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1 – 10 of 746Chen Hai-Ming, Lan Li-Chi, Chiu Tao-Sheng and Fang Chen-Ling
This paper aims to explore the impact of corporate social responsibility and hypocrisy on the relationship among psychological contract violation, trust and perceived betrayal.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the impact of corporate social responsibility and hypocrisy on the relationship among psychological contract violation, trust and perceived betrayal.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used purposive sampling and selected students in Taiwan as the research participants. The theory of psychological contract violation and consumer awareness process in violation hypocrisy on psychological contract violation were used to investigate the effect of its impact on trust and perceived betrayal. Then, the moderating effect of social responsibility and hypocritical on trust, and the mediating effect of trust between psychological contract violation and perceived betrayal were analyzed.
Findings
The results indicated that hypocrisy had a significant and negative impact on psychological contract violation toward trust; hypocrisy had a significantly positive impact on psychological contract violation toward perceived betrayal; trust had a significantly negative impact on perceived betrayal; perceived betrayal had a significantly positive impact on both direct and indirect revenges; trust had a mediating effect between hypocrisy toward psychological contract violation and perceived betrayal; and higher hypocrisy would produce a stronger effect through trust on the relationships between hypocrisy toward psychological contract violation and perceived betrayal.
Originality/value
Perception of consumers would differ whenever there were failures of service recovery occurred; especially, stronger betrayal feeling would be perceived with the companies who emphasized social responsibility and did not carry out what they should do. Research results could be references for companies whom advertising and praising social responsibility.
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Ling Fang, Zhen Lu and Linyin Dong
Corporate travel represents a significant source of revenue for the tourism industry. Therefore, the quality of service is essential for maintaining and expanding corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate travel represents a significant source of revenue for the tourism industry. Therefore, the quality of service is essential for maintaining and expanding corporate cliental bases. Despite the importance, the extant literature has yet sufficiently examined corporate travel service quality (SQ) and its impact. To make up for the drawback, this study aims to differentiate the impact of SQ perceptions on customer satisfaction between the online and off-line contexts through an empirical investigation in one of the top five corporate travel agencies in North America.
Design/methodology/approach
The well-established SERVQUAL measurement is applied in differentiating the impact of SQ dimensions between the online and off-line context. To empirically test the proposed corporate travel agency (CTA) SQ conceptual model, a set of survey data of “Welcome Back Survey” from HRG (a top five CTA in North America) was examined.
Findings
The study finds that for online services, assurance, responsiveness and empathy affect perceived SQ, whereas for off-line services, assurance, empathy and tangible are the three dimensions of perceived SQ.
Research limitations/implications
By relying on the existing survey, the off-line context has one less dimension than the online context. Yet as an early effort in differentiating the differences in the impact of SQ between two service contexts, the study offers insightful findings.
Practical implications
The findings will be helpful for business managers of CTAs to identify the factors that influence SQ in both online booking and off-line booking context. In particular, assurance and empathy are two dimensions that exert a significant impact on customer satisfaction.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to compare the differences of the SQ of online and off-line corporate travel.
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Neil Richardson and Ruth M. Gosnay
This paper reflects on antecedents that may cause academic fields to decline or stagnate. It uses a hermeneutic review to consolidate and critique the Internal Marketing (IM…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reflects on antecedents that may cause academic fields to decline or stagnate. It uses a hermeneutic review to consolidate and critique the Internal Marketing (IM) field. Seminal studies of IM and its related construct Internal Marketing orientation (IMO) are identified. IMO is then juxtaposed with contemporary studies from a communications journal identified as core as part of the hermeneutic process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study critiques the IMO literature in a hermeneutic review. It draws on the auto-ethnographic tradition to compare IMO with contemporary, related communications articles.
Findings
Two antecedents are addressed. There is interest in IM but less so in IMO. Aspects from the IMO literature align with two broad areas, namely customer-centric and company-centric communications. Some IMO aspects have been developed further therein.
Research limitations/implications
This paper recognizes further research opportunities for IMO and communications scholars with a greater focus on boundary spanning employees in national, sectoral and organizational settings. Being conceptual means it lacks empirical testing; being hermeneutic means it contributes to methodological plurality.
Practical implications
Despite having potentially profound organizational effects, IMO lacks awareness and adoption. Recommendations are made throughout to facilitate the adoption of improved communications apropos improving IMO.
Social implications
The paper identifies employee/employer benefits of adopting good internal communications (IC). IM(O) provides a rationale for sound IC practices.
Originality/value
This paper partially addresses the paucity of research into IMO including BSEs. It improves conceptualization by consolidating the key IMO research on the development and measurement of the construct, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses within the literature.
