bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adolescents' views about an internet platform for adolescents with mental health problems
Authors: Havas Jano , de Nooijer Jascha , Crutzen Rik , Feron Frans
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the needs and views of adolescents regarding the development of online support for mental health problems.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi‐structured qualitative focus group interviews were conducted with ten groups of Dutch adolescents (n=106), aged 12‐19 years, from four urban secondary schools offering different levels of education in the Southeastern part of The Netherlands. Interviews were verbally transcribed and analysed with Nvivo, using a classification based on the research questions.

Findings

The participants reported that they searched on the internet to get information or help for some mental health problems. They also expressed the need for a youth healthcare website offering information, self‐tests and anonymous help. They had different ideas about the layout of such a website, which were related to their educational level. Reliability of such a website was an important issue.

Practical implications

Adolescents reported a distinct need for online information and help for mental health problems. Youth healthcare organisations could meet this need by creating an innovative additional assistance method. These organisations should cooperate with website developers, taking into account that adolescents with different levels of education have different preferences regarding the interventions for online information and help.

Originality/value

This paper provides a conclusive examination of the needs and views of adolescents regarding development of online support for mental health problems.
Development of professional confidence in health education
Authors: Hecimovich Mark , Volet Simone
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review critically the published research investigating how guided practice into the profession contributes to increased professional confidence in health care students, with a view to identifying its impact on the development of professional confidence.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature search was performed using MEDLINE and ERIC (1980‐2009), which identified guided practice into the profession as being the most commonly examined educational opportunity increasing professional confidence. Empirical studies that had rigorous research design and methods were selected for in‐depth review. However, in light of the paucity of the extant research, a few studies reporting anecdotal accounts of the development of professional confidence through guided practice were also included.

Findings

The review revealed how guided practice into the profession can contribute significantly to students' development of professional confidence. The review also points to arguable relationships between confidence and competence and the importance of better understanding and addressing the issue of under‐ and over‐confidence. The review highlights when evidence of the effectiveness of learning opportunities was insufficient or unreliable, with some directions for future research.

Research limitations/implications

The review was based on a selection of papers most representative of research examining the effectiveness of guided professional practice learning opportunities to promote the development of professional confidence, and therefore is not a systematic review of all the extant literature.

Originality/value

It provides insight into the conditions under which guided practice into the profession can contribute to enhancing professional confidence, which is important, given the nature of its relationship with professional competence.
Employees' perceptions of cycle commuting: a qualitative study
Authors: van Bekkum Jennifer E. , Williams Joanne M. , Graham Morris Paul
Published: April 2011

Purpose

This study aims to provide an in‐depth individual level understanding of the psychological factors that affect cycle commuting.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 15 participants (eight cycle commuters and seven potential cycle commuters) from a “cycle‐friendly” employer based in a Scottish city took part in the study. Semi‐structured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) were used to collect and analyse data.

Findings

The present study found that cyclists are more aware of the benefits of cycle commuting than potential cyclists. Those who did not currently cycle to work displayed a heightened awareness of the challenges of cycling to work, whereas cyclists reported more coping strategies for negotiating or overcoming the challenges involved in cycle commuting. These individual cognitions are potentially modifiable through psychological interventions.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should be carried out on samples in different contexts to examine whether some of the findings would be supported in other populations.

Practical applications

The findings from this paper suggest that psychological interventions based on challenging perceptions of the benefits of and barriers to cycling may have a valuable role to play in enhancing cycle commuting rates.

Originality/value

This study uses IPA to explore the complexities of perceptions in relation to cycle commuting. It also brings to light the types of coping strategies used to enable cyclists to overcome some of their challenges associated with cycle commuting.
The lifestyle behaviours and exercise beliefs of undergraduate student nurses
Authors: Burke Eimear , McCarthy Bernard
Published: April 2011

Purpose

Only limited published research is available exploring the lifestyle practices of student nurses. The purpose of this paper is to explore the lifestyle behaviours and exercise beliefs of Irish student nurses.

Design/methodology/approach

A descriptive survey design was used. First‐year and third‐year undergraduate student nurses (n=182) studying at one Irish university participated. Data were collected by administering self‐report questionnaires.

