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Article
Publication date: 30 November 2018

Ada Leung, Huimin Xu, Gavin Jiayun Wu and Kyle W. Luthans

This paper aims to examine a type of interorganizational learning called Industry Peer Networks (IPNs), in which a network of non-competing small businesses cooperates to improve…

591

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine a type of interorganizational learning called Industry Peer Networks (IPNs), in which a network of non-competing small businesses cooperates to improve their skills and to stay abreast of the industry trends, so that the firms remain competitive in the local and regional markets. The key characteristic of an IPN is the regular gathering of peers in small groups (typically 20 or fewer carefully selected members) in an atmosphere of significant trust, guided by a facilitator, to participate in a series of formal and informal activities through established guidelines, to share knowledge about management and marketing, exchange information about industry trends beyond their core markets, discuss issues related to company performance and provide constructive criticism about peer companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The qualitative research on the context included visits to 13 peer meetings, three workshops for peer members, seven semi-structured interviews with members and many communications with the founder, chairman, committee chairpersons and several facilitators of peer meetings that spanned across five years. Data collection and analysis followed grounded theory building techniques.

Findings

The authors identified both cooperative and competitive learning practices that a small business could carry out to grow from a novice to an expert IPN peer member. The cooperative elements such as peer discussions, disclosure of financial data and exposure to various business models allow member firms to learn vicariously through the successes and/or failure of their peers. At the same time, the competitive elements such as service delivery critiques, business performance benchmarking and firm ranking also prompt the members to focus on execution, to emphasize accountability and to strive for status in the network. The IPN in this research has also built network legitimacy over time, and it has sustained a viable administrative entity that has a recognizable form and structure, whose functions are to strategically manage network activities and network growth to attract like-minded new members.

Research limitations/implications

First, because this research focused on fleshing out the transformative practices engaged by IPN peers, it necessarily neglected other types of network relationships that affect the small businesses, including local competitors, vendors and customers. Second, the small employment size of these firms and the personal nature of network ties in the IPN may provide an especially fertile ground for network learning that might not exist for larger firms. Third, the technology-intensive and quality-sensitive nature of IT firms may make technological trend sensitization and operating efficiency more competitive advantages in this industry than in others. Finally, although participation in IPN is associated with higher level of perceived learning, the relationship between learning and business performance is not yet articulated empirically.

Practical implications

The study contributes to the understanding of cooperative/competitive transformative practices in the IPN by highlighting the defining features at each transformation stage, from firms being isolated entities which react to market forces to connected peers which proactively drive the markets. IPNs are most effective for business owners who are at their early growth stage, in which they are positioned to grow further. Nevertheless, the authors also present the paradoxical capacity of IPNs to propel firms along trajectories of empowerment or disengagement.

Social implications

As 78.5 per cent of the US firms are small businesses having fewer than 10 employees, the knowledge of firm and IPN transformation is important for both researchers and advocates of small businesses to understand the roots of success or failure of firms and the IPNs in which they are embedded.

Originality/value

Earlier research has not explored the network-level effects as part of a full array of outcomes. Instead, research involving IPNs has focused primarily on the motivation and immediate firm-level outcomes of IPNs. Research to this point has also failed to examine IPNs from a developmental perspective, how the firms and the IPN as a network transform over time.

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Article
Publication date: 25 October 2019

Huimin Xu and Ada Leung

This paper aims to advance understanding regarding a particular religious belief and buying behavior.

329

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to advance understanding regarding a particular religious belief and buying behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Two online experiments were conducted among diverse respondents. Study 1 used a one-way, between-subjects design with three conditions: afterlife salience, control and mortality salience. The dependent measure was built on the notion of first-price sealed-bid auction. Study 2 used a similar procedure with two conditions: afterlife salience and control. Mortality was made salient in both conditions.

Findings

Making afterlife salient boosted the willingness to pay. This effect did not result from mortality salience, which suggests that this research is a unique contribution beyond works rooted in Terror Management Theory. This effect was mediated through positive product thoughts.

