bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Strategic decisions in difficult times: stay artful and flexible, even when the going gets tough
Authors: Steinhouse Robbie 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the views of Robbie Steinhouse, a CEO of a property and insurance business, on strategic decision making.Design/methodology/approachThe paper comments on the best ways to make strategic decisions in business in times of difficulty. It also provides a series of questions which it suggests can help in the decision‐making process.FindingsThe paper finds that implementation of decisions is best done as slowly as possible. The great decision maker moves at the speed that is required by the situation, which may be very fast indeed, or can be quite slow.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful information on strategic decision making in the business environment.
In search of socio‐economic syntheses
Authors: Molteni Mario , Pedrini Matteo 
Published: August 2010

PurposeStarting from the premise that responsible managers utilize their competences and creativity to carry out projects which improve stakeholder satisfaction and economic performance simultaneously, the paper aims to present a classification of these solutions, called socio‐economic syntheses, and the way to reach them.Design/methodology/approachThe paper refers to literature on corporate social responsibility and sustainability, with special attention to contributions on the relationship between social performance and economic performance. In particular, the model presented highlights several successful case studies that have been studied or directly observed in large and medium‐sized firms.FindingsThe paper provides a classification of seven categories of socio‐economic syntheses, from solutions concerning operational management, often applicable in different industries, to projects with greater strategic value, which are typically firm‐specific. Moreover, two ways to achieve a win‐win solution are proposed: the first starting from an idea of activity aimed at improving economic performance; the second from the desire to better satisfy expectation of one or more stakeholder categories.Practical implicationsIn this paper practitioners can find suggestions and opportunities for better introduction of win‐win solutions inside their firms, which could be the fruit of imitation or creativity.Originality/valueThe classification of the socio‐economic syntheses represents a new conceptualization that opens up paths for an increasing number of solutions that can improve economic and socio‐environmental performance simultaneously.
The current crisis: who is to blame?
Authors: Mortreuil Laurent 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThis paper seeks to provide an approach to analyze the causes of the current financial crisis. Following classic guidelines of Catholic social thought, it aims to show how personal virtues may have prevented it.Design/methodology/approachThis is a practitioner paper summarizing personal insider experience and reflection.FindingsThe current financial crisis illustrates how personal behaviors of all, as well as ambient culture, are to be blamed more than the available instruments or the system. It questions not only the financiers but also each actor of the economy in simple everyday acts.Originality/valueThe paper provides an insider perspective on the financial crisis which looks for practical solutions available without implementing external regulation.
Aquinas on management and its development
Authors: Grassl Wolfgang 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to present Aquinas' psychological theory of action as a useful guide for understanding decision making in management.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual reconstruction of Aquinas' views on the structure of the moral act is shown to apply to the process of decision making in management.FindingsGrounded in a rich rational psychology, Aquinas' theory of action allows for prescription that harmonizes instrumental rationality, the will, and personal morality. It captures contemporary approaches well and provides better explanations of management success and failure than do models of rational choice. Since the exercise of practical reason can be learned, the model is optimistic about the possibility of management development.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper stops at the conceptual level. The interplay between reason and will, or between deliberative and prescriptive stages in decision making, opens up a field of empirical research in management.Originality/valueAquinas' virtue ethics has been applied to management, but this is the first suggestion to draw on his theory of action. If fully developed, it promises a radical alternative to models based on functional reasoning and utilitarian values.
Competitive intelligence in service marketing
Authors: Johns Pamela , Van Doren Doris C. 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe paper aims to give a new look at competitive intelligence (CI) and the resulting benefits to growing companies.Design/methodology/approachA total of 20 questions are presented, competitive information sources are listed, and the four core components of CI are displayed to explain how a company can implement CI into the business planning. Two case studies summarize a CI system that shows how successful this technique can be.FindingsThis research will inspire marketers to take a look at their CI and reactivate it based on what is presented. The overall practice of CI shows the rewards a company that develops this program can gain.Research limitations/implicationsAll data were collected by Latitude Consulting. Reference is made to journal and newspaper articles.Practical implicationsThe paper will explain how to use CI in a meaningful way.Originality/valueThis is an extremely new and original concept for businesses to apply.
