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1 – 10 of 18Karen Yvonne Green, Meng Huang, Keith S. Walker, Steven A. Wallace and Xinlei Zhao
The increasing number of online courses in higher education has provided students with convenience and flexibility. However, some adverse effects also come with online learning…
Abstract
Purpose
The increasing number of online courses in higher education has provided students with convenience and flexibility. However, some adverse effects also come with online learning, including negatively affecting student beliefs in themselves and their perceptions of the instructor. Both are important factors for academic success. Grounded in media richness theory, this study aims to examine the impact of medium choices by investigating instructor messages on student beliefs and perceptions in an online course.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs a survey methodology using validated items to assess university student perceptions following faculty interactions (video versus customized email).
Findings
The authors find that videos and personalized emails, using mass distribution Excel features, help increase student beliefs, including social belongingness and self-efficacy, and improve students' perceptions of the instructor and learning environment.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by establishing that the richness of media of faculty messages can impact student beliefs, which in turn, may help with student success and retention. The activities used in this study are low-effort for the instructor and may have lasting effects on the students. In addition, this study fills a gap in the literature by examining multiple forms of the richness of media and their impact on multiple aspects of students' beliefs and perceptions of the instructor.
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Thusitha Dissanayake and Steven Dellaportas
This study examines accounting reform in the Sri Lankan public sector using an actor–network perspective. The study is particularly concerned with the role of the Institute of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines accounting reform in the Sri Lankan public sector using an actor–network perspective. The study is particularly concerned with the role of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Sri Lanka (ICASL) in building networks of organisational actors in the diffusion of Sri Lankan Public Sector Accounting Standards (SLPSAS).
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data draws on interviews with key actors to understand the role of ICASL in the diffusion of SLPSAS. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of ICASL and senior public sector officers. The data were analysed based on the four stages underlying the translation process: problematisation, interessement, enrolment and mobilisation.
Findings
The data suggest that ICASL became a lead player in the diffusion of public sector accounting standards because of its superior technical capability. ICASL cultivated a way of thinking about accrual accounting by executing relational influence generated through professional knowledge, and connections with the government and public sector accountants.
Research limitations/implications
Findings should be interpreted with caution; data are limited by the subjective interpretation of data. By concentrating on the role of ICASL, the role and influence of other key actors may be overlooked.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on how innovations transform accounting practice through the lens of the ICASL. The result builds on evidence explaining why provincial governments and public sector governments were hesitant to adopt SLPSAS despite central government directives.
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Heath McDonald, Steven Dunn, Dominik Schreyer and Byron Sharp
The purpose is to review literature on sports season ticket subscriptions to distil current knowledge and guide future research and practice.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to review literature on sports season ticket subscriptions to distil current knowledge and guide future research and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review is conducted of research on sports season tickets, a long-established and innovative subscription category.
Findings
In-depth examination of 28 papers showed a focus on drivers of satisfaction, churn and renewal causes, and product utilisation rates. Subscription markets typically involve many “solely loyal” consumers, most purchasing one or two subscriptions in a category. From reduced barriers to entry and exit to “curated” subscriptions, subscription marketing is changing very quickly. Sports marketers build relationships with subscribers using behavioural data, tier benefits to distinguish between casual and subscribing customers, and create recall and scarcity around key aspects of subscription to combat churn and increase utilisation.
Research limitations/implications
Scarce research on subscription marketing practices remains the primary limitation. Existing research suggests that strong connections between subscriber and organisation, heavy product utilisation and/or strong barriers to switching drive customer satisfaction and retention.
Practical implications
Rapid expansion of subscription products should reduce “excess loyalty”, meaning that subscription models' main benefit will be limited to reoccurring revenue. Exceptions occur when consumers are heavily connected to the product or have little provider choice, so allocate their category buying exclusively. New subscription products face myriad challenges. Guidance on effective subscription marketing from sports marketing research and practice is outlined.
Originality/value
By combining research on market structure, marketing empirical generalisations and subscription marketing, this paper guides future research and practice.
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Chloe A. Thompson, Madeleine Pownall, Richard Harris and Pam Blundell-Birtill
An important facet of student’s sense of belonging is students’ relationships with, and time spent in, the university campus. The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion…
Abstract
Purpose
An important facet of student’s sense of belonging is students’ relationships with, and time spent in, the university campus. The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion that access to campus “green space”, including parks, fields and gardens, may bolster students’ sense of belonging, improve well-being feelings and promote place attachment.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors surveyed students in different locations (including three green and one non-green campus spaces) across a large UK campus-based Northern institution. 146 students participated in the study in one of the four campus locations. The authors investigated how being in green spaces on campus may impact students’ sense of belonging, well-being and place attachment. The authors also qualitatively explored students’ perceptions of campus spaces through Ahn’s (2017) 10 Words Question measure.
