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1 – 10 of over 1000Diwakar KC, Robin E. Roberts and Sara Quach
Despite the availability of new buyers and the possibility to receive higher prices, still large numbers of smallholder farmers do not participate in the modern supply chains…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the availability of new buyers and the possibility to receive higher prices, still large numbers of smallholder farmers do not participate in the modern supply chains. This study aims to understand the factors that affect smallholder farmers' participation in a newly emerging modern supply chain context.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 6 focus groups of farmers (67 farmers in total) and 14 interviews with market actors and key informants such as government officials and donor organisations.
Findings
Influential factors of farmers' participation in the modern chain include buyer attributes and transaction conditions. High prices and prompt payment are the key motivators, with the main inhibitors being personal relationships with buyers and strict market requirements related to quality and quantity supplied.
Practical implications
In order to encourage smallholder farmer participation in modern chains, an expansion of the marketing of high-quality vegetables by implementing quality control mechanisms and the encouragement to adopt safe marketing practices is needed. These results are particularly relevant for practitioners and policymakers.
Originality/value
Most research to date concentrates on farmers' socioeconomic characteristics and are based in countries with advanced modern chains, and rarely focus on farmer participation in countries where modern chains are relatively new. This study addresses this gap by analysing farmer preferences to engage in the context of a country experiencing the emergence of trade through modern vegetable supply chain system.
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Jo Nadkarni, David J. Blakelock, Alok Jha, Paul Tiffin and Faye Sullivan
The first NHS forensic low secure unit for adolescents, the Westwood centre, opened in 2004. This paper seeks to focus on service utilisation and initial outcomes for the young…
Abstract
Purpose
The first NHS forensic low secure unit for adolescents, the Westwood centre, opened in 2004. This paper seeks to focus on service utilisation and initial outcomes for the young people admitted in the first 45 months compared with young people accessing a neighbouring open adolescent unit.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to understand service utilisation and initial outcomes, the clinical profiles of young people admitted in the first 45 months were evaluated. This included demographics, locality, admission status, length of stay, medication use, presenting problem, diagnosis, previous and discharge destination. The profiles of young people accessing the low secure unit were then compared with young people accessing a neighbouring open adolescent unit. Clinical profiles were ascertained from available healthcare records and service data. These were inspected and analysed using descriptive statistics.
Findings
Thirty (54 per cent) of the 56 Westwood young people were male, the mean age at admission was 16.3 years and mean length of stay was 202 days. Twenty‐five (44 per cent) young people had a discharge diagnosis related to psychosis, the remainder having primary problems relating to emotional and/or conduct problems. 26 (47 per cent) were discharged to another hospital setting and 20 (35 per cent) returned to their home of origin. Young people accessing the low secure unit were significantly older at admission and there was a trend for a higher proportion of females to be admitted to the open setting. In addition, the low secure unit had a greater proportion of young people with psychotic disorders and longer lengths of stay. Case examples illustrate a pilot of initial outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
There were time differences in comparison of low secure and open unit and retrospective use of health care records.
Practical implications
Clinical profiling is useful as a basis to consider clinical outcomes, pathways, utilization of a service, service/training needs and development. Comparisons between inpatient units provide further evidence to the areas above and help dispel myths that may otherwise guide decisions, e.g. about which diagnoses or gender affecting length of stay. Most young people progress positively from the low secure service onto open or community settings. Improving future outcomes for young people include such as through diversion from custody, length of admission, reduced symptoms/risks and planned progress to suitable community placements or home.
Originality/value
The paper provides a clinical profile of young people accessing a low secure setting in comparison to an open unit. This has relevance to other secure and inpatient adolescent units and is important in considering pathways and outcomes.
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Diana Traikova, Judith Möllers and Gertrud Buchenrieder
This chapter takes a qualitative snapshot of rural entrepreneurs in Bulgaria. The aim is to shed light on the formation of non-farm start-up intentions in rural post-communism…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter takes a qualitative snapshot of rural entrepreneurs in Bulgaria. The aim is to shed light on the formation of non-farm start-up intentions in rural post-communism communities.
Methodology
A qualitative ethnographical methodological approach centred on a theoretical framework, based on Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour. Primary survey data are drawn from the village of Kostandovo, in the Pazardjik region of Bulgaria.