Improving competitive analysis with temporal text visualization
Authors: Magnusson Camilla 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a visualization method for texts produced by a company's competitors, partners, or customers. This method can be used for competitive intelligence purposes, and in particular, for spotting changes over time in a company's communication.Design/methodology/approachBased on the judgments of expert readers, topics considered to be important in the quarterly reports of two telecommunication companies were turned into so‐called collocational networks, using a statistical method originating in linguistics.FindingsThe paper shows that when collocational topic networks are produced out of a sequence of quarterly reports, they provide a visualization of how the presentation of these topics changes from one‐quarter to the next.Research limitations/implicationsThe statistical method used in this paper does not handle low‐frequency topics, that nevertheless might be of great importance, very well. The method could be developed further so that users' judgments of importance are given more weight.Practical implicationsThe method developed in this paper can be turned into a data visualization tool for intelligence practitioners.Originality/valueTextual data are often overlooked in competitive intelligence, as it is more difficult to visualize and present than quantitative data, such as financial ratios. The method presented here is an easy to grasp “white box” approach to visualizing textual data, as it combines the judgments of subject matter experts with a statistical method.
The effect of customer orientation on frontline employees job outcomes in a new public management context
Authors: Rod Michel , Ashill Nicholas J. 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine the role of customer orientation in a model of affective and behavioural job outcomes grounded in Bagozzi's reformulation of attitude theory in the new public management context of a former public sector government department that has undergone corporatisation and now operates as a state‐owned enterprise (SOE).Design/methodology/approachFrontline employees (FLEs) complete a self‐administered questionnaire on how customer orientation affects their job satisfaction and organisational commitment, and how these job attitudes impact service recovery performance and turnover intentions. Data obtained from the FLEs were analysed using the structural equation modeling‐based partial least squares methodology.FindingsSeven of eight hypotheses are supported. Results suggest that there is a significant influence of customer orientation on job satisfaction and organisational commitment, which in turn influence service recovery performance and turnover intentions.Practical implicationsThe research advances understanding of the influence of customer orientation on affective and behavioural job outcomes. SOE managers can take actions on a number of different fronts to assist progress towards improving FLE service recovery efforts and reduce turnover intentions.Originality/valueThe impact of customer orientation on affective job outcomes (job satisfaction and organisational commitment) and behavioural job outcomes (service recovery performance and turnover intentions) has not been investigated in the context of SOEs.
Visibility and involvement in effective arts marketing
Authors: Lange Candy 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThis paper seeks to propose a methodological tool for arts marketing, arguing that traditional approaches are not as effective as the newly developed visibility/involvement model in assessing the quality of a cultural organization's marketing strategy.Design/methodology/approachThe innovative model evaluates art galleries' promotion materials combining their local, visual, and textual dimensions of meaning, drawing on three different theoretical and methodological areas of thought: critical discourse analysis, systemic functional analysis, and mediated discourse analysis.FindingsThe visibility involvement model can be applied by cultural organizations to discern their key audience, and thus, their communicative focus. It is also the foundation of practical recommendations to enhance a gallery's marketing strategy to either deepen or broaden their audience.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the paper investigates the predominant meaning dimension of different groups of promotional materials, it does not investigate all relevant dimensions. Although, the proposed model provides insights into the quality of the art galleries' marketing activities, it only provides a rather vague distinction between the degrees of visibility and required involvement. This paper does also not account for the usability of the model for organizations outside the cultural sector.Originality/valueThe innovation of the newly developed model lies in the combination of these dimensions coming from three theoretical and methodological areas of thought: mediated discourse analysis, systemic functional analysis, and critical discourse analysis.
Perceptions of interdisciplinary research and developments
Authors: Rudall B.H. , Mann C.J.H. 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to review current research and developments with particular reference to new interdisciplinary research and developments.Design/methodology/approachA general review and survey of selected research and development topics that result from an interdisciplinary approach is given.FindingsThe paper illustrates the multi‐ and trans‐disciplinary natures of studies in cybernetics systems and management science with a view to further research and development activity.Practical implicationsThe choice of reviews provides an awareness of current trends in these areas of endeavour.Originality/valueThe reviews are selected from a global database and give a studied assessment of current research and development initiatives.
