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1 – 10 of 122Chee Hua Chin, Susan Su-Zhuang Thian and May Chiun Lo
Rural tourism has emerged as one of the potential economic contributors to the country’s economic growth. To this extent, tourism stakeholders are aware of the rural tourism…
Abstract
Purpose
Rural tourism has emerged as one of the potential economic contributors to the country’s economic growth. To this extent, tourism stakeholders are aware of the rural tourism destination competitiveness where the development should be aligned with the objectives to achieve destination competitive advantage. Given the importance of studying factors that contribute to the development of rural tourism competitive advantage, the present study aimed to propose a research framework by identifying six predictors from the local community based on their experiential knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered through a structured questionnaire survey where 144 respondents comprising local communities from Kampung Semadang – Borneo Heights, Sarawak, Malaysia – were involved. To assess the developed model, SmartPLS 2.0 (M3) was applied based on path modelling (measurement model assessment) followed by bootstrapping analysis (structural model assessment).
Findings
Interestingly, the findings revealed that the communities believed economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts significantly contributes to the development of rural tourism competitive advantage. Additionally, communities from Kampung Semadang viewed that both community knowledge and support for tourism greatly affect the development of rural tourism destination competitive advantage. Surprisingly, there was no significant relationship between stakeholder involvement and rural tourism competitive advantage.
Practical implications
From a practical point of view, the findings of the study provide valuable information to tourism stakeholders and policy planners about the importance of tri-dimensional tourism impacts, as well as community knowledge and support in the development of rural tourism destination competitive advantage. In line with policy development or planning for rural tourism development, the tourism stakeholders should pay more concern on the tri-dimensional impacts, the importance of community knowledge about tourism and gaining the community support for tourism development to achieve the goal of competitiveness.
Originality/value
There is lack of study in investigating the development of rural tourism competitive advantage with a holistic framework. This paper studies the intended or unintended economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts triggered by the tourism activities. This study has also investigated the local communities’ knowledge and supports toward tourism as the community efforts determine the success of a destination management, especially in the rural area. Stakeholder involvement was also examined as the collaboration among relevant parties to create competitive advantage is essential to achieve sustainable rural tourism.
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Ivete Delai and Sérgio Takahashi
The primary aim of this paper is to develop a reference model for measuring corporate sustainability that can be used by organizations to integrate sustainability measures into…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary aim of this paper is to develop a reference model for measuring corporate sustainability that can be used by organizations to integrate sustainability measures into their current performance measurement system, helping them to embed sustainability into daily activities and to forge a sustainability culture. A secondary intent is to present a critical analysis of some well‐known sustainability measurement initiatives, showing their strengths and shortcomings.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach employed to develop the reference model described in this paper is a qualitative analysis of the complementarity, shortcomings and strengths of eight well‐known sustainability measurement initiatives alongside an extant corporate sustainability literature review.
Findings
The research carried out has found that there is not a single initiative analyzed that tackles all sustainability issues and in fact there is no consensus around what should be measured and how. The main divergences are related to the following aspects: different criteria are applied by the initiatives to classify issues between dimensions; same impacts are evaluated at different levels of a cause‐effect relationship continuum by the same initiative; disagreement about the groups of stakeholders a company should engage and assessing the company impacts that should be taken into account (direct only or those of its whole value chain). Moreover, the way in which most initiatives measure sustainability performance is not the most adequate to embed it into the performance measurement systems, since they evaluate sustainability via presence of management practice and employ absolute values indicators rather than result‐oriented measures and ratio indicators that are more adequate for internal decision making. In this context, a sustainability measurement model was developed that is more comprehensive, objective and value‐oriented, constituting an attempt to shed light on these problems.
Research limitations/implications
The major limitation is the fact that the proposed model does not provide any guidance to select the sustainability key issues for an organization to be integrated into its current performance measurement system. It mainly provides a very comprehensive set of sustainability issues and measures that could be used.
Originality/value
This paper sheds light on some sustainability measurement current challenges – lack of consensus of what should be measured and how – and sustainability embedment into daily activities. Academics will find it useful in their research efforts since it presents a broad review of sustainability concepts as well as an analysis of strengths and shortcomings of all and each sustainability initiative focused. Practitioners will also find it useful as a tool to better understand the sustainability concept, to start measuring sustainability performance, to integrate it in, as well as to evaluate, their current performance measurement systems.
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Mirja Mikkilä, Jussi Heinimö, Virgilio Panapanaan, Lassi Linnanen and Andre Faaij
The purpose of this paper is to outline a comprehensive picture of the coverage of various certification schemes and sustainability principles relating to the entire value‐added…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline a comprehensive picture of the coverage of various certification schemes and sustainability principles relating to the entire value‐added chain of biomass and bioenergy and comparing them accordingly.
Design/methodology/approach
A tri‐dimensional approach (sustainability issues; technical biomass conversion routes; physical trade flows) was developed for testing the coverage of various sustainability dimensions in different phases of the value‐added chain with the chosen certification schemes and sustainability principles.
