bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The impact of knowledge conversion processes on implementing a learning organization strategy
Authors: Moh'd Al‐adaileh Raid , Dahou Khadra , Hacini Ishaq 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore the influence of the knowledge conversion processes (KCP) on the success of a learning organization (LO) strategy implementation.Design/methodology/approachUsing a case study approach, the research model examines the impact of the KCP including socialization, externalization, combination and internalization on implementing a learning organization (LO) strategy in an Algerian international oil company. A sample of 500 managers was asked to respond to questionnaires from which only 416 were valid. Multiple regression analysis is employed to explore the influential processes on the LO strategy.FindingsThe findings revealed that socialization, internalization and combination have a significant impact on the success of a LO strategy. Socialization is the major influential factor, having the strongest impact on LO. However, externalization was found to have no statistical influence on LO.Practical implicationsThis research provides evidence concerning the interdependence between knowledge management through KCP and LO.Originality/valueThe research is one of a few studies investigating the relationship between the knowledge conversion processes and learning organization, in contrast to the extensive research taking into consideration the well‐known knowledge process of creating, acquiring, capturing, sharing and using knowledge. This may be one of the first papers exploring the theme of the LO within Algerian business organizations.
Team learning activities
Authors: Albinsson Gunilla , Arnesson Kerstin 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to show how a model for sustainable learning has been formed in the meetings between practitioners and researchers.Design/methodology/approachWith the point of departure in an interactive research approach, the authors have worked with learning and common knowledge development. Empirical data were collected from nine learning seminars, which were carried out within the framework of an EU project.FindingsIt is shown by means of empirical examples from an ongoing EU project how the pedagogic method of learning seminars came to be a mediating tool for reciprocal learning between researchers, project leaders and project participants.Originality/valueThe learning seminars constituted an important part of a reflexive learning process where the learning consists of both practicable and theoretically anchored knowledge. Together with the project participants, the authors developed a model for sustainable learning. This model consists of a reflection model, which rests on four fundamental conditions; pedagogic leadership, the learning group, problem areas/situation and time aspects. This article fills a significant knowledge gap in terms of the development of learning within organizations.
How knowledge management is affected by organizational structure
Authors: Mahmoudsalehi Mehdi , Moradkhannejad Roya , Safari Khalil 
Published: September 2012

PurposeIdentifying the impact of organizational structure on knowledge management (KM) is the aim of this study, as well as recognizing the importance of each variable indicator in creating, sharing and utility of knowledge.Design/methodology/approachFor understanding relationships between the main variables (organizational structure‐KM), the authors used statistical analysis and a structural model. A questionnaire was designed based on a literature review. The correlation between variables was examined, then the effects of independent variables on dependent variable were recognized, and finally a structural equation approach was used to perform path analysis, and to examine the effect of exogenous variables on endogenous variables.FindingsThe results suggest that organizational structure is positively related to knowledge management. The findings extend theoretical implications for organizational factor effects on knowledge management. In general, if the characteristics of organizational structure were less centralized, less formalized, more complicated and more integrated, the levels of KM would be enhanced.Research limitations/implicationsA couple of limitations of this study should be noted. The first limitation is the sample size used. There was also inadequate access to scientific research and up to date papers.Originality/valueThe paper presents a clear relationship between organizational structure and knowledge management.
The role of personality congruence, perceived quality and prestige on ready‐to‐wear brand loyalty
Authors: Erdoğmuş İrem , Büdeyri‐Turan Işıl 
Published: September 2012

