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1 – 10 of over 148000Paitoon Chetthamrongchai and Gary Davies
Market segmentation in retailing can be based on traditional demographic measures of the customer base or on other measures including shoppers’ motivations. One criticism of…
Abstract
Market segmentation in retailing can be based on traditional demographic measures of the customer base or on other measures including shoppers’ motivations. One criticism of existing approaches is that they are not based on a theoretical model of consumer behaviour. In this paper the potential for time allocation theory to provide the necessary theoretical underpinning is investigated. It is argued that attitudes to time underpin attitudes to time‐consuming activities such as food shopping. A questionnaire instrument was developed to measure five time attitudes (past, present and future orientation, time pressure and succession) and five shopping attitudes (apathy, convenience, enjoyment, shopping as a routine activity and as an event). Correlations are hypothesised between the time and shopping attitudes and shopping behaviour. The results of a survey of shoppers are reported to test these relationships. Cluster analysis is used on the shopping and time attitudes to define four segments. The ability of the clusters to identify differences in retail patronage is tested. The relative ability of time and shopping attitudes to predict patronage is compared with traditional demographic measures and the distance from the respondent’s home to the store. Attitudes to time were found to contribute more frequently in describing actual behaviour than other types of variable.
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Haizhao Liang, Zhaowei Sun and Jianying Wang
This paper aims to investigate the fast attitude coordinated control problem for rigid satellite swarms with communication delays.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the fast attitude coordinated control problem for rigid satellite swarms with communication delays.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on behavior‐based control approach, the attitude control system is designed to guarantee that the attitude of the satellite swarm converge to a dynamic reference state in finite time. A fast sliding mode is developed to improve the convergence rate and robustness of the control system. All the effects of communication delays, parameter uncertainties and external disturbances are taken into account simultaneously, and the communication topology of the satellite swarm can be arbitrary types. Numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the analytic results.
Findings
Despite the existence of communication delays, parameter uncertainties and external disturbances, the stability of the closed‐loop system can be successfully guaranteed and the proposed control strategies are effective to overcome these unexpected phenomena subject to arbitrary communication topology.
Originality/value
This paper introduces a fast terminal sliding mode control method which can guarantee the fast convergence of the attitude state of the satellite swarm in the presence of communication delays, switched communication topology, parameter uncertainties and external disturbances.
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Hong‐Youl Ha, J. Denise John, Joby John and Nam‐Yun Kim
This study aims to examine the changes in expectations and attitudes toward a brand over time. Furthermore, since consumers are able to change their previous judgments with…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the changes in expectations and attitudes toward a brand over time. Furthermore, since consumers are able to change their previous judgments with information provided by a firm or dealer, the study seeks to examine moderator effects of such new information on an expectations‐attitude model.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a longitudinal study of automobile consumers, the study demonstrates significant carryover, and moderating effects of information provision on temporal changes in expectations and attitude.
Findings
The findings contribute to understanding the time dependency and the dynamic nature of consumer expectations and attitudes. New information provided during direct contact by the marketer updates consumers' (previous) expectations and, consequently, such new information updates consumer attitudes toward the brand.
Practical implications
As consumers' attitudes change over time, marketers should focus on reinforcing attitude toward the product. It would be desirable to design information for consumers to improve a favorable attitude toward the product. In the current example, as sports utility vehicle markets get more competitive, it is critical to create consumer‐focused information.
Originality/value
This study provides two important contributions to the understanding of the time dependency of consumers' expectations, evaluations and attitudes.
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Judith Prantl, Susanne Freund and Elisabeth Kals
In recent decades, higher education institutes (HEIs) have come under pressure to cooperate with society as a whole. This shift towards an increased focus on third mission and…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent decades, higher education institutes (HEIs) have come under pressure to cooperate with society as a whole. This shift towards an increased focus on third mission and social innovation activities implies a substantial organizational change process for many HEIs, as they need to initiate both structural and cultural changes. This paper provides guidance for such change processes by examining the views and attitudes of academic and administrative staff, as well as students within the HEIs over a period in which the HEIs increase their focus on social innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a longitudinal quantitative approach consisting of a survey of administrative and academic staff, as well as students at two German HEIs. The authors studied members’ attitudes towards third mission and social innovation activities (N = 3470).
Findings
Results suggest that the university members’ attitudes towards third mission and social innovation are positive but change to some extent over time. Different aspects shape the attitudes within the three groups (administrative staff, academic staff and students). Furthermore, attitudes vary among academic employees who are involved in the process and those who are not.
Practical implications
The findings provide useful information for university managers and anyone aiming to promote social innovation at HEIs.
Originality/value
The study examines how attitudes of university members change whenever social innovation takes place at HEIs. This study includes data on the participation and empowerment of all HEI members in view of the important role that HEIs can play as supporters of social innovation.
