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There is an abundance of empirical evidence on the positive effects of employment – and the detrimental effects of unemployment – on individuals’ psychological and physical health and well-being. In this chapter, the authors explore whether and how self-employment or entrepreneurship could be a solution for individuals’ (re)entry to the job market and which (psychological) variables enhance the likelihood of entrepreneurial success. Specifically, the authors first focus on unemployment and its detrimental effects for health and wellbeing, and outline the existing interventions aimed at assisting reemployment and combating the negative consequences of unemployment for individuals’ well-being. Then, the authors will explore entrepreneurship as a potential solution to unemployment and explore the psychological variables that enhance the likelihood of entrepreneurial success. One of the variables the authors highlight as particularly relevant for self-employment is the second-order construct of Psychological Capital (PsyCap; Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007), as well as its individual components – hope, optimism, efficacy, and resilience. PsyCap is a malleable construct that can be successfully trained, and PsyCap interventions are inherently strength-based and have positive effects on employees’ and entrepreneurs’ performance and wellbeing. Therefore, the authors end the chapter by suggesting that a PsyCap component in existing education and training programs for entrepreneurship is likely to not only increase entrepreneurial intentions and success, but also increases participants’ well-being, self-esteem, and the general confidence they can pick up the reigns and take back control over their (professional) lives.

The 2017 Naylor Review has been the subject of some controversy, with some of the press, social media and other critics portraying its recommendations as a “fire sale” or privatisation of the NHS. The purpose of this paper is to examine preceding reports into efficiency and best value of the NHS, the evidence behind the review recommendations, and analyse data into housing affordability for the capital’s NHS staff. It concludes by advocating for partnerships with housing associations to deliver social and financial value by utilising redundant NHS land to deliver the affordable housing that London and the rest of the UK so urgently needs.

The paper was developed using the content analysis of preceding independent reviews of NHS efficiency, published critiques of the Naylor Review and analysis of NHS produced data to consider the potential savings and opportunities for reinvestment in capital projects.

The paper identifies existing partnership models and examples of good practice and advocates the adoption of joint ventures and other forms of partnership to ensure that both best value is achieved from the sale of NHS assets, and publicly owned assets are reused for social purpose.

The paper uses existing data, analysis and context to map a route for achieving best value in managing the publicly owned asset base and reinvesting the proceeds of the sale of redundant properties into UK public services.

This paper aims to investigate multidimensional customer engagement behaviors (CEBs) as antecedents of action loyalty in hospitality contexts and examine service conditions that inhibit and facilitate the former relationship.

This paper tests a holistic framework based on transaction data from 5,855 active members of a hotel firm. The hypotheses are examined using ordinary least squares regression.

By integrating transaction-related CEBs with non-transaction-related CEBs, this paper found that three CEB constructs (i.e. feedback, mobilizing and cross-buying) contribute significantly to action loyalty in hospitality contexts. These effects vary depending on the inhibitor (service failure) and the facilitator (service customization).

Hotel managers should value customer engagement as a marketing tool to retain customers. When engaged customers encounter service failure and customization, managers can react differently to facilitate consumers’ action loyalty.

Contrary to prior studies focusing on the effects of general CEBs on attitudinal loyalty, this study examines the diverse impacts of multidimensional CEBs on customers’ action loyalty and confirms boundary conditions to coordinate the effects between CEBs from a hotel firm’s perspective.

The overall goal of science is to build a valid and reliable body of knowledge about the functioning of the world and how applying that knowledge can change it. As personnel and human resources management researchers, we aim to contribute to the respective bodies of knowledge to provide both employers and employees with a workable foundation to help with those problems they are confronted with. However, what research on research has consistently demonstrated is that the scientific endeavor possesses existential issues including a substantial lack of (a) solid theory, (b) replicability, (c) reproducibility, (d) proper and generalizable samples, (e) sufficient quality control (i.e., peer review), (f) robust and trustworthy statistical results, (g) availability of research, and (h) sufficient practical implications. In this chapter, we first sing a song of sorrow regarding the current state of the social sciences in general and personnel and human resources management specifically. Then, we investigate potential grievances that might have led to it (i.e., questionable research practices, misplaced incentives), only to end with a verse of hope by outlining an avenue for betterment (i.e., open science and policy changes at multiple levels).

The paper extends the discussion on the merit of using a net promoter score (NPS) to enhance the service design of organisations and to facilitate quality monitoring and improvement. NPS is a basic measure to assess the likelihood of a customer recommending an organisation to somebody else. This paper aims to show that this metric can be effective in monitoring and improving the quality of workplace training.

Investigating the merit of using NPS to improve organisational training involved a longitudinal study of training provided by IBM. Data is analysed using panel regression and partial correlation methods. Workplace training delivery is the unit of analysis in which an NPS and conventional customer satisfaction score evaluations were conducted at the end of the delivery. The efficacy of these measures to improve quality are compared and insights derived from analysing NPS are investigated.

The findings indicate that, although NPS is not necessarily related to the results or success of a business, from a corporate perspective it can provide a solid basis from which to make business decisions that benefit a company. The authors found that NPS was associated with improved satisfaction with training, although significant regional variations were observed. Building on the data, a service business model is proposed advocating NPS as a tool for continuous improvement.

The contribution to practice includes a clearer understanding of NPS as a quality and service improvement indicator and also as a driver for a service business design. In addition, it is indicated that enterprises operating in multiple regions should consider regional variations in NPS.

By analysis of IBM’s training data, the authors gain an understanding of an industry in which quality and the use of NPS has not been extensively studied. The data also offers a rich dimension in the examination of the factors that should be considered to effectively implement an NPS service improvement plan.

This paper aims to introduce the implicit firm theory, distinguishing between the belief that firms can (incremental firm theory) or cannot (entity firm theory) readily change in response to marketplace demands. It is proposed and shown, that firm theory beliefs influence customer-engagement attitudes and intentions.

Study 1 tests the relationship between firm theory, self-theory and knowledge-sharing attitudes. Study 2a tests differences between incremental and entity firm theorists in response to firm failure. Study 2b examines the relationship between firm theory and blame attributions on post-failure loyalty. Study 3 explores the effect of firm theory on perceptions of control and blame attributions following repeated firm failures.

Study 1 shows firm theory influences consumer knowledge-sharing attitudes beyond the effect of self-theory. Study 2a shows incremental firm theorists are more likely to remain loyal to a firm following failure and less likely to share negative word-of-mouth. Study 2b shows that blame attributions mediate the relationship between firm theory and loyalty intentions, with incremental theorists ascribing less blame. Study 3 shows incremental firm theorists significantly increase blame following multiple failures, while entity firm theorists do not.

Results are based on scenario-based surveys and experimental methods; their applicability in more complex real-world customer-firm relationships warrants additional study.

Firms should account for a customer’s firm theory in their communications, emphasizing situational factors to reduce post-failure blame among incremental firm theorists.

Establishes that consumers hold beliefs regarding the malleability of firm traits, which influence their firm engagement intentions.

This chapter presents a research method for operationalizing a human rights approach with children with disability in developing countries that confronts the tension between a universal human rights discourse and local knowledge and customs. This research was undertaken in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. Through methods of data collection, analysis of data and the dissemination of findings, the focus was on utilizing human rights concepts and ideas in a way that enabled the local meanings and experiences of children to be re-interpreted against the Articles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Findings could then be presented in a manner that communicated effectively with governments and local and global organizations, while also honouring the particular experiences of children with disability. Such an approach is, of course, subject to critique and ongoing adaptation.