bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Crystal structures and the Hirshfeld surface analysis of (E)-4-nitro-N′-(o-chloro, o- and p-methylbenzylidene)benzenesulfonohydrazides
Authors: Salian Akshatha R. , Foro Sabine , Gowda B. Thimme
Published: November 2018

The crystal structures of (E)-N′-(2-chlorobenzylidene)-4-nitrobenzenesulfonohydrazide, C13H10ClN3O4S (I), (E)-N′-(2-methylbenzylidene)-4-nitrobenzenesulfonohydrazide, C14H13N3O4S (II), and (E)-N′-(4-methylbenzylidene)-4-nitrobenzenesulfonohydrazide monohydrate, C14H13N3O4S·H2O (III), have been synthesized, characterized and their crystal structures determined to study the effects of the nature and sites of substitutions on the structural parameters and the hydrogen-bonding interactions. All three compounds crystallize in the monoclinic crystal system, with space group P21 for (I) and P21/c for (II) and (III). Compound (III) crystallizes as a monohydrate. All three compounds adopt an E configuration around the C=N bond. The molecules are bent at the S atom with C—S—N—N torsion angles of −59.0 (3), 58.0 (2) and −70.2 (1)° in (I), (II) and (III), respectively. The sulfonohydrazide parts are also non-linear, as is evident from the S—N—N—C torsional angles of 159.3 (3), −164.2 (1) and 152.3 (1)° in (I), (II) and (III), respectively, while the hydrazide parts are almost planar with the N—N=C—C torsion angles being −179.1 (3)° in (I), 176.7 (2)° in (II) and 175.0 (2)° in (III). The 4-nitro-substituted phenylsulfonyl and 2/4-substituted benzylidene rings are inclined to each other by 81.1 (1)° in (I), 81.4 (1)° in (II) and 74.4 (1)° in (III). The compounds show differences in hydrogen-bonding interactions. In the crystal of (I), molecules are linked via N—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming C(4) chains along the a-axis direction that are interconnected by weak C—H...O hydrogen bonds, generating layers parallel to the ac plane. In the crystal of (II), the amino H atom shows bifurcated N—H...O(O) hydrogen bonding with both O atoms of the nitro group generating C(9) chains along the b-axis direction. The chains are linked by weak C—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional framework. In the crystal of (III), molecules are linked by Ow—H...O, N—H...Ow and C—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming layers lying parallel to the bc plane. The fingerprint plots generated for the three compounds show that for (I) and (II) the O...H/H...O contacts make the largest contributions, while for the para-substituted compound (III), H...H contacts are the major contributors to the Hirshfeld surfaces.
Design of parallel adaptive extended Kalman filter for online estimation of noise covariance
Authors: Xiong Kai , Liu Liangdong
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The successful use of the standard extended Kalman filter (EKF) is restricted by the requirement on the statistics information of the measurement noise. The covariance of the measurement noise may deviate from its nominal value in practical environment, and the filtering performance may decline because of the statistical uncertainty. Although the adaptive EKF (AEKF) is available for recursive covariance estimation, it is often less accurate than the EKF with accurate noise statistics.

Design/methodology/approach

Aiming at this problem, this paper develops a parallel adaptive EKF (PAEKF) by combining the EKF and the AEKF with an adaptive law, such that the final state estimate is dominated by the EKF when the prior noise covariance is accurate, while the AEKF is activated when the actual noise covariance deviates from its nominal value.

Findings

The PAEKF can reduce the sensitivity of the algorithm to the model uncertainty and ensure the estimation accuracy in the normal case. The simulation results demonstrate that the PAEKF has the advantage of both the AEKF and the EKF.

Practical implications

The presented algorithm is applicable for spacecraft relative attitude and position estimation.

Originality/value

The PAEKF is presented for a kind of nonlinear uncertain systems. Stability analysis is provided to show that the error of the estimator is bounded under certain assumptions.
Applying a SWOT analysis to inform educational provision of learners on the autism spectrum
Authors: Sciberras Claire
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Requests for increased support within mainstream school settings within the field of autism tend to take place across most international educational scenarios. In light of such recommendation, the purpose of this paper is to outline how the implementation of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis within educational settings might be beneficial in order to improve the support provided for learners on the autism spectrum (AS).