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Spiros Gounaris, George Chryssochoidis and Achilleas Boukis
This paper reports on the impact of perceived resource adequacy (PRA) and competence (PRC) on new service development (NSD) teams’ internal performance (IP). This study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reports on the impact of perceived resource adequacy (PRA) and competence (PRC) on new service development (NSD) teams’ internal performance (IP). This study aims to explore the indirect effect of internal market orientation (IMO) adoption, as a dynamic capability, on both PRA and PRC through the shaping of the emerging dynamics within NSD teams.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a hierarchical research design, the authors use a meso-theory approach to test a path-analytic framework against 116 NSD managers (offering data at the macro- or organisational level) and 543 NSD team members (offering data at the micro- or team level).
Findings
Both PRA and PRC are important in explaining NSD teams’ IP at the organisational level, though their explanatory power varies. The adoption of IMO is also an important antecedent to this factor through the (indirect) effect on the team climate and degree of integration.
Research limitations/implications
IMO is an important dynamic capability that allows management to transform the mindset of employees, even if they do not directly interact with customers. In NSD efforts, this reflects on the team’s perceptions of the adequacy of the resources they have to deliver the project through the managerial interventions at the team level, which (mainly) explains the team’s IP.
Practical implications
Adopting an IMO allows the development of a dynamic capability that carries wider benefits for the service organisation, as this has positive implications not just for frontline employees. Specifically, NSD efforts are likely to become more resource-efficient as a result of IMO adoption because of the interventions of management during the development effort.
Originality/value
This empirical study is the first to test the impact of IMO adoption as a dynamic capability and in a context other than frontline employees from a meso-theory perspective. This allows considering the different effects at the appropriate levels (macro and micro), thus enabling a more accurate definition of the mechanism through which companies benefit from IMO adoption.
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Fang‐Ling Lin and Guey‐Fa Chiou
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the sets of relationships, both physical and virtual, on which school technology coordinators (STCs) rely in exchanging problem‐solving…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the sets of relationships, both physical and virtual, on which school technology coordinators (STCs) rely in exchanging problem‐solving knowledge. Using prestige as an indicator of knowledge exchange across school boundaries, a model of relational variables was constructed from social networks to explain the characteristics of personal knowledge exchange in STC communities.
Design/methodology/approach
The analytical model designed for this research was based on social network theory. Egocentric interviews were conducted to collect relational data on knowledge exchange among STCs. Path analysis was applied to examine associations among relational variables.
Findings
Prestigious STCs engage more in contributing knowledge to online communities of related competency than to STCs at other schools. They do not expend as much effort helping other STCs and only reciprocate within a smaller group from whom they have received advice. Online knowledge contributions have mediation effects for STCs with limited personal networks in becoming prestigious.
Originality/value
Few studies have evaluated the sets of relationships on which teachers rely, to solve problems, and few empirical studies have focused on the features of personal knowledge exchange in a loosely coupled community of practice. This study uses prestige rather than job evaluations as an indicator for knowledge‐intensive workers to examine the knowledge‐exchange characteristics and demonstrate applicability to studies of communities of practice. The results also reveal deficiencies of knowledge dissemination in STC communities. These findings are relevant for studies of the information and communication technology practices of other professionals.
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Xingwen Wu, Zhenxian Zhang, Wubin Cai, Ningrui Yang, Xuesong Jin, Ping Wang, Zefeng Wen, Maoru Chi, Shuling Liang and Yunhua Huang
This review aims to give a critical view of the wheel/rail high frequency vibration-induced vibration fatigue in railway bogie.
Abstract
Purpose
This review aims to give a critical view of the wheel/rail high frequency vibration-induced vibration fatigue in railway bogie.
Design/methodology/approach
Vibration fatigue of railway bogie arising from the wheel/rail high frequency vibration has become the main concern of railway operators. Previous reviews usually focused on the formation mechanism of wheel/rail high frequency vibration. This paper thus gives a critical review of the vibration fatigue of railway bogie owing to the short-pitch irregularities-induced high frequency vibration, including a brief introduction of short-pitch irregularities, associated high frequency vibration in railway bogie, typical vibration fatigue failure cases of railway bogie and methodologies used for the assessment of vibration fatigue and research gaps.
Findings
The results showed that the resulting excitation frequencies of short-pitch irregularity vary substantially due to different track types and formation mechanisms. The axle box-mounted components are much more vulnerable to vibration fatigue compared with other components. The wheel polygonal wear and rail corrugation-induced high frequency vibration is the main driving force of fatigue failure, and the fatigue crack usually initiates from the defect of the weld seam. Vibration spectrum for attachments of railway bogie defined in the standard underestimates the vibration level arising from the short-pitch irregularities. The current investigations on vibration fatigue mainly focus on the methods to improve the accuracy of fatigue damage assessment, and a systematical design method for vibration fatigue remains a huge gap to improve the survival probability when the rail vehicle is subjected to vibration fatigue.
Originality/value
The research can facilitate the development of a new methodology to improve the fatigue life of railway vehicles when subjected to wheel/rail high frequency vibration.
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Mir Elyad Vakhshouri and Burhan Çuhadaroğlu
The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of uniform injection and suction through a perforated pentagonal cylinder on the flow field and heat transfer.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of uniform injection and suction through a perforated pentagonal cylinder on the flow field and heat transfer.
