bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Determinants of B2B salespersons' performance and effectiveness: a review and synthesis of literature
Authors: Singh Ramendra , Koshy Abraham 
Published: August 2010

PurposeReview articles on B2B salespersons' performance in the recent past have been limited. This paper seeks to provide a review, focusing on the conceptualizations of the salespersons' performance construct, and its determinants, in a B2B context. A synthesis of the relevant predictors is presented, and new customer‐centric measures of performance in industrial selling are also proposed.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides an exhaustive review and synthesis of the conceptual and empirical studies on salespersons' performance and effectiveness. It also posits a set of propositions from a customer‐centric perspective.FindingsFar too many individual‐level variables are used as predictors of a B2B salesperson's performance and effectiveness. Future research must focus on context‐specific selling situations to identify the contextual skills required to perform the critical customer‐centric activities, rather than by using generic models that fail to apply to all situations.Research limitations/implicationsThe review paper provides a conceptual synthesis of studies carried out in the past. Future researchers can carry out a meta‐analysis of empirical studies to provide more pointed results.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the heterogeneity in B2B salespersons' performance, which makes unraveling its determinants more difficult. The paper makes a call for adopting measures that are customer‐centric, such that predictors are anchored in the activities of salespeople rather than their individual‐level characteristics.Originality/valueThe paper disentangles the inconsistencies in the conceptualization and measurement of the two key focal constructs, and highlights the conceptual overlap between these constructs. The paper also proposes performance measures based on customer‐centric activities, rather than being either firm‐centric or based on individual characteristics.
Systematic sales channel redesign for the US market
Authors: Zupancic Dirk , Neckermann Sonja , Schagen Alexander 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this teaching case study is to analyze, conceptualize and redesign sales approaches with the example of a German wire company selling in the US market.Design/methodology/approachThis is a case‐based research paper that describes in detail successful sales channel redesign in a business‐to‐business context.FindingsThe case study shows the significant advantages of systematic research and optimization of sales channels. The potentials of the wire group in the USA were not utilized because only rough estimates of the US market existed. The new concept bears many advantages: important customers and important regions are covered by their own salesforce.Research limitations/implicationsThere is a scarcity of published work in the case‐based research area. This work provides an understanding of sales channel redesign for business and industrial markets in the USA.Practical implicationsThe findings of the case have tangible implications for those business companies whose sales channels operate in huge markets with limited resources.Originality/valueThe case adds value in sales channel management and supports companies in systematic sales channel redesign in business and industrial markets. Students will benefit from the systematic development of practical solutions in sales management.
Preventing and combating administrative narcissism
Authors: Samier Eugenie A. , Atkins Terryl 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe paper seeks to examine the problem of destructive narcissism as an aspect of the emotional dimension of educational administration. Positions of power and influence provide motive and opportunity for the damaging character of this personality disorder to negatively affect the work life of colleagues and sabotage organizational effectiveness, ranging in degree from mild annoyance to extreme disabling.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a model of narcissism composed of the typical profile and organisational expression in educational settings, drawing on narcissism theory. This includes the narcissist's illegitimate sense of entitlement, inappropriate need for admiration and attention, lack of empathy, and projection of negative traits onto others that affect the politics and culture of schools and universities, including social interaction and work styles, that produces an objectified use of people.FindingsFour aspects of graduate professional programs are examined for the effects of destructive narcissistic pattern – student recruitment, curriculum, narcissistic professors, and research activities – and strategies recommended for dealing with this problem.Originality/valueThe problem of narcissism in educational administration and leadership professional programmes is not addressed in the field.