PurposeIn today's marketplace, successful branding requires building strong bonds with the consumers, by creating favorable, strong and unique brand associations in consumer minds. This study aims to identify the role of functional (perceived quality) and symbolic brand associations (personality congruence and brand prestige) in creating brand loyalty in the ready‐to‐wear sector from the perspective of Generation Y consumers.Design/methodology/approachThe research employs a structural equation modeling method based on data collected from 564 individuals born between 1977 and 1994. Turkey is chosen as the context of the study based on the fact that the ready‐to‐wear sector is one of the leading sectors in the country and about 30 percent of the population are Generation Y consumers.FindingsThe findings of the study reveal that perceived quality has a direct positive effect on brand loyalty, suggesting appearance and product quality perception are critical in the preferences of Generation Y consumers. Personality congruence and brand prestige, on the other hand, have an indirect positive effect on brand loyalty with the mediation of appearance and product quality.Practical implicationsThe practitioners in the sector should devote special attention to appearance quality together with product quality, and construct a high quality and prestigious brand image with the personality traits of sincerity, competence, and excitement.Originality/valueThis study has contributions to branding, ready‐to‐wear, and Generation Y literature combining several important dimensions into a structural model, and examines the interrelationships among these dimensions as well as their effect on brand loyalty.
The dimensionality of fashion‐brand experience
Authors: Kim HaeJung 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThis study aims to understand the multifaceted fashion‐brand experience. By identifying the constructs and conceptualizing the building process of fashion‐brand experience, this study also aims to demonstrate the cognitive, affective, and behavioral brand experience dimensions in accordance with the customer‐based brand equity hierarchy. In addition, by comparing two rivaling fashion brands, this study seeks to empirically depict the exclusivity of the Korean apparel market.Design/methodology/approachBased on three studies conducted in South Korea, the fashion‐brand experience scale was validated. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling revealed that the scale consisted of brand awareness, brand performance, brand imagery, customer judgments, customer feelings, and customer‐brand resonance according to cognitive, affective and, behavioral brand experience dimensions. Additionally, the brand effect was controlled by comparing the composition of the two brands.FindingsFashion‐brand experience highlights the robust affective dimension that is created via the relational extension of brand imagery, customer feelings, and customer‐brand resonance. In addition, as a condition necessary for affective experience, the cognitive brand judgment is created by a credible opinion related to brand performance. On a comparison of the disparity of hypothetical relationships between brands, it may be inferred that Polo proffers both cognitive judgments and affective feelings prior to the resonance experience, while Giordano augments the affective experience by engaging exclusive customer feelings.Research limitations/implicationsStructural relationships among six dimensions of brand experience may vary when different product categories and brands are compared. To improve the generalization of empirical findings, varied consumer samples should be employed, and other control effects, such as personal and cultural factors, should be considered.Originality/valueTo provide insight into the transition of a fashion‐brand experience toward the global consumer experience archetype, this study underscores the unique nature and dimensional structure of fashion‐brand experience by theorizing a customer‐based brand equity approach.
Young Generation Y consumers’ perceptions of sustainability in the apparel industry
Authors: Hill Jessica , Lee Hyun‐Hwa 
Published: September 2012

PurposeConflicting marketing messages have caused consumers to misunderstand distinctions between sustainability and environmental concern, especially when considering the apparel industry. This study seeks to explore consumers’ actual knowledge and sentiment towards sustainability and environmental issues, both in general and in the apparel industry.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through open‐ended survey questions collected from 80 young Generation Y college students, aged 18‐25.FindingsFindings show a low level of knowledge of the holistic principle of sustainability and specific adverse effects of the apparel industry. Participants feel steps must be taken towards sustainability, and that every effort helps, despite some skepticism. Results confirm the need for more concise educational and marketing campaigns.Originality/valueThis study sought to provide a snapshot of current young consumers’ attitudes as a tool to encourage more specific and salient directions for future growth of the movement in consumers and companies, adding further insight to the literature on Generation Y as consumers and citizens.
Adult carers quality of life questionnaire (AC-QoL): development of an evidence-based tool
Authors: Joseph Stephen , Becker Saul , Elwick Hannah , Silburn Richard 
Published: September 2012

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to develop a new psychometric tool for the assessment of quality of life in adult informal carers.

Design/methodology/approach
– Two empirical studies are reported. Study 1 describes the psychometric development. An initial pool of 100 items was constructed and completed by 385 carers across the UK contacted through carers
'
centres. Principal components analysis was then conducted. In study 2, a further 101 carers took part; all completed the scale prior to the intervention and again post-intervention, allowing the authors to test utility as a tool to assess change.

Findings
– Using principal components analysis with study 1 data the number of items was reduced to 40 that assessed eight domains; support for caring, caring choice, caring stress, financial implications, personal growth, sense of value, ability to care and carer satisfaction. In study 2 it was found that respondents scored higher post-intervention compared to pre-intervention.

Research limitations/implications
– There are many carers who are not recognised by services.

