bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Applying threshold concepts to finance education
Authors: Hoadley Susan , Wood Leigh N , Tickle Leonie , Kyng Tim
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify threshold concepts that are the essential conceptual content of finance programmes.

Design/methodology/approach

– Conducted in three stages with finance academics and students, the study uses threshold concepts as both a theoretical framework and a research methodology.

Findings

– The study identifies ten threshold concepts in finance that are clearly endorsed by finance academics. However, the extent to which students are explicitly aware of the threshold concepts in finance is limited.

Research limitations/implications

– As well as informing further research into the design and delivery of finance programmes, the findings of the study inform the use of threshold concepts as a theoretical framework and a research methodology. The study does not explore the bounded, discursive, reconstitutive and liminal aspects of threshold concepts. Implications include the lack of recognition of more modern concepts in finance, and the need for input from industry and related disciplines.

Practical implications

– The threshold concepts in finance provide the starting point for finance educators in the design and delivery of finance programmes. In particular, the threshold concepts in finance need to be made more explicit to students.

Social implications

– Using the threshold concepts in finance as well as the other findings of this study to inform to finance curriculum design and delivery is likely to achieve better quality educational outcomes for finance students as well as better prepare them for professional finance roles.

Originality/value

– The finance curriculum is under researched and for the first time this study identifies the threshold concepts in finance to inform the design of finance programmes.
Threshold concepts in business school curriculum – a pedagogy for public trust
Authors: Bajada Christopher , Jarvis Walter , Trayler Rowan , Bui Anh Tuan
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the implications for curriculum design by operationalizing threshold concepts and capabilities (TCC) in subject delivery. The motivation for undertaking this exploration is directly related to addressing public concerns for the business school curriculum.

Design/methodology/approach

– Apost factoanalysis of a compulsory subject in finance that is part of an Australian business degree and the impact on a subsequent finance subject.

Findings

– Customary approaches to granting part-marks in assessing students, (fractionalising) understanding of content can mean students pass subjects without grasping foundational concepts (threshold concepts) and are therefore not fully prepared for subsequent subjects.

Research limitations/implications

– Students passing subjects through fractionalization are poorly equipped to undertake deeper explorations in related subjects. If replicated across whole degree programs students may graduate not possessing the attributes claimed for them through their qualification. The implications for undermining public trust and confidence in qualifications are profound and disturbing.

Practical implications

– The literature has exposed risks associated with operationalizing threshold through assessments. This highlights a risk to public trust in qualifications.

Originality/value

– Operationalizing threshold concepts is an underexplored field in curriculum theory. The importance of operationalizing customary approaches to assessments through fractionalising marks goes to the legitimacy and integrity of qualifications granted by higher education. Operationalizing assessments for TCC presents profound, inescapable and essential challenges to the legitimacy of award granting institutions.
Threshold concepts and pedagogic representation
Authors: Meyer Jan H.F.
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present a brief exposure to the development of the threshold concepts framework (TCF), the intention being to illuminate for interested readers a broader landscape of research activity than that perhaps conveyed by the individual contributions to this special edition.

Design/methodology/approach

– There is first an account of how the notion of a “threshold concept” was presented by Meyer and Land in their seminal 2003 paper, and a clarification of some terminology used by them at that time to describe the (confusing for some) “characteristics” of such a concept. A discursive account, with examples, follows on how analyses for, and of, threshold concepts might proceed, and how findings might provoke a reappraisal of associated learning and teaching practices. Towards this end a contemporary pedagogical perspective is introduced based on the construct of integrated threshold concept knowledge (ITCK) as proposed by Meyer and Timmermans (2016). Reference to a detailed case study illustrates the practical dynamics of generating ITCK; specifically in the context of a third-year engineering course embedding the threshold of “critical flow”. Activities and processes, transferable to other discipline contexts, are described that yield particular elements of ITCK (different constituent “types of knowledge”) in relation, in this case, to “critical flow”. A final consideration is the “representation” of “critical flow” for pedagogical purposes in the form of a metacognitive activity for learning and formative assessment purposes that is, again, adaptable to other discipline contexts.

Findings

– There are no specific findings in this paper as its purpose is to provide a condensed review of the development of the TCF.

