bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PDA and the humanities
Authors: Dahl Candice
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– As patron-driven acquisition (PDA) becomes increasingly popular we must consider its impact on academic libraries and their communities of researchers. Of particular interest is how successfully e-book PDA programs serve humanities scholars, as traditional representations of their information-seeking behaviours suggest that e-books are largely unsuitable for their needs. More recent investigations into the research practices of humanists suggest that this perception is not completely accurate, making it important to assess the potential fit between PDA and the humanities based on available information. This paper seeks to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on published investigations into the information-seeking behaviours of humanities scholars, e-books in libraries, and e-book PDA programs the author determined ways in which e-book PDA programs intersect with the needs and practices of humanists, as well as the points of disconnect between them.

Findings

– Humanities scholars demonstrate many information-seeking behaviours that suggest they can be well-served by e-book PDA programs. Their growing acceptance of electronic resources, significant reliance on the monographic form, heavy use of library catalogues, and the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of their work mean that e-books and PDA programs can be viewed as compatible with their needs even though print remains their preferred format.

Originality/value

– While some note the number and monetary value of humanities titles purchased through PDA, no authors have assessed the nature of PDA programs in relation to the information-seeking behaviours of humanities scholars. Such analysis is necessary to get an accurate picture of how well the humanities will be served by PDA.
Web 2.0 interactivity in open access repositories
Authors: Shafi S.M. , Gul Sumeer , Ahmad Shah Tariq
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to provide an overview of open access (OA) repositories that have embraced Web 2.0 technologies. The main focus of the paper is to explore the occurrence of Web 2.0 tools used in the open repositories.

Design/methodology/approach

– Repositories having English as one of the interface/content languages and indexed in Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) were selected and analyzed under different parameters.

Findings

– A total of 1,499 open access repositories having English as one of the interface/content languages (75.82 percent of total OA repositories) are developed from 81 nations and only 61 countries have most of their repositories Web 2.0 enabled. About 57 percent (804) repositories make use of Web 2.0 tool/s, 43 percent (608) have yet to avail benefits of Web 2.0 tools while 5.8 percent remain inaccessible (87) during the study period. Though the USA leads in terms of OA repositories, the percentage of Web 2.0 enabled repositories is higher for the UK (75.27 percent) as compared to the USA (51.08 percent). Really Simple Syndication (RSS), a syndication tool, is found in the majority of repositories (736, 91.54 percent) followed respectively by Social Bookmarking and ATOM (syndication tool) in 228 and 160 repositories

Research limitations/implications

– Repositories have to develop a more productive Web 2.0 outlook in order to converge with an interactive learning model. A follow-up study can explore the use of Web 2.0 tools in open access repositories. The impact of Web 2.0 tools on the associated activities of the users as well as repository administrators can also be carried on. How Web 2.0 tools have helped to improve the services of the repositories and how they have influenced the information seeking behavior of users in the open access repositories can also be researched.

Originality/value

– The research is the first of its kind and can act as an opener to the issues related to use of Web 2.0 in open repositories.
Anticipating industry convergence: semantic analyses vs IPC co-classification analyses of patents
Authors: Preschitschek Nina , Niemann Helen , Leker Jens , G. Moehrle Martin
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The convergence of industries exposes the involved firms to various challenges. In such a setting, a firm's response time becomes key to its future success. Hence, different approaches to anticipating convergence have been developed in the recent past. So far, especially IPC co-classification patent analyses have been successfully applied in different industry settings to anticipate convergence on a broader industry/technology level. Here, the aim is to develop a concept to anticipate convergence even in small samples, simultaneously providing more detailed information on its origin and direction.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors assigned 326 US-patents on phytosterols to four different technological fields and measured the semantic similarity of the patents from the different technological fields. Finally, they compared these results to those of an IPC co-classification analysis of the same patent sample.

Findings

– An increasing semantic similarity of food and pharmaceutical patents and personal care and pharmaceutical patents over time could be regarded as an indicator of convergence. The IPC co-classification analyses proved to be unsuitable for finding evidence for convergence here.