Findings

A total of 20 per cent of the students smoked, 95 per cent consumed alcohol and 19 per cent of the females reported that they exceeded the recommended weekly safe level for alcohol consumption. In total, 73 per cent of the students reported exercising two to five times per week, and walking was the most popular exercise undertaken. The male students reported significantly higher fitness levels and exercised more on a weekly basis than the females. The students identified a range of benefits of and barriers to exercising.

Research limitations/implications

There are a number of study limitations, including: only one university setting was used; a descriptive survey approach was employed; and data were collected using self‐report questionnaires. Further studies need to be conducted with additional data collection methods to explore students' lifestyle and physical activity behaviours.

Practical implications

The university, as a setting for health promotion, must increase awareness, facilitate and encourage student nurses to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviours.

Originality/value

This survey revealed the lifestyle and exercise behaviours of Irish student nurses. Lower levels of smoking and higher levels of physical activity were found amongst these student nurses than those reported elsewhere in the literature.
Strategic brand association maps: developing brand insight
Authors: Till Brian D. , Baack Daniel , Waterman Brian
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The primary purpose of this paper is to illustrate a new methodology for gaining actionable, strategic insight into a brand's associations and its competitive uniqueness vis‐à‐vis key competitors.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors integrate free association protocols, response latency, and more conventional scale items to develop a strategic overview of a brand's associations and to depict brands' strategic meaning in a comprehensive visual presentation.

Findings

The authors show, via an example featuring peanut butter brands, how their methodology effectively uncovers associations that the market has for the brands and how strong, unique, relevant, and favorable those associations are.

Research limitations/implications

This methodology is most appropriate for four to six brands at a time.

Practical implications

The strategic brand association map process demonstrated provides managers with a very clear, consumer‐driven, strategic view of the associations their brand has, and how those associations may (or may not) be serving to differentiate their brand. Additionally, these strategic brand association maps serve as an excellent diagnostic as to the overall health of a brand and can provide actionable insight for better understanding strategic reasons why a particular brand may be under‐performing against expectations.

Originality/value

Brand associations are one of the fundamental cornerstones of brand value. Brand associations serve to differentiate and create meaning for brands. Better understanding and managing a brand's associations is a fundamental role of brand managers. This process illustrates a new way to give brand managers strategic, consumer‐driven insight into their brand's associative network.
Is the polarization index a valid measure of loyalty for evaluating changes over time?
Authors: Corsi Armando Maria , Rungie Cam , Casini Leonardo
Published: April 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to argue that the polarization index (φ) represents a valid loyalty measure for evaluating changes over time.

Design/methodology/approach

The brand performance measures (BPM) are a valid and useful tool for marketing managers in measuring the loyalty consumers attach, in a single time period, to a product or brand. However, the BPM reflect other attributes and not only loyalty. Over time, what might appear to be a change in loyalty may actually be a change in market size or market share. The polarization index (φ) is not biased in this manner and is more appropriate for evaluating changes over time. The study compares the results obtained with three well known BPM utilised for the analysis of loyalty – the purchase frequency, the share of category requirements and the repeat rate – with those obtained with the φ on the purchases of wine made by Italian consumers in the retail sector over two three‐year periods (2003‐2005 and 2006‐2008).

Findings

The study shows that the BPM are a fundamental source of information on the loyalty consumers attach to brands and products at one point in time. However, their strong relationship with market share risks providing results that do not reflect actual trends in loyalty. By comparison, φ provides a valid and useful analysis of the ways in which loyalty evolves over time.

Originality/value

Although several researchers have studied the uses of φ on one‐year and three‐year periods, none observed how the index offers more valid results than the BPM over time. The paper shows that marketing managers should always compare the results obtained with the BPM with those derived from the φ before drawing conclusions on the real loyalty trends of their products and brands.
The effect of country of origin on brand equity: an empirical study on generic drugs
Authors: Nath Sanyal Shamindra , Datta Saroj Kumar
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of country of origin image on brand equity of branded generic drugs.

Design/methodology/approach

Brand equity of branded generics is examined through an analytical review. Country of origin image is hypothesised to influence components of brand equity, i.e. brand strength and brand awareness, which in turn influence brand equity. An empirical investigation was carried out among professionally similar respondents, i.e. doctors of different categories in Kolkata megapolis, India.

