Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine patient engagement in remote consultation services, an increasingly important issue facing Healthcare Operations Management (HOM) given the significant expansion in this and other forms of telehealth worldwide over the last decade. We use our analysis of the literature to develop a comprehensive framework that incorporates the patient journey, multidimensionality, antecedents and consequences, interventions and improvement options, as well as the cyclic nature of patient engagement. We also propose measures suitable for empirical assessment of different aspects of our framework.

We undertook a comprehensive review of the extant literature using a systematic review approach. We identified and analysed 63 articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals between 2003 and 2022.

We conceptualise patient engagement with remote consultation across three key aspects: dimensions, process, and the antecedents and consequences of engagement. We identify nine contextual categories that influence such engagement. We propose several possible metrics for measuring patient engagement during three stages (before service, at/during service and after service) of remote consultation, as well as interventions and possible options for improving patient engagement therein.

The primary contribution of our research is the development of a comprehensive framework for patient engagement in remote consultation that draws on insights from literature in several disciplines. In addition, we have linked the three dimensions of engagement with the clinical process to create a structure for future engagement assessment. Furthermore, we have identified impact factors and outcomes of engagement in remote consultation by understanding which can help to improve levels of adoption, application and satisfaction, and reduce healthcare inequality. Finally, we have adopted a “cyclic” perspective and identified potential interventions that can be combined to further improve patient engagement in remote consultation.

This study investigates management challenges, communication plans and crisis decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic, plus highlights management excellence for future operations. Using Deloitte Consultancy’s (2015) time frames of organisational crisis management strategies: response, recovery and readiness, this article explores management approaches of the UK’s public sector organisations (PSO) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A mixed-method approach consisting of a quantitative survey followed by semi-structured interviews was used. About 33 part-time master’s degree students on a business administration (MBA) course, who were also full-time managers in the UK’s healthcare, education and other PSOs, completed the survey. The survey responses were subsequently used to select nine participants for follow-up semi-structured online interviews.

Qualitative data showed the importance of speedy decisions and clarity of communication during the pandemic. Teamwork was seen as paramount to successful decision-making despite many changing job roles. On reflection, managers gained confidence in future crisis decision-making with the importance of sharing ideas between departments, but further reflection was needed to prepare for future challenges.

One of the limitations to this research is that the participants are all part-time MBA students, and although they were all full-time managers in PSOs, they may be more critical of the status quo.

Practically, organisations would benefit from reflecting on their reaction to the pandemic and what can be learnt. It is clear the majority of the managers interviewed felt that after the pandemic the organisations just moved on and there was no in-depth reflection on what had happened; the last stage of Deloitte’s (2015) model was never fully realised. The post-pandemic phase is an area that would benefit from further research, as it has now been over four years since the beginning of the pandemic, and some of the positives, such as teamwork and a sense of belonging, seem to have been lost. The pandemic has left organisations with staff absences and long-term illnesses; last year alone workplace absences cost the UK economy £32.7bn (Nolsoe, 2014). To survive, organisations have to be resilient, responsive and flexible. The next challenge will emerge from navigating times of austerity and the need for PSOs to restructure post-pandemic, an area that would benefit from further research.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a crisis that impacted all organisations, including their goals, operations and employees. It was clear that the amount of planning was vast, but as soon as the pandemic was over, quite a few of the organisations went back to the status quo and the “readiness stage” did not happen. The smaller organisations were more likely to reflect and improve than the larger ones.

The study aims to shed light on the historical and contemporary trends of biodiversity accounting literature, while simultaneously offering insights into the future of research in this sector. The paper also aims to raise awareness among accounting researchers about their role in preserving biodiversity and informing improvements in policy and practice in this area.

The Bibliometrix R-package is used to carry out an algorithmic historiography. The reference publication year spectroscopy (RPYS) methodology is implemented. It is a unique approach to bibliometric analysis that allows researchers to identify and examine historical patterns in scientific literature.

The work provides a distinct and comprehensive discussion of the four distinct periods demarcating the progression of scientific discourse regarding biodiversity accounting. These periods are identified as Origins (1767–1864), Awareness (1865–1961), Consolidation (1962–1995) and Acceleration (1996–2021). The study offers an insightful analysis of the main thematic advancements, interpretative paradigm shifts and theoretical developments that occurred during these periods.

The paper offers a significant contribution to the existing academic debate on the prospects for accounting scholars to concentrate their research efforts on biodiversity and thereby promote advancements in policy and practice in this sector.

The article represents the first example of using an algorithmic historiography approach to examine the corpus of literature dealing with biodiversity accounting. The value of this study comes from the fusion of historical methodology and perspective. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is also the first scientific investigation applying RPYS in the accounting sector.

This study attempts to recognize the effects of the Pakistan–China free trade agreements (PCFTA) on promoting trade between the two economies.

Following the concept of revealed comparative advantage (RCA) and free trade agreements, the study first identifies those commodities in which Pakistan and China have a robust RCA and then analyze the effect of PCFTA on the export value of those commodities for the bilateral trade between Pakistan and China. The study used the panel data in which more than the top 150 importers (j) have been selected for each case of Pakistan and China for the period of 2003–2015.

The study concludes that even with the higher convergence rate, the good RCA does not guarantee a positive effect of the free trade agreement on the commodities.

The study contributes to the existing literature by integrating RCA with the gravity model by adopting a sequential mode for Pakistan–China free trade agreement.

The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of different dimensions of institutional quality indices on the economic growth of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.

The study uses a panel data set of 31 SSA countries from 1991 to 2015 and employs a two-step system-GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) estimation technique.

The study's empirical results indicate that investment-promoting and democratic and regulatory institutions have a significant positive effect on economic growth; however, once these institutions are taken into account, conflict-preventing institutions do not have a significant impact on growth.

The study's findings suggest that countries in the region should continue their institutional reforms to enhance the region's economic growth. Specifically, institutions promoting investment, democracy and regulatory quality are crucial.

Unlike previous studies that use either composite measures of institutions or a single intuitional indicator in isolation, the present study has employed principal component analysis (PCA) to extract fewer institutional indicators from multivariate institutional indices. Thus, this paper provides important insights into the distinct role of different clusters of institutions in economic growth.

The purpose of this paper is to develop arguments for a public policy of requiring all large companies to make their tax returns publicly available. It is argued that such a policy would help to check tax avoidance, strengthen public accountability and secure fair competition.

The policy proposal rests on notions of transparency and public accountability.

The paper argues that the proposed policy is feasible.

The paper hopes to stimulate debates about the value of public filing of corporate returns and limits of public accountability.

The paper extends the range of public policies which might be able to check organised tax avoidance.

It is one of the few papers to call for public filings of large company tax returns.