Originality/value

– This value of this paper is that it provides a contemporary expert exposure to the development of the TCF by the originator of the notion of a threshold concept.
ACTVOD-futures workshop – a generic structure for a one-day futures workshop
Authors: Lauttamäki Ville
Published: May 2016

Purpose

This paper introduces a generic structure for a futures workshop, developed especially to be used in brief practically oriented foresight projects. Based on experiences of tens of dozens of workshops where this method has been used, this paper aims to inform and educate practitioners of futures studies on the method and discuss its characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

The design of the ACTVOD workshop method was influenced by the need to have a futures workshop design that would encourage creativity and allow for the hosting of a futures workshop in a rather short amount of time. ACTVOD takes advantage from several theoretical insights and methods within futures studies. It combines elements from heuristic problem-solving, scenario workshops (focus on finding action plans towards desired future) and soft systems methodology.

Findings

ACTVOD is a rather easy and time-efficient way of producing and collecting good-quality insights on the future and bringing those insights to a practical level. Major challenges using it relate to the transition between workshop stages and on reporting, which relies heavily on participants' activity.

Originality/value

This is the first time the characteristics of the ACTVOD workshop method are thoroughly introduced in an academic journal. Learning of the method would be useful for practitioners of participatory futures studies methods, especially those who are frequently invited to facilitate short workshops for varying audiences.
The influence of trust and perceived playfulness on the relationship commitment of hospitality online social network-moderating effects of gender
Authors: Li Chi-Hua , Chang Chun-Ming
Published: May 2016

Purpose

From the commitment–trust theory angle, this study aims to understand why members of social network sites (SNSs) are willing to build a relationship commitment with hospitality SNSs, engage in online word-of-mouth (WOM) and show a willingness to repurchase. This paper proposes a model to express the relationship commitment and gender as a moderator in the relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The interviews of a formal survey were selected by a purposive sampling method, and an online questionnaire survey was conducted in Taiwan. This study used the partial least square method to conduct structural equation modeling analysis.

Findings

The findings suggest that trust and perceived playfulness of the hospitality community have positive influences on relationship commitment, and also that the relationship commitment has a positive influence on online WOM and willingness to repurchase. This analysis provides strong support for the view that gender exerts a significant moderating role on our model relationships.

Practical implications

SNSs aspiring to stand out in the highly competitive internet environment must cultivate consumers’ trust and relationship commitment, and develop strategies to retain community members, as well as strengthen the safeguard personal information and the playfulness of activities. SNSs that launch relationship marketing activities should encourage community members to spread positive WOM through various activities.

Originality/value

This study combined the commitment–trust theory and technology acceptance model. It aimed to develop a theory-based model of relationship commitment in the hospitality SNSs’ context. Both trust and perceived playfulness are positively related to commitment; they are essential and important elements of successful hospitality SNSs. The gender difference plays a vital role in determining individuals’ behavior intention in the hospitality SNSs, as females and males have different decision-making processes.
The impact of CEO servant leadership on firm performance in the hospitality industry
Authors: Huang Jun , Li Weiwen , Qiu Canhua , Yim Frederick Hong-kit , Wan Junbao
Published: May 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to draw on the theory of servant leadership to examine the influence of chief executive officer (CEO) servant leadership on firm performance in the hospitality industry. It examined the mediating role of the service climate and the moderating role of competitive intensity in the relationship between CEO servant leadership and firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple regression was used to analyze multi-wave, multi-source data from 92 hotels in China. A moderated path analysis was used to test the moderating effects.

Findings

CEO servant leadership positively influenced firm performance via the service climate in the hospitality industry. Competitive intensity strengthened the direct effect of the service climate on firm performance, and the indirect effect of CEO servant leadership on firm performance via service climate.

Research limitations/implications

The findings offer managerial insights into CEO succession, service management and human resource management.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to investigate how and when CEO servant leadership might shape firm outcomes in the hospitality industry. Theoretically, the findings enrich our understanding of how CEO leadership might shape firm-level outcomes.
Attitudinal similarities and differences of hotel frontline occupations
Authors: Robinson Richard N.S. , Kralj Anna , Solnet David J. , Goh Edmund , Callan Victor J.
Published: May 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify across a number of workplace variables the similarities and differences in attitudes between three key frontline hotel worker groups: housekeepers, front office employees and food and beverage front-of-house staff.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study was conducted using 25 semi-structured interviews with frontline workers employed in full-service hotels across Eastern Australia. Analysis was augmented through the Leximancer® software package to develop relational themes in the aggregation and disaggregation of the occupations.

