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The purpose of this research is to focus on a hospital Division of Diagnostics and Clinical Support (150 medical, 1,975 non‐medical staff) and how systems were enhanced through lean principles application to facilitate quality and performance improvement.

An action research methodology was adopted. The research involved: review of available performance and quality improvement literature; identification of the systems that required improvement; adoption and implementation of new working methods.

The results were recognised as being beneficial to all parties, especially the patients! Staff recognised the need for change; the process transformation was actually welcomed. Patient waiting times reduced from 26 to 13 weeks. Fast‐track/“query cancer” service for out‐patients now within ten days; the majority of in‐patients receive imaging within 72 hours. Ultimately, patients are diagnosed faster and treatment commences earlier. Departmental managers can effectively manage capacity to meet demand because they now understand the waiting “profile”.

The methodology applied was appropriate, generating data to facilitate discussion and from which to draw conclusions. A perceived limitation is the single case approach; however, Remenyi et al. argue that this can be enough to add to the body of knowledge.

Guidelines indicating “What went well?” and “What could have gone better?” were produced. These centred on the practical application aspects. The implementation methodology developed is being used elsewhere within the same hospital group.

The paper demonstrates that the application of improvement techniques, such as “Lean”, can focus efforts to improve performance. This is of value to those working in the UK healthcare and wider public sector.

It is said that travel broadens the mind, deepens the understanding and refreshes the spirit. Judging by the amount of long distance travel undertaken nowadays by more people than ever before, it may also be said to widen the beam! However, this brief article is mainly concerned with the scope and benefits of the Library Association's programme of internships.

THE COMMENT by Don Revill in the August issue of NEW LIBRARY WORLD raises a number of interesting points. The allocation of library book funds between departments or between site libraries has always proved a sticky problem, and, as Revill points out, a variety of solutions have been advocated. Of course, the actual division of the funds presents no real problem (everyone is willing to spend the money!) once the bases on which this division is to be made have been decided. Thus the real decisions boil down to judgements of the relative value (to the university? to the state? to the librarian?) of such factors as:

IT is said that travel broadens the mind, deepens the understanding and refreshes the spirit. Judging by the amount of long distance travel undertaken nowadays by more people than ever before, it may also be said to widen the beam! However, this brief article is mainly concerned with the scope and benefits of the Library Association's programme of internships.

This study aims to take advantage of segment reporting to provide empirical evidence on the impacts of increasing the share of revenue generated from the timeshare segment in companies’ portfolios for firm value and profitability.

This paper examines data from five publicity traded hospitality companies that have a timeshare component and carries out different regression analysis using 69 observations ranging from 1998 to 2016.

The findings support the idea of an inverted U-shaped relationship between the degree of timeshare business (DOT) and firm value and profitability. However, for positive values of DOT, an increase of DOT consistently has a negative impact on firm value and accounting profitability.

This study adds to previous findings through the addition of new variables and contemporary accounting practices. Though sufficient for the analyses conducted, the limited number of observations raises generalizability issues. Further research with larger data sets is advised.

This study implies that timeshare may continue to grow, but not as a segment in the lodging sector; rather as an industry mainly composed of timeshare-dedicated companies. As firms consider diversification or consolidation, this study may inform decisions related to potential firm value.

This study provides evidence to support previous literature related to spin-off activity in the lodging sector. Perhaps more importantly, this study adds value to research on firm value and profitability by extending traditional models and by developing a new “degree of business” variable using segment reporting.

This paper aims to examine the value proposition of developing a vacation ownership project in Florida and Hawaii by analyzing actual company data.

The study is based on a net present value model approach that was used for analysis of the company financial data.

Results suggest that the vacation ownership alternative produces better financial performance than traditional hotel development.

Research is limited to the case of a company in two main destinations.

The paper helps practitioners by presenting a current approach to consider in their understanding and perception of vacation ownership.

Research is limited to the case of a company in two main destinations.

This study is one of the few investigations about applying real company data and comparing the main timeshare markets.

This paper aims to facilitate an immediate immersion of academic literature in the timeshare/vacation ownership industry. Through a synthesis of 92 articles published in academic journals over the past 40 years, the authors demonstrate the breadth of the current research. Topical areas, methodologies and findings are presented, as well as opportunities for further investigation. This paper also provides the reader with a robust consolidation of literature in a tabular form to include authors, publication dates, sources and titles.

