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The purpose of this study is to analyze whether negotiators stick to one single negotiation style or whether their styles vary during the negotiation process. The paper seeks to identify different combinations of phase-specific negotiation styles and investigates the relationship between these combinations and negotiation performance and satisfaction.

The study is based on a large online negotiation simulation that allows a phase-specific analysis of negotiation styles via an elaborate coding scheme.

The findings reveal that negotiators generally do not limit themselves to a single negotiation style. Instead, they vary their style in the course of different negotiation phases. The authors distinguish between five distinct phase-specific negotiation style patterns that differ with regard to their impact on negotiation performance but not negotiation satisfaction.

The study demonstrates that a phase-specific analysis of negotiation styles allows deeper insights into a negotiator’s style behavior. For future studies, the authors recommend taking a phase-specific view when analyzing negotiation styles.

Negotiation practitioners get to know different phase-specific negotiation style patterns and get insights into which pattern is the most promising for negotiation performance. As a result, they can acquire this phase-specific negotiation style pattern to enhance their performance.

The paper contributes to existing negotiation style literature, because it is the first to analyze negotiation styles from a phase-specific point of view.

Work-Based Learning (WBL) is a form of practical learning that is still rare, yet upcoming in academic education. It differs mainly from classical approaches because work experience forms a key curriculum element. To enable WBL, a cultural change in academic landscape seems required, which depends on views and support of academic staff.

The authors carried out a case study, in which the authors interviewed 20 Dutch science professors to examine their vision on the master track Science, Business and Policy (SBP), a WBL program offered for over 15 years.

Generally professors are positive about its added value and recommend the track, especially for students with career ambitions outside academia. WBL is perceived to have a positive contribution to academic level. Professors indicated that for academic skills development, compared with a traditional master's program, SBP is evaluated neutral to positive.

Altogether the current climate at the university of Groningen towards WBL seems predominantly positive. The educational change towards a solid inclusion of WBL in the regular curriculum seems supported by one of the key players, the professors. This track could thereby be an example for other WBL programs worldwide.

This paper aims to propose an explorative metamodel of the key organizational competences management and presents a Web-based tool (Co.S.M.O.^© Competences Software Management for Organizations) for all-around assessment of the identified competences.

Building on the Great Eight Competencies Model- GEC, the European Qualifications Framework-EQF and focus group feedback, an online questionnaire was developed to manage the key organizational competences and to adapt the competence metamodel to the Italian context.

The competence metamodel described in this study and its newly designed tool (software with online questionnaire) could be used at the organizational level to improve productivity and efficiency by allowing an easy identification of key organizational competences and facilitating their acquisition and sharing.

Currently, the metamodel is mainly theoretical and the software sustained only a partial validation.

The developed tool is a dynamic, easy to use and interactive Web-based software useful for managing the competences in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.

European official documents invite companies and institutions to work together and share human capital: the European Qualifications Framework-EQF, at the base of this model, facilitates a common organizational language for human resources management.

Managerial competence literature indicates that a comprehensive model capturing a link between the EQF and a managerial competence model has not yet been considered in the literature.

The main objective of this study is to investigate whether adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) improve the quality of financial reporting in Nigeria. Financial reporting quality was measured in terms of fundamental qualitative characteristics such as relevance and faithful representation and enhancing qualitative characteristics such as understandability, comparability, verifiability, and timeliness as contained in the conceptual framework. The study was conducted on a sample of 162 companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. A compound measurement tool in form of an index was developed to comprehensively assess the quality of financial reporting based on information disclosed in the financial statement of the selected companies. From both univariate and multivariate analysis, I found strong evidence suggesting that accounting standard used in the preparation of financial statement have significant influence on the quality of financial report of the reporting entity. The result persists for all the three models (overall financial reporting quality, fundamental, and enhancing qualitative characteristics) tested in this analysis. The result also revealed that apart from firm age and firm growth, most of the firm-specific variables investigated have statistically significant influence on the financial reporting quality.

This paper aims to explore the implications of integrating humanoid service robots into hospitality service encounters by evaluating two service prototypes using Softbank Robotics’ popular service robot Pepper™: to provide information (akin to a receptionist) and to facilitate order-taking (akin to a server). Drawing both studies together, the paper puts forward novel, theory-informed yet context-rooted design principles for humanoid robot adoption in hospitality service encounters.

Adopting a multiple method qualitative approach, two service prototypes are evaluated with hospitality and tourism experts (N = 30, Prototype 1) and frontline hospitality employees (N = 18, Prototype 2) using participant observation, in situ feedback, semi-structured interviews and photo-elicitation.

The adoption of humanoid service robots in hospitality is influenced by the following four layers of determinants: contextual, social, interactional and psychological factors, as well as extrinsic and intrinsic drivers of adoption. These empirical findings both confirm and extend previous conceptualizations of human-robot interaction (HRI) in hospitality service.

Despite using photo-elicitation to evoke insight regarding the use of different types of service robots in hospitality, the paper mostly focuses on anthropomorphized service robots such as Pepper™.