Findings

Although work/life balance was a common theme across the three occupations, several distinct attitudinal differences emerged, in particular regarding perceptions of one occupational group towards another.

Practical implications

This study highlights the importance of hotel managers being cognisant of occupational differences and collecting data capable of assisting in the identification of these differences. Several practitioner relevant recommendations are made.

Originality/value

This exploratory study challenges assumptions regarding a “pan-industrial” hospitality occupational community and applies an emerging qualitative software package to highlight occupational differences and relational perceptions.
Does leader-member exchange enhance performance in the hospitality industry?
Authors: Wang Chung-Jen
Published: May 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to integrate leader–member exchange (LMX), creativity and performance research and to develop a model to investigate the relationships among LMX, task motivation, creativity and performance in the hospitality industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrap estimation was conducted with a sample of 312 leader–employee dyadic data from international tourist hotels in Taiwan.

Findings

The results revealed that LMX positively affected performance and creativity. Most important of all, task motivation was found to mediate the relationship between LMX and creativity, while both task motivation and creativity were found to mediate the relationship between LMX and performance.

Research limitations/implications

With efforts to combine research variables into a unified theoretical model, this study is the first in the field of hospitality research which explores the two-path mediating effects of these relationships in an integrated SEM framework. More specifically, this study provides a synthesized perspective with bootstrap analyses to broaden hotel research with regard to LMX and examine its influences on employees’ creativity and performance.

Practical implications

The results of this study suggest that human resource departments in hotel companies should provide training programs for supervisors and employees to enhance their reciprocal relationships, and establish reward mechanisms to encourage the development of more creative services at work.

Originality/value

This study added to the literature with its use of a non-Western sample, and extended the prior research in the context of the hospitality industry. Overall, the conclusions provide empirical evidence in an integrated model that task motivation can strengthen the influence of LMX on creativity and can also nourish the influence of creativity on employee performance.
A user-aware approach for describing and publishing context aware composite Web service
Authors: Cherif Sihem , Ben Djemaa Raoudha Ben , Amous Ikram
Published: May 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the composite service and the context properties related to the users in the business process execution language (BPEL) file.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors’ approach allows expressing requirements by taking into account potential users’ context in addition to the functional one.

Findings

In this paper, the authors introduce a new context-aware approach that provides a dynamic adaptation of service compositions.

Originality/value

This paper introduces a user-aware approach for describing and publishing context-aware composite Web service.
A serious game-based solution to prevent bullying
Authors: Raminhos Cátia , Cláudio Ana Paula , Carmo Maria Beatriz , Gaspar Augusta , Carvalhosa Susana , Candeias Maria de Jesus
Published: May 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a Serious Game with the main purpose of inducing attitude changes as a way to prevent bullying, in a target audience of young people between 10 and 12 years old.

Design/methodology/approach

The rationale for prevention is: first, to help victims of these aggressive episodes to acquire or improve competencies in avoiding or dealing with future real bullying situations; and second, to promote empathy toward the victims in bystanders. A back office application complements the game, providing substantial assistance to psychologists while using the game with patients in therapy or in research work.

Findings

Both components, the game and the back office, were evaluated with volunteers. The user study leads the authors to the conclusion that the current version of the game holds good potential in bullying prevention: the young people that played the game in a continuous time span, at the end of this testing process, have expressed improvements in their bullying prevention strategies. The back office application, a distinctive feature of the solution when compared to other similar bullying prevention solutions, was positively assessed by the psychologists who tested it.

Originality/value

The game deals with strong social features, such as number of friends and invitations to social events (e.g. a birthday party), to which young people give much importance. Additionally, it offers a variability of scenarios and consequences of actions, taking into account the user’s performance in the game. The main factors that makes the presented solution stand out in comparison with other similar bullying prevention solutions are mainly the following: It includes a back office application to assist therapists with data management features; the role of the player in the game can be chosen according to his own profile; it is possible to play even outside a therapy session (e.g. at home); and it is a portable solution.
Big data projects: just jump right in!
Authors: Mousannif Hajar , Sabah Hasna , Douiji Yasmina , Oulad Sayad Younes
Published: May 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a roadmap for organizations to build big data projects and reap the most rewards out of their data. It covers all aspects of big data project implementation, from data collection to final project evaluation.

