Jessica Zeiss, Les Carlson and Elise Johansen Harvey
Prior research has examined the sociopolitical force as simply a part of all types of environmental pressures, yet we argue that this force calls for a unique examination of…
Abstract
Purpose
Prior research has examined the sociopolitical force as simply a part of all types of environmental pressures, yet we argue that this force calls for a unique examination of marketing's role in firm responses to sociopolitical pressures. Understanding the degree to which firms attempt to manage forces and pressures in the external business environment is key to understanding marketing's role in impeding vs aiding public policy initiatives, and is the problem this research investigates.
Design/methodology/approach
Using structural equation modeling, data from 71 firms demonstrate that managing the sociopolitical force is, in fact, distinct from managing the other four market-based forces – consumer demand, supplier power, competition and technological shifts. Managing the sociopolitical force is shown to require fundamentally different skills and resources.
Findings
Results suggest that firm sociopolitical receptivity drives attempts to influence this unique external business environmental force, in turn limiting marketplace sociopolitical receptivity. Furthermore, attempts to influence such a unique force relies on resource-light marketing resources, which limits resource-heavy marketing.
Originality/value
Managing a political force with marketplace ramifications involves strategy that utilizes marketing, but is driven by relationships with social and political agents. This is truly an environmental management concept distinct from the management of the other four market-based forces. The analysis in this study demonstrates that managing another environmental force (i.e. competition force) involves different receptivity influences and marketing tactic outcomes.
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In this paper, I demonstrate an alternative explanation to the development of the American electricity industry. I propose a social embeddedness approach (Granovetter, 1985, 1992…
Abstract
In this paper, I demonstrate an alternative explanation to the development of the American electricity industry. I propose a social embeddedness approach (Granovetter, 1985, 1992) to interpret why the American electricity industry appears the way it does today, and start by addressing the following questions: Why is the generating dynamo located in well‐connected central stations rather than in isolated stations? Why does not every manufacturing firm, hospital, school, or even household operate its own generating equipment? Why do we use incandescent lamps rather than arc lamps or gas lamps for lighting? At the end of the nineteenth century, the first era of the electricity industry, all these technical as well as organizational forms were indeed possible alternatives. The centralized systems we see today comprise integrated, urban, central station firms which produce and sell electricity to users within a monopolized territory. Yet there were visions of a more decentralized electricity industry. For instance, a geographically decentralized system might have dispersed small systems based around an isolated or neighborhood generating dynamo; or a functionally decentralized system which included firms solely generating and transmitting the power, and selling the power to locally‐owned distribution firms (McGuire, Granovetter, and Schwartz, forthcoming). Similarly, the incandescent lamp was not the only illuminating device available at that time. The arc lamp was more suitable for large‐space lighting than incandescent lamps; and the second‐generation gas lamp ‐ Welsbach mantle lamp ‐ was much cheaper than the incandescent electric light and nearly as good in quality (Passer, 1953:196–197).
This paper aims to understand the situational appropriateness of adopting e‐learning for the in‐house company qualification, and more specifically to compare the benefits of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to understand the situational appropriateness of adopting e‐learning for the in‐house company qualification, and more specifically to compare the benefits of studying online to more traditional way of studying with print material.
Design/methodology/approach
At the end of seven months study, final test results for company certification were collected and analyzed. Additionally, quantitative and qualitative data from the 59 employees' individual learning experiences were obtained to address the research questions.
Findings
The paper finds that the first year's experiences of using e‐learning course were mostly positive. The results showed that participants learning online gained similar or slightly better learning outcomes than those who used the print material. Those learning online earned the certificate in less time in comparison with those studying the print version.
Research limitations/implications
The present study is limited by its small and potentially non‐representative sample, representing those who voluntarily participated to work towards the in‐house qualification.
Practical implications
The practical implications of the results include integrating e‐learning into the real workplace environment. When enough attention is paid to the course design, e‐learning provides good possibilities for effective use of employee time. The work has relevance for other corporate training providers considering incorporating e‐learning into their professional development programs.
Originality/value
Not many companies who have moved traditionally delivered programs online, have been able to compare groups of employees who have studied from text‐based material with those who have taken the online version. Two separate research processes implemented provided a unique opportunity to analyze work‐based learning outcomes.
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This paper investigates whether an outcome-based school aid formula could improve fiscal and outcome equity significantly more than a typical aid formula would. When outcome-based…
Abstract
This paper investigates whether an outcome-based school aid formula could improve fiscal and outcome equity significantly more than a typical aid formula would. When outcome-based formula is applied to foundation aid, fiscal and outcome equity deteriorates compared to Ohio's recent aid formula. However, when it is applied to power-equalizing aid, the latter improves fiscal and outcome equity more significantly than both foundation aid and Ohio's recent aid formula do. This paper further shows how to apply them to real-world cases. The lessons from this paper can be easily applied to similar grant systems with standardized test scores.