Design/methodology/approach

Although a SWOT analysis framework is generally carried out in corporate domains for companies and firms to investigate their competitive impact within the marketplace so as to develop future concepts, this analysis structure may also be usefully applied within educational settings so as to inform practice.

Findings

If implemented in an effective manner, a SWOT analysis will potentially provide a comprehensive synopsis of the issues and concerns which are relevant for considering and evolving the provision of support for students. Indeed, it will enable educational environments to enhance their strengths so as to increase appropriate opportunities and address the weaknesses within their services in order to potentially overcome their barriers and enhance the quality of life of learners on the spectrum.

Originality/value

This paper includes the viewpoint of the author in relation to a SWOT analysis so as to inform practice for learners on the AS.
The role of perceived benefits and personality traits on mobile instant messaging users’ responses
Authors: Padmavathy Chandrasekaran , Lee Seonjeong (Ally) , Pattusamy Murugan , Dey Mukesh Kumar , Swapana Murali
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Mobile instant messaging (MIM) applications have grown profusely worldwide in recent years in tandem with increased smartphone usage. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among perceived benefits, personality traits, MIM satisfaction, and social capital responses.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses partial least squares-SEM to investigate proposed hypotheses based on a sample of 1,519 WhatsApp users.

Findings

The results indicate that perceived benefits of MIM and personality traits have a positive influence on MIM satisfaction; and MIM satisfaction in turn has a positive effect on users’ social capital responses. MIM satisfaction partially mediates the relationships between perceived benefits, traits, and social capital. Additionally, the results indicate positive significant effect of Gen X and Y on social capital among other control variables.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on MIM. The results also provide important implications for MIM application developers and instigate future research in the MIM platform.

Originality/value

This study is the first attempt in integrating perceived benefits, personality traits, and social capital in MIM literature.
Do fellow-feelings and organisational harmony matter for logistic firms?
Authors: Khan Jashim , Rivers Gary , Gaur Sonjaya S. , Quazi Ali , Zuo Na , Bhatia Sunil D.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the mediating role of organisational harmony and fellow-feelings in the relationship between intelligence generations, dissemination and implementation on business performance and explain how market orientation impacts certain aspects of organisational behaviour which in turn lead to the performance of service firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The data set comprises 108 responses of senior managers within the logistics sector. The multi-level sequential mediation path analysis is used to examine the above mediating role.

Findings

Results indicate that intelligence dissemination (ID), response implementation (RI) and business performance relationship is significantly mediated via fellow-feelings and organisational harmony. However, the relationship between dissemination, implementation and overall business performance is mostly mediated by fellow-feelings and followed by organisational harmony. Furthermore, when overall market orientation (intelligence generation, dissemination and RI) is used as a determinant of business performance, organsiational harmony emerged as the most significant contributor to organsiational performance.

Practical implications

Managers are urged to focus on building fellow-feelings among their employees, resulting in a harmonious work environment between functional units and market orientation organisation wide.

Originality/value

Compared to previous research, this is one of the first attempts to develop an understanding of fellow-feelings, contributing to organsiational harmony resulting market orientation and, hence, business performance. Market orientation conceptualisations lump intelligence generation, dissemination and RI of business activities together but do not explain how market orientation impacts fellow-feelings and organisational harmony which in turn leads to performance. The authors specifically address this important lacuna in our conceptualisation and propose that ID and RI lead to fellow-feelings within functional departments and results in organisational harmony.
Management control and public sector performance management
Authors: van Helden Jan , Reichard Christoph
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether and how evolving ideas about management control (MC) emerge in research about public sector performance management (PSPM).

Design/methodology/approach

This is a literature review on PSPM research through using a set of key terms derived from a review of recent developments in MC.

Findings

MC research, originating in the management accounting discipline, is largely disconnected from PSPM research as part of public administration and public management disciplines. Overlaps between MC and PSPM research are visible in a cybernetic control approach, control variety and contingency-based reasoning. Both academic communities share an understanding of certain issues, although under diverging labels, especially enabling controls or, in a more general sense, usable performance controls, horizontal controls and control packaging. Specific MC concepts are valuable for future PSPM research, i.e. trust as a complement of performance-based controls in complex settings, and strategy as a variable in contingency-based studies.