Practical implications
– The AC-QoL promises to be a useful addition to the armoury of psychometric tools available for use with adult carers by both practitioners and researchers in health and social care, as well as of use to carers themselves and to policy makers in determining what interventions might be funded and further developed.

Originality/value
– The paper shows that the AC-QoL is original because of its development from both carers and professional perspectives, breadth of coverage, multi-component structure and focus on both negative and positive outcomes.
Including families and carers: an evaluation of the family liaison service on inpatient psychiatric wards in Somerset, UK
Authors: Stanbridge Roger 
Published: September 2012

Purpose
– National mental health policies in the UK have a common theme of seeking to develop working partnerships between people who use mental health services, their families and carers and professionals. In Somerset, following a staff training programme, a Family Liaison Service has been developed whereby systemically trained staff work alongside inpatient staff to hold family meetings as part of the assessment and admission process on all wards for working age adults and older people. This article aims to focus on this initiative.

Design/methodology/approach
– The article considers the development of the Family Liaison Service and evaluates its progress based on audit data, feedback from families using the service, and a survey of staff experience. Issues raised in developing family inclusive services are discussed.

Findings
– Evaluation of the service suggests that, although there is still progress to be made, considerable success has been achieved in embedding the service on inpatient units with a substantial increase in meetings held between staff and families. Feedback from families is positive and staff report increased confidence in engaging with families and carers.

Originality/value
– This article describes a transferable model for the implementation of national policy to develop working partnerships with families and carers in mainstream mental health services.
The emotional needs audit (ENA): a report on its reliability and validity
Authors: Tsaroucha Anna , Kingston Paul , Corp Nadia , Stewart Tony , Walton Ian 
Published: September 2012

Purpose
– To broaden the range of well-being outcomes that can be measured for patients with depressed mood and/or other mental health issues the aim is to determine the reliability and validity of a self-reported instrument that was designed by the Human Givens Institute to evaluate emotional distress (emotional needs audit – ENA).

Design/methodology/approach
– The ENA was administered to 176 patients, aged between 18-65 years (mean age: 39.2 years). The acceptability of the ENA was examined as well as its internal consistency (Cronbach
'
s alphas). ENA was administered at four time points and test-retest reliability was conducted between times 1 and 2. The data from three scales also administered to these patients (SWLS, CORE-OM and HADS) were used to aid the conduct of the ENA construct validity (concurrent and discriminant). Analysis of the ENA sensitivity/specificity was also performed.

Findings
– All the ENA items (except one) were shown to have good acceptability. The internal consistency was also very strong (Cronbach
'
s alpha: 0.84); the construct validity also revealed positive results for the ENA: concurrent validity (r=0.51-0.62; p
<
0.001); discriminant validity (r=0.22-0.28; p
<
0.01). Test-retest reliability was r=0.46 (p
<
0.001). Finally, ENA demonstrated high sensitivity (80 per cent), and moderate specificity (35 per cent).

