bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A problem‐solving approach to value‐adding decision making in construction design
Authors: Thomson D.S. , Austin S.A. , Root D.S. , Thorpe A. , Hammond J.W. 
Published: June 2006

PurposeTo illustrate the use of a Value Adding Toolbox by construction industry designers when addressing customer value expectations using problem solving.Design/methodology/approachFocused literature review establishes the need for construction industry design solutions to deliver customer value and a Value Adding Toolbox is proposed in response. Case studies validate Toolbox use and one illustrative example is provided. Interviews with prospective Toolbox users identify barriers to adoption and inform a recommended approach to organisational adoption.FindingsThe Toolbox is found to be effective at helping construction designers to solve technical design problems with regard to customer expectations of value. However, designers are found to be initially reluctant to adopt the new tool. Organisation learning is therefore required to establish the importance of customer value satisfaction as a prerequisite to Toolbox adoption by designers.Originality/valueThis paper provides a useful insight into the practical application of problem‐solving tools by construction designers to better understand customer needs.
Embedding good practice sharing within process improvement
Authors: Jeong Kwan S. , Kagioglou Michail , Haigh Richard , Amaratunga Dilanthi , Siriwardena Mohan L. 
Published: June 2006

PurposeConstruction firms need to improve the way in which they manage their processes. Focusing on good practice and knowledge sharing within and across organisational boundaries, the purpose of this paper is to discuss recent developments on a structured process improvement model developed for construction enterprises (SPICE).Design/methodology/approachA multiple holistic case study approach was taken to develop and test the presented process improvement model at a firm's level. To compare and synthesise different perspectives, respondents were selected from across a vertical cross‐section of the case study organisations. A combination of several research techniques employed for triangulation.FindingsProvides a set of key processes to establish an essential managerial infrastructure for achieving organisation‐wide process improvement. The results highlight the need to implement the key processes in an integrated and holistic manner.Research limitations/implicationsKey limitations of the presented process improvement model are closely related to the concerns raised against “process thinking.” More case studies are required to confirm or refute generalisability of the findings.Practical implicationsFirms need to appreciate diverse perspectives and consider norms and values of people in order to understand and improve their process capabilities in a balanced manner. Continuous diagnosis and adaptation of organisational process capability to the changing environment are required to ensure achieving sustainable competitive advantage.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the process and knowledge management/organisational learning literature. It also highlights several important issues to address wider aspects of organisational process improvement, as well as future research direction.
Building competence to manage contractual claims in international construction environment
Authors: Sabitu Oyegoke Adekunle 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThis study was motivated by a belief that existing knowledge on management of a contractual claim in international contracting practice is different from a standardised local practice. The paper is aimed at building competence for managing contractual claims in a standardised practice.Design/methodology/approachComparative studies of British and Finnish contracting practices were used to determine the reason why claims are not pronounced in a standardised practice. Empirical study via direct interviews and questionnaires of a Finnish‐based contractor operating in the Russian markets was used. The players are three‐dimensional in nature where the client, consultants, and contractor come from different countries/practices and two of the projects studied were joint ventures.FindingsThe findings show the effects of: legal system, procurement methods, standardised practice and size of the market on the management of contractual claims. The remedial measures suggested include: operational management, i.e. learning through personal contacts, and management competence development of employees by learning through proper communication and education programmes in a form of continuing professional development.Originality/valueManagement of claims in the construction industry is vital to a successful implementation of the project. It brings about a fair dealing between the project owner and the contractor, improves contractor's cashflow and discourages abandonment of project and disputes. Lack of knowledge in managing claims constitutes a threat to successful implementation of project. The engagement of an expert and knowledge transfer through joint ventures/partnerships are suggested as solutions.
