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THE first library in connection with an English University was founded at Oxford by Richard d'Aungerville, better known as Richard de Bury, Bishop of Durham. At the time of its…
Abstract
THE first library in connection with an English University was founded at Oxford by Richard d'Aungerville, better known as Richard de Bury, Bishop of Durham. At the time of its foundation it was considered one of the best collections of books in England. It was housed in Durham College—now Trinity—and the donor drew up copious rules for its management and preservation. It appears that this library was destroyed in the days of Edward VI.
The development in the German-speaking countries of International Management (IM) as an academic discipline is analyzed both from a research-oriented and an institutional…
Abstract
The development in the German-speaking countries of International Management (IM) as an academic discipline is analyzed both from a research-oriented and an institutional standpoint. This development is characterized by a relatively long run-up after early beginnings in the 1920s and a steep jump during the past 15–20 years. Business Administration and Strategic Management rather than Economics have influenced the IM field which is now an established subject in its own right. The resulting discipline is well on its way to overcoming an alleged “black hole-image” of international isolation on the part of German-speaking countries’ scholars.
Atefeh Yazdanparast, Mathew Joseph and Fernanda Muniz
The present research investigates the influence of brand-based social media marketing (SMM) activities on metrics of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). Specifically, the study…
Abstract
Purpose
The present research investigates the influence of brand-based social media marketing (SMM) activities on metrics of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). Specifically, the study examines the role of consumer-brand social media experiences on attitude toward SMM activities of brands and its consequent impact on brand perceptions.
Design/methodology/approach
Paper-and-pencil surveys were administered to undergraduate students in a Southwestern university in exchange for extra credit. Survey questions were adapted from previously validated scales, and measurement adaptations were minimal and only related to the context of questions to assure their relevance with the context of this study. Bi-variate correlation, bootstrapping technique, Sobel test, ANOVA and linear regression were used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that brand-based SMM is essential in impacting consumers’ attitudes toward brands and consequently, CBBE reflected via perceived value for the cost, perceived uniqueness and the willingness to pay a price premium for a brand. Additionally, the main reason for individuals to use social media impacts their attitudes toward and receptiveness of SMM activities of brands.
Research limitations/implications
This study used a sample of college students to address the research questions. Considering the higher adoption rate and interest in social media among younger consumer groups, the results may not be representative of the entire population. Much of the existing research on social media, however, has focused on undergraduate college students and is primarily based on studies utilizing the similar research population.
Originality/value
The present research is one of the few studies that empirically examine the impact of consumer-brand interactions/experiences on consumers’ attitudes toward SMM activities of brands, as well as brand-related knowledge and perceptions as reflected by CBBE. The results indicate that the CBBE model of the twenty-first century should incorporate the role of brand-based SMM activities as facilitators of brand knowledge (i.e. brand awareness and brand image) by reinforcing or even shaping important brand-based associations.
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This paper seeks to take a patient‐centred perspective in exploring the treatment of multiple and chronic illnesses in inter‐organizational care practice in Finland.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to take a patient‐centred perspective in exploring the treatment of multiple and chronic illnesses in inter‐organizational care practice in Finland.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical approach of the study is based on the sociology of translation and on cultural historical activity theory. The methodology of multi‐locale ethnography is used to research the translations in one patient's healthcare procedures in multiple care settings.
Findings
The care procedures emerge as unintegrated for the patient in the study. The patient has to take responsibility for his overall care since the medical professionals involved have only limited knowledge of other providers' care procedures. Despite their efforts to collaborate, professionals are lost in translation across healthcare boundaries.
Research limitations/implications
Single cases are problematic for advancing generalizations on a research topic. The case of this study presents an example of the translations in the care procedures for a patient with multiple and chronic illnesses.
Practical implications
Unintegrated care organization poses a difficult challenge to patient‐centred care if the ideals of consumerism are followed in the health care system. A patient, with limited medical knowledge, may not be able to master an overall pattern of chronic illness care in a sustainable way. Better management and coordination of specialized knowledge are required for patients with chronic illnesses.
Originality/value
In contrast with the many studies that report on patients' experiences of illness, the paper provides new insights into the patient experience of health care organization.
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Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely…
Abstract
Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.
Svetoslav Georgiev and Emil Georgiev
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the evolution of top management’s understanding of product quality in Bulgaria since the end of communism. The study examines three…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the evolution of top management’s understanding of product quality in Bulgaria since the end of communism. The study examines three specific areas: top management’s understanding of the term “quality”; top management’s understanding of the relationship between quality and business performance; and top management’s understanding of the impact of job position on quality.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper relies on a quantitative research approach by using data from a survey of 186 companies in Bulgaria.
Findings
The paper suggests that senior managers in Bulgaria continue to base their understanding of “quality” on a single approach (*a characteristic of the communist era), with the product-based and the user-based approaches currently being the two most common ones. At the same time, surprisingly enough, this study claims that senior management in Bulgaria is currently well aware of the importance of quality as a dimension of firm’s competitiveness, and is also highly conscious of its roles’ impact on product quality.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this study are exclusively based on the case of Bulgaria and must be treated with caution in the case of other former communist states from the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region.
