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1 – 10 of 192Jian Cai, Stephen C‐Y. Lu, François Grobler, Michael Case and Nan Jing
Collaborative processes are relatively complex and are therefore difficult to handle. Representing the joint processes and capturing the interactions among stakeholders in a…
Abstract
Purpose
Collaborative processes are relatively complex and are therefore difficult to handle. Representing the joint processes and capturing the interactions among stakeholders in a structured way are critical to improve the collaboration productivity. This paper aims to present a generic collaborative process model that improves on current approaches by explicitly representing the perspectives of stakeholders and their evolution traversing a work process.
Design/methodology/approach
This approach provides a mechanism to identify the interdependencies among tasks and stakeholders, and realizes collaboration through process management. A web‐based information system using the model to support collaborative process management is also described.
Findings
The research work provides collaboration management systems with the ability to analyze and control the processes through sharing perspectives.
Originality/value
The models and methods described in this paper are an important part of a pervasive, resilient and predictable means for business process management over the internet.
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WILLIAM H. DESVOUSGES, F. REED JOHNSON, RICHARD W. DUNFORD, K. NICOLE WILSON and KEVIN J. BOYLE
Consumer-generated online product reviews (OPRs) have become a crucial source of information for consumers; however, OPRs are increasingly being incentivized. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumer-generated online product reviews (OPRs) have become a crucial source of information for consumers; however, OPRs are increasingly being incentivized. The purpose of this paper is to find a method of sponsorship and disclosure that could be considered ethically sound.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a quasi-experimental approach to clarifying how the method of sponsorship impacts reader perceptions of OPRs in terms of helpfulness, credibility and purchase intention. Two experiments were performed on an online platform using data from 480 participants. Hypotheses were tested using analysis of covariance.
Findings
Meaning under the premise that sponsorship information is disclosed and not withheld from the readers, Study 1 revealed that experiential sponsorship is the best sponsorship. Study 2 revealed that featuring reviewers with greater influence in the online community increases the positive influence of disclosing experiential sponsorship on OPR persuasiveness.
Originality/value
The findings in this study provide rational incentives for firms to disclose sponsorship information, i.e. demonstrate high ethical standards in marketing. This was shown to create a win-win-win situation for consumers, firms and reviewers. Managerial implications for online marketing managers are also discussed.
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Avus C.Y. Hou and Wen-Lung Shiau
Emerging social networking sites (SNSs) are less advantageous than leading SNSs in attracting users. They might stand a better chance if they know what users want. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
Emerging social networking sites (SNSs) are less advantageous than leading SNSs in attracting users. They might stand a better chance if they know what users want. The purpose of this paper is to study factors that urge Facebook users to switch to Instagram to reveal how latecomers in the SNSs circuit can win the hearts of users.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes an SNS switching framework that is adapted from the demographic Push-Pull (PP) migration model to investigate users’ switching intention. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data collected from 260 Instagrammers who all had experience using Facebook before moving on Instagram.
Findings
Results show that socializing and system quality of the SNS negatively affect users’ switching intention, while attractiveness of the alternative, peer influence and critical mass do the opposite. Surprisingly, enjoyment is not associated with switching intention.
Research limitations/implications
SNSs switching may not mean a complete abandonment of previous SNSs. In many occasions, users simply become less active in one SNS and more active in other SNSs. The PP migration model provides a useful tool to understand the patterns as well as competing forces that influence the migration of SNS users, pushing them away or pulling them to new alternative sites. Specifically, pulling demonstrates to be a stronger influence than pushing.
Practical implications
This study suggests that SNS operators should satisfy users’ needs for socializing, maintain high system quality, provide peer influence tools and create their own attractive features, in order to retain existing customers or induce new users to switch.
Originality/value
This is one of the earlier empirical studies to investigate users’ switching intention from Facebook to Instagram with a valid sample. In addition, the present study approaches pull and push effects by multiple constructs, providing a clearer picture of what constitutes the pull and push forces.
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Dana L. Ott and Snejina Michailova
The International Human Resource Management literature has paid less attention to the selection of expatriates and the decision-making criteria with regard to such selection, than…
Abstract
Purpose
The International Human Resource Management literature has paid less attention to the selection of expatriates and the decision-making criteria with regard to such selection, than to issues relating to expatriates’ role, performance, adjustment, success, and failure. Yet, before expatriates commence their assignments, they need to be selected. The purpose of this book chapter is to provide an overview of issues related specifically to expatriate selection. In particular, the chapter traces the chronological development of selection over the last five decades or so, from prior to 1970 until present. The chapter subsequently identifies five expatriate selection criteria that have been applied in regard to traditional international assignments, but are also relevant to alternative assignments.