Findings

Results showed that country of origin image had a positive and significant effect on components of brand equity, i.e. brand strength and brand awareness, derived from factor analysis conducted on brand equity components. The result also showed that country of origin image of branded generics significantly, but indirectly, affected brand equity through the mediating variables, brand strength and brand awareness.

Research limitations/implications

Different variables have influence on brand equity. This study dealt with only one type of variable, i.e. country of origin image, that may limit the total process of brand equity enhancement.

Practical implications

Marketing actions should be implemented to enhance brand strength and awareness levels. Country of origin image should be assessed as a multidimensional concept for enhancing brand equity. Marketers should be aware of the fact that physicians are influenced by the brand's original country image.

Originality/value

This research work has extended prior country of origin research by conceptualising the country of origin image as a brand equity enhancing tool in a new area called branded generic drugs.
Marketing from the end of the earth: the dilemma of Puerto Nativo Lodge
Authors: Santiago Jose A. , Pitta Dennis A.
Published: April 2011

Purpose

This case study aims to describe a real company created by its founders more to satisfy their desires than those of their customers.

Design/methodology/approach

The lead author traveled to Chiloe and spent an intensive period assessing the Puerto Nativo Lodge from a brand management perspective. The ultimate goal is to offer advice and direction to turn this labor of love into a prosperous operation. The material that follows details the findings and recommendations that would help achieve that objective.

Findings

Instituting brand management holds the promise of building awareness, a connection to customers and brand equity. The owners' attention to constructing the vacation experience was valuable in creating a product of interest to consumers who were aware of it. Conversely, the owners' failure to put promotional and marketing processes in place reduced the level of brand awareness and reduced the potential for sufficient volume to constitute success.

Originality/value

The paper provides a discussion of how to market a unique resort experience and uses the Puerto Nativo Lodge as a case study.
The consumer psychology of mail‐in rebates
Authors: Gourville John T. , Soman Dilip
Published: April 2011

Purpose

Mail‐in rebates are an oft used, but poorly understood mechanism to promote the purchase of a product. In particular, prior research suggests that a significant percentage of consumers who purchase a product intending to redeem an accompanying rebate, fail to do so – a phenomenon known as “slippage.” To date, however, there has been very little research designed to understand why this takes place. The authors here aim to propose that the presence of a rebate provides a consumer with the means to justify a preferred course of action. Specifically, when considering the purchase of a desired product that carries a rebate, consumers tend to generate scenarios of successful rebate redemption and fail to adequately account for things that can go wrong in the redemption process. As a result, they systematically overestimate their likelihood of rebate redemption.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conduct three laboratory experiments to test the proposed framework.

Findings

Study 1 shows that consumers overestimate their redemption likelihood because they tend to generate scenarios of successful rebate redemption and fail to adequately account for things that can go wrong in the redemption process. In studies 2 and 3, it is found that this effect is moderated by the valence and strength of one's motivation to purchase the promoted product.

Originality/value

The authors propose a new psychological account to explain consumer responses to rebate offers, and in particular study the role of motivation and elaboration. The results suggest that managers could use rebates in situations where customers need a reason to purchase, and that rebates for hedonic products are best delivered at the point‐of‐purchase.
The Multi‐Sensory Sort (MuSeS)
Authors: Cian Luca , Cervai Sara
Published: April 2011

Purpose

In the literature, there is a lack of tools able to catch the symbolic dimension of the brand image, which go beyond rational and emotional dimensions. This paper aims to find and test a new instrument, named “Multi‐Sensory Sort” (MuSeS).

Design/methodology/approach

MuSeS, a direct methodology of exploring the consumer's symbolic universe and the unconscious expectations, is composed of a set of projective techniques based on multi‐sensory stimuli.

Findings

The results showed how MuSeS allows one to collect in‐depth data, otherwise difficult to obtain through other kinds of surveys.

Practical implications

MuSeS is able to measure both the consumers' perceptions about the brand image concept (its potentials) and the characteristics that the customer wishes to find in the brand image (brand image future development).

