bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The multi‐tasking paradox: perceptions, problems and strategies
Authors: Appelbaum Steven H. , Marchionni Adam , Fernandez Arturo 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to describe multi‐tasking behaviour in the workplace; to link its cause to the increasing prevalence of low‐cost information and communications technologies and to the changing organizational structures that have evolved to meet the demands and opportunities of these technologies.Design/methodology/approachThis article is a presentation of the current literature on multi‐tasking behaviour among knowledge workers with a selective bibliography addressing empirical research into the behavioural, managerial and technological aspects of this phenomenon. It then expands to comprehensive coverage of the literature on past and current thinking about task structuring, strategies for coping in a multi‐tasking environment and the changing nature of work and organizations, which fuels the need to multi‐task in response to these changes.FindingsAmong knowledge workers, multi‐tasking behaviour appears to be an inevitable consequence of the presence of increasingly easy access to information. Despite the detrimental effect that multi‐tasking has on specific task completion, the paradox is that this does not seem to have an effect on overall organizational productivity. For the USA at least, an average 4 per cent growth rate over the past several years of the late twentieth and early twenty‐first centuries shows that productivity has increased in tandem with an increase in multi‐tasking behaviour and information technologies.Practical implicationsMulti‐tasking behaviour needs to be understood in the context of its manifestation as a variable that is at least partially dependent on the existence of relatively “cheap” information. In essence, in an information economy, task completion by knowledge workers to a set deadline may be counterproductive to the interests of the organization as a whole. This article describes certain strategies that can be used to minimize the harmful aspects of continuous task switching and to maximize the returns to experience that multi‐tasking can bring to an organization.Originality/valueMulti‐tasking behaviour and its link to complexity theory may lead to a new understanding of organizations as highly fluid and variable entities that are impossible to design or maintain centrally and yet whose goals lead to the moment by moment creation of micro‐organizational structures that accomplish tasks in a manner that engages the full resources of knowledge workers.
Can intuitive and analytical decision styles explain managers' evaluation of information technology?
Authors: Selart Marcus , Tvedt Johansen Svein , Holmesland Tore , Grønhaug Kjell 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to clarify how IT managers' decision styles affect their evaluation of information technology.Design/methodology/approachFour different decision styles were assessed in a leadership test directed towards IT managers. Each style included two dimensions: confidence judgment ability and decision heuristic usage. Participants belonging to each style were interviewed and their answers analysed with regard to their reasoning about central areas of IT management.FindingsResults suggest that a decision style combining intuitive and analytical capabilities lead to better evaluations of information technology.Originality/valeThe results of the present study are valuable for the understanding of how decision styles impact on IT management in everyday life.
An exploratory study of the reasons for the collapse of contemporary companies and their link with the concept of quality
Authors: Marwa Simmy , Zairi Mohamed 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the link between causes of corporate collapse/demise and the concept of quality.Design/methodology/researchThe paper is informed by a review of literature on corporate collapse and quality management. A literature review and global web search of corporate demises is then conducted. Actual causes of corporate demise are established and compared/contrasted with those in the literature to ascertain any similarities/dissimilarities. The link between causes of corporate demise and the concept of quality is then explored and appropriate implications and conclusion drawn.FindingsEvidence from the research suggests a clear linkage between causes of corporate demise and the concept of quality. Quality deficiencies/flaws if unattended may occasion corporate demise, which may be instant or gradual depending on the degree of corporate resilience.Practical implicationsCorporations can only afford to ignore the concept of quality at their own peril. The linkage between the causes of corporate demise and the concept of quality requires managers to prioritise the concept quality and by extension quality management more seriously than ever before.Originality/valueThe line of inquiry pursued by this paper provides additional insights into the phenomenon of corporate demise from a quality management perspective, thereby broadening its understanding.
Unlocking the role of a board director: a review of the literature
Authors: Petrovic Jelena 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine the current debate regarding the role of a board director.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive review of the corporate governance (CG) literature is undertaken, with a particular focus on director contribution to board effectiveness.FindingsThe literature review revealed a number of issues in the CG literature that highlight the need to clarify board director role and pay closer attention to the processes needed for directors to perform their role effectively. These issues have broadly been classified into: conceptual issues regarding board effectiveness and director contribution; a methodological issue of level of analysis (board as a group and a director as individual); failure of much of the literature to account for the external context in which the board directors operate; and prescriptive nature of the literature.Originality/valueIssues pertinent to the CG literature identified in this paper hold theoretical and practical implications.
