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Article
Publication date: 10 June 2014

Tseng-Lung Huang and Yi-Mu Chen

– This study aims to determine whether smartphones create the best communication fit with a young audience.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to determine whether smartphones create the best communication fit with a young audience.

Design/methodology/approach

To validate the hypotheses, a task-based laboratory study was conducted. And smartphone film and television (TV) film were provided in the laboratory. Young respondents were recruited in the classroom and brief introduction and film were broadcasted. After watching the film, levels of respondent’s emotional experience was measured via questionnaire.

Findings

The results indicate that when the text of the film matches the young audience’s schema, the young audience uses, mainly, imagery coding to interpret the text and achieve an emotional experience. Conversely, when the text and schema do not match, the young audience uses both proposition coding and imagery coding.

Practical implications

Based on the results found in this study, companies should use different texts to match the different schema of young audiences to ensure that audiences can process coding and enjoy emotional experiences when using smartphone.

Originality/value

Dual-coding theory is applied to determine which coding system the audience use to interpret the new-media text, such as smartphone films.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 September 2020

Julian Hocker, Christoph Schindler and Marc Rittberger

The open science movement calls for transparent and retraceable research processes. While infrastructures to support these practices in qualitative research are lacking, the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The open science movement calls for transparent and retraceable research processes. While infrastructures to support these practices in qualitative research are lacking, the design needs to consider different approaches and workflows. The paper bases on the definition of ontologies as shared conceptualizations of knowledge (Borst, 1999). The authors argue that participatory design is a good way to create these shared conceptualizations by giving domain experts and future users a voice in the design process via interviews, workshops and observations.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a novel approach for creating ontologies in the field of open science using participatory design. As a case study the creation of an ontology for qualitative coding schemas is presented. Coding schemas are an important result of qualitative research, and reuse can yield great potential for open science making qualitative research more transparent, enhance sharing of coding schemas and teaching of qualitative methods. The participatory design process consisted of three parts: a requirement analysis using interviews and an observation, a design phase accompanied by interviews and an evaluation phase based on user tests as well as interviews.

Findings

The research showed several positive outcomes due to participatory design: higher commitment of users, mutual learning, high quality feedback and better quality of the ontology. However, there are two obstacles in this approach: First, contradictive answers by the interviewees, which needs to be balanced; second, this approach takes more time due to interview planning and analysis.

Practical implications

The implication of the paper is in the long run to decentralize the design of open science infrastructures and to involve parties affected on several levels.

Originality/value

In ontology design, several methods exist by using user-centered design or participatory design doing workshops. In this paper, the authors outline the potentials for participatory design using mainly interviews in creating an ontology for open science. The authors focus on close contact to researchers in order to build the ontology upon the expert's knowledge.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 72 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2009

Marek J. Greniewski

The purpose of this paper is to present the ability of Z‐notation to formulate formal requirements specification of huge application software based on an example of the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the ability of Z‐notation to formulate formal requirements specification of huge application software based on an example of the Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) Standard System. Z‐notation is using formal transformation approach to obtain operating software instead of traditional programming. The original MRP II software requirement specification possesses descriptive form extended by list of control questions. To make formal requirements specification, the original specification must be extending by some definition taken after APICS Dictionary. The definitions respect such concept as: item, item code, location, and order.

Design/methodology/approach

Writing schemas based on subsystem order of MRP II Standard System and treating the system as three level structures (user interface, business logic, and database), the schemas described business logic level only. As a conclusion was necessity to extend descriptive requirements specification by definitions. The limited size of the presentation contains few examples of formalization process only mainly limited to the main schemas as: item system (full definition), inventory system, bill of material, work centers and routings, generic order system, master production schedule, and material requirement planning.

Findings

As a result of the research, it can be said that Z‐notation apparatus is sufficient to build requirements specifications of big application systems like MRP II, enterprise resource planning, or customer relationship management.

Originality/value

Libraries of typical algorithms like MRP II designed through formal approach could replace traditional programming and open new prospects in the future development of broad computerization.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 38 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2005

Nguyen Hong Quang and Wenny Rahayu

This paper presents a systematic XML Schema design approach which conceptually captures semantics of the problem domain at conceptual level and represents such semantics in XML…

Abstract

This paper presents a systematic XML Schema design approach which conceptually captures semantics of the problem domain at conceptual level and represents such semantics in XML Schema at schema level. At the conceptual level, objects, their inter‐relationships and constraints are semantically powered by object‐oriented models. At the schema level, these conceptual semantics are comprehensively represented in textbased representation of XML Schema using various schema components and design styles, each of which offers different quality characteristics. Two primary design styles in use are nesting and linking. The nesting design styles are developed based on the choice of schema components and their definition/declaration scopes (global vs. local), whereas the linking design styles use referencing facilities provided by XML Schema and other XML technologies such as XLink and XPointer. With an in‐depth analysis of outstanding problems of existing approaches, the proposed design approach is motivated to help improve the quality and robustness of the XML documents in large‐scale XML‐based applications.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 December 2022

