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1 – 10 of 57Oral history collections can offer a wealth of detailed information for entrepreneurship researchers. The stories that entrepreneurs tell provide researchers with insight into…
Abstract
Oral history collections can offer a wealth of detailed information for entrepreneurship researchers. The stories that entrepreneurs tell provide researchers with insight into both perspective and into substantive issues of entrepreneurial behavior. The life stories of entrepreneurs offer students of entrepreneurship insight into both the explicit and the tacit knowledge of working entrepreneurs.
Tayfun Güven, F. Burcu Çam, Bilsen Bilgili and Aysel Erci̇ş
Involvement plays a crucial role in understanding consumer behavior. In recent years, the concept of social innovation has gained momentum, resulting in the development of…
Abstract
Purpose
Involvement plays a crucial role in understanding consumer behavior. In recent years, the concept of social innovation has gained momentum, resulting in the development of eco-friendly products and initiatives to tackle societal issues. This trend is driven by consumers, who are increasingly aware of the social benefits of the products they buy. The present study aims to investigate how socially innovative, environmentally conscious consumers can influence their engagement with eco-friendly products.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers aimed to investigate the “impact of social innovation on involvement in environmentally friendly products.” They selected active members of various environmental organizations operating in the country to conduct the study. Convenience sampling was used to reach out to these members, and the managers of these organizations sent an electronic questionnaire to all members' email addresses.
Findings
The study found that socially innovative, environmentally conscious consumers tend to be more interested in the symbolic meaning and pleasure of products, leading to a decrease in perceived risk and risk importance.
Originality/value
There are limited studies examining the relationship between social innovation and product innovation. Therefore, the novelty of this research lies in its exploration of the relationship between these two concepts. Unlike previous studies, this research found a negative relationship between the dimensions of risk importance and risk probability. This result was interpreted as environmentally friendly products being sensitive to public welfare and not being perceived as risky by environmentalists.
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Martina Toni, Maria Francesca Renzi, Maria Giovina Pasca, Roberta Guglielmetti Mugion, Laura di Pietro and Veronica Ungaro
This paper aims to study the automotive 4.0 context to understand the consumers’ propensity towards high-tech automated cars. The paper analyses the antecedents that lead to the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the automotive 4.0 context to understand the consumers’ propensity towards high-tech automated cars. The paper analyses the antecedents that lead to the use of innovative vehicles. Theory of planned behaviour (TPB) is adopted and extended by including further constructs, such as environmental aspects and inhibitors.
Design/methodology/approach
The advent of smart technologies and the internet of things has given rise to several contributions that look at consumers’ intention towards innovation adoption in the automotive industry. Furthermore, this study rises from the growing interest that sustainable mobility achieved. Based on the previous technology acceptance models and particularly TPB, this paper develops a structured questionnaire. After a pilot survey, the final questionnaire was administered online through email and social media in the Italian context. Structural equation modelling technique has been used for analysing data and testing the conceptual model.
Findings
The number of questionnaires filled out was 310, with a sample composed of young adults, characterised by different addiction levels towards technology. The results explain the drivers that lead to accept and adopt high-tech automated vehicles. This topic is still under investigation and offers potential research opportunities, considering the evolution of the market and the consumers’ habits and needs. Future research studies in this area should focus on generalising the present findings in other countries. Moreover, once this technology starts to be adopted, other constructs could be discovered, investigated and included in the model.
Originality/value
Mobility has raised a growing interest with the fast increasing demand for sustainability and growth of innovative solutions embedded in mobility. This research explores the TPB model’s application and the relation between its constructs, environmental aspects, inhibitors and intention to adopt automated vehicles. On this strength, it is possible to identify each construct’s relevance for obtaining social consensus on the market.
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Laura McLaughlin and James F. McLaughlin
This research study assessed the mindset of individuals regarding their perception of innovation as a means for successful product or process improvement and their perception of…
Abstract
Purpose
This research study assessed the mindset of individuals regarding their perception of innovation as a means for successful product or process improvement and their perception of thought processes that underpin innovative practices. It investigated the attitudinal foundation for the development of training, development and assessment of structured innovation methodologies.
Design/methodology/approach
A combination of qualitative and quantitative research gathered through an anonymous survey designed to explore the basic understanding of innovation and included open-ended questions supported more integrated perceptions of innovation in the sampled population's own experiences. The participants of the survey and research were drawn from the public, but it focused more specifically on demographic groups known for their interest in innovation, either as practitioners or teachers.
Findings
The results found, overwhelmingly, survey participants believed innovation is a skill; however, they also believed, inconsistently, that innovation itself is an unpredictable, unstructured and unsystematic process.
Practical implications
At a practical level, exploring the propensity for individuals or groups to believe defined innovation practices can be effective and that these practices can be learned, measured and improved drives the overall effectiveness of training and organizational leadership. With research, we can make training professionals aware that the mindset of potential innovators is to favor a belief in brainstorming and random success. Doing so can significantly impact the preparation of training and development programs for developing structured innovation capabilities.
Originality/value
Training a new generation of innovators, especially young children, requires care so that they internalize the right mindset and the right tool strategy to be the best innovators possible.
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Terry Lease, Marni Goldenberg, Matt Haberland and Sam Wallan
The paper has a twofold purpose: (1) to test the application of means-end theory to providers of hospitality goods and services, and (2) to explore this question in the context of…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper has a twofold purpose: (1) to test the application of means-end theory to providers of hospitality goods and services, and (2) to explore this question in the context of winery tasting rooms when they had a unique opportunity to restructure their hospitality experience due to government restrictions in response to COVID.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach was adopted, and a convenience sample was used to conduct semi-structured laddering interviews. Forty interview transcripts were coded as means-end ladders, which were analyzed using a custom computer program to develop the implication matrix and the hierarchical value map.
Findings
This paper demonstrates that means-end is a useful approach to investigate the values and behaviors of the producer, specifically hospitality hosts. It finds that the principal goal of tasting rooms is to generate sales, and offering a compelling guest experience is the characteristic that contributes the most to achieving that goal. The staff and the atmosphere created for the guests are the two factors with the greatest influence on the guest experience.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to use means-end theory to study the hospitality host, or the producer of goods and services in general, and the first to study winery hospitality primarily through the lens of means-end theory. The study also helps fill a gap in research on tasting room sales focused on the winery’s goals.
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Goffman’s (1961) work on total institutions has been relatively neglected in the fields of organizational research. This paper compares the conceptions of obedience to authority…
Abstract
Goffman’s (1961) work on total institutions has been relatively neglected in the fields of organizational research. This paper compares the conceptions of obedience to authority in two different types of voluntary total institutions and how such conceptions affect interaction contrary to the aims of the organizations. Consequently, by addressing how conceptions of authority and constructions of the obedient self shape conditions for underlife, the analysis provides knowledge about the variety of ways in which total institutional authority works and contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms of organizational underlife.
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