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1 – 10 of over 30000The purpose of this paper is to describe the growth of the early ski market and the marketing strategies that the Union Pacific Railroad took in promoting Sun Valley ski resort…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the growth of the early ski market and the marketing strategies that the Union Pacific Railroad took in promoting Sun Valley ski resort, one of the most popular early destination ski resorts in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses primary and secondary source material, including ski periodicals, national magazines and the manuscript collection of W. Averell Harriman, the Chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad during the creation of Sun Valley.
Findings
This paper finds that Sun Valley pioneered the western ski vacation by conducting careful market research into not only the snow and weather conditions of western mountains, but also into the habits and economic potential of skiers and winter tourists.
Originality/value
Scholarly work on skiing has primarily looked at the sport from the social and cultural perspective of skiers. Work on entrepreneurial objectives of ski resort designers has largely focused on the period after the Second World War. This is among the first works to analyze entrepreneurial activities and marketing strategies in the ski industry before the Second World War. As a result, the paper challenges the idea that big business only began to shape the ski industry during the Cold War. Instead, this paper shows that large corporations like the Union Pacific Railroad were influential in growing the ski market by building resorts that illustrated the importance of market segmentation to the success of ski areas. In this way, the paper challenges the popular idea that Sun Valley was merely a media sensation and shows that it was a carefully designed business that exhibited a nuanced approach to changes in the ski market.
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Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American…
Abstract
Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American preemptive invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the subsequent prisoner abuse, such an existence seems to be farther and farther away from reality. The purpose of this work is to stop this dangerous trend by promoting justice, love, and peace through a change of the paradigm that is inconsistent with justice, love, and peace. The strong paradigm that created the strong nation like the U.S. and the strong man like George W. Bush have been the culprit, rather than the contributor, of the above three universal ideals. Thus, rather than justice, love, and peace, the strong paradigm resulted in in justice, hatred, and violence. In order to remove these three and related evils, what the world needs in the beginning of the third millenium is the weak paradigm. Through the acceptance of the latter paradigm, the golden mean or middle paradigm can be formulated, which is a synergy of the weak and the strong paradigm. In order to understand properly the meaning of these paradigms, however, some digression appears necessary.
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A Soviet type of “shock therapy” is not likely to takeplace in China since a gradual economic reform has already improved theoverall economic conditions. Argues that, for further…
Abstract
A Soviet type of “shock therapy” is not likely to take place in China since a gradual economic reform has already improved the overall economic conditions. Argues that, for further economic development, however, the Chinese communists must recognize two basic facts: (1) Chinese communism has already fulfilled its historical mission by expelling foreign imperialism and domestic feudalism; (2) Marxism and Leninism are of foreign origin. This recognition is able to pave the way for a final adoption of the Taiwanese model of economic development, which is based on the ideas developed by Sun Yat‐Sen, who had never stopped to insist that modernization should not abandon the Chinese tradition, especially Confucianism.
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The backdrop to the Munro Review of Child Protection was a narrative propagated in the British national press, and perpetuated particularly by the then opposition Conservative…
Abstract
Purpose
The backdrop to the Munro Review of Child Protection was a narrative propagated in the British national press, and perpetuated particularly by the then opposition Conservative Party, that the case of “Baby P” evidenced the English child protection system was “failing” and in need of reform. Subsequently, the review asserted that the system had become “over-bureaucratised” and “defensive” at the expense of social worker discretion in the interests of the individual child, highlighting the need for “radical reform”. This paper aims to report on the extent of, and continued barriers to, social worker discretion within the contemporary English child protection.
Design/methodology/approach
As an ethnographic case study of a single English child protection team, the study used a sequential and iterative mixed method design, encompassing observation, document analysis, focus groups, questionnaire, interviews and “Critical Realist Grounded Theory”.
Findings
The study found that social worker discretion was continuing to be undermined by the “Baby P effect”; not only in the sense of increasing numbers of children within the system but also by the perpetual fear of being “named”, “blamed” and “shamed”, akin to Peter Connelly’s social workers.
Originality/value
The paper considers how discretion is manifested in contemporary child protection, especially in the context of the “child-centred” system envisaged by the Munro Review. It concludes that the British media and politicians have a continued role to play in reducing the risk associated with the social worker’s discretionary space.
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Mehmet Sıtkı İlkay and Emre Aslan
The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a difference between ISO 9001 certified and non‐certified companies in terms of performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a difference between ISO 9001 certified and non‐certified companies in terms of performance.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to determine the effect of certification on performance, motivations for certification and companies' quality practices have been considered as factors. A survey was carried out with 255 small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey. The differences between certified and non‐certified companies in terms of performance and quality practices were examined by one‐way analysis of variance (one‐way ANOVA).