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Manuela Naldini and Cristina Solera
During the transition to parenthood, the gender division of paid and unpaid work undergoes a profound redefinition in response to both attitudes and resources. These attitudes may…
Abstract
During the transition to parenthood, the gender division of paid and unpaid work undergoes a profound redefinition in response to both attitudes and resources. These attitudes may be concordant or discordant between two partners, they may or may not clash with perceived financial or labour market constraints, and they may or may not provoke explicit conflicts and negotiations. In this study, by combining quantitative and qualitative data, we focus on Italian couples with young children or in transition to first child, and we explore what happens when partners have discordant views. The findings show that the division of domestic and care work seems more resistant to change and more responsive to the husband’s attitudes than does the division of paid work, as the latter is mainly driven by the woman’s education and attitudes. The findings also show that very few couples overtly disagree. If they do so, the main issue in dispute is the allocation of domestic work and the main solution consists more in hiring external help than in obtaining the husband’s greater participation. Compared with domestic work, the allocation of care is a less disputed and more flexible issue: when women start negotiations on a more equal sharing, men are more willing to increase their participation. However, when a more equal sharing is not attained, couples’ narratives tend to give the “cause” to the constraints of the man (typically his work) than of the woman, while they point at a redefinition (for the best of the family) of her rather than his preferences.
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Sara Ann McComb, Melissa Woodard Barringer and Kristina A Bourne
Part-time employment is a vital portion of the U.S. labor force, yet research to date has provided only limited insights into how to successfully create and manage this sector of…
Abstract
Part-time employment is a vital portion of the U.S. labor force, yet research to date has provided only limited insights into how to successfully create and manage this sector of the workforce. We propose that these limitations are due, at least in part, to an inadequate explication of the levels issues inherent in this area. In this article, we present a summary framework of constructs at the economic, industry, organization, individual, and work levels that influence part-time work arrangements. We then specify a cross-level moderator model that examines how the number of hours worked by employees influences their attitudes and behaviors. We posit that this relationship is moderated by a number of contextual effects at multiple levels. Using this sample model, we demonstrate the way in which researchers examining part-time work arrangements can effectively address levels issues. Our article concludes with a discussion of the implications that this summary framework has for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers.
The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total…
Abstract
The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total employment. It is estimated that in 1970, average annual hours worked per employee amounted to only 60% of those for 1870. Two major factors are attributed to explaining the underlying trend towards a reduction in working time: (a) the increase in the number of voluntary part‐time employees and (b) the decrease in average annual number of days worked per employee (Kok and de Neubourg, 1986). The authors noted that the growth rate of part‐time employment in many countries was greater than the corresponding rate of growth in full‐time employment.
Erdener Kaynak, Ali Kara, Clement S.F. Chow and Ali Riza Apil
The empirical, cross-national study reported here examines how time orientations influence attitudes toward advertising in two emerging Asian economies with very different…
Abstract
Purpose
The empirical, cross-national study reported here examines how time orientations influence attitudes toward advertising in two emerging Asian economies with very different background and time orientation, namely Macau and Georgia. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire was used as an instrument to conduct a survey for the study. The questionnaire design was adapted from Rojas-Méndez et al. study. The two samples were collected through either a drop-off-and-pick-up method or street-intercept interview.
Findings
Georgians are found to be more past oriented and had had more suspicious feelings about advertising whereas Macau data indicated more future-orientation was the most dominant dimensions and they had better dispositions towards advertising.
Practical implications
With the findings, managers of different time orientation markets can consider one more factor to strike for the optimal balance in placing their promotional budget between pull and push strategy, and between above-the-line and below-the-line activities when executing the pull strategy.
Social implications
Government of different time orientation can be more informed of the effectiveness of using advertising to communicate with its citizens in its culture.
Originality/value
Studies on how time orientation relates to attitudes toward advertising are few and such relationship appears to be never compared within two Asian countries with very different background and time orientation.
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Philippa Hankinson, Wendy Lomax and Chris Hand
As staff are vital to successful re‐branding, particularly in the charity sector where restricted budgets limit reliance on external marketing, it is important to understand the…
Abstract
Purpose
As staff are vital to successful re‐branding, particularly in the charity sector where restricted budgets limit reliance on external marketing, it is important to understand the impact of re‐branding on staff. This study aims to examine the effect of time on staff knowledge, attitudes and behaviour and, in addition, the interaction of time with seniority, tenure and level of support for re‐branding.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper first explores the literature from both the for‐profit and non‐profit sectors. A quantitative study was undertaken in nine leading, UK charities that had re‐branded two, three and four years ago; n=345. The data were analysed using one‐way and two‐way ANOVAs.
Findings
A negative relationship was found between time since re‐branding and the three constructs of knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. But this consistency was not mirrored by a consistency in the impact of interaction effects.
Practical implications
Re‐branding is not a one‐off event. To sustain its benefits, organizations need to re‐visit its outcomes on a regular basis to ensure staff retain new knowledge, remain positively motivated and maintain their recently adapted behaviours over time.
Originality/value
Thought to be the first empirical paper to explore the effects of re‐branding over time. Furthermore, the findings contradict those from the extant literature that claim that organizational change requires a “settling in” period. By contrast these findings suggest that the positive effects of re‐branding are best felt in the immediate wake of re‐branding and thereafter fade over time.
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