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The purpose of this paper is to present the embedding of linear and nonlinear order reduction methods in a theoretical framework for handling hierarchically interconnected dynamical systems.

Based on the component connection modeling (CCM), a modified framework called mCCM for describing interconnected dynamic systems especially with hierarchical structures is introduced and used for order reduction purposes. The balanced truncation method for linear systems and the trajectory piecewise linear reduction scheme are used for the order reduction of systems described within the mCCM framework.

It is shown that order reduction methods can be embedded into the context of interconnected dynamical systems with the benefit of having a further degree of freedom in form of the hierarchical level, on which the order reduction is performed.

The aspect of hierarchy within system descriptions is exploited for order reduction purposes. This distinguishes the presented approach from common methods, which already start with single large-scale systems without explicitly considering hierarchical structures.

A set of crop alternatives ranging from traditional, low risk to less common and/or high risk crops is ranked according to their impact on overall risk using two measures. These two measures would aid cropping decisions by providing (1) a priori guidance on overall risk impact, and (2) a means to reduce the need for complex E‐V frontier estimation. Results suggest the number of crops that may depend on the riskiness of crop alternatives form which a producer chooses. Some reductions in necessary calculations for E‐V analysis are therefore suggested.

Delineating where stability occurs in a contract provides the window of opportunity for procurement officials to positively affect cost and schedule outcomes. While the concept of a Cost Performance Index (CPI) "stability rule" has been routinely cited by Earned Value Management (EVM) authors since the early 1990's, more recent research questions the veracity of this stability rule. This paper resolves the controversy by demonstrating that the definition of stability matters. We find a morphing of the stability definition over time, with three separate definitions permeating the literature. Next, an analysis of Department of Defense contracts for both cost and schedule stability properties finds that the veracity of the stability rule is intricately tied to the definition used.

Most college athletics department have not sold corporate naming rights to their athletics facilities. Popp et al. (2016) suggests two primary reasons: (1) difficulty in determining proper valuation and (2) fear of stakeholder backlash. The purpose of the current study is to address both concerns by utilizing a hedonic pricing model predicting collegiate naming rights values and utilizing fixed-effects models to determine if consumer behavior (event attendance and donations) is impacted by a corporate name change.

Data from 110 naming rights agreements among NCAA Division I programs were examined, alongside market-related variables, institution-related variables and venue-related variables. Utilizing hierarchical model building to reduce independent variables and OLS regression modeling, significant relationships with annual value of naming rights agreements were uncovered. Fixed effects models were utilized to determine if naming rights impacted attendance and donations.

A final model explained more than 53% of the variance in average annual value of naming rights agreements, with three significant factors: (1) attendance, (2) all-time winning percentage and (3) venue construction cost. Fixed-effects models revealed no significant differences in attendance or donations after a naming rights deal was signed.

Corporate naming rights agreements for college athletics facilities are a recent phenomenon. While a similar study examining drivers of collegiate sport naming rights was previously conducted, the current study revealed a shifting marketplace. In addition, no prior study has examined the impact of a corporate naming rights agreement on future attendance and donations.

The purpose of this paper is to add a needed sport foundation for the brand community conversation evolution within the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship (Popp et al., 2016; Richelieu, 2008; Trail et al., 2016) from the spark of Gladden and Funk’s (2001) brand association and loyalty in sport.

This paper traces the evolution of brand community research from its beginnings in the general business literature to the current brand community research in sport marketing today. Muniz and O’Guinn (2001) define brand communities as a specialized and non-geographically bound community based around a set of structured social relationships amongst admirers of a brand and are often recognized as the most integral relationship component of consumers to brands (Muge and Ozge, 2013).

Media transcends geography and brand communities will continue to transcend geography to the boundaries of mass media.

With this growing importance on attachment to brand community (ABC) through mass media, or attachment team in the sport context, further exploration on attachment variables is critical for the success of the next evolutionary stage of brand communities.