Findings
Analyses demonstrate that students surveyed in green spaces reported significantly more positive sense of belonging, compared to students surveyed in non-green campus spaces. Campus location did not impact well-being, however. Students associated green spaces on campus with “calm”, “positive emotion” and “nature” words and non-green spaces with “busy”, “social” and “students”.
Practical implications
Taken together, the results of this paper suggest that access to green spaces can be important for campus sense of belonging. Thus, efforts should be made to ensure the sustainability of these important spaces across university campuses.
Originality/value
This study crucially examines how occupying green spaces on university campuses may impact students’ feelings of belongingness. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that uses field-based methods to understand students’ feelings whilst occupying green spaces.
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Small business owners require objective solutions to deal with threats of labour unionisation. This study aims to centre on a novel exploration for improving the leadership acumen…
Abstract
Purpose
Small business owners require objective solutions to deal with threats of labour unionisation. This study aims to centre on a novel exploration for improving the leadership acumen of small business owners to address labour unionisation. Specifically, small business owners need a theoretical framework that uses best practices from human resource management (HRM) and industrial relations to provide solutions.
Design/methodology/approach
The design, methodology and approach reflect post-modernist epistemological and ontological perspectives for conducting systematic literature reviews. A systematic literature review revealed the relationship between small business owners’ leadership, positive industrial relations and HRM policies and procedures. To identify relevant studies in the review, the utilisation of several databases (EBSCO Database, including PsycINFO and Psych studies; Web of Science) and a mix of ranked journals from entrepreneurship, human resources, leadership and organisational behaviour.
Findings
The findings and results in this paper reflect the purpose, methodology and literature analysis culminating in 162,132,000 peer-reviewed studies. A total of 142 peer-reviewed studies met criterion for review. For example, the purpose of this review focused on labour unionisation mitigation for small businesses and HRM solutions. In doing so, the methodology allowed for identification of a novel research topic (i.e. how small business owners mitigate labour unionisation) worthy of further investigation. The sparse findings on labour unionisation mitigation represent small business owners' reticence in creating HRM policies and procedures.
Originality/value
This study contributes research implications for theory and practice by offering small business owners a theoretical framework to address labour unionisation. The framework, centring on HRM solutions, is grounded in social exchange theory to address the novel topic of labour unionisation mitigation in small businesses. This study results suggest that HRM solutions for small business owners provide competitive advantages for employee job satisfaction through a holistic industrial relations approach. In future research, examining other issues discussed in this study can influence the understanding of the relationship between small business owners and industrial relations to increase employee job satisfaction.
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Blaine McCormick and Jonathan Bean
The purpose of this paper is to continue and extend the ongoing conversation about greatness in American business.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to continue and extend the ongoing conversation about greatness in American business.
Design/methodology/approach
This survey, conducted in 2021, replicates and extends McCormick and Folsom’s 2001 and 2011 rankings of the greatest entrepreneurs and businesspeople in American history. The authors’ pool surveyed 51 experts to develop an updated ranking and explore factors of greatness.
Findings
Henry Ford topped the ranking followed by John D. Rockefeller and Steve Jobs. Business scholars ranked Oprah Winfrey the greatest female and minority businessperson.
Originality/value
The authors extend previous research by surveying the authors’ expert pool about factors of greatness in American business history. “Ability to imagine or envision the future” ranked highest with “created wealth for shareholders” in last place.
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Rozbeh Madadi, Ivonne M. Torres, Reza Fazli-Salehi and Miguel Ángel Zúñiga
This paper aims to explore the effectiveness of ethnically targeted ads in developing consumer–brand relationships through an application of social identification theory and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the effectiveness of ethnically targeted ads in developing consumer–brand relationships through an application of social identification theory and elaboration likelihood model among African American consumers in the service sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 used a 2 (service type: hedonic vs utilitarian) × 2 (strength of ethnic identification: high vs low) between-subjects experimental design. Study 2 used the same experimental design, procedure and ads as Study 1.
Findings
Taken together, the findings from these two studies demonstrate how ethnically targeted advertising, in conjunction with service type, can influence consumer–brand relationships. The results showed that those with high strength of ethnic identification had more brand love, as well as higher intentions to spread positive word-of-mouth, purchase intention and brand loyalty for hedonic services, but that this effect was not significant for utilitarian services.
