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1 – 8 of 8Cinzia Dessi, Wilson Ng, Michela Floris and Stefano Cabras
The purpose of this paper is to explore the “perceptive concordance” – the proximity of perceptions of the business- between key managers and customers of two small family-owned…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the “perceptive concordance” – the proximity of perceptions of the business- between key managers and customers of two small family-owned and managed businesses (“FBs”) and two larger non-FBs in Cagliari, Italy as a preliminary basis for understanding how small retail businesses that are typically family owned have continued to compete and thrive in many Western European cities.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors asked how small FBs have been able to compete in an advanced European economy despite apparent competitive disadvantages relative to large superstores selling the same products. In addressing this question the authors drew on a qualitative research methodology in which the authors interviewed senior managers and surveyed customers of the four businesses and applied an original statistical model to assess the degree of their perceptive concordance with over 100 customers of each business.
Findings
The study's findings suggest a significant difference between key managers and customers of the sampled FBs and non-FBs in the perceptive concordance of the respective businesses held by those managers and customers.
Research limitations/implications
Based on the research in this study the authors have developed a number of scholarly and managerial implications in the way that both FBs and non-FBs may retain old customers and gain new ones by anticipating and not merely responding to their product and service preferences.
Originality/value
This paper extends the literature on customer relations management (“CRM”) in FBs by explaining how small High Street FBs in competitive retail businesses have continued to thrive in Western Europe where owner-managers have developed and successfully leveraged their tacit knowledge of the requirements of repeat customers.
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Cristina Cabras, Roberta Tumatis, Marina Mondo and Cristina Sechi
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of sexual objectification on the attribution processes of the guilt of a defendant – and also on the level of guilt. It…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of sexual objectification on the attribution processes of the guilt of a defendant – and also on the level of guilt. It was also hypothesized that legal expertise could be a protective factor in countering the influence of sexual objectification.
Design/methodology/approach
Sexual objectification can be defined as the perspective in which a person is evaluated solely in terms of his or her body parts or sexual function. As yet, no studies have assessed the influence of sexual objectification on guilt assessment in the legal system; this paper aims to explore whether sexual objectification has an influence on the attribution processes of a defendant's guilt.
Findings
The statistical analysis revealed that the sexually objectified defendant received a guilty verdict more often than a non-sexually objectified defendant; additionally, legal experts were more likely to identify the defendant as not guilty than non-legal experts. The findings support the hypothesis that sexual objectification is indeed one of the common stereotypes that lead to discrimination.
Originality/value
The present study provides novel findings regarding sexual objectification in the forensic context in which the defendant is viewed and evaluated.
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Stefano Massaglia, Valentina Maria Merlino, Simone Blanc, Aurora Bargetto and Danielle Borra
In Italy, the craft beer (CB) market has undergone a trend of exponential growth in recent years, showing, at the same time, differences among different geographical areas. This…
Abstract
Purpose
In Italy, the craft beer (CB) market has undergone a trend of exponential growth in recent years, showing, at the same time, differences among different geographical areas. This research aimed to define the consumer preferences towards different CB attributes by involving a sample of individuals from Piedmont (from North-West Italy). Furthermore, the experimentation was designed to distinguish heterogeneous individuals' consumption profiles each characterised by different CB preferences, drinking habits and socio-demographic characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
The exploration of individuals' preferences towards 12 CB quality attributes was made throughout a choice experiment based on the Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) methodology approach. In addition, the BWS results were employed in the latent class analysis to identify the best sample segmentation in relation to attributes preferences.
Findings
The “Brand knowledge”, “I have already tried it” were the most important attributes for CB choice. On the contrary, the “Type of packaging” and “Price” were the least important for CB choice. The “Loyal”, “Attentive to quality composition” and “Territorial brand” clusters were defined in function of CB consumers preferences and described in terms of individuals consumption habits and socio-demographic characteristics.
Originality/value
The BWS methodology allowed the definition of a preference index for each selected CB attributes. These indications could have concrete importance on production and marketing choices in an increasingly extended and globalised market, also at large-scale distribution level. Furthermore, the definition of different consumption profiles allowed to highlight the heterogeneity of consumption (preferences and habits) towards CB.
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Augusto Bargoni, Alberto Ferraris, Stefano Bresciani and Mark Anthony Camilleri
This article aims to investigate the status of and the trends in the intertwining of crowdfunding and innovation literature by identifying, evaluating and synthesizing the…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to investigate the status of and the trends in the intertwining of crowdfunding and innovation literature by identifying, evaluating and synthesizing the findings from previous research. This paper provides a bibliometric meta-analysis of the already substantial and growing literature on innovation and crowdfunding research.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a bibliometric approach, this research scrutinizes all articles that include terms related to “crowdfunding” and “innovation” (in their title, abstract or keywords) in Elsevier’s Scopus database. VosViewer and Bibliometrix package in R have been used to analyse 150 articles.
Findings
The results suggest that there are three main research clusters in the innovation and crowdfunding literature. The first cluster highlights the role of crowdfunding in fostering radical and incremental innovation. The second cluster focuses on the concept of openness and its effect on innovation in crowdfunding campaigns, while the third cluster explains the role of platforms’ innovation in crowdfunding success.
Originality/value
Taking a holistic perspective, this contribution advances new knowledge on the intertwining of crowdfunding and innovation research fields. It implies that crowdfunding is facilitating the flow of knowledge between different stakeholders, including project initiators and crowd investors, among others, as they all benefit from open innovation platforms.
