bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Skill requirements for logistics license in Taiwan
Authors: Jim Wu Yen‐Chun 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the key logistics related skills required at the various levels of management logistics from the licensing certification perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study utilizes the concept mapping methodology to combine the qualitative expert data with quantitative multivariate statistical analysis.FindingsThe research results suggest that certain components of logistics skills are more important than others depending on the level of management. Assessment format preferences also differ at each assessment level.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is not designed to produce a high level of precision in the output. Instead, this study is structured to explore the possibility of building a licensing/certification framework in Taiwan.Practical implicationsThis study serves as a “blueprint” of the logistics certification program in Taiwan and provides a practical reference list for logistics‐related firms for the purpose of training and recruiting. Another implication is that the logistics certification program for the middle‐level logisticians deserves the highest priority over the operational and strategic levels.Originality/valueThis study offers an important first step to establishing an executable logistics licensing/certification program/system.
Outsourcing engineering commodity procurement
Authors: Parry Glenn , James‐Moore Mike , Graves Andrew 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce and provide an insight into the benefits of outsourcing the procurement function for engineering commodity items.Design/methodology/approachResearch into the literature presents the development of outsourcing procurement functions and this manuscript adds to the body of knowledge through introducing the outsourcing of engineering commodity procurement, illustrated with the case study example.FindingsA US Aerospace Fortune 50 company has made savings by outsourcing the procurement of commodity engineering parts. This has occurred in two stages. Firstly the commodity procurement was locally outsourced and staff migrated to the service provider to whom commodity procurement was a core competence enabling them to offer cost savings. Secondly the back office and telephone service was moved to India, further reducing cost whilst enhancing the service through an increased headcount.Originality/valueThe paper provides the first example of the two stages of outsourcing engineering commodity procurement.
Do upstream actors in the food chain know end‐users' quality perceptions? Findings from the Norwegian salmon farming industry
Authors: Grundvåg Ottesen Geir 
Published: September 2006

PurposeTo examine whether upstream firms in the food chain are knowledgeable about end‐users or consumers and to identify factors that might influence their acquisition of such knowledge.Design/methodology/approachA cross‐disciplinary approach is used to gain theoretical insights into the research questions. Consumer knowledge and influencing factors are revealed through an empirical study of producer and exporter firms in the Norwegian salmon farming industry. The study focuses on managerial knowledge of how consumers perceive the importance of the colour and texture of flesh and the fat content of salmon.FindingsA relatively large proportion of the managers are not knowledgeable about consumers' quality perceptions. Closeness to consumers in the form of sales to the respective markets, or downstream location in the food chain, do not appear to improve knowledge. A differentiation strategy is not associated with more accurate consumer knowledge.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focuses on knowledge of a limited aspect of consumers' quality evaluation only and important chain actors such as retailers were not included in the study. Upstream firms pursuing a quality‐based differentiation strategy must take into account the fact that not all consumers are willing to pay a price premium for high quality, and that those who do might use surrogate indicators to infer quality.Originality/valueThe paper addresses the important but little researched area of distribution of end‐user knowledge in the food chain. It investigates reasons why and when upstream actors will benefit from end‐user knowledge.
An investigation of competitive pricing among apparel retailers and brands
Authors: Fratto Genessa M. , Jones Michelle R. , Cassill Nancy L. 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to investigate competitive pricing strategies of apparel brands and retailers.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins with a broad discussion of competition by examining Porter's five forces model, and narrows by examining price competition within price tiers in the retail apparel industry according to store format and brands. Included are case studies of apparel retailers and brands incorporating concepts of pricing strategies, brand positioning, and price competition, with a focus on retail channel relationships. The paper analyzes the impact of price competition on apparel retailers and brands, and further examines price tiers as a competitive strategy.FindingsThe study reveals that the concept of price tiers is applicable to apparel retailers and brands. Price tiering is a vehicle for market positioning for the retail apparel industry. Retailers are enacting a price tier strategy by branding their retail store formats or engaging store brands as a vehicle of differentiation for a tier. Retailers and brands can be successful with a price tier strategy, unless they fail to differentiate between tiers on factors other than on price alone.Research limitations/implicationsThe lack of relevant price competition literature, relating to the retailer apparel industry, forced the exploration of price competition literature from grocery and automotive sectors.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful information on the impact of price competition on apparel retailers and brands, and also price tiers as a competitive strategy.
