To measure the exact size of the world wide web (i.e. a census). The measure used is the number of publicly accessible web servers on port 80.
Abstract
Purpose
To measure the exact size of the world wide web (i.e. a census). The measure used is the number of publicly accessible web servers on port 80.
Design/methodology/approach
Every IP address on the internet is queried for the presence of a web server.
Findings
The census found 18,560,257 web servers.
Research limitations/implications
Any web servers hidden behind a firewall, or that did not respond within a reasonable amount of time (20 seconds) were not counted by the census.
Practical implications
Whenever a server is found, we download and store a copy of its homepage. The resulting database of homepages is a historical snapshot of the web which will be mined for information in the future.
Originality/value
Past web surveys performed by various research groups were only estimates of the size of the web. This is the first time its size has been exactly measured.
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During the Coronavirus crisis (COVID-19) that started in 2019 and at the extensive quarantine regulations, educational institutions, companies, and individuals have reacted by…
Abstract
During the Coronavirus crisis (COVID-19) that started in 2019 and at the extensive quarantine regulations, educational institutions, companies, and individuals have reacted by shifting their teaching and learning activities to virtual spaces. Yet, although the use of online learning has increased, it has not been able to achieve the long-promised transformative effect. The COVID-19 crisis has the potential to boost online education overall or at least enable better preparation of the system for the next crisis. Ultimately, to make a digital transformation sustainable, appropriate skills are required. In this study, we adapt the dynamic capabilities foundations creating a theoretical approach to explain how educational institutions have responded to the changing environmental conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Mar Ortiz-Gómez, Rosa Melero-Bolaños, Yolanda Muñoz-Ocaña and Araceli de los Ríos‐Berjillos
Based on the values of the students and the work carried out by the university to publicise the sustainable development goals (SDGs), this study aims to analyse how the university…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the values of the students and the work carried out by the university to publicise the sustainable development goals (SDGs), this study aims to analyse how the university can influence the sustainable behaviour of students.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is quantitative research based on a survey of 814 students with a degree in business administration and management. An ad hoc instrument was designed for the study, consisting of 14 values and 13 sustainable behaviours, considering the three dimensions of sustainability: economic, social and environmental. The students answered the survey at two points, at the beginning and end of the semester. Data analysis was based on the SmartPLS structural equation model.
Findings
The results showed that the role of values is more decisive than SDGs knowledge in explaining sustainable behaviour. SDGs knowledge initially has an explanatory role in sustainable behaviour and a mediating role between values and sustainable behaviour. More excellent SDG knowledge does not change sustainable behaviour but it helps students to have a more critical view of their sustainable behaviours.
Practical implications
Practical implications are drawn for designing university actions that reinforce the change in sustainable behaviour to contribute to sustainable development, considering their greater capacity to influence instrumental values.
Originality/value
As far as the authors have been able to investigate, no studies have addressed the research objectives that the authors raise in this paper. The short-term longitudinal analysis allows for the conclusion of the intervention’s impact and effectiveness at the university.
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Fulvio Fortezza, Francesca Checchinato and Debora Slanzi
This study aims to expand the existing body of knowledge on crowdfunding (CF) motivational patterns with special reference to intangible factors, which most scholars assume to be…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to expand the existing body of knowledge on crowdfunding (CF) motivational patterns with special reference to intangible factors, which most scholars assume to be the most important ones, especially in non-investment-based CF. The purpose is to understand how the presence of an established brand in a CF campaign can affect backers’ funding choices and the reasons behind them. To this end, the authors combine principles from identification, brand relationship and self-determination theories.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors considered the (altruistic in nature) domain of CF for social causes as the most widespread type of branded CF and chose the relevant empirical setting of “research CF” run by universities which seem to be more and more interested in connecting branding and fundraising efforts through the active involvement of their “relational circles”. Accordingly, the authors surveyed an extensive sample of students as a primary stakeholder group of potentially engaged backers from one of the first Italian universities to launch a CF program and used structural equation modelling to test the research hypotheses.
Findings
The authors found that, despite the CF domain considered, the choices made by backers (counterintuitively, women, in particular) manifest themselves as mostly self-oriented. This is partly explained by brand identification, which fully mediates the effect of brand pride and partially mediates the effect of brand respect (BR) on funding intention. Moreover, BR also directly drives CF choices.
Originality/value
This study portrays a remarkably different CF playground compared with conventional campaigns for both project proponents and backers with several theoretical and managerial implications.
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Given the current ecological state of the planet organizations now need to develop their sustainability to a significantly greater extent and at a faster pace. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the current ecological state of the planet organizations now need to develop their sustainability to a significantly greater extent and at a faster pace. This paper aims to propose stakeholder collectives as a means for rapid and comprehensive sustainability, while also examining the moderating influence of firm size and change potential.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical analysis leads to the development of multiple propositions. The work concentrates on one research question: how can the authors bring about rapid and comprehensive organizational sustainability?