Elena Dowin Kennedy, Alisha Blakeney Horky and Ethan Kaufmann

The purpose of this paper is to examine how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within an entrepreneurial community engage in cross-promotion on social media via Facebook. This…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within an entrepreneurial community engage in cross-promotion on social media via Facebook. This paper specifically examines how SME community members leverage their horizontal and vertical ties to generate publicity, improve brand perceptions and drive traffic to themselves or community events.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a qualitative approach, examining 1,025 Facebook posts from 27 members of an entrepreneurial community in the southeast USA to develop typologies of posting strategies, post purposes and post functions.

Findings

This paper finds that in the entrepreneurial community of interest, many members engage in cross-promotion via social media at various frequencies and with distinctive purposes. This paper identifies five distinct patterns of cross-promotion – quality signaling, traffic driving, community amplifying, hybrid cross-promotion and infrequent engagement. This paper also notes differences between cross-promotional strategies of vertical and horizontal partners.

Originality/value

This paper advances understanding of social media marketing and identifies key patterns of SME social media behavior. Although previous research has noted the importance of social media for SMEs, there has been little research regarding posting strategies being used by these firms. Further, to this point, there has not been a framework to understand how firms can use social media to cross-promote one another. This paper seeks to begin filling these gaps by providing a useful framework that can be used by SMEs in coordinating their social media posting strategies as well as by researchers studying SME cross-promotion.

Details

Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-5201

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2007

K.D. Joshi and Kristine M. Kuhn

This article aims to investigate prototypes of excellent performance in IT consulting and to examine the gender typing of the critical attributes used in prototyping.

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Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to investigate prototypes of excellent performance in IT consulting and to examine the gender typing of the critical attributes used in prototyping.

Design/methodology/approach

Exploratory qualitative data were collected from focus group sessions and interviews of employees of a large international IT consulting firm. Responses were coded according to the gender typing of elicited attributes and content analysis was used to examine responses across stakeholders and levels.

Findings

The picture that emerged of a “top performer” covered a variety of skills and attributes, and overall was somewhat masculine‐typed. An employee's own characterization of excellent performance in his/her own job level was not necessarily congruent with other stakeholders' perceptions.

Research limitations/implications

Data were collected from only one US‐based company and client perceptions were not directly assessed. Future research is needed to establish how prototypes impact performance evaluations and employee outcomes.

Practical implications

List of top performer attributes suggests ways in which IS/IT curricula could be improved, and also will be useful for recruitment and development of top performers.

Originality/value

This paper goes beyond identifying necessary skill sets to examine what “excellence” means to various stakeholders. It suggests it may be critical to understand how employees match up, or not, to this prototype.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 January 2021

Qing Ke, Jia Tina Du and Lu Ji

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the contextual factors of health crisis information needs are different from a general health context and how these factors work…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the contextual factors of health crisis information needs are different from a general health context and how these factors work together to shape human information needs.

Design/methodology/approach

This study collected the COVID-19-related questions posted on a Chinese social Q&A website for a period of 90 days since the pandemic outbreak in China. A qualitative thematic approach was applied to analyze the 1,681 valid questions using an open coding process.

Findings

A taxonomy of information need topics for a health crisis context that identifies 8 main categories and 33 subcategories was developed, from which four overarching themes were extracted. These include understanding, clarification and preparation; affection expression of worries and confidence; coping with a challenging situation and resuming normal life; and social roles in the pandemic. The authors discussed the differences between a health crisis and a normal health context shaping information needs. Finally, a conceptual framework was developed to illustrate the typology, nature and triggers of health crisis information needs.

Research limitations/implications

First, only the Baidu Zhidao platform was investigated, and caution is advised before assuming the generalizability of the results, as the questioners of Baidu Zhidao are not representative of the whole population. Furthermore, since at the time of writing the COVID-19 is still in an emerging and evolving situation (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020), the collected data included only a relatively small sample size compared to the post-pandemic period, and this might have impact on the interpretation of the study’s findings.

Practical implications

The study’s taxonomy of information needs provides a reference for indexing and organizing related information during a disaster.

Social implications

The study helps authoritative organizations track and send information in social media and to inform about policies related to the pandemic (e.g., quarantine and traffic control policies in our study) to the right people in the right regions and settings when the next disaster emerges.