Workaholism, organizational life and well‐being of Norwegian nursing staff
Authors: Burke Ronald J. , Berge Matthiesen Stig , Pallesen Stale 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of individual difference personality characteristics (Big Five, generalized self‐efficacy), workaholism components and work life factors on measures of job satisfaction, burnout and health complaints.Design/methodology/approachData were gathered from 496 nursing staff caring for terminally ill patients in five health care facilities in Norway using questionnaires.FindingsHierarchical regression analyses, controlling for personal demographic and work setting characteristics, indicated strong relationships of particular Big Five personality factors, workaholism components and work life factors with both job satisfaction and burnout; health complaints were only predicted by personality factors.Practical implicationsFuture research must examine the generalizability of these findings to other samples in different countries. Implications for management and organizations are offered.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the understanding of personality factors to workaholics in work outcomes and well‐being.
Participation community crime prevention: who volunteers for police work?
Authors: Ren Ling , “Solomon” Zhao Jihong , Lovrich Nicholas P. , Gaffney Michael J. 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify the principal determinants associated with becoming a volunteer in crime prevention programs.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from citizen surveys in a medium sized city located in the West region of USA. The data contained 574 city residents and 264 volunteers. Binomial logistic regression analytical technique was employed to examine the relative contribution of three categories of explanatory variables – demographic background, neighborhood contextual factors, and political viewpoints – on becoming a police volunteer in community crime prevention.FindingsThe primary finding suggests that gender was a significant predictor of participation in police volunteer work. With respect to cognitive factors, the character of citizen perceptions of crime problems in their neighborhoods mattered considerably. Similarly, citizens' political orientation was another important variable among cognitive factors.Research limitations/implicationsStudy findings are based on surveys of citizen perceptions of police programs from a single mid‐sized city. Results cannot be generalized to all US cities.Originality/valueThis study provides police administrators and academic scholars with research‐based information on several unanswered questions associated with participation in police volunteer work.
Relations between police and private security officers in South Korea
Authors: Nalla Mahesh K. , Hwang Eui‐Gab 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the nature of the working relationship between police officers and private security officers in South Korea. More specifically, this study examines how police officers and security personnel perceive the working relationships between the two organizations, their attitudes on the professionalism of security personnel, their views of ways to improve the working relationship, and their perceptions of the future of public and private police relationships.Design/methodology/approachSimilar to the experience of many developed and developing economies, South Korea has experienced a significant increase in the number of private security personnel employed in the last three decades relative to the employment data on law enforcement officers. To reveal the nature of the working relationship between the two groups, this study utilized a recent survey of 258 police officers and 134 private security officers in South Korea.FindingsWhile both law enforcement and private security officers were positive about their relationship with each other, security officers are more optimistic about achieving improvements in police/security relationships. Further, the findings also reveal that both police officers and security professionals believe that the other group could do more to encourage a positive working relationship.Research limitations/implicationsWhile this research has made modest inroads into assessing the views of street level bureaucrats, further research is also needed to assess the extent to which the administrators of both public and private police organizations consider each other viable partners in addressing citizens' safety concerns.Practical implicationsThe level of optimism and support among private security personnel concerning the role of security is greater than that of police officers, which indicated that the police could do more to improve the relationship between the two.Originality/valueEmpirical research on the nature of the relationship between the public and the private professionals in a South Korean context enabled investigation into the aspects inherent to developing countries.
Police officers involved in a manhunt of a mass murder
Authors: Karlsson Ingemar , Christianson Sven Å. 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThe focus of the present study was on police officers reactions to and memories of a manhunt after a shooting incident. Emotional impact and memories of these events are discussed in relation to time elapsed, support from co‐workers, supervisors and professional debriefing.Design/methodology/approachA total of 11 police officers responding to a mass shooting carried out by a young offender resulting in seven dead civilians were asked to describe the event ten months after the event, five years after the event, and again nine years after the event.FindingsAll police officers reported having vivid memories of the mass shooting incident, and visual and auditory memories of the event were best retained, although a decline was observed nine years after the incident. Regarding working through the traumatic experience, the police officers had not been offered professional help in connection with the mass shooting incident.Research limitations/implicationsOwing to the fact that police officers in the present study answered the survey anonymously, it was not possible to work out repeated measures statistics for these memories over time.Practical implicationsKnowing that the psychological distress due to exposure to a traumatic event may be long lasting, it is crucial that police organizations consider time as an important factor in working through these experiences.Originality/valueResearch on emotion and memory is highly relevant to the work of police officers and to the legal system.
