Angele Pieters, Kim E. van Oorschot, Henk A. Akkermans and Sally C. Brailsford
The purpose of this paper is to investigate inter-organizational designs for care–cure conditions in which low-risk patients are cared for in specialized care organizations and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate inter-organizational designs for care–cure conditions in which low-risk patients are cared for in specialized care organizations and high-risk patients are cared for in specialized cure organizations. Performance impacts of increasing levels of integration between these organizations are analyzed.
Design/methodology/approach
Mixed methods were used in Dutch perinatal care: analysis of archival data, clinical research and system dynamics simulation modeling.
Findings
Inter-organizational design has an effect on inter-organizational dynamics such as collaboration and trust, and also on the operational aspects such as patient flows through the system. Solutions are found in integrating care and cure organizations. However, not all levels of integrated designs perform better than a design based on organizational separation of care and cure.
Practical implications
A clear split between midwifery practices (care) and obstetric departments (cure) will not work since all pregnant women need both care and cure. Having midwifery practices only works well when there are high levels of collaboration and trust with obstetric departments in hospitals. Integrated care designs are likely to exhibit superior performance. However, these designs will have an adverse effect on organizations that are not part of this integration, since integrating only a subset of organizations will feed distrust, low collaboration and hence low performance.
Originality/value
The originality of this research is derived from its multi-method approach. Archival data and clinical research revealed the dynamic relations between organizations. The caveat of some integrated care models was found through simulation.
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Angèle Pieters, Henk Akkermans and Arie Franx
This chapter reports on an action research case study of integrated obstetric care in the Netherlands. Efficient and patient-friendly patient flows through integrated care…
Abstract
This chapter reports on an action research case study of integrated obstetric care in the Netherlands. Efficient and patient-friendly patient flows through integrated care networks are of major societal importance. How to design and develop such interorganizational patient flows is still a nascent research area, especially when dealing with a large number (n>3) of stakeholders. We have shown that a modification of an existing method to support interorganizational collaboration by system dynamics-based group model building (GMB) (the Renga method, Akkermans, 2001) may be effective in achieving such collaboration.
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Angele Pieters, Charlotte van Oirschot and Henk Akkermans
The purpose of this paper is to report on a study investigating the limits of the applicability of the focused factory concept (FFC) in health care. The case setting comes from…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on a study investigating the limits of the applicability of the focused factory concept (FFC) in health care. The case setting comes from the Dutch obstetric care system, which is organised by principles in sync with the FFC; the organisation for “simple” pregnancies (independent midwifery practices) is fully separated from that for “complex” pregnancies (obstetric departments in hospitals). The paper investigates the degree of fit between how the Dutch obstetric care system is organised and how it operates (internal fit).
Design/methodology/approach
This study analyses one year of patient data from one obstetric hospital department and from one midwifery practice in its immediate geographical proximity. Data were collected regarding the medical condition, consultations, and delivery. These data were used to test the degree to which the obstetric care system operates in line with the FFC; one would expect the midwifery practice to operate as a “line process”, and the obstetric department as a “jobbing process”.
Findings
Findings suggest that the Dutch obstetric care sector is designed in line with the FFC, but does not operate accordingly. Root causes for this misalignment can be found in the characteristics of the medical condition of pregnancy.
Research limitations/implications
The fact that the data concern only one region must raise caution for generalisation. However, the fact that medical conditions, which can be assumed to be universal, lead to an intrinsic mismatch between the FFC organisation and medical operational reality, suggests that this paper may have broad implications for theory and practice.
Practical implications
For the Dutch obstetric case system, this paper is one in a series that casts doubts on the sustainability of the two‐tiered system. For obstetric care in general, integrated care seems preferable to the FFC. For health care in general, this paper suggests that caution is required in applying the FFC. Moreover, in OM research for health care, more efforts should be made to understand how medical conditions affect the daily operational processes and, hence, the organisational design.
Originality/value
Most of the studies focusing on the applicability of the FFC look at financial and medical outcomes. This paper is original in that it looks at what drives these outcomes, i.e. the degree of fit between strategy, organisational design and operational performance.
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My Bui, Anjala S. Krishen and Kenneth Bates
The purpose of this paper is to assess how regret affects consumer satisfaction levels, extent of rumination, and brand‐switching intention. The paper also seeks to examine any…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess how regret affects consumer satisfaction levels, extent of rumination, and brand‐switching intention. The paper also seeks to examine any mediating effects between regret and rumination that can be found due to consumers' negative emotions.
Design/methodology/approach
A purchase‐decision scenario was presented to 125 undergraduate students. A between‐subjects experimental design was conducted and structural equation modelling was utilized to evaluate the model fit.
Findings
The results indicate that regret decreases consumer satisfaction level and increases brand‐switching intention. Negative emotion was found to demonstrate an indirect effect between regret and extent of rumination. The findings also suggest that negative emotion acts as a partially mediating variable between the effect of satisfaction levels on extent of rumination and the effect of regret on satisfaction levels.
