Shernaz Bodhanwala and Vandita Sanghvi
The case is written based on publicly available data from primary sources like the company’s annual reports and presentations and from secondary sources, as indicated in the…
Abstract
Research methodology
The case is written based on publicly available data from primary sources like the company’s annual reports and presentations and from secondary sources, as indicated in the references.
Case overview/synopsis
Barnes & Noble Inc. (B&N), one of the oldest and largest American retail booksellers founded in 1917, was facing a grim business situation underpinned by a fall in demand, a change in consumer preference and stiff competition. After almost a century of being in the business, B&N was experiencing a fall in market share and weak stock market performance. In 2019, the company was sold to Elliot Advisors – a hedge fund – for US$638m. With the appointment of new chief executive officer (CEO) James Daunt in August 2019, a man known for the turnaround of similar businesses, B&N expected its business’s revival and reorganization strategy to turn profitable. Its long-term strategy of beating competitors with its offerings’ sheer volume and low prices was no longer viable. The turmoil was compounded by top management crises with the repeated changes and ousting of several CEOs in a short span, alongside the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Daunt was considering how to overcome the crisis and act fast to reposition the company and regain the loyalty of its customers. Was there more that the company could do to improve the company’s position and restore profitability?
Complexity academic level
The case can be used in strategic management and entrepreneurship classes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The case can be used in an investment analysis and management course to teach students the industry analysis technique using Porter’s five forces model.
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Meenal Arora, Ridhima Goel and Jagdeep Singla
This chapter examines the significant transformations brought about by the incorporation of service robots in the ever-changing retail industry. In the retail industry, advanced…
Abstract
This chapter examines the significant transformations brought about by the incorporation of service robots in the ever-changing retail industry. In the retail industry, advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), co-bots, robotics, and automation, are transforming the experiences of customers and employees in response to the surge in human–robot collaboration (HRC) and worldwide investments in innovative projects. The primary goal of the research is to examine the impact of incorporating service robots on employees’ willingness to work in a retail sector that fosters collaboration between humans and robots while improving the performance. The research highlights the key factors influencing employee perspectives and inclinations for collaborating with service robots in retail environments, as determined by an in-depth review of academic research and industrial insights. The results demonstrate the positive influence of service robots on improving HRC, optimising inventory management, and enhancing overall operational efficiency in the retail sector. The conclusion emphasises the need to adopt a holistic approach to successfully use the potential of service robots, with the aim of establishing a retail ecosystem that is both sustainable and harmonious. The presence of service robots in the retail industry has significant implications, offering a competitive advantage. The research results reveal stakeholders’ perspectives on the crucial role of service robots in driving future development and maintaining long-term benefits. This chapter offers a comprehensive review of innovative technology in the retail marketplace, offering significant insights into the transformative potential of service robots.
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The development of ‘desire’ in a working-class artist/academic is explored through an analysis of the reminiscences between the author and her mother. It is argued that the notion…
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The development of ‘desire’ in a working-class artist/academic is explored through an analysis of the reminiscences between the author and her mother. It is argued that the notion of cultural capital implies a deficit in working-class subjects that is deterministic and does not fully explain those who are successful in the art world and/or academia. Rather than thinking about works of art and art practice in terms of cultural capital, they are conceptualised as resources that can have existential significance for some people. This is because early interactions with the arts enable people to connect with the world and at the same time enable them to recognise their own desires and talents while learning to think critically about their lives. The findings of this study suggest a nuanced approach based on cultural assets and resources rather than cultural capital should be considered in educational policy and practice.
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Business, government, and society are being rocked by disruptive global change. The challenges facing international marketers as boundary spanners – and more generally, all…
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Business, government, and society are being rocked by disruptive global change. The challenges facing international marketers as boundary spanners – and more generally, all managers and leaders – are getting more complex, ambiguous, and unprecedented. The world that they must navigate is increasingly filled with “wicked problems” (Rittel & Weber, 1973) that defy the closed, analytical approaches that characterize typical management education. Addressing the problem requires a new paradigm that augments – and perhaps in some areas, supplants – the traditional business education.
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Grant T. Savage and Leo van der Reis
Purpose – This chapter reports on experts’ perspectives on health information technology (HIT) and how it may be used to improve health care quality and to lower health care…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter reports on experts’ perspectives on health information technology (HIT) and how it may be used to improve health care quality and to lower health care costs.
Design/methodology/approach – Two roundtables were convened that focused on how to best use HIT to improve the quality of health care while ensuring it is accessible and affordable. Participants drew upon lessons learned in the Netherlands, the United States, and other countries.
Findings – The first roundtable focused on the use of (1) electronic health records (EHRs) by health care providers, (2) cloud computing for EHRs and health portals for consumers, and (3) data registries and networks for public health surveillance. The second roundtable highlighted (1) the rapid growth of personalized medicine, (2) the corresponding growth and sophistication of bioinformatics and analytics, (3) the increasing presence of mobile HIT, and (4) the disruptive changes in the institutional structures of biomedical research and development.
Practical implications – Governmental sponsorship of small pilot projects to solve practicable health system problems would encourage HIT innovation among key stakeholders. However, large-scale HIT solutions – developed through small pilot projects – should be pursued through public–private partnerships. At the same time, governments should speed up legislative and regulatory procedures to encourage adoption of cost-effective HIT innovations.
Social implications – Mobile HIT and social media are capable of fostering disease prevention and encouraging personal responsibility for improving or stabilizing chronic diseases.
Originality/value – Both health services researchers and policy makers should find this chapter of value since it highlights trends in HIT and addresses how health care quality may be improved while costs are contained.
