Lifang Wu, Xiaohang Yue, Alan Jin and David C. Yen
As traditional supply chains are increasingly becoming intelligent with more objects embedded with sensors and better communication, intelligent decision making and automation…
Abstract
Purpose
As traditional supply chains are increasingly becoming intelligent with more objects embedded with sensors and better communication, intelligent decision making and automation capabilities, the new smart supply chain presents unprecedented opportunities for achieving cost reduction and enhancing efficiency improvement. The purpose of this paper is to study and explore the currents status and remaining issues of smart supply chain management.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review is conducted to synthesize the earlier work in this area, and to conceptualize and discuss the smart supply chain characteristics. Further, the authors formulate and investigate five key research topics including information management, IT infrastructure, process automation, advanced analytics, and supply chain integration.
Findings
Studies in those aforementioned subject fields are reviewed, categorized, and analyzed based on the review questions defined in the study. It is notable that while the topics of converging atoms with digits are increasingly attracting attention from researchers and practitioners alike, there are many more interesting research questions needing to be addressed.
Originality/value
The paper provides original and relevant guidance for supply chain management researchers and practitioners on developing smart supply chains.
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Mian Yan, Alex Pak Ki Kwok, Alan Hoi Shou Chan, Yu Sheng Zhuang, Kang Wen and Kai Chao Zhang
E-commerce live streaming is a new influencer advertising method that allows influencers to interact directly with consumers on e-commerce platforms. Although evidence suggests…
Abstract
Purpose
E-commerce live streaming is a new influencer advertising method that allows influencers to interact directly with consumers on e-commerce platforms. Although evidence suggests that influencer live-streaming advertisements (ads) on social media can increase consumers’ buying impulses, little research examined how this similar but new advertising method on e-commerce platforms may influence consumers’ urge to buy impulsively. This study explores the role of influencer credibility, celebrity effect, perceived entertainment, trust and perceived usefulness on consumers’ attitudes toward influencer ads and their urge to buy impulsively.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire containing seven constructs was developed and distributed to participants using a convenient sample and snowball sampling approach. The constructs were measured based on validated measurement items from the literature and adjusted according to this study’s focus. A total of 236 valid responses were obtained from the survey and used for data analysis. A partial least squares structural equation modeling approach was employed for parameter estimation and model testing.
Findings
The empirical results show that all constructs influenced consumers’ urge to buy impulsively via attitude toward influencer ads. The proposed research model explains 61.7% of the variance in attitude toward influencer ads and 19.4% of the urge to buy impulsively.
Originality/value
This is an early study investigating the relationship between influencer advertising and impulse buying. The results provide valuable insights into improving the design of influencer ads and marketing strategies.
Highlights
I-eIB model tests the mechanism of influencer ads on consumers’ buying impulse.
Consumers’ attitude towards influencer ads affects their urge to buy impulsively.
Influencer credibility affects consumer attitude via celebrity effect as a mediator.
Trust affects consumer attitude via perceived usefulness as a mediator.
Entertaining ads help develop favorable consumer attitude.
I-eIB model tests the mechanism of influencer ads on consumers’ buying impulse.
Consumers’ attitude towards influencer ads affects their urge to buy impulsively.
Influencer credibility affects consumer attitude via celebrity effect as a mediator.
Trust affects consumer attitude via perceived usefulness as a mediator.
Entertaining ads help develop favorable consumer attitude.
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Samantha L. Jordan, Andreas Wihler, Wayne A. Hochwarter and Gerald R. Ferris
Introduced into the literature a decade ago, grit originally defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals has stimulated considerable research on positive effects…
Abstract
Introduced into the literature a decade ago, grit originally defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals has stimulated considerable research on positive effects primarily in the academic and military contexts, as well as attracted widespread media attention. Despite recent criticism regarding grit’s construct and criterion-related validity, research on grit has begun to spill over into the work context as well. In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of the initial theoretical foundations of grit as a motivational driver, and present newer conceptualizations on the mechanisms of grit’s positive effects rooted in goal-setting theory. Furthermore, the authors also draw attention to existing shortcomings of the current definition and measurement of grit, and their implications for its scientific and practical application. After establishing a theoretical understanding, the authors discuss the potential utility of grit for human resource management, related to staffing and recruitment, development and training, and performance management systems as well as performance evaluations. The authors conclude this chapter with a discussion of necessary and potential future research, and consider the practical implications of grit in its current state.
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Alan Richard Pope, Graham Squires and Martin Young
This paper is concerned with behavioural responses to reviewed ground rents in New Zealand. The focus is on how freehold growth information is interpreted when considering…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is concerned with behavioural responses to reviewed ground rents in New Zealand. The focus is on how freehold growth information is interpreted when considering reviewed ground rents on ground leasehold value.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ground leaseholders to inform the design of a controlled experiment. The interviews revealed that (a) purchasers tended to directly compare freeholds to ground leaseholds and (b) used rudimentary valuation methods. In the experiment, 40 property investors were requested to estimate the ground leasehold value close to the ground rent review time. Thereafter, 20 of the investors reassessed their ground leasehold value estimate using a projection of the future ground rent and a statement as to freehold growth (treatment). The control group of the remaining 20 investors received the estimate of the future ground rent only.
Findings
The tendency for higher treatment group valuations indicated the growth information was too available. Comparing ground leaseholds directly to freeholds, rather than thinking about the cost implications, is attributed to a manifestation of the availability heuristic.
Research limitations/implications
The study involves a typical ground lease arrangement (as verified by experts) in the New Zealand market where there are few protections for ground leaseholders. These findings justify prohibiting new ground leases where the ground rents are set by reference to freehold land value.
