Diogo Carvalho, Winnie Picoto and Peter Busch
The paper aims to clarify the potential impact of data gathered from social media (SM) in the competitive intelligence (CI) process of organizations. As use of SM expands…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to clarify the potential impact of data gathered from social media (SM) in the competitive intelligence (CI) process of organizations. As use of SM expands, analysis of this data becomes a critical business need providing essential support for decision makers. This paper seeks to examine how SM be used to enhance CI in an organizational context.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopted an exploratory mixed-method approach followed by a sequential and equal status design, with qualitative semi-structured interviews, accounting for the qualitative study and serving as precursor to a quantitative structured survey. Interviewees included a university professor and CI consultant, an SM analyst and a subject in a management position – all in the field of CI. A survey was sent to Fortune 1000 companies. Some 227 companies replied.
Findings
The findings were that the majority of respondents produce CI reports at least monthly, and that information transmitted mainly by presentation within organizations. Over 70% of companies outsource CI activities to specialized firms, while 80.9% of organizations felt CI improved their relationship with their customers. Not surprisingly, as the number of people dedicated to CI activities increased, the likelihood of an organization hiring outside companies specializing in CI diminished.
Research limitations/implications
All organizations sampled were large US companies; thus, small- and medium-sized enterprises were excluded, as were non-US viewpoints. As survey respondents were anonymous, the source of data at the level of the individual is missing. Finally, only three interviewees provided the qualitative data.
Practical implications
This investigation determined organizations should have an established and well-structured CI department. Furthermore, such a department should have between five and ten employees to maximize the potential. Outsourcing depends on the company’s specific needs. Nevertheless, regardless of whether it outsources CI activities or not, each firm should monitor SM to enhance the CI process.
Originality/value
Much SM-based CI is either non-existent or in “embryotic” stages in most companies, and therefore still a work in progress. Furthermore, as SM is a relatively new phenomenon, studies supporting its implementation are scarce. Companies stand to gain significant improvements to CI if SM is effectively used.
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Liubov Vetoshkina, Laura Lamberg, Essi Ryymin, Heta Rintala and Sami Paavola
This study analyses development of research-related innovation activities in a University of Applied Sciences (UAS) in Finland. Focus on production of innovations in relation to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyses development of research-related innovation activities in a University of Applied Sciences (UAS) in Finland. Focus on production of innovations in relation to academization challenges the traditions of applied research in UAS, which has always relied on collaboration with local stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the approach of cultural-historical activity theory, the study conceptualizes development of innovation activities as a movement across multiple intertwined developmental lines. The authors ground these conceptualizations in the data, coming from interviews with key researchers in a multidisciplinary research project on smart bioeconomy at a Finnish UAS.
Findings
Development of research-related innovation activities in the UAS happened along six lines: development of researcher's expertise, development of project, development of organization, development of research, development of field and development of funding models and policies. The developmental tensions between the lines were essential for promotion of innovation activities.
Originality/value
The study reveals the complex multilayered nature of research-related innovation activities in the specific context of UAS, where it creates challenges and opportunities for developing the traditions of applied research. The results encourage UAS to critically evaluate their changing role as research institutions in regional, national and international innovation systems.
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Teresa Heath and Caroline Tynan
The purpose of this study is to examine the potential of integrating material from the arts into postgraduate curricula to deepen students’ engagement with marketing phenomena…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the potential of integrating material from the arts into postgraduate curricula to deepen students’ engagement with marketing phenomena. The authors assess the use of arts-based activities, within a broader critical pedagogy, for encouraging imaginative and analytical thinking.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors devised two learning activities and an interpretive method for studying their value. The activities were an individual essay connecting themes in song lyrics to marketing, and a group photography project. These were applied, within a broader, critical approach, in postgraduate modules on sustainability, ethics and critical marketing. Data collection comprised diaries kept by the teachers, open-ended feedback from students and students’ assignments.
Findings
Students showed high levels of engagement, reflexivity and depth of thought, in felt experiences of learning. Their ability to make connections not explicitly in the materials, and requiring imaginative jumps, was notable. Several reported lasting changes to their behaviour. Some found the tasks initially intimidating or, once they were more engaged, stressful or saddening.
Research limitations/implications
This adds to scholarship on management education by showing the usefulness of an arts-based approach towards a transformative agenda.
Practical implications
It offers a template of how to draw from the arts to strengthen critical engagement upon which marketing teachers can build. It also contains practical advice on the challenges and benefits of doing so.
Social implications
The authors provide evidence that this approach can enhance sensitivity and reflexivity in students, potentially producing more ethical and sustainable decisions in future.
Originality/value
The pedagogical interventions are novel and of value to lecturers seeking to enhance critical engagement with theory. An empirical study of an attempt to integrate arts into teaching marketing represents a promising direction, given the discipline’s creative nature.