Research limitations/implications

Breaking the boundaries between two currently remote research disciplines, on the one hand, might dismantle “would-be” innovations in one of these disciplines, and, on the other hand, may provide a fertile soil for mutual transfer of knowledge. A limitation of the authors’ review of PSPM research is that it may insufficiently cover research published in the public sector accounting journals, which could be an outlet for MC-inspired PSPM research.

Originality/value

The paper unravels the “apparent” and “real” differences between MC and PSPM research, and, in doing so, takes the detected “real” differences as a starting point for discussing in what ways PSPM research can benefit from MC achievements.
Relevance of corporate boards in driving performance in the period that covers financial crisis
Authors: Duppati Geeta Rani , Scrimgeour Frank , Sune Albert
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the relevance of boards in driving firm level performance. For this purpose, it considers firms listed on Ireland and Spain stock exchanges for the period 2005 to 2014, over a period that includes the global financial crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses panel data regression analysis to analyse the effects of board characteristics on performance and also uses alternate model specifications to test the significance of robustness of relationships.

Findings

The impact of board size on performance is negative and significant for Irish and Spanish firms for the study period. In general, the board independence has a positive effect on the performance of Spanish firms for the complete study period and suggests consistency with the resource dependency theory.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis suggests that in general, the non-executive and the board size do not affect the corporate performance of Irish and Spanish firms during the financial crisis. The fixed effects model suggests positive effects of gender diversity on performance for Spanish firms, while the random effects indicates negative relationship between gender diversity and performance for Irish companies.

Practical implications

The evidence on the Spanish firms suggests that female representation on the boards may be critical during the financial crisis

Social implications

The quota legislation on female board representation in Spain is yielding superior results over the soft law approach by Irish firms during the times of financial crisis period.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on the corporate governance practices and performance of two countries that were strongly affected by the crisis in the European Union. As governments increasingly contemplate board gender diversity policies, this study offers useful empirical insights on Spanish and Irish firms.
“Anjaneya” health drink: re-positioning dilemma
Authors: Sharma Aasha Jayant , Sonwaney Vandana Prashant
Published: November 2018

Learning outcomes

The students will get a hands on research techniques like mental mapping, laddering and means end chain (MEC) model for value proposition and survey techniques.

Case overview/synopsis

Market Research has always acted as one of the major driving force behind the successful launch of any product in any market. There are several evidences of how market research and thorough understanding of the consumers in and out has lead companies reach new peaks and acquire market share. This case deals with a company called Eco-Remedies, based in Nashik, India, which is in the business of providing eco-solutions to different health ailments and also general purpose health supplements like health drinks. The major concentration is on the product called “AnjaNeya-The Graviola fruit drink” from Eco-Remedies, where in different research techniques were used to gather information so that appropriate strategies could be implemented in order to increase the market share of the product and create a strong position in the minds of the customers. The case deals with gathering consumer insights and then developing appropriate positioning strategies for Eco remedies based on consumer value proposition using the MEC theory, mental mapping, blind tests and general consumer survey.

Complexity academic level

The study is applicable to Masters level Marketing Management and Marketing Research Studies.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject Code

Marketing.
Chandra Shekhar Ghosh: founding Bandhan
Authors: Ghosh Dastidar Surajit
Published: November 2018

Learning outcomes

To understand social entrepreneurship and a social entrepreneur; to identify a social problem and develop a business idea; to understand the theory of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition; and to understand microfinance and its impact in the lives of the poor.

Case overview/synopsis

The case traces the journey of its founder Chandra Shekhar Ghosh from being a small time entrepreneur in microfinance to being the owner of a universal bank named Bandhan. Bandhan bank started its operations on August 23, 2015 with 501 branches, 2022 service center and 50 ATMs across 24 states. It had 14.3 million accounts, around 105 billion loan book and 19,500 employees. The founder of Bandhan bank, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, an Ashoka fellow had won numerous awards such as Entrepreneur with Social Impact Award by Forbes (2014), Entrepreneur of the Year by Economic Times (2014), Skoch Financial Inclusion Award (2011), Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2014) by AIMA to name a few. In 2014, Bandhan was also recognized as Global Growth Company by World Economic Forum.