Design/methodology/approach

In each stage of the proposed roadmap, we introduce different sets of information and communications technology platforms and tools to assist IT professionals and managers in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods and technologies involved and in making the best use of them. The authors also complete the picture by illustrating the process through different real-world big data projects implementations.

Findings

By adopting the proposed roadmap, companies and organizations willing to establish an effective and rewarding big data solution can tackle all implementation challenges in each stage of their big data project setup: from strategy elaboration to final project evaluation. Their expectations of privacy and security are also baked, in advance, into the big data project design.

Originality/value

While technologies to build and run big data projects have started to mature and proliferate over the last couple of years, exploiting all potentials of big data is still at a relatively early stage. The value of this paper consists in providing a clear and systematic methodology to move businesses and organizations from an opinion-operated era where humans’ skills are a necessity to a data-driven and smart era where big data analytics plays a major role in discovering unexpected insights in the oceans of data routinely generated or collected.
Entrepreneurship as re-sourcing
Authors: Korsgaard Steffen , Anderson Alistair , Gaddefors Johan
Published: May 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of entrepreneurship that can help researchers, policymakers and practitioners develop entrepreneurial responses to the current economic, environmental and socio-spatial crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a conceptual approach. Hudson’s diagnosis of the current patterns of production is applied to the two dominant streams of theorising on entrepreneurship: the opportunistic discovery view and the resourcefulness view of, for example, effectuation.

Findings

The analysis indicates that the opportunistic discovery view and, to some extent, the resourcefulness view are both inadequate as conceptual platforms for entrepreneurial responses to the economic, environmental and socio-spatial crisis. Instead, an alternative perspective on entrepreneurship is developed: Entrepreneurship as re-sourcing. The perspective emphasises the importance of building regional-level resilience through entrepreneurial activity that sources resources from new places and uses these resources to create multiple forms of value.

Practical implications

The paper draws attention to dysfunctions in the current theorising on entrepreneurship in light of the economic, environmental and socio-spatial crisis. Instead, the authors offer an alternative. In doing so, the paper also points to the difficult trade-offs that exist between, for example, long-term resilience and short-term competitiveness and growth on a regional, as well as firm level.

Originality/value

This paper adds to research by offering an alternative view of entrepreneurship grounded – not in economics – but in economic geography, thus highlighting the importance of productions’ grounding in material reality and the importance of addressing non-economic concerns in our way of thinking about entrepreneurship.
Productization of knowledge-intensive services
Authors: Valtakoski Aku , Järvi Katriina
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the antecedents of service innovation success in the knowledge-intensive business services context, especially why the participation of frontline employees and multiple organizational units is not enough for succeeding in knowledge-intensive service productization.

Design/methodology/approach

– A multiple-case study of two polar cases with longitudinal data, participant observation, and key personnel interviews.

Findings

– Case evidence indicates that frontline employee participation and cross-unit collaboration are not sufficient antecedents for successful service productization. Instead, to facilitate employee knowledge sharing, managers need to align the project goals with the goals of participating employees, and promote trust among the project workgroup. Moreover, to enable effective cross-unit collaboration, managers need to facilitate the establishment of common vocabulary for productization work and services, and to resolve any emerging conflicts between participating organizational units.

Practical implications

– The findings indicate the importance of enabling knowledge sharing and cross-unit collaboration for service productization. The identified antecedents translate to practical strategies for achieving these. The results also highlight the importance of bottom-up service innovation, and the management of service innovation on the group level.

Originality/value

– The study indicates that common antecedents for successful service innovation may not be sufficient in the knowledge-intensive context, calling into question the assumptions about individual and group behavior in service innovation, and suggesting the importance of multi-level perspective on service innovation.
An empirical examination of the impact of tri-dyadic fit on the service experience
Authors: Anderson Sidney T. , Smith Jeffery S.
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the customer’s perception of customer-firm, customer-employee, and employee-firm fit and to assess how these fits impact the service experience.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper looks at the impact of fit on the service experience and focusses on three specific types of dyadic fit: customer-employee; customer-firm; and employee-firm. A conceptual model is presented, accompanied by a detailed development of the hypotheses. A sample of 447 consumers is used to empirically test the proposed model.