Originality/value

Most of the tools created to investigate the brand image are based on questionnaires with attitude scales; this assumes that the brand image is a conscious and fully verbalized construct. The paper started from another assumption, trying to measure the non‐verbal and the unconscious brand image aspects, using instruments derived both from psychology and marketing.
An exploratory investigation of the theorized levels of consumer fanaticism
Authors: Thorne Scott
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a model for the behaviors of consumers engaged in fan activity and test to see if that model simulates the movement of consumers among the proposed levels of fan behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

Support for the proposed model is examined through the literature, a series of structured interviews with fans are evaluated using first qualitative, then quantitative methodologies for evidence of the hypothesized model.

Findings

The research indicates moderate support for the three‐level model first proposed by Hill et al.

Research/limitations/implications

Given the moderate support found for the model, further research could serve to offer stronger evidence, as well as to examine the extinguishing process by which a fan exits the subculture.

Practical implications

The research identifies members and levels of the fan subculture that marketing professionals should target when offering products and services aimed at those segments.

Originality/value

This paper tests a model which has previously only existed as a theory, utilizing methodologies that integrate qualitative and quantitative research.
Lexicon Rhetoricae: the narrative theory of Kenneth Burke and its application to marketing
Authors: Hershey Lewis , Branch John
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to propose Lexicon Rhetoricae, the narrative theory of Kenneth Burke from the discipline of literary criticism, as a comprehensive model which helps to explain how symbolism and nonconscious processes influence the consumption experience, and which helps to reconcile the psychology of the consumption experience with the more observable stimuli of the marketing environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Lexicon Rhetoricae distinguishes two categories of literary form – symbolic and formal appeal – which describe inputs to the literary experience. A third term, eloquence, categorizes the interaction of symbolic and formal appeals, and describes how robust that experience is.

Findings

Lexicon Rhetoricae provides: a mechanism for describing how unobservable internal psychological processes (conscious or nonconscious) might work; a method for coding observable marketer‐controlled inputs to the consumption experience; and a means for demonstrating how the unobservable processes and the observable inputs interact in the consumption experience.

Originality/value

Lexicon Rhetoricae provides a theoretical framework for categorically combining the “black box” experiences of the consumer and the perceptible marketer‐controlled variables in the marketplace.
Brand management perspectives in the twenty‐first century
Authors: Herstein Ram , Zvilling Moti
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to define the tasks of product managers from the perspective of professional brand managers and to point out the gaps between their short‐ and long‐term tasks.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper conducted two studies: the first utilized a focus group in order to define the tasks of brand managers. In the second study, 58 brand managers were interviewed using in‐depth interviews in order to define the various factors of each of the nine branding aspects. In the second phase of the second study, the participants were asked to point out gaps between the brand managers' long‐ and short‐term perspectives.

Findings

The findings indicate that the daily pressure on brand managers comes from the distributors, who are the decisive factor in the threefold connection (manufacturer‐distributor‐consumer) due to their strong position in the market and the ongoing requirement to learn from and to satisfy them significantly more than the competition.

Practical implications

The implications of the study to the brand managers' approach is that they should nurture relationships with consumers, perform more frequent market segmentations in order to identify new needs, and consequently reduce the distributors' power.

Originality/value

The importance of this research is that it provides a new definition for brand managers' tasks and copes with the real gaps between the short‐term and the long‐term perspectives of brand management, and as such supplies substantial qualitative data for better decision making in accordance with the twenty‐first century challenges of the brand managers.
Financial management practices and social reproduction
Authors: Leung Ada
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to enhance understanding of social reproduction by investigating the financial management practices carried out by the consumers. Using depth interviews, a theoretical model is developed to describe how financial management practices are carried out to facilitate the attainment of class‐specific life goals and discuss how these practices are related to social reproduction.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 22 adults aged 22‐79 were interviewed face‐to‐face. They were asked to describe their financial management practices and their perception and feelings towards their financial situation. They were also asked about the life goals and their perception of progress towards achieving the stated goals.

Findings

Different sets of financial management practices and their corresponding structural implications are identified in this study. The coping practices are the ones the working class carry out to meet mundane financial obligations, leaving little for long‐term strategizing. The balancing practices are the ones the middle class carry out to juggle hectic family lives and promising careers. With a low level of slack resources, the middle class need to make monetary trade‐off in their practices. The achieving practices are the ones that are practiced by the upper‐middle class who settle in their class position and focus on furthering the growth of self and family. The structural implications of financial management practices make the attainment of occupational status via education least accessible for the working class, but within easy reach for the upper‐middle class.