Assessing decision tools for secondary risks of capital projects
Authors: Caspary Georg 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the relative uses of decision tools for secondary risks of capital projects.Design/methodology/approachThe approach is a comparison of traditional limited approaches (notably EIA) versus emerging more complex approaches at assessing secondary risks.FindingsIn many context, notably in the case of large capital projects, the new and more complex tools are necessary. However, they also apply higher costs and should therefore be applied selectively.Research limitations/implicationsOne research limitation is that experience with some of the tools being discussed, notably MCDA, is still somewhat limited.Practical implicationsThe key practical implication is greater use of the most appropriate decision tool for secondary risks in each new individual large capital project.Originality/valueComparison of risk assessment tools has so far largely focused on risk assessment for primary risks. The present article extends this to an assessment of the relative merits of secondary risks.
Localization drivers in an emerging market: case studies from Thailand
Authors: Petison Phallapa , Johri Lalit M. 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the drivers that influence subsidiaries of international companies in the automobile industry in Thailand and how automobile companies pursue localization in response to these drivers.Design/methodology/approachUsing case research method, examined seven leading automobile manufacturers – Toyota Motor (Thailand); Hino Motors (Thailand); Honda Automobile (Thailand); Isuzu Motors (Thailand); BMW (Thailand); DaimlerChrysler (Thailand); and Auto Alliance (Thailand) – as well as 14 of their dealers and suppliers in Thailand. In total 120 Thai and expatriate managers were interviewed.FindingsExtending the knowledge body from existing research, this study found that there are four drivers for automobile manufacturers to adopt localization strategies. Those are host country characteristics, industry characteristics, company characteristics, and market characteristics. The results show that automobile manufacturers react to drivers by localization of their decision making, building and exploiting knowledge pool of local suppliers and distributors, increasing numbers of Thais at the management level while decreasing the number of expatriates, increasing R&D activities locally, localizing products, increasing usage of local suppliers, adapting manufacturer processes, reinvesting at subsidiary, and localizing corporate image. However, these vary in degree from company to company. Localization strategies produce benefits that go beyond allowing automobile manufactures to compete within the local situation, also enabling them to overcome challenges and use their successes to transform the parent company and other subsidiaries and eventually contribute to the parent company's globalization strategy.Practical implicationsManagers in subsidiaries may first implement localization strategies to cope with driver factors to mitigate risks and uncertainty. By adopting localization, managers should not focus only on short term benefits to gain local advantages in host countries, but these advantages at the subsidiary should be transmitted to the parent company and other subsidiaries to build a competitive international strategy.Originality/valueCEOs of subsidiaries in emerging markets can learn what drivers influence localization strategies and how to cope and create local advantages for global competitiveness by implementing wide range of localization strategies.
Logoplaste: innovation in the global market
Authors: Morgado André 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe a case that looks at how an innovative plastics packaging company in Portugal integrates itself into the value chain of company clients. The pedagogical objectives are: to present a success case in technological, processes and business innovation; to present a success case in business strategy, based on the build‐up of partnerships; and to construct a platform for discussion of a first mover strategy, and precautions to be taken in its pursuit.Design/methodology/approachA range of evidence, including primary and secondary data, was used in the writing of this case, namely: direct observation, interviewing, press releases and press cuttings, annual reports, customer records and organization charts.FindingsLogoplaste has gained a leadership position and has successfully managed to achieve a relevant position in the international landscape by seeking a vertical integration of its activities, in order to obtain a better value proposal for its clients, which, at the same time, allows it to capture a part of that value for itself. This practice has permitted this company not only to grow overseas but also to reveal a customer loyalty performance of 100 per cent. These results are deeply connected with their innovative value proposal, e.g. product innovation, process innovation, marketing innovation and business model innovation.Originality/valueThis study provides insights into the nature of a company, which has successfully developed its activity based on a strong investment in innovation since its genesis. Logoplaste's strategy can be considered distinctive as it combines and integrates the following strategic vectors: integration of the client's logistical and value chains, based on a process of partnership developments; investing in R&D of packaging engineering, with the offer of an “vend‐to‐end” solution; and production process based on a “wall‐to‐wall” model.