Findings

– The analysis reveals the importance of fit and suggest a triadic relationship perspective is essential when designing for the service experience. Specifically, employee-firm fit is key to enhancing fit within the other dyads and providing a superior service experience.

Research limitations/implications

– The main implication is that this paper expands the investigation of fit by examining the interplay of multiple fits while also exploring how they affect the customer experience. The limitations are based primarily on methodology where the use of a survey to collect data rules out potential generalizations of true cause and effect while also potentially being subject to a common method effect.

Practical implications

– Managers should consider adopting a triadic relationship perspective when designing for the service experience. A number of managerial implications are proposed and discussed.

Originality/value

– Prior research has not explored the impact of fit among the customer-employee, customer-firm, and employee-firm dyads in one model on an important outcome such as the service experience. In addition, to show that customer-employee, customer-firm, and employee-firm dyadic fits are predictors of the service experience is novel.
I know how you feel, but it does not always help
Authors: Doucet Lorna , Shao Bo , Wang Lu , Oldham Greg R.
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– Previous research has demonstrated the importance of emotion recognition ability in negotiations and leadership, but scant research has investigated the role of emotion recognition ability in service contexts. The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a compensatory model in which service employees’ emotion recognition ability helps enhance their job performance, particularly when employees score low on the agreeableness personality dimension or have low cognitive ability.

Design/methodology/approach

– With a two-wave multisource dataset collected from a service center of a large retail bank, multiple regression analysis was used to test the moderating roles of agreeableness and cognitive ability on the relationship between service employees’ emotion recognition ability and their performance.

Findings

– Service employees’ emotion recognition ability helped enhance their job performance. However, the positive effect of emotion recognition ability on job performance was only statistically significant when employees’ agreeableness or cognitive ability was low.

Practical implications

– The findings have important implications for how service organizations select and recruit employees. In particular, service employees with low agreeableness or cognitive ability may still be able to perform well when possessing high emotion recognition ability. Therefore, emotion recognition ability should be considered in the selection and recruitment process.

Originality/value

– Going beyond self-report measures of emotion recognition and using a performance measure from organizational records, this study is one of the first to examine how emotion recognition ability interacts with personality and cognitive ability in predicting service employees’ effectiveness in a service organization.
A new perspective on the size, value, and momentum effects
Authors: Foye James
Published: May 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of whether stock returns in Europe are best characterized by country-specific or Europe-wide versions of widely used factor models.

Design/methodology/approach

To estimate the cost of equity in Europe, both region-wide and nationally, the Fama and French (2012) three-factor and Carhart (1997) four-factor models are used.

Findings

The results show that although the value and momentum premiums are present on a Europe-wide basis, the size premium is country-specific.

Originality/value

The paper offers an explanation to the puzzle of why Fama and French (2012) detect value and momentum premiums but no size premium in Europe. Furthermore, the results shed new light on these premiums and present a challenge to existing applications of widely used factor models.
Adoption of international accounting standards and performance of emerging capital markets
Authors: Mhedhbi Karim , Zeghal Daniel
Published: May 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the association between the adoption of international accounting standards (IAS/IFRS) and the performance of emerging capital markets.

Design/methodology/approach

Data related to 31 developing countries with capital markets were used. The authors performed univariate analyses (means comparison before and after the use of IAS/IFRS), as well as multivariate analyses (estimation of models of panel data), to test the hypothetical relations set up in the paper.

Findings

The results suggest that the performance of emerging capital markets is significantly and positively associated with IAS/IFRS use. They are consistent with several empirical investigations which highlighted the relevance of financial information under IAS/IFRS in emerging capital markets.

Practical implications

Several organizations and decision-makers including the IASB, governments, capital markets regulators and international investors should find the policy implications of this paper very meaningful.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the relationship between the use of IAS/IFRS and the performance of emerging capital markets based on a group of countries has not yet been explored.
The effects of culture and contextual information on resource allocation decisions
Authors: Chang C. Janie , Ho Joanna L.Y. , Wu Anne
Published: May 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to examine resource allocation behaviors of US and Taiwanese managers to help multinational firms understand the potential for divergence in resource allocations under different contextual conditions by managers from different national cultures.