Originality/value

– Semantic analyses provide the opportunity to analyze convergence processes in greater detail, even if only limited data are available. However, IPC co-classification analyses are still relevant in analyzing large amounts of data. The appropriateness of the semantic similarity approach requires verification, e.g. by applying it to other convergence settings.
Inducement and blocking mechanisms in the Finnish life sciences innovation system
Authors: Sisko Patana Anne , Pihlajamaa Matti , Polvinen Kirsi , Carleton Tamara , Kanto Laura
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to identify inducement and blocking mechanisms which impact the development of the life sciences innovation system in Finland. Innovation system analysis of emerging technologies is important for the design of technology-specific innovation policy measures to promote desirable futures

Design/methodology/approach

– This exploratory study uses a functional technological innovation system analysis framework designed to identify policy goals for emerging technological fields. The data consist of 33 qualitative face-to-face interviews with senior managers and decision-makers. Best practices are identified from the San Francisco Bay Area and the Finnish life sciences innovation system is analyzed in detail.

Findings

– The Finnish system has a good capability to perform top-level basic research, but the commercial aspect is largely missing because of the lack of business know-how, small size of the domestic market, networking failures, scarcity of funding and poor public image.

Research limitations/implications

– The two regions have different scopes which prevents direct comparisons between them.

Originality/value

– This study applies the technological innovation system model to the life sciences industry. It provides new information on the characteristics of the industry and factors affecting its dynamics. The results can be applied for policy design by policy makers.
Reverse logistics goals, metrics, and challenges: perspectives from industry
Authors: J. Hall Dianne , R. Huscroft Joseph , T. Hazen Benjamin , B. Hanna Joe
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Although the importance of establishing sound metrics is often noted in the logistics literature, few research efforts have examined appropriate metrics for reverse logistics (RL) processes. Through the lens of goal-setting theory, the paper identifies and align salient RL goals and metrics, and uncover some of the most common challenges to RL professionals. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper used open-ended questions to gather qualitative data from 84 RL professionals from the defense industry. A content analysis method was employed to extract and categorize the goals, challenges, and metrics for RL processes.

Findings

– The paper identifies specific categories of goals, challenges and metrics. Several themes emerged from the study, to include customer service, disposition, costs, and process efficiencies. Using these themes, the paper matched goals to metrics and found a lack of uniformity and noted that metrics and goals often were not matched or were misaligned.

Research limitations/implications

– This research is limited by the defense industry sample and the research method. Caution should be used when generalizing the results, and further research is required to empirically test the validity of the findings. Nonetheless, in the context of goal-setting theory, the study contributes to the performance metrics literature by aligning RL metrics with goals and addressing challenges faced by RL practitioners. By investigating the topic from multiple perspectives, the study provides more detailed findings and demonstrates the differences between the inbound and outbound RL processes.

Practical implications

– This study provides insight into the metrics used to monitor and control RL processes. The findings may help firms to identify shortcomings and choose metrics that they can employ to align RL processes with firm goals.

Originality/value

– The study contributes to the performance metrics literature by aligning RL metrics with goals and addressing challenges faced by RL practitioners. By investigating the topic from both an inbound and outbound perspective, the study provides more detailed findings and demonstrates the differences between the inbound and outbound RL processes.
Lateral transshipments: an institutional theory perspective
Authors: H.W. Stanger Sebastian , Wilding Richard , Hartmann Evi , Yates Nicola , Cotton Sue
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Are lateral transshipments an effective instrument to ensure the safe and efficient supply of blood? This paper will use the lens of institutional theory to determine how the blood supply chain can benefit from lateral transshipments and what requirements are necessary for their implementation. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research design comprises two stages. First, 16 case studies clustered into two case groups were conducted with transfusion laboratories in UK hospitals resulting in the derivation of eight key themes which were tested using a follow-up survey.

Findings

– The blood supply chain acts under the influence of significant institutional pressures. Coercive pressures result from regulations enforced to ensure the safe supply of blood, normative pressures are imposed by society, demanding wastage is minimized and mimetic pressure from other hospitals fosters efficient supply chain operation. Lateral transshipments offer a powerful organizational tool to allow the blood supply chain to conform to these pressures.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper offers a novel institutional perspective on a complex supply chain issue where additional external pressures are seen to complicate the context. Due to the special characteristics of the blood supply chain, generalization of the findings to other industries must be done with care.

Practical implications

– The paper confirms the benefits of lateral transshipments in a perishable product context. Special requirements for the blood supply chain/health care services are identified.

