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Abstract

Details

Understanding Intercultural Interaction: An Analysis of Key Concepts, 2nd Edition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-438-8

Article
Publication date: 31 January 2024

Margit Malmmose and Mai Skjøtt Linneberg

The objective of this study is to examine developments in the discursive practice of non-financial reporting in the public healthcare sector. In doing so, the authors investigate…

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study is to examine developments in the discursive practice of non-financial reporting in the public healthcare sector. In doing so, the authors investigate how the main reform foci of productivity and quality are represented, with a specific focus on the patient.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on critical discourse analysis (CDA), the authors conduct a longitudinal study (2007–2018) of healthcare reporting foci across the five administrative regions responsible for public hospitals in Denmark. The study analyses sixty annual reports and draws on contemporary reform documents over this period. CDA enables a micro-textual analysis, combined with macro-insights and discussions on social practice.

Findings

The findings show complex webs of presentation strategies, but in particular two changes occur during the period. First, the patient is centred throughout but the framing changes from productivity and waiting lists to quality and dialogue. Second, in the first years, the regions present themselves as actively highlighting financial and quality concerns, which changes to a passive and indirect form of presentation steered by indicators and patient legislation enforced by central government. This enhances passivity and distance in healthcare regional non-financial reporting where the regions seek to conform to such demands. Simultaneously, however, the authors find a tendency to highlight very different local initiatives, which shows an attempt to go beyond a pure automatic mode of reporting found in earlier studies.

Originality/value

Responding to the literature on both healthcare and financial reporting, this study identifies novel links between micro-level texts and macro-level social practices, enabling insights into the potentially intertwined impacts of public-sector reporting. The authors offer insights into the complexity of the construction of non-financial reporting in the public sector, which has a wider impact and different intentions than private-sector reporting.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 December 2023

Andrea Lučić and Marija Uzelac

The study aims to analyse the possibilities of positioning the anti-consumption through different communication appeals. It analyses commercial and social marketing campaigns in…

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to analyse the possibilities of positioning the anti-consumption through different communication appeals. It analyses commercial and social marketing campaigns in the global context, with the aim to recommend communication guidelines to empower anti-consumption among different industries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study conducted a qualitative content analysis of marketing communication focused on anti-consumption promotion.

Findings

The results bring a comprehensive overview of possible communication appeals of anti-consumption and prove feasibility of their implementation. The analysis of used appeals leads to recommendations for developing effective marketing communication for promoting anti-consumption.

Practical implications

The recommendations can serve both for-profit and non-profit organization as a showcase to discover the idea of anti-consumption as communication appeals. By empowering anti-consumption, consumers could reach personal welfare and participate in social equilibrium. Also, the study brings recommendations for further research considering the evaluation of the implemented strategies.

Originality/value

The study covers a gap in published literature focusing on comprehensive analysis of existing anti-consumption marketing communication strategies and appeals and brings an overview of potential strategies for empowering anti-consumption among modern consumers.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2023

Urmila Jagadeeswari Itam and Uma Warrier

Teleworking, working from home and flexible work have gained popularity over the last few years. A shift in policies and practices in the workplace is required owing to the…

Abstract

Purpose

Teleworking, working from home and flexible work have gained popularity over the last few years. A shift in policies and practices in the workplace is required owing to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating current trends in work-from-everywhere (WFE) research. This article presents a systematic literature review of WFE research from 1990 to early 2023 to understand the transformation of the field.

Design/methodology/approach

The Web of Science database was used to conduct this review based on rigorous bibliometric and network analysis techniques. The prominence of the research studied using SPAR-4-SLR and a collection of bibliometric techniques on selected journal articles, reviews and early access articles. Performance and keyword co-occurrence analysis form the premise of cluster analysis. The content analysis of recently published papers revealed the driving and restraining forces that help define and operationalize the concept of WFE.

Findings

The major findings indicate that the five established and accelerated trends from cluster analysis are COVID-19 and the pandemic, telework(ing), remote working, work from home and well-being and productivity. Driving and restraining forces identified through content analysis include technological breakthroughs, work–life integration challenges, inequality in the distribution of jobs, gender, shifts in industry and sector preferences, upskilling and reskilling and many more have been published post-COVID in the restraining forces category of WFE.

