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1 – 10 of 496Roberto Linzalone, Giovanni Schiuma and Salvatore Ammirato
Studies on academic entrepreneurship (AE) agree on the significant impact that Universities can have on entrepreneurial development. AE deploys through fundamental activities…
Abstract
Purpose
Studies on academic entrepreneurship (AE) agree on the significant impact that Universities can have on entrepreneurial development. AE deploys through fundamental activities, like the start-up of new companies and the connection of the University with Enterprises. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of digital learning platforms (DLP) to connect Universities and Enterprises effectively. Although the literature has extensively investigated DLP, there is a lack of understanding of the role of DLP in supporting digital AE. This paper focuses, in particular, on the functional requirements that have to distinguish the development of DLPs supporting education-based activities of knowledge transfer between academia and enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is carried out, adopting a case study methodology. A single and holistic case regarding a DLP developed for the strategic and exclusive deployment of AE activities is proposed to describe and discuss the functional requirements of such Platform.
Findings
The DLP is a virtual learning space in which Enterprises and Universities can interact. The definition of design requirements is crucial for the efficacy of DLPs and needs to be carefully supported. Various criteria are proposed, respect to the various stakeholders engaged in DAE learning platform (Universities, Enterprises, students, employees), and according to the short- and long-term objectives of Universities and Entrepreneurship connection.
Originality/value
The paper explores an original case of DLP established in AE, to connect Universities and Enterprises. The research also sheds light on the under focussed typology of AE activities regarding education-based knowledge exchange. They are currently unaddressed by the literature on AE.
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Hansani Chathurika Dassanayake and Asanka Senevirathne
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of design of e-servicescapes on student engagement in distance education (DE), and examine whether this impact is mediated…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of design of e-servicescapes on student engagement in distance education (DE), and examine whether this impact is mediated by student experience quality.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative research approach based on cross-sectional survey design was adapted where data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Sample consisted of 252 undergraduates registered in the DE platform in Sri Lanka and was drawn using a simple random sampling technique. Collected data were analysed using the structural equation modelling.
Findings
Data analysis revealed that there is a direct significant impact of e-servicescapes on student engagement while this impact is partially mediated by student experience quality in the Sri Lankan context. Meantime, the social presence feature of e-servicescapes has the highest impact on student engagement.
Practical implications
Findings of the study provide an empirically validated model to boost up the student engagement and significantly contribute to the designing of the e-servicescapes of the DE institutes in order to offer a superior service to a wide array of stakeholders.
Originality/value
Even though e-servicescapes have been recognised as a driver of customer behaviour, the concept is fairly unexplored in the educational context. Due to its practical applicability in the DE context, this study contributes to the existing knowledge by presenting a novel conceptual model developed based on multiple theories to identify its impact on student behaviour.
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Mauro Cavallone, Andrea Pozzi, Philipp Wassler and Rocco Palumbo
The purpose of the paper is to analyze the supply and demand of marketing and communication consulting services and evaluate actual and perceived gaps.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to analyze the supply and demand of marketing and communication consulting services and evaluate actual and perceived gaps.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses two different datasets to assess the gap. The supply database comes from desk research carried out in the province of Bergamo (n. 159 consulting agencies). The demand dates are the results of 100 structured interviews with local companies that requested marketing and communication consulting services both inside and outside the province.
Findings
Findings show that there is no significant shortage in local service supply. Nonetheless, a limited gap exists between the provision of specific services and their overall quality. Conversely, the perceived gap is wider, leading to an impression of scarce availability – a notion disproven by the analysis of the actual supply.
Practical implications
The study suggests that local agencies may overcome their “myopic” attitude and need to increase their visibility, competencies and expertise by investing in these areas and improving networking.
Originality/value
There are no previous studies that compare the supply and demand for marketing and communication consulting services. The paper also provides insights into actual and perceived gaps in a hypercompetitive environment.
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This paper concerns public sub-sector branding within the higher education (HE) system. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how public sub-sector branding within HE is…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper concerns public sub-sector branding within the higher education (HE) system. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how public sub-sector branding within HE is organized and how it is influenced by the use of national values, traits and characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
The study relies on two data sources: first, the paper benefits from a data set of one-stop web-portals for HE from the 23 countries listed in Times Higher Education’s top-60 universities ranking. Second, it builds on a sample and brief overview of Norway’s sub-sector branding of its HE sector.
