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The present study aims to suggest a new approach to hotel quality rating, specifically designed for the business travel segment, where the evaluation of surveyed consumers (business travelers) does not necessarily reflect the priority of customers (corporate travel departments [CTDs]).

Preliminarily, the authors defined key areas (domains), exploring what was done by quality certifiers recognized worldwide. Then, each domain quality was considered as a latent variable measured by a set of observable attributes (sub-domains) surveyed by a professional assessor. A continuous, fine-grained, composite indicator (CI) for quality was finally obtained by a weighted average of the domain (latent) quality measures. Weights were endogenously determined by data envelopment analysis.

The suggested CI shows both the existence of large quality disparities within the same star rating and a relevant bias in the internet reviews. A “soundproofed” room, a front desk open 24 h with sufficient staff and an adequate urban context are necessary features of any business hotel.

Data came from a professional assessor’s database; therefore, the authors could only consider a three-domains measurement model. The database is mainly composed of three- and four-star hotels in Italy; nonetheless, these accommodations are the most widespread in the Italian corporation hotel programs, preserving the practical utility of the results.

This study provides a transparent (replicable) evaluation protocol that is of potential use in the most popular models for quality measurement; any assessor can use it to underline its impartiality to CTD and assessed hotels.

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the concept of cultural value promoted by the Italian government between 2008 and 2018. Furthermore, it aims at setting the scope for further research and debate on the issue of cultural value in Italian cultural policy by questioning market-driven understanding of value.

In order to do so, it examines the rhetoric of Italian policymakers, with a particular focus on the people who have covered the role of Ministry for Cultural Assets and Activities over this 10-year span, and the policies they have implemented. The various nuances of the concept of valorizzazione are studied by analysing different pathways employed by the Italian government and the values underpinning them, with a particular focus on the abandonment of heritage sites.

What emerges from this research is the centrality of the economic value of culture; however, the economic impact of Italian cultural assets is always presented as a potential that has to be unlocked by implementing policies of valorizzazione, a term that has a double meaning of promotion and exploitation (Belfiore, 2006).

This paper presents an original approach to understanding the formation and promotion of cultural value at the level of governmental policy in the context of contemporary cultural policy in Italy. In particular, it evidences how the centrality of the economic value of culture has remained unscathed despite the rapid change of governments that has characterised Italian politics in the last 10 years.

Although the Bullock Committee's proposals on industrial democracy have been quietly put on the shelf, greater employee participation in decision‐making is inevitable. Drawing on events following the decline of the Roman Empire — with the emergence of the Papacy — the authors suggest that middle‐managers could emerge as industrial Cardinals. To them would fall the task of reconciling conflicting demands from senior management and worker directors.

The paper is an exercise in “metaphoric defamiliarisation”. The metaphor of the search for a conceptual framework as “quest” is unpacked and an alternative, based on Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark, is proposed in its place.

Many points of correspondence between Carroll's unlikely expedition and the work of standard setting bodies are noted and developed. The possibility that a conceptual framework might turn out to be a “Boojum” is examined.

Noting that timing precludes the possibility that The Hunting of the Snark is an allegory of accounting standard setting, a possible social explanation drawing on Cornford's Microcosmographia Academica is proposed.

Examines the use of the quest metaphor and what it tells us about standard setters' approaches. An alternative metaphor is proposed as being more appropriate and, by contrasting the two, the content of the first is thrown into sharper relief.

MANY LIBRARIANS collect books. I collect authors' dedications. I find this a fascinating pastime. Skim through any shelf of books that takes you fancy, and you will be surprised how many dedications even so casual a search will reveal. You will be surprised too how varied they can be.

Indigenous entrepreneurship and hybrid venture creation represents a significant opportunity for Indigenous peoples to build vibrant Indigenous-led economies that support sustainable economic development and well-being. It is a means by which they can assert their rights to design, develop and maintain Indigenous-centric political, economic and social systems and institutions. In order to develop an integrated and comprehensive understanding of the intersection between Indigenous entrepreneurship and hybrid ventures, this chapter adopts a case study approach to examining Indigenous entrepreneurship and the underlying global trends that have influenced the design, structure and mission of Indigenous hybrid ventures. The cases present how Indigenous entrepreneurial ventures are, first and foremost, hybrid ventures that are responsive to community needs, values, cultures and traditions. They demonstrate that Indigenous entrepreneurship and hybrid ventures are more successful when the rights of Indigenous peoples are addressed and when these initiatives are led by or engage Indigenous communities. The chapter concludes with a conceptual model that can be applied to generate insights into the complex interrelationships and interdependencies that influence the formation of Indigenous hybrid ventures and value creation strategies according to three dimensions: (i) the overarching dimension of indigeneity and Indigenous rights; (ii) indigenous community orientations and (iii) indigenous hybrid venture creation considerations.