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The main purpose of this chapter is to analyze the relationship between service innovation and experience creation in the context of spas, wellness and medical tourism. The objectives include providing an overview of service innovation theory and models and applying them to the spa, wellness and medical tourism sectors.

Primary research was undertaken with the purpose of identifying the most important elements in the experiences of spa and wellness guests and tourists. An online questionnaire was collected from 17 different types of spa and wellness facilities from 56 countries including all kinds of spa, wellness hotels, and retreats. Information given was based on three major demand segments: local customers, domestic tourists, and international tourists. A case study is also given of Pärnu hospital in Estonia, where innovative practices are being implemented to enhance the patient experience.

Findings suggested that some aspects of innovation (e.g., design and technology) are not as important as expected, but evidence-based treatments, medical services, and natural and local resources are.

The research gives important insights into customer preferences and current and future trends; however, the research only focused on operator rather than consumer perspectives. This would require further research.

The research findings provide useful information to operators who are trying to create innovative, unique, and competitive customer services.

Existing service innovation models are applied to new sectors (spa, wellness and medical tourism) and new insights are given into how these sectors can increase innovation and enhance customer experiences.

Libraries can be seen as the collective identity of its employees engaged in providing a myriad of services to a community of patrons. Libraries can also exist in virtual settings, defined with descriptive parameters, described by a wider user group external to the library environment. The diverse nature of what constitutes libraries is illustrated by researchers, such as Marino and Lapintie (2015), who use the term “meta-meeting place” when describing its environs. Whatever model is used to describe contemporary libraries, the library environment usually has numerous needs and demands coming from a variety of stakeholders, from administrators to patrons. This chapter examines how we, as librarians, with users, co-construct library as both space and place.

We used a theoretical framework (social constructionism) to show how library identity is established by its users in the space planning process to address their needs and expectations and provided a case study of the main library at the University of South Florida.

We found that libraries are reflective of the vision and values of a diverse community and the social-political milieu in which they are housed. Librarians used a number of innovative methods and frames to create best/evidence-based practice approaches in space planning, re-envisioning library functions, and conducting outcomes/programmatic assessment. For librarians to create that sense of place and space for our users requires effective and open conversations and examination of our own inherent (and often unacknowledged) contradictions as to what libraries are or should be as enduring structures with evolving uses and changing users. For example, only a few of the studies focused on the spatial use and feel of libraries using new technologies or methodologies, such as social network analysis, discourse analysis, or GPS, to map the use of physical and virtual space.

First, new ways of working and engaging require reexamination of assessment and evaluation procedures and processes. To accomplish this, we must develop a more effective culture of assessment and to use innovative evaluation measures to determine use, user paths, and formal and informal groupings. Changes that affect patron and staff perceptions of library as place/third space may be difficult to assess using quantitative surveys, such as LibQual, that may not provide an opportunity for respondents to provide specifics of what “place” means to them. Second, it is important to have effective communication among all members of the library (patrons, library staff, and university administration) so that we design spaces/places that enhance the relationships among users, technology, pedagogy, and learning spaces, not just the latest “thing” in the literature.

This value of this review is to provide a social constructionist perspective (frame) on how we plan library space. This approach provides opportunities to truly engage our patrons and administration in the co-construction of what “our library” should be since it provides insight to group, place, and social dynamics.

Surging global natural disasters provide incentive for risk-reducing policies and strategies. In this light, the African Union (AU) engaged a multi-stakeholder policy formulation process between 2002 and 2006, to develop a continent-wide disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategy. Drawing from secondary data, this chapter assesses the process and applies qualitative analysis instruments to critically assess the AU’s disaster policy. Linkages to the 2005 international Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) are also highlighted. The analysis reveals that Africa’s policy formulation process was belated for over a decade, with respect to international expectations. The formulation process was however largely African owned and led, culminating in a strategy document that reflected African contextual reality at the time, and aligned well with HFA fundamental goals. The applied multi-stakeholder approach enhanced a spirit of participation across levels and was central to the largely successful policy formulation process. However, targeted policy outcomes were not explicit, and poorly formulated indicators marred short- and long-term policy evaluation. Based on these results, we conclude that the African-wide DRR policy formulation processes were belated but participatory, systematic and very successful. Belated policy formulation reflects an initial inertia on the African continent, justified by past negative policy experiences and the desire to succeed. A replication of this policy formulation approach in Africa is recommended, albeit exercising more caution on policy timing, the elaboration of better monitoring and evaluation instruments and criteria. Participation should further embrace modern, risk-free (anti-COVID-19-friendly) information and communication technologies.

