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1 – 10 of 40Ahmed Bounfour, Jean-Michel Etienne, Xiaolin Cheng and Alberto Nonnis
The paper aims to address the organizational transformation of firms for value creation resulting from cloud computing (CC).
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to address the organizational transformation of firms for value creation resulting from cloud computing (CC).
Design/methodology/approach
With reference to the theory of organizational fit, we modeled organizational transformation as a function of five aspects of CC practice: functionality, data management, roles and competences of information technology services, control and organizational culture. The output variable was tested against a set of input variables defined with reference to the technology–organization–environment (TOE) and technology acceptance model (TAM). Based on a sample of 487 companies in seven countries in Europe, Asia, and the United States, the authors distinguished two groups of firms: transformational and hyper transformational.
Findings
The results highlight the key factors that determine whether a firm falls into one of these two groups, and include perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, complexity and compatibility of CC technology, and adequacy of resources. Top management support and government policy are found to only play a role for the transformational group while, surprisingly, vendor support had no impact for either group.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature on the role of digital transformation in value creation and on digitization of firms and organizational design, notably by considering the contribution of CC to the organizational dimension. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to make the link between TOE and TAM models and organizational fit theory, thereby going beyond the general approach to adoption found in information system research.
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Qiao Wang, Wei Zhou, Yonggang Cheng, Gang Ma and Xiaolin Chang
Domain integrals, known as volume potentials in 3D elasticity problems, exist in many boundary-type methods, such as the boundary element method (BEM) for inhomogeneous partial…
Abstract
Purpose
Domain integrals, known as volume potentials in 3D elasticity problems, exist in many boundary-type methods, such as the boundary element method (BEM) for inhomogeneous partial differential equations. The purpose of this paper is to develop an accurate and reliable technique to effectively evaluate the volume potentials in 3D elasticity problems.
Design/methodology/approach
An adaptive background cell-based domain integration method is proposed for treatment of volume potentials in 3D elasticity problems. The background cells are constructed from the information of the boundary elements based on an oct-tree structure, and the domain integrals are evaluated over the cells rather than volume elements. The cells that contain the boundary elements can be subdivided into smaller sub-cells adaptively according to the sizes and levels of the boundary elements. The fast multipole method (FMM) is further applied in the proposed method to reduce the time complexity of large-scale computation.
Findings
The method is a boundary-only discretization method, and it can be applied in the BEM easily. Much computational time is saved by coupling with the FMM. Numerical examples demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method..
Originality/value
Boundary elements are used to create adaptive background cells, and domain integrals are evaluated over the cells rather than volume elements. Large-scale computation is made possible by coupling with the FMM.
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This article examines curatorial practices, both traditional and digital, in the Guizhou Provincial Museum’s ethnic exhibition to assess their effectiveness in representing ethnic…
Abstract
Purpose
This article examines curatorial practices, both traditional and digital, in the Guizhou Provincial Museum’s ethnic exhibition to assess their effectiveness in representing ethnic minority cultures, fostering learning and inspiring curiosity about ethnic textiles and costumes and associated cultures. It also explores audience expectations concerning digital technology use in future exhibitions.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-methods approach was employed, where visitor data were collected through questionnaires, together with interviews with expert, museum professionals and ethnic minority textile practitioners. Their expertise proved instrumental in shaping the design of the study and enhancing the overall visitor experience, and thus fostering a deeper appreciation and understanding of ethnic minority cultures.
Findings
Visitors were generally satisfied with the exhibition, valuing their educational experience on ethnic textiles and cultures. There is a notable demand for more immersive digital technologies in museum exhibitions. The study underscores the importance of participatory design with stakeholders, especially ethnic minority groups, for genuine and compelling cultural representation.
Originality/value
This study delves into the potentials of digital technologies in the curation of ethnic minority textiles, particularly for enhancing education and cultural communication. Ethnic textiles and costumes provide rich sensory experience, and they carry deep cultural significance, especially during festive occasions. Our findings bridge this gap; they offer insights for museums aiming to deepen the visitor experiences and understanding of ethnic cultures through the use of digital technologies.
