Search results

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the early development of eHealth service start-ups. To elaborate the research problem, the study addresses the following research questions: How do managerial experiences in eHealth service start-ups relate to the central findings of the recent empirically based stages-of-growth literature? What context-specific viewpoints should be considered when using the stage framework in relation to eHealth service start-ups?

In this explorative multiple case study, the authors test a growth framework describing the early stages of eHealth service firms through eight case studies. The authors utilise the critical incident technique and semi-structured interviews in the data collection.

When taking into account the key contradictions assessed in the study as well as context-specific features of eHealth businesses, the empirically based stage framework seems to be a useful starting point for reflecting on and predicting the challenges faced during the early development of eHealth service start-ups. Slow growth due to several factors and the essential role of the public sector were commonly emphasised elements of the context-specific viewpoints of the eHealth service business.

The results may be used in start-ups and intermediary organisations as a framework for predicting managerial challenges during the start-up stage of an eHealth service business.

Numerous universal models and frameworks have attempted to clarify management priorities during the early stages of business. However, context-specific viewpoints and their effects on start-ups have not been broadly studied. This study provides new insights into growth management in the eHealth context.

With the majority of people living in cities it has become increasingly important to examine the relationship between the qualities and characteristics of an urban setting and the perceived satisfaction of its users. Discourses on Quality of Urban life (QOUL) show that the preponderance of existing empirical studies and measurement frameworks have been developed based on Western case studies or standards. Rapid urbanisation of cities in Africa and Asia, however, has dramatically impacted the use of space, and in many cases has resulted in intense urban transformations that impacted communities. This prompts questions about the quality of life (QOL) of residents and the liveability of their environments. Thus, this research argues that although there are many aspects of urban life that are pan-cultural, there are also culture specific features that make urban life unique in each city or setting. Consequently, QOUL studies should balance universal values and context-specificities. Following identification and critique of QOUL models, the paper calls for a new model to examine context specificities. The model aims to highlight the important role that context and culture play in urban life while underscoring the relevant core dimensions of QOUL studies.

This study aims to develop a framework that enables the identification of sustainability factors from industry-specific environmental issues, and it proposes that these factors, in turn, can influence the corporate environmental performance (CEP) of firms in such an industry. It also validates the factor identification aspect of the framework.

The paper starts by reviewing relevant literature extensively and then developing an issue-based environmental sustainability framework to highlight the structural relationship of industry-specific sustainability factors with CEP. By involving 131 participants from academics in Niger Delta, the paper uses exploratory factor analysis techniques to reduce industry-specific sustainability factors from several environmental and socio-economic issues in the Nigerian oil and gas (O&G) industry.

Environmental risk originates from business environmental issues, and it triggers community reaction, which impacts negatively on corporate image. The nature of firm’s strategic responsiveness to these factors determines CEP.

The study draws from the perspectives of academics on environmental issues in Niger Delta to validate the factor identification aspect of the framework. The views of other stakeholders are not included, and hence, it should be applied with caution.

Useful in identifying and managing industry-specific environmental issues, and thus, achieving some sustainable development objectives.

Although most previous studies have focused on generic CEP drivers, this study proposes sustainability factors that can originate from industry-specific environmental issues as crucial drivers of CEP in such an industry. It provides empirical evidence of such credible sustainability factors emerging from the Nigerian O&G industry’s environmental issues.

While extant service-centric research has largely focussed on managerial advantages, few studies have addressed how brand engagement emerges in the broader context of consumer lives. The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel intersubjective hermeneutic framework that bridges the socially constructed as well as the individualised meanings of brand engagement in the context of service research.

This conceptual paper adopts a theory-building approach based on recent developments in the service-centric marketing literature.

The authors offer a novel theoretical perspective that recognises the intersubjective and phenomenological nature of individual and collective consumer brand experiences, and show how such experiences emerge from socially constructed brand engagement practices using the co-constituting lens of value-in-use.

The proposed conceptual framework invites further empirical and contextual investigations of intersubjective brand engagement in both online and offline contexts.