Originality/value

– The key contributions of this paper are five propositions which offer an institutional theory perspective on the application of lateral transshipment relationships in the blood supply chain.
Exploring the use of 25 leading business practices in transitioning market supply chains
Authors: Dabić Marina , Potocan Vojko , Nedelko Zlatko , R. Morgan Tyler
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– In the global economy, managers of organizations are constantly innovating with their use of available supply chain management tools. Some tools, like strategic planning and customer segmentation, have gained strong global acceptance while others are less universal. The paper aims to focus the contribution on the organizational factors that predict firm usage of supply chain management tools in two Eastern Europe countries, Slovenia and Croatia, while also comparing them to the global use of similar management tools.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research provides an empirical analysis of supply chain management tool usage from a survey of 155 firms in Slovenia and 185 firms in Croatia while also comparing these findings to results from a global Bain & Company survey.

Findings

– The 25 most commonly used supply chain management tools in the Eastern European survey were found to be relatively similar to those used across Europe and North America. However, further analysis of five selected tools reveals important differences. Evidence is found to support that particular organizational factors have a significant influence on supply chain management tool usage, of specific importance is the education level of the organization manager.

Originality/value

– The findings are useful for business practice in understanding the influences of organizational factors on supply chain management tool usage. Also, the research is original as previous management literature has not provided a similar approach to researching management tools and their usage.
Supply chain implications for one-off luxury products: cases from the yacht industry
Authors: Ponticelli Simone , Mininno Valeria , Dulmin Riccardo , Aloini Davide
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The paper seeks to investigate the applicability of strategic supply chain management (SCM) models in one-off luxury contexts such as the yacht industry, where durable products are manufactured with project configuration.

Design/methodology/approach

– A literature review was assessed in order to identify contingency-based SCM models. Then, multiple case-study analysis was performed to explore how these models are adopted in practice for drawing strategic SCM directions. Data arose from a number of interviews to the top-management of four world-leading yacht-building companies.

Findings

– The findings of explorative case studies suggest the implementation of various strategic SCM strategies in order to fit the requirements of the market (e.g. protect critical resources, implement a customized leagile production strategy, enhance SC flexibility). In this direction, specific SCM practices are already adopted by investigated firms.

Research limitations/implications

– A call to develop specific strategic directions for project-based luxury business is suggested, as the SC contingencies of this context have not been properly caught by extant literature.

Practical implications

– A set of practical indications are offered in order to support managers in the choice of an appropriate SCM approach and related operational practices. Identified techniques and tools aim to achieve high customisation while reducing changes in specification.

Originality/value

– This article represents a first attempt to investigate the SCM issue for durable luxury products in the project context.
The nature of luxury: a consumer perspective
Authors: Brun Alessandro , Castelli Cecilia
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is threefold: to provide an overview of the literature defining “luxury”; to suggest that luxury goods be distinguished from other goods through the presence of critical success factors (CSF) and to identify different dimensions of luxury; and to introduce a new classification framework to analyse luxury consumers profiles and to explain the personal perception of luxury.

Design/methodology/approach

– The first part of the paper is a critical discussion of the literature around the concept of luxury; the second part shows the application of an original classification framework, validated through a number of focus groups carried out with participants of Masters and executive training courses.

Findings

– The concept of luxury is a multifaceted one. A comprehensive approach to classify luxury consumers is used first of all to reveal different customer profiles, and also to prove that the tangible/intangible and personal/social distinctions are relevant for understanding the motivations underlying the purchase of a luxury product.

Research limitations/implications

– The model has been validated using four “archetypal” luxury goods (a bag, a bracelet, and so on). Nonetheless, the range of possible luxury goods and the set of possible consumer
'
s motives behind luxury spend are so wide that a much more extended testing is required.