Findings
Expert authorities within the HE sector are legally and organizationally responsible for sub-sector branding, and they establish coordinated and coherent web-portals. In practice, however, nation-branding concerns are influencing on how the HE sub-sector is branded. The paper concludes with a discussion of democratic implications, and points to paradoxes arising from the use of national clichés and characteristics in this highly international sub-sector of the public realm.
Originality/value
The paper informs discussions about public sub-sector branding within HE, a phenomenon that thus far has not been systematically studied. The practical applications of such a study are evident, as branding is becoming more important in the public sector in general, and in HE in particular.
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Ideas related to “the Nordic” are important in the reconstruction of national identities in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and these countries’ modern national…
Abstract
Purpose
Ideas related to “the Nordic” are important in the reconstruction of national identities in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and these countries’ modern national narratives are structurally highly similar. At the same time, there are clear differences between the Nordic countries regarding their national images. The purpose of this study is to a examine the relationship between ideas of the Nordic and national images through a qualitative study of brand manifestations on Nordic web portals for foreign visitors.
Design/methodology/approach
The two guiding research questions are: How do Nordic branding strategies and national stereotypes impact on nation-branding content toward visitors in the Nordic region? What traces of the Nordic as a supranational concept can be found when the Nordic is translated into concrete national brand manifestations? The analysis focuses on brand manifestations such as brand visions, codes of expression, differentiation, narrative identity and ideologies.
Findings
The analysis shows that clichés about the nations prevail in contemporary brand material and that Nordic branding strategies impact on the portals in diffuse and implicit ways. There are, however, some important common denominators, pointing toward a new Nordic brand related to exotic, untouched yet easily accessible nature, with a focus on pure, fresh and clean food with new tastes, in combination with happy and welcoming people.
Originality/value
The results from the study contribute with insight in how ideas of the Nordic on a supranational level transform when used in concrete and practical branding material. Further, this paper proposes a new Nordic branding focus, which contests traditional Nordic ideas.
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Chew Bee Leng, Kamsiah Mohd Ali and Ch’ng Eng Hoo
Triggered by the advancement of information and communications technology, open access repositories (a variant of digital libraries) is one of the important changes impacting…
Abstract
Purpose
Triggered by the advancement of information and communications technology, open access repositories (a variant of digital libraries) is one of the important changes impacting library services. In the context of openness to a wider community to access free resources, Wawasan Open University Library initiated a research project to build open access repositories on open educational resources. Open educational resources (OER) is an area of a multifaceted open movement in education. The purpose of this paper is to show how two web portal repositories on OER materials were developed adopting a Japanese open source software, called WEKO.
Design/methodology/approach
The design approach is based on a pull to push strategy whereby metadata of scholarly open access materials kept within the institution and network communities’ digital databases were harvested using the Open Archives Initiatives Protocol for Metadata Harvesting method into another open knowledge platform for discovery by other users.
Findings
Positive results emanating from the university open access repositories development showed how it strengthen the role of the librarian as manager of institutional assets and successfully making the content freely available from this open knowledge platform for reuse in learning and teaching.
Research limitations/implications
Developing further programmes to encourage, influence faculty members and prospective stakeholders to use and contribute content to the valuable repositories is indeed a challenging task.
Originality/value
This paper provides insight for academic libraries on how open access repositories development and metadata analysis can enhance new professional challenges for information professionals in the field of data management, data quality and intricacies of supporting data repositories and build new open models of collaboration across institutions and libraries. This paper also describes future collaboration work with institutions in sharing their open access resources.
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Patrick OBrien, Kenning Arlitsch, Jeff Mixter, Jonathan Wheeler and Leila Belle Sterman
The purpose of this paper is to present data that begin to detail the deficiencies of log file analytics reporting methods that are commonly built into institutional repository…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present data that begin to detail the deficiencies of log file analytics reporting methods that are commonly built into institutional repository (IR) platforms. The authors propose a new method for collecting and reporting IR item download metrics. This paper introduces a web service prototype that captures activity that current analytics methods are likely to either miss or over-report.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were extracted from DSpace Solr logs of an IR and were cross-referenced with Google Analytics and Google Search Console data to directly compare Citable Content Downloads recorded by each method.
Findings
This study provides evidence that log file analytics data appear to grossly over-report due to traffic from robots that are difficult to identify and screen. The study also introduces a proof-of-concept prototype that makes the research method easily accessible to IR managers who seek accurate counts of Citable Content Downloads.
Research limitations/implications
The method described in this paper does not account for direct access to Citable Content Downloads that originate outside Google Search properties.
