Nora Dethloff and Elizabeth M. German
The purpose of this case study is to raise issues and challenges with the formation and structure of web teams within libraries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this case study is to raise issues and challenges with the formation and structure of web teams within libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors review the literature and reflect on their experience with web teams.
Findings
The literature is scarce when it comes to discussions on building web and usability teams. However, using team formation theory can strengthen any sort of web team regardless of the exact nature of its formation and structure.
Practical implications
This paper reviews and reflects on a list of team formation aspects that could be beneficial while building a web team.
Originality/value
This case study fills a gap in the literature about how web and usability teams are formed and how team structure affects the success of the group.
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R. Niccole Westbrook, Valerie Prilop and Elizabeth M. German
The purpose of this paper is to present a case study in which reference librarians were a catalyst for an innovative web project designed to market digital collections to students…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a case study in which reference librarians were a catalyst for an innovative web project designed to market digital collections to students and faculty. The web project was titled “Image Café” and offered users a taste of the materials available in the University of Houston Digital Library in an interface and format that was simple to navigate and that encouraged reuse of the materials, specifically in presentations.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach to this project was a collaborative strategy in which a team of digital librarians reached out to reference librarians to engage them in more effective promotion of digital collections to students and faculty. Prior to this project, reference librarians were an under‐utilized stakeholder group whose feedback about the organization and presentation of digital collections had been difficult to implement. The Image Café project was an opportunity to pilot ideas directly from the librarians focused on outreach to students and faculty in an effort to make digital collections more approachable and discoverable for that audience.
Findings
Based on initial findings, use of Image Café has been strong and consistently growing.
Originality/value
This paper provides a valuable model for building bridges between groups within libraries that do not traditionally collaborate in order to make digital collections intuitive and relevant for users.
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Cele C. Otnes and Eliana N. Shapiro
This paper explores the phenomenon of collecting a plethora of memorabilia associated with a specific brand – in this case, the British Royal Family (BRF) brand. We explore the…
Abstract
This paper explores the phenomenon of collecting a plethora of memorabilia associated with a specific brand – in this case, the British Royal Family (BRF) brand. We explore the lifeworld of “Elizabeth,” an über-collector of BRF memorabilia, and describe how her collection can be interpreted as extensions of three separate identities – Collector, Business Owner, and Media Expert. Within these three identities, Elizabeth expressed different emergent roles to the various social networks within whom she interacted (e.g., as a collector, she often acted as “Rescuer,” taking in others’ BRF collections in order to preserve them). We illuminate these different roles and offer suggestions for future research.
Mutual understanding and cross‐border synergy in international organizations largely depend on the efficiency of the language(s) used between employees in home and foreign…
Abstract
Purpose
Mutual understanding and cross‐border synergy in international organizations largely depend on the efficiency of the language(s) used between employees in home and foreign markets. This study aims to provide insights in how language(s) can be applied efficiently in international companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The study reports on a cross‐cultural employee survey that was conducted in a Dutch international company intending to improve internal communications between Dutch‐based and German‐based employees.
Findings
The study shows that although English is a popular language in internal contacts with foreign colleagues, it is not perceived to be equally effective across borders. The results indicate that language background affects experiences with passive as well as active language skills. This suggests that an English language policy can be feasible, but that promotion and facilitation of language use is needed for specific language groups.
Practical implications
The study indicates that quantitative academic research can help international companies in formulating a relevant corporate language policy tailored to the needs of the organization.
Originality/value
The study uses insights from existing qualitative studies on corporate language in established multinationals to create a quantitative research instrument employed within a company with a relatively young internationalization strategy. As such, it contributes to substantiating previous research findings.
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The purpose of this paper is to introduce librarians, faculty, and other interested individuals to contemporary German literature in English translation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce librarians, faculty, and other interested individuals to contemporary German literature in English translation.
Design/methodology/approach
German‐language authors born in 1950 or later and listed on the Contemporary Living Authors Comprehensive List developed by the German vendor Otto Harrassowitz are searched in OCLC's WorldCat database to determine the existence of English translations. A bio‐bibliographical list is then developed featuring all contemporary German‐language authors who have achieved an English language translation of at least one of their literary works.
Findings
Of the approximately 1,400 writers on Harrassowitz's comprehensive list, a surprisingly large number of almost 80 authors of the younger generation (born in 1950 or later) have been translated into English.
Originality/value
This bio‐bibliography of contemporary German belles lettres (of the younger generation) in English translation is the first of its kind. It can be used by librarians to check their current library holdings and to expand their collections of German literature in English translation.
