bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Factorial analysis of capacity-building needs of small- and medium-scale building contractors in developing countries
Authors: Asante Joseph , Kissi Ernest , Badu Edward 
Published: January 2018

PurposeThe needs assessment is the heart of any capacity-building strategy since it determines the design of any intervention, and also helps to prioritise the allocation of resources. Whereas there is a considerable amount of literature on the challenges faced by small- and medium-scale building contractors (SMBCs), very little is known about the needs (support) required by SMBCs. But given the critical role played by SMBCs in the construction industry demands, an understanding of how this sector can be assisted is required. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature relative to capacity building of SMBCs by exploring and examining the needs with the objective to extend the understanding on how to promote and sustain SMBCs to continue their infrastructural delivery at the local and rural areas in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire with five-point Likert scale is administered to 416 respondents, including local government authorities, consultants, first-class contractors and SMBCs using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Data generated from the survey are analysed using mean score ranking and principal component analysis, thus enabling the findings of the study to be examined under six thematic areas.FindingsThe SMCs needs identified include anti-corruption measures, job accessibility, technical and technological assistance, favourable fiscal policy, business development support and financial assistance. The findings of the study bring to the attention of policy makers the critical areas that required support by the assistance of SMBCs. In the interim, the study recommends the extension of business advisory services to the SMBCs by National Board of Small-Scale Industries, whilst in the long term, the government must create the necessary business operating environment to promote SMBCs pertaining to the industrial sector of the economy. The SMBCs must also factor the needs into their business operations that can be addressed from within.Originality/valueThe study suggests the need of SMBCs in building a robust construction industry in developing countries.
How to optimize sales flyers – novel experiment design
Authors: Pentus Kristian , Ploom Kerli , Kuusik Andres , Mehine Tanel 
Published: January 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how analysing sales flyers with a combination of eye tracking, measurement of emotions, interview and content analysis can give an in-depth understanding on how different design aspects influence sales flyers’ effectiveness as a communication tool. The paper shows the relationship between different sales flyer design principles and a person’s preference towards it, as well as the intent to read it.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper chose for pilot study using eye tracking and emotions measurement to analyse retail sales flyers. In addition, interviews and content analysis were conducted to fully understand which aspects of sales flyer design influenced consumers.

Findings
The paper’s main findings are that sales flyers that evoke more positive emotions are prone to be chosen, and the attention and the view time of content pages is related to the number of elements on the page, page coherence and the location of the offers.

Research limitations/implications
This research uses eye tracking were sales flyers are shown on screen, which is not a natural way to read sales flyers. Future research should aim to test this methodology and prepositions in the natural environment.

Practical implications
The paper includes implications for designing better sales flyers.

Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, sales flyers have never been studied with a research design combining eye tracking, measurement of emotions, interview, content analysis and preferences.
Online learning during post-earthquake school closures
Authors: Baytiyeh Hoda 
Published: January 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the impacts of earthquakes on schools and education services and demonstrate the critical role that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can play in supporting the continuity of education delivery during temporary school closures after seismic events.Design/methodology/approachThis paper relies on a conceptual analysis that shows the potential role of the online educational environment during post-earthquake school closures by relying on the available ICT tools.FindingsThis paper proposes a pro-active strategy for schools that transforms traditional education into an online learning environment to restore education delivery during school closures after earthquake which disrupts face-to-face teaching and denies students and staffs access to schools.Originality/valueThe sustainability of education delivery in the aftermath of earthquakes presents a challenge to governments, schools, people and communities. This paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating the role of online learning in sustaining educational delivery services after moderate earthquakes.
Smallholder farmers’ compliance with GlobalGAP standard: the case of Ghana
Authors: Baah Annor Prince 
Published: January 2018

Subject area
Agricultural Trade, Farm Management, Economics of Food Safety

Study level/applicability
Both undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics.

