Search results

1 – 10 of 17
Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 September 2021

Per Echeverri

Contemporary service and marketing research on value co-creation and value co-destruction assume a one-dimensional view on value, ranging from positive value co-creation…

1707

Abstract

Purpose

Contemporary service and marketing research on value co-creation and value co-destruction assume a one-dimensional view on value, ranging from positive value co-creation, alignment and high value to negative value co-destruction, misalignment and low value. This limitation has recently led researchers to conceptually develop more dynamic spatial-temporal models of how value is formed during the interaction, e.g. in terms of different relationships between practice elements (procedures, understandings and engagements) both within and between actors in “value formation spaces”. However, much of this research awaits validation and is in need of more details. This study aims to address this limitation with the purpose of detailing how and why the mechanisms in such spaces are formed.

Design/methodology/approach

Two different and interlinked typologies were analytically derived from previous research and applied on ethnographically-inspired multi-perspective empirical data from a service combining health care and transport service ecosystems, using a combination of interviews, observations and service design methodologies. The design in combination with a practice theory perspective was used to articulate crucial aspects related to understanding the dynamics of value co-formation for elaborative and illustrative purposes.

Findings

The study contributes to service theory by conceptualizing as follows: a typology consisting of nine different configurations of practice elements (within and between such elements) and eight possible directions that value formation can take, suggesting a theory that explains value co-creation, value co-destruction and mixed cases.

Research limitations/implications

Although the findings have been developed in a specific empirical context, they articulate a conceptualization applicable to many other service and marketing value co-formation settings.

Practical implications

The typologies are conceptual tools to be used in identifying and measuring the alignment/misalignment of practice elements in complex organizations. The empirical findings uncover service problems faced by disabled customers.

Originality/value

The suggested typologies can guide research and practitioners in understanding and analysing value co-formation mechanisms in complex service settings.

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2017

Helena Kantanen

The purpose of this paper is to examine the prerequisites of value co-production by a communication consultant and workshop participants during a communication improvement…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the prerequisites of value co-production by a communication consultant and workshop participants during a communication improvement programme carried out in a medium-sized family firm.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws from a socio-constructivist view of learning that emphasises participatory processes. It utilises the value co-production concept, referring to collaborative, dialogic activities between the consultant and the client. The theoretical framework includes the transcoder, re-interpreter, and free creator roles of a consultant as realised in a consultancy process characterised by dialogic interaction and equity. The approach is qualitative, and the data come from the expectations of the management team, a video recording of a communication improvement workshop, insights produced in the workshop, and a research journal.

Findings

The roles of a consultant were found to be those of organiser, transcoder, re-interpreter, and co-creator. Additionally, a dialogue facilitator role was highlighted as a central prerequisite of value co-production. The importance of a positive spirit in consultancy sessions was questioned because problems can thereby be hidden behind positivity. The value of confusing or even destructive episodes was emphasised as a source of new perspectives.

Research limitations/implications

There are limitations related to the quality of the video recordings, and that the company employees did not yet evaluate the value gained in the long run.

Practical implications

This paper shows that a communication consultant gains insights from company representatives’ insider views in conflict-management situations, and that these conflicts can be useful for organisational learning.

Originality/value

This study contributes to research into strategic communication because it provides new knowledge about the consultant-client interface, particularly in value co-production, in the few studies conducted in the context of SMEs. The study utilises the novel research methodology of video analysis.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2015

Maximina Maria Freire

The Federal Government has begun distributing tablets to teachers in public schools in Brazil. However, no preparation was provided to guide professionals on how to use them for…

Abstract

Purpose

The Federal Government has begun distributing tablets to teachers in public schools in Brazil. However, no preparation was provided to guide professionals on how to use them for pedagogical purposes. As a result, teachers have been carrying tablets around or leaving them alone on their classroom tables. Considering this situation, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the possibility of adopting a ternary conception of formation processes – the self-hetero-eco formation process – to help teachers learn how to use tablets for educational purposes; and on the potential of such a process to congregated teachers in the joint creation and maintenance of a Didactic Digital Material/App Data Bank.

Design/methodology/approach

Theoretically, this paper is grounded on complexity principles (Morin, 2008, 2010), and especially on the studies made by Moraes (2007), Freire (2009) and Freire and Leffa (2013).

Findings

The movement of perceiving each teacher as responsible for his/her formation (personalization), interacting with others to expand possibilities, co-constructing knowledge to reach co-formation (socialization), and interacting with the environment with/from which s/he learns (ecoligization) will reveal the self-hetero-eco technological formation process which may help teachers create steady links amongst themselves at school and resolve many difficult situations such as the need to overcome the lack of technological skills to use tablets. Besides that, the idea of joining teachers together and jointly creating and maintaining a Didactic Digital Material/App Data Bank may not only impact on the use of the tablet itself but also on interpersonal relationships, intensifying respect, companionship and friendship, among other important ties that help bind people together.