Originality/value

– The newly proposed model would allow a luxury company to better assess their target market and their current customers, while scholars and analysts might find it useful to define the scope of the luxury market when estimating market figures.
Murakami on the bag: Louis Vuitton ' s decommoditization strategy
Authors: Riot Elen , Chamaret Cecile , Rigaud Emmanuelle
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– As some areas of the luxury market have been industrializing because of their expanding scale and scope, the commoditization trend is threatening luxury brands along the value chain. Too many products might flood the market. Because the commodity trap has not so far been commonly referred to as the source of the problem, the efforts of firms to decommoditize have seldom been described. The purpose of this paper is to describe and interpret one type of successful reaction to this problem: the exclusive partnership made by Louis Vuitton with artist Takashi Murakami. The paper identifies the strategy along the value chain and its step by step implementation and influence on commoditization.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper identifies the strategy behind this partnership and its step by step implementation. It uses a qualitative method because it would like to understand complex phenomenon and explore in depth, some strategic operations and decisions. More precisely, it is a case study research because it works on a contemporary situation and allows to retain the meaningful characteristics of real-life events as organizational, managerial and social processes

Findings

– LV strategy raises the difficulty for competitors to imitate or to propose same value products as the value added to LV product is almost unique with Murakami ' s touch. With this strategy they impact commoditization as defined by Reimannet al.Also, we formulate a few recommendations and insist on the integration of all the parts of the upstream value chain- especially operations – to achieve a successful long-term retail strategy.

Research limitations/implications

– There are no research on partnerships between art and luxury. Our extensive analysis of the partnership between LV and Murakami gives a comprehensive view of how this kind of collaboration helps to fight back commoditization. However, more case studies should be studied to know if the strategy is replicable.

Practical implications

– This research gives a comprehensive analysis of the adaptation of the value chain to make the partnership a success. It also underlines the need to conduct and to adapt the whole value chain to the specifities of the artist.

Originality/value

– There are few research investigating the links and partnerships between artists and luxury brands. The originality is to describe a particular partnership concerning all the parts of the upstream value chain – especially operations – it also makes recommendations concerning potential partnerships between art and luxury to fight back against commoditization.
Brand social power in luxury retail
Authors: Cervellon Marie-Cécile , Coudriet Rachael
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This research aims to investigate the factors which contribute to the power of luxury brands in the stores and the means through which brand power meaning transfers to the clients.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research protocol follows a phenomenological approach, through analyses of narratives of customers with lived shopping experiences in luxury stores. Data were collected in two phases: first, a collection of experiences from clients with different cultural backgrounds in the same store; second, a comparison of experiences for the same client in thirty-three luxury stores around the world. This cross-examination procedure enhances the trustworthiness of the findings.

Findings

– Although French and Raven
'
s typology of power (referent, reward, coercive, legitimate, expert) is relevant when studying the luxury brand-client relationship, it is not sufficient to explain entirely the sources of the luxury brand power. Through the brand cathedral (the flagship store), the brand ambassadors (sales representative), the brand protocol (rituals and selling ceremony) and the brand treasures (the products), the luxury brand exerts an auratic power which achieves the sacralization of the brand.

Practical implications

– These marks of power are difficult to transfer virtually through internet websites. To establish this power, luxury brands need a control over their operations, at least the visual merchandising and the customer relationship. This reinforces the importance of retailing in the luxury industry and the strategic role of company-owned-stores, particularly in “new luxury markets” where the auratic power of the brand is not necessarily established. Additionally, when there is power asymmetry in a service encounter, the customer becomes “hyper-vigilant” regarding the service provided. In luxury stores, the salespersons should be trained to deliver a luxury service, personalized to the very needs of the client.

Originality/value

– To the authors
'
knowledge, this research is the first to investigate consumers
'
perception of luxury brand power.
Cashmere
Authors: Faust Marie-Eve
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to validate that young American experiencers perceive cashmere as the most luxurious animal fiber, to investigate if because expensive it is perceived as more luxurious (Veblen theory), to learn how they know about its intrinsic values, lastly to explore if articulating the story behind luxury goods can enhance shopping experience, thus building a sustainable competitive advantage for retailers.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research was conducted using a survey to gather quantitative data followed by focus group. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to a group of almost 200 young American experiencers.

Findings

– The results show that the subjects had a significant lack of knowledge about the provenance of cashmere (the fibre) and its intrinsic attributes. Once the subjects were told about the characteristics, the provenance and the whole process of the supply chain starting with the farmers combing the goats to the delivery of the end goods, it seems obvious that articulating the story behind luxury goods would enhance the shopping experience and provide a sustainable competitive advantage for retailers.

Research limitations/implications

– This survey was conducted on a sample of 196 respondents, from one specific geographic area. It would benefit from being extended to a wider scope of demographic and geographic including Europe and Asia.

