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1 – 10 of 409Paulo Águas, Célia Veiga and Helena Reis
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the competitiveness of the European Union Member States of Southern Europe (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) as tourist…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the competitiveness of the European Union Member States of Southern Europe (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) as tourist destinations for European Union Member States of Central and Northern Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden and the UK).
Design/methodology/approach
Application of the market share analysis tool, initially developed by Faulkner, using secondary data from Eurostat – statistical office of the European communities.
Findings
The results obtained show that France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain present distinct levels of competitiveness for the various generating countries, with changes having occurred in the period between 1999 and 2007.
Originality/value
The paper offers refreshment of Faulkner's tool and an insight into tourist flows in Europe as a tool for tourism and hospitality managers.
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Helena Reis and Antónia Correia
In the late eighteenth century, golf emerged as a men's game. Since then, women have striven to play, yet without success. A ratio of around 80 percent of male players against 20…
Abstract
Purpose
In the late eighteenth century, golf emerged as a men's game. Since then, women have striven to play, yet without success. A ratio of around 80 percent of male players against 20 percent female proves that women are far from being accepted in golf. This study, supported by qualitative analyses of women golfers' life stories, attempts to evaluate to what extent this prejudice exists.
Design/methodology/approach
The ecological system theory, the causal historical wave model, the intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural factors, and the constraints/facilitators paradigm were first used to support the theoretical model that was defined based on the literature. Second, the model was revisited according to textual data collected from 25 narratives of women in the nineteenth century. The present research applies this model throughout a set of six life stories of contemporary Portuguese women who excelled in golf, attempting to test the persistence of this discrimination.
Findings
The results highlight that structural and interpersonal factors persist across time. Some aspects of women's lifestyle did not change much since some cultural values are difficult to overcome. The research highlights that the exclusion of women, more than explicit discrimination, is a cultural factor engrained in their daily lives, meaning that women exclude themselves, tacitly accepting this discrimination.
Research limitations/implications
The research focuses only on Portuguese women. Further studies should evaluate the pertinence of these factors amongst other nationalities and cultures.
Originality/value
The low participation of women in golf is acknowledged by golf stakeholders in Portugal, but this has not been the object of research; thus, to the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper about this subject in Portugal.
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Lorraine A. Friend, Carolyn L. Costley and Charis Brown
The purpose of this paper is to examine “nasty” retail shopping experiences. The paper aims to consider implications of distrust related to theft control measures in retail…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine “nasty” retail shopping experiences. The paper aims to consider implications of distrust related to theft control measures in retail customer service.
Design/methodology/approach
Storytelling as a “memory‐work” method draws on phenomenology, hermeneutics, and the narrative. Researchers and participants worked together as co‐researchers to analyze and interpret “lived” experiences contained in their written personal stories. The authors extend this understanding in the context of existing literature.
Findings
Distrust pervaded the stories, which focused on shoplifting accusations (real and imagined). As a violation of implicit trust, distrust provoked intense moral emotions, damaged identities, and fuelled retaliation. Findings illustrate a pervasive downward “spiral of distrust” in the retail context.
Practical implications
Results suggest that retailers use store personnel rather than technological surveillance to control theft. Interacting with customers and displaying cooperation builds respect, trust, and relationships and may deter theft. Retailers should add signs of trust and remove signs of distrust from retail environments. They cannot rely on service recovery to appease customers disgruntled by distrust.
Social implications
When retailers act as if they care, customers reciprocate, creating upward trust spirals and stronger communities.
Originality/value
A dark side to retail loss‐prevention tactics is demonstrated in the paper. Surveillance signals distrust, which repels customers and resists service recovery. Concepts of spirals of distrust and trust to the services marketing literature are introduced. The spirals illustrate how distrust destroys and trust builds relationships and communities. Furthermore, ideas are offered about ways to start upward trust spirals.
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Real estate is a capital-intensive industry for which the asset values tend to be highly volatile and uncertain. Transaction costs in the industry are therefore high, and…
Abstract
Purpose
Real estate is a capital-intensive industry for which the asset values tend to be highly volatile and uncertain. Transaction costs in the industry are therefore high, and transparency for investors may be low. The need to signal reliable estimates of property assets, in the communication to external stakeholders, can therefore be expected to be of extra importance in this sector. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how real estate firms use big four auditors to signal quality.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use Swedish firm level data containing all limited liability real estate companies in the country to determine the determinants of big four auditors. The data set consists of 34,306 observations and is analyzed through logit regressions.