Originality/value

This paper presents an innovative formation concept which is not based on time development, but which is based on the agents involved in the process and in the environment where the formation takes place. This concept is based on complexity and seems to be more attuned to the features of the contemporary world.

Details

The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4880

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 August 2019

Wojciech Piotr Adamczyk, Grzegorz Kruczek, Ryszard Bialecki and Grzegorz Przybyła

The internal combustion engine operated on gaseous fuels shows great potential in terms of integration of the renewable and traditional sources for an effective solution for clean…

Abstract

Purpose

The internal combustion engine operated on gaseous fuels shows great potential in terms of integration of the renewable and traditional sources for an effective solution for clean energy production challenge. Different fuel mixtures that can be used to power the engine are characterized by various combustion properties, which can affect its overall efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to provide reasonable answer, how the operation condition can change due to different fuel, without enormous cost of prototyping processes using physical models a digital model can be seen as promising technique.

Design/methodology/approach

Presented work discusses the application, and extensive description of two commercial codes Ansys Fluent and Forte for modeling stationary engine fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG) and biogas. To check the model accuracy, all carried out numerical results were compared against experimental data collected at in-house test rig of single cylinder four stroke engine. The impacts of tested gaseous fuel on the engine working conditions and emission levels were investigated.

Findings

Carried out simulations showed good agreement with experimental data for investigated cases. Application on numerical models give possibility to visualize flame front propagation and pollutant formation for tested fuels. The biogas fuel has shown the impaired early flame phase, which led to longer combustion, lower efficiency, power output, repeatability and in some cases higher HC and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions as a result of combustion during the exhaust stroke. Looking at the CO formation it was observed that it instantly accrue with flame front propagation as a result of methane oxidation, while for NOx formation revers effect was seen.

Originality/value

The application of new approach for modeling combustion process in stationary engines fueled by CNG and alternative biogas fuel has been discussed. The cons and pros of the Forte code in terms of its application for engine prototaping process has been discussed.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2021

Aditya Kolakoti

This study aims to improve the performance and to regulate the harmful emission from the diesel engine. For this purpose, palm oil biodiesel (POBD), waste cooking biodiesel (WCBD…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to improve the performance and to regulate the harmful emission from the diesel engine. For this purpose, palm oil biodiesel (POBD), waste cooking biodiesel (WCBD) and animal fat biodiesel (AFBD) are used for examination.

Design/methodology/approach

The transesterification process was followed to convert the three raw oils into biodiesels and the experiments are conducted at various loads with fixed 25 rps. Diesel as a reference fuel and three neat biodiesels are tested for emissions and performance. By training the experimental results in an artificial neural network (ANN), the best biodiesel was predicted.

Findings

The biodiesels are tested for significant fuel properties with the American Society for testing and materials standards and observed that kinematic viscosity, density and cetane number are recorded higher than diesel fuel. The fatty acid composition (FAC) from chromatography reveals the presence of unsaturated FAC is more in POBD (70.89%) followed by WCBD (57.67%) and AFBD (43.13%). The combustion pressures measured at every degree of crank angle reveal that WCBD and AFBD exhibited on far with diesel fuel. Compared to diesel fuel WCBD and AFBD achieved maximum brake thermal efficiency of 31.99% and 30.93% at 75% load. However, there is a penalty in fuel consumption and NOx emissions from biodiesels. On the other hand, low carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbon emissions and exhaust smoke are reported for biodiesels. Finally, WCBD was chosen as the best choice based on ANN modeling prediction results.

Originality/value

There is no evident literature on these three neat biodiesel applications with the mapping of ANN modeling.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. 18 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 October 2018

Eija-Liisa Heikka and Satu Nätti

The purpose of this paper is to explore what value dimensions and related value components are highlighted in the value proposition of knowledge-intensive business services…

1091

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore what value dimensions and related value components are highlighted in the value proposition of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), both at the relationship and project levels, how value propositions can differ between new and established customer relationships, and finally what is characteristic to the evolution of value proposition in the KIBS context.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a comparative, qualitative multiple case study method.

Findings

The aim is to offer a comprehensive picture of the variety of value components in KIBS relationships, likewise, how the nature and composition of value proposition changes as a relationship evolves from conducting a single project toward a more established customer relationship. Individual experts seem to possess a crucial role in that development.

