Nicholas Burton and Cole McClean
This study explores the use of event-related promotional hashtags by non-sponsors as a form of social ambushing, akin to newsjacking, as potential means of ambushing major events…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the use of event-related promotional hashtags by non-sponsors as a form of social ambushing, akin to newsjacking, as potential means of ambushing major events and the potential challenges facing commercial rights holders.
Design/methodology/approach
Framed within the context of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, the present research takes a descriptive analytical approach to social media analysis. Social media data were accessed from Twitter's API across a six-week Games period and subsequently coded and categorized based upon strategic intent, content and key structural characteristics. A quantitative analysis of Tweet distribution, frequency and buzz was then conducted, providing insight into the impacts and effects of social ambushing via newsjacking.
Findings
Importantly, the study's findings suggest that whilst newsjacking by non-sponsors throughout the Games was pervasive, the potential reach and impact of such social ambushing may be limited. Non-sponsoring firms primarily adopted Games hashtags for behavioural or diversionary means, however consumer response to such attempts was minimal. These findings offer renewed perspective for scholars and practitioners on social ambushing and ambush marketing interventionism.
Originality/value
This research provides an important investigation into the manifestations and potential implications of social ambushing and illustrates the potential for brands to newsjack sporting events through unauthorized hashtag usage, necessary advances in sport marketing research.
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Fiona Edgar, Jing A. Zhang, Nataliya Podgorodnichenko and Adeel Akmal
One of the most cited literature in SHRM is Schuler and Jackson’s (1987) behavioural model. This model proposes that organisational performance is dependent on the extent to which…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the most cited literature in SHRM is Schuler and Jackson’s (1987) behavioural model. This model proposes that organisational performance is dependent on the extent to which HRM practices can be effectively connected to competitive strategy and desired employee behaviours. Importantly, this model recognises the salient role of employee behaviour in performance outcomes and, moreover that different competitive strategies imply both promulgation and reinforcement of different sets of employee skills and behaviours. Surprisingly, despite its significant influence on SHRM, studies rarely examine this model in its entirety. Motivated by the need to better understand this model’s arguments in contemporary settings, our study uses a multi-actor design to explore the connections between competitive strategies (cost reduction and differentiation), employee behaviours, and HRM practices in service environments.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting a multi-level, multi-actor survey design, our exploratory deductive study assesses the utility of strategic HRM’s (SHRM) behavioural model. Drawing on data from a sample of service organisations and using univariate analyses, we compare operationalised HRM practices and employee behaviours across different strategy types.
Findings
Results lend provisional support for the behavioural model, particularly in the case of a differentiation strategy where notable differences in HRM practices and employee behaviours were observed. Findings suggest growing levels of memetic and competitive isomorphism may be occurring, with this likely attributable to the increased incidence of idea generation and information sharing about best practices occurring amongst practitioners, as well as a growing nuance in operating markets, managerial preferences, employee expectations, stakeholder objectives, and the like.
Research limitations/implications
Our study suggests refinements to the behavioural model are needed. Some support for the model’s key tenets is found, but these appear context specific. Thus, the merit in developing a priori typologies linking strategy type to HRM practices and employee behaviours where organisations operate in environments which are particularised and tumultuous appears debatable.
Practical implications
This study highlights the behavioural model’s nuance to modern service organisations and, by doing so, practitioners are provided with a behavioural pathway for achieving competitive advantage through their HRM practices. Findings also suggest that increasingly competitive environments might be encouraging practitioners to engage in isomorphic behaviours.
Originality/value
The use of a comparative research design allowed our study to contribute much needed empiricism to the largely conceptually informed stylised typologies depicting the linkages between different competitive strategies, implied employee role behaviours and HRM practices, thereby supporting the need for model refinement.
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This chapter applies a qualitative theoretical approach, drawing on critical literacy frames including socio-cultural theory and auto-ethnography to examine the journey of a…
Abstract
This chapter applies a qualitative theoretical approach, drawing on critical literacy frames including socio-cultural theory and auto-ethnography to examine the journey of a language arts teacher in her struggle to respond to her students’ resistance and create a classroom context of mean-making and empowerment. Asserting the process as the decolonization of pedagogy, the chapter asserts the language arts classroom as a borderland, a site for both critical analysis and a source for creativity and possibility (Giroux, 2001) to teach students who are traditionally underserved in the educational community. The chapter points to ways students’ rich cultural heritage and the teacher’s autobiographical narrative can become part of the classroom pedagogy and result in a rich learning experience that is transformative.
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The purpose of this paper is to present findings relating to how Lean is implemented in English hospitals.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present findings relating to how Lean is implemented in English hospitals.
Design/methodology/approach
Lean implementation snapshots in English hospitals were conducted by content analysing all annual reports and web sites over two time periods, giving a thorough analysis of Lean's status in English healthcare.
Findings
The article identifies divergent approaches to Lean implementation in English hospitals. These approaches are classified into a typology to facilitate an evaluation of how Lean is implemented. The findings suggest that implementation tends to be isolated rather than system‐wide. A second dataset conveys Lean implementation trajectory across the time period. These data signal Lean's increasing use by English hospitals and shows progression towards an increasingly systemic approach.
