Elisabeth Paul, Oriane Bodson and Valéry Ridde
The study aims to explore the theoretical bases justifying the use of performance-based financing (PBF) in the health sector in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to explore the theoretical bases justifying the use of performance-based financing (PBF) in the health sector in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a scoping review of the literature on PBF so as to identify the theories utilized to underpin it and analyzed its theoretical justifications.
Findings
Sixty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Economic theories were predominant, with the principal-agent theory being the most commonly-used theory, explicitly referred to by two-thirds of included studies. Psychological theories were also common, with a wide array of motivation theories. Other disciplines in the form of management or organizational science, political and social science and systems approaches also contributed. However, some of the theories referred to contradicted each other. Many of the studies included only casually alluded to one or more theories, and very few used these theories to justify or support PBF. No theory emerged as a dominant, consistent and credible justification of PBF, perhaps except for the principal-agent theory, which was often inappropriately applied in the included studies, and when it included additional assumptions reflecting the contexts of the health sector in LMICs, might actually warn against adopting PBF.
Practical implications
Overall, this review has not been able to identify a comprehensive, credible, consistent, theoretical justification for using PBF rather than alternative approaches to health system reforms and healthcare providers' motivation in LMICs.
Originality/value
The theoretical justifications of PBF in the health sector in LMICs are under-documented. This review is the first of this kind and should encourage further debate and theoretical exploration of the justifications of PBF.
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Adhi Alfian, Hamzah Ritchi and Zaldy Adrianto
Increased fraudulent practices have heightened the need for innovation in anti-fraud programs, necessitating the development of analytics techniques for detecting and preventing…
Abstract
Purpose
Increased fraudulent practices have heightened the need for innovation in anti-fraud programs, necessitating the development of analytics techniques for detecting and preventing fraud. The subject of fraud analytics will continue to expand in the future for public-sector organizations; therefore, this research examined the progress of fraud analytics in public-sector transactions and offers suggestions for its future development.
Design/methodology/approach
This study systematically reviewed research on fraud analytics development in public-sector transactions. The review was conducted from June 2021 to June 2023 by identifying research objectives and questions, performing literature quality assessment and extraction, data synthesis and research reporting. The research mainly identified 43 relevant articles that were used as references.
Findings
This research examined fraud analytics development related to public-sector financial transactions. The results revealed that fraud analytics expansion has not spread equally, as most programs have been implemented by governments and healthcare organizations in developed countries. This research also exposed that the analytics optimization in fraud prevention is higher than for fraud detection. Such analytics help organizations detect fraud, improve business effectiveness and efficiency, and refine administrative systems and work standards.
Research limitations/implications
This research offers comprehensive insights for researchers and public-sector professionals regarding current fraud analytics development in public-sector financial transactions and future trends.
Originality/value
This study presents the first systematic literature review to investigate the development of fraud analytics in public-sector transactions. The findings can aid scholars' and practitioners' future fraud analytics development.
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Rebecca Sutton, Kate Lawrence, Elisabeth Zabel and Paul French
The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploration of Recovery Academy influences upon employment and service use amongst individuals with lived experience of mental health…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploration of Recovery Academy influences upon employment and service use amongst individuals with lived experience of mental health difficulties.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilised a questionnaire design over a nine-month period. Participants’ baseline and follow-up data were analysed to explore the influence of course attendance upon employment and service use.
Findings
At follow-up, there was a significant association between participants attending Recovery Academy courses and paid or self-employment (p<0.05). However, there were also no significant differences in service use over time between those who attended courses and those who did not attend any courses.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is required to explore the cost-effectiveness of the Recovery Academy. As participants were all enroled onto the Recovery Academy findings may not be generalisable to other Recovery Colleges. There is a need for more robust research such as a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate multiple Recovery Colleges and establish definitive conclusions as to their economic implications.
Social implications
There may be value in the Recovery Academy as a gateway to employment, speaking to the transformative powers of Recovery Colleges. The Recovery Academy may serve as a vehicle to support service users to obtain paid or self-employment, and thus promote community reintegration.
Originality/value
This paper offers an important contribution to the Recovery College literature, which remains limited in evaluative evidence, particularly regarding associated economic factors, such as employment and service use.