Requirements of complexity for complex organizational conceptions
Authors: Iván Tarride Mario , Zuñiga Milton 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a way of asking about organizational conceptions. Some years ago, Edgar Morin proposed the paradigm of complexity as the one that opposes to and contains both the mechanicist and the systemic paradigms, which he calls simplifiers. Based on these paradigms, some of their principles, as well as their influence in organizational thinking are studied here, looking for the establishment of a set of considerations to be taken into account when treating an organizational conception as complex.Design/methodology/approachTen paradigmatic principles were compared from the mechanicism, systemic and complexity viewpoints, considering how they were used in the organizational discourse.FindingsAs a result, complex organizational conceptions consider the subject as active conscience in the world. In the same way, they establish dialogic relations among: the universal and the particular, temporal reversibility and irreversibility, the parts and the whole, linear and circular causality, order and disorder, organization and environment, observer and organization, and autonomy and dependence, through the use of the complex logic that allows adopting a meta‐point of view to articulate the contradictions and paying attention to the result of the dialogic processes pointed out.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper focuses especially on the dialogic principle, leaving the need to approach both the recursion and hologramatic principles, according to that proposed by Edgar Morin.Practical implicationsThe paper establishes some references which should contribute to the understanding of complex organizations, as human activity systems, beyond the objectivism of the so‐called “complex systems”.Originality/valueIn this paper, a way of asking about organizational conceptions is proposed, with the aim of knowing the degree of satisfaction of paradigmatic requirements of complexity; so that, it allows knowing if what is being called complex – the organizations – is being treated in a complex way in turn.
Decoding consumer perceptions of premium products with rule‐developing experimentation
Authors: Gofman Alex , Moskowitz Howard R. , Bevolo Marco , Mets Tõnis 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to summarize the results of an empirical project to understand the perceptions of consumers of the future high end products in the USA. This project was a precursor of a larger global project on the topic.Design/methodology/approachThe approach utilizes the consumer insights‐driven process, rule‐developing experimentation (RDE), introduced by the senior authors and developed in cooperation with Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania). The empirical part was conducted with qualified US consumers (middle‐ and upper‐middle class respondents). Based on a series of in‐depth qualitative interviews with global leaders of luxury and premium companies, star designers and thought leaders, five dimensions of high end offering were identified, with each dimension having a unique set of four factors (elements). The second part included a quantitative survey based on RDE (modified conjoint analysis) conducted in the USA with 373 qualified middle‐ and upper‐middle class respondents to discover the driving forces behind their perceptions of high end.FindingsThere are four distinct consumer mindsets towards future high end products. The segmentation is based on a disciplined experimentation afforded by RDE and produces a more targeted understanding of the consumer mind.Practical implicationsThe paper provides insights of what might drive the consumer perception of high end products in the near future. The pattern‐based consumer mind‐set segmentation creates actionable directions for corporations in answering today's big question “How can brands migrate from being cost‐driven commodities to higher margins and profits?” The answer is in the high end.Originality/valueThe approach offered here could help designers and brand managers to efficiently create better products that consumers like and perceive as high end. This will result in higher margins and help marketers to differentiate their respective products from the competition.
Consumer innovativeness and shopping styles
Authors: Eun Park Ji , Yu Jun , Xin Zhou Joyce 
Published: August 2010

PurposeInnovative consumers are an important market segment. This paper seeks to investigate whether consumers' innate innovativeness is associated with their shopping styles. Specifically, it aims to explore the relationship between two types of innovativeness – sensory and cognitive – and consumer shopping styles.Design/methodology/approachThe paper integrates the consumer innovativeness and consumer shopping styles literature. It is built on the premise that if consumer innovativeness is regarded as a general personality trait, then it would also be reflected in consumers' shopping approaches. A structural equation model is used to test the relationship between cognitive and sensory innovativeness and various shopping styles.FindingsSensory innovativeness and cognitive innovativeness can lead to different shopping styles. Cognitive innovators are inclined to show shopping styles such as quality consciousness, price consciousness, and confusion by overchoice. On the other hand, sensory innovators are inclined to have shopping styles such as brand consciousness, fashion consciousness, recreational orientation, impulsive shopping, and brand loyalty/habitual shopping.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is based on a convenience sample of young consumers in a particular country – China. Generalizability of the results would depend on future research conducted in other cultures and consumers of other age groups.Practical implicationsThe findings of this research help managers to develop a deeper insight into product development and marketing. Product form can be designed to appeal to the two different types of innovative consumers – cognitive innovators and sensory innovators. Marketing communication and brand management should be based on the shopping styles of these different types of innovative consumers. Furthermore, since the youth market in China represents an enormous opportunity for marketers, the paper provides valuable insights into this key market segment in one of the most important markets in the world.Originality/valueThe paper is the first step in exploring the relationship between consumer innovativeness and consumer shopping styles. It provides new insights into the shopping patterns of consumers who belong to different innovativeness types. In addition, it also makes a new contribution to the shopping styles literature by exploring potential antecedents to the various shopping styles.
