bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A new higher education marketing mix: the 7Ps for MBA marketing
Authors: Ivy Jonathan 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a new marketing mix based on MBA students' attitudes and opinions towards the marketing initiatives of business schools in South Africa. The post‐graduate business education market is, and increasingly, getting more aggressive in their efforts to attract students on to their flagship degree, the MBA. The traditional marketing tools historically grouped into 4Ps (product, price, place and promotion), 5Ps (adding people) and 7Ps (adding physical facilities and processes) may be wanting in this market.Design/methodology/approachThe approach taken was a quantitative survey of students registered at state subsidized universities in South Africa.FindingsThe factor analysed data showed seven quite distinct underlying factors in the marketing activities of these business schools, some covering the same elements of the traditional marketing mix: people, promotion, and price. There were, however, four different elements: programme, prominence, prospectus, and premiums.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the survey included only MBA students from a sample drawn in South Africa, the study does highlight the fact that the traditional services marketing mix may not be as useful to the higher education sector as it might have been originally thought.Practical implicationsThe development of marketing strategy may be better served by this 7P model rather than the services mix.Originality/valueThis paper presents the underlying factors that form the basis of a new marketing mix specifically for MBA recruitment.
Green Owl and the Corn Maiden
Authors: Dillard Jesse , Reynolds MaryAnn 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to engage a different notion of feminism in accounting by addressing the issues of feminism, balance, and integration as a means of understanding differently the world for which one accounts. The ideas are communicated by the sharing of experiences through myth and storytelling.Design/methodology/approachAn alternative lens for understanding the giving of accounts is proposed, drawing on earlier feminist accounting literature as well as storytelling and myth.FindingsIncluding the subjective and intersubjective approaches to experiencing and understanding the world recommends an approach whereby both the feminine‐intuitive and the masculine‐rational processes are integrated in constructing decision models and accounts.Research limitations/implicationsThrough an expanded view of values that can be included in reporting or recounting a different model is seen, and different decisions are enabled. The primary limitation is having to use words to convey one's subjective and intersubjective understandings. The written medium is not the most natural language for such an undertaking.Practical implicationsBy enabling the inclusion of more feminine values, a way is opened to engage more holistically with the society in which decisions are embedded.Originality/valueDrawing on the storytelling tradition, a holistic model is suggested that can lead to emergence of a more balanced societal reporting.
The Mohammed cartoons controversy and the boycott of Danish products in the Middle East
Authors: Rask Jensen Hans 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThis paper analyses the Mohammed cartoons controversy, the boycott of Danish products in the Middle East, and the consequences for the Danish companies involved.Design/methodology/approachThe objectives have been achieved by means of a ideology‐critical discourse analysis of Danish newspaper articles on the subject.FindingsThe wider ramifications of an insult and freedom of expression discourse are shown. Managerial consequences of the boycott are outlined forJyllands‐Postenand Arla Foods.Originality/valueThe paper is of value for researchers and managers who want to understand the politicisation of markets and the major consequences for management and marketing strategy.
Manufacturers forming successful complex business services
Authors: Neu Wayne A. , Brown Stephen W. 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to isolate and characterize organizational factors that enable the formation of high‐performing business services in product manufacturing firms.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a case research design. In total, 32 depth interviews were conducted with 11 different managers from a Global 100 information technology manufacturing firm. These managers were directly responsible for forming a highly successful business service. All interviews were tape‐recorded, transcribed, and the resulting 500 pages of interview data were open‐coded in QSR NUDIST. A case report was reviewed by study participants to enhance construct validity.FindingsThe general conclusion is that forming high‐performing business services in product manufacturing firms stems largely from managers' ability to create internal alignment among several organizational factors that collectively “fit” conditions in the market.Research limitations/implicationsThis study does not provide the statistical generalization to a larger population offered by a large‐sample study. In addition, all data were collected from individuals who were directly involved in the formation of the focal business service.Practical implicationsThe insights from this study can help managers design within a product manufacturing firm an organization that supports the formation of complex business services.Originality/valueWhile product manufacturers' expansion into services is very prevalent in practice, the development has received sparse academic research attention.
