.

Findings

As a result, 97.7 percent of topic shifts and 87.2 percent of topic continuations were estimated correctly. The findings are consistent with the previous application of the Dempster‐Shafer theory and genetic algorithms on a different search engine data log. This finding could be implied as an indication that content‐ignorant topic identification, using query patterns and time intervals, is a promising line of research.

Originality/value

Studies an important dimension of user behavior in information retrieval.
An analysis of the e‐service literature: towards a research agenda
Authors: Rowley Jennifer
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review research and is to gather conceptual perspectives on the role and nature of e‐service, and the e‐service experience. Recent advances in technology have created a surge in technology‐based self‐service or e‐service, and there is an increasing recognition of its role in differentiation and customer interfaces.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploration of the inherent characteristics of technology facilitation of service, including notions of information service and self service, leads to definitions of e‐service and the e‐service experience. The following section explores two differentiators to the service experience: e‐service encounters, elements and episodes; and e‐service's role in the total multi‐channel experience. Finally the growing body of work on e‐service quality is reviewed in pursuit of an understanding of how work on dimensions of e‐service quality informs understanding of the nature of the e‐service experience.

Findings

In order to understand e‐service experiences it is necessary to go beyond studies of e‐service quality dimensions and to also take into account the inherent characteristics of e‐service delivery and the factors that differentiate one service experience from another.

Originality/value

The paper reviews the factors that impact on the nature of the e‐service experience, taking a wider perspective than that adopted by many researcher on e‐service when they focus on the identification of the dimensions of e‐service quality. In order to manage the e‐service experience it is important to develop a clear articulation of the nature, boundaries, components and elements of specific e‐service experiences, and to further investigate the interaction between these factors and service quality dimensions.
From higher education to longer, fuller, further education: the coming metamorphosis of the university
Authors: Pearce Snyder David
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This article aims to present a synopsis of inertially‐driven future demographic, economic and technologic realities that will predictably alter the marketplace operating environment for post‐secondary education during the next 10 to 15 years. The article also seeks to explore a detailed scenario speculating on multiple implications for the university as it simultaneously confronts all of the predictably changing elements of its operating environment.

Design/methodology/approach

A convergence of published long‐term demographic, economic and technologic trends and forecasts is examined that has begun to produce structural and operational changes throughout the business world, setting in motion five fundamental transformations in the context of all enterprises: the globalization of the economy; the information of work; the disaggregation of organizations; the maturation of the workforce; and the reconfiguration of employment. The practical implications of these long‐term realities for industrial era universities are described, and a scenario for the future evolution of the “post‐industrial university” is presented, modeled on – and in consonance with – transformations already under way throughout corporate enterprise.

Findings

Reliably forecastable aspects of the University's operating environment, including a shortage of qualified faculty, stagnant personal income and baccalaureate markets, mounting competition from for‐profit schools and an explosion in new applied knowledge in every field and discipline are likely to coerce innovation and change in higher education in spite of institutional intransigence, necessity being the mother of invention.

Originality/value

A scenario based on multiple statistically valid forecasts does not constitute an infallible prediction of the future, but it does present decision makers and strategic planners with sound benchmarks for the pace and scale of change that may reasonably be expected, as well as raising issues and posing options that routine linear extrapolations are unlikely to have revealed.
The millennial university, then and now: from late medieval origins to radical transformation
Authors: Kunstler Barton
Published: July 2006

Purpose

Reflecting on the forces that produced the first universities 800 years ago provokes consideration of today's universities at the start of the new millennium. The paper complements Snyder's critique by suggesting that higher education engage in an exacting review of its most cherished assumptions, from the categorical definitions of disciplines to the fundamental structure of its pedagogy.

Design/methodology/approach

Comparative historical research fuels a conceptual examination of the university today. It adopts Snyder's view that higher education is currently adrift in fulfilling its academic mission and sustaining itself in a competitive environment. This approach yields a much more dramatic range of future plausibilities for contemporary universities than do more conventional extrapolations.

Findings

Rearranging schools and departments will not solve its problems, nor will it make much of a contribution to the state of the world. But digging deep into the wellsprings of knowledge, learning, and wisdom, and engaging in the great work of harmonizing the university with the emerging needs of its era and the concomitant forces of social change, can only energize the culture of higher education.

Practical implications

The article has important implications for strategic planning in higher education. It argues that universities will become increasingly irrelevant if they fail to recapture the spirit of exuberance, intellectual discovery, and social relevance evidenced by the earliest universities. This can be achieved by reassessing the university's mission and social role, utilizing technology to accelerate the learning process, and rethinking disciplinary definitions to reflect the explosive growth of knowledge and changes in methodologies in virtually every academic field. The most enduring transformation will begin with a dramatic shift in program content and pedagogy rather than reliance upon organizational restructuring.