Autonomous trust for web services
Authors: Coetzee M. , Eloff J.H.P. 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThis paper aims to show that information and evidence found in the XML‐based environment of web services can allow web services providers to gain a sense of the trustworthiness of web services requestors over time.Design/methodology/approachA literature review on trust in web services environment is provided. Trust management models, and an existing trust specification for web services are discussed. Next, a conceptual framework for web services trust formation is presented.FindingsThe paper makes explicit types of information that can be used for trust formation. Web services providers are given the ability to trust requestors autonomously by making use of information that is published through web services standards, defined over and above a web services interface. The approach incorporates elements of social trust as it is concerned with more than cryptographic controls. It has mechanisms that allow a web services provider to manage trust autonomously, enabling different types of trust for different situations.Research limitations/implicationsA conceptual framework for trust formation has been defined that identifies a proposal for trust calculation. The paper does not address the implementation of the framework, and calculation of trust over information categories.Practical implicationsThe paper identifies a practical approach to autonomous web services trust by making use of web services standards such as WS‐Policy and WSMetadataExchange.Originality/valueThis paper identifies a taxonomy of trust information that can be used to make explicit the requirements for web services trust.
An exploratory investigation of the characteristics of consumer fanaticism
Authors: Thorne Scott , Bruner Gordon C. 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe purpose is to examine the behaviors of consumers engaged in fan activity and determine if there are attitudinal and behavioral characteristics common across the differing fan subcultures.Design/methodology/approachThe characteristics affecting fan behavior are examined through the literature and a series of structured interviews with fans which are then evaluated for the presence or lack of the sought for characteristics of fanaticism.FindingsThe research indicates that there are certain common characteristics to be found in fans interested in different topics and that these characteristics influence the behaviors of those involved in fan behavior.Research limitations/implicationsGiven the prevalence of fan influences in popular and consumptive culture, opportunity exists for research beyond the exploratory work done here including larger interview populations from a greater number of fan subcultures.Practical implicationsMarketing professionals may use the identified characteristics as a guide in marketing popular culture to those markets best attuned to accept and embrace it.Originality/valueThis paper provides exploratory research in an area of popular culture that has previously been examined as categories of fans, rather than as an inclusive subculture of fanaticism.
Entrepreneurial franchisees have hidden superior marketing systems
Authors: Merrilees Bill , Frazer Lorelle 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThis research paper aims to understand the variability of performance among franchisees in a given system.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative, case study approach was used to get a clearer and deeper picture of the main issues and parameters. Nine franchisees across three systems were interviewed, and the marketing and management practices of high and average performing franchisees were compared.FindingsMajor contrasts have been identified between high and average franchisee performers, suggesting that entrepreneurial franchisees may have superior marketing and management systems that are not readily identifiable.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to an eventual theory of effective marketing.Practical implicationsBoth franchisors and franchisees could use these findings to improve their marketing performance.Originality/valueProvides a case study to aid understanding of performance variability among franchisees.
Management and its history: the worthy endeavour of the scribe
Authors: Lamond David 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThis paper introduces the Journal of Management History, relaunched as a stand‐alone journal and explores its raison d'être.Design/methodology/approachThe articles that constitute this first issue of the relaunched journal form the launching pad for this discussion, with these ideas and those from previous research used to comment on the theme of “the worthy endeavour of the scribe”.FindingsIn The Life of Reason, Santayana said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Managers looking for the “next big thing”, without being able to effectively incorporate it into their experience, and the experience of those who are long gone, are condemned to repeat not just only the past but also the mistakes of the past. Accordingly, it is also critical for management scholars to both recognise and take advantage of earlier thinking and empirical work to inform their contemporary musings and research if they are to provide meaningful frameworks for practitioners.Originality/valueDrawing on the themes presented in the articles of this issue, the paper demonstrates the value of knowing accurately the history of management thought to scholars and practitioners alike.
Attitudes to growth and experience of growth among Scottish SMEs
Authors: Mochrie Robbie , Galloway Laura , Donnelly Eleanor 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify factors associated with business success, measured through employment growth, in a sample of rural Scottish businesses.Design/methodology/approachThe use of telephone interviews was used to construct a dataset based on the outcome of 399 interviews. These covered the motivations for starting the business, and current ambitions for the business, as well as background information on the history of the business, personal characteristics of the owner and reasons for choosing a rural location for the business. Data are analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques.FindingsIt was found that the most important determinants of employment growth were the development of national and international markets and recent acquisition of control of the business. A pattern of ownership in which many businesses passed from one owner to another was also found. We did not find that owners who had moved to the area were able to generate more rapid growth.Research limitations/implicationsThe pattern of acquisition of ownership was not expected, and warranted further investigation.Practical implicationsThere may also be value in further research into effective mechanisms for providing public support for businesses that have a change of ownership, similar to that provided at start‐up.Originality/valueThe paper provides further evidence of the importance of external orientation for rural businesses. It also confirms that recent acquisition is associated with rapid employment growth.
