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1 – 10 of 71
Article
Publication date: 23 August 2011

Stephanie Watts and George Wyner

The ethical consumption movement is increasingly being supported by mobile web applications that enable consumers to reward ethical companies (and punish unethical ones) with…

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Abstract

Purpose

The ethical consumption movement is increasingly being supported by mobile web applications that enable consumers to reward ethical companies (and punish unethical ones) with their purchasing decisions. By providing company ethics information to consumers at the point of purchase with the swipe of a barcode, these applications hold the promise of an additional market mechanism for motivating companies to serve the public good. However, the degree that this potential is realized will depend on how widely such applications are adopted and diffused. This paper aims to identify design factors for such applications that theory suggests will enhance their diffusion by increasing the likelihood that the user will adopt the information these applications deliver.

Design/methodology/approach

The multi‐level model incorporates dual‐process cognitive theory, social capital theory, and technical design features of the mobile technology‐enabled ethical consumption (MTEC) tool to understand factors that contribute to information adoption. In this way the paper takes a design science approach to the problem of enhancing human and societal benefit.

Findings

The findings have identified technical design features for MTEC tools that show promise for maximizing data transparency, source credibility, and information adoption. These features also have the potential to minimize consumers' cost/effort to contribute their purchase (and non‐purchase) decision information to the associated community, increasing the quantity and frequency of such contributions.

Originality/value

Market‐based mechanisms for upholding the public good hold much promise for ensuring the long‐term viability of society and the earth. Hence, the role that IT can play in establishing and supporting them demands rigorous theoretically driven models of design prior to empirical validation. Whereas design science research (DSR) is often focused on solving a business problem, this work helps to expand the domain of DSR to encompass the need to address problems of human benefit and civil society.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 July 2008

Wei Zhang and Stephanie Watts

The purpose of this paper is to investigate to which extent the concept of communities of practice (CoPs) can be applied to online communities and to explore how organizations can

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate to which extent the concept of communities of practice (CoPs) can be applied to online communities and to explore how organizations can better utilize online social structures for their knowledge management practice.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study was used to examine an online community with the practice‐and‐identity framework that characterizes conventional CoPs. Qualitative data analysis was conducted primarily on 7,853 messages downloaded from the online community during a six week period.

Findings

The results showed how an online community could manifest the practice and identity characteristics of conventional CoPs as community members actively engaged in their shared practice and identity development while pursuing a joint enterprise. Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted in a single Chinese online community on traveling, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

This study suggested how organizations can nurture online CoPs. In addition, a hierarchical model was proposed to help organizations identify the appropriate online social structure for their knowledge management purposes. Originality/valueThis study empirically verified that CoPs can emerge from online communities and demonstrated that the concept of CoPs can be used to guide knowledge sharing and knowledge creation in online environments.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2004

Samer Faraj, Dowan Kwon and Stephanie Watts

Much of IT research focuses on issues of adoption and adaptation of established technology artifacts by users and organizations and has neglected issues of how new technologies…

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Abstract

Much of IT research focuses on issues of adoption and adaptation of established technology artifacts by users and organizations and has neglected issues of how new technologies come into existence and evolve. To fill this gap, this paper depicts a complex picture of technology evolution to illustrate the development of Web browser technology. Building on actor‐network theory as a basis for studying complex technology evolution processes, it explores the emergence of the browser using content analysis techniques on archival data from 1993‐1998. Identifies three processes of inscribing, translating, and framing that clarify how actors acted and reacted to each other and to the emergent technological definition of the browser. This spiral development pattern incorporates complex interplay between base beliefs about what a browser is, artifacts that are the instantiation of those beliefs, evaluation routines that compare the evolving artifact to collective expectations, and strategic moves that attempt to skew the development process to someone's advantage. This approach clarifies the complex interdependence of disparate elements that over time produced the Web browser as it is known today.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2004

Ole Hanseth, Margunn Aanestad and Marc Berg

In this editorial introduction Allen Lee's definition of the information systems (IS) field is taken as the starting point: “Research in the information systems field examines…

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Abstract

In this editorial introduction Allen Lee's definition of the information systems (IS) field is taken as the starting point: “Research in the information systems field examines more than just the technological system, or just the social system, or even the two systems side by side; in addition, it investigates the phenomena that emerge when the two interact” (Lee, A. “Editorial”, MISQ, Vol. 25, No. 1, 2001, p. iii). By emphasizing the last part of this, it is argued that actor‐network theory (ANT) can provide IS research with unique and very powerful tools to help us overcome the current poor understanding of the information technology (IT) artifact (Orlikowski, W. and Iacono, S., “Research commentary: desperately seeking the ‘IT’ in IT research – a call for theorizing the IT artifact”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 10 No. 2, 2001, pp. 121‐34). These tools include a broad range of concepts describing the interwoven relationships between the social.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 7 August 2017

