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1 – 10 of over 2000Jonathan Elms, Catherine Canning, Ronan de Kervenoael, Paul Whysall and Alan Hallsworth
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of retail change in the UK grocery sector over the last 30 years.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of retail change in the UK grocery sector over the last 30 years.
Design/methodology/approach
In 1980, a press article by Richard Milner and Patience Wheatcroft attempted to anticipate retail change by 1984. Taking that as a template, the paper examines how retail did, in fact, change over a much longer timescale: with some unanticipated innovations in place even by 1984. Reference is made to academic research on grocery retailing in progress at the time and which has recently been revisited.
Findings
Although Milner and Wheatcroft tackled the modest task of looking ahead just four years, the content of their article is intriguingly reflective of the retail structure and systems of the UK at the time. Whilst some innovations were not anticipated, the broad themes of superstore power and market regulation still command attention 30 years on.
Originality/value
Through reconsidering 30 years of retail change, the paper highlights that with time how do you shop has come to pose at least as interesting a question as where do you shop.
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Ronan de Kervenoael, Catherine Canning, Mark Palmer and Alan Hallsworth
In the UK, while fashion apparel purchasing is available to the majority of consumers, the main supermarkets seem – rather against the odds and market conventions – to have…
Abstract
Purpose
In the UK, while fashion apparel purchasing is available to the majority of consumers, the main supermarkets seem – rather against the odds and market conventions – to have created a new, socially‐acceptable and legitimate, apparel market offer for young children. This study aims to explore parental purchasing decisions on apparel for young children (below ten years old) focusing on supermarket diversification into apparel and consumer resistance against other traditional brands.
Design/methodology/approach
Data collection adopted a qualitative research mode: using semi‐structured interviews in two locations (Cornwall Please correct and check againand Glasgow), each with a Tesco and ASDA located outside towns. A total of 59 parents participated in the study. Interviews took place in the stores, with parents seen buying children fashion apparel.
Findings
The findings suggest that decisions are based not only on functionality (e.g. convenience, value for money, refund policy), but also on intuitive factors (e.g. style, image, quality) as well as broader processes of consumption from parental boundary setting (e.g. curbing premature adultness). Positive consumer resistance is leading to a re‐drawing of the cultural boundaries of fashion. In some cases, concerns are expressed regarding items that seem too adult‐like or otherwise not as children's apparel should be.
Practical implications
The paper highlights the increasing importance of browsing as a modern choice practice (e.g. planned impulse buying, sanctuary of social activity). Particular attention is given to explaining why consumers positively resist buying from traditional label providers and voluntarily choose supermarket clothing ranges without any concerns over their children wearing such garments.
Originality/value
The paper shows that supermarket shopping for children's apparel is now firmly part of UK consumption habits and choice. The findings provide theoretical insights into the significance of challenging market conventions, parental cultural boundary setting and positive resistance behaviour.
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This paper reports on the outcomes of a study in a service industry in which concept maps were used to facilitate the process of employees at all levels of an organisation…
Abstract
This paper reports on the outcomes of a study in a service industry in which concept maps were used to facilitate the process of employees at all levels of an organisation discussing and negotiating work issues. The use of the maps in the discussions facilitated inter‐employee co‐operation and communication. Specifically the use of the maps assisted employees to understand the perspective of others, organise their own thoughts, keep on track during meetings, reduce confrontation in meetings, share information, and involve all participants. The authors include, as an example, a description of one of the nine cases in the study in which two employees redesign a component of their work, and in the process improve their working relationship, thus addressing issues of significance to both employees. The authors conclude that concept mapping is an innovative tool which can be used by employees at all levels of an organisation for co‐operative work redesign.
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The purpose of this paper is to apply a self‐reflexive interpretive method of writing as a method of analysis of findings from a critical research based on videography documenting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply a self‐reflexive interpretive method of writing as a method of analysis of findings from a critical research based on videography documenting the relationship between ethnicity, consumption, and place.
Design/methodology/approach
An innovative theoretical approach employed is interpretativist ethnography inspired by creative writing. This methodological approach allows the researcher to move beyond the rigidness of academic discourse and consequently enables a more intimate connection with the object of research.
Findings
The main outcome of this paper is realization that the presence of the researcher and her own autobiography affects the results of research and that articulation as much as execution of research is always subjective. A significant implication of this kind of approach is uncertainty and unreliability which questions the positivist objectivism dominating in both consumer studies and marketing. A subsequent limitation is a free reading which evades possibility of definite conclusions.
Originality/value
By providing a film and a commentary to it in one publication, this paper overcomes the traditional separation between the visual and the textual and contributes to the multisensory model of academic practice. It is particularly important for ethnography and visual studies where the application of the senses has both a theoretical and a practical value.
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The paper aims to lay out a series of approaches that organizations can take to build enthusiasm and engagement for an environmental awareness program.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to lay out a series of approaches that organizations can take to build enthusiasm and engagement for an environmental awareness program.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses case study examples and real‐world evidence to demonstrate how a number of organizations have implemented a holistic approach to environmental performance.
