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1 – 10 of 143Invented in late 1890s, asbestos cement sheeting rose to prominence during the post-Second World War period as a building material for low-cost housing by state housing…
Abstract
Purpose
Invented in late 1890s, asbestos cement sheeting rose to prominence during the post-Second World War period as a building material for low-cost housing by state housing commissions and low-income families (“fibro homes”). The adverse health effects of asbestos fibres in the building industry and home renovation activities are well documented. Fibro homes of the 1950s and 1960s are increasingly coming under the gaze of heritage studies, which brings to the fore the question of how to deal with the asbestos cement sheeting most are clad with.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper provides the first systematic review to assess the literature (126 papers were identified in Google Scholar and scanned for content) on the conservation management of asbestos cement sheeting in heritage properties.
Findings
Overall, engagement with the conservation management of asbestos cement sheeting in heritage properties was low, with only two sources dealing with asbestos cement sheeting in any level of detail. The studies note that if asbestos cement sheeting is in good condition, it should be left alone. Numerous conservation and repair options do exist, in particular the application of (coloured) sealants that extend the life of asbestos cement sheets and asbestos cement roofing.
Originality/value
This paper represents the first systematic review to assess conservation management options for asbestos cement sheeting in heritage properties.
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Tianyu Pan, Rachel J.C. Fu and James F. Petrick
This study aims to examine consumer perception during COVID-19 and identifies cruise industry marketing strategies to fill a gap in crisis management and product pricing…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine consumer perception during COVID-19 and identifies cruise industry marketing strategies to fill a gap in crisis management and product pricing literature.
Design/methodology/approach
This study developed and validated two-factor measurement scales (vaccine perception and protective behavior), which predicted cruise intents well. This study revealed how geo-regional factors affect consumer psychology through spatial analysis.
Findings
This study recommended pricing 7-day cruises at $1,464 (the most preferred length). The results also showed that future price hikes would not affect demand and that coastal marketing would help retain customers.
Originality/value
This study contributed to the business, hospitality and tourism literature by identifying two new and unique factors (vaccine perception and protective behaviors), which were found to affect consumers’ intention to travel by cruise significantly. The result provided a better understanding of cruise tourists’ pricing preferences and the methods utilized could easily be applied to other cruise markets or tourism entities.
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Stephen Bok, James Shum and Maria Lee
Consumer choice theory (CCT) and the law of diminishing marginal utility help to explain shoppers that value less and prioritize needs. Additional units provide a marginal return…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumer choice theory (CCT) and the law of diminishing marginal utility help to explain shoppers that value less and prioritize needs. Additional units provide a marginal return on investment. Buying more does not mean equivalent gains for additional money spent. The researchers developed and validated the necessity shopper scale (NSS) to study need-focused shoppers.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers followed standard psychometric practices to create and validate the NSS. The researchers performed item development, data collection, exploratory analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and predictive validity analysis using survey data (N = 1,266).
Findings
Discriminant and convergent validity analyses demonstrated that the measure was distinct from existing measures. Predictive validity analysis found necessity shoppers (NS) are more likely to buy one over buy one get one half off (BOGOHO). NS were associated with a higher connection to community/group (CTCG). Higher hyperopia (i.e. disinclination to indulgence) with necessity shopping beliefs heightened this CTCG. A higher CTCG was associated with a greater likelihood to select BOGOHO.
Originality/value
NS (more connected to others) buy more to share with others, while buying just enough for themselves. Social connections are long-term investments involving more people and more needs to fulfill. Brands marketed with communal values and able to enhance social connections are discussed as implications to encourage NS to buy more.
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Eunjoo Jin, Yuhosua Ryoo, WooJin Kim and Y. Greg Song
Notwithstanding their potential benefits especially for individuals with low health literacy, users are still somewhat skeptical about the reliability of healthcare chatbots. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Notwithstanding their potential benefits especially for individuals with low health literacy, users are still somewhat skeptical about the reliability of healthcare chatbots. The present study aims to address this challenge by investigating strategies to enhance users’ cognitive and emotional trust in healthcare chatbots. Particularly, this study aims to understand the effects of chatbot design cues in increasing trust and future chatbot use intention for low health literacy users.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted two experimental studies with a final sample of 327 (Study 1) and 241 (Study 2). Three different chatbots were developed (Chatbot design: Bot vs Male-doctor vs Female-doctor). Participants were asked to have a medical consultation with the chatbot. Participants self-reported their health literacy scores. The PROCESS model 7 was used to analyze the hypotheses.
