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Article
Publication date: 12 December 2023

Christopher R. Plouffe, Nathaniel Hartmann and Bryan W. Hochstein

Not that long ago, half of all sales research was demonstrably if not unequivocally “atheoretical” (Williams and Plouffe, 2007). The foundational argument of this paper is that…

Abstract

Purpose

Not that long ago, half of all sales research was demonstrably if not unequivocally “atheoretical” (Williams and Plouffe, 2007). The foundational argument of this paper is that stronger theoretical development and application of theory in sales research is critical for the sales field to retain its relevancy. The purpose of this paper is to underscore that deliberate and cogent application of HWV (2018) is scant in the recent sales literature (over five years after publication in Journal of Marketing) for one or both of two reasons: scholars either do not understand the paper and/or are fearful of (mis)applying it.

Design/methodology/approach

More than simply introducing the articles to this special issue of the European Journal of Marketing (EJM), this paper also makes a number of important, overdue contributions. Although Hartmann, Wieland and Vargo’s JM (HWV, 2018) theoretical and conceptual paper has been well-received by the sales community, it has seen limited meaningful integration or application in sales research since its publication. This paper thus clarifies key misunderstandings and misperceptions with HWV (2018) so that sales researchers can more impactfully apply it to future sales research.

Findings

This paper identifies and then explains key aspects of service-dominant logic (S-D logic) and commonly misapplied and/or misunderstood aspects of HWV (2018) to guide future sales research. Ultimately, the overarching goal of this special issue of EJM is to focus a “spotlight” on sales theory development, while simultaneously demonstrating – through the five articles the special issue reports – that with purposeful effort, rich theoretical insights can effectively be applied to both “classic” and more current and emergent sales research topics.

Research limitations/implications

Because HWV (2018) draw heavily upon S-D logic, it follows that some aspects of their article have been misinterpreted or misapplied by sales scholars. In particular, the critical concept of “crossing points” (both of the “thick” and “thin” variety) are explicated and detailed further, so as to afford sales researchers with better knowledge and insight on how to apply these key tools within HWV (2018).

Practical implications

The practical implications of this paper primarily revolve around further educating and clarifying for sales researchers “how” to better apply HWV (2018) to sales research, rather than simply citing it in passing. The paper also concludes by providing a summary and introduction to each of the five EJM special issue articles.

Originality/value

The originality and value of this paper and this special issue of the EJM is twofold. First, both this paper and the entire special issue itself emphasize the ongoing importance of advancing sales research through the meaningful and cogent application of theory. Second, the paper demonstrates that purposeful effort can lead to successful applications of HWV (2018) – as exhibited by the five articles in the EJM special issue – such that rich theoretical insights can be woven into both traditional and contemporary sales research topics.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 58 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 March 2024

Lloyd Levine

Abstract

Details

Technology vs. Government: The Irresistible Force Meets the Immovable Object
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-951-4

Article
Publication date: 21 March 2024

Sihem Ben Saad

In the tourism industry, immersive technologies become increasingly vital, amplifying traveler experiences and industry growth. By studying “e-booking” applications prevalent in…

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Abstract

Purpose

In the tourism industry, immersive technologies become increasingly vital, amplifying traveler experiences and industry growth. By studying “e-booking” applications prevalent in hotels, this study aims to analyze the impact of integrating an anthropomorphic virtual agent (AVA) on user perceptions of humanness and service usage intent.

Design/methodology/approach

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of using an AVA and explain the psychological mechanism of how AVA’s attributes increase intention to use “e-booking” application.

Findings

The results highlight the positive influence of AVA on the intention to use. They illustrate the psychological mechanism of how AVA’s attributes (agency and emotionality) influence perceived humanness and intention to use. More specifically, the results indicate that perceived humanness mediated the effect of an AVA on intention to use.

Research limitations/implications

Further research should delve into additional capabilities related to humanness.

