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11 – 20 of over 3000Tambra O. Jackson, Gloria S. Boutte and Brandy S. Wilson
Simultaneously drawing from DuBois’ timeless question, “How does it feel to be a problem?” (DuBois, 1990[1903], p. 7) and contemporary notions that Black males are the solution to…
Abstract
Simultaneously drawing from DuBois’ timeless question, “How does it feel to be a problem?” (DuBois, 1990[1903], p. 7) and contemporary notions that Black males are the solution to solving social and educational troubles in the Black community such as gang violence, high school dropout rates, and fatherless homes (Duncan, 2011), we focus on the positioning of Black males in the discourse on teacher recruitment and retention. While acknowledging the need to recruit and retain Black male teachers, we explore the weightiness of viewing Black males as the panacea for educational and social issues in schools such as disproportionate dropout and expulsion rates for students of color and youth involvement in gangs. We identify both challenges and opportunities faced by Black males and capture the complex and sometimes contradictory discourses. Particular attention is given to deconstructing the “double-talk” (Black males as both a problem and a solution) which positions Black male teachers as both the crisis and the savior/superhero.
Anni Ding and Tiffany S. Legendre
This chapter aims to introduce luxury brand management strategies applied in the hospitality industry and illustrate how luxury hospitality business operators can create…
Abstract
This chapter aims to introduce luxury brand management strategies applied in the hospitality industry and illustrate how luxury hospitality business operators can create, communicate and sustainably manage luxury brands. This chapter introduces the definitions and dimensions of luxury brands, followed by an exploration of the concept and importance of luxury brand sustainability. This chapter then explores how to maintain long-term luxury hospitality brand sustainability by applying a luxury brand framework. This chapter uses a case study featuring the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (FSHR) to understand how a luxury brand communicates and maintains its sustainability through its various dimensions through the process of brand creation, communication and management. The chapter ends by providing practical implications for existing luxury hospitality brand organisations in the arena of customer service.
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Juho-Petteri Huhtala, Pekka Mattila, Antti Sihvonen and Henrikki Tikkanen
Over the past 50 years, a substantial interest has been put to research on how innovation spreads within social networks over time (see Rogers, 1962, 2010). Our initial aim was to…
Abstract
Over the past 50 years, a substantial interest has been put to research on how innovation spreads within social networks over time (see Rogers, 1962, 2010). Our initial aim was to examine innovation diffusion in industrial networks. We operationalized the research through a case study of an advertising network by using systematic combining as the approach (Dubois & Gadde, 2002, 2014). From the initial focus of innovation diffusion, the rematching of data and theory led us to focus on the barriers of innovation diffusion. By doing so, we found out that multilevel strategizing appears to be an important phenomenon in understanding dynamics of innovation diffusion within industrial networks. Specifically, strategizing occurs in two levels: (1) the groups within the network compete for position, and (2) actors within a group compete for position by trying to differentiate themselves from other group actors. A strategic mismatch between the two levels leads the network to become decelerated or even static in diffusing new innovations (Abrahamsen, Henneberg, & Naudè, 2012). Uncovering these findings would not have been possible without the use of systematic combining and the constant matching between theoretical and empirical domains.
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Anna Dubois, Klas Hedvall and Viktoria Sundquist
The purpose of this paper is to inquire into how conceptualising is done in the industrial network approach (INA).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to inquire into how conceptualising is done in the industrial network approach (INA).
Design/methodology/approach
The description and analysis of conceptualising is based on key INA references and an example illustrating the characteristics of conceptualising in individual studies.
Findings
The paper concludes that there is an open and interactive way of conceptualising in the INA. The empirical and theoretical grounding achieved through combining concepts in individual empirical studies interplays with conceptual development in the research community over time.
Research limitations/implications
Three paradoxes are suggested for further discussion of conceptualising as a key element in theorising in the INA community.
Originality/value
By explicating how INA researchers engage in conceptualising both in individual empirical studies and as a community, the authors identify characteristics similar to the empirical phenomena in focus of the research: interaction, combining and heterogeneity of concepts.
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ANTONIO DI NOLA, WITOLD PEDRYCZ and SALVATORE SESSA
In this paper we deal with fuzzy numbers that modelize uncertain quantities present in many fields of applications, such as man‐machine systems. Main attention is paid to inverse…
Abstract
In this paper we deal with fuzzy numbers that modelize uncertain quantities present in many fields of applications, such as man‐machine systems. Main attention is paid to inverse operations for fuzzy numbers which allow one to solve equations or systems of equations with fuzzy numbers. The relevance of the method proposed for the determination of parameters of fuzzy models is also stressed.