Methodology/approach
We begin by reviewing expatriate selection historically and its position within expatriate management based on changing business environments. Then, drawing from over five decades of literature on international assignments, we identify and discuss five organizational, individual, and contextual level criteria for selecting expatriates.
Findings
Emphasis on different issues tends to characterize expatriate selection during the various decades since the literature has taken up the topic. The chapter describes those issues, following a chronological perspective. In addition, the chapter organizes the various selection criteria in five clusters: organization philosophy, technical competence, relational abilities, personal characteristics, and spouse and family situation.
Research limitations and practical implications
While there are studies on expatriate selection, there is more to be understood with regard to the topic. Provided all other expatriation phases are subsequent, if selection is not understood in detail, the foundations of studying phases and processes that take place once expatriates are selected may not be sound. While the scholarly conversations of other expatriate-related issues should continue, the international human resource management literature can absorb more analyses on selection. A better understanding of expatriate selection will assist its better management. The chapter provides a basis for human resource management professionals to be able to map the various criteria for selection, and decide, under particular circumstances, which ones to prioritize and why.
Originality/value
The chapter brings clarity to a topic that has remained less researched when compared to other areas of interest related to expatriates and their international assignments by tracing the historical development of this important phase of the expatriation process. In addition, the chapter organizes a number of selection criteria along five core areas and discusses each of them to gain insights that help explain expatriate selection in greater detail.
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Zhen Chen, Heng Li, Stephen C.W. Kong and Qian Xu
This paper aims to introduce a knowledge‐based managemental prototype entitled E+ for environmental‐conscious construction relied on an integration of current environmental…
Abstract
This paper aims to introduce a knowledge‐based managemental prototype entitled E+ for environmental‐conscious construction relied on an integration of current environmental management tools in construction area. The overall objective of developing the E+ prototype is to facilitate selectively reusing the retrievable knowledge in construction engineering and management areas assembled from previous projects for the best practice in environmental‐conscious construction. The methodologies adopted in previous and ongoing research related to the development of the E+ belong to the operations research area and the information technology area, including literature review, questionnaire survey and interview, statistical analysis, system analysis and development, experimental research and simulation, and so on. The content presented in this paper includes an advanced E+ prototype, a comprehensive review of environmental management tools integrated to the E+ prototype, and an experimental case study of the implementation of the E+ prototype. It is expected that the adoption and implementation of the E+ prototype can effectively facilitate contractors to improve their environmental performance in the lifecycle of projectbased construction and to reduce adverse environmental impacts due to the deployment of various engineering and management processes at each construction stage.
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Magda Kandil and Jeffrey G. Woods
Using unpublished time‐series data for three specific age/gender groups, we first determine the percentage of female employment to total employment for nine sectors of the U.S…
Abstract
Using unpublished time‐series data for three specific age/gender groups, we first determine the percentage of female employment to total employment for nine sectors of the U.S. economy. Second, we estimate the cyclical change in hours of employment for each age/gender group within each sector. Third, we estimate the cyclical behavior of the nominal wage for each sectoral gender group. The paper’s evidence does not support, in general, a more cyclical response of female hours worked in the service‐producing sectors that are dominated by women. We find partial evidence that hours worked by men are more cyclical compared with hours worked by women in the male‐dominated goods‐producing sectors. Given the evidence of no pronounced difference in the cyclical behavior of hours and wages for men and women, the business cycle is gender‐neutral.That is, the elastic female labor supply is washed out over the business cycle across major sectors of the U.S. Economy. Observational evidence suggests supply‐side and structural factors in the economy have attenuated the business cycle, especially in the service‐producing sectors.
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This article, third in a series of six, describes Life Sciences Era activities. Life sciences, rapidly gaining momentum, will begin to dominate US economic activity by 2100, then…
Abstract
This article, third in a series of six, describes Life Sciences Era activities. Life sciences, rapidly gaining momentum, will begin to dominate US economic activity by 2100, then predominate well into the following century (see Figure 1). Massive advances will follow as the 140 000 genes, and 3 billion molecular units (base pairs) comprising the human genome are plotted in rough draft before 2001, and definitively charted by 2003. Once laid out, comprehending genetic patterns provides the means to govern many of the 75 trillion parts in every human.
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