Research limitations/implications

The paper studies a convenient sample of adults in a mid‐Western city in the USA, which has a high level of racial homogeneity (i.e. White) compared with the metropolitans in the USA. Nevertheless, this study communicates the social embeddedness and structural ramifications of individual/household financial management practices.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine how class situation, with its various resource levels and differences in time horizon, influences the enactment of financial management practices, and how these micro‐processes give rise to social reproduction.
Analyzing key determinants of online repurchase intentions
Authors: Har Lee Chai , Cyril Eze Uchenna , Oly Ndubisi Nelson
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The rapid changing internet environment has created a competitive business landscape, which provides opportunities and challenges for a variety of businesses. One of these opportunities includes conducting businesses online. Online transaction systems enable users to buy and make payment for products and services using the internet platform. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that may affect consumers' intentions to repurchase products and services online.

Design/methodology/approach

The research framework is grounded in extended technology acceptance model (TAM). The authors used survey questionnaire to collect 102 valid responses from participants in Malaysia who must have made, at least, one previous online purchase. The snowball approach was used to select the participants, to ensure that participants had previously purchased online.

Findings

Data collected were analysed using regression model to determine the significance of the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The emerging results provide significant evidence in support of the eight hypotheses proposed.

Research limitations/implications

One of the limitations of this research is the relatively small sample size. Future research may use larger responses, as well as applying other relevant information system (IS) models/theories. Nonetheless, the paper provides a synthesis of extant literature relevant to the subject area, which is critical in addressing theoretical development in online‐related purchase research. In addition, the empirical results corroborate some of the existing literature, as well as contribute to the advancement of the frontier of knowledge in the field.

Practical implications

This paper provides useful information for managing online businesses, especially in developing key responses to consumers' needs and in building critical capabilities to enhance competitive position in the online marketplace.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies on online repurchase intentions in Malaysia that uses data from Malaysian consumers as well as an extended IS model. The extension of the well‐established TAM model by integrating additional variables provides researchers with a fuller model, and more theoretical options in developing frameworks, which are relevant to the specific context of the study – Malaysia.
The impact of rebranding on club member relationships
Authors: Plewa Carolin , Lu Vinh , Veale Roberta
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the response of members to a rebranding strategy implemented by a member‐owned organisation. More specifically, the authors examine the impact of rebranding awareness and attitude towards rebranding on the members' perceived value of their memberships, their satisfaction and, subsequently, their commitment to the organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

The research employed in‐depth interviews followed by a quantitative survey. Data were collected online from 264 current members of Dogs SA and data analysis employed SEM principles.

Findings

Findings demonstrate that the members' awareness of a rebranding attempt can significantly enhance perceived membership value, leading to increased levels of satisfaction. With both perceived value and satisfaction antecedents of membership commitment, the importance of such improvements cannot be underestimated.

Research limitations/implications

Despite a high response rate of 88 per cent, only ten per cent of the membership base was included in the initial sample. Limitations relate to the single context, a canine association, and single rebranding attempt examined in this paper. Only three outcome measures were included, namely membership value, satisfaction and commitment.

Practical implications

While non‐profit member‐owned organisations play an increasingly important role in our economic and social environment, participation rates are dropping in many such organisations. If they are to remain viable, the commitment of existing members must be improved. The study provides managers with important insight into a potentially powerful strategy to increase underpin membership dedication by means of satisfaction and enhanced perceived value.

Originality/value

This paper successfully integrates relationship marketing and rebranding literature domains, producing significant implications for non‐profit membership organisations.
The interaction effects of ego involvement on the relationships between aesthetics, usability and commitment
Authors: Sánchez‐Franco Manuel J. , Martín‐Velicia Félix A.
Published: April 2011

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how ego‐involvement and the design of online services may be associated with affective commitment, making the distinction between hedonic and utilitarian services.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses partial least squares to estimate the parameters of the research model.