This case is used in the Marketing Analytics elective at Darden. A Sticks executive team is interested in opening a second quick-service restaurant in Richmond, Virginia. But…
Abstract
This case is used in the Marketing Analytics elective at Darden. A Sticks executive team is interested in opening a second quick-service restaurant in Richmond, Virginia. But before doing so, the team wanted to gain a better sense of who were Sticks' customers, which location would attract the best customers, and how to best connect with customers. An opportunity to gather survey data presented itself. Would the demographic and psychographic assumptions the team had gathered from talking to people in stores align with the survey answers? And what would the data suggest about where to locate new stores and about what marketing channels and messages to use to promote them?
Reports on how Sodexho has improved service using total quality management. Discusses how achieving customer satisfaction in the service industry means knowing what the customers…
Abstract
Reports on how Sodexho has improved service using total quality management. Discusses how achieving customer satisfaction in the service industry means knowing what the customers′ requirements are. Asserts that TQM has allowed the company to create the “perfect” customer/supplier partnership. Discusses the inverted pyramid, with the lowest level of personnel at the top. Reports that managers have to lead from behind leaving employees to take responsibility and develop their own ideas. Concludes that the company is adopting a permanent attitude but, because the business environment is always changing, the quality programme is never ending.
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Christina Langwell and Dennis Heaton
The purpose of this paper is to examine how small- and medium-sized organisations that were already participating in recognised sustainability programmes in Iowa, USA, in how they…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how small- and medium-sized organisations that were already participating in recognised sustainability programmes in Iowa, USA, in how they were utilising activities normally associated with human resources (HRs) to implement sustainability – activities included communication, engagement, incentives and recruitment and retention.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors were interested in how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were utilising HR functions to implement sustainability. This was an exploratory, qualitative research study utilised semi-structured interviews to obtain data.
Findings
Based on the findings, some of the functions are being utilised more than others, with some activities not being implemented at all.
Research limitations/implications
This research offers empirical research on how sustainability is achieved in SMEs.
Practical implications
This paper outlines some practical methods that any SME could utilise to help implement sustainability within an organisation.
Originality/value
This paper adds empirical research on how SMEs are implementing sustainable practices into their operations by using activities normally associated with the HR department.
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They say “nothing succeeds like success” but the old cliché contains another obvious truth: we all know success when we see it. Recent research by French social psychologists…
Abstract
They say “nothing succeeds like success” but the old cliché contains another obvious truth: we all know success when we see it. Recent research by French social psychologists argues that this is because our own behaviours and our perception of other peoples’ are determined by existing social norms. The French researchers go on to argue that for situations such as job interviews we can learn to recognize acceptable social norms and behave accordingly and more successfully; and that evaluators can learn more about what drives their judgments. This article looks at their research and its implications for training.
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David Eriksson and Annika Engström
Operations and supply chain management (OSCM) is a theoretically and philosophically fragmented field. Researchers must consider how they use theory and explain empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
Operations and supply chain management (OSCM) is a theoretically and philosophically fragmented field. Researchers must consider how they use theory and explain empirical phenomena. This paper aims to use critical realism to introduce more coherence into this fragmented field.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on existing critical realism and abduction literature and this study uses a research process from two PhD projects to investigate critical realism’s role in OSCM research. This paper uses a narrative approach to collect data over a long timeframe, capturing data not commonly used in OSCM research.
Findings
Research that struggles to bridge the gap between theory and data benefits from critical realism, which provides a philosophy and associated methods to identify a suitable theory and guide researchers when they encounter obstacles. While clear steps often outline established methods, researchers are sometimes unable to identify when their research process has reached an obstacle. This paper argues that such obstacles can be treated as “crossroads” offering new research opportunities when correctly evaluated and addressed.
Research limitations/implications
Importantly, researchers should be able to reflect upon their own research processes, enabling a better understanding of these processes and the discovery of new research directions. Researchers can use critical realism, abduction and systematic combining to bridge the divide between theory and data in OSCM.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the field’s discussion regarding the roles of critical realism and abduction, synthesizing multiple academic sources, highlighting critical realism’s importance and providing a novel means of addressing difficulties in navigating an eclectic research area. This paper offers a philosophical alternate to the field, which is often instead considered from a positivistic standpoint. The paper is valuable to researchers in the OSCM field, who can use the research to improve their selection of data and theories, as well as their understanding of their own research processes.
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