bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Encouraging innovation in small and medium sized businesses: learning matters
Authors: Csath Magdolna
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find out whether any relationship can be found among learning orientation, learning culture in general and innovation achievements in SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach

In‐depth research based on questionnaires and interviews was carried out. The sample was analyzed using multivariable correlation.

Findings

It is found that to the majority of SMEs innovation means product or technology innovation, and only a negligible minority think about management‐related innovation. There are few SMEs who encourage learning and act upon building a learning culture, but those who do are far more innovative than the rest. Those with a low interest in learning and building a learning culture perform poorly in innovation.

Research limitations/implications

International comparison would have been useful, especially in the region.

Practical implications

The research has proved that an encouraging external environment and a supporting internal environment are equally important for successful innovation in SMEs. Therefore the government and the EU in general should support SMEs' innovation more successfully, and SMEs should put more emphasis on learning, knowledge creation and building of a learning culture.

Social implications

For societies suffering from a high unemployment rate it is crucial to find sources for job creation. Innovative SMEs can be the best sources for new jobs.

Originality/value

The importance of learning, learning culture and knowledge creation for innovation in SMEs has been proved.
Interview with Professor M.S. Rao, author of Secrets of Your Leadership Success – The 11 Indispensable E's of a Leader
Authors: by Gareth Bell Interview
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to provide an interview with Professor M.S. Rao.

Design/methodology/approach

The interview is conducted by an independent interviewer.

Findings

Professor M.S. Rao is a leadership development practitioner with over 30 years' experience. He has written 16 books, including Secrets of Your Leadership Success – The 11 Indispensable E's of a Leader, and Smart Leadership: Lessons for Leaders. In his book Soft Leadership: Make Others Feel More Important, Professor Rao advances his model for soft leadership, blending characteristics of soft skills training with traditional leadership theory. This approach is endorsed by management guru David Ulrich, who provided the foreword for the book. Professor Rao also maintains two popular blogs, http://profmsr.blogspot.com (Where Knowledge is Wealth) and http://professormsraoguru.blogspot.com (Knowledge Grows When Shared).

Originality/value

The paper provides useful information from a leading figure regarding soft leadership.
A unified model for implementing lean and CMMI for Services (CMMI‐SVC v1.3) best practices
Authors: Kundu Goutam Kumar , Murali Manohar B.
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to present a unified model by combining lean and CMMI‐SVC best practices. The model would be very useful for CMMI‐SVC organizations that plan to implement lean best practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on the review of the contemporary literature on lean concepts and the CMMI‐SVC v1.3 model, including books, journal articles and handbooks. A group of practitioners and experts with theoretical and practical expertise on the CMMI framework, software process improvements as well as lean principles and services were involved to find out which lean principles are applicable to service organization and also the compatibility of lean and CMMI‐SVC v1.3 practices.

Findings

The authors have presented a unified model by combining CMMI‐SVC v1.3 and lean best practices which can be applied to service organizations. In the future they would like to implement their unified model within IT service organizations to check its feasibility and effectiveness in real world. It would also provide an opportunity to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the unified model, based on which it can be further refined and matured.

Originality/value

The model has been designed in such a way that lean practices can be plugged‐in to CMMI‐SVC model process areas. By including lean practices to CMMI‐SVC model, the process improvement initiatives will be aligned with the business objectives. The unified model will be useful to the organizations that would like to implement lean concepts within the CMMI‐SVC framework.
Implementing TPM programme as a TQM tool in Indian manufacturing industries
Authors: Prakas Majumdar Jyoti , Murali Manohar B.
Published: August 2012

Purpose

Total productive maintenance (TPM) is a very powerful program of equipment maintenance in manufacturing industries and is a direct part of total quality management (TQM). In the manufacturing industry, TPM is a very effective tool for improving product quality as well as productivity. A good number of manufacturing industries have so far adopted a TPM program in countries like Japan, as a part of their quality drive. However, in many manufacturing industries in India it has not been successfully implemented. For successful and effective implementation of TPM in manufacturing industries in India, understanding and awareness of the various possible causes behind its failure is essential. This paper aims to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

In this general review paper, after reviewing literature the authors consolidate, highlight and classify the probable reasons responsible for the failures of TPM in many Indian manufacturing industries.

Findings

In this paper, the various causes of failure of TPM in a number of manufacturing industries have been classified into three major categories of problems or issues at three different stages: organizational issues during the foundation stage; TPM implementation issues during the formation stage; and operational issues during the TPM running stage.