Originality/value

There has long been an imbalance between theoretical speculation concerning religion and cognition and actual empirical documentation. The present research adds to the emerging body of empirical investigations into this relation. It contributes to the conceptual richness of the stream of literature by examining one aspect of religiosity that has rarely been studied: the belief in afterlife. In addition, the findings go beyond correlational patterns toward discovering nonobvious cause and effect. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is one of the few works that experimentally manipulate the notion of afterlife belief. This research also extends the understanding of pricing and willingness to pay by identifying a subtle environmental influence not recognized before.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 13 April 2015

Fevzi Okumus

238

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

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Article
Publication date: 5 April 2011

Ada Leung

The purpose of this paper is to enhance understanding of social reproduction by investigating the financial management practices carried out by the consumers. Using depth…

4536

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to enhance understanding of social reproduction by investigating the financial management practices carried out by the consumers. Using depth interviews, a theoretical model is developed to describe how financial management practices are carried out to facilitate the attainment of class‐specific life goals and discuss how these practices are related to social reproduction.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 22 adults aged 22‐79 were interviewed face‐to‐face. They were asked to describe their financial management practices and their perception and feelings towards their financial situation. They were also asked about the life goals and their perception of progress towards achieving the stated goals.

Findings

Different sets of financial management practices and their corresponding structural implications are identified in this study. The coping practices are the ones the working class carry out to meet mundane financial obligations, leaving little for long‐term strategizing. The balancing practices are the ones the middle class carry out to juggle hectic family lives and promising careers. With a low level of slack resources, the middle class need to make monetary trade‐off in their practices. The achieving practices are the ones that are practiced by the upper‐middle class who settle in their class position and focus on furthering the growth of self and family. The structural implications of financial management practices make the attainment of occupational status via education least accessible for the working class, but within easy reach for the upper‐middle class.

Research limitations/implications

The paper studies a convenient sample of adults in a mid‐Western city in the USA, which has a high level of racial homogeneity (i.e. White) compared with the metropolitans in the USA. Nevertheless, this study communicates the social embeddedness and structural ramifications of individual/household financial management practices.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine how class situation, with its various resource levels and differences in time horizon, influences the enactment of financial management practices, and how these micro‐processes give rise to social reproduction.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 5 April 2011

Len Tiu Wright

383

Abstract

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

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Article
Publication date: 1 January 2004

Frances P. Brew, David and R. Cairns

Ting‐Toomey's (1988) face‐negotiation theory of conflict predicts that choice of conflict style is closely associated with face‐negotiation needs, which vary across cultures. This…

4983

Abstract

Ting‐Toomey's (1988) face‐negotiation theory of conflict predicts that choice of conflict style is closely associated with face‐negotiation needs, which vary across cultures. This study investigated this prediction in a workplace setting involving status and face‐concern with a sample of 163 Anglo‐Australian and 133 Chinese university students who were working full or part‐time. The association of type of communication (direct or cautious) according to type of face‐threat (self or other) and work status (subordinate, co‐worker or superior) with preferences for three conflict management styles (control, solution‐oriented, non‐confrontational) was examined for the two cultural groups. The results showed that: (1) as predicted by the individualist‐collectivist dimension, Anglo respondents rated assertive conflict styles higher and the non‐confrontational style lower than their Chinese counterparts; (2) overall, both Anglo and Chinese respondents preferred more direct communication strategies when self‐face was threatened compared with other‐face threat; (3) status moderated responses to self and other‐face threat for both Anglos and Chinese; (4) face‐threat was related to assertive and diplomatic conflict styles for Anglos and passive and solution‐oriented styles for Chinese. Support was shown for Ting‐Toomey's theory; however the results indicated that, in applied settings, simple predictions based on only cultural dichotomies might have reduced power due to workplace role perceptions having some influence. The findings were discussed in relation to areas of convergence and the two cultural groups; widening the definition of “face”; and providing a more flexible model of conflict management incorporating both Eastern and Western perspectives.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

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Article
Publication date: 13 April 2015

Rob Law, Rosanna Leung, Ada Lo, Daniel Leung and Lawrence Hoc Nang Fong

The purpose of this paper is to reexamine several issues about disintermediation from the perspectives of tourism product/service suppliers (hotels) and traditional intermediaries…

14199

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reexamine several issues about disintermediation from the perspectives of tourism product/service suppliers (hotels) and traditional intermediaries (travel agencies), considering the move of the current distribution landscape toward disintermediation. Internet and mobile technologies offer various tools for consumers to search and purchase products/services from suppliers directly. Consequently, the necessity and role of traditional intermediaries in the industry become questionable.