Design/methodology/approach

The experimental design was developed as a 2 (national culture) × 2 (degree of project completion) × 2 (nature of market information) factorial design. The first two were between-subject factors. Because we would investigate subjects’ responses to both favorable and unfavorable conditions, the nature of market information was designed as a within-subject factor. Also, to avoid an order effect, half of the subjects first received favorable information and then unfavorable information, and the other half received the market information in the opposite order. Questionnaires were distributed randomly to subjects.

Findings

The results show that Taiwanese managers are less willing than US managers to continue a project in the presence of favorable information, but that both groups are equally willing to continue the project when receiving unfavorable information. Furthermore, Taiwanese managers allocate more funds than US managers do when the project is near completion. The authors use uncertainty avoidance and individualism to explain the different judgment and decision behaviors of these two cultural groups.

Research Limitations/implications

In this study, the authors examine only two contextual factors in resource allocation contexts. There are other important contextual factors associated with national culture that should be scrutinized, such as risks involved in each project, incentive plans related to performance evaluation and information asymmetry between central managers and division managers. It would be interesting for future studies to examine these factors in conjunction with different dimensions of national culture.

Originality/value

This study provides empirical evidence of the impact of different aspects of national culture (i.e. uncertainty avoidance and collectivism/individualism) on managerial resource allocation in light of different degrees of project completion and different types of market information. The results of our experiment add to both practice and theory of management. The findings of this study help top-level managers better understand the effects of national culture on division managers’ resource allocations. Hence, it may be possible to design incentive schemes and decision aids to mitigate the divergence in judgments and decision-making that can be attributed to cultural differences. This study also contributes to the management literature by extending our knowledge of complex managerial resource allocation decisions by incorporating the role of national culture with contextual factors.
The impact of social networks in the development of a personal sports brand
Authors: Green Michael Robert
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– Over the past two decades the subject and growth of social media has been exponential, along with its relevance to the sport marketing industry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the strategic usage of social networking websites to develop the concept of a personal brand by international rugby union players.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study was embedded within an interpretivist paradigm that allowed the qualitative examination of the way international rugby players use social networking sites. The primary data collection method involved ten semi-structured interviews and was triangulated with secondary sources which involved visiting the three social networking sites utilised by all the players (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

Findings

– The research analysis revealed personal branding themes that can be classified according to the following mnemonic: personality, exposure, response, follow, endorse, consistent, and target audience (PERFECT).

Research limitations/implications

– This study has focused entirely upon international rugby union players; therefore no claim is made for generalisability to other contexts. A potential area for future research lies in replicating this study in different sport settings in order to identify whether the identified contextual factors also play a role outside of international rugby union and for different gender, playing-level or social media categories.

Practical implications

– This study has reinforced that, within “real-life” social networking contexts, the development of an online profile can help create differentiation for players in a highly competitive market, especially if they share similar “sporting” characteristics with colleagues or other athletes. This research highlights that the utilisation of social networks by sports athletes has to become part of a strategic marketing approach.

Originality/value

– The author draws attention to the theoretical position based on the PERFECT mnemonic offering sports athletes a framework to develop a successful online branding strategy. The central premise is based on emphasising uniqueness and distinction to offer a competitive advantage by delivering added value throughout various communications.
How e-tailing attributes affect perceived quality
Authors: Tamimi Nabil , Sebastianelli Rose
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to report results from an experimental study in which participants rank e-tailer quality on the basis of descriptions involving five attributes (reputation of retailer, site usability, security, delivery and customer support). The paper further explores how the relative importance of these attributes to perceived e-tailer quality is impacted by customer demographic and behavioral characteristics (such as gender, age, frequency of online purchasing and use of online reviews).

Design/methodology/approach

– Individual-level conjoint models are estimated to determine the relative importance of these five attributes to perceptions of e-tailer quality.

Findings

– The relative importance of these five attributes to perceived e-tailer quality are impacted by customer specific characteristics and online behaviors, namely, age, the frequency of prior online purchasing, the frequency of use of online reviews and the importance attached to the availability of a large number of online product reviews.

Research limitations/implications

– Managerial implications that help e-tailers develop more effective, targeted strategies for enhancing the quality of their websites and increasing customer loyalty are presented.

Originality/value

– The use of conjoint analysis for decomposing overall judgments of e-tailer quality to derive the relative importance of specific e-tailing attributes offers a realistic way to understand how online customers perceive and evaluate e-tailer quality.
The underlying factorial structure and significance of the Six Sigma difficulties and critical success factors
Authors: Psomas Evangelos
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to determine the underlying structure (latent constructs) of the difficulties and critical success factors (CSFs) of Six Sigma implementation in manufacturing companies. Determining the significance Greek manufacturing companies give to the Six Sigma difficulties and CSFs is also an aim of the present study.