Findings

This research reaches four conclusions. First, that visual aesthetics and usability have a significant effect on the desire to continue using online services. Second, that ego‐involvement becomes an important quasi‐moderator when engaging in web‐based relationships. Third, that perceptions of aesthetics (and usability) more significantly influence highly‐involved users' commitment to hedonic (utilitarian) online services than their commitment to instrumental (hedonic) services. Fourth, the influences of aesthetics on usability reflect the benefits that web information systems (WIS) offer.

Research limitations/implications

The model does not include all the relevant variables. Additional studies are required to validate these results.

Practical implications

This study serves to enhance the aesthetics‐usability‐commitment framework to assess the long‐term viability of online services, and to appraise its validity via utilitarian and hedonic services. Designers could customise the WIS by taking into account ego‐involvement and the site's intended purpose.

Originality/value

A review of the relationships between commitment, involvement and web atmosphere concerning hedonic and utilitarian online services reveals that there are still very few studies that analyse their quasi‐moderating effects. This research will help to fill this gap, by analysing the examples of electronic banking services and virtual travel communities to represent the utilitarian and hedonic benefits respectively.
Traditional scholarly publishers and Web 2.0: the case of Springer
Authors: Jacsó Péter
Published: April 2011

Purpose

Many traditional commercial publishers realise that they need to rejuvenate at least the interface part of their software in order to keep up with the trends in online information retrieval, and information dissemination that cannot be sufficiently limited by the software equivalent of the “No solicitation” and “No trespass” signs. This paper aims to look at the case of Springer and its attempts to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper focuses on the new version of SpringerLink (launched in August 2010) and other partially free services offered by Springer, the second largest scholarly publisher. The data reported here were collected during the first week of 2011.

Findings

The paper finds that many of the Springer services can significantly improve the efficiency of searching the SpringerLink databases. Most can be and should be directly incorporated in an upcoming release of the software. Others need more time for improvement, and to become practical and functional.

Originality/value

These recent concentrated in‐house efforts by Springer provide a good model for other scholarly publishers and online information services to make their software more state‐of‐the‐art by incorporating useful Web 2.0 features, or simply implementing pre‐web functions that have been used only by information professionals because they were user‐hostile compared with the gadgets, gizmos, and applets available these days that can do things automatically, smartly and very appealingly, but some of them can also turn out to be a pointless distraction.
Engagement in M&A deals: a best practice guide
Authors: Baynham Peter
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to explore the various practices in achieving successful cultural integration in the merger and acquisition (M&A) activity of global organizations, with a focus on factors enhancing employee engagement, viewed as a fundamental aspect of deal value and long‐term business results.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on interviews with human resource (HR) leadership, isolating best practices consistent with successful integration within the organizations.

Findings

The interviews and Mercer research helped to codify four core elements of an approach to M&A cultural integration, including employee engagement factors that were highly consistent and reinforced in the various examples.

Practical implications

Organizations that embrace this consistent approach – or variations thereof – to cultural integration in their M&A activity will improve the probability for success in creating sustainable value in the merged organizations.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful information on how to achieve cultural integration in M&A activity with sustainable value in the merged organizations.
Contextual intelligence: overcoming hindrances to performing well in times of change
Authors: Kutz Matthew
Published: April 2011

Purpose

Intelligence is the adaptation to the environment. Therefore, intelligence rests on an individual's capacity to diagnose their context and not necessarily on IQ, test performance, or intellectual ability. This means that failure to diagnose the environment accurately can lead to the kind of mistakes that have a detrimental effect on an individual and an organization.

Design/methodology/approach

This article focuses on the complexity of contextual intelligence, focusing on the behaviors that can both hinder and encourage contextual intelligence to address how to generate top performers across multiple contexts.

Findings

Leadership is becoming so nuanced and idiosyncratic it is impossible or at best difficult to lead outside of a defined context. Therefore, a new set of skills is necessary that will enable its users to perform well in a variety of contexts. Intuition is quickly becoming a commodity that can have long‐term transferable value. However, developing a reliable sense of intuition takes time. In other words, intuition is of little value without experience.

Practical implications

Top performers must be able to recognize and diagnose when the context shifts or a new context emerges and quickly adapt. Failure to adapt, even to the smallest shift, increases the risk of becoming obsolete or irrelevant.