From transitional to radical knowledge‐based development
Authors: Carrillo Francisco Javier 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to introduce the 2006 annual special issue on knowledge‐based development, focusing on the progress of this emerging field and on the direction it seems to be taking.Design/methodology/approachFrom this viewpoint, a brief outline of the volume contributions is provided.FindingsA number of characteristics of the contributions along this and the two preceding special issues are identified: multidisciplinarity, theoretical and methodological variety, systems approach, empirical bases and particularly a growing strategic perspective.Originality/valueThis volume may contribute to stimulate further research into the full potential of knowledge‐based social value systems
Intellectual capital within Iberian municipalities (network)
Authors: Bañegil Palacios Tomás M. , Sanguino Galván Ramón 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThis article seeks to study the implementation of an intellectual capital model in a network of cities.Design/methodology/approachThis article provides a case study consisting of 25 key development institutions from six different border cities in Spain and Portugal.FindingsUsing the SWOT methodology, a set of strategic criteria was established to guide local authority decision making. An internet‐based technology platform, with a registered brand, has been set up and is currently functioning (www.redkognopolis.org). One of the main findings of the case concerns the use of key organizations. Certain aspects have been identified which need to be improved in the future.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the interpretations offered are plausible in the context of the case studies, it may not be correct to generalize to other situations.Originality/valueThe proposal has introduced several innovative elements: it is a network, where the city entities work together by sharing knowledge; it consists of small cities; and it involves cross‐border interaction among Spanish and Portuguese regions. Formulas have been found to increase cooperation.
Learning conversations: knowledge, meanings and learning networks in Greater Manchester
Authors: Garcia Blanca C. 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThis article advances some reflections on learning and knowledge‐sharing strategies within a social learning context in a potential knowledge city (KC).Design/methodology/approachFor this purpose a reflective sense‐making research exercise has been accounted, aiming to take a closer look at the societal tissue configurations in the Greater Manchester city‐region. An unambiguous emphasis on learning conversations is advanced, conveying the underlying KBD assumptions that only shared knowledge amongst knowledge citizens contributes to the city's system of capitals; and that learning is thus collective, constructive and conversational. Following this approach, the article interprets the KC emergence of the Manchester city‐region as a complex collage of interconnected knowledge moments intrinsically linked to collective learning experiences and thus profoundly conversational.FindingsSuch an approach has drawn forth implications for the role of knowledge moments in this city's knowledge‐based emerging development as a KC. By bringing dialogues, thoughts and conversations to the research surface, new insights on the theoretical relationships between knowledge, learning and conversations have started to emerge. By giving an account of how knowledge citizens witness, create and foster shared key knowledge moments, this article has sought to comprehend Manchester's knowledge city initiative as a conversing city.Originality/valueThis article advances some reflections on learning and knowledge‐sharing strategies within a social learning context in a potential knowledge city.
Culture, cognition and knowledge‐based development
Authors: Raza Ahmad , Rashid Kausar A. , Paul David 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to provide a theoretical critique of the concept of the knowledge‐based development.Design/methodology/approachA cross‐disciplinary critique is discussed.FindingsProvides cross‐disciplinary analysis and critique of the concept of the knowledge‐based development.Originality/valueThis paper provides a deeper analysis of the knowledge‐based development and proposes a broadening of the current paradigm on the economic development by integrating psychological and anthropological points‐of‐view.
An introduction to the Enterprise Risk Scorecard
Authors: Calandro Joseph , Lane Scott 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of an Enterprise Risk Scorecard.Design/methodology/approachWith the accelerating growth in global risk levels leading to an intense current demand for risk management solutions, an analysis was conducted on whether a scorecard framework could be applied to risk measurement. This analysis included a survey of Kaplan and Norton's voluminous and seminal writings on the Balanced Scorecard, in which, surprisingly, relatively little on the measurement of risk was found.FindingsThe findings suggest that a scorecard framework could be an effective risk measurement, management and communication tool. For both design and organizational reasons it is recommended that risk scorecards be separate from performance scorecards.Research limitations/implicationsUtilizing two scorecards – one for performance and a separate one for risk – could provide strategy‐focused organizations with a more comprehensive diagnostic control system. The research implications of this approach could be significant, as it essentially opens up a new field of research.Originality/valueThis is assumed to be the first formal paper on risk and a scorecard framework. Previous work on integrating risk measurement frameworks is very different from the approach proposed here.