An ABC framework in the sport setting is proposed through multidisciplinary variables gathered in a review of brand community literature to address the unique attachment perspectives of sport consumers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the use of sophisticated talent selection processes such as gamification and training and development interventions designed to ensure that candidates can successfully navigate the talent assessment process. Gamification is the application of game elements to non-game activities through the adoption of gaming tools, and little is known about how candidates (“talent”) struggle to learn about the structural mechanics of gamification as they engage with the hidden rules of talent selection, such as goals, rules, “levelling up”, feedback and engagement in competitive – collaborative activities. The term “talent development gamification” is coined and used as an analytical tool to consider how young talent are supported by development interventions in their inter-subjectivity as they learn how to survive and win in talent selection games.

Studying hidden dynamics in development processes inherent in gamified talent selection is challenging, so a cult work of fiction, “Ender’s Game”, is examined to address the questions: “How do candidates in talent selection programmes learn to make sense of the structural mechanics of gamification”, “How does this make the hidden rules of talent selection explicit to them?” and “What does this mean for talent development?”

Talent development in selection gamification processes is illustrated through nuanced theoretical accounts of how a multiplicity of shifting and competing developmental learning opportunities are played out as a form of “double-consciousness” by potential organizational talent for them to “win the selection game”.

Using novels as an aid to understanding management and the organization of work is ontologically and epistemologically problematic. But analysing novels which are “good reads” also has educational value and can produce new knowledge from its analysis. In exploring how “Characters are made to live dangerously, to face predicaments that, as readers, we experience as vicarious pleasure. We imagine, for example, how a particular character may react or, more importantly, what we would do in similar circumstances” (Knights and Willmott, 1999, p. 5). This future-oriented fictional narrative is both illustrative and provides an analogy to illuminate current organisational development challenges.

The term “talent development gamification in selection processes” is coined to allow analysis and provide lessons for talent development practice in a little studied area. Our case study analysis identifies a number of areas for consideration by talent management/talent development specialists involved in developing talent assessment centres incorporating gamification. These include the importance of understanding and taking account of rites of passage through the assessment centre, in particular the role of liminal space, what talent development interventions might be of benefit and the necessity of appreciating and managing talent in developing the skill of double consciousness in game simulations.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect back over his career as a management and business historian so far as to consider opportunities for the future of management and business history as a disciplinary area.

The paper consists of two segments – the first half is an auto-ethnographic personal reflection looking at the author’s research journey and how the discipline as experienced by the author has evolved over that time. The second half is a prescriptive look forward to consider how we should leverage the strengths as historians to progress the discipline forward.

The paper demonstrates opportunities for management and business history to encompass new agendas including the expansion of the topic into teaching, the possibility for the advancement of empirical contributions and opportunities for findings in new research areas, including the global south and public and project management history.

The paper demonstrates that historians should be more confident in the disciplinary capabilities, particularly their understandings of historic context, continuity, change and chronologies when making empirical and theoretical contributions.

A barrage of criticism has been leveled recently at those librarians championing the importance of bibliographical instruction and the reference interview. Some critics claim reference librarians, unable to restrain their “yen to teach,” insist on telling patrons which sources to use and which to avoid instead of providing them with requested materials. According to this view, instruction has replaced service, despite the evidence showing patrons prefer “user‐friendly CD‐ROMs such as Infotrac” to more traditional print reference services. In fact, claims one writer, the entire concept of the reference interview (or at least its present permutation) is a myth. Patron queries may need clarification, but no drawn‐out, analyzed interaction with patrons is mandatory for providing effective reference. Instead of posing counter‐questions, which may illustrate ineptitude as much as perspicacity, librarians should redirect their efforts toward mastering substantive knowledge.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the research on tourist walkability and Walk Score® by posing the question “does tourist accommodation benefit from being located in walkable places?”.

Using Tel Aviv municipality as a case study, the prices and number of reviews of 81 hotels and 97 Airbnb listings were associated with their corresponding Walk Score® measures.

The relationship between Walk Score and prices and number of reviews was not linear or strong. However, the most expensive accommodation and more popular hotels were below the median Walk Score of Tel Aviv.

The findings may reflect the specific conditions associated with Tel Aviv, such as city compactness, topography and planning regulations.

The study suggests that accommodation is beneficial if it is located on the margins of very walkable areas. This raises regulatory and promotion issues for accommodation, and challenges for transport and tourism planners.

The study adds to the limited knowledge regarding tourism-related walkability, and is the first examination of links between walkability (measured by Walk Score index) and tourist accommodation (hotels and Airbnb).