Findings
A holistic perspective reveals entrepreneurship to be just one facet of complex rural livelihood strategies. Distrust in formal institutions by rural entrepreneurs dominates the Bulgarian business climate. A culture of informality in business is accompanied by widely accepted corruption. Crucial factors affecting the start-up decision in post-communist economies are social capital, a lack of experience of the entrepreneurs, and by public administrators.
Practical implications
The presented evidence highlights different dimensions of the theoretical constructs. Future research could focus on the impact of inefficient/corrupt institutions on the decisions of potential rural entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
By coupling universally applicable intention predicting theory with unique ethnographic evidence, the chapter gives a face of the otherwise abstract entrepreneurial agents. The perceptual perspective tackles the most relevant start-up aspects of the post-communist context, providing insights applicable beyond the case country.
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Elena Bonel, Paolo Pellizzari and Elena Rocco
The concept of coopetition is founded on the complementarity‐based nature of this strategy. However, coopetition research has devoted relatively little attention to…
Abstract
The concept of coopetition is founded on the complementarity‐based nature of this strategy. However, coopetition research has devoted relatively little attention to complementarity issues and their impact on coopetition results. By bridging the coopetition and economics of complementarities research fields, we develop a model representing a classical optimization problem in complementarities as applied to coopetition in order to evaluate potential risks deriving at an operational level from implementing a coopetition strategy. The model we develop is a situated one and is based on empirical data from a longitudinal case study of coopetition in the mineral water and soft drinks industry. The results highlight a potential risk of coopetition strategies – namely, thresholds effects – as well as the associated risks a wrong understanding of complementarities in a coopetition setting may entail.
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Rotating flows are very important because they are found in industrial and domestic applications. For a good performance, it is important to dimension correctly the energy…
Abstract
Purpose
Rotating flows are very important because they are found in industrial and domestic applications. For a good performance, it is important to dimension correctly the energy efficiency and the lifespan of the apparatuses while studying, for example, the influence of their physical and geometrical characteristics on the various hydrodynamic constraints, thermal and mechanics which they will support. The purpose of this paper is to describe experiments and a numerical study of the inter‐disc space effects on the mean and the turbulent characteristics of a Von Karman isotherm steady flow between counter‐rotating disks.
Design/methodology/approach
Experimental results are obtained by the laser Doppler anemometer technique performed at IRPHE (Institute of Research on the Phenomena out Equilibrium) in Marseille, France. The numerical predictions are based on one‐point statistical modeling using a low Reynolds number second‐order full stress transport closure (RSM model).
Findings
It was found that the level of radial velocity increases with the aspect ratio near to the axis of rotation but this phenomenon is reversed far from this zone; the level of tangential velocity, of turbulence kinetic energy and of the torsion are definitely higher for the largest aspect ratio. The best contribution of this work is, at the same time, the new experimental and numerical database giving the effect of the aspect ratio of the cavity on the intensity of turbulence for Von Karman flow between two counter rotating disks.
Research limitations/implications
The limitation of this work is that it concerns rotating flows with very high speeds because the phenomena of instability appear and the application of this model for cavities of forms is not obvious.
Practical implications
This work is of technological interest; it can be exploited by industrialists to optimize the operation of certain machines using this kind of flow. It can be exploited in the teaching of certain units of Masters courses: gathering experimental techniques; numerical methods; and theoretical knowledge.
Social implications
This work can also have a social interest where this kind of simulation can be generalized with other types of flows responsible for certain phenomena of society, such as the phenomenon of pollution. This work can have a direct impact on everyday life by the exploitation of the rotary flows, such as being a very clean and very economic means to separate the undesirable components present in certain fluid effluents.
Originality/value
The best contribution of this work is the new experimental and numerical database giving the effect of the aspect ratio of the cavity on the intensity of turbulence for Von Karman flow between two counter rotating disks.
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Elena Stefana, Paola Cocca, Federico Fantori, Filippo Marciano and Alessandro Marini
This paper aims to overcome the inability of both comparing loss costs and accounting for production resource losses of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)-related approaches.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to overcome the inability of both comparing loss costs and accounting for production resource losses of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)-related approaches.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a literature review about the studies focusing on approaches combining OEE with monetary units and/or resource issues. The authors developed an approach based on Overall Equipment Cost Loss (OECL), introducing a component for the production resource consumption of a machine. A real case study about a smart multicenter three-spindle machine is used to test the applicability of the approach.