Originality/value

A historically‐grounded vision of the university's current creative potential establishes a reference frame that bestows the freedom to transcend linearly progressed trends. The university can then be re‐imagined as a vital transformative and healing institution uniquely suited to its mission in an era rife with anxiety, uncertainty, and risk.
The dignitarian university
Authors: Fuller Robert W.
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to sketch the broad outlines of a university schema that can conform to the goal of equal dignity regardless of rank – the “dignitarian university” of the title.

Design/methodology/approach

Provides a discussion on the “dignitarian university”.

Findings

Societies that uproot rankism in their schools and universities will lead the world in the twenty‐first century, just as those that curtailed the abuse of rank in government led in the twentieth.

Originality/value

This article provides a useful insight into the “dignitarian university”.
The future of the university: some ethico‐epistemological explorations
Authors: Hinchcliff John
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This article aims to encourage universities to go beyond the significant obsession with the technical advances of the knowledge society and carefully assess both the epistemological and ethical principles that govern their existence. Ultimately, these principles will shape the future well being of both universities and civilization itself.

Design/methodology/approach

Provides a useful discussion on the future of universities.

Findings

The advance of modern technology is assessed within a context of philosophical assumptions such as promethean successism, platonic order, Cartesian rationalism, Newtonian certainty and modern materialism which are challenged by the uncertainties, complexities, and subjectivity promoted by existentialism, quantum physics, and chaos theory. The quest for wisdom takes us beyond the confines of the knowledge society to a values‐based, open, humble, caring and sharing community experience.

Practical implications

People, institutions and communities need to carefully assess their future development in terms of a carefully considered code of ethics and a clear understanding of the limits of their capacity for knowledge.

Originality/value

The thesis is not uncommon. The important difference is in the wide contextual and conceptual perspective together with a focus on urgency as we enter a very different future shaped by nanotechnology, biotechnology, computer science and robotology.
The role of population and wealth in international capital flows
Authors: Clark Ephraim , Jokung Octave
Published: July 2006

Purpose

Seeks to analyze the role of population and wealth in determining capital movements between countries.

Design/methodology/approach

By applying the Clark‐Jokung 50 percent portfolio theorem, considers the specific case of a two country world where the cumulative conditional expected outcome on the asset in one country is greater than or equal to that in the other country.

Findings

Specifically, lower population and wealth ratios (poor/rich) increase net capital flows to the poor country.

Originality/value

So far most of the literature on cross‐border capital flows has generally neglected the role of population and underestimated the role of wealth. This study addresses the gaps left by these deficiencies.
An empirical model of choice of one‐time corporate cash disbursement methods
Authors: Caudill Steven B. , Hudson Carl D. , Marshall Beverly B. , Roumantzi Anastasia
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper aims to extend the work by Vafeas and Lie and Lie by developing an empirical model of choice among four alternative mechanisms for distributing cash from corporations to shareholders: a fixed‐price self‐tender offer, a Dutch auction self‐tender offer, an open market share repurchase, and a special dividend.

Design/methodology/approach

A multinomial logit (MNL) model adapted for choice‐based sampling is used to examine the factors that influence a firm's choice among the four methods.

Findings

Firms with a high degree of heterogeneity in shareholder valuations tend to select an open market repurchase, while firms with low levels of heterogeneity choose a special dividend. Firms already paying high dividends are more likely to issue a special dividend than institute an open market repurchase. A firm with poor stock performance prior to the announcement is more likely to choose a fixed‐price self‐tender offer or open market share repurchase. On the other hand, firms are more likely to follow strong performance with a special dividend. Contrary to Persons' model, it is found that firms facing a takeover threat are more likely to choose a fixed‐price tender offer than a Dutch auction.

Practical implications

It is shown that the ownership structure, current payout level; the size of the distribution, and the degree of stock undervaluation are among the most important determinants of a firm's choice among alternative payout methods.

Originality/value

This study adds to the existing literature by developing the first empirical model of choice among all four one‐time (or infrequent) corporate cash disbursement methods. It is also the first to adjust the MNL estimates for the choice‐based sampling method used to collect the data.
The troubled strategic‐business‐advice industry: why it's failing decision makers
Authors: Abraham Stan , Allio Robert J.
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The authors call attention to the rising customer dissatisfaction with the strategic‐business‐advice industry. Looking at each segment they find that some aspect of its business model has broken down. .