Design/methodology/approach

– A research study was carried out in 91 ISO 9001 certified Greek manufacturing companies through a structured questionnaire. Exploratory factor analyses are applied to determine the underlying structure (latent constructs) of the Six Sigma difficulties and CSFs, while their significance is determined through descriptive statistics.

Findings

– Three latent constructs of Six Sigma difficulties are extracted, namely, “implementation patterns of Six Sigma methodology”, “absence of human interest and support”, and “low quality management level”. These difficulties are not considered very significant by the sample companies. Three latent constructs of Six Sigma CSFs are also extracted, namely, “understanding the implementation patterns of Six Sigma and its interface with the company”, “company culture and organisation”, and “prioritising Six Sigma projects based on stakeholders and company performance”. The role of these critical factors for the success of Six Sigma is very significant, according to the sample companies.

Research limitations/implications

– The small sample of the responding manufacturing companies, the diversity of the business sectors represented in the sample, and the subjective business evidence obtained from the company quality managers are the main limitations of the present study. Based on these limitations, future research studies are suggested.

Practical implications

– By eliminating the negative influence of the difficulties and simultaneously by enhancing the positive influence of the CSFs, a robust internal business environment can be created for the successful implementation of Six Sigma.

Originality/value

– This study fills the literature gap and contributes to the literature by determining the underlying structure and the significance of the Six Sigma difficulties and CSFs. This is the first research study in the field of Six Sigma that has been carried out in ISO 9001 certified manufacturing companies operating in the Greek business environment.
Quality and legal aspects in public care procurement
Authors: Bröchner Jan , Camén Carolina , Eriksson Henrik , Garvare Rickard
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to assess the applicability of care quality concepts as contract award criteria for public procurement of health and social care, using the case of Sweden.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on a literature review, European and Swedish legal texts, government regulations as well as 26 Swedish court review cases concerning care procurement have been analysed.

Findings

– Methods used for assessing care quality are seldom useful for predicting the quality to be delivered by a potential contractor. Legal principles of transparency and equal treatment of tenderers make it necessary to apply strict requirements for verification.

Research limitations/implications

– Results refer primarily to a Swedish context but could be applicable throughout the EU. Further studies of relations between award criteria and public/private collaborative practices for improving care quality during contractual periods are desirable.

Practical implications

– Local and regional procurement officials should benefit from a better understanding of how quality criteria should be designed and applied to the award procedures for care contracts. Care providers in the private sector would also be able to develop their quality strategies and present their abilities more efficiently when tendering for public contracts.

Social implications

– Issues of quality of health and social care are of obvious importance for social sustainability. Public awareness of care quality problems is evident and often a cause of media concern.

Originality/value

– This investigation pinpoints the difference between traditional care quality thinking and the legal principles underlying contract award in public procurement of care services.
The “5S” approach to improve a working environment can reduce waiting time
Authors: Ishijima Hisahiro , Eliakimu Eliudi , Mshana Jonathan Mcharo
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to assess causal relations between the implementation of the 5S approach and the reduction of patients’ waiting time at out patient departments (OPDs) of hospitals in Tanzania.

Design/methodology/approach

– Patients’ waiting time was measured under the cluster randomized control trial (c-RCT). In all, 16 hospitals were chosen and divided into treatment and control groups using block randomization. Before the intervention, a baseline study was conducted at OPDs in all 16 hospitals. After one year of the intervention, the end-line study was carried out in both the groups. A comparison of the average waiting time reduction and Difference-in-Difference (DID) analysis was carried out to see the effect of the 5S approach on the reduction of patients’ waiting time.

Findings

– Statistical significance in reduction of patients’ waiting time was seen in the medical records sections (p=0.002) and consultation rooms (p=0.020) in the intervention group. The same trend was also seen using DID analysis (−15.66 min in medical record, −41.90 min in consultation rooms).

