Angel Clemons and Claudene Sproles
This paper seeks to highlight the benefits of using depository exchange lists as collection development tools.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to highlight the benefits of using depository exchange lists as collection development tools.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide a general overview of depository collection development and analyze exchange list activity at the national and local level.
Findings
Although exchange lists are widely available electronically, only a small portion of depository libraries actually use them as found in the analysis of exchange list activity at the national level. Many unique and out of print documents are regularly being offered on the lists.
Originality/value
This paper provides information on an area of government documents and collection development librarianship that is not widely covered in the literature. It highlights the use of exchange lists as a way to increase collections at a relatively low cost.
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Brian R. Webb and Frank Schlemmer
Web services promise a step change in business‐to‐business application models and practices. But how do we measure web services' performance? Because web services are so new, and…
Abstract
Purpose
Web services promise a step change in business‐to‐business application models and practices. But how do we measure web services' performance? Because web services are so new, and implementations so few, the purpose of this paper is to take internet performance as a proxy for web services performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors surveyed 106 e‐business SMEs to identify key drivers for internet performance, and then predicted web services performance.
Findings
Surprisingly, it was found that while business resources and IT resources positively impact internet performance, dynamic capabilities do not. Also, there appear to be significant firm size effects.
Originality/value
The implications of these findings for the strategic management of web services are discussed, and in particular, managers' need to balance resources and capabilities in volatile business environments.
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A strong indication of the reasons behind minority mayors' shift from deracialization can be found in the changes in the U.S. population over the last two decades. The changes in…
Abstract
A strong indication of the reasons behind minority mayors' shift from deracialization can be found in the changes in the U.S. population over the last two decades. The changes in population has eroded – or potentially is in the process of eroding – a key variable in the election of minority mayors: the presence of a majority Black population. For example, with cities losing Black population while gaining Whites and Latinos, the conditions under which Black candidates run for mayor in many U.S. cities are quite different from the experience of the first elected Black mayors. Washington, DC has lost 16% of its Black population since 1990. Between 2000 and 2010, the Black population decreased by 6%. Yet, during the same time period, the district has experienced increases in White population, with a 14% increase since 2000. With a Black population of less than 50% as compared to a Black population over 70% in 1980, the district has enjoyed the distinction of no longer being a majority-Black city (Washington Post, 2007). Atlanta, Georgia also has experienced a loss of Black population (Cox News Service, 2007). These data are suggestive of trends where, if they continue, ambitious Black candidates for mayor will find their electoral coalitions composed of increased numbers of Whites and Latinos in areas where Blacks have dominated for decades.
Wee Fhong Ow, Shirley Jin Lin Chua and Azlan Shah Ali
This paper aims to explore the history of Anglican churches in Malaysia and discusses their typical features and their respective maintenance practices.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the history of Anglican churches in Malaysia and discusses their typical features and their respective maintenance practices.
Design/methodology/approach
A narrative review of 84 literacy sources published between 1967 and 2020 on the development and features of Anglican churches in Malaysia, along with recommendations on maintenance practices from the asset and facilities management perspective. The exploration of churches’ features follows three main disciplines in building maintenance according to the Jabatan Kerja Raya Guideline for as-built buildings in Malaysia.
Findings
The findings of the study have then been tabulated to form a maintenance framework to recommend suitable maintenance practices on specific building components based on different materials. The paper argues that as places of worship, the assets of religious facilities are intangible compared to any other types of building that serve a tangible function (i.e. shelter, commercial or industrial operation). Throughout the exploration of their maintenance practices suggested by vast sources of literature, it is proven that the maintenance of churches is not as straightforward as merely remedying the defects, but it requires the maintenance to radically minimise any disturbance to their aesthetics, thus making maintenance a more challenging task at churches.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a maintenance framework for Anglican churches in Malaysia by categorising building disciplines and their corresponding building components, which supports future research to improve the maintenance practices of religious facilities.
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THE appearance of the seventh edition of the Decimal Classification, which is now thirty‐five years old, seems to be an occasion when some comment may be made on the author and…
Eric Ansong and Richard Boateng
This study aims to explore the business models and strategies of digital enterprises in a developing economy context to understand the nature of their operations, as well as their…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the business models and strategies of digital enterprises in a developing economy context to understand the nature of their operations, as well as their survival tactics.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of literature on digital enterprise models led to the adaptation of a 16 business model archetype for analyzing digital enterprises in Ghana. Using a critical realism perspective, survey data from a sample of 91 digital enterprises were used for the study.
Findings
The findings suggest that among human, physical and intangible assets, financial assets were the least used assets in the operations of the digital enterprises. This stems from the fact that the online financial business sector is still in its nascent stages in most developing economies. The findings further suggest that all digital enterprises leverage on accessible and low-cost social networking services as part of their operations and use them as an avenue to engage with their target customers.
Research limitations/implications
The findings from this study provide guidelines to entrepreneurs who wish to venture into the digital ecosystem of Ghana, particularly with regard to the economic, financial and technological factors that enable digital enterprises to survive in the competitive digital economy.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that it is important for governments to realize that there is an increasing rise in digital enterprises in the developing economies and these enterprises are creating jobs and providing business solutions locally that would hitherto be sought from developed economies. There is therefore the need for the requisite legal infrastructure and financial support that will cushion these enterprises from the fierce competitions that stagnate their growth.