Findings
The paper finds that organizations that engage all members of staff in environmental learning and development will be able to institute a change in the company culture and enhance the environmental performance.
Originality/value
This viewpoint article demonstrates the benefit of organization wide learning and training to develop effective environmental management strategies.
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Catherine Demangeot, Amanda J. Broderick and C. Samuel Craig
The purpose of this paper is to bring international marketing and consumer research attention to multicultural marketplaces as a new focal research lens. It develops a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to bring international marketing and consumer research attention to multicultural marketplaces as a new focal research lens. It develops a conceptualisation of multicultural marketplaces, demonstrating why they constitute new conceptual territory, before specifying five key areas for research development.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws from seminal international marketing literature and other fields to propose perspective shifts, and suggest theories and frameworks of potential usefulness to the five research areas.
Findings
The paper conceptualises multicultural marketplaces as place-centred environments (physical or virtual) where the marketers, consumers, brands, ideologies and institutions of multiple cultures converge at one point of concurrent interaction, while also being potentially connected to multiple cultures in other localities. Five key areas for research development are specified, each with a different conceptual focus: increasing complexity of cultural identities (identity), differentiation of national political contexts (national integration policies), intergroup conviviality practices and conflictual relationships (intergroup relations), interconnectedness of transnational networks (networks), and cultural dynamics requiring multicultural adaptiveness (competences).
Research limitations/implications
For each research area, a number of research avenues and theories and frameworks of potential interest are proposed.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates why multicultural marketplaces constitute new conceptual territory for international marketing and consumer research; it provides a conceptualisation of these marketplaces and a comprehensive research agenda.
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Catherine Palmer, John Cooper and Peter Burns
Drawing on social anthropology this paper aims to focus on the role of culture in identity formation through an examination of the results of research into the culture of the chef…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on social anthropology this paper aims to focus on the role of culture in identity formation through an examination of the results of research into the culture of the chef – culture manifest in what has been referred to as the “culinary underbelly”.
Design/methodology/approach
In‐depth interviews were conducted with head chefs of Michelin‐starred restaurants and celebrity chefs with the aim of exploring the social and cultural processes underpinning the formation of chef identity.
Findings
These illustrate what it feels like to belong on the basis of such signifying structures as language, community, and kinship. Being a chef is more than just a job, it is sacred work involving sacrifice and pain leaving a physical imprint on the individual in the form of burns, cuts and scalds. Such marks are the physical manifestation of chef culture.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are not generalizable to all chefs. Further research should focus on issues of gender and ethnicity, and on chefs working in different types of establishment and at different levels/status to those interviewed here.
Originality/value
The findings and the analysis provide valuable insights into chef identity. This analysis is important because the significance of concepts such as culture and identity for understanding specific job roles is still under explored within a hospitality context. Managers need to be able to understand and work with the cultural dynamics inherent in job roles because these impinge on key issues such as recruitment, retention and team building of all staff, not just chefs.
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Catherine Cassell, Gillian Symon, Anna Buehring and Phil Johnson
The purpose of this paper is to present a piece of empirical work that investigates the current role and status of qualitative research within the management field.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a piece of empirical work that investigates the current role and status of qualitative research within the management field.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based on 45 in‐depth qualitative interviews with members of a range of different stakeholder groups, including: journal editors; qualitative researchers; Doctoral Programme Leaders; practitioners; and those who fund qualitative management research.
Findings
The findings suggest that there is considerable variety in definitions of qualitative research; that there are still a number of issues surrounding the status and credibility of qualitative research within the field; and there is a need for greater access to researcher training in this area.
Practical implications
The paper is of practical interest to qualitative researchers in that it details some of the issues surrounding publishing qualitative work.
Originality/value
The paper presents original empirical work in this field.
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This study aims to analyse the present situation of gender inequality in the workplace in India, examine the legal provisions that address gender inequality in India and evaluate…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyse the present situation of gender inequality in the workplace in India, examine the legal provisions that address gender inequality in India and evaluate and assess the recommendations made to eliminate gender imbalance at workplaces in India.
Design/methodology/approach
This study will adopt an exploratory research design to help identify and describe the most pressing problems and developments in the field. For this purpose, a secondary data collection approach is adopted. This study will acquire data through secondary means. This study will gather secondary data through the course of existing literature, judicial decisions and other authentic and published sources.
Findings
Legislative and judicial efforts alone are not enough to achieve gender equality. The mindset of people, in general, has to change through awareness. Unless a law is supported by public opinion, it cannot achieve its goal.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to gender inequality in the workplace only. In addition, the judicial perspective on gender disparity in India is examined in this paper. As a result, the findings cannot be applied to other situations.
Originality/value
This study deals with gender inequality in the workplace from legal and judicial perspectives and discusses that social change can be brought only by enacting laws but by public awareness.
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