Complexity academic level

The case is suitable for analysis in a MBA level course on social entrepreneurship.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
Participatory predictors of users’ satisfaction with housing infrastructure in Akure, Nigeria
Authors: Fakere Alexander Adeyemi , Folorunso Clement Oluwole , Arayela Olatunde , Adedeji Yomi Michael
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper is based on users’ satisfaction with housing infrastructure as a derivative of their participation in evolving the facilities from inception. The paper aims to examine optimal performance of infrastructural facilities with a view to determine the satisfaction of users in the study area.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reports on a cross-sectional doctoral research study on 304 household heads in the transitional and peripheral zones of Akure, Nigeria. The infrastructure studied were water supply, electricity supply, roads, drainage, waste management and security. A structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and physical observations were used. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, mean satisfaction scoring and categorical regression analysis.

Findings

Respondents found the infrastructural facilities in their communities to be unsatisfactory; they also indicated low levels of participation in the provision of infrastructure. Residents were most satisfied with waste management and least satisfied with water supply. The results showed a significant relationship between users’ participation and satisfaction with housing infrastructure.

Practical implications

The findings imply that giving adequate attention to users’ involvement in the provision process of infrastructural projects can enhance their satisfaction with infrastructure.

Originality/value

The study highlights the benefits of involving users in the process of providing housing infrastructure, establishing a positive relation with their satisfaction.
Promoting health literacy: sixth graders working in partnership with the local pharmacy
Authors: Kärkkäinen Sirpa , Kukkonen Jari , Kontturi Sirpa , Keinonen Tuula
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. The purpose of this paper is to focus on sixth graders’ (N=21, aged 13–14) health literacy, particularly in relation to the rational use of medicines and the role of pharmacies.

Design/methodology/approach

The socio-scientific issues (SSI) approach by way of the three-stage model, the stages being scenario, inquiry and decision making, was adopted in this intervention study. The study was a qualitative case study and data consisted of cartoons, audio recordings of group discussions and group interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis.

Findings

At the beginning of the intervention, pupils possessed detailed information about the rational use of medicines; however, they did not refer to the role of pharmacy as a source of medicine information which they did after the intervention. They were also more aware particularly how to store and dispose of unnecessary medicines. Their theoretical and practical knowledge related to pharmacy careers and production of medicines was enhanced.

Practical implications

The SSI approach by way of the three-stage model provides an excellent opportunity to schools for local co-operation with the community and familiarization with the careers. Moreover, it offers the possibility to enhance pupils’ health literacy.

Originality/value

The SSI approach is so far less implemented in the context of medicine education and to improve health literacy.
Silicone oil based softeners including different additives
Authors: Balci Onur , Kinoglu Gözde Özlem , Sancar Besen Burcu
Published: November 2018

Purpose

In this study, which is divided into two parts, the silicone softeners having different properties and including different additives as glycerin, polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) and polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG 4000) (due to their high hydrophilic characters) are produced for the purpose of providing or developing the hydrophilic character, lubricity and filling properties of the emulsions. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

In the first part of the study, the produced silicone emulsions were characterized and applied to the 100 percent cotton-knitted fabrics. In addition, the mechanical properties and whiteness degrees of the fabrics were also researched. In this part of the study, the effects of the produced silicone softeners on the comfort properties of the fabric samples were investigated by qualitative handle, hydrophility, contact angle, air permeability, thermal comfort and moisture management tests.

Findings

The results showed that while classic silicone application improved mechanical comfort properties of the samples such as the handle and drape properties, they worsened other thermal comfort properties as hydrophility, transfer or dispersion of the moisture, and air permeability. In addition, the thermal comfort properties about heat transfer of the fabric samples were not significantly affected by application of the silicone softeners. All results were affected from the producing recipe of the silicone softeners, and generally the usage of the additives had positive effect on the comfort results depending on the producing recipe (especially type of the silicone oil) of the silicone softeners.

Research limitations/implications

In this study, the additives were used in single form; however, their dual or trio combinations and/or their different amounts can be used in the emulsions.

Practical implications

In order to enhance the hydrophilic character, lubricity and filling properties of the silicone softeners, they could be produced by using appropriate additives.

Originality/value

In the literature, there were not any studies about the silicone softeners including different additives. So the authors can say that the contribution of the additives to the recipes of the silicone softeners is a novel approach.
Damage functions for transport infrastructure
Authors: Habermann Nadine , Hedel Ralf
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Damage functions constitute an essential part of the modelling of critical infrastructure (CI) performance under the influence of climate events. This paper aims to compile and discuss publications comprising damage functions for transport assets.