Originality/value

In times of contextual shift, intuition becomes a very valuable asset. Practicing contextually intelligent behavior is a way to accelerate experience and eases the burden of change, perhaps even allowing an individual to perform well during a shift in context.
Action learning: reflections of a first‐time coach
Authors: Loon Hoe Siu
Published: April 2011

Purpose

In recent years, action learning has been widely adopted as a problem solving and leadership development tool. The purpose of the article is to reflect on key learning points when initiating action learning sessions and provide tips on what to expect from such sessions.

Design/methodology/approach

Documentation of the author's initial first‐hand action learning coaching experience and sharing of lessons learnt in organizing and coaching action learning sessions.

Findings

The paper offers a view on how action learning practitioners can overcome initial coaching issues to run more effective sessions.

Originality/value

This article contributes to the existing action learning literature by providing a deeper understanding of key factors affecting action learning. These factors include team member selection, role of the coach, questioning techniques and desired outcomes.
Barriers to employee training and learning in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs)
Authors: Panagiotakopoulos Antonios
Published: April 2011

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review critically the HRD literature in the small business context in order to identify the main barriers to employee training and learning and recommend ways to overcome them.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper highlights the potential barriers to training and learning among small firms, looking at organizational constraints such as lack of time or limited financial resources, as well as negative attitudes towards employee training and its importance for business survival.

Findings

The available studies indicate that better access to information on the applicability and usefulness of HRD to small firms can be crucial to overcoming the barriers to skills development that exists among such firms. The analysis suggests that a key challenge for policy makers in this area is to facilitate changes in owner attitudes, improve access to training interventions and create the necessary institutional conditions to encourage SMEs to move to high value‐added trajectories.

Practical implications

SMEs need to invest in innovation to face fierce national and international competition and achieve an above‐average return. This article provides guidance for implementation of innovation practices that may help SMEs to overcome some of the barriers to successful innovation.

Originality/value

The human resource development (HRD) literature has tended to focus on larger organizations in order to develop an understanding of workforce skills development. However, it has been acknowledged that a healthy small business sector is fundamental to every corporate economy. This article helps to explore the HRD processes in these types of organizations.
Intermediate products and the regionalization of trade
Authors: Curran Louise , Zignago Soledad
Published: April 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to exploit a new trade database to explore the extent to which trade, and the industrial division of labor which it represents, is regional in nature.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis focuses especially on intermediates trade, in three key regions – the EU, NAFTA and ASEAN+3 – which together represent 78 percent of global trade.

Findings

The results indicate that levels of regional integration in trade and changes in that integration vary by region and by direction of flow. Notably, the EU has higher levels of intra‐regional trade than the other two. These results vary by technology, with high‐tech trade less regionally biased than others.

Originality/value

Trade data has been little used in the debate on the regionalization of business activity. In addition, the paper highlights trends, not just in total trade, but within intermediate products and by technology.
The importance of rhetoric in conceptualising IS adoption
Authors: Huang Jimmy , Galliers Robert D.
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to outline the importance of organisational rhetoric as a valuable theoretical lens to examine and conceptualise IS adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a critical, yet selective, review of some relevant literature on rhetoric and IS adoption.

Findings

The paper outlines four distinctive yet interrelated elements of rhetoric, namely, different types of rhetoric and their implications; the role of stakeholders; the notion of rhetorical congruence; and rhetorical situations and strategies. These provide a means of operationalising the rhetorical dimension in researching IS adoption.

Originality/value

The paper's main contribution is to enrich the existing repertoire of IS adoption theories and perspectives by adding the dimension of rhetoric.
Scanning practices and information sources: an empirical study of firm size
Authors: Franco Mário , Haase Heiko , Magrinho André , Ramos Silva Joaquim
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the environmental scanning practices and information sources used by large companies as well as by small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), the latter being relatively absent from scientific scrutiny. In doing so, it endeavours to contribute to a better understanding of the scanning and information‐gathering behaviour of SMEs, in order to develop measures to overcome their potential disadvantages in this respect.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from 165 Portuguese firms. Respondents were required to evaluate their use of 11 different environmental scanning practices and 12 information sources. For data analysis, the variables were classified using principal component analysis. Subsequently, the retained components and variables underwent a one‐way variance analysis.