Through a comprehensive search of multiple academic research databases, university catalogues and references of existing literature and conference proceedings, the authors compiled a review of timeshare research with the aim of classifying the various components and issues that have been examined to date.

The timeshare segment of the greater lodging industry is unique due to its real estate ownership component, complex management characteristics and regulatory environment. The unique nature appeals to researchers and provides an opportunity for investigation of generally accepted theories and principles. The literature follows industry advances in the segment, with the majority of research focused on sales and marketing practices, and resort services and operations. An abundance of future research opportunities is identified in the literature, to which only a few have been addressed.

A synthesis of timeshare literature has not been published to date, either in hospitality literature or in other fields of study, i.e. real estate. Therefore, the authors provide a foundation for researchers, academics and students to utilize in further study and investigation.

Although much satisfaction research examines the role of demographics, few examine the phenomena of family cohesion or travel party composition and the role they play in influencing satisfaction. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to leverage the two to further understand satisfaction.

Data from 400 vacationing families were analyzed to examine the factors of family cohesion, activity satisfaction and overall vacation satisfaction.

Contrary to previous research, the results suggest that family cohesion is comprised of two primary factors: emotional bonding and decision making, family boundaries and coalitions. The findings suggest that family cohesion and activity satisfaction contributed to overall vacation satisfaction. However, as an addition to extant research, the findings demonstrate that travel party size moderated this relationship.

This research challenges findings of extant research on family cohesion and extends satisfaction research by introducing the effect of family cohesion and travel party composition. Both suggest and offer opportunities for future academic research. Practically speaking, this research also provides insight for practitioners as to why “travel party composition” should be regarded as an operative, rather than a descriptive term.

Practically speaking, this research also provides insight for practitioners as to why “travel party composition” should be regarded as an operative, rather than a descriptive term. Given the results of this research, the moderating effect of travel party composition is an interesting academic finding. Operationalizing this component in practice is challenging. However, practitioners can take the knowledge of the positive relationships between family cohesion, participation in activities, and overall vacation satisfaction, as well as the moderating effect of travel party composition, into account when evaluating guest satisfaction scores, programming activities, and resolving guest issues.

In addition to challenging findings of prior research, this research utilizes data gathered during family vacations; therefore not relying on recall or issues with memory effect. In addition, it extends existing research through the exploration of moderating variables. Finally, the research has practical implications for practitioners to attend to satisfaction of the increasing global family leisure market.

This research aims to propose a model that may be used to classify product attributes according to their effect on customer satisfaction within the services industry. It also aims to apply the model to vacation ownership products and to explore attributes related to both the purchase and use of the product: an owned luxury product.

Data from 3,231 vacation ownership customers of multiple international companies were analyzed using a modified Kano model and related questionnaire.

This study reveals the effect that specific product attributes have on customer satisfaction. It addresses previously unexplored attributes (i.e. sales techniques and hotel program benefits), confirms others previously identified with customer satisfaction (i.e. amenities, exchange benefits, hotel affiliation and vacation counselors) and reveals those that had no incremental effect on overall satisfaction (i.e. financing and activities).

Results of this study suggest that attributes have varying effects on customers’ overall satisfaction and submit that companies may wish to focus their efforts in particular areas to maintain or improve overall satisfaction. Doing so may create opportunities for companies to increase satisfaction, operate more efficiently or distinguish themselves within the marketplace.

This research is the first comprehensive examination of customer satisfaction related to the purchase and consumption of an owned luxury vacation product, reveals misconceptions related to certain product attributes, uncovers previously unidentified attributes, provides a model for examining customer satisfaction that could be applied across lodging products and provides a benchmark for future studies.

We explore the lived experience of organizational scholars who have conducted fieldwork in unsettling contexts. Through analyzing our interviews with these scholars, we find themes around the causes and consequences of unsettling fieldwork, and the coping strategies employed. We reflect on the often overlooked emotional and relational aspects of conducting and coping with unsettling fieldwork, and offer some suggestions for how scholars might support each other, especially given the increasing prevalence of organizational scholarship that pushes boundaries by engaging unconventional topics and settings.