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Businesses today require more and better planning and more and better strategies than ever before. Yet, as some of us are painfully aware, planning departments, at least in many major organizations, are getting smaller and smaller. Some of this cut in department size can be attributed to the sophisticated new software that has replaced manual number crunching and forecasting. However, much of the cutback is related to management's increasing demand that line managers take over part of the planners' job. Nowadays line managers are expected to think and act strategically and fully understand how their operations “fit” the company's global plan. This requires the development of strategic management skills and thought processes normally associated with planners, planning departments, and staff functions.

Safety data sheets are documents developed by chemical manufacturers to identify and label hazardous materials. The occupational safety and health administration regulations state that employers must make safety data sheets available for employees. When firms use hundreds of chemicals, tracking their safety data sheets becomes difficult. Safety Data Sheet Management Systems are developed to track safety data sheets. This paper aims to propose a multi-attribute decision-making framework for selecting a Safety Data Sheet Management System.

A total of 12 attributes are proposed based on a real-life project conducted at a firm in New York and the software selection models existed in the literature. Fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution is used to assess the proposed attributes and alternatives. A case study and sensitivity analysis are conducted to show the robustness of the proposed model. Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process is used for validation.

Safety Data Sheet Management System is important for firms to track and manage safety data sheets. The proposed framework is practical and easy to implement.

The proposed decision model is useful for firms to select a proper Safety Data Sheet Management System. The system developers can use the model to update their systems.

This paper develops a new multi-attribute decision-making model for selecting a Safety Data Sheet Management System. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous study has developed such a model.

This experimental study aims to examine the effectiveness of cause-related marketing messages that incorporate both text and visuals, as compared to messages comprised solely of text, on the attitudes and behavioral intentions of restaurant customers, and to see if the impact varies across four categories of social causes (health, animal welfare, human services and the environment).

This experimental study uses a 2 (type of message) × 4 (cause category) between-subjects design.

Restaurant messages that combine text and visuals are more effective than restaurant messages with only text in engendering positive attitudinal and behavioral responses. This paper also found interaction effects between advertisement type and cause category on individuals’ responses (i.e. attitudes and behavioral intentions).

The messaging strategies suggested by this research will allow the restaurant industry to capitalize on the value of cause-related marketing initiatives.

This research contributes to the hospitality literature by expanding the realm of research on effective cause-related marketing initiatives.

This exploratory study aims to compare job demands, work outcomes, social and coping resources and indicators of psychological and physical health of male and female police officers in Norway.

Data were collected using anonymously completed questionnaires.

Many demographic differences were present in that male officers were older, worked more hours and overtime hours, were more likely to work continuous shiftwork, worked in smaller forces and were less educated. Few differences were found on job demands but male officers experienced more violence and threat, and female officers more harassment and discrimination. The two groups were generally similar on work satisfactions, social and coping resources and psychological and physical health.

All data were collected using questionnaires raising the possibility of common method variance. It is also not clear extent to what these findings generalize to police officers in other countries.

While few differences were found between male and female police officers, the fact that females reported more harassment and discrimination suggests that police forces need to continue to address these gender issues.

While other studies of police officers have suggested widespread gender differences, few appeared here.

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing online word-of-mouth communication engagement behavior of college students on social networks such as Facebook.

A survey instrument designed to measure the constructs assumed to have an influence on word-of-mouth communication on social networks was administered to college students who are actively using Facebook. Structural equation model was used to test the hypothesized relationships.

Results of the study show that social capital and trust were two important factors that positively influenced opinion-giving and opinion-seeking behaviors, which, in turn, influenced the word-of-mouth behavior on Facebook. Although these results were not significantly different from the findings reported in the literature, the results emphasize that the impact of social capital and trust on word of mouth increased through the opinion-seeking/giving path.

Although the college students are ideal users for Facebook, the use of college students could limit the generalizability of the results to other populations. Furthermore, the authors have only investigated a few constructs that are assumed to contribute to the online word-of-mouth communication behavior. Other studies should include a more comprehensive list of construct and test their impact.

The study contributes to the literature on word-of-mouth communication in online social networking sites. Organizations could benefit from this knowledge by understanding that social networking sites should be considered as a key component of the integrated marketing communication strategy, and specific targeting efforts could be directed for those users with high levels of opinion-seeking/giving.

Although online social networking has been popular, not many empirical studies have been conducted on consumers’ engagement in the word-of-mouth communication in social networking sites, such as Facebook. This study attempts to fulfill the gap.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and analyze the challenges of quality skill development in complex and large economies like India and develop innovative processes of improving employability.

