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Article
Publication date: 26 May 2023

Jo Bates, Elli Gerakopoulou and Alessandro Checco

Underlying much recent development in data science and artificial intelligence (AI) is a dependence on the labour of precarious crowdworkers via platforms such as Amazon…

Abstract

Purpose

Underlying much recent development in data science and artificial intelligence (AI) is a dependence on the labour of precarious crowdworkers via platforms such as Amazon Mechanical Turk. These platforms have been widely critiqued for their exploitative labour relations, and over recent years, there have been various efforts by academic researchers to develop interventions aimed at improving labour conditions. The aim of this paper is to explore US-based crowdworkers’ views on two proposed interventions: a browser plugin that detects automated quality control “Gold Question” (GQ) checks and a proposal for a crowdworker co-operative.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors interviewed 20 US-based crowdworkers and undertook a thematic analysis of collected data.

Findings

The findings indicate that US-based crowdworkers tend to have negative and mixed feelings about the GQ detector, but were more enthusiastic about the crowdworker co-operative.

Originality/value

Drawing on theories of precarious labour, this study suggests an explanation for the findings based on US-based workers’ objective and subjective experiences of precarity. The authors argue that for US-based crowdworkers “constructive” interventions such as a crowdworker co-operative have more potential to improve labour conditions.

Details

Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-996X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 August 2022

Karin Seger, Hans Englund and Malin Härström

The purpose of this paper is to describe and theorize the type of hate-love relationship to performance measurement systems (PMSs) that individual researchers tend to develop in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe and theorize the type of hate-love relationship to performance measurement systems (PMSs) that individual researchers tend to develop in academia. To this end, the paper draws upon Foucault’s writings on neoliberalism to analyse PMSs as neoliberal technologies holding certain qualities that can be expected to elicit such ambivalent views.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a qualitative interview study of researchers from three Swedish universities, who were asked to reflect upon questions related to three overall themes, namely, what it means to be a researcher in contemporary academia, the existence and use of PMSs at their universities and if/how such PMSs affected them and their work as researchers.

Findings

The empirical findings show that the hate-love relationship can be understood in terms of how PMSs are involved in three central moments of governmentality, where each such moment of governmentality tends to elicit feelings of ambivalence among researchers due to how PMSs rely on: a restricted centrifugal mechanism, normalization rather than normation and a view of individual academics as entrepreneurs of themselves.

Originality/value

Existing literature has provided several important insights into how the introduction and use of PMSs in academia tend to result in both negative and positive experiences and reactions. The current paper adds to this literature through theorizing how and why PMSs may be expected to elicit such ambivalent experiences and reactions among individual researchers.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 September 2020

Ankita Ray and Sorokhaibam Khaba

The purpose of this study is the identification and analysis of key ethical issues of green procurement (GP) and the potential solutions to mitigate the issues in the Indian…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is the identification and analysis of key ethical issues of green procurement (GP) and the potential solutions to mitigate the issues in the Indian automobile sector.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the literature review and expert elicitation, 23 ethical issues of GP in the Indian automobile industry and 11 solutions to mitigate these issues were identified. This paper explores the ethical issues based on an integrated method consisting of interpretative structural modelling fuzzy Matrice d'Impacts Croisés-Multiplication Appliquée á un Classement, analytical hierarchy process and the solutions to mitigate these issues using fuzzy VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje.

Findings

The findings suggest that ethical issues such as favouritism towards suppliers and failure to fulfil business objectives by top management are identified as the most significant variables with the highest importance weights, while top management commitment for ethical behaviour is identified as the most potent solution for mitigating the issues.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to the literature review and experts’ opinions.

Practical implications

The results may help practitioners and researchers to focus on major ethical issues of GP to strategize proactive solutions that may help to mitigate or eliminate the ethical issues.

Originality/value

This paper is an original contribution of the analysis of GP and provides an interesting insight into the Indian automotive industry.

