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1 – 10 of 39The existence of hierarchies based on reputation in modern science is indisputable. A set of common scientific journals is often assumed to be instrumental in the formation of…
Abstract
The existence of hierarchies based on reputation in modern science is indisputable. A set of common scientific journals is often assumed to be instrumental in the formation of these hierarchies. However, the character of the hierarchies, how monolithic/pluralistic they are and the functions of this differentiation have been discussed and caused controversy. The article brings together results from a survey of 788 Danish researchers, mainly from the social sciences, concerning their assessments of the most influential researchers and most important journals. The rankings indicate a pluralistic picture and only a moderate degree of consensus among researchers. Comparisons with (the few) other surveys and with citation data do not suggest this to be a peculiarity of Danish social scientists, however.
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What kind of knowledge is needed by information specialists working in a specific subject field like medicine, sociology or music? What approaches have been used in information…
Abstract
What kind of knowledge is needed by information specialists working in a specific subject field like medicine, sociology or music? What approaches have been used in information science to produce kinds of domain‐specific knowledge? This article presents 11 approaches to domain analysis. Together these approaches make a unique competence for information specialists. The approaches are: producing literature guides and subject gateways; producing special classifications and thesauri; research on indexing and retrieving specialities; empirical user studies; bibliometrical studies; historical studies; document and genre studies; epistemological and critical studies; terminological studies, LSP (languages for special purposes), discourse studies; studies of structures and institutions in scientific communication; and domain analysis in professional cognition and artificial intelligence. Specific examples and selective reviews of literature are provided, and the strengths and drawbacks of each of these approaches are discussed.
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Asafa Jalata and Harry F. Dahms
To examine whether indigenous critiques of globalization and critical theories of modernity are compatible, and how they can complement each other so as to engender more realistic…
Abstract
Purpose
To examine whether indigenous critiques of globalization and critical theories of modernity are compatible, and how they can complement each other so as to engender more realistic theories of modern society as inherently constructive and destructive, along with practical strategies to strengthen modernity as a culturally transformative project, as opposed to the formal modernization processes that rely on and reinforce modern societies as structures of social inequality.
Methodology/approach
Comparison and assessment of the foundations, orientations, and implications of indigenous critiques of globalization and the Frankfurt School’s critical theory of modern society, for furthering our understanding of challenges facing human civilization in the twenty-first century, and for opportunities to promote social justice.
Findings
Modern societies maintain order by compelling individuals to subscribe to propositions about their own and their society’s purportedly “superior” nature, especially when compared to indigenous cultures, to override observations about the de facto logic of modern societies that are in conflict with their purported logic.
Research implications
Social theorists need to make consistent efforts to critically reflect on how their own society, in terms of socio-historical circumstances as well as various types of implied biases, translates into research agendas and propositions that are highly problematic when applied to those who belong to or come from different socio-historical contexts.
Originality/value
An effort to engender a process of reciprocal engagement between one of the early traditions of critiquing modern societies and a more recent development originating in populations and parts of the world that historically have been the subject of both constructive and destructive modernization processes.
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Nicolai Petrovsky and Adrian Ritz
A growing body of literature points to the importance of public service motivation (PSM) for the performance of public organizations. The purpose of this paper is to assess the…
Abstract
Purpose
A growing body of literature points to the importance of public service motivation (PSM) for the performance of public organizations. The purpose of this paper is to assess the method predominantly used for studying this linkage by comparing the findings it yields without and with a correction suggested by Brewer (2006), which removes the common-method bias arising from employee-specific response tendencies.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the authors conduct a systematic review of published empirical research on the effects of PSM on performance and show that all studies found have been conducted at the individual level. Performance indicators in all but three studies were obtained by surveying the same employees who were also asked about their PSM. Second, the authors conduct an empirical analysis. Using survey data from 240 organizational units within the Swiss federal government, the paper compares results from an individual-level analysis (comparable to existing research) to two analyses where the data are aggregated to the organizational level, one without and one with the correction for common-method bias suggested by Brewer (2006).
Findings
Looking at the Attraction to Policy-Making dimension of PSM, there is an interesting contrast: While this variable is positively correlated with performance in both the individual-level analysis and the aggregated data analysis without the correction for common-method bias, it is not statistically associated with performance in the aggregated data analysis with the correction.
Originality/value
The analysis is the first to assess the robustness of the performance-PSM linkage to a correction for common-method bias. The findings place the validity of at least one part of the individual-level linkage between PSM and performance into question.
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Jitrinee Chanphati and Nongnapat Thosuwanchot
Under currently uncertain and fast-changing environments, it is important for firms to supplement their main strategy with alternative ones so that they can quickly change courses…
Abstract
Under currently uncertain and fast-changing environments, it is important for firms to supplement their main strategy with alternative ones so that they can quickly change courses of actions. Strategic flexibility is thus an important factor for the viability and success of firms. Although previous research has emphasized the need for strategic flexibility, some firms are reluctant to do so since it requires high investments. Existing studies on strategic flexibility have emerged from various disciplines and drawn on diverse theoretical perspectives. Due to the increasing importance of strategic flexibility, this chapter reviews and summarizes existing studies on strategic flexibility based on the applications of strategic flexibility in various business disciplines, including management and strategy, business entrepreneurship, and marketing. The authors also summarize different theoretical perspectives, including upper echelons theory, resource-based view theory, and dynamic capabilities theory, as well as their limitations.
