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The purpose of this paper is to show how international companies (can) use real estate as a means to reinforce corporate identity and to express brand values in order to evoke a positive image in today's competitive world.

A review of literature, seven case studies including analysis of company documents and in-depth interviews with marketing experts and real estate advisors, and a cross-case analysis showing the translation of brand core values in real estate strategies of these multinationals.

The findings show that brand values are incorporated in the location strategy, building strategy, workplace strategy and at portfolio management level by all companies, but in different ways and with different focus points. Most commonly used brand values are “Green” values, i.e. sustainability, reliability, transparency, innovation and people oriented. Branding policies take into account both internal stakeholders such as the employees and external stakeholders such as customers and investors.

The number of interviews is rather small and limited to Dutch staff members of multinationals. Reliability of the findings was enforced by triangulation through connecting the interview findings to literature and strategic documents. Additional empirical research is needed to further explore which strategic choices can be made and in particular what are the actual costs and benefits of “branding by real estate”.

The different ways to translate corporate brand values in real estate and the conceptual framework that has been developed to describe the step-by-step approach – from defining a vision to translating corporate culture and corporate identity into a well-considered real estate strategy – can be used by policy makers and real estate managers in real estate decision-making on strategic, tactical and operational level.

The paper links findings from corporate real estate management with insights from marketing theory and adding value by real estate.

We examine how interpersonal behavior and social interaction influence team sensemaking and subsequent team actions during a hospital-based health information technology (HIT) implementation project.

Over the course of 18 months, we directly observed the interpersonal interactions of HIT implementation teams using a sensemaking lens.

We identified three voice-promoting strategies enacted by team leaders that fostered team member voice and sensemaking; communicating a vision; connecting goals to team member values; and seeking team member input. However, infrequent leader expressions of anger quickly undermined team sensemaking, halting dialog essential to problem solving. By seeking team member opinions, team leaders overcame the negative effects of anger.

Leaders must enact voice-promoting behaviors and use them throughout a team’s engagement. Further, training teams in how to use conflict to achieve greater innovation may improve sensemaking essential to project risk mitigation.

Health care work processes are complex; teams involved in implementing improvements must be prepared to deal with conflicting, contentious issues, which will arise during change. Therefore, team conflict training may be essential to sustaining sensemaking.

Future research should seek to identify team interactions that foster sensemaking, especially when topics are difficult or unwelcome, then determine the association between staff sensemaking and the impact on HIT implementation outcomes.

We are among the first to focus on project teams tasked with HIT implementation. This research extends our understanding of how leaders’ behaviors might facilitate or impeded speaking up among project teams in health care settings.

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).

President Bill Clinton has had many opponents and enemies, most of whom come from the political right wing. Clinton supporters contend that these opponents, throughout the Clinton presidency, systematically have sought to undermine this president with the goal of bringing down his presidency and running him out of office; and that they have sought non‐electoral means to remove him from office, including Travelgate, the death of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster, the Filegate controversy, and the Monica Lewinsky matter. This bibliography identifies these and other means by presenting citations about these individuals and organizations that have opposed Clinton. The bibliography is divided into five sections: General; “The conspiracy stream of conspiracy commerce”, a White House‐produced “report” presenting its view of a right‐wing conspiracy against the Clinton presidency; Funding; Conservative organizations; and Publishing/media. Many of the annotations note the links among these key players.

This paper aims to summarize recent research findings and reflections on The Added Value of Facilities Management (FM) and to outline perspectives for future research and development of the added value of FM.

The article is based on reflections on contributions to the recently published book “The Added Value of Facilities Management” and related future studies, as well as further exploration of five main themes.

Added value is expected to be central in the future development of FM, which is confirmed by recent foresight studies. There is a need for a better understanding of alignment between FM and core business, performance measurement methods and how models such as the FM Value Map can be of value to the involved stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability and branding have great potential to add value and to elevate FM to become a strategic partner with corporate top management. Management of stakeholders’ perception of value and relationships are essential aspects as well and need further attention.

