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1 – 10 of over 202000This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network…
Abstract
This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network approach (see, e.g., Axelsson & Easton, 1992; Håkansson & Snehota, 1995a). The study describes how adaptations initiate, how they progress, and what the outcomes of these adaptations are. Furthermore, the framework takes into account how adaptations spread in triadic relationship settings. The empirical context is corporate travel management, which is a chain of activities where an industrial enterprise, and its preferred travel agency and service supplier partners combine their resources. The scientific philosophy, on which the knowledge creation is based, is realist ontology. Epistemologically, the study relies on constructionist processes and interpretation. Case studies with in-depth interviews are the main source of data.
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Chen Chi Chang and Chien Hsiang Liao
This paper describes a computer supported ubiquitous learning environment for minority language learning. Hakka language involved various tones, art, craft, festivals, food…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper describes a computer supported ubiquitous learning environment for minority language learning. Hakka language involved various tones, art, craft, festivals, food, drink, medicine, religion and custom in different regions. The tones also vary across the dialects of Hakka. The majority of Hakka dialects have six tones in Taiwan. The context for Hakka language translation and use is extremely important. The purpose of this paper is to present the context-aware annotation service to help readers get the right information for Hakka language use and learning more easily.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes the context-aware learning support system for Hakka culture-specific items or language, which is called Hakka culture-specific items annotation system (HACSIAS). HACSIAS is the context-aware annotation system, helping learners to add links of culture-specific items when they are reading the electronic journals, books, and web pages.
Findings
The HACSIAS provides learner appropriate information for Hakka culture-specific items deriving the learner’s situation and personal information. The context-aware computing will automatically provide translation service by searching a given culture-specific items database while these items or terminology appear in a document, either by displaying terms in the translation memory.
Originality/value
The context-aware annotation system for Hakka culture-specific language learning allows Hakka cultural resources to be smoothly integrated into learning materials.
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Challenges and opportunities arise from the significantly different perspectives of context-specific versus context-free researchers and the literatures they contribute to…
Abstract
Challenges and opportunities arise from the significantly different perspectives of context-specific versus context-free researchers and the literatures they contribute to. Reviews of one type or the other or both types of literatures may provide different understandings of the state of the art in a particular area of health care management. Suggestions for writing quality reviews are also included along with suggested topics for future reviews.
Vassilis Kapsalis, Fidas Christos and Loukas Hadellis
Research on context‐aware systems design has received significant attention lately. One of the research directions on context‐aware systems is towards context‐aware frameworks…
Abstract
Purpose
Research on context‐aware systems design has received significant attention lately. One of the research directions on context‐aware systems is towards context‐aware frameworks adapted to domain‐specific requirements, aiming to improve their applicability in a variety of applications, which share common requirements. The purpose of this paper is to present the design of a domain‐specific context‐aware platform supporting context acquisition, presentation and rule‐based control.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed platform uses a formal context model, based on ontologies description, aiming to provide a common representation of contextual information, facilitating thus integration and reusability in application domains, which embrace a common set of requirements. A context‐aware system has been built upon a well defined data model, which inherits a list of offered functionalities and/or services at the acquisition, presentation and reasoning level. The presented platform entails an event‐driven context‐based inference mechanism aiming to enable automated reasoning.
Findings
The proposed platform has been applied in two different case studies, aiming to provide a proof of concept towards the applicability of the proposed framework in different application areas through the offered integration and adaptation mechanisms. Evaluation results, in the frame of these case studies, show the ease of using the platform and its acceptable performance in practice.
Originality/value
As context‐aware applications within specific domains share common requirements, it becomes mandatory to offer solutions, like the proposed in this paper, which can be easily adapted to application semantics and can be reused with different levels of abstractions in order to meet specific requirements. The present paper proposes a domain‐specific platform, which applies on a variety of application types with a common set of requirements.
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One-Ki Daniel Lee, Seoyoun Lee, Woojong Suh and Younghoon Chang
Social networking services (SNSs) have become deeply ingrained into our daily life. However, it has often been reported that users experience negative feelings regarding SNS…
Abstract
Purpose
Social networking services (SNSs) have become deeply ingrained into our daily life. However, it has often been reported that users experience negative feelings regarding SNS usage. This phenomenon presents challenges for SNS providers in retaining or increasing their customer base. This study focuses on SNS fatigue, a negative psychological state that can lead to discontinuance intention among SNS users. This study proposes two distinctive SNS-specific contexts and investigates how they alleviate the negative effect of SNS fatigue on user behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon the context-specific theorization perspective, a model involving moderation effects of the SNS-specific contexts on the relationship between user's SNS fatigue and discontinuance intention was proposed. The model was tested using survey data of active SNS users.