Design/methodology/approach
The finite-volume method has been used to solve the ensemble-averaged Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible flow at moderate Reynolds number (Re = 22,000) with the k-ɛ turbulence model equations.
Findings
A computational fluid dynamics analysis of turbulent flow past a non-regular pentagonal cylinder with three different aspect ratios aspect ratios has been carried out to investigate the effects of uniform injection/suction through the front and all surfaces of the cylinder. It is found that flow field parameters such as drag coefficient, pressure coefficient and Nusselt number are affected considerably in some cases depend on injection/suction rate (Γ) and perforated wall position.
Research limitations/implications
To optimize the efficiency of the injection and suction through a perforated surface, both wide-ranging and intensive further studies are required. Using various perforation ratios and injection/suction intensities are some possibilities.
Practical implications
Control of the vortex shedding and wake region behind bluff bodies is of vital interest in fluid dynamics. Therefore, applying uniform injection and suction from a perforated bluff body into the main flow can be used as a drag reduction mechanism, thermal protection and heat transfer enhancement.
Originality/value
This study provides unique insights into the active flow control method around pentagonal cylinders that can be useful for researchers in the field of fluid dynamics and aeronautics.
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Hong Lu, Wenquan Ling, Yuju Wu and Yi Liu
The purpose of this paper is to explore the fundamental content and structure of destructive leadership within the Chinese cultural context, through surveys of employees in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the fundamental content and structure of destructive leadership within the Chinese cultural context, through surveys of employees in Chinese organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Methodologies such as documentary analysis, interview and survey were used in the study, and surveys were conducted on over 1,300 employees from Beijing, Shanghai and other cities in Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces. Then the content and structure of destructive leadership perceived by Chinese employees were examined using multiple statistical techniques including EFA (exploratory factor analysis) and CFA (confirmatory factor analysis).
Findings
The results of the survey showed that destructive leadership in Chinese organizations consists of four factors: corruption, excoriation of subordinates, abuse of subordinates and the loss of professional morality. The authors then compared the structure with relevant Western research findings and revealed their similarities and differences.
Practical implications
The structure of Chinese destructive leadership not only reflects the characteristics of Chinese culture, but also reflects the characteristics of current Chinese organizational management, which have practical implications for identifying management problems in Chinese organizations and improving workplace leadership behavior.
Originality/value
This is the first paper of its kind in mainland China to empirically explore the theoretical model of destructive leadership within the context of Chinese culture, which will facilitate future research by offering a theoretical basis and research instrument.
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Qiaozhuan Liang, Yao Meng, Shuxiang Li and Bo Yuan
The purpose of this paper is to track the changes of leadership attributes during the process of social development from 1998 to 2008 in China, and then to explore whether the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to track the changes of leadership attributes during the process of social development from 1998 to 2008 in China, and then to explore whether the significant events have potential impacts on the changes of leadership attributes during this time.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted two studies through qualitative approach, based on data collected from Chinese official newspapers (People's Daily and Guangming Daily) covering 216 stories (90 stories in Study 1 and 126 stories in Study 2). The first study focuses on comparing the leadership attributes in 2008 with those in 1998 and 1988 presented in previous research to find out the changes. In the second study, the most significant events are selected during the period of 1998‐2008 and their effects on the changes of leadership attributes are examined.
Findings
The findings show that leadership attributes changed during the ten years and some new attributes are advocated in China. Furthermore, the changes of leadership attributes, especially for non‐business leaders, relate to the occurrence of significant events and reflect the changes of government policies.
Originality/value
Although some literature has explored leadership attributes in China, this study contributes to the extant research in two ways. First, it promotes the use of existing documents as data sources of longitudinal study to track the changes of leadership attributes. Second, it advances the line of inquiry of leadership attributes in China by concentrating on the factors driving those changes.
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The purpose of this paper is to introduce a robot mechanism designed for power transmission line inspection. The focus for this design is on obstacle-crossing ability with a goal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a robot mechanism designed for power transmission line inspection. The focus for this design is on obstacle-crossing ability with a goal to create a robot moving and crossing obstacle on not only the straight line but also the steering line.
Design/methodology/approach
A novel four-unit tri-arm serial robot mechanism is proposed. Every novel unit designed for pitching motion is based on parallelogram structure, which is driven by cables and only one motor. There is gripper-wheel compounding mechanism mounted on the arm. The prototype and obstacle environments are established, and the obstacle-crossing experiments are conducted.
Findings
The novel unit mechanism and robot prototype have been tested in the lab. The prototype has demonstrated the obstacle-crossing ability when moving and crossing fundamental obstacles on the line. The experimental results show that the robot mechanism meets the obstacle-crossing requirements.
Practical implications
The novel robot technology can be used for defect inspection of power transmission line by power companies.
Social implications
It stands to lower the intense and risk of inspection works and reduce the costs related to inspection.
Originality/value
Innovative features include its architecture, mobility and driving method.
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