Design/methodology/approach

The research included the collection of contemplable literature and the subsequent screening for damage functions and information on them. In conclusion, the derived damage curves and formulae were transferred to a unified design.

Findings

Damage functions for the transport sector are scarce in the literature. Although specific damage functions for particular transport assets exist, they mainly consider infrastructure or transport in general. Occasionally, damage curves for the same asset in different publications vary. Major research gaps persist in wildfire damage estimation.

Research limitations/implications

The study scope was restricted to the hazards of fluvial floods and wildfires. Despite all efforts, this study did not cover all existing literature on the topic.

Originality/value

This publication summarises the state of the art of research concerning transport asset damage functions, and hence contributes to the facilitation of prospective research on CI performance, resilience and vulnerability modelling.
The impact of abstract thinking on entrepreneurial intentions
Authors: Bazzy Joshua D. , Smith Adam R. , Harrison Teresa
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test a theoretical model examining the potential impact of abstract thinking on entrepreneurial intentions (EI). The impact of perceived desirability of entrepreneurship on the relationship between abstraction and intentions was also examined.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 155 participants completed measures of abstraction, self-efficacy, desirability and EI. Hierarchical regression was used. A bootstrapping approach was utilized to test for mediation.

Findings

High levels of abstraction were positively related to EI, while also interacting with self-efficacy. High levels of abstraction counteracted otherwise low levels of self-efficacy, resulting in subsequently higher intentions. The perceived desirability of entrepreneurship mediated the relationship between abstraction and EI.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of analysis and student population sample may limit generalizability.

Practical implications

The results identify a cognitive process that may help individuals overcome feasibility concerns. Entrepreneurial training programs might choose to instruct individuals that, when encountering a roadblock, they should focus on their ideals and the bigger picture rather than being discouraged by the challenges of the process.

Originality/value

The results provide insight into the psychological processes that lead individuals to become entrepreneurs. The study helps in explaining the mechanism by which a tendency toward abstract thinking leads to stronger EI and identifies an additional antecedent to individuals’ perceptions of desirability toward entrepreneurship.
Oil and agricultural commodity prices in Nigeria
Authors: Fasanya Ismail Olaleke , Odudu Temitope Festus , Adekoya Oluwasegun
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to model the relationship between oil price and six major agricultural commodity prices using monthly data from January 1997 to December 2016.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use both the linear autoregressive distributed lag by Pesaran et al. (2001) and the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag by Shin et al. (2014), and they also account for structural breaks using the Bai and Perron (2003) test that allows for multiple structural changes in regression models.

Findings

These findings are discernible from the authors’ analyses. First, the linear analysis indicates a significant positive effect of oil prices on the agricultural commodity prices, which supports evidence on the non-neutrality hypothesis. Second, oil price asymmetries seem to matter more when dealing with agricultural commodity prices, except for groundnut. Third, it may be necessary to pre-test for structural breaks when modelling the relationship between oil price and agricultural prices regardless of the commodity being analysed. Fourth, the asymmetric effect for the agricultural commodity prices is non-neutral to oil prices, except for rice in the case of structural breaks.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the on-going debate on the oil–agricultural commodity nexus using the recent technique of asymmetry and also considering the role structural breaks play in the relationship between oil price and agricultural commodity prices.
Mind the perception gap
Authors: Lu Dawei , Asian Sobhan , Ertek Gurdal , Sevinc Mete
Published: November 2018

Purpose

A perception gap refers to the differences in perception among the stakeholders regarding any aspect of the supply chain relationship. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perception gap among service supply chain partners relating to the relative importance of key performance indicators (KPIs) and the association of this gap with service performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an integrative framework that combines statistical methods and data envelopment analysis for computing perception and performance gaps, and for identifying the association between the gaps. The study follows a middle-range theorizing research approach where general inferences are induced from instances, and a theory can be developed from the observation of empirical reality.

Findings

Analysis of data from a leading global insurance service supply chain suggests that perception gap exists and can be recognised as a factor associated with performance gaps. The results suggest that the perception gap not only affects performance but can also be tracked as a meta-KPI to improve performance throughout the service supply chain.

Practical implications

The key implication of the presented research is that service companies can identify and resolve the differences in perceptions regarding the importance of the KPIs, by methodologically computing the gaps and tracking them as meta-KPIs.