Design/methodology/approach

In all, six focus group interviews were conducted to collect primary data from ten managers of three traditional travel agencies and 11 managers from three business hotels in Hong Kong, which is a major travel destination in Asia with many world-class hotels and tourism facilities.

Findings

Despite their different business backgrounds, the interviewees agreed on the increasing importance of Internet technology in the distribution of tourism products. The interviewees also posited that traditional travel agencies are still needed to serve certain customer groups, albeit their role may have little importance.

Practical implications

Practitioners should adapt to technologically induced changes to remain competitive in the e-business era.

Originality/value

This paper provides several original contributions. First, this paper supplements the extant literature by revealing how modern practitioners perceive disintermediation in the tourism and hospitality industry. Second, this paper is the first to investigate the disintermediation issue from the perspectives of tourism product/service suppliers and intermediaries. Finally, this paper provides a reference for industry practitioners to establish adequate strategies that take advantage of Internet technology.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 27 May 2014

Wai Ming Cheung and Wing Yee Wong

There has been rapid proliferation of Lesson Studies and Learning Studies over the world. Do they really help teachers’ professional development and student learning? The purpose…

4189

Abstract

Purpose

There has been rapid proliferation of Lesson Studies and Learning Studies over the world. Do they really help teachers’ professional development and student learning? The purpose of this paper is to review studies from 2000 to 2010 on Lesson Study and Learning Study to unravel their benefits on teachers and students.

Design/methodology/approach

Relevant studies were screen and extracted on available electronic databases to evaluate outcome of Lesson Study and Learning Study. The results were based on nine studies which examined the achievement of Learning Study and Lesson Study.

Findings

All reviews identified positive evidence supporting the benefits of Lesson Study and Learning Study as powerful tool to help teachers examine their practices and enhance student learning. Although all nine studies showed positive effects of Lesson Study and Learning Study on teaching, learning or both, different outcome measures were employed and the study designs varied in qualities.

Originality/value

More well-controlled studies with consistent and validated outcome measures were recommended in the future to address the short- and long-term effects of Lesson Study on students, teachers, and school level. Efforts should be focussed on unveiling the relationship between what is taught and what is learned. Studies using these approaches with more vigorous procedures in randomization and blinding should be implemented.

Details

International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2000

Francis K.N. Leung and Ada L.M. Cheng

In this study, a power law process (PLP) for the failures of an engine, regarded as a complex repairable system, in a minimal repair set‐up (i.e. only a small proportion of the…

1166

Abstract

In this study, a power law process (PLP) for the failures of an engine, regarded as a complex repairable system, in a minimal repair set‐up (i.e. only a small proportion of the constituent parts of the engine are replaced on repair) with the engine regularly replaced within period T or replaced at the Nth failure after its installation, whichever occurs first, was examined. First of all, the Laplace test was used to check for the existence of a deteriorating trend in the failure data. Second, model parameters of the PLP were estimated using the maximum‐likelihood estimation method. Third, the Cramer‐von Mises test was used to test its goodness of fit. Finally, the optimal replacement policy based on minimising the long‐run expected cost per month for each type of engine was determined. The statistical inference procedure involving the maximum‐likelihood method for the PLP is based on the associated large‐sample theory. This implies the need to have a lot of data before conducting a statistical analysis. Unfortunately, the authors do not have sufficient data to conduct a real statistical analysis and to bring a significant conclusion to the considered application. The paper describes an industrial application of a PLP and a theoretical replacement model.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 17 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

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Article
Publication date: 1 April 2001

Kevin An, Michael K. Hui and Kwok Leung

Effects of voice, compensation, and responsibility attribution on justice perception and post‐complaint behavior in a consumer setting were studied in a cross‐cultural study…

926

Abstract

Effects of voice, compensation, and responsibility attribution on justice perception and post‐complaint behavior in a consumer setting were studied in a cross‐cultural study. Hotel school students in China and Canada (N = 168) read and responded to a scenario which described how a service provider handled the complaint from a customer whose coat was stained with tea. The results showed that collectivists were more likely than individualists to blame the service provider. Also, voice offered by the service provider failed to reduce its blame, and compensation actually led to more blame attributed to the service provider. Responsibility attribution was found to be able to mediate the effect of culture on post complaint behavior. A culture by voice interaction indicated that when voice was offered by the service provider, Canadians were less likely to attribute the responsibility to themselves than were Chinese. The implications of these results on justice, culture, and responsibility attribution are discussed.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

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