bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Innovative behavior and venture performance of SMEs
Authors: Omri Waleed 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between innovative behavior and firm performance to determine empirically whether managers’ innovative behavior impacts directly or indirectly on firm performance through innovative output. A proposed conceptual model is tested with the moderating effects of environmental dynamism.Design/methodology/approach– An empirical study tests the conceptual model of a multi-industry sample of Tunisian small and medium-sized enterprises. For this analysis the author applies the partial least squares (PLS) technique using the software package SmartPLS, version 2.0.Findings– Empirical findings reveal that innovative behavior acts on innovation output thus having a positive and significant effect on business performance. Direct effect on business performance is found to be positive but weakly significant. These positive relationships tend to decrease when market conditions are highly dynamic.Practical implications– Managers should be aware of the strategic potential of their innovative skills which can reinforce a firm’s innovativeness in order to improve business performance.Originality/value– This paper proposes a model showing how a manager’s innovative behavior affects innovation output thus enhancing firm performance. The proposed conceptual model gives a more specific vision with the introduction of environmental dynamism as a moderating factor.
Stage-Gate® for SMEs: a qualitative study in Germany
Authors: Leithold Nick , Haase Heiko , Lautenschläger Arndt 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to analyse the structure of the new product development (NPD) processes of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and researches the transferability of the Stage-Gate® system for SMEs.Design/methodology/approach– The authors used a qualitative multiple case study design. Data were gathered from 49 semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with German firms. The authors used blank cards and a bar graph to measure process structures. The NPD processes were assessed using both objective and subjective success criteria. Pattern matching was used as a systematic analysis technology for the identification of certain structures in the data. In data analysis the authors applied triangulation, content analysis, and descriptive categorisations. The authors looked for similarities and differences between the groups and the frequencies of certain characteristics, and also compared mean values.Findings– The authors found that the majority of the enterprises have adopted Stage-Gate® systems. The authors also found that users of Stage-Gate® XPress processes (a condensed version of the Stage-Gate® system) were, on average, more successful in their innovation activities than the users of other versions of the Stage-Gate® system and entirely different NPD processes. The typical steps in these development processes are idea creation, business case, and product development and production. The study also describes the structure of the XPress processes considering back couplings, overlapping activities, milestones, and customer integration.Originality/value– This description offers potential for the optimisation of the efficiency and effectiveness of NPD processes. Overall, the paper delivers new insights regarding the further exploration of the process structures in SMEs.
Drivers of changes in product development rules
Authors: Christiansen John K , Varnes Claus J 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the drivers that induce companies to change their rules for managing product development. Most companies use a form of rule-based management approach, but surprisingly little is known about what makes companies change these rules. Furthermore, this management technology also has developed over time into different versions, but what drives firms from one version to another has only been suggested, not empirically studied.Design/methodology/approach– The dynamics of the rules of five companies are analyzed over a period of more than ten years based on three rounds of interviews with 40 managers.Findings– Previous research has assumed that the dynamics of product development rules are based on internal learning processes, and that increasingly competent management will stimulate the implementation of newer and more complex rule regimes. However, the analysis here indicates that there are different drivers, both internal and external, that cause companies to adopt new rules or modify their existing ones, such as changes in organizational structures, organizational conflicts and changes in ownership or strategy. In addition, contrary to the predictions in previous research, companies sometimes move back and forth between different generations of rules. Companies that have moved to a more flexible third generation of rules might revert to their second generation rules, or supplement their flexibility with an increased level of management control and information systems. A model is proposed to explain the relationship between the drivers of rule change and the actual dynamics of rules, incorporating two sets of moderators: organizational moderators and rule-related moderators.Research limitations/implications– The findings indicate that many factors influence the modification