Practical implications

This study provides useful insights for hotels’ managers about incorporating AVAs in digital services to enhance the perceived humanness of AVAs. The findings suggest that such efforts could yield benefits, especially when they involve conveying that AVAs possess agency and emotionality.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to investigate how AVA impacts hotel human–computer interaction. It examines agency and emotionality features on humanness perception and behavioral intent. It also guides successful digitalized hotel service development and design, expanding existing research on human–virtual agent digital services, which mainly focuses on superficial traits like face and gender.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 March 2024

Cemalettin Akdoğan, Tolga Özer and Yüksel Oğuz

Nowadays, food problems are likely to arise because of the increasing global population and decreasing arable land. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the yield of…

Abstract

Purpose

Nowadays, food problems are likely to arise because of the increasing global population and decreasing arable land. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the yield of agricultural products. Pesticides can be used to improve agricultural land products. This study aims to make the spraying of cherry trees more effective and efficient with the designed artificial intelligence (AI)-based agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Design/methodology/approach

Two approaches have been adopted for the AI-based detection of cherry trees: In approach 1, YOLOv5, YOLOv7 and YOLOv8 models are trained with 70, 100 and 150 epochs. In Approach 2, a new method is proposed to improve the performance metrics obtained in Approach 1. Gaussian, wavelet transform (WT) and Histogram Equalization (HE) preprocessing techniques were applied to the generated data set in Approach 2. The best-performing models in Approach 1 and Approach 2 were used in the real-time test application with the developed agricultural UAV.

Findings

In Approach 1, the best F1 score was 98% in 100 epochs with the YOLOv5s model. In Approach 2, the best F1 score and mAP values were obtained as 98.6% and 98.9% in 150 epochs, with the YOLOv5m model with an improvement of 0.6% in the F1 score. In real-time tests, the AI-based spraying drone system detected and sprayed cherry trees with an accuracy of 66% in Approach 1 and 77% in Approach 2. It was revealed that the use of pesticides could be reduced by 53% and the energy consumption of the spraying system by 47%.

Originality/value

An original data set was created by designing an agricultural drone to detect and spray cherry trees using AI. YOLOv5, YOLOv7 and YOLOv8 models were used to detect and classify cherry trees. The results of the performance metrics of the models are compared. In Approach 2, a method including HE, Gaussian and WT is proposed, and the performance metrics are improved. The effect of the proposed method in a real-time experimental application is thoroughly analyzed.

Details

Robotic Intelligence and Automation, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-6969

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 March 2024

Cristina Mele and Tiziana Russo-Spena

In this article, we reflect on how smart technology is transforming service research discourses about service innovation and value co-creation. We adopt the concept of technology…

Abstract

Purpose

In this article, we reflect on how smart technology is transforming service research discourses about service innovation and value co-creation. We adopt the concept of technology smartness’ to refer to the ability of technology to sense, adapt and learn from interactions. Accordingly, we seek to address how smart technologies (i.e. cognitive and distributed technology) can be powerful resources, capable of innovating in relation to actors’ agency, the structure of the service ecosystem and value co-creation practices.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual article integrates evidence from the existing theories with illustrative examples to advance research on service innovation and value co-creation.

Findings

Through the performative utterances of new tech words, such as onlife and materiality, this article identifies the emergence of innovative forms of agency and structure. Onlife agency entails automated, relational and performative forms, which provide for new decision-making capabilities and expanded opportunities to co-create value. Phygital materiality pertains to new structural features, comprised of new resources and contexts that have distinctive intelligence, autonomy and performativity. The dialectic between onlife agency and phygital materiality (structure) lies in the agencement of smart tech–enabled value co-creation practices based on the notion of becoming that involves not only resources but also actors and contexts.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a novel conceptual framework that advances a tech-based ecology for service ecosystems, in which value co-creation is enacted by the smartness of technology, which emerges through systemic and performative intra-actions between actors (onlife agency), resources and contexts (phygital materiality and structure).

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 February 2024

Amruta Rout, Golak Bihari Mahanta, Bibhuti Bhusan Biswal, Renin Francy T., Sri Vardhan Raj and Deepak B.B.V.L.

