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21 – 28 of 28Scottish Publishers Association
Describes the background to publishing in Scotland and outlines the nature and range of current Scottish publishing houses. Sets Scottish publishing within its UK and European…
Abstract
Describes the background to publishing in Scotland and outlines the nature and range of current Scottish publishing houses. Sets Scottish publishing within its UK and European context and indicates a number of major trends. Presents broad statistics of current Scottish publishing. Describes the nature, activities and achievements of 30 Scottish publishing houses, from large to small and from general to specialist.
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Paul T.M. Ingenbleek and Caspar Krampe
As corporate sustainability is systemic, it cannot be achieved without effective involvement of suppliers. This study aims to examine the drivers of supplier companies’ resource…
Abstract
Purpose
As corporate sustainability is systemic, it cannot be achieved without effective involvement of suppliers. This study aims to examine the drivers of supplier companies’ resource allocation to a sustainability issue that affects customer companies and society at large.
Design/methodology/approach
Supplier companies’ resource allocation for a sustainability issue is explained from variables at the levels of the institutional, supply chain and internal environments of a supplier company. The framework is tested with a moderated regression model on 102 supplier companies in animal-based supply chains, focussing on their resource allocation for farm animal welfare.
Findings
The findings show that supply chain factors have the strongest influence on suppliers’ resource allocation, including a strong effect of investment specificity and a U-shaped effect of chain integration. Also, significant effects from institutional variables, namely, the pressure on consumer companies, and an inverted U-shaped effect of sustainability competition are found. The innovativeness, referring to the internal environment of supplier companies, appears as another important factor for the allocation of resources to animal welfare, as a sustainability issue.
Research limitations/implications
The results have implications for consumer market companies to deal with sustainability issues that require involvement of their suppliers, for supplier companies to increase their competitive positions and strengthen their relationships within the supply chain, and for policymakers seeking solutions for sustainability issues in the market domain.
Originality/value
While existing literature focusses mostly on the corporate sustainability of highly visible and large consumer companies, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the drivers of supplier companies’ resource allocation for a sustainability issue, namely, animal welfare. It provides insights on what drives supplier companies, usually operating outside the spotlight, to become part of a sustainability transition.
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This paper sets the stage for research on the willingness and readiness of a developing country to fully embrace the changes in tourism that are being facilitated by rapidly…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sets the stage for research on the willingness and readiness of a developing country to fully embrace the changes in tourism that are being facilitated by rapidly changing technological advancements. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the technological advancements and the debates surrounding technology adoption within the context of Jamaica.
Design/methodology/approach
Using Jamaica, a developing country low on internet penetration as the site of investigation, this work suggests that there are lessons to be learned from broadly assessing its context economically, socially and technologically. This specific case is juxtaposed against the theoretical works on diffusion of technology and the digital divide to indicate the way forward for the local tourist industry.
Findings
The work shows that technology diffusion and adoption has become an important area of research globally. For countries that are heavily dependent on inbound travel from regions of the world with high technology penetration and a clientele which is increasingly expecting cutting edge technology to be part and parcel of their travel plans, this type of research and application of new technologies to the travel package are critical to survival and growth.
Research limitations/implications
The practical application of this paper is that it suggests that Jamaica and other developing countries can learn valuable lessons from the debates and discussions in the literature relating to technology adoption in the tourism context.
Originality/value
This paper is original in that it introduces a research concept that is new for the context of Jamaican tourist industry and places the research context within the theoretical framework on the digital divide.
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Md Arif Iqbal and Jin Su
This study aims to examine the effects of the characteristics of apparel professionals on their attitude toward sustainability-related technology in the context of a developing…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effects of the characteristics of apparel professionals on their attitude toward sustainability-related technology in the context of a developing country, Bangladesh.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach was used to investigate the apparel professionals’ perception of sustainability-related technology. A survey was conducted, and 204 valid responses were used in data analysis. The structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze the data.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that apparel professionals’ personal innovativeness positively impacts their knowledge of apparel technology. Knowledge of apparel technology and environmental issues in apparel manufacturing both significantly and positively impact their level of awareness of sustainability-related technology in apparel manufacturing. The findings also suggest that managers’ level of awareness of sustainability-related technology has a significant positive impact on their attitude toward sustainability-related technology.
