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Many companies and their employees accept that learning and management development can provide mutual benefits, but find it difficult to free up the time and money to make this possible. Finding time and resources for training and development can be especially difficult in the hospitality industry, where operational imperatives often override longer‐term considerations. This paper reflects upon the critical success factors of a pilot management development programme in Marriott Hotels in the UK, so that it might be internalized and delivered in a range of Marriott properties world‐wide. The conclusion is that action learning is a challenging medium for learners and tutors alike, but that the process can be an enjoyable one for all concerned. It is possible to internalize such programmes if care is taken with both “hard” and “soft” critical success factors.

Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization in different parts of the world over the past several decades, there have been serious effects on climate. Available observational evidences indicate that regional changes in climate, particularly fluctuations in temperature and rainfall, have already affected a diverse set of physical and biological systems in many parts of the world. International communities have tried to respond to these changing phenomena by establishing high-level Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Numerous global treaties and protocols have been formulated on climate change in different countries. However, climate change impacts are found to be most severe in the grassroots-level community, in the form of natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and typhoons/cyclones, which affect the lives and livelihoods of people. Indirect impacts of climate change are observed in the form of increasing poverty and health issues in different ecosystems. Although communities are equipped with traditional knowledge and wisdom, new practices and policies are required to enable them to cope with the changing climate, thereby providing them with means to sustain their livelihoods.

Women’s representation is widely debated within the comic book cannon. Many comic and cultural scholars argue that women characters are overly sexualized, objectified, or excluded from this literary genre (Child, 2013; Danziger-Russell, 2012; Fesak, 2014; Lepore, 2014; Simone, 1999). However, few scholars have adequately addressed how comic book readers make sense of women’s representation within graphic storytelling. The author’s research addresses the issue of women’s representation in comics with special attention to how audiences interpret these supposed images of women’s empowerment. Capitalizing from the author’s time spent working at a local comic book store and a series of 20 in-depth interviews that the author conducted with comic book readers, the author draws from a series of personal field notes, participant observation, and transcribed interviews to understand how gendered relationships in comic books manifest in real-life experiences. Ultimately, the author argues that static comic book stereotypes about hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity shape consumers’ gendered realities. More specifically, this study demonstrates how popular character archetypes like the love interest, the nag, and the slut are redefining readers’ relationship to women both within and outside of comic book culture. By examining this culture, and its audience at large, this research advances a more nuanced understanding of how graphic narratives contribute to gender difference and violence against women, thereby situating women’s empowerment within popular culture.

Quality 4.0 is the new buzzword among quality professionals. There has been no empirical study of Quality 4.0 yet. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate what are the motivations, barriers and readiness factors for Quality 4.0 implementation.

This study uses an online survey on senior quality professionals working in leading companies in Europe and America. In total, 50 participants participated in this study.

This study finds the top five motivating, barriers and readiness factors for Quality 4.0 implementation. These factors are ranked in terms of the order of importance as perceived by senior quality professionals.

This is the first empirical study on Quality 4.0 that investigates the motivation, barriers and readiness factors of Quality 4.0. This study provides a theoretical base of Quality 4.0 body of knowledge in terms of its practical relevance and adoption in modern-day organizations.

Organizations can use this study to understand what the motivation and barriers for implementing Quality 4.0. In addition, before implementation of Quality 4.0, the readiness factor for Quality 4.0 can be used by organizations to evaluate their preparedness before the actual implementation of the initiative.

This is the first empirical study on Quality 4.0 that captures the viewpoints of senior quality professionals on the motivation, barriers and readiness factors of Quality 4.0.

The current study integrates self-enhancement and social exchange theories to construct hypotheses in which team-level narcissism is expected to negatively influence team-level task performance ratings and team-level organizational citizenship behaviors directed at team members (OCB-Is). Additionally, individual-level narcissism is expected to negatively influence peer performance ratings. Based on longitudinal data collected from 89 study participants constituting 29 project teams, results indicate (a) team-level narcissism influences task performance, (b) team-level narcissism influences changes in OCB-Is over time, and (c) individual-level narcissism influences peer performance ratings. Our findings suggest the necessity for practitioners to consider individual differences in the strategic formation of work groups.