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The encyclical Centesimus Annus was published by Pope JohnPaul II in commemoration of Rerum Novarum, written 100 years agoby Leo XIII. That encyclical initiated a century of…
Abstract
The encyclical Centesimus Annus was published by Pope John Paul II in commemoration of Rerum Novarum, written 100 years ago by Leo XIII. That encyclical initiated a century of Catholic social teaching consisting, by now, of six encyclicals. Together, they are intended to represent a unified system of thought, the Church′s social vision. Its basic themes all centre on the God‐ordained dignity of man. The Pope calls for a modified, “corrected” capitalism, a “Society of free work, of enterprise and of participation”. The economic activities of man are to be reoriented towards the common good, with the ultimate goal of eradicating poverty, exploitation, and alienation. Rejects the economic proposals of the Pope as lacking of substance and internal consistency. Its assumption that man can enjoy all the advantages of free markets while also correcting for their less‐desirable effects at will reveals that, despite some modifications, Catholic social thought is still inspired by what has been termed the “unconstrained” vision.
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Sabine Elisabeth Töppig and Miguel Moital
To establish how and why exhibition managers manage circulation, this study explores the techniques (specific activities used to influence circulation), outputs (tangible…
Abstract
Purpose
To establish how and why exhibition managers manage circulation, this study explores the techniques (specific activities used to influence circulation), outputs (tangible enhancements in the performance of the exhibition resulting from changes in circulation dynamics) and outcomes (benefits of those enhancements to exhibitors, attendees and the exhibition organiser) of circulation management.
Design/methodology/approach
In face-to-face interviews, 10 exhibition managers were asked how and why they manage attendee circulation, which also involved a card-sorting exercise to elicit tacit circulation management knowledge. Four different experienced exhibitions managers from three continents were asked to validate the findings.
Findings
Four types of techniques were identified: magnet, layout, curiosity and playfulness and guiding techniques, with these implemented to achieve five outputs: greater footfall, better exposure to exhibits, enhanced navigation, greater buzz and managing congestion levels. The results further show that circulation was managed to achieve a variety of organiser-, exhibitor- and attendee-related outcomes. The study uncovered a large range of factors influencing the employment of circulation management techniques. Conflicts in outputs resulting from several techniques are highlighted, requiring the exhibition manager to establish which outputs and resulting outcomes take priority over others.
Originality/value
This exploratory study is the first study to propose a circulation management model for the exhibition context, equipping exhibition managers with knowledge to strategically manage attendee circulation.
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Lúcia Pato and Elisabeth Kastenholz
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the marketing actions developed for rural tourism lodgings and the effect of these actions on lodgings’ performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the marketing actions developed for rural tourism lodgings and the effect of these actions on lodgings’ performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected with a questionnaire-based survey, addressing promoters of rural tourism supply in Portugal and were analysed using SPSS. Descriptive analysis was undertaken along with a cluster analysis aimed at identifying groups of suppliers according to the types marketing activities they carried out.
Findings
Results show that the majority of the suppliers are engaged in other professional activities, aside from running a tourist lodging. These “other activities” provide the bulk of lodging suppliers’ household income. Moreover, they dedicate very little of their time to managing the tourism lodging and develop few marketing activities. Despite this, there is a small group of lodging suppliers who, even though in minority, show a more entrepreneurial and professional attitude regarding marketing actions. They are correspondingly more successful and more satisfied with the performance of their business.
Research limitations/implications
A more qualitative in-depth case study approach with a systematic triangulation of findings from diverse sources and approaches might have permitted an even deeper understanding of some of the results, such as the reasons for the identified passivity of suppliers or their lack of marketing initiatives, as well as possible solutions to overcome these identified barriers.
Originality/value
This study is important, as there is little existing work connecting rural tourism and marketing. Apart from providing knowledge from theory, the empirical results indicate from a practical perspective some of the potential benefits of assuming a marketing perspective in rural tourism.
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The purpose of this paper is to display and critically reflect upon how field experiences in the research process interacted with the author's subjectivity and shaped her…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to display and critically reflect upon how field experiences in the research process interacted with the author's subjectivity and shaped her construction of knowledge about organisational conflict.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on Weick's theoretical framework of sensemaking and the notion of reflexivity as a resource for dealing with research experiences, the paper presents empirical narratives that explore how research experiences of negotiating access to information and emic categories of conflict in the field, analysing events and morally deciding which stories from the field are conflict stories, and dealing with ethical dilemmas in the process of doing research about conflict constitute common factors that influenced the author's construction of knowledge about organisational conflict.
Findings
The paper shows that the way we organise and make sense of research experiences shapes our process of theorising and the actual production of knowledge in a research field.
Research limitations/implications
We should document and display the process of theorising in our research and thoroughly pursue what we experienced in the field, because this will create thoroughness to our research and add to, not devalue, the knowledge we produce.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the process of theorising in organisational research. The empirical narratives presented in the paper contribute to the narrow display within the field of how we, as organisational researchers, mobilise our theorising and construct knowledge.
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.