Findings
The results showed no statistically significant difference between certified and non‐certified companies in terms of performance. Certification showed no direct effect on performance. Also it has been claimed that the quality practices of certified companies was higher than those of non‐certified companies, according to results it is showing a statistically significant difference, in the 0.01 level of significance. However, higher quality practice does not necessarily mean higher performance. Motivations for certification also affect performance; it was found that companies that are internally motivated for certification have partially higher performance than companies externally motivated.
Originality/value
To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study examining the effect of the ISO 9001 quality management system on the performance of SMEs in Turkey.
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A recovery crisis is an occasion when there is a subsequent calamity after a major crisis such as the recovery crisis following the 9/11 World Trade Center tragedy or the recovery…
Abstract
Purpose
A recovery crisis is an occasion when there is a subsequent calamity after a major crisis such as the recovery crisis following the 9/11 World Trade Center tragedy or the recovery crisis following the devastation in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina. Consequently, this paper seeks to focus on what can be done to prevent or limit the ill effects of a crisis during recovery.
Design /methodology/approach
An examination of the details of the great Baltimore fire of 1904 reveals why there was a crisis during their recovery; and by studying the lessons they learned, it will be evident that some of these lessons should be considered for dealing with present day recovery crises.
Findings
While many people worked together to bring the fire under control during the great Baltimore fire many of the same people fought each other in a crisis that followed the fire during the recovery of Baltimore's 70 block business district. That is, initial passions changed abruptly from working unselfishly together for the greater good during the 30‐hour fire to self‐serving actions during the rebuilding of the city. In fact, the political conflict was so stressful after the fire that Baltimore's mayor committed suicide.
Practical implications
The findings of this article focus on sound measures that should be considered today.
Originality/value
The paper is an application of historical lessons learned. The experiences described in this paper can be helpful in discussions today about crisis management.
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The purpose of this paper is to illuminate change processes in Vietnam, China, and the USSR.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illuminate change processes in Vietnam, China, and the USSR.
Design/methodology/approach
“Policy ethnography” may be used to examine the emergence of policy rationalities that may or may not be locally feasible. Through the use of a conceptual heuristics to interpret practice, this paper contrasts approaches in the development of “conservative” transition rationalities suited to the shift from plan to market whilst retaining a ruling Communist Party in power. Comparison is made between Vietnam, where a successful “conservative” transition occurred, and a failed policy experiment in the Soviet Union. The discussion extends to China, where, as in the case of Vietnam, a policy‐oriented policy rationality of transition may be observed.
Findings
Through the use of a conceptual heuristics to interpret practice this paper, contrasts approaches in the development of “conservative” transition rationalities suited to the shift from plan to market whilst retaining a ruling Communist Party in power. Comparison is made between Vietnam, where a successful “conservative” transition occurred, and a failed policy experiment in the Soviet Union. The discussion extends to China, where, as in the case of Vietnam, a policy‐oriented policy rationality of transition may be observed.
Research limitations/implications
Further research into the development of conservative policy rationalities in other context is advised.
Practical implications
The paper concludes that attaining a successful heuristics amongst policy consumers is likely a necessary condition of a managed conservative transition, and that this heuristics does well to define system changes as a process, rather than a discrete step, in constructing a cognitive basis for policy rationality.
Originality/value
The paper consistently avoids realist arguments about policy, which would suggest judgments as to whether policy is “correct” or “incorrect”, and focuses upon the creation of policy rationalities.
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Isabel Pinho, Arménio Rego and Miguel Pina e Cunha
The paper aims to identify and discuss barriers and facilitators to four processes implied in knowledge management (KM; acquisition, creation, sharing, and transfer)…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to identify and discuss barriers and facilitators to four processes implied in knowledge management (KM; acquisition, creation, sharing, and transfer). Technological, socio‐organizational, and individual barriers and facilitators are considered.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review was carried out. Four databases (ISI Web of Science, EBSCO, Emerald, and ProQuest) were used for identifying relevant papers. The search covered the time period between January 1985 and August 2010.
Findings
Factors affecting the four KM processes involve some form of social capital and the interaction between technology and users' needs and activities. In addition to technology and social capital variables, other factors such as leadership, performance‐oriented culture, training and development practices, and T‐shaped skills emerged as relevant for KM processes. The authors conclude that KM thrives in positive organizational contexts and fails when the infrastructure establishing positive contexts is absent.