Practical implications

A key contribution of this pioneering study of “work from everywhere” is the linking of the bibliometric trends of the past three decades to the influencing and restraining factors during the pandemic. This study illustrates how WFE could be perceived differently post-COVID, which is of great concern to practitioners and future researchers.

Originality/value

A wide range of publications on WFE and multiple synonyms can create confusion if a systematic and effective system does not classify and associate them. This study uses both bibliometric and scientometric analyses in the context of WFE using systematic literature review (SLR) methods.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 45 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2023

Natalia Aversano, Diana Ferullo, Giuseppe Nicolò and Nadia Ardito

The present research aims to understand the performance disclosure levels provided by Italian healthcare organisations (HCOs). The authors conducted this study to assess the…

Abstract

Purpose

The present research aims to understand the performance disclosure levels provided by Italian healthcare organisations (HCOs). The authors conducted this study to assess the transparency of HCOs' performance reporting processes by examining the amount and the type of information disclosed in Annual Performance Reports (APRs).

Design/methodology/approach

The present study uses a qualitative research methodology based on manual content analysis. The APRs of a sample of 171 Italian public HCOs were analysed.

Findings

Results evidence that the APRs provide a sufficient level of disclosure of performance information, putting high attention on the epidemiological conditions; however, the APRs do not present a strong information function for stakeholders' decision-making purposes. The Italian HCOs APRs are not easily understandable because the APRs are not very concise and present information mainly in discursive terms with limited graphic support.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first research investigating both the extent and type of performance information reported by Italian HCOs in the APRs, considering the particular contextual conditions caused by the most significant challenge the healthcare (HC) sector has faced in recent years: the epidemiological crisis of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study also explores whether APRs are currently used by HCOs as a merely regulatory requirement or as an information tool for accountability and decision-making purposes.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 73 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2023

Susanna Pagiotti

The study compares the social services functioning in two local contexts, one urban and one rural, in the same Italian region, to understand how contextual features affect…

Abstract

Purpose

The study compares the social services functioning in two local contexts, one urban and one rural, in the same Italian region, to understand how contextual features affect frontline workers' work.

Design/methodology/approach

By applying the framework of the street-level bureaucracy theory (SLB) and proposing a framing of the spatial contexts under analysis, the present study adopts a qualitative approach. In particular, semi-structured interviews were conducted among street-level workers, decision-makers and privileged witnesses.

Findings

The study shows how the typical features of the rural and urban Italian contexts analyzed impact differently on the working conditions of frontline workers, leading to substantive differences in the possibility of exercise their role at the street-level.

Originality/value

The article contributes to a wider understanding of social services provision in a highly fragmented system like the Italian one by taking into consideration contexts that are usually little investigated in SLB and welfare studies in the Mediterranean Europe area: those rural and, in particular, those belonging to the so-called “inner areas”.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 44 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2023

Keyhan Shams, Mehrnegar Barahouei and Kerry L. Priest

This paper introduces a conceptual lens for leading social change in slums and informal settlements. In line with this aim, the purpose of this case study is to describe the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper introduces a conceptual lens for leading social change in slums and informal settlements. In line with this aim, the purpose of this case study is to describe the public problem-solving approach of a social change organization situated in an informal settlement through the lens of adaptive leadership, complexity theory and social change leadership (SCL).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper follows an engaged reflection tradition. First, the author-practitioners describe an informal settlement case hereafter called ISC in southeast Iran where many people have historically remained undocumented and uneducated. Using complex adaptive systems theory, adaptive leadership and SCL as the conceptual lens, the paper analyzes ISC as a complex adaptive context in which the community and the government are in tension in solving problems, particularly illiteracy. The instrumental case study draws from participant observation and document analysis to describe and examine the endeavors of a community office operating within ISC. Through this reflective analysis, the authors illustrate how a social change organization can effectively tackle public issues like illiteracy within informal settlements.

Findings

This paper applies complexity leadership theory to a social context. The study illustrates how social change organizations can support the transformation of informal spaces into adaptive spaces to enact social change.

Originality/value

This paper reflects on engagement activity near the insecure borders of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. By extending an organizational-level theory to the public sphere, this paper contributes theoretically to the complexity theory literature. Moreover, it provides a practical insight for community development and slum upgrading projects.