of rules, and that there is no simple linear progression from one generation to another. Organizational learning is one among several other factors that influences the dynamics of rules for managing product development. Further research is needed to explore the dynamic relationship between different factors, the proposed moderators and changes to rules. Lack of historical record keeping in companies puts special requirements on research concerning rules.Practical implications– Companies need to consider how and why their present versions of rules have emerged, whether or not the existing rules can actually solve the challenges they face today, whether or not the rules support the intended company strategy, and what mechanisms influence their product development rules.Originality/value– A great deal of research has investigated the relationship between the uses of structured rule-based approaches to manage product development, but little is known about what makes these rules change. This is the first study to uncover the multitude of drivers that stimulate change in product development rules and to suggest sets of moderators that influence the outcome.
The effect of construal level on time perceptions, confidence in judgements and future preferences
Authors: Vilches-Montero Sonia Noemi , Spence Mark T. 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– This paper aims to examine how activating an abstract versus concrete construal as a retrieval cue – prior to providing estimates but after exposure to the stimulus – affects retrospective duration estimates of a hedonic experience, the kind of experience one might wish to repeat. Recent research has examined the effect of construal mindsets on prospective time perceptions (Hans and Trope, 2013) as well as the prediction of future durations (Kanten, 2011; Siddiquiet al., 2014).Design/methodology/approach– Two experiments are presented to test four hypotheses. The effect of construal level on time perceptions, confidence in duration judgments and future preferences using two different construal level manipulation techniques and a range of measures for the dependent variables is demonstrated.Findings– This research found that compared to a neutral experience, time perceptions of an enjoyable event are not explained by differences in the level of attention paid to the stimuli; that duration estimates elicited under abstract construals are shorter than those produced by concrete construals; and regardless of construal mindset, memory decay due to time delay appears to be at work. Hence duration estimates shorten. Moreover, abstract construals decrease confidence in duration judgments, but positively affect future preferences compared to a concrete mindset.Originality/value– This paper expands current knowledge by showing that construal mindsets can be used as retrieval cues to affect evaluations of past experiences and consumers’ experience-based future preferences.
Consumer evaluation in new products: the perspective of situational strength
Authors: Chang Aihwa , Tseng Timmy H. 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– This study aims to investigate the interaction between branding strategies, levels of perceived fit and consumer innovativeness on the evaluation of new products from the perspective of situational strength.Design/methodology/approach– Two experiments were conducted to empirically test the hypotheses.Findings– A significant three-way interaction of branding strategy, perceived fit and consumer innovativeness on the evaluation of the new products was found. A significant two-way interaction of branding strategy and perceived fit was also found. Situational clarity fully mediates the relationship between branding strategy and consumer product evaluations at various fit levels.Practical implications– The theory of situational strength may shed light on the selection of target market when managers launch new products. Innovative consumers are the target market for the new products under new branding or low fit sub-branding; under brand extension or high fit sub-branding, consumers are the target for the new products regardless of their degree of innovativeness.Originality/value– This is the first work to apply situational strength theory to a new product evaluation context. The theory provides a unified framework for explaining the cognitive processes involved when consumers use and combine marketing cues (i.e. branding strategies and fit levels) to evaluate new products; it also facilitates evaluating how the effects of consumer innovativeness are accentuated or attenuated based on various combinations of marketing cues. Most research on the evaluation of new products has examined the influence of consumer innovativeness, perceived fit or branding strategies as distinct entities. This study simultaneously examined the three.
Does the factor theory of satisfaction explain political voting behaviour?
Authors: Schofield Peter , Reeves Peter 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to explain voter perceptions and voting behaviour in the 2010 UK General Election on the basis of this theory, by evaluating the differential impact of government performance on key political issues defined as hierarchical voter satisfaction factor types. The validity of the three-factor theory of satisfaction in explaining consumer decision-making for products and services is well-established.