Originality/value

This study contributes theoretically by providing insights into the current literature on core dimensions and components of value propositions in this specific context, and differences there can be between new and established customer relationships. The study also offers much-needed, context-specific knowledge of knowledge-intensive services for managers. Empirically, these findings reflect the perspectives of both the service provider and four of its customers, ensuring a multi-sided description of the phenomenon.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 33 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 12 January 2021

Roger Friedland

In this paper, I compare Theodore Schatzki’s practice theory, the existential phenomenology of Martin Heidegger upon whom Schatzki drew in its formation, and my own theory of…

Abstract

In this paper, I compare Theodore Schatzki’s practice theory, the existential phenomenology of Martin Heidegger upon whom Schatzki drew in its formation, and my own theory of institutional logics which I have sought to develop as a religious sociology of institution. I examine how Schatzki and I both differently locate our thinking at the level of practice. In this essay I also explore the possibility of appropriating Heidegger’s religious ontology of worldhood, which Schatzki rejects, in that project. My institutional logical position is an atheological religious one, poly-onto-teleological. Institutional logics are grounded in ultimate goods which are praiseworthy “objects” of striving and practice, signifieds to which elements of an institutional logic have a non-arbitrary relation, sources of and references for practical norms about how one should have, make, do or be that good, and a basis of knowing the world of practice as ordered around such goods. Institutional logics are constellations co-constituted by substances, not fields animated by values, interests or powers.

Because we are speaking against “values,” people are horrified at a philosophy that ostensibly dares to despise humanity’s best qualities. For what is more “logical” than that a thinking that denies values must necessarily pronounce everything valueless? Martin Heidegger, “Letter on Humanism” (2008a, p. 249).

Details

On Practice and Institution: Theorizing the Interface
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-413-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1947

P. Bielkowicz

A GENERAL outline of the processes occurring in the working fluid of a rocket engine has been summarized previously, but the total picture is still far from complete, a number of…

49

Abstract

A GENERAL outline of the processes occurring in the working fluid of a rocket engine has been summarized previously, but the total picture is still far from complete, a number of important phenomena not having been taken into account. Their full analysis would be, however, beyond the scope of this paper, and may be left to specialists more qualified than the author to give an account of combustion processes.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Article
Publication date: 15 October 2019

Katrien Verleye

Several researchers struggle with designing, writing-up and reviewing case study research, but constructing a template for describing and justifying methodological choices is – in…

3494

Abstract

Purpose

Several researchers struggle with designing, writing-up and reviewing case study research, but constructing a template for describing and justifying methodological choices is – in contrast with quantitative research – undesirable due to the creative nature of qualitative research. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the multitude of paths to rigorous case study research and promote rigorous case study research in the service community.

Design/methodology/approach

Based upon a review of seminal articles and textbooks, different paths to rigorous case study research are identified. Subsequently, these paths are compared with existing practices in case studies in service research published between March 2017 and April 2019.

Findings

Seminal articles and textbooks detail different paths to achieve rigor with regard to research purpose, design, data, analyses and write-up. Overall, the most popular paths in the service community are those proposed by Eisenhardt and Yin. Meanwhile, service researchers increasingly challenge the dichotomy between the inductive and deductive logic by choosing an abductive logic. Transparency and reflexivity are the main points of attention among service researchers doing case study research.

Originality/value

By providing insight into the multitude of paths to rigorous case study research along with their popularity in the service community, this paper helps service researchers to balance rigor and creativity when engaging in case study research. Additionally, this paper offers a framework for reviewing case study research in terms of rigor and creativity.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 September 2022

Ahmet Topal and Onder Turan

The purpose of this study is to have semiempirical correlations for carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions that are collected and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to have semiempirical correlations for carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions that are collected and calibrated by using experimental data of a tubular-type combustor.

Design/methodology/approach

Combustor uses a coflow radial-type air-blast atomizer and is especially designed for the empirical correlation issues. Air mass flow rate, air inlet temperature and air-to-fuel ratio parameters have been changed and different inlet conditions have been created for combustor tests. Six different inlet temperatures from 475 to 350 K have been set for each air mass flow rate. Air mass flow rate values from 0.035 to 0.050 kg/s have been used to create varied combustor aerodynamic loadings.

Findings

Increasing combustor inlet temperature decreases the CO and UHC emissions. However, it has an adverse effect in NOx emissions. Moreover, CO and UHC emissions have an increasing trend by the mass flow rate rise that results an extra aerodynamic loading.

Research limitations/implications

It is difficult to obtain real operating parameters for the combustor. Therefore, as a different approach in respect of the literature, rig test parameters have been used for thermodynamic calculations. Additionally, emission calculations of the combustor design point have been performed based on a conditioned test environment. Moreover, combustor outlet temperature and emission values have been scanned and mean values used for the analysis.

Practical implications

To perform preliminary calculations for these pollutants, designers need experimentally calibrated correlations for the similar combustors.

Social implications

If the application area of the designed engine is a civil aircraft, emissions are one of the most important issues because of the strict regulations of International Civil Aviation Organization. Therefore, aviation companies are continuously working on reducing of emissions.

Originality/value

A comprehensive study for the preliminary emission calculation of newly designed gas turbine combustors was performed to investigate semiempirical correlations in the atmospheric test rig.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 95 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

1 – 10 of 17