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The concept of style is gaining momentum in organizational research. Focussing on its implications for strategy, this paper presents a conceptual and methodological framework to make the notion of style operational and applicable to both research and practice. Style is defined here as a combinatorial, socially situated and semiotic device that can be organized into typologies – recurrent combinations of stylistic dimensions exerting a normative and semiotic function within and across contexts. The empirical analysis, situated in the field of electronic music, considers the music genres and the colour dimension of artists' appearance as components of their style. Results show how coherent style typologies normatively dominate the field and how non-conformist but coherent typologies correspond to superior creative performance. Operating as unifying device, style can transform varied and potentially confounding traits into distinctiveness and shed light on competitive market dynamics that cannot be fully explained via other theoretical constructs.

This essay reports work in cybernetics that it is believed can shed light on methodological and conceptual issues in the study of child development. To do so, cybernetics is placed in the larger context of the philosophy of science, drawing particularly on the work of Frederick Suppe and Nicholas Rescher. The concept of explanation in cybernetics is used to elucidate controversies concerning “mechanistic” and “organismic” types of explanation. An account is given of several models that appear to be of use in explicating the concepts of development, self‐organisation and morphogenesis. Finally, the distinctions between first‐ and second‐order cybernetics (due to von Foerster) and taciturn and language oriented systems (due to Pask) are invoked to encompass the social dimensions of child development.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the trained and untrained users’ mental models compatibility with search module icons in three Iranian digital library applications, namely, Nika, Azarakhsh, and Simorgh.

The population of this survey consisted of two groups including trained and untrained users. The trained user group consisted of 174 samples, all of which were included in the study due to scarcity of the samples. The untrained user group consisted of 8,210 samples, from which 267 cases were selected through stratified sampling.

Results showed that the trained users’ mental models were more compatible with the search module icons than those of the untrained users. The comparison of three software applications showed that the mental models of trained and untrained users had the highest compatibility with the search icons of Azarakhsh and the lowest compatibility with those of Nika. Concerning the untrained users’ status in terms of their fields of study, results showed that users majoring technical and engineering field and those in agriculture had, respectively, the highest and lowest mental models compatibility with the icons embedded in the user interface of the studied applications.

Since the mental models may be incomplete or inaccurate, the study of the trained and untrained users’ mental models compatibility with the search module icons of user interface embedded in various library applications may help in assessing the software’ status and the designers’ level of success in conveying the content. This also may assist information literacy specialists to estimate the required amount of training for trained and untrained users.

Communicating the national values of artists and the role of product benefits as symbols of national values, infuse iconic national brands. This paper aims to validate a conceptual framework that offers empirical insights for cultural identity that drives brand management.

Case studies and cross-cultural focus group research establish the present study’s conceptual framework for cultural branding.

Brand awareness of a perfume named after a Cuban dancer and a spirit named for a Chilean poet, reflect authentic emblems of national identity. Informants’ behavior confirms the study’s model of icon myth transfer effect as a heuristic for cultural branding with clear, detailed and unprompted references to the myths and brands behind these heroines.

The study’s ethnography shows how artists reflect myth and folklore in iconic brands. Future research should assess whether the icon myth transfer effect as a heuristic for cultural branding occurs with cultural icons beyond the arts and transcends national boundaries.

The study challenges conventional branding, where the brand is the myth, and the myth reflects the myth market. The authors show how the myth connects to a national identity yet exists independently of the brand. The branding strategy ties the brand to the existing myth, an alternative route for cultural branding mediated by the icon myth transfer effect.

These two Latin American brands provide a much-needed connection among the branding literatures and images surrounding gender and nationalism in lesser-known markets.

Most research explores iconic myths, brands and folklore in one country. This study extends cultural branding through social history and by testing a conceptual model that establishes how myths embody nation-specific values. Iconic myths are a heuristic for understanding and describing brands, revealing an unexamined path for cultural branding.

Customization by segmenting within human–computer interaction is an emerging phenomenon. Appealing graphical elements that cater to user needs are considered progressively important, as the way a graphic is visually represented can greatly contribute to the interaction. However, aesthetic perceptions are subjective and may differ by target group. Understanding variations in user perceptions may aid in design processes; therefore, we set out to investigate the effects of demographic differences relating to perceptions of graphical user interface (GUI) element (i.e. game app icon) aesthetics.