Sex appeal advertising: gender differences in Chinese consumers’ responses
Authors: Liu Fang , Li Jianyao , Cheng Hong 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThis research was designed in order to explore the gender differences in Chinese consumers’ responses to sex appeal advertising.Design/methodology/approachExperiments were conducted at a university in South China with a total of 157 commerce students. Four advertisements, designed for the same fictional brand but featuring different genders and different levels of sex appeal, were tested in the experiments. Data analyses were conducted using t‐tests and ANOVA tests.FindingsWhen comparing the male and female differences in the responses to the ads, it was found that males and females only differed significantly when they were exposed to the ad featuring a male model with the low level of sex appeal. No significant differences were found between male and female consumers regarding the other three ads featuring the male model with the high level of sex appeal or featuring the female model with the low or high level of sex appeal. Further analyses on male or female consumers’ responses to the four ads found that females had significantly different attitudes towards the ads, whereas males did not.Research limitations/implicationsUsing a convenient sample and testing only one product category were two major limitations of this study. Future research should adopt a more representative sample and test different product categories.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study suggest that international advertisers need to take careful consideration if they are going to use sex appeal in their advertising to the Chinese consumers. Particularly, they must first take into account whether an ad targets a male or female audience.Originality/valueThis article is the first empirical study on mainland Chinese consumers’ responses to sex appeal advertising. It provides significant insight into gender differences among Chinese consumers regarding different sex appeal advertising strategies.
Different kinds of consumer response to the reward recycling technique: similarities at the desired routine level
Authors: Díaz Meneses Gonzalo , Beerli Palacio Asunción 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe objective of this research is not only to provide a new theoretical framework to overcome doctrinal inconsistencies related to the reward recycling technique but also to empirically contrast the proposed explanations.Design/methodology/approachThis research follows a quasi‐experimental design. This type of treatment comprises the application of a draw‐based prize technique. A questionnaire was issued to gather the information from a sample with 123 individuals. The approach is quantitative.FindingsIt was found that recycling behaviour has become a routine or habit with recognized awareness of ecology and recycling, but without a high level of involvement, since today's adoption process does not require such effort. This implies that the efficacy of the reward technique has been transformed and consequently its effects must be understood differently. To be specific, responders and non‐responders are similar, in terms of their levels of beliefs about recycling, ecological concern and involvement with recycling, and both show the same model of adoption with a low hierarchy of effect and with a few minor differences. Nevertheless there is only one difference between sustainers and non‐sustainers, namely, the sustainers’ greater ecological concern before the promotion application.Research limitations/implicationsThe non‐existence of a control group is a limitation with the result that the validity of the experiment is not being totally checked.Originality/valueThis research provides some empirical evidence challenging some old presumptions concerning the understanding of recycling.
Understanding relationship fading in cultural sponsorships
Authors: Olkkonen Rami , Tuominen Pekka 
Published: June 2006

PurposeTo describe, analyse, and understand relationship fading between a business sponsor and a sponsored museum in the context of cultural sponsorships.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study uses a longitudinal and a dyadic approach to analyse the temporal development of a three‐year cultural‐sponsorship relationship.FindingsThis study tackles the phenomenon of relationship fading in cultural sponsorships. The triggers of relationship fading are first elaborated into structural and situational triggers. These triggers are further categorised into structural predisposing triggers, situational precipitating triggers, situational attenuating, and structural attenuating triggers.Research limitations/implicationsMost of the triggers of relationship fading are passive and indirect. Consequently, the triggers of fading affect the development of the relationship by gradually reducing the sponsor's motivations to invest and develop the cultural‐sponsorship relationship.Practical implicationsSuccessful management of cultural sponsorship requires the interacting actors to be aware of the structural and situational triggers of fading that can lead to the fading and potential ultimate ending of such a relationship. Using culture‐oriented marketing professionals with good communication skills between the business and the arts community is vital in managing cultural sponsorships and in avoiding fading in cultural‐sponsorship relationships.Originality/valueA central feature of the fresh theoretical framework on relationship fading is the link between relatively permanent structures and the situational processes. A dyadic and longitudinal approach is adopted to reveal the past, present, and future dynamics of fading in the cultural‐sponsorship relationship.