Findings
Arguments for the inability of individual stakeholders to drive the level of sustainability now required are presented. Propositions suggesting that sustainability can be obtained through stakeholder collectives, moderated by firm size and the change potential of the firm are developed.
Research limitations/implications
Research using stakeholder theory has examined intra-stakeholder group collective action, but arguably the more important, inter-stakeholder group collective action, has received little attention. The authors elaborate the prospects for collective stakeholder influence strategies as useful for increasing sustainability.
Originality/value
The main contribution is the nexus between stakeholder influence strategies and the collective goal of sustainability. By examining an underdeveloped component of stakeholder theory, the authors answer the question how stakeholders can drive the extensive and rapid organizational sustainability now required.
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Alberto Bravo Velázquez, Haiming Hang and Shengnan Ren
The authors’ research examines the impact of cross-cultural difference in dialectical thinking on consumers' responses to androgynous brands and its implication for brand equity…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors’ research examines the impact of cross-cultural difference in dialectical thinking on consumers' responses to androgynous brands and its implication for brand equity. Their research also aims to see how consumers take both feminine and masculine attributes into consideration to form their judgments of androgynous brand equity and whether this process is moderated by brand positioning.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors did two experiments with 400 Chinese consumers (high in dialectical thinking) and 528 British consumers (low in dialectical thinking) to test our framework.
Findings
The authors’ experimental results suggest an androgynous brand has higher brand equity in China than in the UK. Furthermore, Chinese consumers rate higher feminine/masculine attributes of masculine/feminine brands. In addition, an androgynous brand's equity is mainly driven by its less dominant attributes. Finally, their results suggest that brand positioning moderates the mediating role of less dominant attributes, more evident when brand positioning matches (vs mismatches) an androgynous brand's more dominant attributes.
Originality/value
By focusing on cross-cultural differences in dialectical thinking, the authors’ research offers a novel approach to reconcile existing inconclusive results on androgynous brand equity. Second, to their best knowledge, their research is the first to examine how feminine and masculine attributes jointly decide androgynous brand equity. Finally, by focusing on brand positioning, their research highlights the importance of an androgynous brand's less dominant attributes in driving its brand equity and provides a tool international marketing managers can use to strengthen such influence.
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Ana Margarida Dias, André M. Carvalho and Paulo Sampaio
The changes brought forth by the Digital Transformation have an impact on the way we think, assess and manage Quality. While the concept of Quality 4.0 has resulted from these…
Abstract
Purpose
The changes brought forth by the Digital Transformation have an impact on the way we think, assess and manage Quality. While the concept of Quality 4.0 has resulted from these changes, there is still limited understanding and unclear definitions in this new era of Quality Management.
Design/methodology/approach
There is a clear opportunity to review and analyze the state-of-the-art of Quality 4.0, its main research efforts, topics and directions. To do so, a bibliometric analysis and descriptive/mapping literature review were performed.
Findings
There is a clear focus on the implications of technology for Quality, but other relevant topics include business management and strategy models and systems, as well as human or soft factors. Results reveal an increasing interest in Quality 4.0 as well as a link between topics.
Originality/value
Together with the review, analysis and digest of the literature, we offer our own contribution to a commonly accepted definition Quality 4.0.
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Maria Gabriela Mendonça Peixoto, Gustavo Alves de Melo, Maria Cristina Angélico Mendonça, Marcel Andreotti Musetti, André Luiz Marques Serrano, Lucas Oliveira Gomes Ferreira and Clovis Neumann
This paper aims to contextualize the process of public hospital providing services, based on the measurement of the performance of Federal University Hospitals (HUFs) of Brazil…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to contextualize the process of public hospital providing services, based on the measurement of the performance of Federal University Hospitals (HUFs) of Brazil, using the technique of multivariate statistics of principal component analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
This research presented a descriptive and quantitative character, as well as exploratory purpose and followed the inductive logic, being empirically structured in two stages, that is, the application of principal component analysis (PCA) in four healthcare performance dimensions; subsequently, the full reapplication of principal component analysis in the most highly correlated variables, in module, with the first three main components (PC1, PC2 and PC3).
Findings
From the principal component analysis, considering mainly the component I, with twice the explanatory power of the second (PC2) and third components (PC3), it was possible to evidence the efficient or inefficient behavior of the HUFs evaluated, through the production of medical residency, by specialty area. Finally, it was observed the formation of two groups composed of seven and eight hospitals, that is, Groups II and IV, which shows that these groups reflect similarities, with respect to the scores and importance of the variables for both hospitals’ groups.