Findings
Using the tri‐dimensional approach, a comparison of the chosen schemes and principles demonstrated that the application of existing schemes and the development of new ones have placed a major emphasis on the primary production of biomass. Economic and social dimensions related to biofuels and bioenergy processing and trade were either emphasised less or they were covered inadequately. In view of this, the schemes sometimes seem to ignore that the utilisation of renewable energy as such guarantee no positive or neutral climate impact and may not be economically sustainable, especially when bioenergy can often be more expensive than energy generated from fossil energy sources.
Originality/value
The analysis showed that the tri‐dimensional model is an applicable framework that could facilitate policy makers to formulate policies that comprehensively take into consideration the various sustainability dimensions throughout the entire value‐added chain, now and in the future. It can be applied to the future outlining and completion of certification schemes and sustainability principles for biomass and bioenergy, as well as in the testing of their applicability in the implementation.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of country of origin (COO) information on brand perception and brand image structure.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of country of origin (COO) information on brand perception and brand image structure.
Design/methodology/approach
Through an analytical review, research hypotheses were built. An empirical investigation was carried out among Japanese consumers. Two brands of electronics with different levels of reputation were investigated.
Findings
Results showed that COO had an effect on brand perception. This effect differs across brands and across countries of production. Brand‐origin appears to be of significant impact on consumer perception. Brand images are found to be multidimensional. Their structures differ across brands and across COO.
Research limitations/implications
COO has multiple effects on brand image perception. Brand image is multidimensional. This research dealt with one type of product among culturally similar respondents which may limit the finding.
Practical implications
Marketing actions should be customized across brands with different levels of reputation. Brand image should be assessed as a multidimensional concept incorporating multiple facets. Consumers are influenced by the brand‐origin. Marketers should be aware of this association.
Originality/value
This research tests the multidimensional aspect of brand image structure and effect of COO information on brand image structure. Results show that COO information affects both the degree of fragmentation of brand image as well as its composition.
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Ceren Altuntas and Duygu Turker
The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between the globalization/adaptation debate and corporate foundation activity within a small subset of such foundations. In the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between the globalization/adaptation debate and corporate foundation activity within a small subset of such foundations. In the light of this debate, the study analyzes the corporate social responsibility (CSR) approaches of this sample of corporate-owned foundations using the tri-dimensional CSR research model of Arthaud-Day (2005) to articulate the perspective, content and strategic orientations of the companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The study selects three different corporate foundations based on internationalization scale and field of activities. A content analysis methodology is applied to the data collected from the official web sites of 24 corporate foundations.
Findings
The analysis results show a general compatibility between the subsidiaries and the main branches of the corporate foundations, at least on the conceptual level. However, the practices of CSR activities, targeted stakeholders or content domains differ at the operational level. Nevertheless, local governance is still not totally independent, especially in terms of received funds. Therefore, this study concludes that the internationalization strategies of these corporate foundations are still at a formative stage of transnationalization.
Research limitations/implications
The study explores the three selected international companies and their corporate foundations. Future studies may extend the number of selected industries and companies. Together with increased coverage, future survey studies may help explain the global or local orientations of corporate foundations’ CSR in different domains.
Practical implications
Corporate foundations may extend their transnational strategies to further stages by differentiating between those units that should be managed on a global scale and those that should be managed by local authorities. They may balance the amount of investment in different regions while adopting collaborative governance models to respond to regions where grant applications are not an easy tool for stakeholders to use.
Originality/value
Given the relatively paucity of CSR studies with an international focus, this study contributes to the standardization or localization debate in the international business literature. The study’s originality lies in its attempt to operationalize the theoretical research model and through its use of corporate foundations as the unit of analysis.
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Wei Wang, Shilin Wu, Peihua Zhu and Xuepeng Li
The paper aims to present a new thought for design of a thrown robot based on flexible structures. The aim of the design is to reduce the weight and improve the anti-impact…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to present a new thought for design of a thrown robot based on flexible structures. The aim of the design is to reduce the weight and improve the anti-impact capability for mini thrown robot.
Design/methodology/approach
A mass-spring wheeled robot model is proposed and an impact analysis is given in this paper. Some principia were derived for configuration design and material choice to get a light and robust thrown reconnaissance robot. Based on the theoretical analysis, flexible elements like flexure hinges or rubber shell were utilized to build two generation of robots that both showed excellent performances of anti-impact ability.
Findings
A second-generation thrown robot (2,050 g) was developed, which could survive dropping from the height of 6 m more than 10 times without apparent damage.
Originality/value
The method based on the flexible structure provides the thrown robot with high survivability from impact, as well as light weight. It can be used in the design of the mini thrown reconnaissance robot at low cost.
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Siew‐Yong Lam, Voon‐Hsien Lee, Keng‐Boon Ooi and Kongkiti Phusavat
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between total quality management (TQM), market orientation and service quality in the Malaysian service industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between total quality management (TQM), market orientation and service quality in the Malaysian service industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 150 service firms were collected. Structural equation modeling was employed in this study to examine the associations between TQM, market orientation and service quality.