The contribution of this framework is twofold. First, the authors draw on the intersubjective orientation and hermeneutic framework to provide conceptual clarity in relation to the nature of brand engagement practices, brand experiences, and value-in-use, and discuss their interrelationships. Second, the authors address the nature of meaning ascribed to engagement beyond customer-firm-brand relationships, and discuss why any given consumer’s experience of brand engagement reflects a complex dialectic between socially constructed and individualised brand meanings. In doing so, the integrative framework recognises the interplay between the intersubjective and phenomenological natures of consumer brand experiences, and offers insights as to how these experiences are framed by broader socially constructed engagement practices.

The paper seeks to provide a theoretical contribution to the current phase of the knowledge creation theory of knowledge management (KM) by addressing the need for a paradigm shift and having more ontological and epistemological discussions.

The proposed “becoming to know” framework builds on the KM literature review and on the study of learning, knowing and becoming concepts from several perspectives. Both conceptual and empirical research papers contribute to the framework.

The paper presents the challenges of KM; it identifies five phases of the knowledge creation theory development through 1995‐2008; it summarizes the main criticism against the theory; and it proposes the “becoming epistemology” concept and the “becoming to know” framework. The main elements of this framework are: engaging, exploring, experiencing, emerging, enabling and evolving.

Study of the KM literature reveals several other challenges that are not addressed here and could provide opportunities for researchers. The paper calls for more discussions regarding the paradigm shift and for more attention to the participative research paradigm, as well as action and case study research in KM.

Drawing on the participative paradigm, epistemology of practice, extended epistemology, transformative teleology, becoming ontology and on concepts of learning, knowing, and becoming, the proposed framework illustrates the dynamic, iterative, interactive interplay and evolution of ontological and epistemological knowledge creation spirals that is the essence of the knowledge creation theory.

This study provides a critical review of the literature on information literacy in the workplace and its relevant issues. The purpose of this study is to examine two elements: how the predominantly academic information literacy is experienced in the workplace; and review how academically based information literacy frameworks can be used to increase performance in the workplace.

A critical approach to information literacy was implemented for the introduction and background information by searching for scholarly publications referring to information literacy and information literacy in the workplace. Overall, 65 published articles in English were selected and found suitable.

According to the existing literature, very few frameworks tailored to specific workplaces have been discovered and were all found to be pertinent to academic settings that included researchers. The review revealed the perceived positive role of information literacy in raising work performance. The paper concludes that the benefit for information literate employees and employers is apparent, but those differences in academic information literacy and workplace information literacy are significant.

Information literacy frameworks for the workplace, when used, are still heavily reliant on the educational sector and need to be further researched in order for them to adequately address specific workplace contexts and their socially collaborative information literacy activities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine recent literature for a review of the concepts of collaboration in library and information science and related disciplines and to develop a conceptual framework for application in academic contexts globally.

An investigation of literature exploring the multifaceted meanings and dimensions of collaboration and subsequent development of a framework for analysis. To exemplify the use of the framework in analysing collaboration between academics and librarians, and to demonstrate the impact of context on collaboration, the paper explores the situation and educational contexts in two national settings – one a developed country (Australia) and the other a developing country (Vietnam).

Contextual factors have a substantial impact on the nature of collaboration between academics and librarians. The collaboration framework developed is applied to academic settings in two countries, Vietnam and Australia, and dimensions of collaboration are compared and contrasted in the two countries. Insights and implications are drawn concerning the distinctive features of effective collaboration as well as the achievements and challenges of such collaborative partnerships.

This literature-based article reports on the first part of a larger research project. Further development and application of the conceptual framework in studying the collaborative relationship between academics and librarians empirically are deemed important.

This paper provides insights into the current condition and challenges in developing collaboration between academics and librarians. The proposed framework is beneficial to academics, librarians and universities interested in addressing the issues of this partnership in various academic contexts.

Context impacts the design and practice of entrepreneurship education, but there is limited focus on context in entrepreneurship education literature. The purpose of this paper is to review the entrepreneurship education literature to understand how context has been addressed, derives contextual elements from prioritized literature and explores how context can be adapted to and designed with in entrepreneurship education.