Practical implications
This study emphasizes the importance of post‐purchase consumer satisfaction. Marketers must pay particular attention to both regret and negative emotion toward purchase decisions. By understanding how specific recourse can be taken to mitigate regret, negative emotions, and ruminative thinking, firms can potentially enhance a brand's image and instil brand loyalty.
Originality/value
This research further validates existing research regarding regret and consumption, while introducing the concept of rumination into the marketing literature. Marketers will have a better understanding of how regret, negative emotions, and rumination can play a role in post‐purchase consumption behaviours.
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Anjala S. Krishen, My˜ Bui and Paula C. Peter
The purpose of this paper is to gain insight regarding the impact of consumer regret on shopping in mall kiosks and its relationship with consumer variety‐seeking tendencies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to gain insight regarding the impact of consumer regret on shopping in mall kiosks and its relationship with consumer variety‐seeking tendencies.
Design/methodology/approach
Two experimental studies are carried out with students and consumers.
Findings
Findings of the two studies show that variety and regret play an important role in mall kiosk shopping. Both studies show that individual variety‐seeking tendencies naturally stimulate consumers' search for retailers that allow them additional options (i.e. kiosk retailers that provide higher perceived variety) in comparison with those who only offer minimal assortment sizes.
Research limitations/implications
Mall kiosks are becoming an increasingly common avenue for the release of innovative products and quick entry into the retail market. These outlets have not been studied through academic research and experimentation, and this paper introduces the importance of consumer decision making in such environments.
Practical implications
Considering the findings of this research, it is in the best interest of retailers to minimize the perception of risk involved in purchases at mall kiosk retailers. For example, kiosk retailers should work toward creating service environments where consumers feel a sense of control, as this should help mitigate some of the perceived risks in those retailers.
Originality/value
This paper relates two constructs (regret and variety), which have proven to be very important in e‐tail and retail shopping, to show how they can minimize consumer's perceived risk during a shopping experience.
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Philip Barker and Pieter A. van Brakel
We have taken as the theme of the interview section of this issue's Focus (‘The Changing Face of Information’) the question of the role of the information professional in the…
Abstract
We have taken as the theme of the interview section of this issue's Focus (‘The Changing Face of Information’) the question of the role of the information professional in the epoch of the so‐called ‘Knowledge Economy’. The following question was put to members of the Editorial Board of The Electronic Library.
Arnold Heertje's short book on Schumpeter is made up of 11 essays. Three of them are published here for the first time while others date back to 1977. Heertje says that he first…
Abstract
Arnold Heertje's short book on Schumpeter is made up of 11 essays. Three of them are published here for the first time while others date back to 1977. Heertje says that he first discovered the relevance of Schumpeter's economics as a student of Pieter Hennipman at the University of Amsterdam in the early 1950s. Understanding Schumpeter's work has for him been a lifetime quest.
Brooke Wooley, Steven Bellman, Nicole Hartnett, Amy Rask and Duane Varan
Dynamic advertising, including television and online video ads, demands new theory and tools developed to understand attention to moving stimuli. The purpose of this study is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Dynamic advertising, including television and online video ads, demands new theory and tools developed to understand attention to moving stimuli. The purpose of this study is to empirically test the predictions of a new dynamic attention theory, Dynamic Human-Centred Communication Systems Theory, versus the predictions of salience theory.
Design/methodology/approach
An eye-tracking study used a sample of consumers to measure visual attention to potential areas of interest (AOIs) in a random selection of unfamiliar video ads. An eye-tracking software feature called intelligent bounding boxes (IBBs) was used to track attention to moving AOIs. AOIs were coded for the presence of static salience variables (size, brightness, colour and clutter) and dynamic attention theory dimensions (imminence, motivational relevance, task relevance and stability).
Findings
Static salience variables contributed 90% of explained variance in fixation and 57% in fixation duration. However, the data further supported the three-way interaction uniquely predicted by dynamic attention theory: between imminence (central vs peripheral), relevance (motivational or task relevant vs not) and stability (fleeting vs stable). The findings of this study indicate that viewers treat dynamic stimuli like real life, paying less attention to central, relevant and stable AOIs, which are available across time and space in the environment and so do not need to be memorised.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the limitations of small samples of consumers and video ads, the results of this study demonstrate the potential of two relatively recent innovations, which have received limited emphasis in the marketing literature: dynamic attention theory and IBBs.
Practical implications
This study documents what does and does not attract attention to video advertising. What gets attention according to salience theory (e.g. central location) may not always get attention in dynamic advertising because of the effects of relevance and stability. To better understand how to execute video advertising to direct and retain attention to important AOIs, advertisers and advertising researchers are encouraged to use IBBs.
Originality/value
This study makes two original contributions: to marketing theory, by showing how dynamic attention theory can predict attention to video advertising better than salience theory, and to marketing research, showing the utility of tracking visual attention to moving objects in video advertising with IBBs, which appear underutilised in advertising research.