Practical implications

The recommended guidelines may definitely contribute to the Indian industry and also industries in other developing countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Consequently, the work has economic and commercial impacts. Economic, because it would allow to improve the productivity of the companies, and commercial, because it would facilitate the interchange and the positioning of products. In addition, it can have a high impact on the industrial relations of the workers and unions.

Originality/value

If management is aware of such probable problems, and becomes careful about them, the TPM programme can also be widely and effectively adopted in many Indian manufacturing industries, and they can achieve improvement in business competitiveness through improved product quality and increased productivity.
A troubled relationship: an exploration of mall retailers and teen shoppers' thoughts, behaviors, and coping strategies as they interact with each other
Authors: Palan Kay M. , Mallalieu Lynnea
Published: August 2012

Purpose

This research aims to examine some of the main sources of frustration in the relationship between retailers and teen shoppers and the coping strategies they use as they interact with each other in a mall environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from retailers and teen shoppers via depth interviews and the data were coded using a grounded theory approach.

Findings

Retailers in the study expressed frustration with teen shoppers arising from disruptive behavior, and refusal to accept assistance. Retailers attempt to deal with these issues at both the individual and the corporate level. Teens' frustration with retailers stems from being ignored, and/or treated with suspicion. Teens also indicated that retailers attempt to manipulate and persuade them. Teens deal with these issues by neutralizing or proactively coping with the situation.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study provide some significant insights for retailers. Most of the retail informants did not report any specific training with respect to interacting with teenage shoppers. The results of this study, however, suggest that providing retail employees with an understanding of teens' shopping behaviors and perceptions might promote more positive interactions with teen shoppers. This study utilized two independent sets of data to capture informants' perceptions and self‐reported behaviors. Studying actual interactions between retailers and teen shoppers might help to address any potential bias associated with self‐reported data.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that it is not a question of whether or not retailers should interact with teens but rather a question of how to interact with them so they do not feel ignored but also not pressured or treated with suspicion. Retailers should review the current strategies they use when customers first enter the store. By allowing teens to initiate the interaction, they are likely to feel more in control and less pressured.

Originality/value

Very little, if any, previous research has combined data from both retailers and teen shoppers in one study. Novel managerial suggestions are made as well as conceptual contributions in the under‐researched area of teen persuasion detection and persuasion coping.
“BeTween two worlds”: critically exploring marketing segmentation and liminal consumers
Authors: Cody Kevina
Published: August 2012

Purpose

This paper attempts to contribute to an expanding body of literature that critically engages with both the theory and practice of market segmentation. Through the theoretical lens of liminality and its implicit elements, the notion of boundary creation inherent in age‐based market segmentation of the youth market is explored.

Design/methodology/approach

Using empirical data collected as part of a longitudinal study on liminal consumers, marketing's attempt at laying down parameters and constructing borders is presented as a strategic exacerbation of liminal zones already replete with tension and ambiguity.

Findings

It is concluded that theoretical consideration of this data highlights the fluidity and porous nature of such constructed boundaries, rendering attempts at creating discernable, knowable segments, potentially futile. Thus by critically viewing this segment, not just as a marketing demographic, but as a liminal zone, an alternative consideration of the theory and practice of age segmentation is presented.

Research limitations/implications

The longitudinal study spanned a period from midway through the participants' final months of primary education and early stages of secondary education. Research that focused on their completion of a year in secondary education would perhaps have yielded further insights.

Practical implications

This research offers tangible insights into the social worlds of a burgeoning market segment, albeit a liminal one, offering actionable realities based on the inextricable intertwining of their consumption practices and lived experiences.

Social implications

Rather than view children as socio‐cultural non‐descripts who are of interest to marketers purely for their ability to be located along a continuum of cognitive development, this research aims to understand and explore the specific intricasies of the tweens' mediation of their liminal world using consumption practices

Originality/value

Consumption practices emerged that highlighted the attempted resolution and mediation of such tensions while also pointing to the clear mutability and ambiguity of supposed borders between child, tween and teen segmented groups. Age‐segmentation, conceptualised by marketers as a strategic creation of borders so as to enhance product offerings little reflects the realities of how age is perceived, experienced and acted out by those categorised within the margins and parameters of targeted marketing. By viewing this segment, not just as a marketing demographic but as a liminal zone where liminars “elude or slip through the network of classifications that normally locate states and positions in cultural space”, an alternative consideration of the theory and practice of age‐segmentation is presented.
Prescription drug request and denial
Authors: Lee Doohee , Emmett Dennis
Published: August 2012

Purpose

Prescription drug requests and physician denial are important aspects of medical decision making, but little research has been done to identify factors linked to prescription drug request and physician denial. This paper aims to explore factors in relation to patient prescription drug request and provider denial.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a cross‐sectional study in a nationally representative database of 2,988 individuals. Descriptive and multivariate stepwise conditional logistic regression analyses were conducted.