Research limitations/implications
Among the main limitations, it was observed incomplete data for some HUFs, which made it impossible to search for information to explain and better contextualize certain aspects. More specifically, a limited number of hospitals with complete information was dealt with for 60% of SIMEC/REHUF performance indicators.
Practical implications
The use of PCA multivariate technique was of great contribution to the contextualization of the performance and productivity of homogeneous and autonomous units, represented by the hospitals. It was possible to generate a high quantity of information, to contribute with assumptions to complement the decision-making processes in these organizations.
Social implications
Development of public policies, with emphasis on hospitals linked to teaching centers represented by university hospitals. The projection of improvements in the reach of the efficiency of the services of assistance to the public health, from the qualified formation of professionals, both to academy, as to clinical practice.
Originality/value
The originality of this paper for the scenarios, Brazilian public health sector and academic area involved the application of a consolidated performance analysis technique, that is, PCA, obtaining a rich work in relation to the extensive exploitation of techniques to support decision-making processes. In addition, the sequence and the way in which the content, formed by object of study and techniques, has been organized, generating a particular scenario for the measurement of performance in hospital organizations.
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José Osvaldo De Sordi, Wanderlei Lima de Paulo, Andre Rodrigues dos Rodrigues Santos, Reed Elliot Nelson, Marcia Carvalho de Azevedo, Marcos Hashimoto and Roberto Cavallari Filho
In this paper, the authors review the literature on the nature of the small and medium-sized enterprise concept. The review examines the broad diversity of terms and definitions…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors review the literature on the nature of the small and medium-sized enterprise concept. The review examines the broad diversity of terms and definitions used to describe these kinds of firms in scholarly and practical settings. They relate this examination to the concept of small business for the purpose of comparison, in order to highlight differences and similarities between the concepts.
Design/methodology/approach
Relevant literature including articles from academia and defining documents from practical settings was identified through a scope literature review. Field data were subsequently collected via questionnaires sent to editors and authors of articles related to the theme. The data were content analyzed and the resulting codes consolidated into dimensions in accordance with the Gioia method. Chi-squared tests were applied to categorical data.
Findings
The use of the composite category “small and medium” was found to be predominant in the labeling of small businesses in scientific articles, including those in journals that specialize in small businesses, with no justifications presented for this, characterizing a widespread and consensual practice between authors and editors. In the defining documents of practical settings, however, the authors observed greater consistency and precision both in the terms used and in the delimiting values for a small business (self-employed, micro business, small business). In the sample of 27 defining documents mentioned in the articles, 25 specifically defined “small business” and 20 defined “micro business,” using indicators such as number of employees and annual turnover. The indicators delimiting values regarding the category of micro business were the same in all the documents analyzed and, regarding the category of small business, many documents used the same delimiting values.
Practical implications
Recognizing the “non-large enterprise” myth will provide a more effective posture for editors and authors to avoid using the term “small and medium,” resulting in greater precision, understanding and knowledge regarding small businesses. A better definition of a small business by academia can help public policymakers and managers of organizations that support small businesses to tailor their actions better according to the different sizes of companies. This will also lead to social gains, given the importance of small businesses in terms of job creation and countries' economies.
Originality/value
The authors identified and described the myth of the “non-large enterprise” among academics, characterized by the dichotomous view of the business universe, composed of “large enterprises” and “non-large enterprises,” the latter group being characterized by the widespread use of the term “small and medium.”
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Sustainability principles have been practiced and researched in marketing for nearly five decades, but the challenges we face today are still significant. This context defines the…
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainability principles have been practiced and researched in marketing for nearly five decades, but the challenges we face today are still significant. This context defines the purpose of this paper, which is to find, synthesize and critically evaluate the existing literature on marketing in a sustainability context from 1969 to 2019. The ultimate aim is to provide a unified body of literature on sustainability marketing and classify the extant literature.
Design/methodology/approach
The relevant articles from selected journals were identified and manually verified using the Scopus database. The SPAR- 4- SLR protocol provides the framework for the methodology. In total, 749 articles were eligible for inclusion in the study.
Findings
The research findings are presented in the form of article categorization into 11 thematic categories. The thematic categories outlined previous studies' trend and contribution characteristics under the individual category, illustrating their implications.
Practical implications
The literature review aids in understanding the current state of research and piques researchers' interest in sustainability marketing. The findings of the study will be a valuable resource for future scholars, managers and policymakers.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature by providing valuable insights from previous research on the research trend in sustainability marketing and by providing a recommendation for future research avenues. After a long hiatus, this is the most up-to-date comprehensive article, providing a general overview of research trends.