Supply chain security orientation: conceptual development and a proposed framework
Authors: Autry Chad W. , Michelle Bobbitt L. 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to report on an exploratory study investigating supply chain security orientation (SCSO), a firm‐level construct addressing companies' multiple approaches toward mitigation of supply chain security breaches and supply chain risk management.Design/methodology/approachStructured interviews were conducted with managers who were responsible for firms' supply chain security efforts. The resulting data were content analyzed and critical themes presented depicting SCSO.FindingsKey antecedents, outcomes, and moderating conditions were identified based on the qualitative data. Four primary dimensions of the SCSO concept are revealed.Originality/valueThe major contribution of the paper is the delineation of the components of SCSO, which appear to be pervasive across firms. Additionally, several drivers of SCSO are identified, and SCSO is linked to positive financial and customer outcomes, as well as supply chain continuity.
Achieving organisational change through values alignment
Authors: Branson Christopher M. 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to, first, establish the interdependency between the successful achievement of organisational change and the attainment of values alignment within an organisation's culture and then, second, to describe an effective means for attaining such values alignment.Design/methodology/approachLiterature from the fields of organisational change, organisational culture, philosophy, psychology, and values theory is reviewed in order to develop and test the hypothesis that successful organisational change can only occur when those affected by the change are able to willingly commit to an agreed set of values aligned with the accomplishment of the organisation's new outcomes. The paper then presents and reports on a trial of a simple and effective framework for achieving such values alignment in an organisation.FindingsThis paper supports the view that the currently acknowledged widespread resistance to organisational change is caused by a failure of current organisational change strategies to attend to a values alignment process for all those people affected by the desired change. Moreover, this paper proposes that values alignment may not just be an important integral part of organisational change strategies; it could well be the bedrock, the foundation, on which all truly successful organisational change depends.Practical implicationsThe values alignment process presented in this paper provides a very effective and efficient means for enabling people to discern, discuss, and actively support those values that will help the organisation to make desired changes. In essence, this process enables the alignment between personal and organisational values to occur and, thereby, allowing the organisation to evolve and remain viable.Originality/valueThe paper provides a unique perspective on the important process of values alignment within any truly successful organisational change strategy.
Value recovery network design for product returns
Authors: Srivastava Samir K. 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use a conceptual model from literature for designing value recovery (VR) networks for three categories of post‐consumer product returns.Design/methodology/approachA bi‐level optimization model is developed to determine the disposition decision for refrigerators, washing machines and passenger cars in the Indian context using data for product returns from literature. Using standard off‐the‐shelf software, the break‐even values of returns are calculated for setting up various VR facilities under different scenarios to maximize profits for a ten‐year time‐horizon.FindingsThe VR activities are profitable for all the three categories of products beyond a certain minimum quantity of returns. Experimentation across the three product categories shows that presently remanufacturing is not a viable economic proposition in the Indian context. Further, the VR network design suggested by this approach is volume flexible.Research limitations/implicationsA “push” system where the volumes and grades of returns drive the VR decisions. Optimization has been carried out for three product categories and not brands or OEMs. No free choice of facility locations.Practical implicationsThe insights and learning under different scenarios may be utilized as inputs for decision‐making and for designing various incentive plans.Originality/valueThis work is a first step towards VR network design in the Indian context. Various tools from the methodological perspective are used and provide detailed network design from the topological perspective.
Investigating the concept of potential quality
Authors: Tuzovic Sven 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine the concept of “potential quality” – that is, a company's tangible search qualities (such as the physical servicescape and virtual servicescape) – within the context of the real‐estate industry in the USA.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study collects data by conducting personal in‐depth interviews with 34 respondents who had been recent buyers or renters of property. The data are then coded and themed to identify quality dimensions relevant to this industry.FindingsThe results indicate that a buyer's perception of the overall service quality of real‐estate service consists of two components: the interaction with a realtor (process quality); and the virtual servicescape, especially the firm's website design and content (potential quality). The study concludes that existing scales (such as SERVQUAL and RESERV) fail to capture the tangible component of service quality sufficiently in the real‐estate industry.Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses data from only one industry (real estate) and from only one demographic segment (professionals in higher education).Practical implicationsService providers of intangible, high‐contact services must appreciate the importance of the virtual servicescape as a surrogate quality indicator that can help to reduce information asymmetries and consumers' uncertainty with regard to initiating a business relationship. Real estate firms need to pay attention to the training of agents and the design and content of their e‐service systems.Originality/valueThis study integrates potential quality, process quality, and outcome quality in a comprehensive proposed model. In particular, the study identifies “potential quality” as a combination of the attributes of the virtual service environment and the physical service environment.