Adopting humanoid service robots will transform hospitality operations, whereby the most routine, unpleasant tasks such as taking repeat orders or dealing with complaints may be delegated to service robots or human-robot teams.

Working with and receiving service from Pepper™ changes the service encounter from direct practical, technical considerations to more nuanced social and psychological implications, particularly around feelings of self-esteem, social pressure and social judgment.

This paper presents one of the first empirical studies on HRI in hospitality service encounters using Softbank Robotics’ Pepper™. In doing so, the paper presents a novel framework for service robot adoption rooted in first-hand user interaction as opposed to previous, theory-driven conceptualizations of behavior or empirical studies exploring behavioral intention.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the interrelationships between corporate social responsibility (CSR) isomorphism of headquarters (HQs) and their subsidiaries as well as corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) at the subsidiary level.

This study tested these relationships through canonical correlation analyses. The data used were drawn from corporate HQ and 63 subsidiaries, which were publicly listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange in 2007. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used in the study.

The results generally indicated that the isomorphism between the CSR practices of the HQ and those of their subsidiaries could impact both the CSP, especially the product and employee dimensions, and the CFP. No relationship was found to exist between the CSP and CFP.

Despite extensive interest by scholars and practitioners in the subject area, relatively little is known about the management of CSR by the multinational enterprises (MNEs) (Meyer, 2004), as the literature does not systematically examine the effects that occur on employee performance following the diffusion of CSR among the MNEs subsidiaries. Extending earlier literature on CSR, by integrating the effect of the CFP, the present study focuses on the effects of isomorphism between the CSR practices of the MNEs and those of their subsidiaries on both CSP and CFP. Further, the study examined the interrelation of CSP and CFP from the perspective of international management. Given the increased interest in corporate governance matters at the international level, CSR plays a central and fundamentally important role in the corporate governance of the MNEs because of both globalization forces and the pressures exerted by stakeholders. In this context, this paper is one of the first to explore the transfer of CSR practices from the MNEs to their subsidiaries. The effect of CSR on performance is an important research question, especially for emerging markets (Ibrahim and Angelidis, 1995; Waddock and Graves, 1997; Ghazali, 2007; Johnson and Greening, 1999). Despite the importance of this issue, however, until recently, only a limited discussion has been evident in the literature on CSR in the international arena with particular reference given to the emerging economies. Studying the effects of the CSR isomorphism on the performance in Turkish context is justified in three ways. First, Turkey is the largest emerging economy in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East (Tatoglu et al., 2003, p. 7). It presents the emerging nature of the market and the transitional characteristics of the institutional environment (Cavusgil et al., 2002). Second, the drivers for CSR in Turkey, such as the other emerging markets whose institutional characteristics and economic fundamentals is similar, are exogenous and institutional rather than endogenous factors (Ararat and Gocenoglu, 2006, p. 11). Excluding the philanthropic activities, the very first manifestations of CSR were observed in the business conduct of MNEs in Turkey (Ararat and Gocenoglu, 2006, p. 11). MNEs have a dominant and leader role in Turkey for CSR practices. Finally, the subsidiaries operating in Turkey are less likely to resist the transfer of the organizational policies and practices such as human resource management policies (Sayim, 2010, 2011) and organizational culture (Ilhan, 2008). In fact, they want to even transfer the policies and practices from MNEs (Sayim 2010, 2011; Ilhan, 2008). Therefore, Turkish context provides a good case to test the effects of the CSR isomorphism on the performance.

The purpose of this paper is to address how the concept of branding exists in the pharmaceutical sector and Indian market in particular; and second, how this branding technique might be modified to optimize the marketing of branded generics in India.

The study was conducted using qualitative interviews with two sets of respondents in Kolkata city, India: first, 20 senior managers of five renowned Indian pharmaceutical companies and second, 20 physicians of two categories. Patterns of concordance for the author‐coder pairs were tested by using Cohen's kappa.

This study investigated the relationships between five different parameters deemed responsible for enhancing the brand awareness of pharmaceuticals. Out of these five parameters, the authors have identified that “importance of customers' perceptions and need achievement” leads to the development of a positioning statement to communicate the brand's functional values and brand personality; and “importance of pharma brand age in brand awareness” establishes the relationship of brand age with brand recall and communication in brand recall. A high value of Cohen's kappa has helped to establish the qualitative inquiry of the current research.

The authors have proposed that through the said five parameters, the pharmaceutical branding technique might be modified to optimise the marketing of branded generics in India. A strategic comprehensive model that has been constructed would give a direction for branding in the pharmaceutical industry.

This research work has extended prior pharmaceutical branding research by conceptualising the branding strategy as a brand awareness tool, in a new area called branded generic drugs in India.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a self‐assessment scheme and processes that are developed for and applied to a R&D organization based on ISO 9004:2000. The presented self‐assessment has been performed during internal audits based on quality management system in Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in Korea.