Originality/value
A hybrid positive approach (adopting the “positive deviance” lens of positive organizational scholarship without neglecting the negative features of organizational life) is adopted. The authors argue that the strategies to fight negative features of organizational life for improving KM processes are potentially different from those seeking to promote positive qualities with the same aim. A fruitful perspective for studying and improving KM processes may be to look for the constructive tension emerging from positive and negative features of organizational life. In short: only by advancing positivity and removing negativity may KM flourish.
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Philippe Gugler and Laura Vanoli
The purpose of this paper is to focus on Chinese firms’ innovation processes that are induced by foreign direct investment abroad. The study uses a patent and citation analysis to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on Chinese firms’ innovation processes that are induced by foreign direct investment abroad. The study uses a patent and citation analysis to examine the extent to which investments abroad contribute to enhancing these firms’ innovative capabilities. More specifically, this study focusses on the role of foreign location competitiveness as an asset to provide technological capabilities to Chinese affiliates.
Design/methodology/approach
Patents are good indicators of firms’ innovative capabilities. Moreover, patents allow to track the inter-firm knowledge transfer through the citations of patents on which they are based. The authors use an OECD patent database called “OECD REGPAT July 2013” that compiles patents registered with the European Patent Office (EPO) over the period from 1986 to 2013. The authors focus the analysis on patents registered by Chinese multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) based in Europe because the authors assume inter alia that innovations patented by Chinese affiliates in Europe are registered with the EPO. The sample comprises 3,010 patents involving 5,749 citations that the authors have individually examined.
Findings
The findings suggest that Chinese MNEs ability to generate innovation based on their own knowledge is low, with a self-citation rate of approximately 4 percent. Patents by Chinese MNEs are largely based on foreign patents, especially from developed economies (at least 90 percent). The citation analysis also suggests that 39.2 percent of citations represent domestic firms in the local recipient country. This subgroup of citations is categorized as follows: 1.04 percent are M&A linkages, 13.8 percent are cluster linkages, and 24.36 percent are localization linkages. The remaining 60.8 percent of the total sample demonstrates that firms do not necessarily need to be collocated in foreign locations with domestic firms to exchange assets.
Research limitations/implications
Patent and citation analysis considers only a part of the inter-firm knowledge diffusion. Some innovations are not patented and tacit knowledge diffusion is not observable. Moreover, the analysis focusses only on Chinese outward foreign direct investment to Europe, but a large part of knowledge is accumulated in China thanks to inward foreign direct investment.
Originality/value
Many scholars have scrutinized emerging markets multinational enterprises’ strategic asset-seeking investments abroad that are designed to upgrade the companies’ technological capabilities (Cui and Jiang, 2009; Zhang and Filippov, 2009; Huang and Wang, 2013; Amighini et al., 2014; De Beule et al., 2014; Nicolas, 2014). However, few studies analyze the results of these strategies in terms of innovation output.
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Sajid Iqbal and Ahmad Raza Bilal
The study aims to empirically estimate the role of public supports for energy efficiency financing and presents the way forward to mitigate the energy financing barriers that…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to empirically estimate the role of public supports for energy efficiency financing and presents the way forward to mitigate the energy financing barriers that incurred during the COVID-19 crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the G7 countries data, the study estimated the nexus between the constructs. Generalized method of moments (GMM) and conventional increasing-smoothing asymptotic of GMM are applied to justify the study findings. Wald econometric technique is also used to robust the results.
Findings
The study findings reported a consistent role of public support on energy efficiency financing indicators, during the COVID-19 crisis period. G7 countries raised funds around 17% through public supports for energy efficiency financing, and it raised 4% of per unit energy usage to GDP, accelerated 16% energy efficiency and 24% output of renewable energy sources, during COVID-19. By this, study findings warrant a maximum support from public offices, energy ministries and other allied departments for energy efficiency optimization.
Practical implications
The study presents multiple policy implications to enhance energy efficiency through different alternative sources, such as, on-bill financing, direct energy efficiency grant, guaranteed financial contracts for energy efficiency and energy efficiency credit lines. If suggested policy recommendations are applied effectively, this holds the potential to diminish the influence of the COVID-19 crisis and can probably uplift the energy efficiency financing during structural crisis.
Originality/value
The originality of the recent study exists in a novel framework of study topicality. Despite growing literature, the empirical discussion in the field of energy efficiency financing and COVID-19 is still shattered and less studied, which is contributed by this study.
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