Search results

This paper aims to synthesize the existing literature on virtual reality (VR) in the luxury fashion industry, discuss the current practical applications of VR technologies and review previous research undertaken in the luxury fashion field.

This paper conducts a systematic review and thematic analysis of existing literature to evaluate current research concerning VR and the luxury fashion industry. This search initially returned a total of 1,131 sources. After establishing and applying criteria of exclusion and inclusion, a total of 46 articles were selected for the thematic analysis.

Five major themes were identified, including virtual luxury fashion consumption, VR in marketing communication, virtual try-on, VR retail (including virtual fashion retail spaces) and virtual worlds (including customers’ virtual representation as avatars). The importance of these themes for the study of VR in luxury fashion is supported by relevant studies in the literature.

Whilst research into VR use within luxury fashion has increased recently, it remains fragmented. Given the absence of a comprehensive review addressing this topic within the literature, this paper will help scholars and fashion brands better understand the effects of VR on the luxury fashion industry. By integrating current practice and existing research, this paper contributes to a better understanding of how and where VR is used in luxury fashion contexts.

Time pressure may change how people behave. The multiplicity of options and the nature of the products, hedonic or utilitarian, might increase the complexity of the choice and alter the effects of time pressure. Combining both factors, the purpose of this paper is to verify the moderating role played by the nature of the products observing the relationship between interaction (time pressure × multiplicity of options) and choice delay.

A two-level factorial experimental design was applied (time pressure: with; without) × 2 (number of alternatives: two; six) × 2 (type of purchase: hedonic; utilitarian), with mixed design, considering the purchase delay a dependent variable.

The results signal that the nature of the products moderates the effects of the interaction between time pressure and choice overload in purchase delay. Utilitarian purchases are more susceptible to the effects of time pressure and options overload than hedonic purchases.

The interaction between time pressure and choice overload, researched in previous works, influences in different ways the purchase of utilitarian or hedonic products. This differentiation, taking into consideration the type of product, brings new perspectives on the purchase decision process and provides theoretical and practical information on the effects of information overload and time pressure over the consumer decision-making process.

This study aims to co-develop a Frailty, Health and Care Needs Assessment (FHCNA) questionnaire for people experiencing homelessness and explore the feasibility of its use by non-clinical staff in homeless hostels.

The FHCNA, aimed at identifying frailty and other health and care priorities for people experiencing homelessness, was co-designed in workshops (online and in person) with homelessness and inclusion health staff. Its feasibility was tested by staff and their clients in two hostels, with pre- and post-study focus groups held with hostel staff to gain input and feedback.

The FHCNA was co-developed and then used to collect 74 pairs of resident and key worker inputted data (62% of eligible hostel residents). The mean age of clients was 48 years (range 22–82 years). High levels of unmet need were identified. Over half (53%) were identified as frail. Common concerns included difficulty walking (46%), frequent falls (43%), chronic pain (36%), mental health issues (57%) and dental concerns (50%). In total, 59% of clients reported difficulty in performing at least one basic activity of daily living, while only 14% had undergone a Care Act Assessment. Hostel staff found using the FHCNA to be feasible, acceptable and potentially useful in facilitating explorations of met and unmet health and social care needs of hostel clients. By identifying unmet needs, the FHCNA has the potential to support staff to advocate for access to health and social care support.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to co-develop and feasibility test a questionnaire for use by non-clinically trained staff to identify frailty and other health and care needs of people experiencing homelessness in a hostel setting.

This study aims to identify the financial attributes of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as safe havens, hedges or diversifiers against traditional (stock indices, foreign exchange, gold and government bonds) and digital (Bitcoin and Ethereum) assets.

The quantile via moments was utilized, and the data spanned from 20 September 2021 to 31 January 2022. The authors incorporated feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) and difference-generalized method of moments (diff-GMM) as the robustness check.

Overall, NFTs offer strongly safe havens, hedging and diversifier attributes against cryptocurrencies, while weak properties for traditional assets. The specific findings are: (1) Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) serves as a strong hedge for Bitcoin during market rise; (2) Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) serves as a strong safe haven against Bitcoin during market bull; (3) Crypto punk (CP) provides strong safe havens properties for gold during market turmoil while serving as a strong hedge against gold and Bitcoin on average and (4) the three blue-chip NFTs are powered by Ethereum blockchain, thus serving as a diversifier against Ethereum.

Bitcoin investors are suggested to include NFTs in their investment portfolio to mitigate the losses when Bitcoin falls. Meanwhile, the inclusion of crypto punk is advised for risk-averse investors who invest in gold. NFTs are powered by the Ethereum blockchain, indicating co-movement among them and thus, serve as diversifiers. Policymakers and regulators are suggested to watch closely over NFTs' great development and restructure the existing policies and thus, stabilization of asset markets can be achieved.

The originality aspects are: (1) focusing on the three blue-chip NFTs (i.e. BAYC, MAYC and CP) that are categorized as the largest NFTs by floor market capitalization; (2) testing the NFT attributes (safe havens, hedges or diversifiers) against traditional and digital assets, a.k.a., cryptocurrencies and (3) panel setting on 14 countries with the highest NFT users.

The paper concludes with showing that in the most optimistic scenario, end-of-life (EOL) batteries will account for 86% of energy storage for wind and 36% for solar PV in 2040.

