Sameer Kumar, Brett Hudson and Josie Lowry
The advent of the internet has dramatically changed the retail landscape. Online purchases have been increasing annually for the past several years, yet only account for 6 percent…
Abstract
Purpose
The advent of the internet has dramatically changed the retail landscape. Online purchases have been increasing annually for the past several years, yet only account for 6 percent of total purchases. With the potential for growth being relatively unlimited, many online businesses have been created, and conventional stores are questioning whether their current brick and mortar business model will continue to be successful. The operational processes of online companies are difficult to formulate, as evidenced by their high failure rates. The purpose of this paper is to examine one online business, Bellacor, to determine whether there are operational efficiencies to be gained, that errors can be reduced and whether they are operating in conjunction with customers' expectations.
Design/methodology/approach
The design methodology used involved an examination of Bellacor's service blueprint, implementing the Six Sigma DMAIC cycle, developing cause‐and‐effect diagrams and creating poka‐yokes to modify the existing service blueprint to improve the operational process.
Findings
The “improve” phase of the DMAIC cycle produced several poka‐yokes to overcome numerous failures in the current service blueprint. It is the authors' opinions that implementing the new proposed blueprint will likely result in improved customer service, improved delivery tracking, fewer errors and a better overall experience for the customer.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitations of the survey surrounded the time frame allotted to complete the study. Had more time and resources been available, a more robust survey could have been created and additional order data could have been gathered.
Practical implications
With a better experience for the customer and improved accuracy throughout the process, profits will improve. There is considerable market share available for a successful operation and management needs to continually revisit the current process to ensure that it is as efficient and customer‐friendly as possible.
Originality/value
The value of the study goes beyond Bellacor as a successful online business. The study attempts to lay the groundwork for what is successful and needed by today's consumer. Lessons and procedures learned in the paper can be translated to any company with a similar business model.
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The eighteenth- and nineteenth-century fur trade in the United States and Canada that sent hundreds of thousands of furs to Europe and China relied on “Cheap Labor” and the…
Abstract
The eighteenth- and nineteenth-century fur trade in the United States and Canada that sent hundreds of thousands of furs to Europe and China relied on “Cheap Labor” and the abundance of “Cheap Raw Materials,” that is to say, living beings such as sea otter, land otter, beaver, and seals. Native American labor, procured by and paid through trade goods in a kind of “putting out” piece-rate system, was cheap partially because their lives were maintained/reproduced through traditional agricultural or hunting and gathering economies. The commodification of fur-bearing animals led to their sharp decline and in some cases near extinction. Cheap labor and cheap living beings interacted dynamically in unison to enable capital accumulation under mercantile capitalism. At the very end of the nineteenth century, fur farming as a petty capitalist enterprise became common in Canada and the United States, and more recently has expanded greatly in China.
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Brett Crawford and M. Tina Dacin
In this chapter, the authors adopt a macrofoundations perspective to explore punishment within institutional theory. Institutional theorists have long focused on a single type of…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors adopt a macrofoundations perspective to explore punishment within institutional theory. Institutional theorists have long focused on a single type of punishment – retribution – including the use of sanctions, fines, and incarceration to maintain conformity. The authors expand the types of punishment that work to uphold institutions, organized by visible and hidden, and formal and informal characteristics. The four types of punishment include (1) punishment-as-retribution; (2) punishment-as-charivari; (3) punishment-as-rehabilitation; and (4) punishment-as-vigilantism. The authors develop important connections between punishment-as-charivari, which relies on shaming efforts, and burgeoning interest in organizational stigma and social evaluations. The authors also point to informal types of punishment, including punishment-as-vigilantism, to expand the variety of actors that punish wrongdoing, including actors without the legal authority to do so. Finally, the authors detail a number of questions for each type of punishment as a means to generate a future research agenda.
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Helen M. Haugh and Bob Doherty
The common good refers to contextual conditions that contribute to human wellbeing and flourishing, such as prosperous communities and environmental sustainability. In this paper…
Abstract
The common good refers to contextual conditions that contribute to human wellbeing and flourishing, such as prosperous communities and environmental sustainability. In this paper, we consider how entrepreneurship impacts society by investigating the generalized outcomes of social entrepreneurship on the common good. From a qualitative study of ten large and profitable social enterprises in the United Kingdom, we theorize how social entrepreneurship contributes to the common good in the short and long term. We also conjecture how some commercial practices undermine the common good and further, explain how the common good performs as a conceptual anchor for social entrepreneurship.
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Gül Seçkin, Susan Hughes, Cassie Hudson, David Laljer and Dale Yeatts
Purpose: The aim of the study is to consider the use of the Internet as a potential facilitator of positive health-related perceptions. Specifically, we propose that online health…
Abstract
Purpose: The aim of the study is to consider the use of the Internet as a potential facilitator of positive health-related perceptions. Specifically, we propose that online health information seeking fosters positive perceptions of health. Using path modeling, we theorized several mechanisms through which information seeking could be conducive to positive health perceptions, which we conceptualized into the following four dimensions: (1) sense of empowerment in managing health, (2) self-reported ability to take better care of health, (3) sense of improved health-related quality of life, and (4) self-reported improvement of health.
Methodology: Our sample consisted of respondents who have used the Internet as a resource for health information (n = 710), drawn from the largest national probability-based online research panel. Our comparison subsample consisted of older respondents (age ≥ 60; n = 194). We used Internet-specific measures and employed structural equation models (SEM) to estimate the direct, indirect, and total effects of health-related use of the Internet on subjective health perceptions. Based on our review of the literature, competent health communication with healthcare providers and sense of empowerment in managing personal health were modeled as mediator variables. We assessed whether the proposed mediational relationships, if significant, differed across our indicators of positive health perceptions and whether any differential associations were observed among older adults. We run parallel models for each indicator of positive health perception.
