Search results
1 – 10 of 49Hervör Alma Árnadóttir and Martha María Einarsdóttir
Increased emphasis is being placed on developing creative approaches when working with children in research settings, especially with sensitive research topics like violence…
Abstract
Increased emphasis is being placed on developing creative approaches when working with children in research settings, especially with sensitive research topics like violence against children. Community art is a social form of art that gives artists the opportunity to work in collaboration with the public, with the aim of highlighting and addressing specific social issues. This chapter reflects on an art exhibition organised in Reykjavík called Wishes of Icelandic Children. The project was a collaboration between artists and children. The aim of the chapter is to present how an art exhibition may put violence that children experience into focus and encourage attendees to reflect on the subject by looking at descriptive pictures and texts from the Convention on the Rights of the Child and then writing comments about their thoughts and feelings. The research questions are: How do children express themselves about sensitive topics such as abuse and violence? Can community art enable professionals to better support increased participation of children in discussions about abuse and violence? This study involved a qualitative thematic analysis of comments written by children after having seen the exhibition. Three students took part in the analysis process as co-researchers. The exhibition was successful in creating a platform where children could express themselves on topics concerning abuse and violence. Many comments expressed an ardent desire to end violence in society, especially emphasising bullying, which can limit young people's capacity to feel safe and express themselves.
Details
Keywords
Daniel Tolstoy, Sara Melén Hånell and Nurgül Özbek
The purpose of this paper is to create a model that compares the effects of product content differentiation and service content differentiation on small- and medium-sized…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to create a model that compares the effects of product content differentiation and service content differentiation on small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) perceived importance of customer reference marketing in foreign markets.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical model is developed and tested through multiple regression and mediation analysis, on an effective sample of 188 Swedish SMEs.
Findings
The results show that foreign market business assignments characterized by differentiated services make companies relatively more dependent on relationship learning and customer reference marketing. By contrast, situations of differentiated product content correlate negatively with customer reference marketing.
Practical implications
Reference customers can function as vehicles for international expansion when marketing offerings are complex. The findings imply that in service settings, SMEs need to maintain learning regimes with foreign market customers to effectively use them as references to win new business.
Originality/value
The study applies a service perspective to explain the contingencies of customer reference marketing, particularly in international business settings. The study contributes to international small business literature and research focusing on service–firm internationalization by explaining the marketing mechanisms at play in the internationalization of SMEs. In so doing, the findings can enrich relationship and network perspectives of internationalization and add a missing link to studies on networking and internationalization.
Details
Keywords
Nida Gull, Muhammad Asghar, Qader Aleem Ahmed, Asim Rafique Muhammad, Ahmed Syed Jameel and Shan-e Ali
This study aims to extend the understanding of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) by investigating the international EO (IEO) from the perspective of the international performance…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to extend the understanding of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) by investigating the international EO (IEO) from the perspective of the international performance of born global firms. The born global firm's EOs toward global firms led to innovation and dynamic organizational capabilities and to improve the firms' international performance and development.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a hypothesis that IEO predicted that utilization of export promotion programs (EPPs) would be positively associated with international performance. The samples of 405 respondents were collected from born global firms to acquire higher international performance of firms in China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and mediation analysis are processed to test the proposed hypotheses empirically.
Findings
The results from the SEM test revealed that the network relationships and utilization of EPPs fully mediate the effect of IEO on international performance. These results indicate that not only IEO is an important factor of network relationships but also the utilization of EPPs and international performance for born global firms. IEO can motivate managers to find the right network relationships and ultimately improve company performance. The IEO of the initiative has strong impact on the performance of international firms.
Originality/value
There is a comprehensive view among the relationships of IEO, entrepreneurial competencies and the network utilization of government EPPs, international performance in the context of born global firms. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in detail.
Details
Keywords
Karin Seger, Hans Englund and Malin Härström
The purpose of this paper is to describe and theorize the type of hate-love relationship to performance measurement systems (PMSs) that individual researchers tend to develop in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe and theorize the type of hate-love relationship to performance measurement systems (PMSs) that individual researchers tend to develop in academia. To this end, the paper draws upon Foucault’s writings on neoliberalism to analyse PMSs as neoliberal technologies holding certain qualities that can be expected to elicit such ambivalent views.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a qualitative interview study of researchers from three Swedish universities, who were asked to reflect upon questions related to three overall themes, namely, what it means to be a researcher in contemporary academia, the existence and use of PMSs at their universities and if/how such PMSs affected them and their work as researchers.
Findings
The empirical findings show that the hate-love relationship can be understood in terms of how PMSs are involved in three central moments of governmentality, where each such moment of governmentality tends to elicit feelings of ambivalence among researchers due to how PMSs rely on: a restricted centrifugal mechanism, normalization rather than normation and a view of individual academics as entrepreneurs of themselves.
Originality/value
Existing literature has provided several important insights into how the introduction and use of PMSs in academia tend to result in both negative and positive experiences and reactions. The current paper adds to this literature through theorizing how and why PMSs may be expected to elicit such ambivalent experiences and reactions among individual researchers.
Details
Keywords
Vitor William Batista Martins, Rosley Anholon, Walter Leal Filho and Osvaldo Luiz Gonçalves Quelhas
The present study aims to identify the most critical elements of resilience in the management of supply chains of Brazilian companies and, in the sequence, debate possible digital…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to identify the most critical elements of resilience in the management of supply chains of Brazilian companies and, in the sequence, debate possible digital technologies mentioned by literature to enhance them.
Design/methodology/approach
To identify the most critical elements, the information provided by qualified academics was used. Data analysis was performed through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, hierarchical cluster analysis and Fuzzy TOPSIS approach.
Findings
Comparatively, the results pointed out three elements of resilience as the most critical in managing supply chains. They are the decision-making (understood as the definitions from the layout of the chain’s operations network to the choice of warehouse locations, distribution centres and manufacturing facilities), human resources (understood as management for human resources development and knowledge management through training) and security (understood as issues related to information technology for data security). For each of them, bibliographic research was performed to identify technologies that enhance these elements of supply chain management resilience.
Originality/value
The results presented here can significantly contribute to the expansion of debates associated with resilience in managing supply chains of Brazilian companies and directing researchers in the area.
Details
Keywords
Annie Williams, Hannah Bayfield, Martin Elliott, Jennifer Lyttleton-Smith, Honor Young, Rhiannon Evans and Sara Long
Using a mixed methodology comprising interviews, case file analysis and descriptive statistics, this study aims to examine the experiences of all 43 young people in Wales subject…
Abstract
Purpose
Using a mixed methodology comprising interviews, case file analysis and descriptive statistics, this study aims to examine the experiences of all 43 young people in Wales subject to secure accommodation orders between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2018.
Design/methodology/approach
Children in the UK aged 10–17 years who are deemed to be at a significant level of risk to themselves or others may be subject to a secure accommodation order, leading to time spent in a secure children’s home (SCH) on welfare grounds. Following a rise in the number of children in Wales referred to SCHs for welfare reasons, this paper describes these young people’s journeys into, through and out of SCHs, giving insight into their experiences and highlighting areas for policy and practice improvements.
Findings
Findings indicate that improvements in mental health support and placement availability are key in improving the experiences of this particularly vulnerable group of young people throughout their childhood.
Practical implications
Other practical implications of the study’s findings, such as improvements in secure transport arrangements, are also discussed.
Originality/value
While the findings are limited by the reliance on self-report methods and the size of the study, namely, the small number of young people with experience of SCHs who were able to participate, the findings build on the existing knowledge base around children’s residential accommodation and provide new insights into how best to support these children.
Details