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Reinaldo Belickas Manzini and Luiz Carlos Di Serio
This paper offers an approach for outlining the main dimensions surrounding clusters in three areas of knowledge: economic geography, strategic management and operations…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper offers an approach for outlining the main dimensions surrounding clusters in three areas of knowledge: economic geography, strategic management and operations management, the first being considered its natural field of knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
The work was developed using the citation analysis technique as applied to a database of 627 articles and 22,980 citations, taken from 15 important journals in the areas selected.
Findings
The results proved that the theoretical and conceptual bases are unique to each of the areas studied and that they have few topics in common between them. They are complementary, however, and this facilitates their reconciliation.
Research limitations/implications
The sample base, despite considering fairly influential periodicals in the areas of knowledge selected, can be considered to be a limitation.
Originality/value
Common themes and different areas of knowledge surrounding the cluster concept were identified; despite being considered “common”, a more detailed examination of their content reveals very different, but certainly complementary emphases, which makes it possible to reconcile the areas of knowledge.
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Temidayo O. Akenroye, Jonathan D. Owens, Jamal Elbaz and Olatunde A. Durowoju
Although small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play major roles in most economies in terms of job creation, innovation and contribution to national income, they are often…
Abstract
Purpose
Although small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play major roles in most economies in terms of job creation, innovation and contribution to national income, they are often underrepresented in public procurement markets. This paper aims to explore how the dynamic capabilities theory can improve SME participation in public procurement.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a systematic literature review, the paper identifies common barriers to the effective participation of SMEs in public procurement and explores the applicability of the dynamic capabilities theory in addressing these barriers.
Findings
A theoretical analysis was conducted to identify possible relationships between the factors reported in the literature as barriers to SME participation in public procurement and different components of the dynamic capabilities of firms (i.e. sensing, seizing, reconfiguring and learning). Seven key propositions were generated to guide future research.
Research limitations/implications
Despite its contributions, this paper is based solely on a systematic literature review and theoretical analysis. Future studies could use meta-analysis to review multiple studies relating to the nexus between SMEs and public procurement, hence improving methodological rigour.
Practical implications
The paper contributes to the ongoing debate about whether and how SMEs can leverage their resources and capabilities to develop self-help strategies to improve participation in public procurement, an area yet underexplored in the literature.
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies examining the implications of firm-level capabilities of SME activity in public procurement markets. The findings may be beneficial to SME managers/owners, particularly regarding firms' ability to leverage resources and capabilities to participate effectively in public procurement.
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Khaled Abed Alghani, Marko Kohtamäki and Sascha Kraus
The proliferation of industry platforms has disrupted several industries. Firms adopting a platform business model have experienced a substantial expansion in size and scale…
Abstract
Purpose
The proliferation of industry platforms has disrupted several industries. Firms adopting a platform business model have experienced a substantial expansion in size and scale, positioning themselves as the foremost valuable entities in market capitalization. Over the past two decades, there has been a substantial expansion in the body of literature dedicated to platforms, and different streams of research have emerged. Despite considerable efforts and the significant progress made in recent years toward a comprehensive understanding of industry platforms, there is still room for further harnessing the field’s diversity. As a result, the aim of this article is to examine the field’s structure, identify research concerns and provide suggestions for future research, thereby enhancing the overall understanding of industry platforms.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted a thorough examination of 458 articles on the topic using bibliometric methods and systematic review techniques.
Findings
Through co-citation analysis, we identified five distinct clusters rooted in various bodies of literature: two-sided markets, industry platforms, digital platforms, innovation platforms and two-sided networks. Furthermore, the examination of these five clusters has revealed three key areas that demand further consideration: (1) terminologies, (2) classifications and (3) perspectives.
Originality/value
While previous reviews have provided valuable insights into the topic of industry platforms, none have explored the structure of the field so far. Consequently, as a first step toward advancing the field, we uncover the structure of the literature, identifying three major areas of concern. By addressing these concerns, our goal is to converge different clusters, thereby harnessing the diversity in the field and enhancing the overall understanding of industry platforms.
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Lara Agostini and Anna Nosella
Following an increasing interest in the area that merges digital/I4.0 technologies and business models (BMs), which led to a proliferation of articles in this domain, the purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
Following an increasing interest in the area that merges digital/I4.0 technologies and business models (BMs), which led to a proliferation of articles in this domain, the purpose of this article is to systematize this body of literature by means of a structured literature review.
Design/methodology/approach
After a careful selection of articles, we carried out the analysis with the support of bibliometric techniques, using the bibliographic coupling approach complemented with factor analysis and the content analysis of articles.
Findings
The results of the literature review analysis allow us to organize the literature around four main research streams, namely digital technologies and business model innovation, digital strategy and BMs, digital platforms and BMs, and IoT, servitization and BMs. On such a basis, we outline gaps and provide promising avenues for further research in this research area.
Research limitations/implications
This study has implications for academics in terms of conceptualization of relevant constructs, integration of two streams of research and specific technologies whose relationship with the BM still deserves attention.
Practical implications
This study has implications also for managers, who may take advantage of the description of some BM archetypes driven by digital/I4.0 technologies and also appreciate the relevance of taking a strategic approach, with a particular focus on the BM, toward the use of digital technologies.
Originality/value
This study merges two relevant streams of research in an attempt to see how they have developed synergically and what potentials their merge could offer for future research.
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