Practical implications
This paper has relevance for both managers and companies doing business in Eastern Europe.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to provide detailed analysis of the evolution of the understanding of “product quality” in CEE since the end of communism. Moreover, this paper applies, for the first time, Garvin’s five approaches to defining quality within a practical context.
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Siti Aqilah Jahari, Ashley Hass, Izian Binti Idris and Mathew Joseph
Promoting sustainable behavior is an elusive task as it is not an innate and natural response of individuals. While a conducive environment that promotes sustainability arguably…
Abstract
Purpose
Promoting sustainable behavior is an elusive task as it is not an innate and natural response of individuals. While a conducive environment that promotes sustainability arguably plays a prominent role in influencing individuals’ belief structure and norms, not much has been done to examine the interplay between environmental, personal and behavioral domains in sustainable consumption. Drawing on the theoretical perspectives of the social cognitive theory (SCT) and value–beliefs–norms (VBN), this study aims to contribute to the literature by proposing an integrated framework that examines sustainable consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a partial least squares structural equation modeling model based on 313 young consumer responses from an eco-friendly institution in Malaysia.
Findings
The findings from this study advance sustainable literature by establishing the multidimensionality concept of the personal domain of SCT. Interestingly, an enabling environment that promotes sustainability was found to be more influential in determining young consumers’ beliefs and norms, as opposed to their competencies. This is demonstrated by the sequential mediation of attribution of responsibility and personal norms on the relationship between campus advertisements and pro-environmental behaviors.
Originality/value
Previous research has investigated SCT and VBN as two separate streams of research in examining green behaviors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that integrates SCT and VBN by examining the multidimensionality aspect of the personal construct to provide a more holistic perspective of examining sustainable behaviors.
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Emil Georgiev and Svetoslav Georgiev
The authors extend the literature on decoupling by analyzing the microlevel effects of institutionalized practices within the framework of international standards. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors extend the literature on decoupling by analyzing the microlevel effects of institutionalized practices within the framework of international standards. This study investigates the specific informal management practices that decision-makers embrace in order for organizations to achieve ISO 9001 certification without all regulations being adopted and followed according to the standard's original design and purpose.
Design/methodology/approach
As the basis for its research framework, this paper adopts the neo-institutional theory. The research employs the comparative case study method and draws its data from a sample of 21 ISO 9001:2008 certified organizations in Bulgaria.
Findings
The results show ambivalent behavior toward the ISO 9001 standard's formal requirements. This behavior is expressed through targeted noncompliance with (certain) regulations and procedures regarding top management commitment, as well as documented information which are formally adopted within the organization and certified as complying with the standard.
Research limitations/implications
The study has implications for future research into decoupling, organizational learning, and standardization. In terms of limitations, the authors examined the process of decoupling from a micro perspective in Bulgaria only. Noncompliance with international standards such as the ISO 9000 may exhibit specific regional or national characteristics.
Practical implications
Findings from this research encourage the International Standards Organization to respond to previous calls for revising the formal structure of ISO 9000 and other international management standards by considering a more flexible and liberal point of view.
Originality/value
As opposed to previous studies which have explored decoupling from a macro perspective, this study focuses on how the internal constraints imposed by the standard's universal requirements are being mitigated at a micro level. That is, the authors provide a detailed account of the specific informal management practices which managers (deliberately) adopt in order to achieve certification without fully integrating the formal criteria imposed by international standards (e.g. ISO 9001).
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Among leaders of the French Socialist Movement, Albert Thomas (1878‐1932) was one of the few steady supporters of scientific management. The purpose of this paper is to describe…
Abstract
Purpose
Among leaders of the French Socialist Movement, Albert Thomas (1878‐1932) was one of the few steady supporters of scientific management. The purpose of this paper is to describe how Thomas developed his ideas about advanced management thought and practice during and after World War I.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper makes extensive use of published and unpublished primary sources preserved at the Archives nationales, Paris, at the Bureau International du Travail (BIT), Geneva, and at Smith College, Northampton, MA.
Findings
Thomas's reformist ideology first stood the test during World War I when he served as minister for munitions for France. After the International Labour Organization had entrusted him with the directorship of the BIT, Thomas helped to create the International Management Institute (IMI) as a center for the collection and dissemination of advanced management thought and practice. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the rationalization movement fell into disrepute. Like some progressive members of the Taylor Society, Thomas identified scientific management increasingly with concepts of socioeconomic planning and international cooperation. Nonetheless, the intellectual tide turned against his reformist creed. Having lost the support of its American sponsors, IMI closed its doors in January 1934, only about two years after Thomas's unexpected death.
Originality/value
The paper tries to show how one of the most brilliant French politicians of the last century developed and applied his theories‐in‐use about scientific management under changing historical circumstances.
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Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).