Low voltage high performance CCII for analog signal processing applications
Authors: Rajput S.S. , Jamuar S.S. 
Published: June 2006

PurposeTo provide new structures and applications of CCII for analog signal processing.Design/methodology/approachNew structure and new applications suitable for low voltage analog signal processing.FindingsThese structures developed for CCII can be used in development for future low voltage applications.Research limitations/implicationsStructures cannot be realized due to unavailability of funding at place of research.Practical implicationsCan be useful information for future low voltage analog designs.Originality/valueThe paper presents new ideas for CCII applications.
Implanting the benefits of buyer‐supplier collaboration in the soft fruit sector
Authors: Fearne Andrew , Barrow Susan , Schulenberg Dominique 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe paper aims to show how a collaborative approach to demand management can improve customer service to the benefit of both supermarkets and suppliers in sectors characterised by volatile consumer demand.Design/methodology/approachThis insight paper is based on face‐to‐face interviews conducted with key representatives from the two businesses involved, to gain insight into the nature of the problem, the approach adopted and the benefits achieved.FindingsSupermarket buyers have neither the time nor the capability to manage demand effectively at store level, resulting in excessive waste and lost sales, which hurt both the supermarket and their suppliers. Giving access to internal demand management systems to trusted suppliers can have significant impacts on service levels and supply chain performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe insights presented are specific to one supermarket supply chain but the lessons are generic.Practical implicationsThe paper demonstrates the impact which delegation of responsibility for demand management to those with product‐specific expertise can have in supermarket supply chains.Originality/valueThe paper provides insight for supermarket buyers and account managers in commodity sectors to improve the efficiency of their demand management processes through greater collaboration.
Supply chain controlling: summarizing recent developments in German literature
Authors: Seuring Stefan A. 
Published: June 2006

PurposeThe intention of the paper is to present recent developments in German‐based supply chain‐controlling literature (management accounting in supply chains) and place them in a context of recent lines of research on supply chain management.Design/methodology/approachThe approach taken in the paper is a conceptually‐based review of related publications.FindingsThe study finds that supply chain controlling has picked up on controlling concepts, i.e. rationality, coordination and information, which are transferred to the meta‐level of a supply chain. This is linked to recent debates in supply chain management literature, which are captured as the performance frontier of a supply chain, the coordination and integration needs of a supply chain and the information needed to manage and control a supply chain.Practical implicationsManagement accounting instruments need to be applied on a supply chain level more and more.Originality/valueThe paper summarizes research contributions on supply chain controlling published in German and puts them in an international context.
An analysis of the obligations of gambling entities under the FATF's 2003 anti‐money laundering recommendations
Authors: Johnson Jackie 
Published: June 2006

PurposeTo highlight the compliance issues which face gambling entities with the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) 2003 Forty RecommendationsDesign/methodology/approachTo determine the gambling sector's attitudes towards the FATF's new anti‐money recommendations their responses to an earlier FATF consultation paper are analysed. Interested parties were asked to provide feedback on a number of options proposed by the FATF. Twenty six of the 145 respondents provided feedback on issues relating to the gambling sector. It is these responses that form the bases of the analysis in this paper.FindingsThe preferences of the gambling sector were not taken on board by the FATF. The increased customer due diligence (CDD), suspicious transaction reporting and the identification of politically exposed persons will be a burden on casino operators, the only gambling sector to be specifically identified in the new recommendations. Non‐compliance could be a serious issue.Research limitations/implicationsThe small number of responses from the gambling sector does place limitations on the ability to generalise the outcomes to the global gambling industry, though five of the respondents were gambling organisations.Practical implicationsFor regulators, the possibility of non‐compliance by the gambling sector should be addressed as should the likelihood of pressure for reduced CDD procedures.Originality/valueThe FATF's updated 2003 Forty Recommendations impose considerable compliance costs on the financial sector. A number of other business sectors are also caught within the scope of these new recommendations. This paper addresses anti‐money laundering compliance issues for the gambling sector, an area not previously explored.