Case overview
The pineapple production sector plays a very significant role in the Ghanaian horticultural industry. Production and export of fresh pineapple has been Ghana’s most developed high-value supply chain. However, the introduction of the GlobalGAP food safety standard in 2007 resulted in a fall in smallholder farmers’ participation in exportable pineapple production and subsequently led to declining trends in pineapple exports. The Ghanaian horticultural industry received quite a number of interventions over the years aimed at revitalizing the horticultural export sector and enhancing international competitiveness. However, the pineapple export sub-sector is still constrained with production and market access challenges meaning the sector struggles to survive.

Expected learning outcomes
The GlobalGAP standard compliance case is an appropriate way of explaining how smallholder farmers make informed decisions concerning the adoption of new farm practices. The case presents a careful evaluation of technical, institutional and socio-economic factors influencing a farmer’s decision to comply or not to comply with the GlobalGAP standard. Students should be able to apply farm management decision-making concepts and tools such as profit maximization and binary choice modelling techniques to explain a farmers’ final decisions on GlobalGAP standard compliance. This case should enable students to appreciate key factors constraining agricultural export trade performance in developing countries. The case should also contribute to students’ understanding of smallholder farmers’ decisions on food safety standards compliance, particularly GlobalGAP, and the challenges associated with the entire compliance process. Moreover, this case should provide students with possible policy considerations geared towards making food safety standards compliance easier, effective and sustainable in developing countries so as to enhance market access while ensuring food quality and safety along high-value food supply chains.

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

Subject code
CSS 7 Management Science
Conspicuous political brand interactions on social network sites
Authors: Marder Ben , Marchant Caroline , Archer-Brown Chris , Yau Amy , Colliander Jonas 
Published: January 2018

PurposeAcquiring “Likes” for a political party or candidate’s Facebook pages is important for political marketers. For consumers, these “Likes” are conspicuous, making their political affiliation visible to their network. This paper aims to examine the roles of the undesired social-self and visibility (conspicuous vs inconspicuous) in predicting consumers’ intention to “Like” political brands. The authors extend knowledge on the undesired social-self and transference of theory from general marketing to a political domain and provide practical advice for political marketers engaging social network sites.Design/methodology/approachThe authors gather data from two surveys run with Facebook using electorates in the run up to the UK 2015 and US 2016 elections (n= 1,205) on their intention to “Like” political brands under different visibility conditions.FindingsData support the theorized relationship of the undesired social-self with social anxiety intention to “Like” when “Liking” is conspicuous. However, data also indicate that all users – irrespective of proximity to the undesired social-self – prefer to “Like” inconspicuously.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited by the generalizability of the specific context and the use of self-report measures.Practical implicationsPolitical marketers should reconsider promoting conspicuous consumption for that which is more inconspicuous.Originality/valueThe authors provide the first examination of the undesired social-self in driving behaviour under different visibility conditions. Furthermore, the authors challenge the extension of existing knowledge of the self-concept within political marketing, based on the “norm” for consumers’ to avoid disclosing political views publically.
Understanding olfaction and emotions and the moderating role of individual differences
Authors: Lin Meng-Hsien (Jenny) , Cross Samantha N.N. , Childers Terry L. 
Published: January 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the mediating role of emotions in processing scent information in consumer research, using event-related potential (ERP)-based neuroscience methods, while considering individual differences in sense of smell.Design/methodology/approachPrior research on olfaction and emotions in marketing has revealed mixed findings on the relationship between olfaction and emotion. The authors review earlier studies and present a neuroscience experiment demonstrating the benefits of ERP methods in studying the automatic processing of emotions.FindingsResults demonstrate how emotional processes occurring within 1s of stimulus exposure differ across individuals with varying olfactory abilities. Findings reveal an automatic suppression mechanism for individuals sensitive to smell.Research limitations/implicationsScent-induced emotions demonstrated through the use of ERP-based methods provide insights for understanding automatic emotional processes and reactions to ambient scents by consumers in the marketplace.Practical implicationsFindings show an automatic suppression of emotions triggered by scent in individuals sensitive to smell. Marketers and retailers should consider such reactions when evaluating the use of olfactory stimuli in promotional and retail strategies.Originality/valueThe authors review past literature and provide an explanation for the disparate findings in the olfaction–emotion linkage, by studying individual differences in response to scent in the marketplace. This is one of the first papers in marketing to introduce the application of ERP in studying consumer-relevant behavior and provide technical and marketing-specific considerations for both academic and market researchers.
Trust me if you can – neurophysiological insights on the influence of consumer impulsiveness on trustworthiness evaluations in online settings
Authors: Hubert Marco , Hubert Mirja , Linzmajer Marc , Riedl René , Kenning Peter 
Published: January 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine how consumer personality trait impulsiveness influences trustworthiness evaluations of online-offers with different trust-assuring and trust-reducing elements by measuring the brain activity of consumers. Shoppers with high degrees of impulsiveness are referred to as hedonic shoppers, and those with low degrees are referred to as prudent consumers.Design/methodology/approachTo investigate the differences between neural processes in the brains of hedonic and prudent shoppers during the trustworthiness evaluation of online-offers, the present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and region-of-interest analysis to correlate neural activity patterns with behavioral measures of the study participants.FindingsDrawing upon literature reviews on the neural correlates of both trust in online settings and consumer impulsiveness and using an experimental design that links behavioral and fMRI data, the study shows that consumer impulsiveness can exert a significant influence on the evaluation of online-offers. With regard to brain activation, both groups (hedonic and prudent shoppers) exhibit similar neural activation tendencies, but differences exist in the magnitude of activation patterns in brain regions that are closely related to trust and impulsiveness such as the dorsal striatum, anterior cingulate, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula cortex.Research limitations/implicationsThe data provide evidence that consumers within the hedonic group evaluate online-offers differently with regard to their trustworthiness compared to the prudent group, and that these differences in evaluation are rooted in neural activation differences in the shoppers’ brains.Practical implicationsMarketers need to be made aware of the fact that neurological insights can be used for market segmentation, because consumers’ decision-making processes help explain behavioral outcomes (here, trustworthiness evaluations of online-offers). In addition, consumers can learn from an advanced understanding of their brain functions during decision-making and their relation to personal traits such as impulsiveness.Originality/valueConsidering the importance of trust in online shopping, as well as the fact that personality traits such as impulsiveness influence the purchase process to a high degree, this study is the first to systematically investigate the interplay of online trustworthiness perceptions and differences in consumer impulsiveness with neuroscientific methods.
Creating a competence profile of a new profession: social service agents in welfare centers
Authors: Forsten-Astikainen Riitta , Heilmann Pia 
Published: January 2018