Originality/value
The study provides a mapping of the digital business models of Ghanaian digital enterprises. This knowledge is arguably the first of its kind in the context of a developing economy. Hence, it serves as a stepping-stone for future studies to explore other areas in the digital economy, especially from a developing economy perspective.
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Jina Kim, Yeonju Jang, Kunwoo Bae, Soyoung Oh, Nam Jeong Jeong, Eunil Park, Jinyoung Han and Angel P. del Pobil
Understanding customers' revisiting behavior is highlighted in the field of service industry and the emergence of online communities has enabled customers to express their prior…
Abstract
Purpose
Understanding customers' revisiting behavior is highlighted in the field of service industry and the emergence of online communities has enabled customers to express their prior experience. Thus, purpose of this study is to investigate customers' reviews on an online hotel reservation platform, and explores their postbehaviors from their reviews.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ two different approaches and compare the accuracy of predicting customers' post behavior: (1) using several machine learning classifiers based on sentimental dimensions of customers' reviews and (2) conducting the experiment consisted of two subsections. In the experiment, the first subsection is designed for participants to predict whether customers who wrote reviews would visit the hotel again (referred to as Prediction), while the second subsection examines whether participants want to visit one of the particular hotels when they read other customers' reviews (dubbed as Decision).
Findings
The accuracy of the machine learning approaches (73.23%) is higher than that of the experimental approach (Prediction: 58.96% and Decision: 64.79%). The key reasons of users' predictions and decisions are identified through qualitative analyses.
Originality/value
The findings reveal that using machine learning approaches show the higher accuracy of predicting customers' repeat visits only based on employed sentimental features. With the novel approach of integrating customers' decision processes and machine learning classifiers, the authors provide valuable insights for researchers and providers of hospitality services.
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Andre Nijhof, Marjolein Bakker and Henk Kievit
This paper aims to elucidate what concepts of encroachment in business-to-consumer markets explain the market share increase of companies with sustainability value propositions…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to elucidate what concepts of encroachment in business-to-consumer markets explain the market share increase of companies with sustainability value propositions. It documents the encroachment field, analyses the practice of ten companies and proposes and defines the additional concept of transparency encroachment.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of companies with an increase in customers and market share due to their sustainability value proposition. These were supplemented with secondary data, like documented interviews, sustainability reports and reports on market development. The interview transcripts and secondary data notes were coded using template analysis.
Findings
As the literature on encroachment assumes that new value propositions take away market share from incumbents due to advantages for customers, it is questionable whether it can explain how value propositions with advantages for society as a whole can encroach markets. The results of this study show that the dominant forms of encroachment in the current literature – high-end encroachment, low-end encroachment and business model encroachment – can only partly explain encroachment through sustainability value propositions. An additional encroachment form is identified: transparency encroachment.
Research limitations/implications
This research adds greater clarity to what companies do when they encroach markets with sustainability value propositions. Furthermore, the pattern of transparency encroachment is discussed to define the common aspects of this concept and to argue why these aspects are needed for encroachment. It implies that marketing activities should start from the perception that customers are allies – and not kings – in the development toward higher levels of sustainability.
Practical implications
The paper offers practical implications insofar as it deconstructs three aspects of transparency encroachment that are enacted by companies. Customer awareness, unique experience and customer contribution are all needed to enact transparency encroachment. It is argued that other companies introducing sustainability value propositions to encroach markets should find their own application of these three aspects to create the potential for successful encroachment.
Social implications
Because of the focus on sustainability aspects of value propositions, this study generates knowledge about the marketing and encroachment of products with a relatively positive impact on society. Adoption of the identified concept of transparency encroachment contributes to sustainable development.
Originality/value
To date, there has been very little marketing research that explores the role of sustainability value propositions in the encroachment of markets. Nonetheless, nowadays customers seem to look beyond their own benefits and are increasingly demanding a new approach that builds upon the sustainability aspects of products. This research adds greater clarity to encroachment through sustainability value propositions.
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Cristina Calvo-Porral, Jean-Pierre Lévy-Mangin and Isabel Novo-Corti
The purpose of this paper is to address two issues. First research goal is about analyzing differences in perceived quality in higher education (HE) between a private and a public…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address two issues. First research goal is about analyzing differences in perceived quality in higher education (HE) between a private and a public university centre. Second, the research aims to analyze which are the key dimensions in perceived quality in HE from the students’ standpoint.
Design/methodology/approach
An analysis based on a modified SERVQUAL instrument was used to respond to the objectives put forward. Then, a mean comparison and covariance structure analysis approach was carried out to test the differences in perceived quality between the students from both centres, as well as the dimensions with higher influence in perceived quality.
Findings
The results suggest that tangibility and empathy dimensions are the most influent variables on perceived quality in HE. Furthermore, some relevant significant differences were found between the public and the private centre.
Research limitations/implications
The results give an opportunity to HE institutions’ managers to develop enhancing quality strategies for their institutions, given that the present study relies on a sample of actual undergraduate university students.
Originality/value
The present research provides with a comparative analysis between a private and a public centre, in order to assess which one offers higher educational and teaching quality from the students’ viewpoint, as well as an approach to the main variables in HE perceived quality.