Originality/value

– This study supports that time has come for retailers to shift from marketing visual images to the story telling.
Output feedback control of an actuated lower limb orthosis with bounded input
Authors: E. Lalami Mohamed , Rifaï Hala , Mohammed Samer , Hassani Walid , Fried Georges , Amirat Yacine
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is the control of lower limb orthosis acting at the knee joint level for a passive rehabilitation purpose.

Design/methodology/approach

– A control law, based on a saturated proportional derivative controller, is proposed in order to drive the shank-foot-orthosis system along a desired trajectory.

Findings

– The proposed control law is tested in real time using the orthosis EICOSI of the LISSI-Laboratory. The experiments show that the proposed control law is capable of providing satisfactory trajectory tracking performance given only the knee joint angle measurement. Moreover, the control law is robust with respect to external disturbances.

Originality/value

– Robust control of an actuated lower limb orthosis.
Robots to aid the disabled and the elderly
Authors: Bogue Robert
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This article aims to discuss the potential of robots to assist the disabled and the elderly and to highlight some of the associated ethical issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Following an introduction, this considers robotic wheelchairs and exoskeletons, companion robots, assistive robots and household robots. This is followed by a short discussion of the ethical issues associated with their use.

Findings

– This shows that many types of robots are available or under development which seek to aid the disabled and the elderly. Various as yet unresolved ethical issues have been raised regarding their use, most notably the potential problems arising from a reduction in human interactions.

Originality/value

– In an era characterised by a growing elderly population, this article provides a timely review of robots aimed at assisting the elderly and disabled and gives some consideration of the ethical issues surrounding their use.
A template reconstruction scheme for moving object detection from a mobile robot
Authors: Tsai Du-Ming , Tseng Tzu-Hsun
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Mobile robots become more and more important for many potential applications such as navigation and surveillance. The paper proposes an image processing scheme for moving object detection from a mobile robot with a single camera. It especially aims at intruder detection for the security robot on either smooth paved surfaces or uneven ground surfaces.

Design/methodology/approach

– The core of the proposed scheme is the template matching with basis image reconstruction for the alignment between two consecutive images in the video sequence. The most representative template patches in one image are first automatically selected based on the gradient energies in the patches. The chosen templates then form a basis matrix, and the instances of the templates in the subsequent image are matched by evaluating their reconstruction error from the basis matrix. For the two well-aligned images, a simple and fast temporal difference can thus be applied to identify moving objects from the background.

Findings

– The proposed template matching can tolerate in rotation (±10°) and (±10°) in scaling. By adding templates with larger rotational angles in the basis matrixes, the proposed method can be further extended for the match of images from severe camera vibrations. Experimental results of video sequences from a non-stationary camera have shown that the proposed scheme can reliably detect moving objects from the scenes with either minor or severe geometric transformation changes. The proposed scheme can achieve a fast processing rate of 32 frames per second for an image of size 160×120.

Originality/value

– The basic approaches for moving object detection with a mobile robot are feature-point match and optical flow. They are relatively computational intensive and complicated to implement for real-time applications. The proposed template selection and template matching are very fast and easy to implement. Traditional template matching methods are based on sum of squared differences or normalized cross correlation. They are very sensitive to minor displacement between two images. The proposed new similarity measure is based on the reconstruction error from the test image and its reconstruction from the linear combination of the templates. It is thus robust under rotation and scale changes. It can be well suited for mobile robot surveillance.
A novel PID tuning method for robot control
Authors: Yu Wen , Li Xiaoou , Carmona Roberto
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to address a new iterative tuning method of PID control for robot manipulators.

Design/methodology/approach

– This tuning method uses several properties of the robot control, such as any PD control can stabilize a robot in regulation case, the closed-loop system of PID control can be approximated by a linear system, the control torque to the robot manipulator is linearly independent of the robot dynamic.

Findings

– Compared with the other PID tuning methods, this novel method is simple, systematic, and stable. The transient properties of this PID control are better than the other normal PID controllers.