Originality/value

The taxonomy of information need topics for a health crisis context can be used to index and organize related information during a disaster and support many information agents to enhance their information service practices. It also deepens the understanding of the formation mechanism of information needs during a global health crisis.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 77 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 September 2019

Zouhaier Brahmia, Fabio Grandi and Rafik Bouaziz

Any XML schema definition can be organized according to one of the following design styles: “Russian Doll”, “Salami Slice”, “Venetian Blind” and “Garden of Eden” (with the…

Abstract

Purpose

Any XML schema definition can be organized according to one of the following design styles: “Russian Doll”, “Salami Slice”, “Venetian Blind” and “Garden of Eden” (with the additional “Bologna” style actually representing absence of style). Conversion from a design style to another can facilitate the reuse and exchange of schema specifications encoded using the XML schema language. Without any computer-aided engineering support, style conversions must be performed very carefully as they are difficult and error-prone operations. The purpose of this paper is to efficiently deal with such XML schema design style conversions.

Design/methodology/approach

A general approach, named StyleVolution, for automatic management of XML schema design style conversions, is proposed. StyleVolution is equipped with a suite of seven procedures: four for converting a valid XML schema from any other design style to the “Garden of Eden” style, which has been chosen as a normalized XML schema format, and three for converting from the “Garden of Eden” style to any of the other desired design styles.

Findings

Procedures, algorithms and methods for XML schema design style conversions are presented. The feasibility of the approach has been shown through the encoding (using the XQuery language) and the testing (with the Altova XMLSpy 2019 tool) of a suite of seven ready-to-use procedures. Moreover, four test procedures are provided for checking the conformance of a given input XML schema to a schema design style.

Originality/value

The proposed approach implements a new technique for efficiently managing XML schema design style conversions, which can be used to make any given XML schema file to conform to a desired design style.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 January 2022

Kader Sahin and Kübra Mert

The purpose of this study is to evaluate different strands of institutional theory within the internationalization process of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in developed and…

1637

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate different strands of institutional theory within the internationalization process of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in developed and emerging economies. In the light of this purpose, the authors try to fill the gap in the literature through analysing the main institutional theories: neo-institutionalism, new institutional economics, comparative capitalism and the institution-based view. Therefore, the main concern is to determine the distribution of different strands of institutional theory in its subfields in this study.

Design/methodology/approach

This study provides a profound analysis of different strands of institutional theory within the period from 1990 to 2018 in a larger sample. With a qualitative content analysis, authors reviewed 150 articles using different strands of institutional theory at both theoretical and analytical level and accessed 25 journals published in Social Science Citations Index between 1990 and 2018. In this study, authors used the inductive approach and the qualitative content analysis (Duriau et al., 2007) and adopted a research method to investigate different strands of institutional theory within the internationalization process of MNEs in developed and emerging markets (EMs).

Findings

Coders have synthesized the strands of institutional theory in detail to analyse the theoretical contribution of the study. The strands of institutional theory have been analysed both by institutional perspective and citation analysis. Coders classify the analysis level into three main categories. These are country, headquarter and subsidiary level. Our findings are related to the basic determinants and assumptions of different strands of institutional theory. Because in new institutional economics, analysis levels are country and industry. On the other hand in institution-based view, analysis levels are country and firm. Finally in comparative capitalism, analysis levels are country and region and, in neo-institutionalism analysis level is organization itself. In this study, findings show that sociology-based institutional strands, especially neo-institutionalism, are more preferred than other theories.

Research limitations/implications

This study’s content analysis is limited to scope of selected journals. However, this study may suffer from publication bias. The authors examined only peer-reviewed articles from selected journals and did not include book chapters, book reviews, editor and special issue editor articles, research notes, conference papers and congress invitations. The important theoretical limitation of this study is to clarify the different strands of institutional theory in international business literature (Aguilera and Grøgaard, 2019). The firm size of MNEs is not included in this study, but it should be involved in coding categories in future studies.

Originality/value

This study provides the largest sample up to now and covers developed markets and EMs. Authors analysed this research from four perspectives: theoretical foundation, methodology, location and entry mode choices. On the other hand, this study shows that the institutional environment not only mitigates or mediates the effects but also directs the effects on foreign direct investment’s internationalization process of location choice and entry strategies.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 31 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 August 2015

Eucman Lee and Phanish Puranam

Expertise in designing organizations is an important construct for scholars interested in studying the micro-foundations of organizational performance. We investigate the…

Abstract

Expertise in designing organizations is an important construct for scholars interested in studying the micro-foundations of organizational performance. We investigate the existence and nature of this expertise in this chapter. Conceptualizing the designing of organizations as a problem-solving process, we describe the underlying structure of this problem space. Further, we propose that this process of problem solving should look different for “greenfield” design problems and for “brownfield” redesign problems. We test our arguments through a comparison of the think-aloud verbal protocols of 16 subjects with greater experience with organization design problems (experts) and 16 subjects with significantly lower experience with organization design problems (novices). The results suggest that the parts of the problem that experts focus on are different from those that novices focus on, and expertise matters differently for design and redesign problems.

1 – 10 of over 5000