Intellectual capital disclosure (ICD)
Authors: Bozzolan Saverio , O'Regan Philip , Ricceri Federica 
Published: September 2006

PurposeTo explore the hypothesis that differences in intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) practices can be explained, if in part, by industrial sector (traditional; knowledge intensive) and nationality of origin (Italy; UK).Design/methodology/approachContent analysis of the annual reports of two reasonably matched samples of both high‐technology and traditional non‐financial firms in Italy and the UK. Univariate and multivariate analyses are then used to test the hypothesis proposed.FindingsSize and industrial sector are found to be predictors of levels of ICD; the hypothesis relating nationality of origin to ICD is not supported.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation relates to sample size due to the onerous nature of this form of research. Further research following this matched‐sample methodology should attempt to maximise sample sizes allowing for the incorporation of more specific nationally of origin factors.Practical implicationsOwing to the increasing importance of intangibles and intellectual capital, how these are reported is of interest to a large range of stakeholders. There is, as yet, no universally accepted form, or indeed regulation, of ICD.Originality/valueThe matched‐sample methodology on international ICD comparison expands on extant approaches.
Rumour, migrants, and the informal economies of Naples, Italy
Authors: Harney Nicholas 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThis paper aims to consider the use of rumour by Bangladeshi migrant entrepreneurs in Naples, Italy to comment on informal economic practices and migrant moral hierarchies present in that city.Design/methodology/approachIt is based on ethnographic fieldwork among migrants conducted by the author in the Naples region in 2004 and 2005. Rumour has been interpreted by some scholars as a way to promote community cohesion and by others to promote the self‐interest of those circulating it.FindingsIn this paper, rumour is seen as a communicative device that offers information or news for evaluation and is a central means of distributing information in all economies. Here, migrants use the information circulating in rumours to interpret their migratory chances in Italy in general and, more specifically, entrepreneurial conditions available to those engaged in informal economic activities in the Neapolitan economy. These rumours travel beyond a circumscribed racialised group to have purchase in wider social fields. In this case, as subjective representations of economic behaviour, these rumours offer models for entrepreneurial activities to be admired, mimicked, condemned, or avoided.Originality/valueThis ethnographic material suggests that greater attention should be paid to how subjective understandings spur social action as reflected here through the use of rumours as a kind of knowledge to be assessed and interpreted to form the basis of decisions about economic behaviour among Bangladeshi migrants in Naples.
Innovative characteristics of small manufacturing firms
Authors: Laforet Sylvie , Tann Jennifer 
Published: September 2006

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is two‐fold: one, to focus on a specific industry – the manufacturing industry. In response to recent criticisms research in small to medium‐sized enterprises (SME) is not sector/industry‐specific, consequently the advice for these companies was too general and not of any particular help. Two, the research addresses innovation management in terms of the interrelationship among the three elements of a business: product, process and ways of working, which were often explored in isolation in the literature. Similarly, a definition of innovation was established and a systematic approach to company innovativeness was adopted.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 1000 West‐Midlands‐based manufacturing SMEs (SMMEs) was conducted. Ten indicators were used to measure company innovativeness. The top 20 per cent firms were compared with bottom 80 per cent firms in terms of product innovation management, process and work organisation. Means of responses were compared for two sets of companies. T‐tests were performed to draw some conclusions on the results. Discriminant analysis was used to determine the factors distinguishing more and less innovative companies.FindingsThe results showed SMEs in the manufacturing industry are similar to SMEs in other industries. The drivers of SMME innovativeness were: market anticipation, customer focus and commitment of CEO/owners in NPD, processes and new ways of working. Innovation was part of the business strategy and goal‐oriented. However, innovation in SMME was based more around developing new ways of working than new product innovations. The use of systems/technology and process innovation was not uniform amongst more and less innovative companies. The main constraints of SMMEs were customer dependency, skills and knowledge acquisition through training, poor learning attitude and networking because of their tradition of being insular and autonomous.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful information on innovation management in small manufacturing firms.