Design/methodology/approach

A business model describes how a firm delivers customer value. While this definition usually applies to a firm and its strategic business units, it can be applied to an industry or segment. Thus, we could ask, “What is the extant business model for management education in the US?”

Findings

Academic researchers, seeking professional advancement, put methodological rigor and peer approval ahead of creating value for business leaders and organizations. B‐schools reward research that peer reviewers assert is scientifically rigorous and that other specialists often cite –without measuring its usefulness to managers or organizations. Academic research is usually communicated exclusively to its own constituency – instead of to the world of business. Consultants, though they clearly have a stake in the welfare and success of their clients, seldom face up to their inherent conflict of interest.

Practical implications

Some specific recommendations for each segment of the strategic‐business‐advice industry: Business schools. Collaborate with corporations to identify critical issues and priorities as a guide for faculty research. Consultants. Become more client‐centered and less sales‐oriented, focusing on what the client really needs and how that differs from what the consultant has to sell. Corporations. Collaborate actively with business schools in the design of curricula and the establishment of research priorities. Journal publishers. Accelerate the review process; slash the cycle time and get their information out quickly.

Originality/value

The article examines the strategic‐business‐advice industry as a set of business models that need rethinking and it suggests astute solutions..
The pricing opportunity: discovering what customers actually value
Authors: Davey Krishnakumar , Markowitz Paul , Jonnalagadda Nagi
Published: July 2006

Purpose

Companies cannot capture the full profit potential of their products and services until their managers understand the ideal price points and width of the price range for each product or brand given its position in the marketplace. This article describes the tools and best practices to accomplish this.

Design/methodology/approach

In the past year or so, Mercer Consulting has conducted 26 discrete choice modeling studies (our version of the modeling is called Strategic Choice Analysis® or SCA) with over 15,000 customers in a wide swath of industries across the U.S., Canada, Germany, and China.

Findings

Mercer studies show that price (17 percent out of a possible 100 percent) is nowhere near as important a selection factor as product features (65 percent); service features (11 percent), and other features (7 percent) account for the rest of decision‐making.

Practical implications

The article shows how all businesses can follow the lead of the exemplars in aligning pricing to customer value.

Originality/value

It clarifies why ideal pricing depends on discrete choice modeling and a number of best practices rather than on price optimization software alone.
Exploring strategic entrepreneurship in the public sector
Authors: Luke Belinda , Verreynne Martie‐Louise
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to elaborate on a model of entrepreneurship within the public sector.

Design/methodology/approach

Case studies involving state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) trace three examples of entrepreneurial ventures.

Findings

A theme of strategic use of entrepreneurial action within these organisations emerges. It is argued that these examples are representative of both a field of enquiry and a specific concept which has been termed “strategic entrepreneurship”.

Research limitations/implications

On the strength of the findings from this study we are able to draw two important conclusions. First, empirical support is found for the notion of “strategic entrepreneurship”, which is defined and explained in this paper. Second, incidences of strategic entrepreneurship are demonstrated in the SOEs, which extend the range of entrepreneurial types usually described in the public sector.

Practical implications

A number of core and supporting elements of strategic entrepreneurship are identified, providing a clear framework for businesses.

Originality/value

This paper progresses strategic entrepreneurship beyond the purely theoretical, by examining and analysing strategic entrepreneurship in an applied business setting, in this case public sector organisations.
Exploiting institutional contradictions
Authors: Abrahamsson Gun , Gerdin Jonas
Published: July 2006

Purpose

Based on an institutional perspective, this study explores the role of management accounting (MA) in promoting or impeding changes in the employees' conceptions of shopfloor worker responsibility in a company trying to implement a continuous improvement (CI) working practice.

Design/methodology/approach

An ethnographically inspired research method is needed where weekly CI meetings in two workgroups were observed over a period of eight months and in‐depth interviews with managers and operators were conducted regularly.

Findings

The study reveals that active and skilful exploiters of inconsistencies within social arrangements may use MA as one important way of transforming a traditional vertical view of worker responsibility into a more horizontally‐oriented view by: creating collective reflection and reasoned analysis of the limits of the present order, and visualising and justifying an alternative model(s) of social behaviour. However, the study also shows that MA may contribute to the reinforcement of a vertical view by the use of group‐level measures strictly as a one‐way performance monitoring device.