The authors employed a vignette experiment with random participant (n = 513) assignment to evaluate 4 icons from a total of 68 pre-selected mobile game icons using semantic differential scales. This resulted in a total of 2052 individual icon evaluations. Regression analyses were performed with the effects of age, gender and time using graphical user interfaces (i.e. app stores) and the interactions of these variables relating to perceptions of GUI element aesthetics.

The results indicate that, overall, demographic factors have relatively little effect on how icons are perceived. Significant relations suggest that experienced users, younger audiences and women are more critical in their perception of aesthetic excellence, and that perceptions change for younger women. The implications of the findings are discussed via adaptive decision-making theory.

In the context of graphical user interface element aesthetics, demographic differences have received minimal attention as moderating variables regardless of their relevance in design and development. Hence, it merits further research.

The Midland Health Board in Ireland has invested significantly in promoting integrated care in order to improve the quality and efficiency of its services. Stakeholders in all agencies have shared in the creation of the ICON model that provides a structured approach to integration. The diagrammatic model has enabled shared understanding of providing, managing and receiving integrated health and care services. A resource pack and measurement tool have been developed to continue to support the increasing number of implementation sites for integration across all client groups. The transferability of the project is being tested in another Board in Ireland, and lessons will be shared as the projects progress.

This article updates an article in Issue 12 (5) of the Journal of Integrated Care, which explained the first two phases of the ICON project in the Midland Area of Ireland. It describes the systems and processes put in place to support improving practice, focusing on process, culture and context, and illustrates the impact so far on individual clients and families, and how this information is being shared.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the place branding dimensions of a city undergoing a concerted effort to build a distinctive brand for itself.

A qualitative, exploratory approach is adopted, applying the ICON model of place branding to the multistakeholder city branding strategy of Toronto. A combination of interviews, participant observation, content analysis and professional reflection inform the study.

Toronto’s emergence as a creative city with global standing has been achieved, in part, through a holistic and collaborative approach that is integrated, contextualized, organic and new.

Place and destination promoters are offered a practical application of the ICON model of place branding, informing future initiatives and offering insight into good practice.

Viewed through the lens of the ICON model, the paper provides insights into the collaborative and innovate practices that characterize effective city branding.

The archetype paradigm has been gaining importance as a marketing approach to global branding, advocating that strategists should create archetypal symbolism to engage with fundamental human psychology. The study reported here is based on consumer imagination theory, which aims to offers a means to determine whether a brand archetype will transform into an icon, and thereby achieve the maximum effect.

In‐depth interviews with 810 loyal customers of the Nike Air Jordan brand took place in the Asia Pacific, Western Europe, and North America regions of the world. Sub‐samples were selected and interviewed by research assistants in each sampling location, under central control to ensure that all profiles matched the known characteristics of the population under study. A relatively unstructured first phase generated question topics, which were transformed into verbatim sentences on cards, which respondents subsequently sorted. Matrix analysis elicited relationships among the resultant constructs, in terms of degree and direction. Focus group discussions were conducted to refine the emerging findings. Data were subjected to “open”, “axial”, and “selective” coding. Key concepts and relationships were finally incorporated into a fully developed model.

A “brand archetype‐icon transformation” model derived from the analysed data suggests a plan for the implementation of the “archetypal marketing” strategy, combining four theoretical elements under the overall coordination of a “comprehensive brand management” philosophy.

This study is an original and exploratory transfer of theoretical principles from classic psychology to marketing strategy. The final section examines practical potential by reference to other global brands. The paper proposes a paradigm for building and sustaining consumer loyalty to global brands.

This study aims to test the utility of Pearce et al.'s (2003) framework on film tourism in Otaru, Japan. This framework involves marketing the attraction according to five stages: resource identification, marketing emphasis, interpretation, sales and merchandising and broader community use. The existing studies have failed to adapt this framework to films. Subsequently, this study uncovers the necessity of an additional stage involving sustainability aspects.

A case study method was adopted, and Otaru, Japan – a popular film location – was chosen. Semi-structured interviews with the major stakeholders of film tourism, such as film commissions, representatives of the film and the tourism industries, tourists and the community, were conducted, and the participants were observed. Data were collected using the snowball sampling technique.

The study reveals that Pearce et al.'s (2003) model is applicable to film tourism by adding a sixth stage to address sustainability, such as the issue of overtourism.

The transferability of the framework to different film tourism cases is plausible. It is also critical for governments and tourism practitioners to consider the community's perspective for sustainability and maximize the use of films as promotional tools for destinations.

This study is the first to apply Pearce et al.'s (2003) model to film tourism, adding value to the literature by extending the framework to include an additional sixth stage to address sustainability.