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Canan Tanrisever, Hüseyin Pamukçu and Erdem Baydeniz
Climate change places significant pressure on the tourism sector by altering environmental and socio-economic conditions that influence tourist behaviour and the attractiveness of…
Abstract
Climate change places significant pressure on the tourism sector by altering environmental and socio-economic conditions that influence tourist behaviour and the attractiveness of destinations. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns and the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events affect tourism supply and demand. On the supply side, climate change threatens tourism infrastructure, natural attractions, recreational opportunities and accessibility of destinations. Coastal destinations are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise and coastal flooding, which can damage tourism assets. On the demand side, changing climatic conditions alter visitor comfort levels, health risks and the seasonality of destinations, influencing tourists' choice of destinations. In addition, small island destinations face unnecessary risks due to their economic dependence on climate-sensitive activities such as beach and nature tourism. Adapting the tourism sector to climate change requires reducing vulnerability through diversification, green infrastructure, ecosystem conservation, community-based adaptation and policy support. Mitigating tourism's contribution to climate change requires minimising energy use, switching to renewable energy, improving efficiency, reducing long-haul flights and promoting sustainable consumption and production. Collective and concerted efforts by all stakeholders are needed to transition to a climate-resilient and low-carbon tourism sector that continues to provide socio-economic benefits while minimising its environmental footprint.
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Stefania Veltri, Pina Puntillo and Francesca Pierri
The aim of this paper is to provide evidence of the relationship between the governance structure of universities and the universities' knowledge transfer (KT) performance…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to provide evidence of the relationship between the governance structure of universities and the universities' knowledge transfer (KT) performance outcomes measured in terms of university spin-off firms university spin-offs (USOs).
Design/methodology/approach
The universities' board of directors has been analyzed under three profiles: the incidence of internal directors belonging to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) faculties, the incidence of women directors and the incidence of external directors.
Findings
The findings provide evidence of a significant and positive association, for southern Italian state universities, of the presence of university STEM directors and the establishment of university spin-offs (USOs).
Originality/value
The article is original as, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study, except for the paper by Meoli et al. (2019), examined the governance of universities in relation to the establishment of academic spin-offs.
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This paper aims to analyze how the legitimacy of the policy of external quality assurance (EQA) in Colombian higher education has evolved over the past 30 years through an…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze how the legitimacy of the policy of external quality assurance (EQA) in Colombian higher education has evolved over the past 30 years through an examination of its two main instruments: the compulsory control of minimum quality standards for academic programs and institutions (registro calificado) and accreditations of excellence for programs and institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the methodology of process-tracing, this paper offers a review of the main sequences of the policy of EQA in Colombian higher education: the origins (1990–1998), the expansion (1998–2011) and the contestation (2011–2021). In each sequence, the sources of the substantive and procedural legitimacy of the policy are analyzed. This analysis is based on qualitative data comprising semi-structured interviews with key informants, online information from the 2011 and 2018 student protests and official documentation.
Findings
The policy of EQA in Colombian higher education had relatively high levels of substantive and procedural legitimacy during the first two sequences. However, the situation has become more ambivalent since 2011. On the one hand, internal contradictions and student movements’ growing criticism of neoliberal policies have undermined some of the foundations of this policy. On the other hand, higher education institutions and the Colombian Government still have a positive perception of EQA and have recently revisited the policy to address some of its shortcomings.
Originality/value
From a conceptual standpoint, this paper advances our understanding of how quality assurance in higher education gains, sustains or loses legitimacy by discussing and testing typologies of legitimacy in the analysis of a national system of EQA. From an empirical perspective, this paper provides a diachronic analysis of EQA in Colombian higher education, a case that has primarily been studied through a technical-rational perspective.
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Lucas Silvestre de Carvalho, Nelson Oliveira Stefanelli, Lilian Carolina Viana, Diogo de Siqueira Camargo Vasconcelos and Bruno Garcia Oliveira
This paper aims to investigate the main associations between research regarding innovation and green supply chain management (GSCM).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the main associations between research regarding innovation and green supply chain management (GSCM).
Design/methodology/approach
For this the study sought to (1) present the most cited authors in the area; (2) demonstrate the main localities that develop research with this focus; (3) list the main journals with the published research on the themes. The methodology used was a bibliometric survey using the Scopus database as the data source. The VOSviewer® software was used to perform the analysis of the database from the respective DOI® of each article.
Findings
As results of the research, it is possible to demonstrate the existence of an agglomeration of countries that are interrelated in the development of research on these themes, especially China, the United States and the United Kingdom as the main foundations of this center.
Originality/value
This paper evidences the direction of scientific research within the analyzed area, demonstrating where there is convergence for innovation in actions related to GSCM. This guidance may demonstrate possible existing and unexplored gaps so that researchers can direct future research or check gaps to be filled by the development of new processes.