Findings

Results of multivariate regression models reveal, after adjusting for personal factors, that heart disease, allergy, anxiety, minor chronic conditions, medical seeking behaviors and direct‐to‐consumer advertising (DTCA) were found to be related to prescription drug request. The denied were individuals with arthritis, less prevalent chronic conditions, the uninsured, and African Americans. It was also found that 27.4 percent of the sample requested a prescription drug and about 24 percent of those who segmented for prescriptions were physicians.

Research limitations/implications

DTCA is positively associated with prescription drug requests but the analysis did not support any effect of DTCA on the refusal status. Patients' requests and physician decision making to refuse are somewhat complicated and vary with different medical conditions.

Originality/value

The paper, using nationally representative data, investigates the factors associated with prescription drug request and denial.
Users' preferred interactive e‐health tools on hospital web sites
Authors: Huang Edgar , Angela Chang Chiu‐chi , Khurana Poonam
Published: August 2012

Purpose

Healthcare is becoming an important part of people's online content consumption, with people searching for information on diseases or medical problems, treatments or procedures, particular doctors or hospitals, or about parking. This paper aims to investigate what users deem essential on patient‐oriented interactive e‐health tools on hospital web sites.

Design/methodology/approach

The findings are based on 242 patients/users from diverse backgrounds in a purposive sample. A modified Delphi technique was used in two rounds of survey to collect and analyze data.

Findings

The respondents highly desire core‐business tools, especially access to medical records and lab results, while discounting hospitals' efforts to connect to social media. Hospitals' e‐health implementation on their web sites has greatly lagged behind the users' needs for interacting with hospitals online. It is concluded that, while continuing to provide traditional functional tools, hospitals should expedite their development in providing core e‐business tools and emerging functional tools in order to accomplish multiple objectives, including service, education, and marketing.

Research limitations/implications

Hospitals' e‐health development efforts have been behind the users' expectations at large. Future research should explore whether such lagging has resulted mainly from the lack of technical know‐how, lack of funding, and/or lack of vision on the administrative level.

Practical implications

The paper provides solid empirical evidence for US hospitals to (re)consider how to prioritize their efforts in implementing e‐health online so as to build a user‐centric web site.

Originality/value

Most US hospitals have implemented some form of e‐health online to serve their patients/users, but rarely have researchers studied such efforts. As a result, hospitals have had little evidence to gauge their implementation success. This is the first empirical study that investigates from the patient/user perspective the usefulness of various interactive e‐health tools online.
Brand salience of OTC pharmaceuticals through package appearance
Authors: Kauppinen‐Räisänen Hannele , Owusu Richard A. , Abeeku Bamfo Bylon
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The changing health care market is affecting consumers who are now expected to take greater responsibility for their health. Their means for doing this include purchasing self‐medication and medical self‐service, which coincides neatly with an increase in the number of over‐the‐counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals. Additionally, OTC pharmaceuticals are progressively becoming available in a wider range of stores, where the pharmacists' knowledge of the OTC products is absent. This study aims to examine packaging as media that conveys the product message at the point of purchase, and to explore the impact of its extrinsic verbal and visual product cues.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory conjoint analysis was conducted in Finland, the USA, and Ghana. In total, 89 respondents conducted conjoint tasks for two product types, i.e. a painkiller and sore throat medicine.

Findings

The results showed differences and similarities in the impact of the packaging product cues across Finland, the USA, and Ghana. Differences and similarities were also detected across the two different, but related, product types. The study found that the impact of product cues is contextual, varying across the samples and product types.

Practical implications

The results are limited by the exploratory nature of the conjoint analysis. They highlight that medical marketers should recognize the varying impact of salient cues on consumers' product preferences and choices.