Originality/value

The study extends the theoretical boundary of supply chain performance management by introducing the perception and performance gaps as novel meta-KPIs. These meta-KPIs can be computed through the integrative framework developed in the study.
Sustainable development concept in the chemistry curriculum
Authors: Kanapathy Suganty , Lee Khai Ern , Sivapalan Subarna , Mokhtar Mazlin , Syed Zakaria Sharifah Zarina , Mohd Zahidi Azizah
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of foundation chemistry learners concerning the sustainable development concept.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative and quantitative studies were conducted. Atlas.ti software was used to analyse the chemistry curriculum based on selected themes and sub-themes. A survey was carried out involving 132 chemistry learners. The chemistry learners were students from a foundation programme in a local university located in Selangor, Malaysia. The collected data were analysed using SPSS 21.0 involving descriptive and inferential statistics.

Findings

Document analysis on the chemistry curriculum shows that water is the theme most covered in the chemistry learners’ textbook, as compared to other themes. In general, the chemistry learners have good knowledge and attitude concerning the sustainable development concept. However, their knowledge and attitude do not reflect in their behaviour as an individual, as well as in the classroom. Moreover, their knowledge, attitude and behaviour focus more on environmental dimension, as compared to other sustainable development dimensions.

Practical implications

This paper is instrumental in assisting educators to assess how chemistry learners perceive sustainable development, and this may help to bring about changes to improve chemistry teaching and learning processes towards education for sustainable development.

Originality/value

This paper is an original and novel research paper which is first conducted on sustainable development concept in chemistry curriculum in Malaysia.
Assessment of factors influencing walkability in shopping streets of tourism cities: case of Bursa, Turkey
Authors: Vural Arslan Tulin , Durak Selen , Dizdar Gebesce Fatma , Balcik Belcin
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the principal factors affecting walkability from the viewpoint of the inhabitants of Bursa. It is intended to discover whether inhabitants’ conception of factors affecting walkability complies with the factors identified by the authors in regard to literature review.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on several studies about influencing parameters of walkability, three main factors – spatial, social, economic – can be specified affecting the desire to walk by the user. In the content of this study, a conceptual model is developed for the assessment of factors influencing walkability. In this study, two different analysis methods are applied: qualitative approach: observation survey; and quantitative approach: questionnaire survey. By utilizing the conceptual model, a questionnaire is prepared and applied to 200 pedestrians in three streets. Moreover, the questionnaire items were factor analyzed to explore the principal factors affecting walkability from the viewpoint of the inhabitants of Bursa.

Findings

In the literature review part, the factors affecting walkability are defined as accessibility, comfort and use, environmental aesthetics, safety and security and connectivity. However, as a result of the survey applied to pedestrians in Bursa, it has been revealed that the most important factors are “Accessibility,” “Comfort and Use,” “Traffic Safety,” “Crime Security” and “Connectivity,” excluding the factor “Environmental Aesthetics.”

Originality/value

There is a need for studies which assess the factors influencing the walkability in tourism cities in depth. Tourism potential in Bursa, Turkey, has raised since it has been inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2014. Therefore, walkability became one of the important issues in urban planning decisions for the streets in the historic city center in policies of the local government. The studies that assess the factors influencing walkability and the satisfaction of the pedestrians will open up new visions for urban decision makers. Within the scope of this study, existing historic city center in Bursa has been analyzed in terms of walkability.
Imagine, feel “there”, and flow! Immersive experiences on m-Facebook, and their affective and behavioural effects
Authors: Rodríguez-Ardura Inma , Meseguer-Artola Antoni
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Mobile Facebook (m-Facebook) creates many business opportunities for brands and firms while increasingly drawing interest in scientific literature. However, research is scarce on the immersive experiences prompted by m-Facebook, and how these experiences facilitate users’ engagement, their positive attitude towards Facebook and their continued use of it. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper theoretically and empirically analyses m-Facebook users’ immersive experiences, along with their affective and behavioural effects.

Findings

The results reveal the important role of imagery, presence and flow in the context of m-Facebook; the interplay between these three immersive phenomena; and the influence the user’s optimum stimulation level has on them.