Design/methodology/approach
– British Election Survey (2010) data are used to test the relative influence of hierarchical voter satisfaction factor types in predicting the perceived overall performance of the former Labour government and actual voting behaviour. Sequential and multinomial logistic regression models are used in the perceived overall performance of the former Labour government and actual voting behaviour, respectively.

Findings
– “Basic” factors explain more of the variance in perceived overall government performance and voting behaviour than “performance” factors. There are significant positive main and interaction effects on Conservative and Liberal Democrat party votes from Labour’s underperformance on the “basic” factors. The results have important implications for political marketing and voting behaviour research.

Originality/value
– The study establishes the relevance of the three-factor theory of satisfaction within a political marketing context. It demonstrates that, controlling for party loyalty, perceived government performance on the hierarchical voter satisfaction factors explains voter perceptions and voting behaviour to a significant degree. In particular, it highlights the criticality for voting behaviour of both the direct and indirect impacts of “basic” factor underperformance.
In-store arousal and consumers’ inferences of manipulative intent in the store environment
Authors: Lunardo Renaud , Roux Dominique 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this article is to show how consumers’ inferences of manipulative intent mediate the effects of in-store arousal on pleasure and approach behavior.Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative study identifies arousal as a dimension of the store environment that may lead to inferences of manipulative intent. An experiment manipulating arousal tests the mediating effect of inferences of manipulative intent on the relationship of arousal with pleasure and approach behavior.Findings– A qualitative study and the results of an experiment suggest that arousing store environments lead to negative outcomes when consumers infer that such environments are manipulative. The experimental study results show that high in-store arousal increases inferences of manipulative intent, which in turn negatively affect pleasure and approach behaviors. The results also indicate that the effects of in-store arousal on inferences of manipulative intent vary with age.Practical implications– The study results recommend that practitioners carefully design their store environments, such that arousal they create does not lead consumers to believe that the environment is manipulative.Originality/value– This article contributes to extant literature by emphasizing the crucial role of inferences of manipulative intent in the effects of in-store arousal.
Investors’ reactions to company advertisements: the persuasive effect of product-featuring ads
Authors: Aspara Jaakko , Chakravarti Amitav 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– This article aims to focus on product-featuring advertising targeted to stock investors – that is, ads that provide investors with impressions about the company’s products, over and above financial information. The purpose is to explicate and test the psychological mechanisms by which such ads may exert influence on investors.

Design/methodology/approach
– An experiment is conducted with a representative sample of real investors, to test the effect and explore the underlying mechanisms. Two additional laboratory experiments reveal moderating factors of this effect.

Findings
– The results show that highlighting the company’s product features in an investor ad increases investors’ interest in investing in the company’s stock, by enhancing investors’ subjective evaluations of the company’s products. This effect emerges independent of factors related to preexisting brand perceptions (e.g. brand recognizability and likeability) and is mediated by dual causal channels: by increasing expectations about the company’s financial returns and by increasing affective attachment with the company’s products.

Research limitations/implications
– The findings identify and confirm different mechanisms of the effect of investor ads, but the relative magnitude of the effects is not generalizable.

Practical implications
– The results provide corporate marketing, corporate communications and investor relations professionals insights into how investors may be attracted by product-featuring advertisements.

Originality/value
– The study is the first to explicate the different channels of influence through which product-featuring ads may affect investors’ willingness to invest in companies.
Project on school staff health promotion in Poland: the first experiences
Authors: Woynarowska-Soldan Magdalena 
Published: May 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to present the concept, methods of implementation, results and experiences from the first stage of the three-year project on school staff health promotion carried out within the framework of the health-promoting school (HPS) network in Poland.

Design/methodology/approach
– The project was implemented in 2012 in 22 primary and lower secondary schools, with a group of 780 teachers and 276 non-teaching staff. To be eligible for their school to be included, head teachers and at least 60 per cent of school staff members had to volunteer to commit to the project. An action research approach was used. The project is implemented on the basis of an agreement between the Medical University of Warsaw and the Centre of Education Development.

Findings
– Over the first eighteen months of implementing the project, the schools selected priority problems to solve, constructed an action plan for the first year and evaluated their outcomes. Only 7 schools reported that they had achieved their goals. The difficulties experienced by schools were associated with inadequate planning skills, insufficient support from some head teachers, and low involvement of staff members in the project activities. However, openness to change and new learning, and a readiness to participation further in the project was observed across 17 from 22 schools.