Facing “reality”: including the emotional in school leadership programmes
Authors: Wallace Janice 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to argue that emotions characterise organisations and, therefore, emotional labour and performance is central to the work of school administration. Thus, the study of emotions needs careful attention in educational administration programmes. The author also considers whether school leadership preparation programmes in Canada and elsewhere provide theoretical knowledge to support this. Finally, the author posits three theoretical perspectives on emotion in administrative work and organisational settings, including education, that might be included in school leadership courses to better support principals in the emotional work that is core to their effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe author draws on two research studies to inform the analysis offered: one on the effects of restructuring on the work of school administrators and the other a consideration of principal preparation programmes in Canada. Both employ qualitative methods, including document searches. A broad literature review in relation to the research focus is also offered.FindingsThe paper finds that principals talk a great deal about the emotional aspects of their work yet there is no explicit exploration of theories of emotion in principal preparation programmes. The author provides brief examples of the efficacy of psychoanalytic, socio‐cultural, and feminist post‐structural analysis of emotional labour as useful for emotional praxis in administrative work.Originality/valueThe analysis offered will be useful in reviewing principal preparation programmes with regard to their effectiveness in addressing central concerns of emotional praxis in the work of school administrators.
The emotional aspects of leadership for social justice
Authors: Zembylas Michalinos 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe paper seeks to examine the potential implications for leadership preparation programs of the intersection between emotions and leadership for social justice.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology followed was grounded in an ethnographic case study of a Greek‐Cypriot principal who struggled to transform his elementary school into a community that truly included students from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.FindingsThe findings of the case study highlight: the vision and practices of leadership for social justice; the ambivalent emotions of social justice leadership; and strategies for coping with the personal and structural dimensions of social justice leadership.Practical implicationsThe practical implications are discussed in relation to the emotional knowledge and skills that are needed for preparing social justice leaders to navigate emotionally through existing school structures and to cultivate critical emotional reflexivity about the changes that are needed to school discourses and practices so that justice and equity are placed at the center of school leadership.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights into the emotional aspects of leadership for social justice, focusing on the implications for leadership preparation programs.
Preparing leaders to work with emotions in culturally diverse educational communities
Authors: Blackmore Jill 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThis paper argues that because leadership is a relational practice and leaders are gendered and racialised, in socially diverse schools and societies, leader preparation around difference is potentially emotionally confronting to leaders' professional and personal identities.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on critical race and feminist theoretical perspectives to undertake a review and analysis of current approaches to professional development.FindingsThe paper concludes that because there is significant agreement now that leadership is considered to be emotional management work, then leadership learning, if it seeks to change practice, is also emotionally laden. The paper concludes that to develop more reflexive leaders, professional learning should begin with scrutiny of the self as gendered and racialised to consider what that means for “the Other” in terms of leadership in culturally diverse communities and schools.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is context specific, largely drawing on Australian data with reference to indigeneity. This is consistent with its theoretical position that leadership is relational and situated.Practical implicationsThe paper identifies possible strategies that could be undertaken in professional learning forums that address issues of difference.Originality/valueWhile there are significant issues around professional learning to develop pedagogical practices that address student diversity, there is less theorising around leadership diversity and what that might mean in terms of professional development of leaders.
Emotions “out of the closet” and into the graduate classroom
Authors: Harris Carol E. 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this end piece, framed in aesthetic and critical theory, is to review the author's own approach with graduate students regarding the omnipresence and significance of emotion in organizational leadership, and to comment on the contributions to emotional theory found in this volume of the Journal of Educational Administration. The objective in the author's own research is to assist students, through aesthetic awareness, in moving beyond “one‐dimensional” thinking and the “iron cages” of organizational experience.Design/methodology/approachAs personal affect and perspectives of meaning were of primary importance in the author's research, she employed participatory action research methods. Qualitative data were drawn from students over a ten‐year period as they responded to a question about connections between aesthetic presentations – given by their colleagues as short introductions to each class – and organizational life as they experienced it personally and theoretically.FindingsAesthetics, understood not only as appreciation, but also as action, brings to students the illuminating power of multiple forms of expression. Through expression, that is, students named feeling, affect, and begin to understand the nature of emotion. The arts provide ways of expression apart from, and including, the spoken word.Originality/valueThe arts, and an understanding of aesthetics, opens a rarely travelled route whereupon students may engage in organizational theory as a humane science.
Building institutional trust through e‐government trustworthiness cues
Authors: Smith Matthew L. 