Findings
This study provides empirical evidence and confirms findings obtained from previous studies that TQM has a positive and significant relationship with both market orientation and service quality. Moreover, it was discovered that market orientation is also significantly related to service quality.
Research limitations/implications
This research study implies that if firms are not able to comprehend the importance of TQM dimensions, by which the different dimensions of it can influence a firm's performance, they may not succeed in harvesting the full value of market orientation and service quality. Meanwhile, the findings may guide the service practitioners to understand the importance of TQM in their managerial actions in enhancing market orientation and service quality, which serves as a sound foundation for building a distinguished point of differentiation in their services.
Originality/value
Past researchers have not looked into the tri‐dimensional relationship between TQM, market orientation and service quality and hence research is to be called for in this area. The paper provides practitioners with useful guidelines on the appropriate TQM practices to be implemented so that market orientation and the quality of service can be enhanced, creating superior value to the customers in a unique way, which subsequently improves a firm's competitiveness.
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Despite the growing importance of young, entrepreneurial ventures in modern economic systems, many such ventures fail quite early in their lifecycles. While both evolutionary…
Abstract
Despite the growing importance of young, entrepreneurial ventures in modern economic systems, many such ventures fail quite early in their lifecycles. While both evolutionary theory and organizational learning theory yield important insights for the literature on young venture survival, questions remain as to why ventures facing similar environments experience differential rates of survival. In response, I propose a theory of entrepreneurial agency – defined as the emergence and/or transformation of firms, markets, industries governed by the evolving interaction of temporally situated, intentional strategic action with a malleable external environment – to complement prevailing viewpoints on the causes of young venture survival. My central thesis in this chapter is that to develop more comprehensive explanations of differential survival rates, a theory of entrepreneurial agency – illuminating the transformative potential of entrepreneurial action – is necessary to complement evolutionary perspectives in the literature on firm survival. With this objective in mind, I construct a theoretical model linking diverse perspectives on the duality of human agency and theories of environmental selection, and offer several theoretical and empirical suggestions to guide future research.
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This paper sets out to investigate the view that a firm's strategy in a marketing channel is contingent on the organization of its related upstream network of embeddedness.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sets out to investigate the view that a firm's strategy in a marketing channel is contingent on the organization of its related upstream network of embeddedness.
Design/methodology/approach
An in‐depth documentary study of recent developments in marketing channels in the French Rhône Valley Appellation d'Origine Controlée wine industry combined with content analysis of qualitative data derived from interviews with local wine merchants and Inter‐Rhône wine experts.
Findings
The extended theoretical framework used in this case study enables researchers to more completely specify channel members' behavior. By taking into account not only general objectives but also legitimacy concerns of this type of organizations, it is possible to identify reputation and institutional commitment management in the upstream network as two governance mechanisms of equal importance to the mechanisms of vertical integration or management of relationships with suppliers.
Research limitations/implications
This study suggests the need for further research into external validity and measurement issues.
Practical implications
The study highlights the necessary governance mechanisms wine merchants have to deploy in their upper professional and supply networks in order to enhance their market performance. Successful positioning strategies seem to be more and more dependent on the wine merchants' ability to acquire a strong position and recognition in its upstream networks: only those who have taken into account the legitimacy issue and have deployed mechanisms to govern it effectively will survive the current internationalisation processes and avoid market decline.
Originality/value
This more nuanced channel approach offers a number of empirical illustrations to support the tri‐dimensional conceptualization of institutional environment suggested by Grewal and Ravi in 2002.
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Francisco Gil, Ramón Rico, Carlos M. Alcover and Ángel Barrasa
To analyse the impact of change‐oriented leaders on group outcomes. An explanatory model is proposed, in which the team climate (in particular as it relates to innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
To analyse the impact of change‐oriented leaders on group outcomes. An explanatory model is proposed, in which the team climate (in particular as it relates to innovation) mediates between change‐oriented leadership and group outcomes, while group potency reinforces this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is designed as a correlative and cross‐level research. The sample comprises 318 health‐care professionals in 78 health‐care teams at different public hospitals throughout Spain.
Findings
Hierarchical regression analysis was used to evaluate mediating and moderating effects. Results offer considerable empirical support for the proposed model.
Research limitations/implications
It would be of interest to increase the sample, differentiate it by service, and to get samples from other sectors, as well as to carry out experimental and longitudinal research. It would also be interesting to further explore the conditions that implement change‐oriented leadership impact, analysing environment, external relations and so on, to examine the relationships between other variables and to study their effects on new forms of work organisation and on virtual teams.
Practical implications
To make more useful change‐oriented leader actions, it would be advisable to identify, modify or improve team climate, using strategies such as management by objectives, delegation and empowerment and so on. It would also be necessary to boost group potency before going ahead with change, for example, by developing the skills of team members, or by fostering the self‐confidence of the team.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to developing actual research about how change‐oriented leaders influence team outputs.
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