A systematic literature review is undertaken to explore context in entrepreneurship education literature. Context entrepreneurship education yielded 239 items. After refinement, 232 entrepreneurship education associated publications were reviewed by the team of authors. Using selection criteria, 26 prioritized publications were analyzed and categorized according to a theoretical framework.

Context has been addressed both conceptually and empirically, quantitatively and qualitatively, and can be categorized across three sociological phenomena levels – micro, meso and macro. Within these levels, more specific context elements emerge from the entrepreneurship education literature. The findings assert that while context is highly influential in relation to entrepreneurship education, it is arbitrarily described, and holds a variety of documented and diffuse elements. Educators have a limited span of control in relation to context elements, however, for the most parts elements can be adapted to or designed with. Finally, due to the influence of context it is difficult to identify a universal best practice of entrepreneurship education because there simply is no ceteris paribus.

Contextual elements which emerged from the literature consider various subjects, spaces, structures and networks. Context is complex and has had limited treatment in entrepreneurship education literature, thus additional analysis and experimentation is necessary.

Context shapes understanding and influences learning. Addressing entrepreneurship education across three levels – micro, meso and macro – and through four framing questions – who, what, where and when – guides educators in how context influences and can be used when designing education.

The paper gives new insight into how context is addressed in entrepreneurship education literature, and how this can influence educational design.

Since conducting the literature review revealed that assessing quality in secondary schools has been an unexplored territory, and where most educational service quality research studies have mainly focussed on assessing quality from a student’s perspective in higher education, comes into play with a two-fold objective: first, to identify the quality dimensions most vital to students in a developing country such as Jordan, and then to develop a framework consisting of these dimensions; and second, to investigate the extent of satisfaction of students enrolled into international qualifications in Jordan by measuring the gap between expectations and perceptions. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A focus group meeting consisting of experts in the field of secondary school education, specifically in internationally recognized qualifications, was conducted. These expert’s objective input helped develop the framework for assessing quality in secondary schools.

A framework was developed specifically to suit private secondary schools in Jordan with reference to the SERVQUAL model. The resulting questionnaire is intended to be distributed to over 200 students enrolled in an international qualification program among private schools in Jordan.

The framework could be considered as a form of reality check for schools supplying school administrations in Jordan with a suitable tool to measure whether they are exceeding their students’ expectations. This framework might not be applicable to public schools in Jordan, since it was customized to be applied in schools who have adopted international qualification(s).

This study contributes to quality service research that addresses the context of high schools in a developing Middle-Eastern country.

The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic and sound framework for addressing and measuring business social responsibility (BSR) in small and micro enterprises with specific focus on the African context.

The paper is theoretical but has practical applications. The approach was to use principles of BSR from the literature to create a framework for addressing BSR issues in smaller ventures that operate in the African environment. Developing the framework involved operationalizing the linguistic meaning of BSR into observable indicators for it to be measurable. This involved the breaking down of the concept of BSR into dimensions and eventually into measurable elements.

The framework identifies customer‐, employee‐, and community‐related issues as the key BSR activities of African small businesses. Environmentalism is not a major concern for most of these businesses because they are mostly retail and services in nature; hence their impact on the environment will be so low that they need not concern themselves with environmental issues.

Critics will point out the absence of environmental issues as a major limitation. However, the authors believe that such activities are typically associated with large industrial ventures. Thus, given their nature, it is unlikely small businesses will concern themselves with such activities.

There is a need for a framework that captures the African context. This paper fulfils that need by proposing a framework for micro and small ventures with possible inclusion of medium enterprises based on the stakeholder theory. Academics will find it useful in their research efforts. Fund managers will also find it useful as a tool for evaluating small business BSR performance. Small business owners will have a benchmark in performing their social obligations. Finally, consumers, businesses, citizens, NGOs and society at large can use it in distinguishing credible and effective socially responsible SMMEs from those that are not.