Originality/value

– In this paper, a new systematic tuning method for PID control is proposed. The paper applies this method on an upper limb exoskeleton, and real experiment results give validation of our PID tuning method.
Robots use machine vision and other smart sensors to aid innovative picking, packing and palletizing
Authors: Bloss Richard
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The paper aims to discuss the review of the most recent PackExpo show in Chicago with emphasis on the new robot innovations and applications on display.

Design/methodology/approach

– In-depth interviews with exhibitors of robots, integrators of robots and suppliers of robot accessories at the show.

Findings

– Robots continue to develop to match an ever-increasing number of packaging tasks.

Practical implications

– Customers may be surprised at the robot innovations and new applications to which robots are being applied in the packaging field.

Originality/value

– A review of some of the latest robot innovations and applications for packaging that one might have seen if they had been on the exhibition floor at the most recent Chicago PackExpo show.
The democratizing effects of frugal innovation
Authors: Nari Kahle Hanna , Dubiel Anna , Ernst Holger , Prabhu Jaideep
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of frugal innovation in the fields of livelihood provision, education, infrastructure, and distribution networks on state-building in countries where a significant proportion of the population lives at the base of the pyramid (BoP).

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper reviews the literature on frugal innovation, democratization and state-building, offers practical examples in support of the conceptual arguments, and provides research propositions for empirical assessment.

Findings

– The paper provides support for the notion that the creation of more inclusive markets through frugal innovation contributes to socio-economic development, which in turn strengthens democratization and state-building.

Practical implications

– Multinational corporations can have a positive impact on democratization by offering for-profit products and services to serve BoP markets.

Originality/value

– The paper provides novel insights into the role that frugal innovation plays in state-building and democratization.
Conditional multifactor asset pricing model and market anomalies
Authors: Ranjan Dash Saumya , Mahakud Jitendra
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the firm-specific anomaly effect and to identify market anomalies that account for the cross-sectional regularity in the Indian stock market. The paper also examines the cross-sectional return predictability of market anomalies after making the firm-specific raw return risk adjusted with respect to the systematic risk factors in the unconditional and conditional multifactor specifications.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper employs first step time series regression approach to drive the risk-adjusted return of individual firms. For examining the predictability of firm characteristics on the risk-adjusted return, the panel data estimation technique has been used.

Findings

– There is a weak anomaly effect in the Indian stock market. The choice of a five-factor model (FFM) in its unconditional and conditional specifications is able to capture the book-to-market equity, liquidity and medium-term momentum effect. The size, market leverage and short-run momentum effect are found to be persistent in the Indian stock market even with the alternative conditional specifications of the FFM. The results also suggest that it is naï argue for disappearing size effect in the cross-sectional regularity.

Research limitations/implications

– Constrained upon the data availability, certain market anomalies and conditioning variables cannot be included in the analysis.

Practical implications

– Considering the practitioners' prospective, the results indicate that the profitable investment strategy with respect to the small size effect is still persistent and warrants close-ended mutual fund investment portfolio strategy for enhancing the long-term profitability. The short-run momentum effect can generate potential profits given a short-term investment horizon.

Originality/value

– This paper provides the first-ever empirical evidence from an emerging stock market towards the use of alternative conditional multifactor models for the complete explanation of market anomalies. In an attempt to analyze the anomaly effect in the Indian stock market, this paper provides further evidence towards the long-short hedge portfolio return variations in terms of a wide set of market anomalies that have been documented in prior literature.
Australian academic librarians' perceptions of marketing services and resources
Authors: Yi Zhixian , Lodge Damian , McCausland Sigrid
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine how Australian academic librarians marketed their services and resources, which marketing approaches were most effective, and the factors influencing the perceptions of the approaches used.

Design/methodology/approach

– An online survey was sent to 37 academic librarians in Australia. The response rate was 54.1 percent. The information sheet and consent form for phone interview participants were e-mailed to 17 participants and ten signed consent forms were e-mailed back to the researchers. The response rate was 58.8 percent. The qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The collected quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using descriptive (frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations) and inferential statistics (correlations).

Findings

– Academic librarians were involved in a variety of marketing activities and had varied perceptions of the effective approaches used to market services and resources. Correlation analysis confirms that demographics, human capital and library variables play significant roles in predicting librarians' perceptions of the effective marketing techniques used.

Research limitations/implications

– Because of very small sample size, the results may lack generalisability. Future research is a large-scale study.