Luna Glucksberg

Based on a case study of the ‘regeneration’ of the ‘Five Estates’ of Peckham, a neighbourhood located in south-east London, this chapter considers the social implications of urban…

Abstract

Purpose

Based on a case study of the ‘regeneration’ of the ‘Five Estates’ of Peckham, a neighbourhood located in south-east London, this chapter considers the social implications of urban ‘regeneration’ processes from an anthropological perspective centred on concepts of waste and value and highlights the emotional turmoil and personal disruption that individuals affected by regeneration plans routinely experience.

Methodology/approach

An ethnographic approach is used based on participant observation, unstructured and semi-structured interviews as well as limited archival research. Life histories are central to the methodology and these result in the substantial use of long quotes from respondents, to highlight the ways in which they framed the issues as well as their opinions.

Findings

The chapter shows how urban regeneration processes that involve displacements and demolitions deeply affect the lives of estate residents. In juxtaposing the voices and experiences of local politicians, officers and residents it sheds light on the ways in which the values and interests of some individuals — those invested with more power, ultimately — ended up shaping regenerated landscapes. At the same time, the homes and communities valued by the residents who lived in them were demolished, removed and destroyed. They were wasted, literally and symbolically, erased from the landscape, their claims to it denied and ultimately forgotten.

Social implications

The chapter highlights how while the rhetoric of regeneration strives to portray these developments as improvement and renewal, the ethnographic evidence shows instead the other side of urban regeneration as wasting both communities and urban landscapes resulting in ‘state-led gentrification’.

Originality/value

Thinking about regeneration and recycling through waste and value allows us to consider these processes in a novel way: at a micro level we can look at the ways in which individuals attribute to and recognise value in different sets of objects and social relationships. At the macro level we can then observe how the power dynamics that shaped the situation resulted in only a specific view and set of values to be enacted and respected, while all others were silenced, wasted and literally expelled from Peckham.

Details

Social Housing and Urban Renewal
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-124-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2016

Stephanie Alexandra Macht and Steve Ball

This paper seeks to address an underdeveloped aspect of entrepreneurship education (EE), which is still criticised for not explicitly linking educational practice with established…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to address an underdeveloped aspect of entrepreneurship education (EE), which is still criticised for not explicitly linking educational practice with established educational theory. As such, the purpose of this paper is to propose a novel educational framework – Authentic Alignment – that the authors evolved based on their own EE practice, as well as two major educational theories.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of a range of conceptual educational frameworks in EE revealed a gap in the current literature, referring to the fact that practice is not sufficiently linked to sound educational theory. The paper combines a range of educational theories – predominantly Constructive Alignment (CA) and Authenticity – to develop a novel conceptual framework, termed “Authentic Alignment”. The discussion of Authentic Alignment draws upon EE literature, as well as student feedback and the reflections and experiences of the practitioners and academics involved in delivering a higher education unit underpinned by Authentic Alignment.

Findings

It is argued that Authentic Alignment coherently and explicitly links educational practice to major established educational theories and as such presents a valuable approach to education through entrepreneurship as it aligns authentic approaches to instruction, learning and assessment that strike a balance between resembling and being relevant for real entrepreneurial activity.

Practical implications

The paper invites educators to draw upon Authentic Alignment for their own entrepreneurship units/programmes by customising the specific approaches to their own requirements, while retaining the underlying principle of constructively aligned authentic education.

Originality/value

By explicitly linking EE to CA and Authenticity, this paper introduces a novel educational framework that provides a valuable structure for education through entrepreneurship. The customisability of Authentic Alignment, however, suggests a wider applicability and is thus valuable also for education about and for entrepreneurship.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 58 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2020

Jill Manthorpe and Stephanie Bramley

This purpose of this paper is to review evidence about the barriers and facilitators to ex-service personnel obtaining employment within social care roles. Social care has…

Abstract

Purpose

This purpose of this paper is to review evidence about the barriers and facilitators to ex-service personnel obtaining employment within social care roles. Social care has long-standing, well-recognised problems of staff recruitment and retention. Policymakers and employers are exploring if there are untapped sources of potential employees. Some ex-service personnel may be interested in exploring a move to social care work with older people but may face barriers to such a move which may need to be addressed.

