Michelle Turner and Anthony Mariani
The purpose of this paper is to explore the work-family experience of projects managers working in the construction industry, and identify how they manage their work-family…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the work-family experience of projects managers working in the construction industry, and identify how they manage their work-family interface.
Design/methodology/approach
Structured interviews were conducted with nine construction project managers working in the commercial sector, and data were subject to thematic analysis.
Findings
Role conditions were found to impact on participants’ work-family interface, identified as working hours, accountability, and the stress arising from accountability. Participants identified four key strategies used to manage their work-family interface: managing work-based stress, having a supportive partner, prioritising non-work time for family, and trading off activities. Despite having to limit time with family and trade off social and leisure activities, participants did not report negative work-to-family spillover. All participants shared a passion for their work. Findings can be explained using the heavy worker investment model, which proposes that job devotion is linked to psychological well-being, decreases in work-family conflict (WFC), and work satisfaction.
Originality/value
Contrary to previous research, findings suggest that construction project managers did not experience inter-role conflict between their work and family domains. It is recommended that further research explore these findings using the heavy work investment (HWI) framework which considers how internal and external predictors shape workers’ behaviour, and whether HWI typologies moderate the experience of WFC.
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This chapter focuses on the coopetition features of tourism and specifically of tourism destinations. Because of the typical features of tourism destinations, coopetition might be…
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the coopetition features of tourism and specifically of tourism destinations. Because of the typical features of tourism destinations, coopetition might be a particularly important theme in the literature on tourism. However, the number of tourism studies that have focused on, or at least mentioned, coopetition is surprisingly small. Regarding tourism destinations, co-location causes different forms of coopetition situations, which are not very common in geographically diffused industries. Furthermore, the basic idea of one joint tourism product, such as the experiences of a tourist in a tourism destination, forces the (competing) suppliers of services in the resort to cooperate. Co-location causes a situation in which the competing firms in the area have joint branding and marketing activities. Destination marketing organisations are an important form of coopetition activities in tourism. In addition to co-location, seasonality is one of the specific features of coopetition in tourism destinations. This study combines the outcomes of several publications and other empirical materials about coopetition in tourism.
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Anthony Macedo, Sofia Gouveia, João Rebelo, João Santos and Helder Fraga
The purpose of this study is to investigate international trade determinants, paying special attention to variables related to climate change and non-tariff measures (NTMs), as…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate international trade determinants, paying special attention to variables related to climate change and non-tariff measures (NTMs), as they shape more and more world trade flows, with particular incidence on globalised goods, such as wine.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on panel data of Port wine exports to 60 countries, between 2006 and 2018, a gravity model has been estimated through Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood. Explanatory variables include NTMs, mean temperature, temperature anomaly, gross domestic product (GDP), exchange rate, ad valorem equivalent tariffs and home bias.
Findings
The findings show that exports are inversely related to both mean temperature and temperature anomaly in importing countries. Regarding NTMs, it is found that only part of them are trade deterrent. Additionally, purchasing power in importing countries is one of the main determinants of Port wine exports.
Research limitations/implications
The results show that, besides traditional economic variables, policymakers and wineries should include in their exports' decisions the impact of variables related to climate change and NTMs.
Originality/value
The novelty of this paper is to incorporate the impact of climatic variability of importing countries as a determinant of international trade of wine. Most former studies inspired of the gravity model consider explanatory variables such as GDP and exchange rate, and more recent ones started to consider NTMs too, however, this study may be the first paper to include the impact of climate change (quantified by mean temperature and temperature anomaly in importing countries) on exports.
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The world today is predicated on constant change driven by globalisation, economic restructuring, climate change, conflict crises, and the Covid-19 pandemic. People, businesses…
Abstract
The world today is predicated on constant change driven by globalisation, economic restructuring, climate change, conflict crises, and the Covid-19 pandemic. People, businesses, and government are swiftly impacted by job and profit loss, a shift in knowledge, learning poverty, pressures, and adaptability. In addition, the twenty-first-century labour market is increasingly asking for advanced skills as many jobs experience digital transformation in the workplace.
The nature of work and the structure of employment are reinventing. The Covid-19 pandemic has created challenges that require responsive safety nets critical to prevent these hardships. An option of working from home was only for a relatively privileged segment of the labour force and colleagues may never meet personally. A new pattern of work may emerge changing how people worked and live. Such circumstances could be psychologically and financially taxing. Accordingly, businesses and individuals need to navigate this challenging space by developing different skills and resilient attitudes to be relevant in the new world of work.
Resilience is a positive attitude that is built to help people overcome significant challenges to achieve their goals. In the present context of work, resilient attitudes can necessitate proactively growing skills in such areas as adaptability, persistence, problem-solving in addition to foundational literacy. Building resilience will not only benefit the individual but the business also gains continued success.
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Xiling Xiong, Ipkin Anthony Wong and Fiona X. Yang
The study aims to investigate the effects of bodily feelings on preference for robotic service by examining direct and indirect sensations from physical and metaphorically…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to investigate the effects of bodily feelings on preference for robotic service by examining direct and indirect sensations from physical and metaphorically projected bodily feelings.
