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1 – 10 of over 4000Rui Miguel Quental de Almeida and Raquel Meneses
The purpose of this paper is to characterize the consumption of an international consumer product fad.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to characterize the consumption of an international consumer product fad.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review of the concepts that can be related to an international fad was conducted, which included the study of the product life cycle, CAGE distances, the herd behavior, the consumer behavior in social media, the conformism and perceived newness. To know more about the subject, the Gin case was studied. The quantitative study began to define an initial model with the variables that can have impact on the consumption of the Gin. Based on the initial model, a survey was built and conducted, obtaining 143 valid responses. The data were analyzed on the basis of the structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results verified the positive impact of need for group differentiation on the consumption Gin. The perceived newness had a direct impact on its consumption. An international fad lasts while it is differentiator for the consumer, so the herd behavior influence was not validated.
Research limitations/implications
This study had a limitation in terms of responses. This study was made using a practical case of beverage, so its applicability to other types of products is limited.
Originality/value
This study is about consumer fads. It characterizes the key concepts in various moments of a fad: the implementation, the evolution of its consumption and its end. The study identifies the variables that have a positive impact on the consumption of a real fad. Data from sales geography diffusion in time are also analyzed.
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The purpose of this paper is to propose that adoption of new ideas is a more involved cognitive process than has been recognised and this paper seeks to redress the trivialisation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose that adoption of new ideas is a more involved cognitive process than has been recognised and this paper seeks to redress the trivialisation of ideas as emerging management ideas (“fads”). The embracing of “fads” for performance improvement and competitive advantage has received considerable attention in the academic literature, resulting in a rather one-sided view.
Design/methodology/approach
Cognitive decision-making, evidence-based management and complexity theory are examined to illustrate cognitive process, skills and experiences used when making decisions and several propositions are derived from these ideas.
Findings
An conceptual model of “fad” adoption, integrating the ideas and propositions is presented. This model provides a more pragmatic examination of “fad” adoption decisions and encourages an in depth consideration of their introduction. The model offers a more sophisticated, focused tool for examining the adoption of new management ideas and provides a springboard from which more detailed, integrated models can be developed, and hopefully will stimulate discussion. Implications for theory and practice are also considered.
Originality/value
Examination of the literature on management “fads” revealed significant material that focused on the negative aspects of “fad” adoption, but an absence of material that examined how manager’s made their adoption decisions. This paper, therefore, provides a valuable contribution to both theory and practice by examining factors which contribute to how and why management decisions to adopt “fads” are made and develops a model to illustrate how these are integrated to contribute to the process of decision-making.
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This paper aims to investigate the transience of management fads in the academic and the practitioner-oriented communities to shed light on their roles in the diffusion of fads.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the transience of management fads in the academic and the practitioner-oriented communities to shed light on their roles in the diffusion of fads.
Design/methodology/approach
This study traces the lifecycles of the following fads in practitioner-oriented and academic journals over more than 50 years: balanced scorecard, business process reengineering, design thinking, knowledge management, learning organization, management by objectives (MBO), matrix organization and total quality management (TQM).
Findings
Contrary to the academic–practitioner gap lamented in the literature, this study indicates no such gap regarding these fads in general, but finds differences in the intensity with which the fads are dealt with. The two communities stimulate, sustain and abandon fads collectively, as the lifecycles of most of the fads were found to mirror each other in both communities. This provides evidence of a contemporary form of popularization with a dynamic exchange of knowledge between academic and practitioner-oriented journals, rather than the traditional one-way transfer of knowledge from academia to practice.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to study multiple fads simultaneously in academic and practitioner-oriented journals in a historical comparison to investigate their roles in the diffusion of fads.
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Tertiary education in the Anglophone Caribbean, particularly in Jamaica, has become highly competitive and complex and increasingly influenced by global neoliberal discourses…
Abstract
Tertiary education in the Anglophone Caribbean, particularly in Jamaica, has become highly competitive and complex and increasingly influenced by global neoliberal discourses. This free-market driven development is partly evidenced by the proliferation of national, regional, and international providers. Yet, within this seemingly unrelenting international influence, one can also detect more recent approaches by regional governments in concert and individually, through policy and systems of governance to reassert their sovereignty and retain some level of regulation and ownership of tertiary education. This chapter establishes an analytical framework for understanding these tertiary education governance changes by drawing on the principles of critical educational policy analysis. The chapter scrutinizes the multiple sources of power, international, regional, and national, that shape the rapid ongoing tertiary educational changes. Ultimately, the chapter argues that Jamaica’s tertiary education governance can be categorized as a shift from the governance mechanisms of “growth driven” to “regulatory control.” The chapter further posits that future regional shifts in tertiary education governance will be shaped by the continuing postcolonial struggles to adapt to the global order while protecting regional and national interests and aspirations.
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Adaptation appears to be regarded as a panacea in policy circles to reduce the risk of impending crises resulting from contemporary changes, including but not restricted to…
Abstract
Purpose
Adaptation appears to be regarded as a panacea in policy circles to reduce the risk of impending crises resulting from contemporary changes, including but not restricted to climate change. Such conceptions can be problematic, generally assuming adaptation as an entirely positive and non-conflictual process. The purpose of this paper is to challenge such uncritical views, drawing attention to the conflictual nature of adaptation, and propose a theoretical framework facilitating the identification and analysis of conflicts in adaptation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on case study research using first-hand narratives of adaptation in Nepal and the Maldives collected using qualitative interviews, participant observation and document analysis.