Marketing academics and practitioners have acknowledged that consumers form specific relationships with brands that are able to create unique and memorable qualities. As a result, the concept of consumer–brand relationship has been of great interest for marketers. Indeed, consumer–brand relationships are very complex and multidimensional in nature. A common perception is that brand management should create ultimate offerings and communication to have successful relationships with its consumer base. However, how consumers construe their relationships with brands is mostly out of the brands’ control. It is an emotion-intense realm and necessitates careful study of the consumers as well as the context. After summarising the current literature on brand relationships, we focus on Turkish consumers’ relationships with brands.

By focussing on a range of global and local brand studies, this chapter offers a comprehensive and well-informed analysis of the issues and practices involved in consumer–brand relationships in the Turkish context. The chapter is organised into three parts. The first part focusses on antecedents of consumer–brand relationships such as the global or local identity of the brand and brand personality. The second part presents detailed explorations of various brand relationships such as brand love and brand trust. The third and the final part focusses on an important phenomenon, the stage for various brand relationships, being online brand communities. The chapter concludes with the future research directions in these three main areas together with a discussion of offline and online branding opportunities in the Turkish market.

While tourism is mostly considered a crucial driver for local development, its impact in terms of sustainability and attractiveness of local destinations must also be taken into account. This is especially true for small islands, where tourism may determine detrimental effects in the long term to the limited space and resources. The “sustainable tourism” approach considers this phenomenon and proposes possible solutions to problems such as the loss of public space, waste management, energy and water over-consumption, traffic congestion, air, water, and visual pollution. This chapter presents and discusses the results of a survey that has been carried out in Ischia, a small Mediterranean island located in the Gulf of Naples in order to explore the propensity toward sustainable mobility of both tourists and residents. In particular, the mobility patterns of the respondents have been deeply investigated both at home (domestic behavior) and on holiday (tourist behavior). The results suggest that the promotion of a higher level of cooperation among different stakeholders and local governments is of paramount importance in order to achieve sustainable tourism on islands. This may also generate important effects in terms of destination attractiveness.

This chapter provides a detailed review of the Analysis capability. The authors draw from several disciplines to provide a definition and characterization of analysis suited to intelligence work. This chapter distinguishes clearly between analysis as a capability and analytics as a tool or a method. The distinction is essential for seeing and leveraging all of the activities involved in analysis, including Blueprint Interpretation, Analytical Method Selection, Model Construction, Source Collection, Source Organization, Source Curation & Cleaning, Testing, Interpretation, Results Assessment, and Model Documentation & Formalization. The chapter highlights the importance of analyzing the whole landscape, seeing all factors, and thinking strategically. This chapter also includes business stories and scenarios from the real world.

We examine market response to changes in the annual “Dogs of the Dow” (DOD) portfolio. Specifically, we explore stock prices and trading volumes of the Dow stocks that are newly included into or excluded from the DOD portfolio. Although the historical performance of this popular dividend-driven investment strategy is subject to debate, our study focuses on investigating Harris and Gurel’s (1986) “noninformation-motivated demand shifts” in the sample of DOD additions and deletions. Utilizing standard event study methodology over the period 1996–2016, we find evidence that a Dow stock experiences a significant but temporary increase (decrease) in price when it is newly included into (excluded from) the DOD portfolio. Price reversals occur within one week of the reconstitutions. We also find that trading volumes temporarily increase following both index additions and deletions. The results support the price-pressure hypothesis as the DOD reconstitutions do not generally convey new information.

In this chapter, the authors will examine turnover in Turkey. In the first section, the authors will briefly describe the legal, institutional, and cultural context with a particular emphasis on their implications for employment conditions and turnover in Turkey. In the second section, the authors will review the academic literature on turnover that originated from Turkey. The authors divide the reviewed studies into two groups: generalizability studies, which are primarily replications of the mainstream literature with no focus on any specific characteristics of Turkey, and contextual studies, which emphasized the role of the economic, legal, or cultural background in formulating or interpreting their research. In the final section, the authors will discuss the findings of the review vis-á-vis the mainstream literature as well as practical implications and conclude with potential future research directions in the Turkish context.