Originality/value

The investigation offers a foundation for understanding users’ immersive experiences on m-Facebook, and informs practitioners who aim to enhance users’ engagement with, attitude towards, and continued use of m-Facebook content.
Creating a sustainable supply chain: the strategic foundation
Authors: Orr Stuart , Jadhav Akshay
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce a supply chain strategy for supply chain sustainability performance and explain why it is different to normal business/operations strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of supply chain managers and detailed case studies of three successful supply chain sustainability organisations identified four components of a supply chain sustainability strategy, the mechanisms behind them and how they interacted.

Findings

Sustainability leadership, supply chain member involvement in organisational sustainability initiatives, supply chain member involvement in supply chain sustainability strategy planning and technical competency were identified as the four components of a sustainable supply chain strategy. Sustainability leadership legitimises the objectives and involvement of the staff in supply chain-oriented sustainability initiatives and planning. Technical competency provides the capability and language necessary for the development of a supply chain sustainability strategy. This is different to business/operations strategy, however, parallels to other forms of strategy constructs support its ability to achieve performance improvement.

Research limitations/implications

The research is based on data from developed countries; the findings may be different for emerging economies. Potential hypotheses for future research are suggested.

Practical implications

The supply chain sustainability strategy will enable organisations to improve the sustainability of their supply chains. Its application is described in the paper.

Originality/value

The paper develops a strategy framework different to the approach taken in business/operational strategy. It indicates how the sustainability performance of supply chains external to the organisation is increased through their interconnectedness with the organisation.
The web of host–guest connections on Airbnb: a network perspective
Authors: Teubner Timm
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore Airbnb’s inherent network structure emerging from transactions between hosts and guests and provide comprehensive background information on the underlying data basis.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on actual Airbnb data from 16 major US cities (Asheville, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Seattle and Washington DC), available at InsideAirbnb.com, comprising a total of 135 thousand listings and 2.7 million transactions. The data are transformed into a graph and analyzed from a network perspective.

Findings

The web of host–guest connections on Airbnb represents a omniferous graph, that is, connecting virtually all users via relatively short distances. Hosts and guests differ markedly with regard to degree distribution. Overall, 98 per cent of all transactions represent first-time encounters.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides first insights into the very fabric of host–guest interactions on Airbnb from a macroscopic perspective. The platform’s network topology may be leveraged as a resource for trust-building between users. Moreover, platform operators may use network analyses to gain deeper insights into their user base. These may in turn be used to identify determinants of side-switching, deter users from platform circumvention or for churn prevention.

Originality/value

Platform ecosystems continue to expand and gain increasing economic, social and societal importance. For C2C platforms with two compartmentalized and decentral market sides (i.e. many individual providers and many individual consumers), the emerging transactional network structure has, thus, far experience almost no research attention. This analysis of Airbnb’s web of host–guest connections reveals a topology some archetypical social network properties (e.g. short distances). This structure and the knowledge about users’ positions therein yields viable cues for trust-building as well as a valuable resource for (platform) business analytics.
Success factors of high performance organization transformations
Authors: de Waal André
Published: November 2018

Purpose

When an organization becomes a high performance organization (HPO), it is able to outperform comparable organizations for an extended period of time, thereby ensuring its long-term survival. It is therefore imperative for these organizations embarking on an HPO transformation to be aware of the factors that will help make this transformation successful. Unfortunately the current literature does not provide these factors; one can only find factors influencing large-scale transformations. It could be argued that becoming an HPO is a large-scale transformation, but this leaves the question open whether there are specific factors that are important for this specific type of transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

The purpose of this paper is to answer the research question “What are the main factors which theoretically and in practice best support a successful HPO transformation?” This question was answered using the results of a review of the literature on large-scale transformations and a review on the applications of de Waal’s HPO Framework in practice.

Findings

Eleven theoretical and eight practical success factors were found. These factors matched for 63.6 per cent, indicating there is a moderate overlap between what the theory predicts and what can be noticed in practice. In addition, the practical cases indicated there are two success factors that are specifically important for an HPO transformation.