Design/methodology/approach
Through four empirical experiments involving video and recall tasks to metaphorically manipulate participants’ bodily warmth and directly manipulate ambient temperature, the authors explored the mediating role of the need for warmth and the moderating role of robotic features (warmth vs competence) on consumer willingness to engage with and pay for robotic services.
Findings
Warmth perception exhibits a positive correlation with robotic services. This relationship is mediated by the need for warmth. Moreover, when customers experience a sensation of physical warmth, they show a greater willingness to pay for a robotic service exhibiting competence versus warmth.
Research limitations/implications
This research contributes to the literature by integrating the feelings-as-information theory and the mind perception view to understand the judgment of robotic services. It extends the application of the embodied cognition theory, highlighting the significance of bodily feelings as a source of information in customer decision-making processes. Furthermore, this research explores the metaphoric influence of service features on bodily responses, providing new insights into the role of embodiment and mental perception in robotic service evaluations.
Practical implications
Managers should consider using different robots based on seasonal settings to meet customers’ need for warmth. Understanding customers’ bodily feelings and the metaphoric influence of service features contributes to the design of more effective and customer-centric robotic services.
Originality/value
This inquiry explores the metaphoric influence of service features on bodily responses, providing new insights into the role of embodiment and mental perception in robotic service evaluations.
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This study aims to question the psychiatric framework currently adopted by governments toward the traditional plants of great cultures, stigmatized by the paradigm of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to question the psychiatric framework currently adopted by governments toward the traditional plants of great cultures, stigmatized by the paradigm of the unfounded psychiatric doctrine and to propose the need for a change of outlook.
Design/methodology/approach
Documentary research of the “black history” of coca. Documentary research on academic contributions to the revaluation of coca.
Findings
This brief chronicle of the coca leaf in history, duly documented, proves that its medicinal and energetic prestige was proven and praised by the naturalistic and experimental medicine of the 19th century, a precedent buried by the psychiatric pathologizing version that invented “drug addictions” without any experimental support.
Research limitations/implications
Psychiatry can be revealed as the authoritarian and unpunished inquisition of the 20th century, in its arbitrary pathologizing version of coca leaf consumption and in most of its professional work. A scientific revolution is taking place (Kuhn, 1962), given that the psychopathological paradigm does not respond to the facts surrounding coca leaf consumption and virtues. The medical perspective must replace the negative psychiatric perspective that the law maintains
Practical implications
The author concludes that the way out would be to denounce before the Social and Economic Council of the United Nations, with evidence in hand, the fraud in the 1950 UN Commission on Coca Report, due to concealment on information.
Social implications
Taking advantage of the hygienic and medicinal virtues of plants stigmatized by psychiatry, such as the coca leaf, would put an end to an omnipresent war and give way to peace in the producing areas.
Originality/value
The questioning of the psychiatric frame of reference adopted by governments to deal with coca leaf consumption has led to the “war on drugs.”
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IpKin Anthony Wong, Jingwen Huang, Zhiwei (CJ) Lin and Haoyue Jiao
Have you been to a smart restaurant, and how were its services? A common limitation of hospitality studies stems from the lack of research on how service quality is shaped within…
Abstract
Purpose
Have you been to a smart restaurant, and how were its services? A common limitation of hospitality studies stems from the lack of research on how service quality is shaped within smart technology. This study aims to fill this literature void not merely to reiterate the importance of technology but also to recast service quality through the lens of information technology. It synthesizes the 5-S model of smart service quality (AKA SSQ) as a new conceptualization of service quality application in smart hospitality contexts such as smart restaurants.
Design/methodology/approach
This study undertook a qualitative research design based on theoretical synthesis from service quality, information technology and attention restoration. Drawing from online review comments and semistructured interviews from smart restaurants, the authors improvised the SSQ model to identify the essence of smart service in smart dining establishments.
Findings
“5-S” reflects an extension of the literature to denote a new SSQ abstraction pertinent to s-servicescape, s-assurance, s-responsiveness, s-reliability and s-empathy. A nomological network was posited to better understand the importance of smart design and consequence of SSQ.
Research limitations/implications
The emergence of smart dining gives rise to smart restaurants, which puts technology at center stage. As consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with self-service technology, auto-payment and ordering systems and robotic services, technology in foodservice will continue to play an essential role to better serve diners. Geared with advanced innovations and intelligent devices, smart restaurants are now more than mere eateries. It is a trend and a lifestyle.
Originality/value
This novel SSQ concept adds new nuances to the literature by acknowledging the technological essence in today’s hospitality industry. By integrating smart technology into the service quality paradigm, the authors are able to observe several interesting behaviors exhibited during smart dining, including tech-induced restoration, which opens a new avenue to understand how attention restoration could be attained through immersion in a technologically advanced setting. By synthesizing theoretical essence from service quality, attention restoration and information technology, the authors are able to create a new dialog that should warrant a forum of discussion in future studies.