Originality/value
Fishbein’s attitude theory was applied to examine how the various characteristics of apparel professionals (i.e. personal innovativeness in technology, knowledge of apparel technology, knowledge of environmental issues of apparel manufacturing) affect their awareness of and attitude toward sustainability-related technology. This study expands our understanding of the causal flow among cognitive variables of apparel professionals, including their innovativeness, knowledge, awareness and attitudes. The findings of the study can be helpful to the apparel industry to improve apparel professionals’ adoption of sustainable technology.
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Mats Sundgren and Alexander Styhre
The role of intuition receives little attention in the literature on organizational creativity. This paper describes a study of the role of intuition and its implications for…
Abstract
The role of intuition receives little attention in the literature on organizational creativity. This paper describes a study of the role of intuition and its implications for organizational creativity within pharmaceutical research. The study applies French philosopher Bergson's philosophy of intuition. The study is based on a series of interviews with employees in pre‐clinical research (discovery) in a major pharmaceutical company; in this context, creativity is defined as an organization's ability to bring forth a new candidate drug in the gastrointestinal and cardiovascular therapy areas. This paper concludes that intuition is a resource that facilitates new drug development. Pharmaceutical researchers perceive the roles of intuition and creativity as intertwined in ground‐breaking innovations. However intuition is a controversial phenomenon in the organization because it opposes reductionistic and analytical forms of thinking, which are highly prized in new drug development. Bergson's philosophy may form a fruitful foundation from which intuition and its relevance for organizational creativity can be exploited.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of social, cultural and symbolic capital alongside economic capital, according to Pierre Bourdieu, in small family businesses. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of social, cultural and symbolic capital alongside economic capital, according to Pierre Bourdieu, in small family businesses. The paper demonstrates that social, cultural and symbolic capital, play an important role in maintaining the family farm business and ensuring its survival.
Design/methodology/approach
Ethnographic case studies were selected using theoretical sampling techniques and a variety of data collection tools were used, interviews and participant observation, to construct the contextual and historical elements of each case.
Findings
The results, though highly case specific, indicate that: social networks (social capital) are important to farmers and their families, and these networks have been weakened over the years. Knowledge transfer is crucial to successful succession in the family business and as such cultural capital (knowledge, skills, qualifications, etc.) is retained within the business and accumulated from wider fields through educational qualifications. Symbolic capital is highly important to farmers and their families and could enlighten family business researchers as to why family farm businesses manage to survive the transition from one generation to the next.
Research limitations/implications
This paper provides insights into how family businesses use non-economic resources to pursue survival strategies. It also demonstrates the importance of exploring all family members, however small their contribution is to the business. The paper highlights how the different relationships between family members enable and hinder capital usage in the family farm business.
Originality/value
This paper explores family farm businesses from a sociological perspective to shed light on how they survive passing between generations, unlike many other family-owned businesses.
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Jianhua Wang, May Chu, Yuan yuan Deng, Honming Lam and Jianjun Tang
The purpose of this paper is to investigate farmers’ intentions to comply with pesticide application standards based on an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate farmers’ intentions to comply with pesticide application standards based on an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB).
Design/methodology/approach
Built on a TPB framework, it was examined how perceived behavioural control (PBC), behavioural goal (BG), behavioural attitude (BA) and subjective norm (SN) influenced farmers’ intention to comply with pesticide application standards. Data of 986 farmers from five major agricultural provinces in China were collected following a stratified random sampling method. Structural equation modelling was employed for hypothesis testing and analysis.
Findings
The results showed that PBC, BG, behavioural attitude and SN had positive impacts on farmers’ intention in abiding by the standards. Among them in determining farmers’ intention towards compliance with pesticide application standards, farmers’ PBC was found to be the most influential factor, while SN was the least influential factor.
Originality/value
The results indicated that the traditional TPB constructs had significant correlations with farmers’ intention to comply with pesticide standards, demonstrating the applicability of the TPB in the understanding of farmers’ decision-making in a developing country context. It is suggested that psychological factors should be taken into consideration in studying farmers’ decision-making.
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