Originality/value

The study deals with a mostly unexplored issue and provides exploratory insights into the phenomenon.
Replying to management challenges
Authors: Xi Youmin , Zhang Xiaojun , Ge Jing
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address several challenges faced by organizational management in the contemporary context, and how managers can better reply to management challenges by integrating oriental and occidental philosophy and wisdom.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper first describes the characteristics of the contemporary management context and identifies challenges that managers are likely to encounter. The paper then investigates how oriental and occidental philosophy and wisdom reply to these management challenges, whilst also considering the relative advantages and disadvantages of both traditions. Based on the complementarity of these two traditions, the paper finally proposes a framework that integrates both oriental and occidental wisdom by HeXie Management Theory to better respond to management challenges.

Findings

The contemporary organizational environment is characterized by four key salient components: complexity, change, ambiguity, and uncertainty (CCAU). Managers are challenged by problems of determining causality, managing holistically, and adaptation to rapid change. Western philosophical approaches to confronting management challenges arising from CCAU, inherent in the wider economic environment, emphasize standardization and rational design on the basis of science, law, and religion. Conversely, Oriental philosophical approaches to management challenges oppose such rigid systems in favour of flexibility and adaptability which emphasize harmony and morality. Essentially, whereas western thought intends to limit the occurrence of unpredicted events through the development of scientific systems, oriental thinking aims to provide a flexible and fluid system which absorbs the effects of CCAU, thus limiting and using its impact. These two perspectives both have their own advantages and disadvantages when facing management challenges in the context of CCAU. By integrating these two complementary approaches, the authors propose HeXie Management Theory (HXMT). HXMT establishes a clear vision and mission to direct the development of organizations; to organize an integrated management system through the HeXie Theme and HeXie Coupling, and to apply the component “He Principle” and “Xie Principle” as basic mechanisms to cope with management challenges.

Originality/value

This study contributes to research on relationships between organizations and environment by providing a holistic analysis, and adds knowledge about how to reply to management challenges by constructing ambidextrous organizations based on HeXie Management Theory.
An empirical study of organizational reform of China's bankcard industry and policy recommendations
Authors: Fu Lianying , Yu Linhui , Luo Pinliang
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the performance of China's bankcard market during 1999‐2005 when China's local card association – China UnionPay (CUP) was established in 2002, which integrated many small closed payment systems into an open payment system.

Design/methodology/approach

Difference‐in‐difference (DID) estimator and fixed effects model are employed to assess the potential influences of the establishment of CUP on the performance of China's bankcard businesses. In implementing DID method, it is possible to view the banks (payment entities) that are members of the CUP as the “treatment group” and others outside the CUP as the “reference group”, and introduce the “CUP member” dummy variable. Simultaneously, the paper introduces the “incident year” dummy variable labeling 2002 and afterward since the CUP was founded. Therefore, effects of establishing the CUP on the performance of its members can be simply obtained by estimating the coefficient of the interaction term between the “CUP member” dummy variable and “incident year” dummy variable in the estimation equation. The data used in this paper come from the official CUP website and Chinese Financial Statistic Almanac (2000‐2006).

Findings

The empirical evidence shows that from the micro‐perspective of maximizing platform transaction volume, the “closed to open” organizational reform, i.e. introducing the CUP into the market decreased rather than increased the performance of CUP's members. The fundamental reason for this was imperfections in the market's internal management mechanism and multi‐party profit distribution mechanism, which led to dislocation and distortion in the positioning and function of the card association‐CUP.

Originality/value

Different with most other studies that are pure theoretical ones, this study represents one of the few studies that use empirical methods to investigate two‐side markets.
The diversification effects of a firm's political connection and its performance implications
Authors: Deng Xinming , Tian Zhilong , Li Jianfeng , Abrar Muhammad
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively investigate the combined influence of a firm's political connection and diversification on corporate performance, and to explore whether firm's political connection has an impact on the diversification effect, and whether this diversification effect would promote its performance significantly or not.

Design/methodology/approach

The research used a regression model to explore the correlation among political connection, diversification strategy, and corporate performance. The research subjects are the private enterprises listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange in China for the period 2002‐2005.

Findings

The study found that: first, for those firms without political connections, the relationship between diversification strategy and corporate performance displayed an “inverted U” curve; for firms with political connection, the relationship was a “reverse L”. Second, firms with political connections are more likely to implement a diversification strategy, especially unrelated diversification. Third, when implementing an internationalization strategy, private enterprises with political connections are more likely to expand through unrelated diversification strategy. Fourth, the diversification of the enterprises with political connection are more likely to promote the short‐term accounting performance than those without political connection, but the unrelated diversification of politically connected enterprises would have a negative impact upon its future performance, that is to damage the company's market value.