Published: August 2010

PurposeMost theory and empirical research on the impact of e‐government on citizens' trust in government remains at the macro‐level and misses out on the complexities of the interaction between e‐services and citizens' trust in government. The purpose of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of this complexity.Design/methodology/approachThe research strategy is a comparative case study of two e‐services in Chile: a tax administration and an e‐procurement system. Data were collected from a variety of users (citizens and business owners) and public sector employees in the Araucania Region in Chile.FindingsWithin e‐services, the most easily perceived and influential trustworthiness cues are those outcomes that directly impact the citizen. These cues shape citizens' resultant interpretations of and trust in the public sector agency. Furthermore, the direction of this influence is mediated by individuals' particular circumstances and value positions. Key to understanding the process of building and destroying trust is the identification of the value conflicts that can emerge from e‐service implementations and how they align with citizens' values.Research limitations/implicationsThe research conclusions are potentially an artefact of the financial nature of the e‐service transactions and the cultural uniqueness of Chileans.Originality/valueThe paper presents an original integrated conception of trust and institutional trust as well as a comparative analysis of citizens' perceptions and interpretations of “successful” e‐services.
The “cool factor” of public access to ICT
Authors: Gomez Ricardo , Gould Elizabeth 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to determine how trust and perceptions shape uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in public access venues (libraries, telecentres, and cybercafés) in 25 developing countries around the world.Design/methodology/approachAs part of a global study conducted by the Technology & Social Change Group at the University of Washington, local research teams conducted surveys, site visits, and interviews of over 25,000 respondents in different types of public access venues in the selected countries, using a shared research design and analytical framework.FindingsThe use of public access venues is shaped by the following trust factors: safety concerns, relevance of the information, reputation of the institution, and users' perceptions of how “cool” these venues are. While libraries tend to be trusted as most reputable, telecentres tend to be trusted as most relevant to meet local needs, and cybercafés tend to be perceived as most “cool”.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is limited by its descriptive and not predictive nature, and is not based on a statistically representative sample of the population.Practical implicationsThe insight presented in this paper can help inform policy decisions about public access initiatives, and inform future research to better understand the causes and consequences of trust in public access ICT. Understanding these perceptions helps gain a more nuanced understanding of the way services are provided in venues that offer public access to ICT.Originality/valueThis paper is novel as it covers public access to ICT in 25 developing countries across different types of venues, using a shared design and methodological approach. A study of this magnitude has never been done before. The findings provide valuable insight into understanding how people trust different types of public access ICT venues.
Consumers' intentions of buying own‐label premium food products
Authors: Chaniotakis Ioannis E. , Lymperopoulos Constantine , Soureli Magdalini 
Published: August 2010

PurposeEach own‐label product enjoys different levels of customer acceptance and perceived risk and requires different attention with respect to the different elements of the marketing mix. This paper explores the factors affecting consumers' intentions to buy an own‐label premium food product. More specifically, this study focuses on the case of own‐label olive oil.Design/methodology/approachThe research involved a review of the available literature on factors affecting consumer attitudes towards own‐label products. For the collection of data, a survey was designed and conducted in the greater area of Athens, Greece. The research questionnaire was administered by means of personal interviews to 799 consumers.FindingsData analysis results, using structural equation modelling, showed that consumers' purchase intention is directly affected by consumers' attitudes towards own‐label olive oil, which in turn are influenced by consumers' perceived benefits, economic situation, brand loyalty and trust. Moreover, the level of income has a direct negative impact on both consumer attitudes and purchase intention.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations relate to the use of non‐probability sample and the restricted geographical area of the field research.Originality/valueConsidering that own‐label products' quality is questionable, this study contributes to the academic body of knowledge, by examining consumers' perceptions about a premium own‐label food product. By testing existing knowledge in a new context, the paper makes incremental contribution to the knowledge on own‐label products, and provides insights for practitioners.
An overview of virtual and cloud computing
Authors: Cervone H. Frank 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to define and describe virtualization of servers and cloud computing. Understanding the differences and similarities between the two technology models will help digital library managers make better decisions related to hosting of application services.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a general overview of the principles and techniques of virtualization and cloud computing.FindingsBoth virtualization and cloud computing can be effective methods of optimizing hardware resources used to run digital library applications; however, system managers should not overlook the potential for security problems and management problems given the outsourced nature of the computing resources.Originality/valueThe paper fills a gap in the digital library project management literature by providing an overview of the server virtualization and cloud computing models which could be applied to digital library projects.