Details

International Journal of Public Leadership, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4929

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2022

Ana Clara Mourão Moura, Ashiley Adelaide Rosa, Beatriz Maria Fernandes Araújo and Felipe Andrade Ferreira

This study aims to present a methodological experience using geodesign as a process and instrument that facilitates citizen awareness and the use of alternative urban parameters…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to present a methodological experience using geodesign as a process and instrument that facilitates citizen awareness and the use of alternative urban parameters in a discipline of an undergraduate course in architecture and urbanism, about urban planning at a local scale.

Design/methodology/approach

Aiming to develop solutions more suited to the reality of the area and attentive to contemporary practices of collaborative urban planning – for and with people – the methodological approach was divided into two complementary steps. The first step was elaborated through a general plan of ideas, with the aid of the Geodesign Hub platform, and for the more detailed second step, we used the Brazilian virtual GISColab geodesign platform. Both steps were conducted in workshop format.

Findings

In this experience, by incorporating geoinformation technology resources, geodesign proved to be a potential tool for creating opinions and decision-making regarding co-creative planning and experimenting with alternative urban parameters.

Originality/value

In the context of a current scenario of city growth oriented from the perspective of motor vehicles, the urban sprawl and in turn, the progressive loss of the human dimension in the urban space, students were introduced and encouraged to reflect on the different functions of the street and on the possibility of measuring urban quality from alternative parameters: completeness indicators.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 42 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 March 2024

Jianhua Zhang, Jiake Li, Sajjad Alam, Fredrick Ahenkora Boamah and Dandan Wen

This study examines the relationship between higher education improvement and tacit knowledge importance. In this context, the scarcity of empirical and theoretical studies on…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the relationship between higher education improvement and tacit knowledge importance. In this context, the scarcity of empirical and theoretical studies on acquiring tacit knowledge to enhance academic performance in higher education suggests that this research area holds significant importance for experts and policymakers. Consequently, this study aims to explore the factors that influence academic research performance at Chinese universities by acquiring tacit knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the study aims, the current approach utilizes the research technique based on the socialization, externalization, internalization and combination (SECI) model and knowledge management (KM) theory. To analyze the study objective, the authors collected data from post-graduate students at Chinese universities and analyzed it using structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the model and hypotheses.

Findings

The results indicated that social interaction, internalization and self-motivation have a positive impact on academic research performance through the acquisition of tacit knowledge. Furthermore, the findings suggest that academic researchers can acquire more knowledge through social interaction than self-motivation, thereby advancing research progress.

Originality/value

This study addresses the critical issues surrounding the acquisition of tacit knowledge and presents a comprehensive framework and achievements that can contribute to achieving exceptional academic performance.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 March 2023

Pei-Chi Kelly Hsiao, Mary Low and Tom Scott

This paper aims to examine the extent to which performance indicators (PIs) reported by New Zealand (NZ) higher education institutions (HEIs) correspond with accounting standards…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the extent to which performance indicators (PIs) reported by New Zealand (NZ) higher education institutions (HEIs) correspond with accounting standards and guidance and the effects issuance of principles-based authoritative guidance and early adoption of Public Benefit Entity Financial Reporting Standard 48 (PBE FRS 48) have on the PIs disclosed.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a content analysis index derived from accounting standards and guidance, we conduct a longitudinal assessment of the 2016 and 2019 statements of service performance published by 22 NZ HEIs.

Findings

The PIs reported extend beyond the service performance elements proposed by standard-setters. Despite few indicators on intermediate and broader outcomes, the measures disclosed by HEIs are reflective of their role in the NZ economy and the national Tertiary Education Strategy. The results show that principles-based authoritative guidance and early adoption of PBE FRS 48 influence the focus and type of measures disclosed, while there is no evidence of improvements in the reporting of impacts, outcomes and information useful for performance evaluation.

Practical implications

This paper provides timely insights for standard-setters and regulators on the influence principles-based accounting standards and guidance have on non-financial reporting practices.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the scant literature on HEIs’ service performance reporting. It presents a model for conceptualising HEIs’ PIs that can be used as a basis for future research on non-financial reporting. It also reflects on the tension between accountability and “accountingisation”, suggesting that, although the PIs reported support formal accountability, they do not communicate whether HEIs’ activities and outputs meet their social purpose.

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