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“All things are in a constant state of change”, said Heraclitus of Ephesus. The waters if a river are for ever changing yet the river endures. Every particle of matter is in…
Abstract
“All things are in a constant state of change”, said Heraclitus of Ephesus. The waters if a river are for ever changing yet the river endures. Every particle of matter is in continual movement. All death is birth in a new form, all birth the death of the previous form. The seasons come and go. The myth of our own John Barleycorn, buried in the ground, yet resurrected in the Spring, has close parallels with the fertility rites of Greece and the Near East such as those of Hyacinthas, Hylas, Adonis and Dionysus, of Osiris the Egyptian deity, and Mondamin the Red Indian maize‐god. Indeed, the ritual and myth of Attis, born of a virgin, killed and resurrected on the third day, undoubtedly had a strong influence on Christianity.
Meike Rombach, Nicole Widmar, Elizabeth Byrd and Vera Bitsch
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights for flower retailers, horticultural practitioners and marketing managers into the prioritisation of cut flower attributes by German…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights for flower retailers, horticultural practitioners and marketing managers into the prioritisation of cut flower attributes by German residents.
Design/methodology/approach
Applying a best–worst scaling approach, this analysis identified the relative ranking of importance amongst product attributes relevant to German consumers when buying fresh cut flowers. A latent class analysis determined four flower consumer segments for further study. The study builds on a sample of 978 consumers and is consistent with the most recent German census in terms of age, gender, income and federal state.
Findings
The best-worst analysis showed that intrinsic flower attributes, in particular appearance, freshness and scent were found to be more important to German consumers than the extrinsic attributes studied, namely, price, country of origin and a certification indicating fair trade. The latent class analysis determined four consumer segments that desire either budget, luxury or ethical flowers or more information about flowers. For all identified consumer segments, appearance was the attribute of greatest importance. The segments that desired luxury or ethical flowers, as well as the segment that desires more information were interested in appearance, but also had relatively large shares of preferences dedicated to flower freshness guarantees. The preference for freshness guarantees in addition to appearance may be interpreted jointly as a desire for not only beautiful and aesthetically pleasing flowers, but for sustained beauty.
Originality/value
Internationally, the study fills a research gap by exploring consumer’s relative preference for cut flower attributes. In contrast to existing studies on consumer preferences for flowers in Germany, the present study builds on a sample that was targeted in terms of age, gender, net household income and federal state to the most recent German census.
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The principal purposes of this paper are to provide normative advice in terms of managing the British Monarchy as a Corporate Heritage Brand and to reveal the efficacy of…
Abstract
Purpose
The principal purposes of this paper are to provide normative advice in terms of managing the British Monarchy as a Corporate Heritage Brand and to reveal the efficacy of examining a brand's history for corporate heritage brands generally.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking a case history approach, the paper examines critical events in the Crown's history. It is also informed by the diverse literatures on the British Monarchy and also marshals the identity literatures and the nascent literature relating to corporate brands. Six critical incidents that have shaped the monarchy over the last millennium provide the principal data source.
Findings
In scrutinising key events from the institution's historiography it was found that the management and maintenance of the Crown as a corporate brand entail concern with issues relating to: continuity (maintaining heritage and symbolism); visibility (having a meaningful and prominent public profile); strategy (anticipating and enacting change); sensitivity (rapid response to crises); respectability (retaining public favour); and empathy (acknowledging that brand ownership resides with the public). Taking an integrationist perspective, the efficacy of adopting a corporate marketing approach/philosophy is also highlighted.
Practical implications
A framework for managing Corporate Heritage is outlined and is called “Chronicling the Corporate Brand”. In addition to Bagehot's dictum that the British Monarch had a constitutional obligation to encourage, advise and warn the government of the day, the author concludes that the Sovereign has a critical societal role and must be dutiful, devoted and dedicated to Her (His) subjects.
Originality/value
This is one of the first papers to examine the British Monarchy through a corporate branding lens. It confirms that the Crown is analogous to a corporate brand and, therefore, ought to be managed as such.
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Investigates the importance of English language sources ofFriedrich Theodor Althoff (1839‐1908), a German of great influence bothin his own country and, indirectly, in the United…
Abstract
Investigates the importance of English language sources of Friedrich Theodor Althoff (1839‐1908), a German of great influence both in his own country and, indirectly, in the United States. Explores some measures of his influence in education and international understanding. Examines a wide variety of sources. Explains how it could happen that an influential person would end up in intellectual history with almost no recognition. Challenges several conventional assessments. Althoff′s most important contributions are in print and more almost certainly exist in university archives, but the material is scattered and unorganized. Because we do not yet have the full story of this remarkable and complex man, firm conclusions about his influence are not yet possible.
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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.