Findings
The results indicate that SNS fatigue leads to user discontinuance intention. However, the SNS-specific contexts, such as social interaction context and platform service context, negatively moderate the relationship between SNS fatigue and user discontinuance intention.
Originality/value
The findings of this study are expected to help SNS providers develop strategies to improve their services for effective user retention.
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Mina Deng, Danny De Cock and Bart Preneel
Modern e‐health systems incorporate different healthcare providers in one system and provide an electronic platform to share medical information efficiently. In cross‐context…
Abstract
Purpose
Modern e‐health systems incorporate different healthcare providers in one system and provide an electronic platform to share medical information efficiently. In cross‐context communications between healthcare providers, the same information can be interpreted as different types or values, so that one patient will be issued different identifiers by different healthcare providers. This paper aims to provide a solution to ensure interoperability so that multiple healthcare providers will be able to collaborate in one e‐health system.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper primarily focuses on how different healthcare providers, instead of the patients, are able to interact and share information on a common e‐health platform.
Findings
In the course of the work, it was found that previous e‐health solutions mainly have a limited view of patient information, where a user‐centric approach for identity management is usually restricted to a single healthcare provider. Interoperability in an e‐health system becomes more problematic when more actors collaborate, and hence linkability from one context to another should not be straightforward. However, some form of linkability, such as the possibility to follow up a patient's medical treatment, is desirable in the e‐health sector, even when it needs to cross different contexts. Therefore, the authors have designed an identity management mechanism to ensure semantic interoperability when data is exchanged among different authorized healthcare providers.
Research limitations/implications
The paper points out that the next generation of e‐health will move towards federated e‐health and will require user‐centricity and transparency properties so that patients are able to specify and verify the disclosure of their medical information.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a new service for cross‐context identity management in e‐health systems, improving interoperability between agencies when context‐specific information is transferred from one healthcare provider to another. How the proposed cross‐context identity management service can be integrated in an e‐health system is explained with a use case scenario.
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Ideology is discussed as the missing link between material practices and symbolic constructions in defining institutional logics. Institutional streams are proposed as disembedded…
Abstract
Ideology is discussed as the missing link between material practices and symbolic constructions in defining institutional logics. Institutional streams are proposed as disembedded institutional logics traveling as ideologies that are taken for granted. They affect specific (inter)action contexts on a global level providing institutional entrepreneurs and workers with symbolic elements to translate into local institutional arrangements. Such translations can give rise to institutional change. Local translation of nonlocal elements advances the interests of the elites of the “sending” institutional context, as well as it may advance those of the receiving one. Dominant transnational streams may or may not coalesce to form a global world order.
Andrea Derler and Jürgen Weibler
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between leaders’ work context and their prototypical implicit follower theories (pIFT). The authors assume a dual…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between leaders’ work context and their prototypical implicit follower theories (pIFT). The authors assume a dual structure of pIFT and argue that leader preferences for certain employee traits and behaviours are influenced by their perception of the prevailing market conditions and organizational coordination mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted via an online-questionnaire with 182 US leaders from different industries. It surveyed leader's preferences for abstract and specific employee traits and behaviours, as well as their perceptions of the explorative and exploitative elements in their work context. To test for associations of corresponding variables representing leaders’ context and their employee prototype, data analysis was performed via multiple linear regression analysis.
Findings
The paper provides evidence for associations between leaders’ pIFT and their work context. The data suggest that leaders who perceive their organizational work environment as formalized consider Enthusiasm (p=0.003) and the pursuit of exploitative activities (p=0.023) as important employee characteristics, and those who experience the market conditions as dynamic show a preference for Good Citizenship behaviours (p=0.027) and the search for explorative activities (p=0.034). In terms of control variables the authors found that more mature leaders favour both exploration and exploitation in employees, while managers of larger teams emphasize exploitation in their pIFT.
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted with leaders in the USA; results are cross-sectional and representative for for-profit organizations. Potential limitations arise from a lack of generalizability of the results to others forms of organizations, cultures and work settings.
Practical implications
The paper provides the outline of an “ideal employee profile” for the leaders in the sample and describes potential implications of pIFT for organizational strategy relating to personnel-related decisions.
Originality/value
This study provides the first empirical link between leaders’ ideal employee image and work context, and enables a deeper understanding of the structure and content of pIFT.
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