Originality/value

The paper expands the literature on the relationship between diversification and firm performance. It contributes to the research about the influence of political connection upon corporate performance.
Relational mechanisms, market contracts and cross‐enterprise knowledge trading in the supply chain
Authors: Zhang Xumei , Chen Wei , Tong Jie , Liu Xiangyu
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of relational mechanisms and market contracts on cross‐enterprise knowledge trading in supply chain and to examine the role of market contracts. Relational mechanism is categorized into indirect and direct relational mechanism in this paper. Cross‐enterprise knowledge trading is categorized into explicit and tacit knowledge trading. The indirect relational mechanism is mainly expressed by knowledge brokers, while the direct relational mechanism consists of shared goals and trust.

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple regression analysis was performed on questionnaire data from 256 Chinese manufacturing enterprises in supply chain in order to assess the relationships between relational mechanisms, market contracts and cross‐enterprise knowledge trading.

Findings

The results show that knowledge brokers and market contracts have significant and positive effects on explicit knowledge trading, but the effects on tacit knowledge trading are not significant. Shared goals and trust have significant and positive effects not only on explicit knowledge trading but also on tacit knowledge trading, while trust has a stronger positive effect on tacit knowledge trading than explicit knowledge trading. Finally, the moderating effects of market contracts are proven in the relationships between relational mechanisms and knowledge trading, excluding the relationship between knowledge brokers and tacit knowledge trading.

Originality/value

Previous studies about the cross‐enterprise knowledge trading in supply chain focused on theoretical research which did not match with reality, especially in China, where the relational mechanism in trading activities is strong. Based on relational exchange theory and transaction cost theory, a conceptual model for the effects of relational mechanisms and market contracts on cross‐enterprise knowledge trading in supply chain is proposed in this paper, and then empirically tested using the data collected from 256 Chinese manufacturing enterprises in supply chain with multiple regression models. The findings provide a theoretical basis for knowledge trading participants selecting an appropriate governance mechanism to promote knowledge trading, and these also guide the knowledge trading among members of supply chain in practice.
Climate change and tourism: comparing female Costa Rican and American perceptions
Authors: Aguirre Gonzalez Juan Antonio
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to contribute to a better understanding of the climate change problem in naturally protected areas in developing countries, based on women's perceptions and to determine whether national parks should take an active role in providing climate change educational information and activities.

Design/methodology/approach

The work reported in this paper was carried out at Vulcan Poas National Park, Costa Rica, and the analysis drew on a sub‐sample of 162 Costa Rican women and 273 American women. The material collected was analyzed using a combination of ANOVA, correlation and standardized derived regression modelling using the forward elimination technique.

Findings

Climate change certainly ranks below personal and immediate risk in terms of perceived importance and the top‐level risks reported by respondents related to immediate personal concerns. The key explanatory variable in the case of the Costa Rican women is the relative educational level of the person and the park's ability to educate people about climate change. In the case of the American women, the variables included in the final model were: industrial emissions, deforestation and aerosol sprays. The results indicate that a significant difference exists between the two groups with regard to current perceptions about the threat from climatic change, and the likely importance of the problem in 50 years' time. Costa Rican women appeared to exhibit a more complex problem‐reaction‐action behavioural continuum than the American women in the study. In both cases it is unclear as to the role played by protected areas in terms of the impact of information and education provided in relation to climate change.

Research limitations/implications

The role of the parks as a source of education and information about the topic is not clear. However, it was established that there is an overall interest in the topic among women visitors, particularly local women. This level of awareness could be harnessed to develop strategies for combating and mitigating climate change, and in this sense, national parks might play an enhanced role as a place of learning about the topic.

Originality/value

This study is the first of its kind. In previous studies, women's reactions to climate change have been investigated much less than men's.
Reforms, WTO, arbitrage efficiency and integration between the China‐US soybean markets
Authors: Han Shengfei , He Pei
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a new approach to market analysis, and test how the China‐US soybean market integration and arbitrage efficiency have changed across 1995/1‐/2004/1 – a period covering strengthened government efforts to join WTO, and the institutional changes following WTO accession.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a regime‐switching model with parametric, semi‐parametric, and nonparametric measures to discern different market conditions in the sample period, as well as detect the structural shifts over time. Three types of data – expected prices, transaction costs, and trade flow – are used for the analysis.

Findings

Results of the analysis indicate better integration over time, but deteriorating efficiency. The markets often departed from efficient arbitrage throughout the study periods, and counter‐intuitively worsened after China's elimination of quota in 1999, and accession to WTO in 2001. One other interesting finding is that the state monopoly practice in soybean trading during the early periods produced seemingly competitive equilibrium price relationships.