Defining customer value as the driver of competitive advantage
Authors: Kurt Christensen H. 
Published: August 2010

PurposeIn the author's experience, even veteran executives often make statements about competitive advantage that reflect either genuine misunderstanding or casual misuse of the term. This paper aims to offer a clear explanation of what constitutes competitive advantage so as to facilitate identification, assessment and strategizing.Design/methodology/approachThe paper proposes a definition of competitive advantage that differs from that proposed by many textbooks. It is based on the idea that competitive advantage can only be defined in terms of customer value.FindingsA number of cases are examined in the light of the customer value approach to identifying competitive advantage.Practical implicationsCompany executives learn to periodically engage in systematic information gathering regarding customer‐perceived competitive advantages.Originality/valueOrganizations that adopt this customer‐perceived approach to competitive advantage can make better assessments of where to expend their efforts and resources to outmaneuver their rivals and improve profitability.
Towards a systemic model on information systems' adoption using critical systems thinking
Authors: Arshad Raza Syed , Standing Craig 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to propose an extended version of systems development life cycle (SDLC) based on critical systems thinking for information system (IS) adoption in an organizational context from a management perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe model integrates traditional SDLC with the ongoing process of “phase‐stakeholders‐identification” or “pha‐stak‐ification”. The emerging systemic stakeholder networks is proposed to be applied with network mechanisms to influence stakeholders' attitudes towards IS adoption. The authors, considering IS adoption as a multi‐phase innovation project, argue that boundary considerations using a multiple stakeholder perspective (boundary critique) provides an alternative focus for IS adoption.FindingsThe study suggests that the proposed model has the capacity to serve as a roadmap for a smooth IS adoption by facilitating organizational learning and change.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has not been tested empirically.Originality/valueSuccessful IS implementation improves organizational efficiency and creates competitive advantage. Established information technology adoption models like technology acceptance model and theory of reasoned action consider technology adoption from the users' viewpoint without taking a holistic perspective into account. This article takes a systems perspective to technology development and the systems development life cycle.
Apocalypse now: information systems in Australian universities
Authors: Benson Steve 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe paper's aim is to present a personal viewpoint of the state of the information systems discipline in Australian universities and hence provoke useful discussion in academia and industry.Design/methodology/approachInformal interviews with Australian information systems academics, were carried out, along with inspection of university web sites and conference mailing lists, using biology as a reference discipline.FindingsIt would seem that the information systems discipline in Australian universities is close to collapse unless action is taken.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper represents a personal viewpoint, the methods employed are such that the paper is indicative rather than definitive.Practical implicationsThe paper is relevant to information systems academics, university managers, government and employers in Australia. It provides a useful referent for the consideration of education and immigration policies.Originality/valueIt has been some time since a paper considering the state of the art of the information systems has been published. No published paper has taken this perspective.
E‐government maturity model using the capability maturity model integration
Authors: Kim Dong‐Young , Grant Gerald 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for assessing the maturity level of electronic government (e‐government).Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual framework is based on two models: the intellectual capital (IC) management and the capability maturity model integration (CMMI).FindingsThe framework is composed of four input areas (human capital, structural capital, relational capital, and IT investment) and five maturity stages (web presence, interaction, transaction, integration, and continuous improvement). These areas are assessed by using the IC management model and the CMMI model. Employing the IC management process enables not only practitioners to effectively manage resources, but also auditors to more objectively assess the input area. Using the CMMI model allows governments to conduct process‐based assessments.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the literature and practice in the following ways. First, it outlines how to define and assess key attributes of e‐government activities. It can help governments to enhance the awareness and understanding of maturity levels of e‐government. Second, this research expands the scope of current studies on a maturity model by providing a balanced view between input factors (resources) and results (maturity stages). For practitioners, assessing the input factors enables them to realize how to prioritize strategies and resources. For academics, this attempt sheds light on the concepts of IC in e‐government studies. Third, considering the CMMI model will be helpful to conduct an objective and useful assessment. On the basis of a matrix for assessing maturity levels, governments can conduct self‐assessment and establish stable and mature implementation processes.