Originality/value
– ENA was shown to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring wellbeing, quality of life and emotional distress. It also allows insight into the causes of symptoms, dissatisfaction and distress. It is suggested that this tool has complementarity to standardised tools when used in clinical practice.
Neoliberal peace and the development deficit in post‐conflict Sierra Leone
Authors: Vitalis Pemunta Ngambouk 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the structural factors responsible for why “donor darling” has not changed the pitfalls of stagnation and lifted post‐conflict Sierra Leone out of poverty.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a bottom‐up approach (“through the eyes of the poor”) and a combination of primary and secondary research methods – substantial desk research to investigate and review documentation related to the project and field interviews with development stakeholders at the national, district, and community levels with humanitarian aid workers, local civil society organisations, international non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) and national government officials.FindingsIt is argued that aid without the necessary local institutional structure for effective coordination and stringent aid conditionality – and therefore narrow focus – has stifled sustainable socio‐economic development initiatives. The international community's narrow definition and support for liberal peace, in tandem with the overarching neoliberal economic paradigm and failure to embrace an inclusivist approach to peacebuilding, has further stonewalled effective reconstruction, growth and development.Originality/valueThe paper calls the attention of development NGOs to be self‐reflexive, “wear native spectacles”, coordinate their actions and avoid “development as dependence”, by prioritizing what matters most to the beneficiaries of development. The basis of effective and sustainable socio‐economic development is institutional building.
Constraints of grassland science, pastoral management and policy in Northern China
Authors: Taylor James 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the implications of policies, practices and new “non‐equilibrium” management approaches in mobile grassland management.Design/methodology/approachThe author takes an actor‐oriented perspective on the narrative of land‐use practices, notional sustainable stocking rates and the problematic of state policy interventions in local context. The paper is based on two years in the field on a bilateral aid‐funded grassland management project at Xing'an League, Inner Mongolia and follow‐up among selected informants.FindingsThe constitution of grasslands “degradation” is in fact contested by resource users. Most grassland scientists, Party and Government officials in China have tended to associate ethnic “minority” mobile pastoralists with destructive cultural practices that, they argue, have led to ecological decline on the steppes. This argument is integral to the “degradation narrative” that underpins the discourse on grassland science. The conventional bio‐ecology emphasis on species dominance (growth‐form), in fact says little about the extent of anthropogenic impacts on above‐ground biomass and whether these factors have been the cause of degradation. The paper suggests that greater consideration is given to specific changes in human activity, climatic and plant productivity over time and space, based on endogenous, flexible seasonal estimates.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough presenting challenges to conventional grassland science based on endogenous experiences and herder practices, it may have specific geopolitical limits to more general scaling‐up in different contexts.Practical implicationsThe paper discusses new modalities of non‐equilibrium grassland management, inverting normative top‐down approaches to controlling environmental degradation, livestock distribution and stocking rates.Social implicationsThe paper suggests rethinking the use of customary practices, vernacular knowledge and the social organisation of herders in the design of sustainable grassland management.Originality/valueThe paper may be valuable to practitioners, rural development planners, funders and researchers interested in the use of integrated, cross‐disciplinary, new ecological knowledge in grassland management.
Determinants of cyclicality in the current account balance
Authors: Kandil Magda 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the role of public and private imbalances in the cyclicality of the current account balance in a sample of advanced and developing countries. Within developing countries, the evidence does not establish the dependency of private investment on private savings and private consumption is the main driver of the saving/investment balance. In contrast, private savings seem to be better mobilized to finance private investment and the latter is the main driver of the saving/investment balance in advanced countries. Deterioration in the current account balance in response to higher private consumption could be detrimental to growth and external stability. In contrast, an investment strategy that promotes growth is likely to attract financial flows and reduce the risk of a widening current account deficit on external stability.Design/methodology/approachThe paper studies determinants of the current account deficit. It studies current account fluctuations in the short‐run and explains these fluctuations by analyzing movements in the underlying components: public and private savings as well as investments and resulting imbalances. Of particular interest is the interaction between the government budget deficit, the private saving/investment balance, and the current account balance.FindingsUsing time‐series estimates, co‐movements indicate that fluctuations in the current account balance in many advanced countries appear to be driven by private investment that determines cyclicality in imports. In contrast, cyclicality in the current account appears to be driven by private consumption that determines fluctuations in imports in many developing countries. In general, fluctuations in the government budget deficit are mostly driven by government investment and fluctuations in the private saving/investment balance are mostly driven by fluctuations in private investment. Further, fluctuations in the current account balance appear to be mostly driven by fluctuations in the private saving/investment balance.Originality/valueThe paper explains the dynamics of the current account in relation to developments in public and private imbalances and its underlying components. It shows the effects of changes in the budget deficit and its underlying components on cyclicality in the current account. Similarly, cyclicality in the current account balance with cyclical movements in private savings and investment is studied, along with which factors affect the components of the current account balance. In particular, the paper establishes which components of the current account significantly respond to the cyclical changes in macroeconomic variables.
Populism in the Caribbean: a case study of Curaçao
Authors: Goede Miguel 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe an example of populism in the Caribbean. Populism is a worldwide phenomenon but little has been published about the development of populist politics in the Caribbean region, where it may find a unique expression.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on an analysis of the popular media, which were monitored from January 2010 until October 2011. The discourse and presentations of politicians were examined and analyzed. The resulting analyses were shared and debated with political observers and other stakeholders. An early draft of this paper was reviewed by a number of peers who added some critical insights1.FindingsPopulism in the Caribbean is an important phenomenon, because the region has all of the conditions that are necessary for it to thrive.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the analysis of populism in small Caribbean islands.