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1 – 10 of over 1000Kari-Pekka Tampio and Harri Haapasalo
The purpose of this paper is to identify the areas and logic of integration of different stakeholders using different methods and to analyse their applicability and challenges in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the areas and logic of integration of different stakeholders using different methods and to analyse their applicability and challenges in practical projects. The main aim is to describe how these different methods impact value creation.
Design/methodology/approach
Action design research was carried out in a large hospital construction project where the first author acted as an “involved researcher” and the second author acted as an “outside researcher”. Two workshops were organised to evaluate the direct and indirect challenges and benefits of the applied four methods and to explain how different methods enable value creation.
Findings
All the studied methods provide good results in terms of usability and commitment to the aims of the project, thus delivering the direct benefits expected. Process, people and tools logic works well in this case project when applying the methods properly. Significant evidence was provided on secondary deliverables of the methods, and all analysed methods had a significant impact in the area of leading people, clarifying what “focus on people” means and how it is enabled.
Practical implications
Focus on people can be achieved through different operative methods if applied in the right way. It is necessary to select the most suitable methods based on all the direct and indirect deliverables.
Originality/value
This case project offered a platform to analyse integration methods in a real-life project using the collaborative contract method. The authors were able to participate in the analysis by taking action from the very beginning of the project in terms of training, learning, continuous development and coaching of these methods and evaluating the applicability.
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The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of key hotel attributes on the room rates of selected hotels in the Greater Gaborone Region, Botswana.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of key hotel attributes on the room rates of selected hotels in the Greater Gaborone Region, Botswana.
Design/methodology/approach
Using hedonic pricing analysis, the effect of eight attributes collected from 80 standard double rooms on Booking.com in the area was analysed using quantile regression.
Findings
The estimated results from quantile regression suggested the importance of the 10th quantile as the best predictor of hotel room price distribution. Overall, the presence of a fitness centre and the availability of meeting and conference facilities were positively significant for the lowest- and premium-priced hotels, respectively.
Research limitations/implications
The study advanced the literature in hedonic pricing models by confirming the applicability of hotel room rate attribute research in unexplored environments.
Practical implications
Hotel managers should be aware of the influence of key attributes, such as meeting and conference space availability and locational factors, on the pricing decisions of room rates in the Greater Gaborone Region. The study also presented opportunities for business-to-business marketing between hotel and tour operators in the region.
Originality/value
The study is one of the few that uses quantile regression in the hedonic pricing analysis of hotel room rates.
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Lyndsay M.C. Hayhurst, Holly Thorpe and Megan Chawansky
Manuel J. Sánchez-Franco and Sierra Rey-Tienda
This research proposes to organise and distil this massive amount of data, making it easier to understand. Using data mining, machine learning techniques and visual approaches…
Abstract
Purpose
This research proposes to organise and distil this massive amount of data, making it easier to understand. Using data mining, machine learning techniques and visual approaches, researchers and managers can extract valuable insights (on guests' preferences) and convert them into strategic thinking based on exploration and predictive analysis. Consequently, this research aims to assist hotel managers in making informed decisions, thus improving the overall guest experience and increasing competitiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
This research employs natural language processing techniques, data visualisation proposals and machine learning methodologies to analyse unstructured guest service experience content. In particular, this research (1) applies data mining to evaluate the role and significance of critical terms and semantic structures in hotel assessments; (2) identifies salient tokens to depict guests' narratives based on term frequency and the information quantity they convey; and (3) tackles the challenge of managing extensive document repositories through automated identification of latent topics in reviews by using machine learning methods for semantic grouping and pattern visualisation.
Findings
This study’s findings (1) aim to identify critical features and topics that guests highlight during their hotel stays, (2) visually explore the relationships between these features and differences among diverse types of travellers through online hotel reviews and (3) determine predictive power. Their implications are crucial for the hospitality domain, as they provide real-time insights into guests' perceptions and business performance and are essential for making informed decisions and staying competitive.