With the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs), the stock of discarded batteries will increase dramatically if no action is taken for their reuse or recycling. One potential avenue is to reuse them as energy storage systems (ESS) to mitigate the intermittent generation of renewable energy such as solar PV and wind. In a sense, the reliability for solar PV and wind energy can increase if energy storage systems become economically more attractive, making solar and wind systems more attractive through economies of scale.

The paper concludes with showing that in the most optimistic scenario, EOL batteries will account for 86% of energy storage for wind and 36% for solar PV in 2040.

The projection of scenarios can contribute to the information of policies, standards and identification of environmental promotion and promotion related to efficient management for EOL batteries.

This study aims to investigate the research question: how do women leaders in the professional business services (PBS) sector develop and approach workplace (in)authenticity?

Ten senior women leaders in the Midlands region of the UK were purposefully selected and interviewed. A semi-structured approach meant that the author adopted a social constructionist paradigm and feminist interpretation. Questions were designed to elicit rich descriptions from the participants. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted to address the study’s purpose.

Four themes were important to women when they developed and approached workplace (in)authenticity: (1) Power Structures, (2) Fit to Belong, (3) Influential Femininity and (4) Through Her Evolution. Women described masculine-majority organisations exerting power. They were pressured into altering their behaviours to “fit” into workplaces. When women had the latitude to be themselves, their leadership excelled. Women’s authenticity developed through increased self-knowledge, helping them to overcome workplace challenges. The study concluded that women face complexities when developing and approaching their constructions of authenticity, namely in the barriers and ramifications they face.

The study suggests several implications for practice and theory concerning enablers and barriers to women leaders' workplace authenticity. The link between authenticity and workplace gender equity needs to be investigated.

The study provides evidence that women are challenged when becoming authentic, therefore, altering their careers irrecoverably in some cases.

This study explored the experiences of Irish emergency medical services (EMS) first responders during the first nationwide restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19.

A systematic literature review (SLR) of research into healthcare workers' and first responders' experiences during the COVID-19 and 2003 SARS pandemics was performed. The SLR informed the content of an online questionnaire distributed via the Irish Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council to 2,092 first responders on its live register. Data analysis used both descriptive and content analysis.

EMS first responders faced many challenges including PPE quality, training on its use, issues with decontamination facilities, and organisational effectiveness. Emotional challenges included the anxiety experienced, the impact on families, and ethical dilemmas confronted related to patient care. Positive findings also emerged, such as first responders' dedication to working through the pandemic, collegiality, and the community goodwill displayed.

While investigations of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers have been undertaken globally, studies focussing exclusively on the experiences of EMS first responders have been rare. This study addressed this knowledge gap, providing an insight into the challenges and successes experienced by first responders and identifying opportunities for learning that can be applied to future public health emergencies.

The objective of this research is to analyze the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities used by microbreweries in Porto Alegre (Brazil) in their coopetition strategies.

A case study with a qualitative approach was developed. Data were collected during interviews with owners of 11 microbreweries, via analysis of documents and nonparticipatory observation. The authors used the content analysis technique to infer knowledge.

The authors identified the microfoundations of dynamic coopetition capabilities including collective purchases, shared distribution expenses, shared production, education of consumers and other beer producers, group interaction and a business roundtable with entrepreneurs from the food and drink sector in the hospitality industry.

The authors developed a framework that considers the relationship between the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities and coopetition regarding the paradox between competition and cooperation. It is relevant to identify different actors’ movements and the potential outcomes of coopetitive strategies, which yield a competitive advantage for the cluster.

Together, the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities contribute to the competitive advantage of the cluster.

The study highlights how small companies can jointly develop competitive advantage in a market dominated by a large company.

This paper investigates consumer perceptions of brand authenticity (BA), perceived value (PV) and brand trust (BT) into the context of craft beer market. The purpose of this paper is to examine the statistical associations between these constructs as well as the three antecedents of BA: individuality, consistency and continuity.

The survey, delivered in an online format, was completed by 749 respondents from the USA. These respondents were gained through a basic simple random sampling technique. After conducting data analysis techniques such as reliability, correlation and regression, all five research hypotheses were accepted.

All three antecedents of BA were found to have significant influence on the first-order construct. Also, BA was shown to have a substantial effect on both PV and BT. The relationship between brand individuality and BA was the most significant of the five, while the association between BA and PV was found to be the least significant.

Prior research on BA, the majority of which has involved a qualitative approach, has been severely limited. The authors’ work deepens the study of the effects of BA, or its various antecedents, on PV and BT, enhancing the research with an empirical, quantitative analysis. In addition to the shortage of investigation related to these factors, there has been a nearly complete absence of the application of these variables to the craft beer market.

Employees in elderly care have a high rate of sick leave. One explanation is that employees that experience a low level of meaning of work are at a higher risk for long-term sick leave. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This qualitative interview study aims to examine what employees in residential care facilities experience as the meaningful aspects of their work tasks. Interviews with 14 persons employed in residential care facilities were conducted.

The findings show that meaningful work tasks are about organizing the work to make use of the creativity and knowledge of the staff in order to support relations with older people.

The knowledge about what constitutes a healthy work environment is not as comprehensive as it is about what constitutes health risks. Furthermore, these issues have been considered by only a few qualitative studies about social care in the field of sick leave. Therefore, this qualitative interview study examines what employees in residential care facilities experience as meaningful aspects of their work tasks.