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Purpose – Addresses labor control in fields where familiar organizational and occupational controls are weak, notably postindustrial arenas characterized by networks…
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Purpose – Addresses labor control in fields where familiar organizational and occupational controls are weak, notably postindustrial arenas characterized by networks, heterogeneity, and change.Methodology/approach – Proposes that labor control operates via socio-technical networks composed of diverse ties to social actors, technologies, and typifications. Data from an interview-based study of early website production work is used to examine the impact of such a network.Findings – Socio-technical networks constrained web workers#x02019; actions but also offered opportunities for autonomous discretion. Some shifting between networked and hierarchical controls occurred in larger organizations.Research implications/limitations – The role of networks in the labor process is not well understood; this study provides a starting point.Social implications – Socio-technical networks are heterogeneous and lack common status metrics, making inequality among workers difficult to gauge and address. Further, since networked controls are decentralized, their pressures are not easily identified or resisted by workers.Originality/value – This chapter describes a form of labor control that may characterize some postindustrial fields more closely than traditional models. In addition, it contributes new insights on how work is shaped by technical networks and abstract typifications.
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Sian Calvert, Robert Dempsey and Rachel Povey
The Social Norms Approach (SNA) is a health behaviour intervention which promotes positive behaviour change by challenging and reducing misperceived social norms of peer…
Abstract
Purpose
The Social Norms Approach (SNA) is a health behaviour intervention which promotes positive behaviour change by challenging and reducing misperceived social norms of peer behaviours and attitudes. This study reports a novel qualitative evaluation of an in-school SNA intervention which aimed to reduce 11-to-12-year-old students’ unhealthy snacking behaviours by reducing misperceived peer norms.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative evaluation of seven teachers’ and eighteen students’ experiences of taking part in the SNA intervention based on focus group discussions and an open-ended survey.
Findings
An inductive reflexive thematic analysis indicated that the SNA intervention was an effective and engaging means of delivering normative feedback to younger adolescents. The use of a paper-and-pens creative poster-making activity, where students were tasked with designing the intervention materials featuring normative feedback based on their baseline data, encouraged students to discuss and reflect on the discrepancies between their perceived norms and the actual reported unhealthy snacking norms. Challenges were identified with ensuring intervention fidelity and in students’ understanding of how to record survey responses using Likert scales.
Originality/value
This study demonstrates the usefulness of exploring post-intervention perceptions of SNA interventions, particularly from the perspective of the intended recipients. The study also provides useful information for those intending to develop in-school SNA interventions in the future, particularly the importance of involving participants in the designing of intervention materials as a means of promoting engagement with an SNA-based dietary behaviour intervention.
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Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (formerly Recording for the Blind) has been providing audio recordings of educational texts since its founding in 1948. RFB&D's master tape…
Abstract
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (formerly Recording for the Blind) has been providing audio recordings of educational texts since its founding in 1948. RFB&D's master tape library currently contains over 80,000 volumes, making it the largest resource of its kind in the world. Beginning in 1992, RFB&D initiated a project to develop an online public access catalog that would allow both institutional providers and individual borrowers to search its holdings and order recorded texts via the Internet. Also in 1993, a coordinated pilot project was begun to allow a limited test group of institutional sites and individuals the ability to use the catalog‐ordering mechanism in an effort to gather structured feedback on the usefulness of the system and suggestions for improvements. Although the project cannot be considered an overwhelming success, much insight has been gained as a result of our efforts and will be of considerable value in the development of a future improved version of RFB&D's online public access catalog.
Donnette J. Noble, Lyna Matesi, Jennifer Moss Breen, Robin Peiter Horstmeier, Dennis M. Anderson, Stuart Allen and Leslie Pedigo
This application brief shares Phase One of an action research project for the Association of Leadership Educators. This project demonstrates how a member-based association can…
Abstract
This application brief shares Phase One of an action research project for the Association of Leadership Educators. This project demonstrates how a member-based association can successfully engage its members in terms of identifying needs, defining strategic priorities, and detecting resource development opportunities. This body of work has various implications for leadership and leadership education and provides a model that other associations can replicate to engage in resource development.
A brief history of the association’s first 25 years since its inception is provided in this brief and the work of the Resource Development Committee is presented. The findings from two focus group sessions conducted during the 2014 annual conference are highlighted and the paper closes with a discussion of how the Resource Development Committee can, through specific initiatives, support the association’s wellbeing and strategic direction. By sharing the rationale behind the Association of Leadership Educators board of directors’ decision to invest in a resource development strategy, other association leaders can access and implement a similar action plan to generate additional revenue which, in turn, can be used to enhance association membership services.
Claudia S. P. Fernandez, Cheryl C. Noble, Elizabeth T. Jensen, Linda Martin and Marshall Stewart
The Food Systems Leadership Institute (FSLI) is a 2-year leadership development program consisting of 3 intensive in-person immersion retreats, and a robust and customizable…
Abstract
The Food Systems Leadership Institute (FSLI) is a 2-year leadership development program consisting of 3 intensive in-person immersion retreats, and a robust and customizable distance-based program. Participants come primarily from land-grant and public universities and learn about personal, organizational and system leadership with a focus on food systems as an organizing theme. For this study, program graduates from FSLI Cohorts 4-6 (n=60) were asked to complete an online retrospective pre- and post-test of skill competency and skill use for 20 competencies addressed in the program, with 47 (78%) completing the survey. Data indicate participants’ ratings of skill competency increased significantly across all 20 targeted areas.Participants further noted that they used these skills more after completing the program as compared to prior to the Fellowship training. Data suggest the FSLI model of leadership development can have a significant impact on participants’ perceived skill level in and use of important skills in both personal and organizational leadership in academic and food system settings.