Originality/value

The paper is an original work that provides policy implications regarding the impacts and effectiveness of government policies on China's international soybean markets, the remaining bottlenecks, and the challenge to both Chinese soybean farmers and the US exporters. The method of identifying trade variation in a price model and the combination of parametric and semi‐parametric analyses with comprehensive data further permits more accurate and intuitive interpretations previously unavailable.
Why do farmers quit from grain production in China? Causes and implications
Authors: Zhan Jin‐Tao , Wu Yan‐Rui , Zhang Xiao‐Hui , Zhou Zhang‐Yue
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The number of farms engaged in grain production in China has been declining in recent years. Limited efforts have been devoted to examine why producers quit from grain production and how such exits affect China's grain output. Such information, however, is invaluable in understanding whether the exit from grain production should be encouraged and if so, how. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence farmers' decision to quit from grain production, with a view to drawing implications for devising policies to deal with such exits.

Design/methodology/approach

Both descriptive statistics and econometric techniques are used to analyse a set of unique and comprehensive farm‐level survey data to identify key factors that affect farmers' decision to quit from grain production.

Findings

Key factors that influence a farm to quit from, or stay in, grain production include: family size, the share of farming labour out of total family labour, per capita arable land, the proportion of land used for grain production, the share of family income from grains. It was also found that the level of grain prices and the sunk cost in farming, chiefly in grain production, also affect the likelihood that a household will stay or exit from grain production. Further, farmers in more economically developed regions are more likely to quit from grain production.

Originality/value

The paper's findings clearly indicate that farms with a larger scale of grain production and earning higher income from grain are the major contributors to China's grain production. Potential exists for China to raise its total grain output if the land from those exiting farmers is readily made available to larger producers, enabling them to further benefit from the economies of scale.
Network strength, transaction‐specific investments, inter‐personal trust, and relationship satisfaction in Chinese agri‐food SMEs
Authors: Lu Hualiang , Feng Shuyi , Trienekens Jacques H. , Omta S.W.F.
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of network strength, transaction‐specific investments and inter‐personal trust on business relationship satisfaction for small‐and‐medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) involved in agri‐food processing and exporting in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data collected from 80 agri‐food SMEs in Jiangsu Province were used for empirical testing. The authors applied an ordered logit regression approach for model estimation.

Findings

The results demonstrate that strongguanxinetworks, high level of transaction‐specific investments and inter‐personal trust significantly contribute to a high level of relationship satisfaction for agri‐food SMEs in China. In addition, inter‐personal trust shows a moderating effect on the relationship between transaction‐specific investments and relationship satisfaction.

Practical implications

Business relationships play a critical role in the modern market environment. Relational arrangements (based onguanxiand inter‐personal trust) should be further enhanced in order to yield satisfied business relationships for SMEs in China.

Originality/value

The paper extends our understanding of relationship (guanxi) marketing, as well as marketing practices for agri‐food SMEs in China.
Simulation‐based crack growth mitigation through optimum laser peened residual stress
Authors: Singh Gulshan , Ocampo Juan , Millwater Harry , Clauer Allan
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach to optimize the cycles‐to‐failure of a peened component with respect to laser peening (LP) variables: pressure magnitude, mid‐span, and spot size when the component is subject to a variable amplitude loading.

Design/methodology/approach

To optimally design an LP process, an experimentally validated 3D finite element simulation of the LP process, a cycles‐to‐failure estimation capability incorporating residual stress, and a particle swarm optimization strategy were developed and employed to maximize the cycles‐to‐failure of a component of a titanium turbine disk.

Findings

The most critical finding of this research is that a minor difference in the residual stress profile can lead to a large difference in the cycles‐to‐failure. This finding implies that selecting the optimization objective to be the cycles‐to‐failure is a better option as compared to the residual stress profile.

Research limitations/implications

The LP‐induced residual stresses are assumed static and do not change as number of load cycles increase.

Originality/value

The paper develops a framework that relates the LP variables and the cycles‐to‐failure of a peened component. A modified particle swarm optimization approach is developed to optimize the fatigue life of a turbine disk.
A cross‐national investigation of university students' complaining behaviour and attitudes to complaining
Authors: Ferguson Graham , Phau Ian
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how students from Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia differ in their propensity to complain and attitudes to complaining.