ISO 9001 and residential homes for the elderly: a Delphi study
Authors: Heras Iñaki , Cilleruelo Ernesto , Iradi Jon 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to assess the appropriateness of applying the ISO 9001 quality standard to the residential aged‐care sector.Design/methodology/approachThe study undertakes a prospective qualitative survey using the Delphi methodology. A panel of 14 experts in the field constitutes the panel.FindingsISO 9001 has certain shortcomings in the context of the residential aged‐care sector. There is a need to fit generic quality‐management models to the specific characteristics of the sector, and to integrate those generic quality management models with specialised models.Practical implicationsManagers of residential aged‐care services should ensure: that they have sufficient resources to implement quality‐management models; that all personnel are involved in the implementation; and that generic models are appropriately adapted to the specific needs of the aged‐care sector.Originality/valueThe paper provides an original conceptual overview of the application of a generic quality‐management system to a specific services sector.
An evolutionary‐based inverse approach for the identification of non‐linear heat generation rates in living tissues using a localized meshless method
Authors: Erhart Kevin , Divo Eduardo , Kassab Alain 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to develop and describe an improved process for determining the rate of heat generation in living tissue.Design/methodology/approachPrevious work by the authors on solving the bioheat equation has been updated to include a new localized meshless method which will create a more robust and computationally efficient technique. Inclusion of this technique will allow for the solution of more complex and realistic geometries, which are typical of living tissue. Additionally, the unknown heat generation rates are found through genetic algorithm optimization.FindingsThe localized technique showed superior accuracy and significant savings in memory and processor time. The computational efficiency of the newly proposed meshless solver allows the optimization process to be carried to a higher level, leading to more accurate solutions for the inverse technique. Several example cases are presented to demonstrate these conclusions.Research limitations/implicationsThis work includes only 2D development of the approach, while any realistic modeling for patient‐specific cases would be inherently 3D. The extension to 3D, as well as studies to improve the technique by decreasing the sensitivity to measurement noise and to incorporate non‐invasive measurement positioning, are under way.Practical implicationsAs medical imaging continuously improves, such techniques may prove useful in patient diagonosis, as heat generation can be correlated to the presence of tumors, infections, or other conditions.Originality/valueThis paper describes a new application of meshless methods. Such methods are becoming attractive due to their decreased pre‐processing requirements, especially for problems involving complex geometries (such as patient specific tissues), as well as optimization problems, where geometries may be constantly changing.
Numerical study of turbulent channel flow with strong temperature gradients
Authors: Lessani Bamdad , Papalexandris Miltiadis V. 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThis paper sets out to perform a detailed numerical study of turbulent channel flow with strong temperature gradients using large‐eddy simulations.Design/methodology/approachA recently developed time‐accurate algorithm based on a predictor‐corrector time integration scheme is used in the simulations. Spatial discretization is performed on a collocated grid system using a flux interpolation technique. This interpolation technique avoids the pressure odd‐even decoupling problem that is typically encountered in collocated grids. The eddy viscosity is calculated with the extension of the dynamic Smagorinsky model to variable‐density flows.FindingsThe mean velocity profile at the cold side deviates from the classical isothermal logarithmic law of the wall. Nonetheless, at the hot side, there is a better agreement between the present results and the isothermal law of the wall. Further, the numerical study predicts that the turbulence kinetic energy near the cold wall is higher than near the hot one. In other words heat addition tends to laminarize the channel flow. The temperature fluctuations were also higher in the vicinity of the cold wall, even though the peak of these fluctuations occurs at the side of the hot wall.Practical implicationsThe findings of the paper have applications in the design and analysis of convective heat transfer equipment such as heat exchangers and cooling systems of nuclear reactors.Originality/valueThe paper presents the first numerical results for non‐isothermal turbulent channel flow with high wall‐temperature ratios (up to 9). These findings can be of interest to scientists carrying out research in turbulent flows.