Details

Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5364

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 May 2010

Carla Rhianon Edgley, Michael John Jones and Jill Frances Solomon

The purpose of the research was to discover the process of social and environmental report assurance (SERA) and thereby evaluate the benefits, extent of stakeholder inclusivity…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the research was to discover the process of social and environmental report assurance (SERA) and thereby evaluate the benefits, extent of stakeholder inclusivity and/or managerial capture of SERA processes and the dynamics of SERA as it matures.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper used semi‐structured interviews with 20 accountant and consultant assurors to derive data, which were then coded and analysed, resulting in the identification of four themes.

Findings

This paper provides interview evidence on the process of SERA, suggesting that, although there is still managerial capture of SERA, stakeholders are being increasingly included in the process as it matures. SERA is beginning to provide dual‐pronged benefits, adding value to management and stakeholders simultaneously. Through the lens of Freirian dialogic theory, it is found that SERA is starting to display some characteristics of a dialogical process, being stakeholder inclusive, demythologising and transformative, with assurors perceiving themselves as a “voice” for stakeholders. Consequently, SERA is becoming an important mechanism for driving forward more stakeholder‐inclusive SER, with the SERA process beginning to transform attitudes of management towards their stakeholders through more stakeholder‐led SER. However, there remain significant obstacles to dialogic SERA. The paper suggests these could be removed through educative and transformative processes driven by assurors.

Originality/value

Previous work on SERA has involved predominantly content‐based analysis on assurance statements. However, this paper investigates the details of the SERA process, for the first time using qualitative interview data.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 23 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 July 2023

Sandra Sun-Ah Ponting, Heyao Chandler Yu, Lindsey Lee and Nikki Gonzales

Through the lens of professional identity (PID), this paper aims to examine what matters to women when reflecting on their professions in hospitality. The purpose of this…

Abstract

Purpose

Through the lens of professional identity (PID), this paper aims to examine what matters to women when reflecting on their professions in hospitality. The purpose of this examination is to understand to what extent these PIDs are shared among women in hospitality and to include women’s voices into the workforce.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach was used. The qualitative step included 24 in-depth interviews with female middle and senior managers in hotel management in the USA. The results of the interviews informed the design of a quantitative survey completed by 330 women hospitality professionals in managerial and non-managerial positions in the USA.

Findings

The qualitative analysis derived three super-ordinate and ten sub-themes. These themes were then quantitatively measured for validity and generalization. The mixing of qualitative and quantitative data indicated the relevance of work environment, social evaluation and perception of work and demonstrating professional competence as a woman in hospitality as significant drivers in establishing women’s hospitality PIDs.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to address women hospitality professionals through the lens of PID. By providing a different gender perspective on hospitality PID, this paper contributes to the expansion of diversity, equity and inclusion research and practices.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 35 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2022

Sushilawati Ismail, Carol K.H. Hon, Philip Crowther, Martin Skitmore and Fiona Lamari

Malaysia’s industrialised building system (IBS) has been increasingly adopted for sustainable development by the country’s construction industry. However, although it has been…

Abstract

Purpose

Malaysia’s industrialised building system (IBS) has been increasingly adopted for sustainable development by the country’s construction industry. However, although it has been used for commercial building projects, its application to sustainable infrastructure development has been limited to date. This study aims to examine the drivers and challenges involved.

Design/methodology/approach

A preliminary conceptual framework was initially developed based on a systematic literature review. Semi-structured interviews involving 20 participants were undertaken to gain insightful thoughts from the construction practitioners to discover the perception towards IBS application in the construction industry, the applicability of IBS, particularly in infrastructure projects, the strategies of IBS delivery and the sustainable potential of its application. A two-round Delphi study was conducted with 15 experienced and knowledgeable panellists to further identify, verify and prioritise factors developed from the literature review and interview findings. Then, the results were synthesised and triangulated to demonstrate a holistic insight.

Findings

The results show the main drivers to be better productivity, quality, environmental, safety and health, constructability design and cost, policy and requirements, with the main challenges being project planning and cost-related issues, inexperience and industry capacity.