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Xiaolin (Crystal) Shi and Xingyu Wang
This daily diary study aims to examine the influences of daily poor sleep quality on employees’ emotional exhaustion at work via negative affect at home. Additionally, this study…
Abstract
Purpose
This daily diary study aims to examine the influences of daily poor sleep quality on employees’ emotional exhaustion at work via negative affect at home. Additionally, this study examines the moderating effects of day-level customer mistreatment and person-level workplace mindfulness in hotel frontline employees’ daily spillover from the nonwork domain to the work domain.
Design/methodology/approach
An experience sampling method was applied, and the survey data were collected from 98 frontline service employees in the hotel industry in China. This study included a one-time initial survey and a ten-day daily diary study.
Findings
This study reveals that frontline service employees’ poor sleep quality of the previous night influences their emotional exhaustion after work through negative affect at home. On days when employees perceived a low level of customer mistreatment, the daily positive association between negative affect at home and emotional exhaustion after work would be attenuated. Moreover, employees with a higher level of workplace mindfulness are less likely to be influenced by the negative affect at home.
Practical implications
This study suggests that hospitality organizations should extend their focus on caring about employees’ nonwork life quality, such as improving daily sleep quality and providing workplace mindfulness trainings.
Originality/value
This study adds to the current literature on work and nonwork spillover by considering the spillover process from employees’ nonwork domains to work domains by taking a dynamic and multilevel perspective.
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Chien‐Yuan Chen and Wen‐Cheng Lee
As a result of awareness of the increasing school accidents in recent years and severe damage to school infrastructure by Typhoon Morakot, this paper seeks to discuss the current…
Abstract
Purpose
As a result of awareness of the increasing school accidents in recent years and severe damage to school infrastructure by Typhoon Morakot, this paper seeks to discuss the current natural disaster prevention education strategy in Taiwan and investigates the seriously damaged schools from Typhoon Morakot.
Design/methodology/approach
Methods of analysis used in this paper include aerial photo interpretation of landslides and debris flows with the aid of field investigation and spatial rainfall distribution by GIS analysis. Additionally, the reasons attributed to the schools’ damages and disaster prevention education strategies in schools after Morakot are discussed.
Findings
After an overall review of the current disaster prevention education programs, the following items are to be stressed in disaster prevention education as a result of studying the effects of Typhoon Morakot: integration of disaster prevention education into formal school curricula; teacher training for campus disaster prevention education; development of a coalition of campus and community‐based disaster management; and study of the impact of climate change and school vulnerability. School infrastructure safety evaluation and risk assessment, education materials and design activities for psychological recovery after disasters, and the connection of school safety management and community‐based disaster prevention are deemed urgent after Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.
Originality/value
The current achievements of disaster prevention education in Taiwan include the development of operation and support mechanisms, curricula development and experimental schools selection, development of teacher training program, the popularization of disaster prevention education, the development and use of learning materials, and the determination of an effective assessment mechanism. It is expected that disaster prevention education will become part of the formal school curricula. School safety and vulnerability assessments as a result of climate change and student psychological recovery following disasters are urgent lessons to be implemented after learning from the results of Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.
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Xiaolin (Crystal) Shi and Zixi Chen
This study aims to examine the factors influencing hotel employee satisfaction and explores the different sentiments expressed in these factors in online reviews by hotel type…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the factors influencing hotel employee satisfaction and explores the different sentiments expressed in these factors in online reviews by hotel type (premium versus economy) and employment status (current versus former).
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 78,535 online reviews by employees of 29 hotel companies for the period of 2011-2019 were scraped from Indeed.com. Structural topic modeling (STM) and sentiment analysis were used to extract topics influencing employee satisfaction and examine differences in sentiments in each topic.
Findings
Results showed that employees of premium hotels expressed more positive sentiments in their reviews than employees of economy hotels. The STM results demonstrated that 20 topics influenced employee satisfaction, the top three of which were workplace bullying and dirty work (18.01%), organizational support (16.29%) and career advancement (8.88%). The results indicated that the sentiments in each topic differed by employment status and hotel type.
Practical implications
Rather than relying on survey data to explore employee satisfaction, hotel industry practitioners can analyze employees’ online reviews to design action plans.