Findings: Provider-patient communication informed by the Internet resources were perceived to impart a greater sense of empowerment to manage health among our respondents, which in turn, was associated with perceived contributions to better self-reported ability to provide self-care, increased health-related quality of life, and improvement in self-reported health. The SEM results revealed a good fit with our full sample and subsample.
Research Implications: Conceptualization of the multidimensional aspects of online health information seeking with separate multi-indicator analyses of the outcome variable is important to further our understanding of how technology may impact the pathways involved in influencing health perceptions and as a result health outcomes.
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Do these reference requests sound familiar? “I need to know what has happened on this day in history. Can you help me?” Or, “I'm doing a paper on Thornton Wilder. He was born on…
Abstract
Do these reference requests sound familiar? “I need to know what has happened on this day in history. Can you help me?” Or, “I'm doing a paper on Thornton Wilder. He was born on 17 April. Can you tell me who else was born on that day?” Or, “Are any national or regional anniversaries coming up next Friday?” These questions call for a special type of reference work—a book of days. A book of days (or day book) lists important events that have occurred on each day of the year throughout history, and is arranged by month and day. These works often include not only historical, cultural, and literary events, but also the dates of the births and deaths of notable people, commemorative days of saints, and special anniversaries. A book of days, for example, can reveal that historians Will and Ariel Durant were married in New York City Hall on Halloween in 1913, or that Hart Crane and Ernest Hemingway were born on the same day in 1899 (21 July). This article will review some of the more useful books of days that are often found in reference collections—works that are uniquely suited to answer questions about each day of the year.
Abraham J. Oberholster, Ruth Clarke, Mike Bendixen and Barbara Dastoor
The purpose of this exploratory, empirical study is to identify motivations for expatriation among religious and humanitarian (R&H) workers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this exploratory, empirical study is to identify motivations for expatriation among religious and humanitarian (R&H) workers.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 158 active expatriate Christian R&H workers from 25 countries, representing 48 international organizations, completed a survey with 45 reasons for expatriation, derived from literature on corporate expatriation, international volunteering, and international migration. Data analysis includes factor analysis and cluster analysis.
Findings
In total, eight latent motivation factors were found: career development; economics; international experience; escapism; altruism; outsider support; family life; and location. Workers in the not‐for‐profit sector are primarily motivated by altruism, and thus integrate organizational mission with personal purpose in their decision to work abroad. Using cluster analysis, four groups of humanitarian and religious workers in the Christian sub‐sector were identified: Caring Missionary; Focused Worker; Self‐Directed Careerist; and International Family Custodian. Workers from developed versus developing countries exhibit different motivators.
Practical implications
The findings provide insight into differences between developed versus developing country workers and between R&H workers. Recognizing the differences in motivation can assist international human resource managers in the effective recruitment, selection, training and development, career management, and support and encouragement of non‐profit organizations (NPO) expatriates. The authors provide propositions to be tested based on the application of self‐determination theory to expatriate motivation.
Originality/value
This exploratory, empirical study of Christian R&H workers extends the organizational and country context and builds on motivation for expatriation research to include this sub‐sector of workers from both developed and developing countries operating in global organizations. The findings provide new insights into motivation for expatriation and lead to propositions for future research.
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Noel Scott, Brent Moyle, Ana Cláudia Campos, Liubov Skavronskaya and Biqiang Liu
Ebina Justin M.A. and Manu Melwin Joy
The three objectives served by this review are to provide readers a limpid insight about the topic performance management (PM), to analyse the latest trends in PM literature and…
Abstract
Purpose
The three objectives served by this review are to provide readers a limpid insight about the topic performance management (PM), to analyse the latest trends in PM literature and to illustrate the theoretical perspectives. It would be fascinating for the practitioners and researchers to see the latest trends in the PM system, which is not yet covered in previous reviews. The study covers the historical and theoretical perspectives of human resource management practices. We also try to unveil some of the theoretical debates and conflicts regarding the topic.
Design/methodology/approach
We reviewed 139 studies on PM published within the last 20 years (2000–2020). The method used here is the integrative review method. The criteria used to determine studies are articles from peer-reviewed journals regarding the PM system published between 2000 and 2020. The initial search for studies was conducted using an extensive journal database, and then an intensive reference-based search was also done. Each selected article was coded, themes were identified, and trends for every 5 years were determined. All the articles were analysed and classified based on the methodology used to identify qualitative and quantitative studies.
Findings
The review concludes that PM literature's emphasis shifted from traditional historical evaluations conducted once or twice a year to forward-looking, feedback-enriched PM systems. By segregating the studies into 5-year periods, we could extract five significant trends that prevailed in the PM literature from 2000 to 2020: reactions to PM system, factors that influence PM system, quality of rating sources, evaluating the PM system and types of the PM system. The review ends with a discussion of practical implications and avenues for future research.
Research limitations/implications
It is equally a limitation and strength of this paper that we conducted a review of 139 articles to cover the whole works in PM literature during the last 20 years. The study could not concentrate on any specific PM theme, such as exploring employee outcomes or organizational outcomes. Likewise, the studies on public sector and non-profit organizations are excluded from this review, which constitutes a significant share of PM literature. Another significant limitation is that the selected articles are classified only based on their methodology; further classification based on different themes and contexts can also be done.
Originality/value
The study is an original review of the PM literature to identify the latest trends in the field.