Originality/value

The study results contribute to the theory, as they show what is and is not important for a specific large-scale transformation such as an organization transforming into an HPO. The practical contribution of the study lies in the fact that organizations now know which factors to pay attention to in order to increase their chances on a successful HPO transformation.
Board and corporate social responsibility disclosure of multinational corporations
Authors: Pham Hanh Thi Song , Tran Hien Thi
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the effects of board model and board independence on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure of multinational corporations (MNCs).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors developed an empirical model in which CSR disclosure is the dependent variable and board model (two-tier vs one-tier), board independence (a proportion of independent directors on a board) and the interaction variable of board model and board independence together with several variables conventionally used as control variables are independent variables. The authors collated the panel dataset of 244 Fortune World’s Most Admired (FWMA) corporations from 2005 to 2011 of which 117 MNCs use the one-tier board model, and 127 MNCs use the two-tier board model from 20 countries. They used the random-effect regression method to estimate the empirical models with the data they collated and also ran regressions on the alternative models for robustness check.

Findings

The authors found a significantly positive effect of a board model on CSR disclosure by MNCs. Two-tier MNCs tend to reveal more CSR information than one-tier MNCs. The results also confirm the significant moderating impact of board model on the effect of board independence on CSR disclosure. The effect of board independence on CSR disclosure in the two-tier board MNCs tends to be higher than that in the one-tier board MNCs. The results do not support the effect of board independence on CSR disclosure in general for all types of firms (one-tier and two-tier board). The impact of board independence on CSR disclosure is only significant in two-tier board MNCs and insignificant in one-tier board MNCs.

Practical implications

The authors advise the MNCs who wish to improve CSR reporting and transparency to consider the usage of two-tier board model and use a higher number of outside directors on board. They note that once a firm uses one-tier model, number of IDs on a board does not matter to the level of CSR disclosure. They advise regulators to enforce an application of two-tier board model to improve CSR reporting and transparency in MNCs. The authors also recommend regulators to continue mandating publicly traded companies to include more external members on their boards, especially for the two-tier board MNCs.

Originality/value

This paper is the first that investigates the role of board model on CSR disclosure of MNCs.
Role of cloud ERP and big data on firm performance: a dynamic capability view theory perspective
Authors: Gupta Shivam , Qian Xiaoyan , Bhushan Bharat , Luo Zongwei
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Technological developments have made it possible for organizations to use enterprise resource planning (ERP) services without indulging in heavy investments like IT infrastructure, trained manpower for implementation and maintenance and updating the systems regularly to maintain business competitiveness. Plug and play model offered by cloud ERP has led to a constant creation of large data sets which are structured, semi-structured and unstructured by nature. Thus, there has been a need to analyze such complex data sets and the purpose of this paper is to focus on how cloud ERP and big data predictive analytics (BDPA) will impact the performance of a firm.

Design/methodology/approach

A dynamic capability view (DCV) theory-based model was developed and the authors have collected data by using an online questionnaire from India. Thereafter, the authors have analyzed it by employing structural equation modeling.

Findings

SEM analysis of 231 respondents showcases that the use of DCV theory to define the relationships of cloud ERP and BDPA has been the right move. Out of the 13 hypotheses empirically tested, only 7 hypotheses were supported by the data.

Research limitations/implications

The study showcases cross-sectional data from India. It would be interesting for this study to see if the country-level differences would influence these relationships between cloud ERP and financial performance, BDPA and financial performance and cloud ERP and BDPA.

Originality/value

This study empirically tests the relationship of cloud ERP and BDPA through a model based on DCV theory.
How do institutional investors respond to patent announcements?
Authors: Lantushenko Viktoriya , Nelling Edward F.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine institutional investor demand for shares of firms that announce patents.

Design/methodology/approach

There are three important dates in the process of obtaining a patent. First, a patent filer requests the right for intellectual property on the application date. Next, the content of a patent becomes publicly available on the publication date, if authorized by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Third, once the patent is validated, it is issued on the grant date. The authors focus on the publication date, as it marks the time when the patent-specific information is disclosed to public. In a regression framework, the authors analyze how institutional investors respond to patent publications.

Findings

The authors document a significant increase in institutional demand for a firm’s shares around patent announcements. Institutional investors react more strongly to patent publications announced by firms that have published frequently in the past. The increase in demand is also greater when the firm’s shareholder base consists of a higher percentage of long-term institutions. Institutional trading around patent announcements is associated with higher levels of stock price informativeness. In addition, firms that announce patents exhibit long-term outperformance relative to a control sample. Overall, the results suggest that institutional trading conveys information about the value of patents.

Originality/value

This study is the first to explore changes in institutional demand around patent publications and to show that such events attract institutional investors and have an impact on shareholder wealth, price informativeness and liquidity.