In order to enhance the reliability of the self‐assessment, the preliminary works such as training, workshop, case study and pre‐assessment rating are performed in advance before self‐assessment. Furthermore, this paper evaluates the reliability of self‐assessment results using Cohen's Kappa coefficient and the observed agreement index.

The results of this paper present that an organization's performance maturity level evolves sustainably through self‐assessment scheme and processes.

These results and lessons learned will be very useful to the organization that intends to enhance the performance of its R&D projects and processes and improve its processes continuously.

ISO 9004:2000 presents the guidelines of self‐assessment for the organization that intend to continually improve its performance considering the effectiveness and efficiency of a quality management system. According to ISO 9004, the range and depth of self‐assessment should be planned in relation to the organization's objectives and priorities. This paper discusses a self‐assessment scheme and processes that are developed for and applied to a R&D organization based on ISO 9004:2000.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to find out the factors that affect organizational commitment in the school education sector and second, how these factors might be modified to judge organizational commitment of the school teachers.

This study was conducted using qualitative interviews with two sets of school teachers – government and government-affiliated schools and private schools in and around Kolkata city. The sample size was 40. The data triangulation method was applied for optimal verification of the result. Then the pattern of concordance author– coder pair was tested using Cohen’s kappa.

This study investigated eight factors expected to influence organizational commitment. Out of these eight factors, five factors were found – “on employees’ perception and need achievement,” “cognitive abilities of the employees,” “assessment of the employees,” “factors related to personality” and “organizational factors which influence organizational commitment” – which qualitatively exert more influence on organizational commitment.

The authors proposed that the concept of organizational commitment and its application in the academic sector might be modified to optimize the role of organizational commitment and to enhance the credibility of the teachers. A comprehensive organizational commitment model that has been proposed is expected to gain future direction of organizational commitment research. The parameters of the study can be used in the school sector, as well as in the corporate sector through proper improvisation, and it is expected that the corporate sector will be benefited. It is because the factors that were selected for the study are also relevant to the corporate sector.

This is a conceptual-type paper. The factors that were selected had an effect on the organizational commitment of the school teachers and these factors can also be applied in corporate sector to improve their level of commitment.

This research aims to investigate the current patterns of social media adoption for marketing in the restoration industry and analyse the strategies used by those restoration companies that have adopted social media. Social media marketing has been proven as a cost-effective way to engage new customers, and especially useful for small businesses. The disaster “restoration industry” is the special sector of general contracting that serves both commercial and residential property owners in terms of restoring their disaster-affected property. The restoration industry is characterised by small-business domination and constant need of new customers to survive in the market. Many restoration contractors have started adopting social media for marketing. However, goals and social media marketing strategies have not yet been clearly articulated.

Data were collected through a systematic content analysis (CA) of sample restoration companies’ Facebook and Twitter posts over a 30-day study period. After a preliminary investigation of the industry, the researchers selected the Restoration Industry Association (RIA) member companies, as the research population. Sixty companies were randomly selected from the 1,165 RIA member companies, which equals to 5 per cent of the population. Reliability was tested statistically using Cohen’s Kappa.

Three levels of adoption were derived from the data: active users, non-active users and non-adopters. More than half of the sample companies were found to have adopted at least one social media channel for marketing. However, only 26 out of the 60 sample companies were active on the social media that they have adopted. Active adopters showed, on average, relatively frequent usage patterns, with 10 Facebook posts and 37 tweets in a 30-day period. Sampled restoration companies which were active social media users posted mostly announcements and educational information of Facebook and used Twitter for news and direct interaction with customers. The observed companies revealed a mix of business-relevant content and personalised content including personal greetings, sharing of photos about holidays and fun events.

Three levels of adoption were derived from the data: active users, non-active users and non-adopters. More than half of the sample companies were found to have adopted at least one social media channel for marketing. However, only 26 out of the 60 sample companies were active on the social media that they have adopted. Active adopters showed, on average, relatively frequent usage patterns, with 10 Facebook posts and 37 tweets in a 30-day period. Sampled restoration companies that were active social media users posted mostly announcements and educational information of Facebook and used Twitter for news and direct interaction with customers. The observed companies revealed a mix of business-relevant content and personalised content including personal greetings, sharing of photos about holidays and fun events.

The results showed that social media adoption has not yet penetrated the restoration industry – the adoption rate of 65 per cent is significantly lower than the 77 per cent of companies in all industries. In-depth CA of active social media users revealed patterns of engagement on Facebook and Twitter. This paper built on those patterns to emphasise strategies restoration companies can use to build interpersonal relationships and trust, which can lead to increased word-of-mouth recommendations; facilitate customer contact through a cross-linking strategy; and engage in simple methods for search engine optimisation. These strategic recommendations are grounded in existing practices and, therefore, are feasible and accessible for disaster restoration companies.

The research results showed how the construction industry, especially small businesses, has adopted social media for marketing. A snapshot of the industry’s level of social media adoption for marketing strategy can provide a useful reference point about the industry’s practices and potential future directions. This paper provides suggestions about effective social media marketing strategies. The paper also illustrates the use of CA as a promising method for research in construction management.