Originality/value
This research seeks to minimise the cognitive processing costs of the enormous amount of content published by the user through a better organisation of hotel service reviews and their visualisation. Likewise, this research aims to propose a methodology and method available to tourism organisations to obtain truly useable knowledge in the design of the hotel offer and its value propositions.
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Minna A. Sorsa, Irma Kiikkala and Päivi Åstedt-Kurki
Mothers with a dual diagnosis (mental ill health and substance use) have delays in accessing services, or their care may be interrupted prior to therapeutic relationships being…
Abstract
Purpose
Mothers with a dual diagnosis (mental ill health and substance use) have delays in accessing services, or their care may be interrupted prior to therapeutic relationships being formed. The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe how engagement merges in the context of mothers with a dual diagnosis.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative, focused ethnographic study at a low-threshold service for substance abusing families. The data contain interviews, observations, field notes, and reflections. The analysis followed several systematic steps.
Findings
Engagement is the co-creation of possibilities between workplace staff and the client in different interfaces. It is not a single act, emotion, or verbal communication, but a complex intertwined system of events that can awaken or enable the client to get a grasp on life. The sensitivity of the worker is one tool for engaging the client in manifold ways in different interfaces: even the smallest events with connection are viewed as valuable. Engagement involves the intentional client in the process of interaction: the client needs to participate and become an acting and sensing part of the change, which occurs on an experiential level. The process is described with the metaphor of a seed.
Originality/value
Engagement as inner involvement challenges the current working methods, and requires sensitivity, because the mothers with a dual diagnosis may not have verbalisable goals when arriving to the services.
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Laura Saukko, Kirsi Aaltonen and Harri Haapasalo
The purpose of this paper is to define the integration capability dimensions and create a model for self-assessing the integration capability in inter-organizational projects.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to define the integration capability dimensions and create a model for self-assessing the integration capability in inter-organizational projects.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical construct of, referred in this study as integration capability framework is elaborated following a systematic literature review. Thereafter, an integration capability self-assessment model, based on maturity thinking, is derived from the theoretical framework. The self-assessment model is further developed and tested for validity within five inter-organizational project networks in cooperation with industry practitioners, representing construction, industrial engineering, and mining sectors.
Findings
The results show that inter-organizational projects can use the developed model in self-assessing the maturity levels of various integration mechanisms, thus the state of integration capability at any point in time during inter-organizational projects.
Originality/value
This study is an attempt to identify how the integration capability dimensions can be self-assessed in inter-organizational projects, through the maturity levels of various integration mechanisms. The results offer insights for both academics and project management practitioners.
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Jennifer E. James, Leslie Riddle and Giselle Perez-Aguilar
This study aims to describe the COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies implemented in California prisons and the impact of these policies on the mental health of incarcerated women.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to describe the COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies implemented in California prisons and the impact of these policies on the mental health of incarcerated women.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with ten women who were over the age of 50 and/or had a chronic illness and had been incarcerated in California prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors also interviewed ten health-care providers working in California jails or prisons during the pandemic. Interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory coding framework and triangulated with fieldnotes from ethnographic observations of medical and legal advocacy efforts during the pandemic.
Findings
Participants described being locked in their cells for 23 hours per day or more, often for days, weeks or even months at a time in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. For many participants, these lockdowns and the resulting isolation from loved ones both inside and outside of the prison were detrimental to both their physical and mental health. Participants reported that access to mental health care for those in the general population was limited prior to the pandemic, and that COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies, including the cessation of group programs and shift to cell-front mental health services, created further barriers.
Originality/value
There has been little qualitative research on the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on incarcerated populations. This paper provides insight into the mental health effects of both the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies for the structurally vulnerable older women incarcerated in California prisons.