An analysis of linkage between economic value added and corporate social responsibility
Authors: Mittal R.K. , Sinha Neena , Singh Archana 
Published: October 2008

PurposeResearch findings indicate that there is positive relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and company's reputation but relationship between CSR and company's profitability has not been explored in the Indian context. CSR level of business firms in India is increasing in terms of both amount of the disclosure and the number of participating firms. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to explore the link between good financial performance measure and other indicators of corporate responsibility. This paper also aims at studying the trend of disclosure of CSR reporting by Indian companies.Design/methodology/approachThis study seeks to investigate the relationship between ethical commitment and financial performance over the four‐year period, through statistical regression and correlation analysis. Studies of few Indian companies who have successfully implemented CSR initiatives have also been analyzed to investigate the level and nature of engagement of Indian companies in social responsibility initiatives.FindingsIt has been reported that there is little evidence that companies with a code of ethics would generate significantly more economic value added (EVA) and market added value (MVA) than those without codes.Practical implicationsIndian corporations need to develop a proper strategy to integrate CSR goals with stockholders' goals. Top management should create a dedicated CSR team, which should identify the core areas of CSR and strengthen internal practices such as corporate governance, transparency and disclosure issues.Originality/valueIn the Indian context very few studies have analyzed the linkages between CSR and Organizational profitability. This article presents a new approach to correlate the relationship between CSR and Organizational profitability in terms of EVA and MVA.
Selective archiving of web resources: a study of processing costs
Authors: Willer Mirna , Buzina Tanja , Holub Karolina , Zajec Jasenka , Milinović Miroslav , Topolščak Nebojša 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess costs in the National and University Library of Croatia for processing Croatian web resources and the maintenance and development of the service, and to analyse the present organisation and workflow of their processing, and to propose improvements.Design/methodology/approachThe assessment period was two months, during which the members of staff involved minutely monitored their tasks. The results were compared to the same exercise reported by the National Library of Australia and processing costs of cataloguing Croatian print publications.FindingsThe bottom‐up analysis of processing web resources shows that a balanced description of tasks and their distribution over staff members was established, and that the present workflow meets the requirements of efficient processing of web resources. As a general finding, approximately the same time was spent on archiving new items, as on the control and maintenance of the already archived ones due to the change of web resource properties, URL instability and the changes of technology. The comparative analysis showed: less time is spent on identification and selection and publishers' contacts on the part of the Croatian National Library compared to the Australian one; almost twice as much time was spent on gathering, quality assurance, and archiving instances in the Australian case than in the Croatian one; practically the same time was spent on cataloguing in both cases; and compared to cataloguing of print publications, significantly less time was spent on the print ones.Originality/valueThe paper is one of the two published articles on the in depth analysis of the workflow and processing costs of managing and selectively archiving legal deposit copies of web resources in a national library. Its potential value is in drawing attention of library managers of those institutions that deal with selective web archiving to assess costs and services in view of the legal obligations of libraries for preserving national cultural web heritage and meeting present and future users' needs.
Captivating Open University students with online literature search tutorials created using screen capture software
Authors: Wales Tim , Robertson Penny 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to share the experiences and challenges faced by the Open University Library (OUL) in using screen capture software to develop online literature search tutorials.Design/methodology/approachA summary of information literacy support at the OUL is provided as background information to explain the decision to experiment with screen capture software with particular subjects. A detailed consideration of the design, development and implementation stages of a literature search tutorial in information and communication technology is given before a critical appraisal of the problems encountered.FindingsThe paper highlights the challenges in writing and designing self‐guided online learning materials in a subject context. It considers the strengths and weaknesses of the particular screen capture software used, especially with regard to accessibility.Practical implicationsThe paper is of interest not only to other academic libraries, but also any organisation seeking to publish online help or learning materials for different audiences.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to document the use of screen capture software for information literacy purposes in a UK academic library and distance‐learning context.