Originality/value
This paper extends behavioural theory (availability heuristic) to explaining human interaction with ground leaseholds.
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Jingjing Guan, Wanfei Wang, Zhigang Guo, Jin Hooi Chan and Xiaoguang Qi
This study aims to propose a comprehensive causal model to examine the relationships between customer experience and four key factors in brand building, i.e., brand loyalty, brand…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to propose a comprehensive causal model to examine the relationships between customer experience and four key factors in brand building, i.e., brand loyalty, brand trust, brand affect and brand involvement. The dimensionality of customer experience in full-service hotel is also particularly examined in relation to brand building.
Design/methodology/approach
Three steps of data collection were used: interviews of 50 customers on their experiences of staying full-service hotels, a small survey of 176 hotel guests to establish the measurement scale of customer experience and a major survey of 732 hotel customers in ten major Chinese cities to test the model of brand loyalty.
Findings
Customers’ experiences with full-service hotels are proposed to be categorized into functional, affective and social. There is a chain effect from customer experience to brand trust and to brand affect and then to brand loyalty. The brand involvement does moderate relationships between customer experience and brand trust and brand affect but not brand loyalty.
Practical implications
For full-service hotels, social and functional experiences are critical in building brand loyalty, and therefore, they need to be the focal points in the enhancement of customer experience. Also, hoteliers are advised to develop emotional connections between the customers and the hotel brand – an effective way of building trust and affection.
Originality/value
According to the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first few studies to link customer experience to brand loyalty with comprehensive causal effect analysis. This study also contributes to the knowledge of customer experience in the context of the full-service hotel sector.
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Afzal Mohammad Khaled and Yong Jin Kim
Logistical facility location decisions can make a crucial difference in the success or failure of a company. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have recently become a very…
Abstract
Logistical facility location decisions can make a crucial difference in the success or failure of a company. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have recently become a very popular decision support system to help deal with facility location problems. However, until recently, GIS methodologies have not been fully embraced as a way to deal with new facility location problems in business logistics. This research makes a framework for categorizing empirical facility location problems based on the intensity of the involvement of GIS methodologies in decision making. This framework was built by analyzing facility location models and GIS methodologies. The research results revealed the depth of the embracement of GIS methodologies in logistics for determining new facility location decisions. In the new facility location decisions, spatial data inputs are almost always coupled with the visualization of the problems and solutions. However, the usage of GIS capability solely (i.e. suitability analysis) for problem solving has not been embraced at the same level. In most cases, the suitability analysis is used together with special optimization models for choosing among the multiple alternatives.
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Venancio Tauringana, Dragana Radicic, Alan Kirkpatrick and Renata Konadu
This paper aims to report the results of an investigation into the relationship between corporate boards and the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report the results of an investigation into the relationship between corporate boards and the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the United Kingdom (UK).
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses binary logistics regression analysis to model the relationship between corporate boards and the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the UK, controlling for firm size, financial leverage and profitability.
Findings
The results suggest that the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence increases with board size but decreases with the presence of a woman on the board. No support is found for the authors’ hypotheses about the proportion of outside directors and the presence of a lawyer on the board. Marginal effects’ results also show that adding one member to the board increases the chance of a firm being convicted for an environmental offence by 4.2 per cent, while having a woman on the board decreases the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence by 31.8 per cent.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size of 55 firms is small which could affect the generalisability of the study.
Originality/value
The study uses proprietary data obtained from the UK Environmental Agency to provide evidence for the first time how corporate boards affect the chances of a listed firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the UK.
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Thomas Billesbach, Alan Harrison and Simm Croom‐Morgan
Managerial practices and perceptions in the implementation ofjust‐in‐time (JIT) principles and concepts are significantly differentin the United Kingdom compared to the United…
Abstract
Managerial practices and perceptions in the implementation of just‐in‐time (JIT) principles and concepts are significantly different in the United Kingdom compared to the United States. In a study of 99 companies located throughout both countries, several distinct differences between the US and the UK were found. US companies tend to provide a greater range of training and education for their employees than do UK companies. Incentives for employees are more prevalent in the US than the UK. The UK lags behind the US in taking JIT to the shopfloor. Respondents in both countries indicated comparable dissatisfaction with the implementation process. Problems in implementation included: lack of top management commitment and support, poor communication, lack of cross‐functional planning teams, data accuracy, and supplier participation. In conclusion, JIT tends to be viewed more often as a technique by UK managers whereas their US counterparts practise JIT from a philosophical perspective.
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Brent Smith, Cindy B. Rippé and Alan J. Dubinsky
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social loneliness, emotional loneliness and social isolation relate to Indian consumers’ enjoyment of social interaction with an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social loneliness, emotional loneliness and social isolation relate to Indian consumers’ enjoyment of social interaction with an in-store salesperson.
Design/methodology/approach
Over 300 Indian respondents are surveyed about personal disposition, shopping experiences and other factors. The research model and hypotheses are evaluated utilizing partial least squares structural equation modeling.
Findings
As posited, Indian consumers dealing with loneliness and social isolation tend to enjoy in-store shopping experiences involving personal interactions with salespersons. Further, salespersons’ adaptive selling relates positively to consumers’ predisposition to comply with salesperson input and three outcomes (i.e. trust in salesperson, purchase intention and retail patronage).
Originality/value
This study fills a void in current marketing and retailing literature, providing one of the first known empirical investigations of consumers’ experiences with loneliness and social isolation. Overall, the study shows that store-based retailers within culturally collectivistic emerging markets can capitalize on their unique ability to attract and retain shoppers through in-store salesperson interactions.