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Chiara Tagliaro, Stefano Bellintani and Gianandrea Ciaramella
Due to the young age of proptech, little is known about the dynamics of its expansion. In particular, there is limited agreement about a definition of “proptech,” while different…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the young age of proptech, little is known about the dynamics of its expansion. In particular, there is limited agreement about a definition of “proptech,” while different categorizations are popping up. A severe lack of information emerges for the proptech scenario in Italy. The goal of this paper is to systematize multiple proptech maps in the attempt to create a framework for comparison of country-specific trends and an overarching definition of proptech. The research examines the evolutionary stage of the Italian digital real estate sector and compares it to the international context.
Design/methodology/approach
An in-depth analysis of 12 proptech maps at both national and international level was conducted based on online research. A list of Italian proptech companies was composed through multiple methods. A map was built for a cross-country comparison.
Findings
Each country or organization tends to develop its own categorization. This creates a multifaceted context where comparison and analysis are challenging. The Italian proptech sector seems underdeveloped compared to neighboring countries. Big room for improving the proptech business in this country still exists.
Practical implications
The results are valuable for proptech start-ups, business investors and well-established real estate actors to build on new entrepreneurial initiatives. The opportunity to advance proptech mapping and categorization emerges as a prospect for future research.
Originality/value
This research adds an overview of cross-country proptech categories and proposes the first analysis of Italian proptech. This will contribute to support entrepreneurial opportunities.
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Jamila Alieva and Daryl John Powell
The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceived effects between soft management practices, employee behaviours and the implementation of digital technologies in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceived effects between soft management practices, employee behaviours and the implementation of digital technologies in manufacturing plants, as well as how these relate to the emergence of digital waste.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses case-based research. Data was collected in two large manufacturing companies based in Norway and Sweden through semi-structured interviews with two management representatives and four shop-floor employees. The data was used to evaluate 29 variables describing lean- and total quality management (TQM)-associated employee behaviours and soft management practices, in light of digital transformation.
Findings
The results suggest that several variables were positively influenced by the digital transformation process. These were top management leadership, middle management involvement, employee education, corporate social responsibility focus, innovation, knowledge sharing, work-family balance, psychological capital, job satisfaction and career commitment. Training employees, creativity, discretionary effort, turnover intention and proactivity appear to be negatively influenced by digital transformation The findings also indicate that several soft management practices and employee behaviours were not only influenced by manufacturing digitalization but also themselves influenced the process. The potential for digital waste creation was also detected in several variables, including reward and recognition and training employees.
Practical implications
Managers, practitioners and academics may learn about the importance of certain managerial practices and employees’ behavioural needs during the digital transformation process. The findings may help in prioritizing TQM and soft lean management practices and certain employee behaviours during the digital transformation and in creating awareness of digital waste.
Originality/value
This study builds on several existing studies discussing the impact of digital transformation on soft management practices and employee behaviours. It provides insights from a lean and TQM angle and offers a means of prioritizing certain practices and behaviours during a digital transformation. This study also highlights the significance of digital waste.
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Marthe E. Ribbink, Catharina C. Roozendaal, Janet L. MacNeil-Vroomen, Remco Franssen and Bianca M. Buurman
The acute geriatric community hospital (AGCH) in an intermediate care facility is an alternative to conventional hospitalization. A comprehensive geriatric assessment and…
Abstract
Purpose
The acute geriatric community hospital (AGCH) in an intermediate care facility is an alternative to conventional hospitalization. A comprehensive geriatric assessment and rehabilitation are integrated into acute medical care for older patients. This study aims to evaluate patient experience and satisfaction with the AGCH.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a mixed method observational study including a satisfaction questionnaire and qualitative interviews with AGCH patients or informal caregivers.
Findings
A total of 152 participants filled in the questionnaire, and thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted. Twelve categories and four overarching themes emerged in the analysis. In general, study participants experience the admission to the AGCH as positive and are satisfied with the care they received; there were also suggestions for improvement.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of this study include possible participation bias. The results show that patients value this type of care indicating that it should be implemented elsewhere. Further research will focus on health outcomes, readmission rates and cost effectiveness of the AGCH.
Originality/value
This is the first study to evaluate care satisfaction with the AGCH. It shows that hospitalized older adults positively value the AGCH as an alternative to hospitalization.
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