Design/methodology/approach

A self‐administered questionnaire was designed using established scales to assess respondent reactions to a service failure by a university. The survey was completed by a sample of university students on an Australian university campus. ANOVA was used to compare differences between groups and regression was used to explore the relationship between attitudes and their complaining behaviours.

Findings

Australian students have a less positive attitude to complaining than Malaysian and Indonesian consumers. Contrary to expectations, “switching” behaviours were not revealed as a separate dimension of complaining behaviours, however switching was identified with online complaining as part of a new complaining dimension related to taking action outside of the organisation. Malaysian and Indonesian students are more likely to complain in this way. Surprisingly, Indonesian students are less likely to remain loyal to the service provider and Australian students were less likely to “voice” internally to the service provider. Having a positive attitude to complaining was positively related to taking action outside the organisation and to voicing within the organisation, while negative attitudes to complaining were positively related to remaining loyal to the service provider for Australian and Malaysian students.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are limited to consumers of complex services such as University degrees. They are also limited to Indonesian, Malaysian and Australian consumers. Other service contexts, cultures and product failure situations should be investigated in the future.

Originality/value

This research bridges an inherent gap in the literature by exploring the complaining behavior of students in an Asia‐Pacific context. Service organisations can use the findings to better interpret and respond to complaining behavior by students from different nationalities. In particular, it helps faculty and university administrators to manage dissatisfied students from diverse national backgrounds and assists marketers to develop marketing initiatives and communication policies for the student recruitment process.
Post‐crisis South Asia: monetary management and macro‐prudential regulation
Authors: Nachane D.M. , Shahidul Islam M.
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The global crisis, originating in the US financial sector, affected the Asian region primarily through three channels – declining trade volumes, exchange rate pressure and asset deflation. The purpose of this paper is to focus on how the crisis impacted the four major economies of South Asia, viz. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and how, by a combination of swift actions on the monetary, fiscal and exchange rate fronts, the worst consequences of the crisis were averted.

Design/methodology/approach

The regulatory and supervisory systems in these four economies are then benchmarked against certain desirable norms, which have emerged out of post‐crisis international deliberations.

Findings

It is felt that the South Asian regulatory systems perform fairly wellvis‐à‐visthese norms.

Practical implications

The paper also touches upon the major highlights of the crisis impact, policy responses and post‐crisis recovery in the Southeast Asian region.

Originality/value

The several similarities and the few contrasts between the two regions on these aspects are also presented.
Teacher education lesson observation as boundary crossing
Authors: Lofthouse Rachel , Wright David
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test and develop a new tool for lesson observation and feedback within the context of initial teacher education. The tool was designed to align with the practitioner enquiry model of teacher learning underpinning the course, and as such it drew mentors into the mode of responding to their students’ questions.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was undertaken as a Design Study. The design of the tool led to an iterative, collaborative, process‐focused approach to the development of the observation tool. Students and their mentors were encouraged to experiment with and report on their observation experience.

Findings

The observation tool altered the quality of the mentoring relationship through focusing on enquiry as its foundation. Feedback from student teachers and their mentors helped us to define the role of observation in the process of professional learning and to review the nature of the mentoring relationship which emerged.

Practical implications

Significant professional development and learning can be triggered by crossing both real and metaphorical boundaries and as such it is essential that the tools offered to students and their mentors are supportive of divergent learning outcomes, through which each student teacher has the opportunity to transform teaching practices, not simply replicate existing ones.

Originality/value

Observation and feedback in the classroom can be viewed as a “boundary” practice. This new tool can be regarded as a “boundary object” which promotes the use of questions to support the “framing and reframing” necessary for the professional learning and development of the beginning teachers.
The different faces of principal mentorship
Authors: Parylo Oksana , Zepeda Sally J. , Bengtson Ed
Published: August 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine principal mentoring, a process that is significant in principal identification, socialization, development, and retention.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was framed within the social constructivism paradigm and thematically examined individual perspectives to develop the thematic constructs relevant to the participants’ experiences of and perceptions about principal mentoring.

Findings

Thematic analysis of the interview data from 16 principals from the state of Georgia, USA, revealed five major themes related to leaders’ experiences of and perceptions about principal mentoring: mentoring as recruitment; mentoring as socialization; mentoring as support; mentoring as professional development; and mentoring as reciprocal learning.

Research limitations/implications

These findings were limited to the sample of principals used for this analysis. Researchers are encouraged to examine principal mentoring in other contexts.

Practical implications

The results of this inquiry suggest the need for formal and informal mentoring opportunities for new and experienced principals and call for further research on comparing mentoring practices between the large and small schools systems.