Originality/value
This paper proposes that IR managers adopt a new reporting framework that classifies IR page views and download activity into three categories that communicate metrics about user activity related to the research process. It also proposes that IR managers rely on a hybrid of existing Google Services to improve reporting of Citable Content Downloads and offers a prototype web service where IR managers can test results for their repositories.
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Hogne Lerøy Sataøen and Mats Eriksson
The aim of the study is to deepen the knowledge about municipalities' risk communication for preparedness. This objective was pursued by analyzing how risk communication functions…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the study is to deepen the knowledge about municipalities' risk communication for preparedness. This objective was pursued by analyzing how risk communication functions were organized in municipalities and by scrutinizing tensions in risk communication management.
Design/methodology/approach
The study relies on 19 qualitative, semi-structured interviews with communication practitioners in Swedish municipalities. The sample was purposive and included Swedish municipalities varying in number of inhabitants, geographical location, degree of urbanization, size and risk profile.
Findings
Risk communication is seen as a sub-field of crisis communication in municipalities' communication management. The task of initiating risk communication activities and campaigns is frequently assigned to the municipalities' safety units or emergency coordinators and is normally not part of communication practitioners' duties. Municipal communication practitioners often face challenges in trying to demonstrate the significance of the practitioners' role in risk communication and other risk-related activities within the municipality. The practitioners' work is characterized by four categories of tensions that are identified as follows: constitutional/legal, organizational, cultural and technological.
Practical implications
The identified tensions in risk communication are important for reflexive practitioners to consider, and the paper suggests three steps that municipal communication managers can take to handle them.
Originality/value
The study contributes with novel knowledge about municipal communication management in a context of risk communication. The study challenges the existing and dominant risk communication research and offers a more contextual and reflexive understanding of actual risk communication processes in municipalities.
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The purpose of this paper is to outline the profile of Italian tourists belonging to the new generations: Millennials or Generation Y (approximately people born in the 1980-1995…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline the profile of Italian tourists belonging to the new generations: Millennials or Generation Y (approximately people born in the 1980-1995 period) and post-Millennials or Generation Z (approximately people born in the 1996-2010 period).
Design/methodology/approach
After reviewing some of the more interesting research on Millennials and post-Millennials, the paper will present the results of an unpublished online empirical survey conducted on a sample of 200 Italian web users who agreed to participate. The questionnaire, administered via computer-assisted web interviewing system, consists of structured questions concerning the practices, attitudes, emerging needs and use of new technologies that characterize Millennials and post-Millennials, with a special focus on tourism.
Findings
The research will consider the differences between the two groups, as well as possible differences within each group linked to other socio-demographic variables (such as gender and area of residence).
Originality/value
The paper addresses a series of innovative questions: what are the practices of Millennials and Post-Millennials as tourists? What are the needs of these generations that the tourist industry must respond to? How do new technologies support Millennials and post-Millennials in their tourism choices? What are the main differences between Millennials and post-Millennials?
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Kenning Arlitsch, Jonathan Wheeler, Minh Thi Ngoc Pham and Nikolaus Nova Parulian
This study demonstrates that aggregated data from the Repository Analytics and Metrics Portal (RAMP) have significant potential to analyze visibility and use of institutional…
Abstract
Purpose
This study demonstrates that aggregated data from the Repository Analytics and Metrics Portal (RAMP) have significant potential to analyze visibility and use of institutional repositories (IR) as well as potential factors affecting their use, including repository size, platform, content, device and global location. The RAMP dataset is unique and public.
Design/methodology/approach
The webometrics methodology was followed to aggregate and analyze use and performance data from 35 institutional repositories in seven countries that were registered with the RAMP for a five-month period in 2019. The RAMP aggregates Google Search Console (GSC) data to show IR items that surfaced in search results from all Google properties.
Findings
The analyses demonstrate large performance variances across IR as well as low overall use. The findings also show that device use affects search behavior, that different content types such as electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) may affect use and that searches originating in the Global South show much higher use of mobile devices than in the Global North.
Research limitations/implications
The RAMP relies on GSC as its sole data source, resulting in somewhat conservative overall numbers. However, the data are also expected to be as robot free as can be hoped.
Originality/value
This may be the first analysis of aggregate use and performance data derived from a global set of IR, using an openly published dataset. RAMP data offer significant research potential with regard to quantifying and characterizing variances in the discoverability and use of IR content.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-08-2020-0328
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