Research limitations/implications
The environments in which advertisements appear (e.g. in an in-store display or a magazine advertisement) is important, and consumers’ reactions to targeted ads in various environments should be considered in future research. Future studies should also examine the role of individuals’ personality traits and level of acculturation in determining their relationships with brands.
Originality/value
Across two studies, the authors demonstrated that ethnic ads are more effective for African American individuals with high level of ethnic identification especially for hedonic services.
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The purpose of this paper is to outline a research protocol for an initial investigation into the efficacy of an early-development gamified intervention (“Wellbeing Town”…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline a research protocol for an initial investigation into the efficacy of an early-development gamified intervention (“Wellbeing Town”) designed with potential end-users with the aim of improving adult wellbeing. Rationale for the proposed research is discussed along with a summary of the planned methodological approach.
Design/methodology/approach
Preliminary evaluation of “Wellbeing Town” is proposed to begin using a quasi-experiment, pre- vs post-intervention repeated-measures design with follow-up. Evaluation of changes in self-reported wellbeing will be supplemented with an investigation into the extent of self-directed play between post-intervention and follow-up, and its implications for follow-up outcome.
Findings
As this paper represents a protocol for future evaluation, no data is reported presently. The authors present the protocol for data analysis.
Originality/value
Once concluded, this study represents an initial evaluation of a gamified tool for adult wellbeing designed in conjunction with potential end-users. Should the game elicit significant improvements to wellbeing when played, proposals for further evaluation and possible future scalability are presented.
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Junyun Liao, Siying He, Yanghong Hu, Jiawen Chen and Xuebing Dong
Global product-harm crises increased in recent years. After such crises, firms' product-recall policies varied across countries, which might cause consumers in some countries to…
Abstract
Purpose
Global product-harm crises increased in recent years. After such crises, firms' product-recall policies varied across countries, which might cause consumers in some countries to feel unfairly treated. Drawing on the relative deprivation theory, this study aims to examine how perceived unfairness of local consumers alters their attitudes toward unfairness-enacting foreign brands and competing domestic brands.
Design/methodology/approach
This framework was tested by a netnography study on two product recalls from Samsung along with a consumer survey. While this netnography study provided preliminary support to the framework, survey data collected from 501 Samsung consumers after the Galaxy Note 7 crisis validated the theoretical model again.
Findings
Perceived unfairness increases local consumers' avoidance of involved foreign brands and their intention to purchase domestic brands through evoking anger toward the foreign brands. Moreover, the detrimental impact of perceived unfairness is found to be stronger when consumers' prior relationship quality is high.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that investigates unfair product recalls across countries and aims to provide important insights into how consumers react to the unfair treatment of foreign brands in a global product-harm context. This study contributes to the product-harm crisis literature and provides important implications for global product-harm crisis management strategies.
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Nguyen Thuy Trang, Steven W. Kopp, Vo Hong Tu and Mitsuyasu Yabe
The purpose of the present research is to examine the comparative values that urban Vietnamese consumers place on attributes of rice that is produced using environmentally…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the present research is to examine the comparative values that urban Vietnamese consumers place on attributes of rice that is produced using environmentally friendly methods. The authors consider the impacts that this may have on the livelihoods of rural Vietnamese small farmers. Rice is an “impure public good” that includes both “private” and “public” attributes that consumers consider in their purchase decisions. Consumers make tradeoffs between environmentally and socially beneficial practices (public goods) and perceptions of product quality (private goods). The authors used latent class modeling to investigate the values associated with attributes of rice that is produced using sustainable farming practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a discrete choice experimental design in which consumers stated their choices among combinations of rice attributes. The survey provided responses from 360 urban Vietnamese consumers and allowed to estimate the preferences and nonpecuniary values for rice grown using different levels of environmentally beneficial production methods.
Findings
The results identify two segments of rice consumers: one group of consumers who are sensitive to price and the other group who are sensitive to environmental issues. The individual characteristics are reflected in the choices of production methods and in the willingness to pay for environmentally beneficial outcomes of those methods.
Research limitations/implications
Given the number of independent variables measured, the sample was relatively small, such that confirmatory statistical methods were inconclusive. However, the authors used multiple analytical tools that provide corroboration of the significant determinants of the utility functions for the two segments.
Practical implications
The results provide directions for production of rice at a national level, as well as practical implications for consumer-oriented communications.
Social implications
Results suggest that the emerging middle class of Vietnamese consumers are willing to pay more for rice that is produced using methods that are beneficial to the environment. Results also indicate challenges to provide sustainably-produced rice to poorer groups of consumers.
Originality/value
The study provides important context for consumer preferences within emerging economies. This also adds to a growing literature that uses the choice experiment method to estimate consumer valuation of the outcomes of various agricultural practices.
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