Findings

Results indicate that smaller firms do not scan as broadly and as frequently as their larger counterparts. Although external information sources are used equally by larger and smaller enterprises, in general there is also a positive relationship between the exploitation of information sources and firm size.

Research limitations/implications

Findings are taken from the Portuguese context, with its own idiosyncratic economic structure and climate. Generalisations should therefore be made with caution.

Practical implications

As the “size effect” influences the propensity for environmental scanning, SMEs are urged to adopt inter‐firm strategies in order to achieve a critical mass. The importance of building scanning and information networks among SMEs must be highlighted.

Originality/value

Research on environmental scanning in SMEs and comparative studies of the firm size effect have been relatively scarce. The findings reveal that firm size matters, insofar as the use of different scanning practices and information sources mostly augments with increasing firm size.
Market regimes, sectorial investments, and time‐varying risk premiums
Authors: Liu Peixin (Payton) , Xu Kuan , Zhao Yonggan
Published: April 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to extend the Fama and French (FF) three‐factor model in studying time‐varying risk premiums of Sector Select Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) under a Markov regime‐switching framework.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the original FF model is augmented to include three additional macro factors – market volatility, yield spread, and credit spread. Then, the FF model is extended to a model with a Markov regime switching mechanism for bull, bear, and transition market regimes.

Findings

It is found that all market regimes are persistent, with the bull market regime being the most persistent, and the bear market regime being the least persistent. Both the risk premiums of the Sector Select ETFs and their sensitivities to the risk factors are highly regime dependent.

Research limitations/implications

The regime‐switching model has a superior performance in capturing the risk sensitivities of the Sector Select ETFs, that would otherwise be missed by both the FF and the augmented FF models.

Originality/value

This is the first research on Sector Select ETFs with Markov regime switching.
Liquidity risk, credit risk, market risk and bank capital
Authors: Varotto Simone
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between liquidity and credit risk, and employ the findings to estimate the Incremental Risk Charge (IRC), the new credit risk capital add‐on introduced by the Basel Committee for banks' trading books. The IRC estimates are compared with stressed market risk measures, derived from a sample of corporate bond indices encompassing the recent financial crisis. This can determine the extent to which trading book capital would change in stress conditions, under newly proposed rules.

Design/methodology/approach

The Basel II and the proposed Basel III capital requirements for banks' trading books, with a sample of bond portfolios, are implemented.

Findings

The findings show that, although the (incremental) credit risk in the trading book may be considerable, the capital needed to absorb market risk‐related losses in stressed scenarios can be more than ten times larger.

Originality/value

The data, methodology and purpose are all original.
Exchange rate regime shift and price patterns
Authors: Andrén Niclas , Oxelheim Lars
Published: April 2011

Purpose

The financial crisis starting in 2008 made many European countries opt for a change of exchange rate regime. The choice of price measure as an entry requirement to the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and as input in the monetary policy decision process re‐appeared as an important political and research issue. This paper aims to argue that, considering the importance of producer prices in international competition, their role is underplayed by policy makers and researchers.

Design/methodology/approach

Producer prices are analyzed in the transition from national exchange‐rate regimes to the EMU for 13 two‐digit manufacturing sectors in the first 11 countries to adopt the Euro.

Findings

It was found that significant price convergence before 1993‐1998, but no or modest evidence of convergence after 1998‐2005 when the Euro was introduced. This pattern is partly different from what prior studies have found for consumer prices, and is consistent with the change of exchange rate regime to a monetary union anchoring inflation rates. A conditionalβ‐convergence analysis reveals effective exchange‐rate changes and differences in cyclicality as important determinants of price convergence, suggesting that import of inflation is an important determinant of price developments in the EMU.

Research limitations/implications

The paper concludes that considering the role of producer prices and their deviating pattern from consumer prices, producer prices are underplayed in the research and deserve more attention. It is argued that increased attention to producer prices is warranted.

Practical implications

Focusing monetary policymaking on consumer prices alone appears inefficient. Rather, then, support for the trade‐off approach in monetary policy‐making is supported.

Social implications

In considering different solutions to the financial crisis, increasing attention should be paid to the development of producer prices.

Originality/value

This is the first study to focus on producer prices in the research on the transition from a national exchange rate regime to a membership of a monetary union.