New or recycled products: how much are consumers willing to pay?
Authors: Hamzaoui Essoussi Leila , Linton Jonathan D. 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to consider the price premium that consumers state they are willing to pay for products with reused or recycled content. It also aims to address the effect of the impact of product category on consumers' willingness to pay premium prices.Design/approach/methodologyWillingness to pay was studied for seven different product categories (n=49).FindingsPerceived functional risk is an important determinant of the price that consumers are willing to pay for products that have recycled or reused content. It was also found that consumers will switch from a recycled product to a new product within a smaller range of price for products with high functional risk.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is exploratory, while it serves its purpose by raising initial questions and finding that this is a complex area that is worth studying. Additional work is clearly required to consider the wide range of potentially relevant variables and a sampling plan that ensures an understanding of the generalisability of findings across the population within a region and across regions.Practical implicationsA technique for understanding consumer willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) is provided and insights into differences are offered between products in terms of WTP for greener products. Practitioners can use this technique to determine the price range and indirectly the profitability of a version of their product based on recycled or reused content.Originality/valueAn understanding of WTP for products with recycled or reused content is developed. This is important as legislation in many countries aims at diverting disposed product from waste dumps to consumers.
Transformers
Authors: Goldman Sharon M. 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to examine the current and future outlook of smartphones and how they will transform the loyalty marketing landscape.Design/methodology/approachThe approoach takes the form of tapping big‐name companies, like Nielsen, Ogilvy and Wells Fargo, to provide insight into how marketers are looking to utilize smartphones and to predict where the future is going with smartphone techonolgy.FindingsAs smartphones increasingly entrench themselves as the ultimate personal device, it is no surprise that loyalty marketers are keenly interested in the evolving role technologies will play in increasing customer loyalty overall, as well as in boosting reward programs. After all, these pocket‐sized portable wonders offer promising ways to strengthen the two‐way relationship between companies and their customers, the very sort of relationships enjoyed by loyalty programs and their members.Practical implicationsEncouraging as smartphone development has been, however, there is still a long way to go in terms of consumers taking full advantage of the available technology. Experts agree that despite encouraging growth, North America remains in the early days of smartphone adoption and consumer interest. After all, according to recent Forrester research from the fourth quarter of 2009, about 17 percent of cell phone subscribers own smartphones, though predictions exist for that number to rise to 25 percent next year. For the time being, the remaining users are sticking to simpler, typically very inexpensive, traditional cell phones – known in the mobile industry as “feature” phones.Originality/valueThe paper provides exclusive interviews with representatives from some of the largest marketing firms in the industry today. It also provides tangible tips and tools to utilize in the real world marketing plans.
Scholars, merchants and civil society
Authors: Nuruddeen Muhammad Ibrahim 
Published: August 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of the role of Islamic endowments (awqaf) as viable mechanisms for financing poverty alleviation programmes and the value of the third sector in promoting public welfare.Design/methodology/approachSecondary sources provided the main data for the study. These were supplemented with personal discussions and observations. Narrative approach was used for analysis.FindingsThe lack of awareness about endowments (awqaf) is a barrier to harnessing their potentials in redressing socio‐economic inequities and enhancing the quality of life of the poor in Kano.Social implicationsScholars, merchants and civil society organizations will be awakened to the need to cooperate in employing the institution of awqaf reducing poverty through the provision of quality education, better health care and employment opportunities. Government will be made aware of the need to explore non‐conventional methods in tackling poverty, recognize Islamic endowments (awqaf) as viable alternatives in financing community welfare programmes and provide all necessary policy support –legal/institutional/financial – for their smooth operation.Originality/valueThe worth of this paper lies in drawing the attention of stakeholders, like policy makers, and the general public to the contemporary relevance of, and demand for, Islamic endowments (awqaf) in solving many of the socio‐economic problems excluding the poor from leading a decent life.