The purpose of this study is to plan and develop a cost-effective health-care robot for assisting and observing the patients in an accurate and effective way during pandemic…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to plan and develop a cost-effective health-care robot for assisting and observing the patients in an accurate and effective way during pandemic situation like COVID-19. The purposed research work can help in better management of pandemic situations in rural areas as well as developing countries where medical facility is not easily available.

Design/methodology/approach

It becomes very difficult for the medical staff to have a continuous check on patient’s condition in terms of symptoms and critical parameters during pandemic situations. For dealing with these situations, a service mobile robot with multiple sensors for measuring patients bodily indicators has been proposed and the prototype for the same has been developed that can monitor and aid the patient using the robotic arm. The fuzzy controller has also been incorporated with the mobile robot through which decisions on patient monitoring can be taken automatically. Mamdani implication method has been utilized for formulating mathematical expression of M number of “if and then condition based rules” with defined input Xj (j = 1, 2, ………. s), and output yi. The inputs and output variables are formed by the membership functions µAij(xj) and µCi(yi) to execute the Fuzzy Inference System controller. Here, Aij and Ci are the developed fuzzy sets.

Findings

The fuzzy-based prediction model has been tested with the output of medicines for the initial 27 runs and was validated by the correlation of predicted and actual values. The correlation coefficient has been found to be 0.989 with a mean square error value of 0.000174, signifying a strong relationship between the predicted values and the actual values. The proposed research work can handle multiple tasks like online consulting, continuous patient condition monitoring in general wards and ICUs, telemedicine services, hospital waste disposal and providing service to patients at regular time intervals.

Originality/value

The novelty of the proposed research work lies in the integration of artificial intelligence techniques like fuzzy logic with the multi-sensor-based service robot for easy decision-making and continuous patient monitoring in hospitals in rural areas and to reduce the work stress on medical staff during pandemic situation.

Details

Robotic Intelligence and Automation, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-6969

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 November 2023

Jacques Bughin

Most companies struggle to meet the dual goals of sustaining competitive advantage and ensuring high resilience during crises. Those that do, research tells, adapt their…

Abstract

Purpose

Most companies struggle to meet the dual goals of sustaining competitive advantage and ensuring high resilience during crises. Those that do, research tells, adapt their operational practices along the crisis cycle, combining an effective cost approach at the start of a crisis, while quickly relaunching their investment to grow ahead of competition, just when they learn that the crisis is peaking, and not too late, when the crisis is over. This cycle alignment is possibly the crucial, but not the only, factor for success. We update early research to show that companies succeeding in this dual objective also take a proactive strategy approach of capturing the complementarities between both performance and resilience during a period of high turbulence. This complementarity relies on exploiting dynamic capabilities common to both resilience and performance, and on leveraging the resilience process as a foundation for strategic renewal going forward.

Design/methodology/approach

The research relies on case studies, complemented by an original survey sample, collected just after the peak of the covid-19 pandemic, of 4,000 multinational firms spread across 18 industries termed NACE2, a statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community. This study included 10 countries outside the European Community. The sample collects information on five core enterprise capabilities (agility, innovativeness, active ecosystem play and digital/sustainability maturity, flexible work practices) and uses a variety of quantitative techniques to assess that existence and size of synergies captured by firms.

Findings

Companies meeting the dual goal of resilience and performance are more than doubling their rate of profit growth relatively to peers, after the peak of the crisis, by leveraging of synergies between performance and resilience.

Originality/value

The topic is essential for management, given the elevated turbulence. This research confirms that resilience and performance are synergistic and helps make companies using each crisis boost performance forward.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 45 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 September 2023

Jianyu Ma, Noel Scott and Yu Wu

Tourism destination marketers use videos that incorporate storytelling and visual and audio components to evoke emotional arousal and memorability. This study aims to examine the…

Abstract

Purpose

Tourism destination marketers use videos that incorporate storytelling and visual and audio components to evoke emotional arousal and memorability. This study aims to examine the increase in participants’ level of arousal and the degree of memorability after watching two different videos.