Purpose
This study examines in detail how a new occupational group in a field creates and defines its professional competences. The background of the study refers to a new way of organizing social and health care services that requires new type of expertise. The authors examine the professionals of this new sector – service agents and the competences – they need in a multi-professional networking organization. The goal of this organizational pilot project is to gather both experience and practical knowledge of how the “gatekeeper” model can work between the customer and the service provider. The purpose of this paper is to learn the service agents’ perspective on their own work, namely, how they create their work, what their visions of the future are, and what can be learned from the new organizing model.

Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data collection and small-scale exploratory study of a new profession: eight service agents and their two supervisors were interviewed to raise awareness of what professional competences these new job contents require, how service agents can influence the content of their work, and what competence needs will emerge in the future.

Findings
The key findings indicate that service agents lack the courage to modify their own mission. When a new profession is created, they are uncertain about how to create self-content on their own terms. They assume they need a certain degree and to know something more than they already know. They do not dare define their own new professional territory, but rather wait for that definition to come from their organization or society. However, the results also show that some service agents have a hidden willingness to be creative even when there is a lack of courage. There is a need to take more initiative and for agents to think freely outside the box in this new situation.

Research limitations/implications
The number of interviewees is small and the context specific. However, the study gives an indication of the factors that need to be taken into account when the dissemination of the model starts.

Originality/value
The paper describes the results of the pilot project of a new profession and a customer-oriented model in the social and health care sector.
Structuring collective change agency internally
Authors: Wylie Nick , Sturdy Andrew 
Published: January 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify, describe and evaluate the different ways in which formal collective change agency is structured in specialist units inside 25 diverse organisations. As such it is oriented towards a range of practitioners operating in HR, project management or with responsibility for delivering change in public and private sectors.

Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative design, exploratory interview and case study research was conducted in organisations across the UK public and private sectors to explore how different change agency units operate within organisational structures.

Findings
Four dominant types of internal change agency unit are identified, varying in terms of their change impact scope and degree of structural embeddedness in the organisation. These units are described as transformers, enforcers, specialists and independents and share key concerns with securing client credibility and added value, effective relationship management and the use of consulting tools. Their roles and the tensions they experience are outlined along with hybrid forms and dynamic shifts from one type to another.

Research limitations/implications
The study could be extended outside of the UK and conducted longitudinally to help identify outcomes more precisely in relation to context.

Practical implications
Each of the four types of change agency unit identified is shown to be suited to certain conditions and to present particular challenges for collective change agency and for specialist management occupations engaged in such work. The analysis could usefully inform organisation design decisions around internal change agency.

Originality/value
The authors extend debates around the nature of internal change agency which has typically focussed on comparisons with external change agents at the level of the individual. Developing the work of Caldwell (2003), the authors reveal how emergent, team-based or collective approaches to change agency can be formalised, rather than informal, and that structural considerations of change need to be considered along with traditional concerns with change management.
Towards a digitised process-wheel for historic building repair and maintenance projects in Scotland
Authors: McGibbon Scott , Abdel-Wahab Mohamed , Sun Ming 
Published: January 2018

Purpose
With the increasing demand for high-quality economical and sustainable historic building repair and maintenance (R&M) allied with the perennial problem of skills shortages (project management (PM) and on-site practice) investment in new technologies becomes paramount for modernising training and practice. Yet, the historic R&M industry, in particular small- and medium-sized enterprises have yet to benefit from digital technologies (such as laser scanning, virtual reality and cloud computing) which have the potential to enhance performance and productivity. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative participatory action research approach was adopted. One demonstration project (Project A) exhibiting critical disrepair, showcasing the piloting of a five phased digitised “process-wheel” intended to provide a common framework for facilitating collaboration of project stakeholders thereby aiding successful project delivery is reported. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry employers to facilitate the process-wheel concept development.

Findings
Implementing only Phase 1 of the digitised “process-wheel” (e-Condition surveying incorporating laser scanning) resulted in an estimated 25-30 per cent cost and time savings, when compared to conventional methods. The accrued benefits are twofold: provide a structured standardised data capturing approach that is shared in a common project repository amongst relevant stakeholders; inform the application of digital technologies to attain efficiencies across various phases of the process-wheel.

Originality/value
This paper has provided original and valuable information on the benefits of modernising R&M practice, highlighting the importance of continued investment in innovative processes and new technologies for historic building R&M to enhance existing practice and in form current training provision. Future work will focus on further piloting and validation of the process-wheel in its entirety on selected demonstration projects with a view of supporting the industry to digitise its workflows and going fully digital to realise optimum process efficiencies.
Opportunities for slow fashion retail in temporary stores
Authors: Overdiek Anja 
Published: January 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to further theorize the concept of the “sustainable temporary store” and explore benefits and challenges for slow fashion retailers using temporary stores to promote a new value proposition and develop a business model.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical part combines the findings from marketing and human geography literature to theorize pop-up retailing from the slow fashion SME perspective. The empirical part uses a critical case study and a qualitative method approach (primary sources, half standardized interviews, ethnographic observation).FindingsThe study provides theoretical insights into five success criteria for the “sustainable temporary store” across geographies. Empirical findings allow for further conclusions about challenges in regards to spatial requirements and business modeling for slow fashion retail entrepreneurs in the Netherlands.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of the study are the geographical scope of exiting literature on the global north and the restricted sample size. However, by selecting a critical case, careful geographically restricted generalizations can be made.Practical implicationsThe study provides useful information for slow fashion entrepreneurs who want to use cheap temporary space to develop their retail business model.Social implicationsThe results show that there is placemaking value (social value creation) in temporary slow fashion retailing.Originality/valueThe study provides a relevant contribution to the theory of pop-up retailing and more precisely to the concept of the “sustainable temporary store.” It also delivers a replicable empirical research design for other geographies.