The problem areas and gaps have been identified through literature survey and published reports by governmental agencies on employability and quality skill development in India. The research focuses on prevalent challenges for large-scale skill development and utilizes TRIZ (Russian acronym for “Theory of Inventive Problem Solving”) for finding innovative solutions to the grand challenge of employability.

The applied research methodology in the paper leads to a model for the “Innovation driven ecosystem for quality skill development” and also defines the role and responsibilities of each stakeholders in the ecosystem.

Solutions derived through TRIZ are qualitative in nature. The actual implication of solution needs to be tested after implementation. Further, intangible costs incurred, and harmful and useful effects cannot be easily quantified.

The parameter mapping for the TRIZ matrix was undertaken in this paper and this methodology when applied to other problem statements renders an organized process for improving total quality and innovative process management. The inventive principles were applied to find solution to contradictions and arrive at an integrated ecosystem which binds all stakeholders efficiently, to generate higher employability. The innovative solutions derived through the process are applicable to policy makers, researchers and practitioners.

The process of improving employability through quality skill development, benchmarked by the TRIZ methodology can have far reaching social implications.

The research extends the body of knowledge of TRIZ modeling concepts in areas other than engineering, and depicts a unique total quality methodology which can be easily applied for other problem-solving contexts. The contribution can serve as a reference technique/tool for improving reliability and quality through a methodical process of working out innovative solutions to solve operational problems.

From the perspective of housing affordability, Portugal is an interesting case study, considering that Portugal ranks 5th in terms of price-to-income ratio and has experienced, since 2015, a significant increase in real estate prices.

The provision of housing is a critical social development factor. With the growing worldwide urbanization and the demand pressure over real estate in many cities, the problem of affordability has gained increase attention by policy makers. Housing affordability is hardly a new topic from a literature perspective, but the recent post-pandemic worldwide inflation growth has re-centered affordability as key topic in the housing agenda. This paper provides a comprehensive overview on past literature and a detailed analysis on the Portuguese market at the municipal level, by analyzing the changes in housing affordability in recent years.

Despite this growth, overall, affordability has improved. The study also shows the importance of municipal-level analysis, given the significant geographical differences. The authors' study confirms that many municipalities, outside metropolitan areas, exhibit low levels of affordability. Nevertheless, markets with higher average real estate values tend to exhibit even lower affordability, outpacing the higher levels of income.

Previous studies have focused on affordability issues on a national or highly aggregated level or focusing only on the two largest metropolitan areas in the country. This paper provides a deeper understanding on the inequalities of housing affordability between Portuguese municipalities.

The early decades of the twentieth century witnessed a significant transformation in managerial control practices within the US department store. New principles of scientific management, already employed on the factory floor, were now implemented on the retail “shop floor”. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into this transition by examining three such scientific management initiatives introduced by store management during this era. The paper draws on a number of sources in its historical examination of early department store scientific management initiatives. These include archival records, published literature of the era, and particularly the proceedings of meetings of the annual Controllers Congress of the National Retail Dry Goods Association (US). The paper finds how notions of the rationality of science reined over such store operations as inventory valuation, credit control and overhead expense allocation. Traditional positions of power were recast and new managerial roles created in the name of science. The paper illustrates the insights that can be gained from an examination of scientific management practices in an alternative arena to the factory floor. Further historical research in the area of retail management may prove productive not only for our understanding of this site but also our knowledge of the process by which new managerial initiatives become assimilated. The study of the managerial practices of such vast organizational forms proves fruitful not only for the history scholar. Given the centrality of the department store in the creation of a contemporary culture of consumption, such examination becomes all the more insightful.

The word-of-mouth comments considered as the evaluation of a purchase experience have been widely discussed in the literature. Nevertheless, the study of online reviews pre-purchase stage remains limited. The purpose of this study is to analyze the variables that support word-of-mouth adoption in the choice of the hotel, from the receiver perspective.

The information was collected by face-to-face survey to 393 guests from 32 hotels in two Spanish cities. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypotheses.

The results confirm the significant and indirect effects of the motivations for conducting reviews on online word-of-mouth adoption. Specifically, the significant relationship chain of convenience and risk reduction motivations, intention to consult online comments, volume of comments exert a significant influence on acceptance the suggestions in online reviews and recommendations about the hotels.

The study of these variables advances the literature on online word-of-mouth by analyzing in-depth the antecedents of the purchase decision using technologies. From the practical point of view, the results help hotels managers to improve the way to share information by facilitating access to the accommodation experiences of other consumers.

The novelty of this research is mainly found in the study of how consumers modify their behavior using online word-of-mouth reviews. From the receiver perspective, consumer motivations, word-of-mouth volume and intention to consult serve as antecedents of purchase decision.