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1 – 9 of 9Walter Leal Filho, Katarina Larsen and Folke Snickars
This paper presents the main results of a research project looking at trends on environmental technology and environmental employment in Sweden. Entitled “FEESE” (Fostering…
Abstract
This paper presents the main results of a research project looking at trends on environmental technology and environmental employment in Sweden. Entitled “FEESE” (Fostering Employment in the Environment Sector in Europe), the project analysed provisions and needs in respect of environmental training among a sample of Swedish companies, which are outlined in this paper. Some recommendations which may be useful to Sweden, but which are also applicable to other industrialised countries, are also presented.
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Katarina Damjanov and David Crouch
Virtual reality technologies have given rise to a new breed of space travel, enabling touring of cosmic environments without leaving the Earth. These tours democratize…
Abstract
Virtual reality technologies have given rise to a new breed of space travel, enabling touring of cosmic environments without leaving the Earth. These tours democratize participation in space tourism and expand its itineraries – reproducing while also altering the practices of tourism itself. The chapter explores the ways in which they alter modes of establishing “authentic” tourism destinations and experiences, rendering outer space into a stage for the performance of space travel, while themselves facilitating novel avenues for its social organization and technological assertion. Virtual space tourism not only reflects the progression and metamorphoses in tourist practice and production but also has the potential to influence both the aspirations and prospects of our space futures.
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Liselot Hudders, Verolien Cauberghe, Tine Faseur and Katarina Panic
The current study examines the effectiveness of brand integrations in music videos by taking into account the impact of both brand placement characteristics (i.e., brand…
Abstract
Purpose
The current study examines the effectiveness of brand integrations in music videos by taking into account the impact of both brand placement characteristics (i.e., brand prominence, valence of artist–brand relationship) and audience characteristics (i.e., artist connectedness).
Methodology/approach
A 2 (prominence: prominent vs. subtle) by 2 (valence: positive vs. negative) by 2 (connectedness: high vs. low) between-subjects experimental design is used. Each respondent first watched one music video via YouTube in which one branded product was placed either prominently or subtly. To manipulate the valence of the artist–brand relationship respondents were instructed to read a magazine article that revealed either a positive or negative attitude of the artist toward the placed brand. Two hundred twenty young adults participated in this study.
Findings
This study shows that prominent placements appear to be beneficial for the attitude toward the integrated brand when an individual is strongly connected to the artist in the music video, while subtle placements are beneficial both when an individual is weakly or strongly connected to the artist. Further, negative celebrity-brand relationships do not seem to affect brand attitudes in a negative way.
Practical implications
Embedding the brand in a music video gives marketers and advertisers the chance to reach consumers in a new, creative way. But this study shows that the advertiser should pay attention to the way in which the brand is integrated. Further, negative celebrity information does not seem to affect brand attitudes in a negative way. This makes the music video a very interesting medium for advertisers.
Originality/value
The current study contributes to previous research on brand placement by investigating the effectiveness of brand placements in music videos and the role of artist connectedness. In addition, the study is original as it includes valence in the model.
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Public library issues are often described as being of low political priority. Yet circumstances differ for different communities; public library issues may receive varying…
Abstract
Purpose
Public library issues are often described as being of low political priority. Yet circumstances differ for different communities; public library issues may receive varying political attention. The purpose of this paper is to study how Swedish public library managers describe local politicians’ attention to public library issues and to identify which municipal circumstances, such as political organization, population, and finances, seem to matter for how local politicians’ attention is described.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data were collected through a web-based questionnaire sent to all public library managers in Sweden. To identify the described political attention, a content analysis was done. A multinominal logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the municipal circumstances that seem to matter for how political attention is described.
Findings
A small majority of public library managers described the local political attention as strong or quite strong. Three factors seem to matter for how the attention is described: political organization, existence of a library plan, and population size. In the discussion personal factors, such as the politicians’ personal interest and public library managers’ experience, are brought up as possibly being of considerable importance.
Originality/value
Several studies have been conducted on how politicians perceive public libraries; in these studies, the politicians are mainly treated as a unified group. This paper shows that the political approach to public library issues is described as different in different municipal circumstances.
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Katarina Hellén and Maria Sääksjärvi
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the formation of service perceptions in services that are stressful and unpleasant for customers, e.g. healthcare services. The authors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the formation of service perceptions in services that are stressful and unpleasant for customers, e.g. healthcare services. The authors set out to show that customers' happiness, here conceptualized as a stable perception of happiness one has towards one's life, predicts how customers manage adverse services.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a survey in a healthcare setting and analyzed the data with partial least square modeling.
Findings
The results show that happiness is indirectly linked, through mood, to perceived service quality, trust and service outcome. Thus, the results suggest that happy consumers are less vulnerable to distress in adverse services.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that, to enable service providers to offer adequate support in adverse service situations, service management would benefit from taking into account different customers' different levels of happiness. It is recommended that providers of adverse services segment their customer base according to the level of happiness and allocate resources to foster trust and expectations to less happy customers that would benefit from more support.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the service literature by providing an understanding of how service perceptions are formed in adverse service situations. As happiness is relatively stable across time and situations, this study also contributes to understanding the role of personality traits on evaluation.
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Katarina Lagerström, Roger Schweizer and Johan Jakobsson
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature discussing the internationalization of research and development (R&D) among multinational companies by proposing a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature discussing the internationalization of research and development (R&D) among multinational companies by proposing a process description to capture the development of local R&D capabilities in subsidiaries.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors build the conceptualization not only on the prevailing literature on resource management, subsidiary evolution and subsidiary initiatives, but also on empirical observations.
Findings
A process in four phases is distinguished to describe the evolution of R&D capabilities in subsidiaries: the identification of an opportunity in the host country that triggers the establishment of local R&D capabilities; the gathering of support – from the host country and from MNC internally – and resources; the bundling of the resources to build capabilities; and finally the leveraging of the capabilities.
Research limitations/implications
By offering a conceptualization of the process through which subsidiaries build R&D capabilities, the authors contribute to the literature on R&D internationalization that hitherto has neglected the central role played by subsidiaries and the fact that a subsidiary needs to develop and manage resources and capabilities to change its R&D related role and/or mandate within the MNC.
Originality/value
By providing a process perspective on MNCs internationalization of R&D focussing on the development and management of R&D capabilities at subsidiaries, the paper adds a more dynamic dimension to the previously rather static view on R&D internationalization.
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Jada Lindblom and Christine Vogt
This study aims to investigate the social and affective impacts of inviting residents of a socially divided, post-war city to “play tourist” for a day, exploring their own…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the social and affective impacts of inviting residents of a socially divided, post-war city to “play tourist” for a day, exploring their own backyards with a new intentionality and perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative research within a transformative worldview uses a creative, place-based approach of role-playing based upon principles of participatory action research.
Findings
While each tour was unique, participants’ insights reflected three common themes: shifts in observations and perceptions of place arising from the intentionality of the “tourist” lens, a sense of freedom created by the touristic research opportunity, and the varying abilities of tourism experiences to help build empathy or awareness in a post-conflict setting.
Originality/value
The inventive research approach allows for a unique examination of local tourism-styled explorations, a subject of growing interest that has largely been overlooked in literature, while paying special attention to ways in which a history of conflict may manifest in contemporary urban tourism experiences.
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