Findings
The results show that big four companies are primarily contracted by large and mature companies, rather than new firms or firms with volatile financial records, although the latter could be expected to have a large need to signal quality. The authors also find that firms listed on the stock market and firms targeting public use real estate are more inclined to use big four companies.
Originality/value
Real estate is a capital-intensive industry for which the asset values tend to be highly volatile and uncertain. Transaction costs in the industry are therefore high, and transparency for investors may be low. The need to signal reliable estimates of property assets, in the communication to external stakeholders, can therefore be expected to be of extra importance in this sector. No prior study of this area has been detected.
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Hagen Wäsche, Richard Beecroft, Helena Trenks, Andreas Seebacher and Oliver Parodi
The aim of this paper is to present a research approach that can contribute to a sustainable development of urban spaces for sports and physical activity, comprising theoretical…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to present a research approach that can contribute to a sustainable development of urban spaces for sports and physical activity, comprising theoretical reflections and directions for applied research.
Design/methodology/approach
This research builds on an urban real-world lab in a city district. It is based on principles of transdisciplinary research and intense processes of participation.
Findings
Five projects with regard to sport and physical activity development were implemented. The projects resulted in exchange and learning of citizens and other stakeholders as well as transformations of the social and built environment.
Research limitations/implications
Instead of top-down research and planning this approach enables bottom-up processes in which affected citizens and stakeholders can contribute to sport and physical activity development.
Practical implications
The approach can help to integrate sport and physical activity development and transformative processes of sustainable development in urban areas.
Social implications
Through participation and involvement, citizens can be empowered and social capital can be generated.
Originality/value
Urban real-world labs are a new approach for sport and physical activity development. This approach opens up the possibility to include sport and physical activity development in processes of city development. Hence, urban real-world labs are able to address an integrated urban and sport development process and can be used for city marketing purposes.
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Arun A. Elias, Flavia Donadelli, Ely L. Paiva and Paulo Philipe Bacic Araujo
The overall objective of this study is to holistically analyse the complexities involved in the adoption of sustainable wood supply chain in the Amazon and to develop strategic…
Abstract
Purpose
The overall objective of this study is to holistically analyse the complexities involved in the adoption of sustainable wood supply chain in the Amazon and to develop strategic interventions to improve the system.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the systems thinking and modelling framework that included problem structuring followed by the development of a systems model. Tumbira and Santa Helena do Inglês, two Amazonian communities, were used as a case. Data were collected by staying inside the Amazon, observing the community members and interacting with them during their activities, including logging inside the forest.
Findings
A behaviour over time (BOT) graph developed as a part of problem structuring showed that deforestation of the Amazon is still increasing, despite the creation of protected areas and NGO activities in the region. Developing a sustainable wood supply chain is considered as one of the approaches for sustainable forestry in the Amazon, but its adoption is slow. The systems model captured the underlying structure of this system and explained this counterintuitive behaviour using eleven interacting feedback loops.
Research limitations/implications
This study is confined to two Amazonian communities and recognises the limitations of generalisations.
Practical implications
This paper illustrates the development of three strategic interventions to improve the adoption of sustainable wood supply chain in the Amazon.
Originality/value
This study highlights the real issues faced by real communities living in the Amazon for adopting sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices. It contributes to the literature on sustainable wood supply chain by systemically analysing the challenges in its adoption, not sufficiently discussed in the literature.
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Abstract
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Helena Garcia Carrizosa, Kieron Sheehy, Jonathan Rix, Jane Seale and Simon Hayhoe
This paper aims to report the findings of a systematized literature review focusing on participatory research and accessibly in the context of assistive technologies, developed…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report the findings of a systematized literature review focusing on participatory research and accessibly in the context of assistive technologies, developed for use within museums by people with sensory impairments or a learning disability. The extent and nature of participatory research that occurs within the creation of technologies to facilitate accessible museum experiences is uncertain, and this is therefore a focus of this paper.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a systematized literature review and subsequent thematic analysis.
Findings
A screening of 294 research papers produced 8 papers for analysis in detail. A thematic analysis identified that the concept of accessibly has nuanced meanings, underpinned by social values; the attractiveness of a technology is important in supporting real-life usability; and that the conceptualization of participation should extend beyond the end users.
Social implications
The argument is made that increasing the participation of people with sensory impairments and learning disabilities in the research process will benefit the design of technologies that facilitate accessibility for these groups.
Originality/value
An original notion of participation has emerged from this review. It includes the participation and goals of disabled people but has expanded the concept to encompass museum personnel and indeed the physical and social spaces of the museums and heritage sites themselves. This constructs a broad of participation, with different aspects being reflected across the review’s research papers.
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