Originality/value
– This pilot project was the first attempt to introduce health promotion among school staff into the HPS network in Poland and provides valuable lessons on implementation.
Socio-ecological school environments and children’s health and wellbeing outcomes
Authors: John-Akinola Yetunde O. , Nic Gabhainn Saoirse 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– Attention to improving the school environment is a common activity in school health promotion. The role of the school environment in supporting improved health and wellbeing has a theoretical base, but has rarely been directly investigated empirically. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the associations between school socio-ecological environment and health and wellbeing outcomes.Design/methodology/approach– Questionnaire data were collected from 231 pupils in nine primary schools: urban and rural; single and mixed gender; disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged; and health promoting schools (HPS) and non-HPS. Questionnaire items included perceptions of the school socio- ecological environment (school perception, class relationships, teacher relationships, school policy and parental participation) and health and wellbeing outcomes.Findings– Reported school perception (OR 1.21, 95 per cent CI 1.12-1.30), class relationships (OR 1.13, 95 per cent CI 1.06-1.21), relationship with teacher (OR 1.20, 95 per cent CI 1.11-1.29), perception of school policy (OR 1.25, 95 per cent CI 1.13-1.37) and parents’ participation in school life (OR 1.32, 95 per cent CI 1.15-1.51) were all significantly associated with health and wellbeing outcomes for all groups of pupils. Very few differences emerged between different school types on the measures of either school socio-ecological environment or measures of health and wellbeing.Originality/value– The socio-ecological environment is clearly related to general health and wellbeing outcomes, which underlines its relevance to school health promotion. The lack of discernable differences between HPS and non-HPS demonstrate the lack of clarity in definitions of the health promoting status of schools.
The ASCD Healthy School Communities project: formative evaluation results
Authors: Valois Robert F. , Lewallen Theresa C. , Slade Sean , Tasco Adriane N. 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to report the formative evaluation results from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Healthy School Communities (HSC) pilot project.Design/methodology/approach– This study utilized 11 HSC pilot sites in the USA (eight sites) and Canada (three sites). The evaluation question was “What are the levers of change in a school community that allow for the initiation and implementation of best practice and policy for improving school health?” Pre- and post-site visits along with in-depth interviews with school teams, teachers, students, administrators, community stakeholders and other involved individuals, school site report reviews, Healthy School Report Card results and school improvement plans were used for evaluation purposes.Findings– This study identified nine levers of change: principal as leader of the HSC efforts; active and engaged leadership; distributive team leadership; effective use of data for continuous school improvement; integration of the HSC process with the school improvement process; ongoing and embedded professional development; authentic and mutually beneficial community collaborations; stakeholder support of the local HSC effort; and creation or modification of school policy related to HSC that increased the likelihood that school improvement via health promotion would be pursued and sustained.Research limitations/implications– Owing to the qualitative methods used in this study and the number of schools in the pilot project, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed evaluation question further.Practical implications– This study has implications for schools seeking to create sustainable, systemic integration of health and education for effective health-promoting schools and continuous school improvement.Originality/value– This study provides evidence that integration of health and education can become a sustainable and integral part of a school’s culture.
Involving young people in changing their school environment to make it safer
Authors: Fletcher Adam , Fitzgerald-Yau Natasha , Wiggins Meg , Viner Russell M. , Bonell Chris 
Published: May 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of involving students and staff on school action groups, and staff and student experiences of reviewing local data and initiating school-level changes, to address bullying and other aggression.Design/methodology/approach– The authors draw on qualitative, process data collected at four purposively sampled pilot intervention schools in England via semi-structured interviews with school managers, action group members and facilitators (n=33), focus groups with students (n=16) and staff (n=4), and observations.Findings– School staff used multiple methods to recruit a diverse range of students onto school action groups. Locally tailored data reports were an important catalyst for action groups to identify priorities and plan whole school change – both through the process of “validation” (whereby existing concerns were confirmed) and “discovery” (whereby new problems were identified). An unexpected benefit of providing schools with these data was that it triggered analyses of other data sources, including routine monitoring data. External facilitators were important in promoting student voice and ensuring the intervention retained integrity as a whole-school restorative approach.Practical implications– It was feasible to involve young people using action groups, and there was evidence of school-level actions led by students, including in disadvantaged school contexts. Future Health Promoting Schools interventions could incorporate this approach to support locally appropriate, school-level change.Originality/value– The micro-level processes that were observed, whereby action groups interrogated feedback reports and collected additional data, suggest the responsiveness of such youth-involvement interventions to local needs. Contrary to many public health interventions, implementation appeared to befacilitatedrather than hindered by features of the secondary-school “market” whereby parents have some choice between schools.