Findings
The findings identify conflicts between actors in, and around, communities that are adapting to changes. These conflicts can be categorized along three dimensions: qualitative differences in the type of conflict, the relative position of conflicting actors and the degree of manifestation of the conflict.
Originality/value
The three-dimensional Adaptation Conflict Framework facilitate analysis of conflicts in adaptation, allowing for a critical examination of subjectivities inherent in the adaptation discourses embedded in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation research and policy. Such an inquiry is crucial for interventions supporting community adaptation to reduce disaster risk.
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Annika Steiber, Sverker Alänge, Swapan Ghosh and Dulce Goncalves
The digitization process has increased the pressure on large firms to transform. However, current frameworks on digital transformation are not well explaining what factors…
Abstract
Purpose
The digitization process has increased the pressure on large firms to transform. However, current frameworks on digital transformation are not well explaining what factors contribute to, or hinder, a firm's digital transformation. Innovation diffusion theories could complement existing frameworks, and for this reason, the purpose of this paper is to expand the existing body of knowledge on what contributes to, or hinders, an industrial firm's digital transformation by applying a validated framework based on innovation diffusion theories on two pioneer cases: General Electric and Siemens EHR/Health Services.
Design/methodology/approach
The framework used in this paper is based on several years' empirical studies and iterative literature reviews on innovation diffusion theories. Further, each use case is based on literature reviews and unique empirical data, collected by the authors of this paper as a result of taking active part of respective company's multi-years transformation.
Findings
Common drivers of, and clear inhibitors to the two firms' transformation, were identified. The innovation diffusion framework was found to work very well in identifying those factors.
Research limitations/implications
The implications are that researchers better can analyze/explain a digital transformation of a firm, and business managers can better plan or improve their firms' transformation processes.
Originality/value
The theoretical contributions of this paper are two: first, complement existing frameworks with a validated framework for innovation diffusion; second, provide an extension of our body of knowledge on factors that contributes to, or hinders, industrial firm's digital transformation.
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Tom Redman, Brian Mathews, Adrian Wilkinson and Ed Snape
Quality management has been in vogue within manufacturing for overa decade. Service industries have more recently been making heavyinvestments in this area. Also there are major…
Abstract
Quality management has been in vogue within manufacturing for over a decade. Service industries have more recently been making heavy investments in this area. Also there are major initiatives from the public sector to improve quality. Investigates the take‐up of quality management techniques in the public sector, their perceived effectiveness and the consequent impact on the managers running the programmes (private sector services are used as a basis for comparison). Results of survey responses from 394 service organizations show that the uptake of quality management techniques is now similar between public and private sectors, as is the perception of the impact on managerial work. A major difference occurs in terms of perceived effectiveness and results of the quality programmes. In this latter area the public sector fares somewhat worse.
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Gerald W. Fry and Hui Bi
The purpose of this paper is to analyze critically the evolution of educational reform in Thailand. Three major phases are identified. The special focus of the paper is an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze critically the evolution of educational reform in Thailand. Three major phases are identified. The special focus of the paper is an assessment of the third reform which began with the passage of the Office of the National Education Commission (ONEC) (2002).
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology for the study is mixed methods including document analysis, direct participant observation, and compilation of major statistical performance indicators from diverse sources.
Findings
The success of the most recent reform has been clearly mixed. Major structural and legal changes have occurred but overall system performance remains disappointingly low, despite large Thai educational expenditures as a percent of national budget and the presence of much impressive educational leadership talent. The paper identifies what is called the “Thai educational paradox”. The essence of the paradox is Thailand’s failure to achieve its educational potential. The paper identifies key factors explaining the paradox.
Originality/value
The paper has significant theoretical, policy, and practical implications. From a theoretical perspective, the study confirms the persistence of strong regional disparities and a lack of fiscal neutrality associated with a neoliberal model of capitalistic development. From a practical policy perspective, it is imperative for Thailand to improve the overall quality of its educational system and to reduce regional disparities. There have been numerous studies of each of Thailand’s three phases of reform, but this paper’s original contribution is its presentation of a historical, interdisciplinary, and integrated perspective on the evolution of educational reform and the many obstacles associated with its implementation.
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Western managers have been criticized for their obsession with profit maximization, concentration on short‐term benefits, control of the work process and hastiness in adopting and…
Abstract
Western managers have been criticized for their obsession with profit maximization, concentration on short‐term benefits, control of the work process and hastiness in adopting and abandoning new ideas. Why Western managers manage the way they do has not been addressed adequately in our view. This paper seeks to address this issue by presenting theoretical analysis that attempts to improve our understanding of why managers are preoccupied with pecuniary considerations, myopic decisions, work process control, hasty adoption and quick abandonment of novel ideas. This exploratory paper argues that without considering factors such as the managers’ national culture, the pressure from shareholders and the stock‐market, the objectives of the organization, and the organization as a rational institution, the behaviour of Western managers may not be fully explained and the criticisms may therefore be unjustifiable.
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