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Dr Fabian Homberg and Dr Vurain Tabvuma and Professor Klaus Heine
First, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the public service motivation (PSM) literature by increasing the limited knowledge of organizational antecedents of PSM…
Abstract
Purpose
First, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the public service motivation (PSM) literature by increasing the limited knowledge of organizational antecedents of PSM. Second, by combining PSM with insights from self-determination theory (SDT), the paper aims to elucidate the link through which high-performance work systems (HPWS) relate to PSM.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a survey, the authors investigated nurses’ perceptions of HPWS, PSM, and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in four different German hospitals.
Findings
The results of this study provide empirical evidence that PSM is influenced by several HR practices and the three basic psychological needs autonomy, relatedness, and competence, which in turn are influenced by certain HR practices as well. Basic psychological needs do not fully mediate the relationship between HPWS and PSM.
Research limitations/implications
Four dimensions of HPWS are measured by a single item and the results are based on a German sample. They therefore might not apply to other countries. Future research will benefit from using a more corroborated measurement instrument of HPWS in different countries.
Practical implications
This study offers useful insights for HR managers in the nursing sector on the question how PSM can be fostered effectively.
Originality/value
This study adds to the limited knowledge of organizational antecedents of PSM by including ideas from HRM into the study of PSM. Second, by combining PSM with insights from psychology (SDT), this study sheds light on the mediating mechanisms which help to explain how HPWS relate to PSM; a conceptual model explaining the HPWS-PSM relationship is developed and tested.
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Nathalie Veg-Sala and Angy Geerts
Nowadays all luxury brands have their own websites, using them either as a communication and/or distribution tool. However, luxury consumers might still have different perceptions…
Abstract
Purpose
Nowadays all luxury brands have their own websites, using them either as a communication and/or distribution tool. However, luxury consumers might still have different perceptions regarding these websites, as it can be seen as a loss of prestige or selectivity. This study aims to have a deeper understanding of luxury consumers’ perceptions of luxury brand websites by identifying a typology and defining the individual characteristics of the groups identified.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses the opposition of personal and interpersonal luxury as theoretical framework and the semiotic square based on this semantic opposition. A qualitative analysis based on 42 semi-structured interviews has been conducted. The interviews have been analyzed and subjected to interpretive content analysis.
Findings
The analysis of the verbatims shows that the consumers’ motivations toward luxury consumption (luxury for self or personal, luxury for others or interpersonal, negation of luxury for self and negation of luxury for others) can explain consumer differences in terms of attitudes toward luxury brand websites. The four classes are characterized according to their positive and negative perceptions of e-commerce and interaction tools used in luxury brands websites and also their expectations.
Practical implications
This study defines guidelines for managers to develop luxury brand websites that correspond to their target.
Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in the use of the semiotic square to refine the analysis of luxury consumers’ attitudes and to make more precise contributions. It also relies on using the theory of personal and interpersonal luxury to understand consumers’ expectations toward luxury brands websites.
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Heather Getha-Taylor and Alexa Haddock-Bigwarfe
The purpose of this paper is to examine public service motivation (PSM) and the connection with collaborative attitudes among a sample of homeland security actors representing the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine public service motivation (PSM) and the connection with collaborative attitudes among a sample of homeland security actors representing the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines relationships between measures of PSM and collaboration using original survey data and hierarchical multiple regression.
Findings
Findings reveal strong positive relationships between PSM measures and attitudes toward collaboration at the individual and organizational level.
Research limitations/implications
Survey results are cross-sectional and are from respondents participating in a single state's homeland security summit.
Practical implications
It is expected that results can be used to enhance collaboration at the individual and organizational levels. At the organizational level, results can be used for matching individuals with collaborative opportunities. At the individual level, results can be used for enhanced self-reflection and effectiveness purposes.
Originality/value
This study provides insights on the relationship between PSM measures and collaborative attitudes. The research contributes to the body of scholarly work connecting PSM and correlates of interest.
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BRIAN VICKERY and ALINA VICKERY
There is a huge amount of information and data stored in publicly available online databases that consist of large text files accessed by Boolean search techniques. It is widely…
Abstract
There is a huge amount of information and data stored in publicly available online databases that consist of large text files accessed by Boolean search techniques. It is widely held that less use is made of these databases than could or should be the case, and that one reason for this is that potential users find it difficult to identify which databases to search, to use the various command languages of the hosts and to construct the Boolean search statements required. This reasoning has stimulated a considerable amount of exploration and development work on the construction of search interfaces, to aid the inexperienced user to gain effective access to these databases. The aim of our paper is to review aspects of the design of such interfaces: to indicate the requirements that must be met if maximum aid is to be offered to the inexperienced searcher; to spell out the knowledge that must be incorporated in an interface if such aid is to be given; to describe some of the solutions that have been implemented in experimental and operational interfaces; and to discuss some of the problems encountered. The paper closes with an extensive bibliography of references relevant to online search aids, going well beyond the items explicitly mentioned in the text. An index to software appears after the bibliography at the end of the paper.