Access to scholarly communication in higher education in India
Authors: Chand Prem , Arora Jagdish 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the initiative of the University Grants Commission of India in setting up the Infonet Digital Library Consortium (The Information and Library Network) in order to provide access to scholarly communication to the academic community in India.Design/methodology/approachThe context of higher education in India and the expansion and establishment of universities under the five‐year plan is given along with details of e‐resources that are being provided. The usage trends of e‐resources from various publishers during 2004‐2007 are detailed.FindingsThe paper finds that there has been a qualitative increase in overall usage, but use is also dependent on a high‐bandwidth connection.Originality/valueThe study provides evidence of increased use of consortial services for access to e‐resources in Indian higher education.
Human information behaviour and design, development and evaluation of information retrieval systems
Authors: Keshavarz Hamid 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of human information behaviour and to explore the relationship between information behaviour of users and the existing approaches dominating design and evaluation of information retrieval (IR) systems and also to describe briefly new design and evaluation methods in which extensive attention is dedicated to the users and their behaviours and conditions.Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes the form of a literature review with particular concentration on the efforts made by information science researchers.FindingsThe paper finds that there are four classic approaches to IR systems design: system‐centred, user‐centred, interactive and cognitive. Not enough research has been carried out to explore the relationship between information behaviour and information systems design to date. Contextual design and participatory design are among the new methods where users' behaviour, factors and contexts are considered more proactively than previously when designing information systems.Originality/valueThe paper introduces new methods and research frameworks being investigated currently in the area of information systems design and evaluation in which considerable attention is given to the users' information behaviour and situation. The paper is also useful in gaining a broad understanding about issues explored that have not previously been presented in one publication.
An integrative model of “information visibility” and “information seeking” on the web
Authors: Mansourian Yazdan , Ford Nigel , Webber Sheila , Madden Andrew 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to encapsulate the main procedure and key findings of a qualitative research on end‐users' interactions with web‐based search tools in order to demonstrate how the concept of “information visibility” emerged and how an integrative model of information visibility and information seeking on the web was constructed.Design/methodology/approachThe study was formed of three parts. The first looked at conceptions of the Invisible Web; the second explored conceptualisations of the causes of search success/failure; the third organised the findings of parts 1 and 2 into a series of theoretical frameworks. Data collection was carried out in three phases based on interviews with a sample of biologists.FindingsThe first part led to the development of a model of information visibility which suggests a complementary definition for the Invisible Web. The results also showed the participants were aware of the possibility that they had missed some relevant information in their searches. However, perceptions of the importance and the volume of missed information varied, so users reacted differently to the possibility that they were missing information. The third part indicated the “Locus of Control” and “Attribution Theory” that can help us to better understand web‐based information seeking patterns. Moreover, “Bounded Rationality” and “Satisficing Theory” supported the inductive findings and showed that users' estimates of the likely volume and importance of missed information affect their decision to persist in searching.Research limitations/implicationsThe study creates new understanding of web users' information seeking behaviour which contributes to the theoretical basis of web search research. It also raises various questions within the context of library and information science practice to know whether, and if so how, we can assist end‐users to develop more efficient search strategies and satisfactory approaches.Originality/valueThe research adopted a combination of inductive‐deductive methods with a qualitative approach in the area of information seeking on the web which is mainly dominated by quantitative studies.
Web usage mining analysis of federated search tools for Egyptian scholars
Authors: Mohamed Khaled A. , Hassan Ahmed 
Published: October 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the behaviour of the Egyptian scholars while accessing electronic resources through two federated search tools. The main purpose of this article is to provide guidance for federated search tool technicians and support teams about user issues, including the need for training.Design/methodology/approachLog files were exploited to examine the behaviour of users of information retrieval systems. This study examined two log files extracted from federated search tools available to the Egyptian scholars' community for accessing electronic resources. A data mining approach was implemented to investigate user behaviour through deep analysis of these logs.FindingsResults show that: none of the available tools provide error messages for dummy queries; most of the Egyptian scholars had short queries; Boolean operators are not used in about 50 per cent of the queries; federated search tools do not provide techniques for query reformation; the optimal days for system maintenance are the non‐weekend vacations; and early morning is the best time for maintenance.Practical implicationsTo maximise the value of the federated search tools by understanding user trends when utilising federated search tools. The study shows that more attention should be given to the search capabilities through ongoing training and awareness in order to maximise the benefit from the available resources and tools.Originality/valueThe hypothetical value of the federated search tools has not been previously examined and analysed to understand user trends.