Practical implications

– This paper provides a better understanding of academic librarians' attitudes, views and effective techniques with regard to marketing their services and resources.

Originality/value

– Librarians may use the results to reflect on the effectiveness of the marketing approaches used, to balance the weight of the factors' influences, and to better understand various effective marketing approaches to enable them to market academic library services and resources more effectively in the future.
Scenario planning for an uncertain future?
Authors: Maggs Pete , Chelin Jackie
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study on the practical application of scenario planning techniques to complete a re-structuring of an academic liaison team within the Library at the University of the West of England in 2011.

Design/methodology/approach

– The application of scenario planning as a technique for mapping a realistic future for the team within the wider library service was evaluated using questionnaires. After detailing the scenarios developed, the paper concludes with consideration of the feedback received from the staff involved and the learning for future iterations of the technique.

Findings

– The case study concludes by reflecting, 18 months on, how certain things might have been done differently. The feedback from staff on the process was used in honing a wider, more radical ranging staffing review.

Research limitations/implications

– The study has limitations as it was a time bounded exercise. The process began in March 2011 and new structures had to be agreed and in place by summer 2011.

Practical implications

– The comparison of the scenarios can assist managers in evaluating and selecting the appropriate scenario planning model based on organisational need, while reinforcing the importance of effective consultation/dialogue with staff.

Originality/value

– The article shows that Library managers can benefit from the deployment of scenario planning techniques when effecting organisational change, and that being as inclusive as possible in the process is probably the best approach, if practical.
Marketing applications in Greek academic library services
Authors: Garoufallou Emmanouel , Zafeiriou Georgia , Siatri Rania , Balapanidou Ekaterini
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to describe marketing methods, techniques and activities used in Greek academic libraries and their staff perceptions regarding the importance of marketing applications. In addition, it identifies factors which hinder the uptake of marketing, and investigates the evaluation methods used.

Design/methodology/approach

– There are 151 central and departmental academic libraries in Greece, yet there is limited published research concerning their marketing activities. Therefore, it was intended to discover the reasons behind the low/non-use of marketing in Greek academic libraries. A three-section questionnaire was designed as the main research tool and distributed to 151 libraries. Survey results are presented and analysed according to the structure of the questionnaire.

Findings

– Whilst marketing techniques and methods are used in academic libraries worldwide, the spread of marketing in Greek academic libraries proved to be limited. Basic operational problems were identified as the main barrier to greater uptake. Nevertheless, the majority of Greek academic librarians realize the importance of marketing, but they still have a long way to go in terms of understanding and adopting marketing concepts in their provision of services.

Research limitations/implications

– A quantitative survey was employed to determine the current situation, and examine the attitudes and perceptions of librarians in Greek academic libraries. However, the rapidly changing information environment and the increased international interest in academic library marketing have necessitated further research.

Originality/value

– The paper presents research on staff perceptions and attitudes, towards marketing activities in Greek academic libraries. However, there is limited published research on the topic. Additionally, it is the first attempt to discover the extent to which marketing is used in Greek libraries' services' provision. The research depicts marketing techniques and methods used in Greek academic libraries and compares its results with international practices.
A comparative study of perceived work related stress among library staff in two academic libraries in Southern Africa
Authors: Akakandelwa Akakandelwa , Jain Priti
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The study sought to explore and compare the current levels of job stress among academic library staff at the University of Botswana (UB) and the University of Zambia (UNZA). The accessible populations consisted of library staff (n=19) at the University of Botswana and (n=25) at the University of Zambia.The purpose of this paper is present the identified perceived sources of and levels of job stress among the librarians at two universities.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study used a survey method with the questionnaire as the main data collection instrument. Two groups randomly constituted from both universities in the main campuses were purposively selected using non-probability sampling. Gender and status of the sample selected were also carefully considered in the choice of the sample so as to have the perceptions from every gender and category of staff. The main hypothesis of this study is that there is no significant difference in job stress experienced by library staff in the two African universities.

Findings

– From the findings, it was concluded that library staff at the University of Botswana and University of Zambia were not in an overall state of stress compared with norm data. However, salary-related issues were found to be the highest source of stress among both library staff samples followed by workload related issues. Low stress items among library staff fell into two broad categories namely conflict-related and management-related items.