Originality/value

The study’s main contribution is in systematically determining the practical implications involved in applying the IBS to sustainable infrastructure developments in Malaysia and other similar developing countries.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. 23 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2009

Rodrigo Werlinger, Kirstie Hawkey and Konstantin Beznosov

The purpose of this study is to determine the main challenges that IT security practitioners face in their organizations, including the interplay among human, organizational, and…

4859

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the main challenges that IT security practitioners face in their organizations, including the interplay among human, organizational, and technological factors.

Design/methodology/approach

The data set consisted of 36 semi‐structured interviews with IT security practitioners from 17 organizations (academic, government, and private). The interviews were analyzed using qualitative description with constant comparison and inductive analysis of the data to identify the challenges that security practitioners face.

Findings

A total of 18 challenges that can affect IT security management within organizations are indentified and described. This analysis is grounded in related work to build an integrated framework of security challenges. The framework illustrates the interplay among human, organizational, and technological factors.

Practical implications

The framework can help organizations identify potential challenges when implementing security standards, and determine if they are using their security resources effectively to address the challenges. It also provides a way to understand the interplay of the different factors, for example, how the culture of the organization and decentralization of IT security trigger security issues that make security management more difficult. Several opportunities for researchers and developers to improve the technology and processes used to support adoption of security policies and standards within organizations are provided.

Originality/value

A comprehensive list of human, organizational, and technological challenges that security experts have to face within their organizations is presented. In addition, these challenges within a framework that illustrates the interplay between factors and the consequences of this interplay for organizations are integrated.

Details

Information Management & Computer Security, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-5227

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 May 2022

Max Sim, Jodie Conduit, Carolin Plewa and Janin Karoli Hentzen

While businesses seek to engage customers, their efforts are often met with varied results, as some customers are more predisposed to engage than others. Understanding customers’…

1210

Abstract

Purpose

While businesses seek to engage customers, their efforts are often met with varied results, as some customers are more predisposed to engage than others. Understanding customers’ dispositions to engage is central to understanding customer engagement, yet research examining customer engagement dispositions remains sparse and predominantly focused on personality traits. This paper aims to consider the general nature of a disposition and draws on qualitative findings to depict a framework for customer engagement dispositions.

Design/methodology/approach

To investigate customer engagement dispositions comprehensively and in-depth, an exploratory qualitative approach was adopted. In total, 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with customers in ongoing relationships with financial planners residing in Australia.

Findings

Nine attributes reflecting customer engagement dispositions emerge from the data. These include the customer’s internal tendency to engage (confidence, desire for control, extroversion and enthusiasm); a tendency to engage determined in the interaction with the service provider (sense of similarity, sense of social connection and trust in the service provider); and the capacity to engage (expertise and knowledge and time availability).

Research limitations/implications

This study provides a conceptual foundation for future empirical measurement of customer engagement dispositions and their nomological network.

Practical implications

This study establishes a foundation for managers to build distinct engagement disposition profiles and segments and target initiatives to maximize engagement activity.

Originality/value

This research challenges the view of customer engagement dispositions as largely personality factors, or exclusively cognitive and emotional dimensions of engagement, and offers a comprehensive framework reflecting a customer’s disposition to engage with a service provider.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 56 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2023

Paula Rodrigues, Ana Brochado, Ana Sousa, Ana Pinto Borges and Isabel Barbosa

This study aims, first, to understand consumers’ perception of chefs as human brands (i.e. study one). Second, tests were run to assess the validity of a new conceptual model of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims, first, to understand consumers’ perception of chefs as human brands (i.e. study one). Second, tests were run to assess the validity of a new conceptual model of the relationships between the factors of chef image, luxury restaurant image, both images’ congruity and consumers’ hedonic and novelty experiences and happiness and well-being (i.e. study two).