Findings
The paper proposes Resource Overall Equipment Cost Loss (ROECL), i.e. a new KPI expressed in monetary units that represents the total cost of losses (including production resource ones) caused by inefficiencies and deviations of the machine or equipment from its optimal operating status occurring over a specific time period. ROECL enables to quantify the variation of the product cost occurring when a machine or equipment changes its health status and to determine the actual product cost for a given production order. In the analysed case study, the most critical production orders showed an actual production cost about 60% higher than the minimal cost possible under the most efficient operating conditions.
Originality/value
The proposed approach may support both production and cost accounting managers during the identification of areas requiring attention and representing opportunities for improvement in terms of availability, performance, quality, and resource losses.
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Johannes C. Bauer, Marc Linzmajer, Liane Nagengast, Thomas Rudolph and Elena D'Cruz
Many marketplace examples suggest that using gamification in the online retail shopping context boosts sales and positively affects customer loyalty. Nevertheless, more research…
Abstract
Purpose
Many marketplace examples suggest that using gamification in the online retail shopping context boosts sales and positively affects customer loyalty. Nevertheless, more research is needed to understand the effects of digital games on consumer behavior and their underlying psychological mechanisms. Therefore, this article explores how combining games and monetary rewards impacts customer satisfaction, loyalty and word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
To test our hypotheses, we designed two online laboratory experiments to stimulate an online shopping situation, as gamification in online retailing has the potential to affect an important set of outcomes for service firms throughout the consumer decision process (Hofacker et al., 2016).
Findings
The results of two lab experiments demonstrate that playing a shopping-related game without monetary participation incentive positively influences all three relational outcomes because games enhance consumers' enjoyment of the overall shopping experience. However, our findings also show that monetary rewards used to incentivize game participation diminish these effects. Gamification loses its positive effects if games are combined with monetary rewards, as consumers no longer play games to derive inherent enjoyment, but rather the extrinsic motivation of receiving a discount. We draw managerial implications about how gamification effectively and profitably fosters strong customer relationships and thus increases customer lifetime value and equity.
Research limitations/implications
This research is the first to investigate the combined effects of gamification and price discounts that require consumers to play the game in order to receive the discount. Focusing on an online shopping context, this article contributes to research on motivation by providing new and more nuanced insights into the psychological process underlying the gamification effects on consumer' long-term attitudes (i.e. satisfaction) and relational behaviors (i.e. positive WOM and loyalty) toward a retailer.
Practical implications
Based on our findings, we provide recommendations for marketers that explain how gamification can be a profitable and efficient tool to foster strong customer relationships. Retail managers should use gamification as a less costly alternative to typical price discounts.
Originality/value
Two laboratory experiments investigate how the separate and combined use of games and price discounts affects consumers' satisfaction, positive WOM intentions and loyalty. Playing a shopping-related game increases satisfaction with the retailer and positive WOM intentions as well as loyalty. Monetary rewards used to incentivize game participation eliminate the positive effects of gamification.
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Chiara Bertolin and Elena Sesana
The overall objective of this study is envisaged to provide decision makers with actionable insights and access to multi-risk maps for the most in-danger stave churches (SCs…
Abstract
Purpose
The overall objective of this study is envisaged to provide decision makers with actionable insights and access to multi-risk maps for the most in-danger stave churches (SCs) among the existing 28 churches at high spatial resolution to better understand, reduce and mitigate single- and multi-risk. In addition, the present contribution aims to provide decision makers with some information to face the exacerbation of the risk caused by the expected climate change.
Design/methodology/approach
Material and data collection started with the consultation of the available literature related to: (1) SCs' conservation status, (2) available methodologies suitable in multi-hazard approach and (3) vulnerability leading indicators to consider when dealing with the impact of natural hazards specifically on immovable cultural heritage.
Findings
The paper contributes to a better understanding of place-based vulnerability with local mapping dimension also considering future threats posed by climate change. The results highlight the danger at which the SCs of Røldal, in case of floods, and of Ringebu, Torpo and Øye, in case of landslide, may face and stress the urgency of increasing awareness and preparedness on these potential hazards.
Originality/value
The contribution for the first time aims to homogeneously collect and report all together existing spread information on architectural features, conservation status and geographical attributes for the whole group of SCs by accompanying this information with as much as possible complete 2D sections collection from existing drawings and novel 3D drawn sketches created for this contribution. Then the paper contributes to a better understanding of place-based vulnerability with local mapping dimension also considering future threats posed by climate change. Then it highlights the danger of floods and landslides at which the 28 SCs are subjected. Finally it reports how these risks will change under the ongoing impact of climate change.
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