Design/methodology/approach

Databases and grey literature were searched systematically to provide an overview of evidence on this topic. In total, 23 articles were included in the review.

Findings

A narrative analysis revealed barriers to ex-service personnel obtaining employment within social care not only related to their previous occupation, health status and identity but also facilitators related to the sector’s severe recruitment challenges and the transferable skills of ex-service personnel. Evidence suggests that learning from health services may be highly relevant and transferable.

Research limitations/implications

This review was confined to English language studies published between 2008 and 2018. Few mentioned specific user or client groups.

Originality/value

This review identified evidence suggesting that learning from health services may be highly relevant and transferable to the social care sector so as to facilitate the transition of more ex-service personnel into social care work with older people.

Details

Working with Older People, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-3666

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 September 2020

Stephanie Anne Shelton and Maureen A. Flint

Transcription is an integral component to qualitative research, and as such, the ways that researchers discuss transcription in the literature matter. Scholarly discussions on the…

Abstract

Purpose

Transcription is an integral component to qualitative research, and as such, the ways that researchers discuss transcription in the literature matter. Scholarly discussions on the “how” and “why” of transcription not only shape discourse within interview data-based fields; they inform the ways that researchers understand the roles and ramifications of transcribing. This study aims to provide a comprehensive literature review of articles on transcription published in qualitative methods journals over the past 25 years, offering implications for research practice and pedagogy.

Design/methodology/approach

The literature review asked: How do qualitative researchers discuss transcription/transcribing? The authors first reviewed how transcription was discussed in the literature in qualitative studies in the social sciences broadly. Based on the findings, the authors then conducted a comprehensive literature review in 14 qualitative methods journals.

Findings

The authors found that overall, authors discussed transcription either as a technical tool or as a complex, researcher-constructed process. Specifically, utilitarian discussions of transcription emphasized transcription accuracy and efficiency, while theoretical discussions of transcription emphasized a continuously analytic and researcher-constructed process.

Originality/value

This study offers a comprehensive overview of the past 25 years of articles published on transcription. The authors conclude with a discussion of articles that bridge the theoretical and utilitarian discussions, as well as considerations for using transcription as a pedagogical tool for teaching qualitative research methods.

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2016

Angela Stephanie Mazzetti

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the diverse and strong emotions experienced by the researcher when conducting an ethnographic study in an organisational setting.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the diverse and strong emotions experienced by the researcher when conducting an ethnographic study in an organisational setting.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper extracts from research diaries written over a three-year organisational ethnography study period are presented to the reader.

Findings

This paper provides an insight into the range of emotions that are experienced throughout the various stages of the research process from securing access, to conducting fieldwork and writing up research for publication.

Research limitations/implications

Although this paper focusses on organisational ethnography, comparisons are drawn with related disciplines and as such, this paper may also be of interest to those conducting ethnographic studies in other fields.

Practical implications

It is hoped that the sharing of emotional experiences will better prepare new organisational researchers for the emotions they may experience in the field.

Originality/value

There is a recognised need for more sharing of emotional experience in organisational studies. It is hoped that this paper goes some way to highlighting these emotional challenges and providing a catalyst for other researchers to do the same.

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2024

Wanyu Mou, S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh and Stephanie Hui-Wen Chuah

As perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become one of the long-term sustainable development strategies for many companies, this paper investigates the…

Abstract

Purpose

As perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become one of the long-term sustainable development strategies for many companies, this paper investigates the interrelationships between sustainable values (SVs), perceived CSR and customer behaviour in the restaurant industry.

Design/methodology/approach

To gather data needed to meet the study aims, we conducted an online survey of restaurant patrons in China, and used partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse the proposed models and test the hypotheses.

Findings

The obtained findings confirm that the three studied SV dimensions (equality, respect for nature and shared responsibility) have positive effects on perceived CSR, which in turn significantly affects word of mouth (WOM). Moreover, perceived CSR mediates the relationship between the three SVs and WOM but has no impact on the relationship between SVs and revisit intention.

Practical implications

The results of this study have practical implications for managers in the restaurant industry. Restaurant managers can prioritize their CSR efforts based on the relative importance of SV dimensions, which is useful in generating positive WOM.

Originality/value

Even though the importance of CSR is widely recognised, it is insufficiently studied from the perspective of restaurant customers. This research not only addresses this gap, but also expands the current understanding of SVs and their impact on CSR.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

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