Will Jackson, Will McGowan and Emma Murray
This chapter examines the potential of ‘Artivism’ for activist criminology. Drawing on a body of work developed since 2016, this chapter explores a series of projects that have…
Abstract
This chapter examines the potential of ‘Artivism’ for activist criminology. Drawing on a body of work developed since 2016, this chapter explores a series of projects that have examined how an approach to research that harnesses the activist qualities of art could be used to inform transformative criminological research. Artivism is an approach that involves merging ‘the boundless imagination of art and the radical engagement of politics’ (Jordan, 2020, p. 60), and by amplifying marginalised voices, the overarching aim is to effect social and political change. This type of activist art is not reducible to the production of political art – art about an issue – but instead seeks to change the way that we think, speak, and act. In this sense, this approach accords with the principles of critical social research in ensuring that ‘the voices and experiences of those marginalised by institutionalised state practices are heard and represented’ (Scraton, 2007, p. 10). Examining pilot projects developed with artists and producers based in Liverpool, England, and focussed on experiences of prison and probation, the authors examine the potential that this approach has to change both the way they work as critical criminologists and the objects of this study. With reference to the question of a method for activist criminology, the chapter suggests that critical criminological work can be informed and enhanced by collaboration with socially engaged art – a form of artistic practice that seeks to address social and political issues and is often associated with activist strategies. This chapter, therefore, aims to contribute to debates about how activist criminologies may be done and offers suggestions for new directions in this work underpinned by interdisciplinary collaborations and the coproduction of research with those similarly committed to a transformative project.
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While there has been increasing interest in the impact of courtmandated education finance reform on school district efficiency, research on the subject is scant. Taking advantage…
Abstract
While there has been increasing interest in the impact of courtmandated education finance reform on school district efficiency, research on the subject is scant. Taking advantage of New Jersey Supreme Court cases that have altered the way in which state school aid is distributed, this paper examines the effect of changes in the education finance system on school district efficiency. Building on existing literature on public sector efficiency, a longitudinal data analysis based on two-stage DEA models reveals that courtmandated increases in state aid to a limited number of poor school districts decreased the districts' efficiency. Though these results should be interpreted with some caution, in particular, the limitation of DEA as an efficiency measure, they imply that, as with any policy, policy makers and courts should be aware of how policy changes affect local government behavior and that it is necessary to evaluate policy outcome taking into account both resources and performance.
Carolin Auschra and Johanna Mai
This literature review provides an overview of previous research on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and entrepreneurship. After introducing the relevance of the…
Abstract
This literature review provides an overview of previous research on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and entrepreneurship. After introducing the relevance of the topic and discussing different perspectives on ADHD and entrepreneurship, this chapter reviews 26 academic journal publications. In the first step, it reports how authors of empirical studies have measured ADHD and reveals a dominance of quantitative research designs. In the second step, it presents insights from previous research on ADHD and the likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur, the relationship between ADHD and entrepreneurial intentions or preferences, the translation of entrepreneurial preferences into entrepreneurial actions, and finally, ADHD and entrepreneurial performance. The literature review finds that previous research has not yet provided conclusive results on the relations between ADHD and entrepreneurship. In the third step, therefore, this chapter outlines avenues for further research.
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This paper compares the agrarian development of two indigenous communities in the highlands of Ecuador who specialize in nontraditional agricultural exports (NTAE). It brings…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper compares the agrarian development of two indigenous communities in the highlands of Ecuador who specialize in nontraditional agricultural exports (NTAE). It brings together the peasant theory with literature on the environmental impact of globalization.
Methodology/approach
Through a comparative ethnography, based on six months of participant observation and interviewers, I illustrate the differences in production processes and explain the divergent trajectories of agrarian modernization.
Findings
I found that NTAE impacted the two communities differently: one became more ecologically sustainable and the other became more environmentally exploitative. However, neither case fits squarely within the framework of modern/traditional or peasant/capitalist. Instead of traditional environmentalism and individualistic exploitation, we see the reverse: individualistic environmentalism and traditional exploitation. That is, ecological methods are paired with individualistic competition, and environmental exploitation takes place within a system of communal solidarity.
Practical implications
With buyer-driven organic certification standards, global integration does not always lead to ecological degradation. For quinoa growers, traditional production practices persist not as resistance to global capitalism but as a strategy to access high-value export markets. Broccoli farmers, although exploitative of local natural resources and their own health, do so within communal institutions that buffer against individualistic risk-taking.
Originality/value
This comparative case presents an alternative depiction of modernization as complex and nonlinear.
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Achmad Nurmandi and Sunhyuk Kim
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation of initiative e-procurement in decentralized system on Indonesia’s local government system.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation of initiative e-procurement in decentralized system on Indonesia’s local government system.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors combine quantitative and qualitative methods. The central finding of this research is that human resources are the pivotal factors that determine the performance of local e-procurement in three cities. This research focusses on three local governments in Indonesia – Yogyakarta City, Tangerang City, and Kutaikartanegara Regency.
Findings
The central finding of this research is that human resources are the pivotal factors that determine the performance of local e-procurement in three cities. However, Tangerang City is going institutionalization phase in e-procurement initiative to ensure its sound local regulation.
Research limitations/implications
There are several limitations to this study including the recent nature of decentralized procurement in Indonesia, limited standardized and disaggregated data on local government procurement expenditures and performance.
Practical implications
The study recommends that human resources management in procurement needs to be addressed by both local and central government.
Originality/value
e-Procurement is an important instrument for preventing corruption in goods and services procurement. Indonesia has been implementing an e-procurement policy since 2008 based on a Presidential Decree. The president has issued annual orders (presidential instructions), and all central ministries and local governments have been required to comply with them to obtain their budget through the e-procurement system. However, as of 2012 fiscal year, only around 10.26 percent of the central government institution procurement budget and 10 percent of the local government procurement budget in Indonesia went through the e-procurement system, with wide variations among cities.