Findings
The results showed that the female-doctor cues elicited greater cognitive and emotional trust, whereas the male-doctor cues only led to greater cognitive trust (vs bot-like cues). Importantly, this study found that users’ health literacy is a significant moderating factor in shaping cognitive and emotional trust. The results indicated that both the female and male-doctor cues’ positive effects on cognitive trust were significant for those with lower levels of health literacy. Furthermore, the positive effect of the female-doctor cues on emotional trust was also significant only for those whose health literacy level was low. The increased cognitive and emotional trust led to greater future intention to use the chatbot, confirming significant moderated mediation effects.
Originality/value
Despite the strong economic and educational benefits of healthcare chatbots for low health literacy users, studies examining how healthcare chatbot design cues affect low health literate users surprisingly remained scarce. The results of this study suggest that healthcare chatbots can be a promising technological intervention to narrow the health literacy gap when aligned with appropriate design cues.
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Sangyung Lee and Young Hoon Kim
With the competitive nature of golf club operations, understanding the loyalty formation process is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. This study investigated the…
Abstract
Purpose
With the competitive nature of golf club operations, understanding the loyalty formation process is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. This study investigated the sequential developmental stages of consumer loyalty, progressing through cognitive, affective, and conative stages.
Design/methodology/approach
The study conducted a survey targeting consumers who have experienced golf club services in the United States. This study operationalized reliability and trust as key indicators of the cognitive stage, hedonic motivation and social engagement as indicators of the affective stage, and loyalty as the indicator of the conative stage.
Findings
Using structural equation modeling (SEM), this study found that reliability has a significantly positive influence on trust. Trust has a significantly positive influence on hedonic motivation and loyalty. Furthermore, hedonic motivation has a significantly positive influence on social engagement and loyalty.
Originality/value
By integrating these findings within the Cognitive-Affective-Conative (CAC) framework, this study contributes to both the theoretical literature on consumer loyalty and provides practical insights for golf club management.
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Even though remote work has been around for years and COVID-19 has rapidly increased its prevalence among organizations, research on remote employee engagement is limited…
Abstract
Purpose
Even though remote work has been around for years and COVID-19 has rapidly increased its prevalence among organizations, research on remote employee engagement is limited. Informed by social exchange theory and social support theory, the purpose of the current study is to examine how internal listening, including both organizational and supervisory listening, influences remote employee engagement and the mediating role of remote employees perceived organizational supportiveness and affective organizational commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
Using survey as the research method, the study recruited full-time employees who fully work remotely in the United States of America. The data were collected in early December 2021, and a total of 527 complete and valid responses were used for data analysis. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the study hypotheses.
Findings
The results showed that both organizational and supervisory listening had an indirect effect on remote employee engagement by strengthening their perceived organizational support and affective organizational commitment. Both organizational listening and supervisory listening could make remote employees feel they are supported by the organization. However, only supervisory listening had a significant direct impact on remote employees' affective commitment to the organization.
Originality/value
This study is among the first that examines the importance of listening in motivating employee engagement in the context of remote work. The findings showcase the communication functions, from the aspect of organizational and leadership listening, in inspiring the remote workforce. Moreover, this study contributes to the understanding of listening as a pivotal force in driving employees' positive emotional and relational outcomes when they work remotely.
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Anthony Bagherian, Mark Gerschon and Sunil Kumar
Numerous attempts at installing Six Sigma (SS) have faced challenges and fallen short of the desired success. Thus, it becomes vital to identify the critical factors and…
Abstract
Purpose
Numerous attempts at installing Six Sigma (SS) have faced challenges and fallen short of the desired success. Thus, it becomes vital to identify the critical factors and characteristics that play a pivotal role in achieving successful adoption. Research has highlighted that a considerable number of corporate Six Sigma initiatives, around 60%, fail primarily due to the improper incorporation of essential elements and flawed assumptions.
Design/methodology/approach
To validate the influence of CSFs on Six Sigma accomplishment, the study employed a research design combining exploratory and mixed-methods approaches. The analysis focused on 260 completed questionnaires, and statistical methods including SEM, EFA, and CFA were utilized for data analysis.
Findings
The study acknowledged four essential components of CSFs that are imperative for sustaining the success of Six Sigma (SS): (1) Competence of Belt System employees; (2) Project management skills; (3) Organizational economic capability; and (4) Leadership commitment and engagement. These factors were identified as significant contributors to the maintenance of Six Sigma’s success.