Practical implications
Data were collected using content analysis methods, which relies on how “Lean” methods were articulated within the annual report and/or on the organisation's web site, which indicates approaches taken by hospital staff implementing Lean.
Originality/value
This research is the first to examine more closely “how” Lean is implemented in English hospitals. The emergent typology could prove relevant to other public sector organizations and service organisations more generally. The research also presents a first step to understanding Lean thinking in the English NHS. This article empirically analyses Lean implementation in English hospitals. It identifies divergent approaches that allow inferences about how far Lean is implemented in an organisation. Data represent a baseline for further analysis so that Lean implementation can be tracked.
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Emma Lea and Tony Worsley
To examine consumers' beliefs about organic foods and their relationship with socio‐demographics and self‐transcendence (universal, benevolence) personal values.
Abstract
Purpose
To examine consumers' beliefs about organic foods and their relationship with socio‐demographics and self‐transcendence (universal, benevolence) personal values.
Design/methodology/approach
A random questionnaire‐based mail survey of 500 Australian (Victorian) adults (58 per cent response) was used. The questionnaire included items on organic food beliefs, the importance of self‐transcendence values as guiding principles in life, and socio‐demographics. Statistical analyses included cross‐tabulations of organic food beliefs by socio‐demographics and multiple regression analyses of positive organic food beliefs with personal value and socio‐demographic items as the independent variables.
Findings
The majority of participants believed organic food to be healthier, tastier and better for the environment than conventional food. However, expense and lack of availability were strong barriers to the purchasing of organic foods. Generally, women were more positive about organic food than men (e.g. women were more likely to agree that organic food has more vitamins/minerals than conventional food). The personal value factor related to nature, environment and equality was the dominant predictor of positive organic food beliefs, followed by sex. These predictors accounted for 11 per cent of the variance.
Research limitations/implications
A survey response bias needs to be taken into account. However, the response rate was adequate for reporting and differences in age and education between participants and the Victorian population were taken into account in data presentation. Future understanding of consumers' use of organic foods will require the inclusion of a fairly extensive set of potential influences.
Practical implications
Communication appeals based on psychographics may be a more effective way to alter consumers' beliefs about organic foods than those based on demographic segmentation.
Originality/value
To the best of one's knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between personal values, socio‐demographics and organic food beliefs in a random population sample. This study is relevant to producers, processors and retailers of organic food and those involved with food and agricultural policy.
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Jasmine Williams, Juliet Memery, Philip Megicks and Mark Morrison
The purpose of this paper is to identify, and explore the importance of, ethical and socially responsible (ESR) factors in Australian consumers' choices of grocery products and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify, and explore the importance of, ethical and socially responsible (ESR) factors in Australian consumers' choices of grocery products and stores.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an earlier study in the UK, an initial qualitative investigation, then a survey of grocery shoppers in New South Wales, was conducted. Factor analysis explored the structure of the choice factors for grocery products and stores in “main” and “top‐up” shopping situations. Finally, four multiple regression equations measured the effects of these factors.
Findings
This paper finds that, when “top‐up” shopping, ESR consumers are less discriminating than when “main” shopping. The provision of ethically farmed produce has most influence on store choice when “main” shopping, while retailers' fair trading and environmentally responsible policies have the greatest influence when “topping‐up”. The ethical provenance of goods is the most important factor in product choice.
Research limitations/implications
The constructs developed need to be validated internationally.
Practical implications
The two large Australian retail grocers may benefit by developing roles as “choice editors” on behalf of their ESR customers; whilst smaller retailers may gain advantage by concentrating on community‐based, environmentally friendly and fair trading policies. Manufacturers of grocery products may benefit by emphasizing their products' ESR provenance and their organisations' ethical policies.
Originality/value
This is the first study of its kind in Australia. It contributes to the development of an internationally relevant set of ESR shopping choice factors.
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Marya Tabassum, Muhammad Mustafa Raziq, Naukhez Sarwar, Zujaja Wahaj and Malik Ikramullah
Emergent leadership is a relatively new phenomenon, suggesting that leaders emerge from within teams without having a formal leadership assigned role. While emergent leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
Emergent leadership is a relatively new phenomenon, suggesting that leaders emerge from within teams without having a formal leadership assigned role. While emergent leadership has much relevance in today's organizations transitioning from vertical to horizontal leadership, there is a paucity of research about the process of emergent leadership that enables team members to become influential within teams.
Design/methodology/approach
Using purposive sampling, we interview 40 individuals in nine agile teams working in five Information Technology firms.
Findings
We identify various traits, experiences, behaviors, skills, and abilities of emergent leaders. Broadly, we conclude that an emergent leader serves as a “detail-oriented structure” or a “big picture coordinator.” Based on the findings, we propose a leadership emergence process that details how team members gain status and emerge as leaders, as well as the factors that can cause them to lose that status and return to becoming a regular team member. Furthermore, we introduce a model that demonstrates how technical expertise and personality traits interact, influencing team dynamics and facilitating the emergence of leaders within a team.