Research limitations/implications

– Similar to other empirical studies, this study is not without its limitations. The sample consisted of two public universities in Botswana and Zambia. This may limit the generalization of the results. The study also employed non-probability sampling in the selection of participants. The study can be strengthened by increasing the sample size as the data analysis results and findings may vary substantially when the sample size is increased or decreased.

Originality/value

– Most studies in library and information science focus on collection development, information retrieval and information seeking behavior of users. Few studies have been undertaken in this area particularly in Southern Africa. It is therefore, hoped that the findings of this study may provide both a starting point for further research in the topic of stress among librarians in Southern Africa. The study may also bring management attention to various issues related to stress among library staff.
Marketing to teens: a study of two New Zealand public libraries
Authors: F. Biggs Helen , Calvert Philip
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Marketing in libraries has been widely discussed in literature, but is often limited to either prescriptive writing on the application of marketing theory to libraries, or descriptions of marketing at individual libraries with little theoretical basis. The purpose of this paper is to investigate marketing to teens as practiced by public libraries, and to discover whether the application of marketing mix concepts to practice is a conscious decision by libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

– Staff were interviewed at two large New Zealand public libraries to discover whether they considered marketing targeting theory and marketing mix concepts when marketing to teens.

Findings

– It was found that while both libraries did some formal teen marketing, the majority of marketing was conducted more informally by individual branch libraries. Libraries struggled in particular with defining their teen users, and the marketing mix was dealt with in an ad hoc manner. Overall, library marketing was more tactical than strategic.

Originality/value

– Library managers can review their development of marketing strategies for teens in the light of the findings described in this paper. A closer application of marketing concepts can help with the development of marketing plans.
Re-defining the service experience: forging collaboration between librarians and students
Authors: Ellis Jenny , Phillips Andrea
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– In response to changing pedagogical theory and practice in higher education, library designers have created innovative library learning spaces that support informal learning outside the classroom. Libraries can be justly proud of their new collaborative learning spaces that support interaction and discussion; social spaces that foster engagement and learning; as well as quiet places for independent study. Less attention has been paid to the relationship between library spaces and frontline services and the way in which learning theory might inform the service experience. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the way in which a large academic library responded to this challenge.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a case study approach informed by theoretical analysis, the paper outlines the decision-making process underlying the reformulation of frontline library service. The study explains why decisions were taken leading to the development of a distinctive and collaborative service model and how they were put into practice. The case study employs a narrative approach that is deliberately rich in description to assist readers in understanding the context of this complex process.

Findings

– Informed by the principles of social constructivist pedagogy and modern learning space design, the paper poses an alternative and more collaborative model for delivering frontline service that is more consistent with learning theory.

Originality/value

– Through the reformulation of a traditional frontline service model, this case study engages with a topic of interest to many academic libraries, contributing to the literature of library practice and encouraging re-conceptualisation of space, design and service.
How social capital is leveraged in social innovations under resource constraints?
Authors: Bhatt Punita , Altinay Levent
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to explore how social capital is leveraged in social innovations to overcome resource constraints. The paper reports on the findings from an exploratory study on the social innovation process within Indian social entrepreneurial ventures (SEVs) developed in a resource constrained environment.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study adopts an interpretive case study approach to investigating social innovation that enables researchers to identify the cultural contexts within which social entrepreneurship emerges. Views of the social entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs were gathered through semi-structured interviews and observations.

Findings

– Findings of the study demonstrated that there are distinctive stages of the social innovation process. The stages of the process are initial phase: emergence of a social idea for a venture; development phase: building the social venture; and scaling phase: growing the social venture. These stages of the process lead to the identification of social needs as social entrepreneurial opportunities, then to the initiation, development and scaling of conjectured solutions generating economic and social value.

Practical implications

– During the development stage of the social innovation, closer relationships with investors could help access scarce financial resources. Finally, in the scaling phase, greater involvement with the target beneficiaries can help reduce marketing and search-related costs for SEVs. Thus, greater engagement of beneficiaries throughout the social innovation process can help in the successful initiation, development and scaling of a social innovation.

Originality/value

– First, this study identifies the distinctive stages of the social innovation process. Second, this study provides empirical evidence to support previous claims that social innovations develop in resource-constrained environments. Finally, this exploratory research has investigated social innovations in a developing country context – India.