Industrial specialization and regional clusters in the ten new EU member states
Authors: Sölvell Örjan , Ketels Christian , Lindqvist Göran 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of regional concentration patterns within ten new European Union (EU) member states, EU10, and make comparisons with EU15 and the US economy.Design/methodology/approachIndustrial specialization and clusters are measured as employment in the intersection between a sector (three‐digit NACE data) and a particular region (NUTS 2 level), with a total of 38 sectors and 41 regions within EU10. Regional cluster size and degree of specialization is measured along 3D: absolute number of employees (>10,000 jobs is used as cut‐off for a regional cluster), degree of specialization (regional sector employment is at least two times expected levels) and degree of regional market labor dominance (>3 per cent of total employment in a particular sector). Each of these three measures of cluster size, specialization and labor market focus are classified with a “star”. The largest and most specialized clusters receive three stars.FindingsEU10 exhibits 19 three‐star regional clusters, which display high values for each of the three measured parameters. In addition, there are 92 two‐star regional clusters and 313 one‐star regional clusters. The analysis also suggests that regional concentration in EU10 is clearly lower than in the USA, and slightly lower than in the old EU member states. In a few cases – IT, biopharmaceuticals and communications equipment – where the total size of the cluster is small, and there is little historical legacy in Eastern Europe, the EU10 exhibits higher geographical concentration than EU15.Research limitations/implicationsOverall, the economies of EU10 exhibit a pattern of geographical concentration close to a random distribution, i.e. the process of regional concentration and redistribution of industry is in a very early phase. If Europe is to build a more competitive economy, industrial restructuring towards larger clusters must be allowed and pushed by policy makers both at the national and EU levels.Practical implicationsPolicymakers must be well informed about geographical concentration patterns of industry. The research offers a consistent methodology of mapping regional clusters and geographical concentration patterns across sectors.Originality/valueThis paper is the first in measuring regional concentration patterns in Europe at this fine level, and is based on a new methodology developed by Professor Michael E. Porter at Harvard University. The paper has also introduced a new method of ranking clusters according to the star model.
Accountability and learning assessment in the future of higher education
Authors: Hockfield Malandra Geri 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to broadly describe and provide insight into the national dialogue in the USA concerning accountability for educational results in academic institutions.Design/methodology/approachThe approach takes the form of a thorough survey of the key questions, current issues, and organizational players in this national dialogue.FindingsPolicy makers and educators should use the present opportunity to work together, focusing not on narrow one‐size‐fits‐all measures but on the improvement of a new generation of complementary approaches.Originality/valueThe paper presents a clear articulation and discussion of the key questions that are driving the national dialogue on this topic.
Assessing outcomes in graduate education
Authors: Lydell Lesley 
Published: May 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the current interest in accountability for educational results within the context of US graduate education.Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes the form of a survey of significant aspects of assessment in graduate education: historical contexts, current challenges, and an envisioned future.FindingsA greater concern for and active inclusion of students' perspectives distinguishes discussions of educational results in graduate education from discussions of results in undergraduate education.Originality/valueThe paper presents a clear distinction between graduate and undergraduate contexts for discussions of accountability and educational results
The eight principles of strategic authenticity
Authors: Pine B. Joseph , Gilmore James H. 
Published: May 2008

PurposeAs more companies wrap their offering with “an experience,” it is important that experience authenticity is understood to be a critical consumer sensibility. This paper aims to address this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have studied experience marketing and found that consumers often choose to buy or not buy based on how genuine they perceive an offering to be. The authors warn that fakery, phoniness, or manipulation that becomes associated with your offering will harm your brand.FindingsThe paper finds that executives must learn to understand, manage, and excel at delivering authenticity. So how can leaders tell the difference between bogus and authentic business opportunities?Research limitations/implicationsA short case study of the Walt Disney Company shows that authenticity will not result when a company strives for a strategic position that is inimical to its traditions.Practical implicationsThe execution zone is the set of decisions and actions that a company can make and still be perceived as true to self. For companies that try to operate outside their execution zone there is little likelihood that the resultant offerings will be perceived as authentic. Managers can learn to use eight principles to guide them in delineating where exactly your own “execution zone” lies, and thereby stake out viable, powerful, and compelling competitive positions.Originality/valueTo discover your company's authentic opportunities, use the eight principles to peer into your future until you determine where you should go. And then treat that future not as a destination but as a guide to the path before you.