Originality/value
We contribute to the literature on emergent leadership by conceptualizing lateral influence and a leadership emergence process. We also extend the agile leadership literature and address some calls for empirical studies to understand the leadership dynamics in agile teams. We also show some limitations of the existing approaches and offer some useful insights.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe the pattern of everyday life information needs of a group of people in an area with limited access to information, and to investigate how…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the pattern of everyday life information needs of a group of people in an area with limited access to information, and to investigate how the major dimensions of the everyday life information seeking (ELIS) model apply to information needs in the contexts of the Catholic clergy.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applied the concurrent triangulation strategy of mixed-methods research. Data from 15 episodic interviews and surveys of 109 Catholic clergy in Northern Nigeria were collected and analyzed.
Findings
A map of the everyday life information needs was developed. Three types of everyday life information needs were identified: essential needs; circumstantial needs; and occasional needs. The information needs of these clergy did not fit into the two major dimensions of Savolainen’s ELIS model.
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted only with Catholic clergy serving in the Northern Catholic dioceses of Nigeria.
Originality/value
Although the ELIS model has been applied in several studies, not much attention has been given to comparing how the major dimensions of the model apply to information needs of a group of people in a variety of contexts. This study contributes to the ELIS model by pointing to other contextual situations where seeking orienting and practical information may not be sufficient to account for the everyday life information needs of some types of users.
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Wenwen Zhao and Zhe Zhang
Innovative capabilities are essential for the survival and development of an organization. Previous studies have found a positive relationship between CEO transformational…
Abstract
Purpose
Innovative capabilities are essential for the survival and development of an organization. Previous studies have found a positive relationship between CEO transformational leadership (CEOTFL) and firm innovation. However, limited studies have endeavored to investigate the relationship between CEOTFL and firm innovation through the cognition and attitudes of the ordinary employees, despite their significant role in corporate innovation. Existing TFL literature has predominantly concentrated on “the close relationships” between leaders and their immediate subordinates, leaving the remote influence of CEOTFL on ordinary employees under-researched. Therefore, the current study aims to explain the relationship between CEOTFL and firm innovation from a micro-level perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Multilevel and multi-sourced data from 1,627 employees across 145 firms was used to test the hypotheses in this study.
Findings
The results indicate that CEOTFL can enhance firm innovation by enhancing the collective task self-efficacy of regular employees. Moreover, this effect is not observed when employees are exposed to a low level of work–life balance practices.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that CEOs can perform increased TFL to promote firm innovation. It is recommended that CEOs demonstrate their TFL not only to their direct subordinates but also to regular employees using various methods, such as participating in corporate activities with employees, delivering public speeches and sending emails to employees. Meanwhile, the HRM system should consistently align with the CEO’s leadership approach within the organization.
Social implications
This study strengthens the importance of ordinary employees and their contribution to firm innovation.
Originality/value
The present study contributes to the literature on the micro-foundations of the relationship between CEOTFL and firm innovation by considering ordinary employee reactions as a mediator. Furthermore, this study enriches the CEOTFL literature by investigating the distant influence of CEOTFL on rank-and-file employees through the lens of social cognitive theory. Additionally, the authors expand cue consistency theory to the realms of CEO leadership and HRM literature by integrating CEOTFL and work–life balance practices into a unified model. The findings reveal the importance of coordination between CEO leadership and HRM systems within an organization. The inclusion of Chinese sample data in this study augments the cultural diversity of the sample within the CEOTFL literature.
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Fong Yew Leong, Dax Enshan Koh, Wei-Bin Ewe and Jian Feng Kong
This study aims to assess the use of variational quantum imaginary time evolution for solving partial differential equations using real-amplitude ansätze with full circular…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the use of variational quantum imaginary time evolution for solving partial differential equations using real-amplitude ansätze with full circular entangling layers. A graphical mapping technique for encoding impulse functions is also proposed.
Design/methodology/approach
The Smoluchowski equation, including the Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek potential energy, is solved to simulate colloidal deposition on a planar wall. The performance of different types of entangling layers and over-parameterization is evaluated.
Findings
Colloidal transport can be modelled adequately with variational quantum simulations. Full circular entangling layers with real-amplitude ansätze lead to higher-fidelity solutions. In most cases, the proposed graphical mapping technique requires only a single bit-flip with a parametric gate. Over-parameterization is necessary to satisfy certain physical boundary conditions, and higher-order time-stepping reduces norm errors.
Practical implications
Variational quantum simulation can solve partial differential equations using near-term quantum devices. The proposed graphical mapping technique could potentially aid quantum simulations for certain applications.
Originality/value
This study shows a concrete application of variational quantum simulation methods in solving practically relevant partial differential equations. It also provides insight into the performance of different types of entangling layers and over-parameterization. The proposed graphical mapping technique could be valuable for quantum simulation implementations. The findings contribute to the growing body of research on using variational quantum simulations for solving partial differential equations.