Research limitations/implications

– This study has the following limitations in terms of the data. The data were collected for only three days at the time of baseline survey, and again for three days at the time of the end-line survey from 16 hospitals. Moreover, piloted areas for the implementation of the 5S approach vary from hospital to hospital. There might be a bias in the measurement of a patient’s waiting time. Caveats are therefore needed in extrapolating the study results to other settings. Despite these caveats, the findings will provide important insights for implementing quality improvement programs in Tanzania and in other African countries for improvement of time factors.

Originality/value

– This study used c-RCT, and has proven the effectiveness of the 5S approach in improving the working environment and reducing patients’ waiting time at OPDs in several hospitals at district level in Tanzania.
Grasping physical exercise through recreational running and non‐representational theory: a case study from Sofia, Bulgaria
Authors: Barnfield Andrew
Published: May 2016

To become and maintain being physically active encompasses more than purely mindful and rational decision‐making. Physical activity requires theoretical‐methodological approaches that provide more subtle understandings of the variety of contextual factors. Nettleton and Green have recently argued persuasively for the need for the sociology of public health to embrace social practices. It is also necessary to think about the spaces, affects and technologies of engagement in physical exercise. This article examines the practices of recreational runners in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The article has three aims; (i) to draw attention to the promise of non‐representational theory as an additive for health research and the contextual factors of health practices, (ii) to examine recreational runner's practices and techniques of engagement in light of non‐representational theory, and (iii) to highlight how interventions in Sofia and beyond can incorporate elements of non‐representational theory into their strategies for improved public health. In drawing attention to the promise of non‐representational theory and social practices this article concludes by emphasising their importance for public health interventions in physical activity strategies.
Effects of pH and Salts on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Pea Starch Films
Authors: Choi W.S. , Patel D. , Han J.H.
Published: May 2016

To identify the significant contribution of intermolecular hydrogen bonds of starch molecules to the film structure formation, pH of film‐forming solutions was adjusted and also various salts (NaCl, CaCl2, CaSO4, and K2SO4) were mixed into the glycerol‐plasticized pea starch film. The film made from pH 7 possessed the highest tensile strength‐at‐break (2 times) and elastic modulus (4 to 15 times) and the lowest elongation‐at‐break compared with those of the films made from acid and alkali environments. The pH 7 film also has the highest film density and the lowest total soluble matter. At the level of 0.01 to 0.1 M of CaSO4 and 0.1 M of K2SO4 in a kilogram of starch, the water solubility of the film increased, while chloride salts slightly lowered the solubility. NaCl and CaSO4 reduced water vapor permeability (WVP), while CaCl2 slightly increased WVP at 0.01 and 0.06 M concentrations, and K2SO4 significantly increased WVP at 0.03 and 0.15 M. Presence of salts increased tensile strength (5 to 14 times than the control films) and elastic modulus (35 to 180 times) of starch film at 0.01 to 0.03 M of CaSO4 and K2SO4. Elongation‐at‐break increased significantly as salt concentration increases to an optimal level. However, when the concentration exceeded above the optimal level, the E of starch films decreased and showed no significant difference from the control film. Overall, the addition of salts modified physical and mechanical properties of pea starch films more than pH adjustment without any salt addition.
Chemical Profiling Using Uplc Q‐Tof/Ms and Antioxidant Activities of Fortunella Fruits
Authors: Tan Si , Zhao Xijuan , Yang Ying , Ke Zunli , Zhou Zhiqin
Published: May 2016

The fruits of Fortunella Swingle are widely consumed as fresh fruits and traditional medicine in China. China is the origin center and has the largest cultivated area of the genus Fortunella. In this study, the chemical compositions of ethanol extracts of the major Fortunella cultivated types including Fortunella japonica Swingle, Fortunella margarita Swingle, Fortunella crassifolia Swingle 1 (Lanshang) and Fortunella crassifolia Swingle 2 (Liuyang) were determined using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UPLC Q‐TOF/MS) method, and their antioxidant activities were evaluated. 12 compounds were identified and 5 compounds were tentatively characterized. The results showed that the chemical compositions of the ethanol extracts of 4 Fortunella cultivated types were largely the same. 3′, 5′‐di‐C‐glucopyranosylphloretin was the predominant flavonoid in Fortunella fruits, and Fortunella margarita Swingle had higher contents of flavonoids than other species. In addition, the data demonstrated high antioxidant activities of Fortunella fruits. The developed method could be available to rapidly analyze the chemical compounds in Fortunella fruits and its products. This study will provide information for further quality assessment and utilization of Fortunella resources.