Design/methodology/approach

A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 45 participants who watched two destination promotional videos. One video used storytelling whereas the other used scenic images and music. The level of arousal was measured using both tonic and phasic electrodermal activity levels. The memorability of each video was measured after seven days by testing the recall accuracy.

Findings

Scenic imagery and music videos were associated with higher-than-average arousal levels, while storytelling videos generated larger-amplitude arousal peaks and a greater number of arousal-evoking events. After a week, the respondents recalled more events from the storytelling video than from the scenery and musical advertisements. This finding reveals that the treatment, storytelling and sensory stimuli in advertising moderate the impact of arousal peaks and memorability.

Originality/value

These results indicate that nonnarrative videos using only sceneries and music evoked a higher average level of arousal. However, memorability was associated with higher peak levels of arousal only in narrative storytelling. This is the first tourism study to report the effects of large arousal peaks on improved memorability in advertising.

Article
Publication date: 11 March 2022

Ying Lv, Jinlong Feng, Guangbin Wang and Hua Li

This study aims to improve the maneuverability and stability of four-wheel chassis in a small paddy field; a front axle swing steering four-wheel chassis with optimal steering is…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to improve the maneuverability and stability of four-wheel chassis in a small paddy field; a front axle swing steering four-wheel chassis with optimal steering is designed.

Design/methodology/approach

When turning, the front inner wheel stops and the rear inner wheel is in the following state. The hydraulic drive system of the walking wheel adopts a driving mode in which two front-wheel motors are connected in series and two rear wheel motors in parallel. The chassis uses a combination of a gasoline engine with a water cooling system, a CVT continuously variable transmission and a hydraulic drive system to increase the control capability. The front axle rotary chassis adopts a step-less variable speed engine and a hydraulic control system to solve the hydraulic stability of the chassis in uphill and downhill conditions so as to effectively control the over-speed of the wheel-side drive motors. Through the quadratic orthogonal rotation combination design test, the mathematical models of uphill and downhill front-wheel pressures and test factors are established.

Findings

The results show that the chassis stability is optimal when the back pressure is 0.5 MPa, and the rotating slope is 4°. The uphill and downhill pressures of the front wheels are 2.38 MPa and 1.5 MPa, respectively.

Originality/value

The influence of external changes on the pressure of hydraulic motors is studied through experiments, which lays the foundation for further research.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, vol. 22 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 March 2024

Xiaohui Li, Dongfang Fan, Yi Deng, Yu Lei and Owen Omalley

This study aims to offer a comprehensive exploration of the potential and challenges associated with sensor fusion-based virtual reality (VR) applications in the context of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to offer a comprehensive exploration of the potential and challenges associated with sensor fusion-based virtual reality (VR) applications in the context of enhanced physical training. The main objective is to identify key advancements in sensor fusion technology, evaluate its application in VR systems and understand its impact on physical training.

Design/methodology/approach

The research initiates by providing context to the physical training environment in today’s technology-driven world, followed by an in-depth overview of VR. This overview includes a concise discussion on the advancements in sensor fusion technology and its application in VR systems for physical training. A systematic review of literature then follows, examining VR’s application in various facets of physical training: from exercise, skill development and technique enhancement to injury prevention, rehabilitation and psychological preparation.

Findings

Sensor fusion-based VR presents tangible advantages in the sphere of physical training, offering immersive experiences that could redefine traditional training methodologies. While the advantages are evident in domains such as exercise optimization, skill acquisition and mental preparation, challenges persist. The current research suggests there is a need for further studies to address these limitations to fully harness VR’s potential in physical training.

Originality/value

The integration of sensor fusion technology with VR in the domain of physical training remains a rapidly evolving field. Highlighting the advancements and challenges, this review makes a significant contribution by addressing gaps in knowledge and offering directions for future research.

Details

Robotic Intelligence and Automation, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-6969

Keywords

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