Practical implications
The practical implications of this research imply that institutions, practitioners, and researchers can utilize the four identified factors to foster the sustainable deployment of SS initiatives. By incorporating these factors, organizations can enhance the effectiveness and longevity of their Six Sigma practices.
Originality/value
The investigation’s originality lies in its contribution to assessing critical success factors in Six Sigma deployment within the European automobile industry, utilizing a mixed-methods research design supplemented by descriptive statistics.
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Taofeeq Durojaye Moshood, James O.B. Rotimi and Wajiha Shahzad
Formulating strategic decisions poses a significant challenge for construction organizations, profoundly impacting their overarching strategic management. The success of an…
Abstract
Purpose
Formulating strategic decisions poses a significant challenge for construction organizations, profoundly impacting their overarching strategic management. The success of an organization’s strategy relies on how information is managed and decisions are executed. However, the literature has a limited understanding of the connection between information quality and strategic decision-making, particularly in construction business performance. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring how information quality mediates the relationship between strategic decision-making and the performance of construction businesses in New Zealand.
Design/methodology/approach
This quantitative study aims to fill this gap by assessing how information quality shapes strategic decision-making practices, impacting construction organizations’ performance. Analysing 102 viable responses through partial least squares structural equation modeling structural equation modelling offers partial support to the research framework.
Findings
The study used statistical analysis to gauge the impact of adopting strategic management practices on construction business performance, considering the mediation of the quality of information within New Zealand’s context. It affirmed a positive correlation between strategic decision-making management and construction business performance, underpinned by the mediation of quality of information.
Practical implications
This study underscores the critical role of information quality in evaluating strategic decisions for bolstering construction business performance. In essence, it affirms that enhancing the performance of construction organizations via strategic decision-making is intrinsically linked to the quality of information.
Originality/value
This study makes a noteworthy contribution by establishing connections between decision importance, process effectiveness, information quality, intuition in decision-making and model development, providing valuable insights to the field.
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Zhen Zhang and Min Min
New product development (NPD) projects are strategically important for firms’ operations but suffer from high failure rates. Leadership is a key factor for project success…
Abstract
Purpose
New product development (NPD) projects are strategically important for firms’ operations but suffer from high failure rates. Leadership is a key factor for project success. However, in contrast to positive project leadership, project managers’ knowledge hiding has received little attention. Drawing on the input-mediator-output (IMO) framework and model of work team resilience, we explored the effect of project managers’ destructive knowledge hiding (i.e. evasive hiding and playing dumb) on project team performance (i.e. efficiency and effectiveness) and the serial indirect effect through team psychological safety and transactive memory systems.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted a time-lagged multiple-sourcing investigation of Chinese high-tech firms and tested the hypotheses using data collected from 105 NPD project teams.
Findings
Our findings demonstrated that project managers’ knowledge hiding negatively affects NPD project team performance and indirectly negatively affects transactive memory systems through team psychological safety. Moreover, project managers’ knowledge hiding exerts a negative indirect effect on team performance through team psychological safety and transactive memory systems in serial.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on operations management (OM) by broadening our understanding of the connection between project managers' destructive knowledge hiding and the failure of NPD projects. In providing such insight, it also offers practical guidance for overcoming team-level obstacles arising from project managers' knowledge hiding.
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Xusen Cheng, Shuang Zhang and Bo Yang
Information overload has become ubiquitous during a public health emergency. The research purpose is to examine the role of mixed emotions in the influence of perceived…
Abstract
Purpose
Information overload has become ubiquitous during a public health emergency. The research purpose is to examine the role of mixed emotions in the influence of perceived information overload on individuals’ information avoidance intention and the state of fear of missing out.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-methods approach was used in this study: a qualitative study of 182 semi-structured interviews and a quantitative study of 309 surveys.
Findings
The results show that perceived information overload negatively affects peace of mind and positively affects fatigue and fear. Emotions with a low activation level (peace of mind and fatigue) promote emotions with a high activation level (hope and fear), and peace of mind negatively influences fatigue. Additionally, peace of mind negatively affects information avoidance intention, while hope positively affects the state of fear of missing out. These two information processing outcomes are positively impacted by fatigue and fear.
Originality/value
This study extends existing knowledge by uncovering the underlying influence of mixed emotions on individuals’ different information processing outcomes caused by perceived information overload. It provides practical insights for online media platforms and Internet users regarding how to process overwhelming information during a public health emergency.
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