The article is based on the conclusions of several studies that aimed to explore items for further research, on the ideas of all co-authors of “The Added Value of Facilities Management” anthology and on further exploration of five main themes, and not on an extensive review of recommendations for further research to be found in a huge number of research reports.

The findings and ideas for further research on the added value of FM deliver input to further professionalization of FM.

This paper provides important input to the future research agenda on the added value of FM and sheds new light on five particular research topics.

This paper aims to unearth the essential components of Six Sigma for successful deployment and sustainment of service quality in four different organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). More specifically, the paper is intended to determine the motivation to apply Six Sigma, Voice of Customer, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Critical-to-Quality (CTQ), readiness factors, Critical Success Factors, sustainment measures, tools and techniques used, challenges/barriers and performance impact on the company.

An exploratory research methodology with multiple case study analyses was adopted to determine the answers to the research objectives. Four case studies from different service processes of four companies were analyzed. The case studies were collated from these companies via a case study protocol with pre-defined criteria.

The analysis shows that service operation improvement projects are primarily dependent on the voice of the internal customer, with return on investment in savings as the KPI of the process. Most organizations prefer cycle time and errors as the CTQs in the Six Sigma projects. Even novice users can effectively apply the Six Sigma methodology with external experts’ assistance, mentoring and interventions. Across the case studies, it is observed that the projects were successfully deployed due to the support of top management leadership, effective communication and cross-functional teams. Employee resistance to change is the common barrier observed during the case study analysis. Eventually, in all the four case studies, Six Sigma is executed with standard tools and techniques within the define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) approach.

The present study’s findings cannot be generalized due to the limited number of case study analyses in different ecosystems in the UAE. The authors would like to analyse and report more case studies in service quality improvement through the Six Sigma methodology to comprehend and develop a generic roadmap for the deployment of Six Sigma in the UAE service industry.

The study’s findings provide insights into commonalities and differences between the essential factors of Six Sigma deployment and sustainability in UAE companies.

The study results might help the policymakers and key decision makers in UAE and other countries understand the effectiveness of Six Sigma in service quality improvement with its essential factors for deployment.

Using a mobile phone is increasingly becoming recognized as very dangerous while driving. With a smartphone, users feel connected and have access to information. The inability to access smartphone has become a phobia, causing anxiety and fear. The present study’s aims are as follows: first, quantify the association between nomophobia and road safety among motorists; second, determine a cut-off value for nomophobia that would identify poor road safety so that interventions can be designed accordingly.

Participants were surveyed online for nomophobia symptoms and a recent history of traffic contraventions. Nomophobia was measured using the nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q).

A total of 1731 participants responded to the survey; the mean age was 33 ± 12, and 43% were male. Overall, 483 (28%) [26–30%] participants received a recent traffic contravention. Participants with severe nomophobia showed a statistically significant increased risk for poor road safety odds ratios and a corresponding 95% CI of 4.64 [3.35-6.38] and 4.54 [3.28-6.29] in crude and adjusted models, respectively. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC)-based analyses revealed that NMP-Q scores of = 90 would be effective for identifying at risk drivers with sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 61%, 75% and 72%, respectively.

Nomophobia symptoms are quite common among adults. Severe nomophobia is associated with poor road safety among motorists. Developing screening and intervention programs aimed at reducing nomophobia may improve road safety among motorists.

This paper aims to present an autobiographical account on the life of Terrence H. Witkowski and his development as a marketing and consumption historian.

This paper is an autobiography and intellectual history.

The author traces his interest in history to childhood travel, to growing up in a home furnished with early American décor and to a lifelong passion for antique collecting. Historical research in marketing and consumption fit his independent personality, and has made the best use of his scholarly skill set.

This essay describes one person’s journey to becoming a marketing and consumption historian.