Originality/value

The paper identifies mentoring as an important path to principal effectiveness and contributes to the corpus of literature on educational mentoring by examining the perceptions and experiences of new and experienced principals about the mentoring they received and provided.
Cytoadherence in paediatric malaria:ABOblood group,CD36, andICAM1 expression and severePlasmodium falciparuminfection
Authors: Cserti‐Gazdewich Christine M. , Dhabangi Aggrey , Musoke Charles , Ssewanyana Isaac , Ddungu Henry , Nakiboneka‐Ssenabulya Deborah , Nabukeera‐Barungi Nicolette , Mpimbaza Arthur , Dzik Walter H.
Published: August 2012

As a leading cause of childhood mortality worldwide, selection pressure byPlasmodium falciparumcontinues to shape the human genome. Severe disturbances within the microcirculation result from the adhesion of infected erythrocytes to host receptors on monocytes, platelets, and endothelium. In this prospective study, we compared expression of all major host cytoadhesion receptors among Ugandan children presenting with uncomplicated malaria (n = 1078) versus children with severe malaria (n = 855), including cerebral malaria (n = 174), severe anaemia (n = 522), and lactic acidosis (n = 154). We report a significant survival advantage attributed to blood groupOand increased monocyte expression ofCD36 andICAM1 (CD54). The high case fatality rate syndromes of cerebral malaria and lactic acidosis were associated with high plateletCD36 expression and thrombocytopenia, and severe malaria anaemia was characterized by lowICAM1 expression. In a logistic regression model of disease severity, odds ratios for the mitigating effects of blood groupO,CD36, andICAM1 phenotypes were greater than that of sickle haemoglobin. Host genetic adaptations toPlasmodium falciparumsuggest new potential malaria treatment strategies.
Synthesis, Cytotoxicity, and Cell Death Profile of Polyaminoanthraquinones as Antitumor Agents
Authors: Wang Jianhong , Gao Ruihong , Li Qian , Xie Songqiang , Zhao Jin , Wang Chaojie
Published: August 2012

Investigation on designed polyaminoanthraquinones revealed that the anthraquinones bearing triamine motifs are generally more potent than their counterparts with diamine or tetramine motifs. Compared with the reference drug mitoxantrone (MTX), 9b and 9c exhibited better inhibitory activity on cancerous HepG2 cells and preferable cell selectivity in the further screen of normal QSG7701 cells, although they were not assimilated by cancer cells via the polyamine transporter. The presence of polyamine motifs elevated the interaction of compounds 9b and 9c with lysosomes and resulted in distinct mode of cell death. 9c and MTX could cause caspases‐dependent HepG2 cell apoptotic death involving in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) loss, cytochrome c release, and caspase‐3 activation. However, 9b, which contained only one less methylene group in the polyamine tail, produced cytotoxicity by necrosis. In conclusion, the modification of anthraquinones with polyamines may furnish potent anticancer drug candidates against hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing distinct cell death mechanisms.
A novel NR5A1 variant in an infant with elevated testosterone from an Australasian cohort of 46,XY patients with disorders of sex development
Authors: Wu Joyce Y. , McGown Ivan N. , Lin Lin , Achermann John C. , Harris Mark , Cowley David M. , Aftimos Salim , Neville Kristen A. , Choong Catherine S. , Cotterill Andrew M.
Published: August 2012

Background

NR5A1 loss‐of‐function mutations are increasingly found to be the cause of 46,XY disorders of sex development (DSD).

Objective

To determine the presence of NR5A1 mutations in an Australasian cohort of 17 46,XY DSD patients with presumed androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) who were negative for androgen receptor gene (AR) mutation.

Design

Exons 2‐7 of NR5A1 were PCR amplified and sequenced. Gene expression and cellular localization studies were performed on a novel NR5A1 variant c.74A>G (p.Y25C) identified in this study.

Results

We identified one novel mutation, c.74A>G (p.Y25C) in a patient characterized by penoscrotal hypospadias with bifid scrotum. He had elevated testosterone and gonadotropins in early infancy. Functional analysis of p.Y25C in vitro demonstrated reduced transcriptional activation by SF‐1 and partially impaired nuclear localization in a proportion of transfected human adrenal NCI‐H295R cells.

Conclusion

This is the first reported case of a DSD patient with a NR5A1 mutation and elevated testosterone levels. Our finding supports evaluation of NR5A1 mutations in 46,XY DSD patients with a range of testosterone levels.