Originality/value
This study is one of only a few to use online reviews from an employment search engine to explore hotel employee satisfaction. This study found that workplace bullying and dirty work heavily influenced employee satisfaction. Moreover, analysis of the comments from previous employees identified antecedents of employees’ actual turnover behavior but not their turnover intention.
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Biao Zhang, Zetian Fu, Jieqiong Wang, Xiaolin Tang, Yousen Zhao and Lingxian Zhang
Farmers’ selection of vegetable marketing channels directly affects their income and is important to stable vegetable supply and food control. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Farmers’ selection of vegetable marketing channels directly affects their income and is important to stable vegetable supply and food control. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the farmers’ selection behavior of vegetable marketing channels, and to determine the key factors which affected farmer’ decision making.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 191 valid questionnaires were collected from 50 villages in seven main vegetable production districts in Beijing urban areas from September to December 2015, yielding a response rate of 86.8 percent. The multinomial logit model was used for analysis in this study.
Findings
The results revealed that the farmers mainly selected farmers’ market, cooperative, and wholesaler to sell their vegetables, which comprised 96.57 percent of total vegetable sales. Estimation results showed that cooperative, vegetable acreage, price satisfaction, and slow sales were most important factors which influence positively the probability of opting to sell vegetables at a cooperative rather than at the farmer’s market. For wholesalers, gender of the household head and cooperative had most significantly negative effect, and age had a positive impact on farmer’s choice of market channels.
Originality/value
The results and implications obtained in the present study could help policymakers to establish a scientific-based and reasonable policy to encourage vegetable producers to participate in the circulation of vegetables in Beijing and guarantee their income in vegetable supply chain. The suggestions of this study could also be used for the improvement of the vegetable sector in other cities facing similar issues.
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Xiaolin Shi, Jonathon Day, Susan Gordon, Liping Cai and Howard Adler
The purpose of this paper is to examine visitors’ motivations for going to the South Luogu Alley, a famous hutong with an over 700-year history in Beijing, China.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine visitors’ motivations for going to the South Luogu Alley, a famous hutong with an over 700-year history in Beijing, China.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applied a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from visitors on the main street of the South Luogu Alley.
Findings
It was found that most visitors of the hutong are casual tourists pursuing relaxation, including tension release and spending time with friends and family; seeking authenticity is not visitors’ most important motivation.
Research limitations/implications
This study used only one hutong to assess visitors’ motivations in hutong tourism, so the results may not be applicable to all hutongs.
Practical implications
The research on the demographics and different motivations of the South Luogu Alley visitors can be useful to managers of tourism-related organizations.
Social implications
This study shows that tourists with different motivations for visiting a hutong have varying requirements for authenticity. The reconstruction of some historical hutongs is not always perceived as negative, and the influence of Western cultural elements can be seen as positive if they contribute to the sustainable development of the local culture.
Originality/value
The term “hutonger,” which includes casual visitors, entertainment seekers, authenticity seekers and pure escapees, based on these respective motivations, is introduced to describe the specific groups of hutong visitors and contribute to the hutong tourism literature.
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This study aims to understand the role of technology in relationship maintenance among romantic partners.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand the role of technology in relationship maintenance among romantic partners.
Methodology/approach
It takes a qualitative, inductive approach and collected data from in-depth interviews with 20 individuals who are married or in cohabiting relationships.
Findings
This study supports the extension of relationship maintenance typology derived from face-to-face relationship studies to technology-mediated communication, but highlights how technology use transforms the implementation of maintenance behaviors. Technology helps couples coordinate tasks and keep in touch with friends and families. Although technology-mediated communication cannot replace face-to-face interactions in relationship talk and sharing in-depth feelings, it plays an important role in redefining the ways in which couples interact positively, maintain mutual understanding, and secure the future of the relationship. Moreover, this study identifies a new maintenance behavior, communication coordination. These maintenance behaviors reflect a tension between maintaining connectivity and managing the boundary between work and home and between the public and private spheres.
Originality/value
This study builds on previous work on technology use and relationship maintenance, but takes a different qualitative, inductive approach to address the limitations in the survey research dominant in the literature. It helps us understand the advantages and challenges in maintaining relationships in the digital age and also explores the factors that influence the patterns of technology use in relationship maintenance.
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Juan Antonio Fernandez, Emily M. David and Shaohui (Sophie) Chen