Originality/value

The study highlights that “contradictions” between social orders may not only nurture institutional stability, but may also be a necessary (although not sufficient) condition for institutional change.
The role of standard software packages in mediating management accounting knowledge
Authors: Hyvönen Timo , Järvinen Janne , Pellinen Jukka
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse how cost accounting knowledge is mediated in a large multinational organisation employing a company‐wide enterprise resource planning system and off‐the‐shelf activity based costing software to create a uniform profitability management system within the organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

The case analysis is informed by the theoretical notions of dis‐and re‐embedding of expert knowledge, expert systems and standards.

Findings

The results indicate that standardised cost accounting software packages may be useful not only because of their superior data processing properties and technical efficiency, but also because of their usability in overcoming resistance to change. It is suggested that software packages and some degrees of freedom in the implementation process may actually enhance actors' “blind” commitment to the system and reduce resistance to the new system.

Originality/value

It is of interest to researchers and practitioners alike how ready‐made software packages may be successfully used in implementing the changes needed in the management accounting systems of large organisations. It is also particularly interesting to find reasons why software packages seem to be so useful in driving these changes.
Management control in a business network: new challenges for accounting
Authors: Bardy Roland
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper focuses on the implications for management accounting of “connectivity” amongst modern enterprises. It seeks to illustrate how practical guidance for management accountants who work in business networks can be gleaned from analogies out of traditional management accounting.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores four avenues that demonstrate linkages between accounting formats in centrally coordinated systems and network accounting, namely: cost budgets and cost design; collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment; multi‐stage performance‐monitoring; and accounting for transaction costs.

Findings

Highly interconnected business transforms management accounting into an activity that requires concepts to coordinate (partially) independent management systems. The concepts of distributed decision‐making and trust building through reliable reporting nicely fit this environment. Even though such concepts are widely accepted, as are the notions of transaction cost and collaborative performance monitoring, practical guidance on this is not abundantly at hand in academia or in professional outlets. The study shows how a “tool kit” might be developed to provide methods for decision support, and management control, for each stage of a business network's development.

Research limitations/implications

It would be desirable that this exposition be supplemented by research concerning the common experiences and practices of accountants who operate in business networks.

Originality/value

The exposition applied in this paper could enable a new type of access to the issues of inter‐organisational management.
Authenticity and consumption in the Australian Hip Hop culture
Authors: Arthur Damien
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects that local interpretation and the glocalisation of the Australian Hip Hop culture have on the consumption practices of members, exploring the reasons for such effects, and drawing marketing implications.

Design/methodology/approach

Three principal methods of ethnographic research were used: participant observation, informal conversations, and semi‐structured in‐depth interviews.

Findings

The findings suggest that symbolic representation within the Australian Hip Hop culture takes the form of consumption of brands congruent with the values of authenticity and self‐expression at the core of the Australian Hip Hop culture. Many mass‐produced Hip Hop brands originating in the USA were not perceived as authentic as their meanings were associated with commercialisation and artificiality by cultural members. Furthermore, members of the Australian Hip Hop culture appear to express authenticity by being true to themselves, refusing to imitate African‐American Hip Hop style and rejecting what they perceived as “black” Hip Hop brands. Finally, members of the Australian Hip Hop culture also represented their geographical place via consumption, and used symbolic consumption as a form of subcultural capital.

Originality/value

This paper fills a gap in the literature by providing a detailed analysis on the effects of interpretation and the glocalisation of the Australian Hip Hop culture on consumption.
Product involvement and the evaluation of wine quality
Authors: Charters Steve , Pettigrew Simone
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between wine drinkers' product involvement and their engagement with wine quality. It examined particularly how they conceptualise quality, how they evaluate it, and the dimensions of quality they focus on.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used focus groups (including wine tasting as a stimulus) and individual interviews to elicit data. Wine drinkers across Australia were informants for the study.

Findings

There appears to be a relationship between involvement level and how wine quality is perceived. Higher‐involvement drinkers seemed more inclined to conceptualise wine quality as objective whereas lower‐involvement consumers tended to see it as subjective. Lower‐involvement informants often focused more on sensory dimensions of wine quality (like flavour or smoothness), while high‐involvement drinkers used more cognitive dimensions such as interest or complexity. Further, there appears to be evidence for a group of medium‐involvement consumers, with some distinct characteristics.

Research limitations/implications

The research suggests that consumers' understanding of wine quality is substantially dependent on their involvement level. This finding is tentative as the study used only qualitative methods in a single Anglophone country. Nevertheless, there are suggestions that the approach which consumers use to evaluate quality varies depending on involvement level and that consumption behaviour is substantially different. These issues warrant further investigation.

Originality/value

The paper synthesises two aspects of marketing research; the understanding of quality and the concept of involvement.