Ever since human society developed, environmental and social changes have led to major challenges that must be dealt with. Some of these major challenges are seen as “disasters,” for which a definition that is frequently used is similar to “A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources” (UNISDR, 2004; see, e.g., Quarantelli, 1998, and Furedi, 2007, for discussions on the meaning(s) of “disaster”). From witnessing disasters and being forced to work through the aftermath, humanity has been shifting toward trying to reduce disasters’ impacts or to avert them entirely. This field has the modern-day interpretation of “disaster risk reduction,” defined as “The conceptual framework of elements considered with the possibilities to minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout a society, to avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and preparedness) the adverse impacts of hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development” (UNISDR, 2004).

The purpose of this paper is to study the relational impact of using win-win or win-lose negotiation strategies within different types of buyer-supplier relationships.

A multi-method approach is used. Qualitative interviews with supply chain managers reveal that relationship-specific assets and cooperation are important relational factors in buyer-supplier negotiations. Framing interview insights within the social exchange theory (SET), hypotheses are tested using a scenario-based behavioral experiment.

Experimental results suggest that win-lose negotiators decrease their negotiating partner’s commitment of relationship-specific assets and levels of cooperation. In addition, the use of a win-lose negotiation strategy reduces levels of relationship-specific assets and cooperation more in highly interdependent buyer-supplier relationships than relationships that are not as close.

Buyer-supplier relationships are complex interactions. Negotiation strategy choice decisions can have long-term effects on the overall relationship. As demonstrated in this study, previous research focusing on one side “winning” a negotiation as a measure of success has oversimplified this complex phenomenon.

The use of a win-lose negotiation strategy can have a negative impact on relational outcomes like cooperation and relationship-specific assets. For companies interested in developing strong supply chain relationships, buyer and suppliers should choose their negotiation strategy carefully as the relational impact extends beyond the single negotiation encounter.

Previous research predominantly advocates for the use of a win-win negotiation strategy within interdependent relationships. This research offers evidence that the use of a win-lose strategy does have a long-term relational impact.

Managing special events which utilise volunteer labour presents unique challenges due to the time-bound and infrequent nature of events, coupled with the non-traditional employment contractual basis associated with volunteers. Having committed, well-trained volunteers can sometimes be the difference between success and failure for an event. This paper explores factors shaping event managers' decision-making in relation to allocating organisational resources towards training for event volunteers.

Utilising qualitative methods, a sample of senior event managers practicing within Australia were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Their attitudes towards, and factors shaping, their decision-making in relation to allocating organisational resources towards training for event volunteers were analysed and discussed through an interpretive lens.

Six intervening variables which shaped event managers' decisions to resource volunteer training were identified. These six variables both shaped and constrained event managers' decisions to resource and implement volunteer training.

The study highlights factors that need to be considered when considering attaining festival attendance satisfaction with volunteers’ service provision through training. This work also contributes to future discussions about the value of volunteer training to event success.

In the scientific field of climate change adaptation (CCA), the focus on cities has grown steadily in recent years. Increasing population figures especially in developing countries, and overall in cities, demonstrate a key challenge for institutions, communities, economies, and the natural environment to find appropriate solutions to overcome this problem (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2007). Rapid urbanization is just one of the key issues that cities have to deal with; another main challenge is how to manage the impacts from climate change like increasing numbers of natural hazards that are resulting in more frequent and intense disasters (EM-Dat, 2009; Munich Re Group, 2009).

It is increasingly being recognised that cross‐unit working relationships have a key role to play in the successful implementation of marketing decisions. Although there is a substantial body of literature on marketing's interactions with other functions, particularly technical units such as R&D, within the context of the new product development (NPD) process, linkages between marketing and human resources (HR) have not been empirically investigated although they are widely advocated in both the marketing and HR management literatures. The conceptual model presented and tested in this paper focuses on the antecedents of effective marketing/HR interactions and posits successful marketing strategy implementation as an outcome of these. Results from a study of UK service organisations suggest that implementation effectiveness is affected negatively by conflict and positively by communication and specifically, interpersonal, not written. In turn, these interdepartmental dynamics are affected by senior management support, joint reward systems, and informal integration. A number of conclusions are drawn which have important implications for managers and researchers alike.