Design/methodology/approach

The first qualitative study involved using Leximancer software to analyse the data drawn from 43 interviews with luxury restaurant clients. In the second quantitative study, 993 valid survey questionnaires were collected, and the proposed model was tested using structural equation modelling.

Findings

The results reveal that consumers perceive chefs as human brands and the associated narratives include both performance- and popularity-based characteristics. The findings support the conclusion that individuals give great importance to chefs’ image and the congruence between chefs and their restaurant’s image. In addition, luxury restaurant image only affects novelty experiences, and both hedonic and novelty experiences have a positive effect on customers’ happiness and well-being.

Research limitations/implications

This research focused on Portuguese luxury restaurants. The consumers’ happiness and well-being needs to be replaced by other outcomes to confirm if the model produces consistent results.

Practical implications

The results should help luxury restaurant managers understand more fully which pull factors are valued by their clients and which aspects contribute the most to their pleasure and welfare.

Originality/value

This study adds to the extant literature by exploring consumers’ perceptions of chefs as human brands and the role these chefs’ image play in customers’ luxury restaurant experiences and perceived happiness and well-being.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 57 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2020

Víctor Giménez, Diego Prior and Jorge R. Keith

This paper aims to investigate the efficiency implications of belonging to a strategic hospital alliance (SHA) and measuring the effects over capacity utilization of such…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the efficiency implications of belonging to a strategic hospital alliance (SHA) and measuring the effects over capacity utilization of such agreements in a Mexican healthcare context.

Design/methodology/approach

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is the nonparametric methodology used, which supports both objectives. Technological gaps ratios are calculated by using DEA-metafrontier approach to compare efficiency between SHA members and a hospital’s control group. Also, hospital capacity utilization ratios are used as the maximum rate of output possible from fixed inputs in a frontier setting using directional distance functions. Data were collected from an alliance called Consorcio Mexicano de Hospitales in México, which has 29 general private hospitals and a group of 47 hospitals with same characteristics from a database made by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía for year 2014.

Findings

The results indicate that efficiency is better at hospitals that belong to an alliance; it also shows an improvement of installed capacity management for hospital alliances in México.

Originality/value

The results can be useful for both private health organization managers and regulators themselves to adopt management practices that may end up having a favorable impact on cost and prices containment. Additionally, there are no previous studies neither in Mexico nor in Latin America that analyze the impact of strategic hospitality alliances on the efficiency and utilization of the capacity of private hospitals.

Propósito

Este documento tiene como objetivo investigar las implicaciones de pertenecer a una alianza hospitalaria estratégica (AHE) en la eficiencia, así como cuantificar los efectos sobre la utilización de la capacidad de dichos acuerdos en el contexto mexicano de atención médica.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

El Análisis Envolvente de Datos (DEA) es la metodología no paramétrica utilizada para lograr ambos objetivos. Las brechas tecnológicas se estiman empleando meta-fronteras calculadas mediante modelos DEA, comparando la eficiencia entre los miembros de la AHE y un grupo de control de hospitales. El nivel de utilización de la capacidad hospitalaria se calcula, utilizando funciones direccionales de distancia, a partir del máximo output alcanzable a partir de la dotación de inputs fijos. Los datos fueron obtenidos de la alianza Consorcio Mexicano de Hospitales en México, integrada por 29 hospitales privados generales, y de un grupo de 47 hospitales con las mismas características obtenidos de una base de datos del Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía para el año 2014.

Resultados

adosLos resultados indican que los niveles de eficiencia son superiores en los hospitales pertenecientes a la alianza, así como una mejor gestión de la capacidad instalada en la alianza hospitalaria en México.

Originalidad/valor

Los resultados pueden ser útiles tanto para los administradores de las organizaciones de salud privadas como para los reguladores, de forma que puedan adoptar prácticas de gestión con un impacto favorable en la contención de costos y precios. Asimismo, no existen estudios previos ni en México ni en América Latina que analicen el impacto de las alianzas estratégicas hospitalarias en la eficiencia y la utilización de la capacidad de los hospitales privados.

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