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In the past, the Co‐operative Union's postal tuition section has served thousands of students. Many of the Co‐operative movement's senior officials possess qualifications gained through correspondence study or through a combination of correspondence courses and residential study at the Co‐operative College. Recently, with the phasing‐out of traditional Co‐operative Union awards and the reduction in numbers employed in the movement, support for our established course provisions has declined. The increased size of trading units and changes in promotion patterns within the Distributive Industry, as well as the rapid expansion of the further education system, have also affected demand for correspondence courses. The Co‐operative Union Education Department has, therefore, undertaken a considerable investment in the production of new courses to meet the changed pattern of need, and several new initiatives in the sphere of management education are being planned.

In higher education, the usual assessment methods are oral or written exams, multiple-choice questions, and individual or group written essays. However, in a distance learning context, it is often necessary to offer students more support, including formative assessment and self-assessment strategies. International reports have shown that teachers have adapted their learning assessment strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic. How did educators adapt their assessment strategies recently during the pandemic? What are the intentions underlying their decision-making? Our objective is to understand the decision-making process of teacher educators and university teachers in adapting their methodology for assessing student learning during the pandemic. To answer these questions, we adopted a qualitative research approach. We collected data from 29 different countries via: (1) open-ended questionnaires, (2) personal accounts, (3) unstructured interviews, and (4) a specific questionnaire about assessment. Four main categories emerged from our data: (1) challenges, (2) assessment practices, (3) changes in teachers' perceptions and practices, and (4) reflection on assessment. The findings suggest that (1) uses of technology for assessment have developed strongly; (2) careful coordination among colleagues is very important; (3) educators developed formative assessment strategies; and (4) educators' reflections have focused on many challenges: ethical, technical, and pedagogical.

Drawing on Resource-based Theory, the purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the effect of International Strategic Brand Management (SBM) on export performance within the Business-to-Business (B2B) context. To be able to purposely assess the relationship, this paper also sets out to discover what antecedent international resources, (financial resources) and international capabilities (market information, branding and marketing planning) contribute to the ability of B2B exporters to effectively manage their brands abroad.

A mixed method firm-level approach was employed. First, a qualitative study of 34 in-depth interviews explored the focal inter-relationships and constructs identified within the literature. A survey of 208 successful UK exporters was then conducted and the results were analysed using structured equation modelling.

The results confirm that certain marketing capabilities (branding and marketing planning) are advantageous antecedents to the employment of effective SBM in foreign markets which, in turn, leads to increased financial and market performance internationally.

This paper outlines practical brand management considerations managers need to account for to achieve effective exporting. Practitioners are advised to prioritise the development of robust international branding and marketing planning capabilities which can enable them to exploit their limited financial resources for optimal benefits. Furthermore, by developing these capabilities, firms can focus on the essence of their brand and communicate their brand image through the effective strategic management of their brand to business customers, evoking positive brand associations, enhanced perceived brand value and the achievement of increased export performance.

This paper is the first to focus on international SBM as the deterministic factor leading to improved B2B export performance. An innovative framework is offered which positions the pivotal role of International SBM as the central focus. The construct for international branding capabilities is extended specifically for use in the B2B domain.

To thrive in today’s competitive market, international small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) recognize the importance of building strong brands. Choosing the right capabilities to effectively drive brand performance remains a key challenge for SMEs. This study aims to explore how marketing capabilities affect brand orientation and performance. Specifically, the study considered the mediating impact of value cocreation and the moderating effect of innovation capabilities on the association between brand orientation and performance.

The population of interest included SMEs exporting food and agricultural products. A sample of 296 managers and export executives completed the questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using Smart PLS3 was applied to analyze the data.

The findings revealed that export market planning capabilities positively affect brand orientation, but the impact of marketing information capabilities on brand orientation was not supported. The results showed that brand orientation was directly and indirectly associated with brand performance through the mediating effect of value cocreation, and that innovation capability adversely moderated the relationship between brand orientation and performance.

This research focused only on two primary internal marketing capabilities affecting brand orientation, i.e. market information and product planning capabilities.

Explaining why some international SMEs adopt brand orientation activities, the results may help international firms increase their brand performance by emphasizing their marketing capabilities and creating covalue with their customers.

This research expands the existing knowledge of branding in international markets.

When comparing and contrasting features of the public service sector with those of the private service sector, the differences between the notions of customer and citizen, notable in the past, are now blurring. Whilst acknowledging the important differences that exist between the two service sectors, the authors seek to address the recent structural changes in the public service sector that aim to adopt best practices taken from the private into the public sector. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the important differences in public and private service delivery processes; with an emphasis on the need for improved definitions.

The literature reviews undertaken were qualitative synthesis in nature. Content analysis was undertaken and applied in reviewing 39 literature of sub‐fields of public and private service delivery, published in English‐speaking peer‐reviewed journals.

Based on the literature review, a promising approach for public sector productivity might be the disaggregated approach. Such an approach, focusing on the output components at a tactical level, could alleviate the problems related to public service productivity measurement (i.e. the problem of output definition). In particular, it could help define outputs at the operative level. Such measures could then percolate up to the strategic level (by aggregating the operative level results). Clearly this remains an interesting challenge for the productivity and performance management discipline and worthy of greater examination.

The authors compared and contrasted appropriate performance and productivity tools and highlight the challenges in adopting performance and productivity measures in the public sector in an attempt to become more efficient and effective. Until greater understanding is gained, there is little likelihood of successfully transferring models of productivity and performance management between the sectors or the development of appropriate models.

To date, there has been inadequate attention given to identifying, comparing and contrasting the significant differences between the organisations that deliver the public funded services and those in the commercial private services sector. This work highlights specific areas for future research.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the antecedents of export performance and branding advantage, as a key type of competitive advantage in export markets among entrepreneurs and managers of agri-food exporters.

A sample of entrepreneurs from 182 exporting firms of the agriculture and food industry participated in a cross-sectional survey. The data were collected by a self-reporting questionnaire and partial least squares were used to analyse the data and assess the path model.

Results revealed that experiential resources strongly promote communication capabilities. Also, communication, distribution and product development capabilities contribute to the creation of the branding advantage in export markets. In addition, a positive relationship between the branding advantage and export performance of agri-food products is confirmed.

The study targets exporters of agri-food products. Hence, the results should be interpreted regarding the context of low-technology firms. Further, this paper delineates branding advantage considerations that managers need to account for to achieve effective exporting. Practitioners can efficaciously exploit resources to achieve a competitive advantage, considering that they focus on building capabilities, and in particular, communication capabilities.

The present study highlights the role of the branding advantage as an important type of competitive advantage in international entrepreneurship and export markets. It attempts to examine the combined relationships of resources and capabilities with branding advantage and export performance.

THERE is a tendency to regard the industrial problems which face us as unique to British firms. That is a blinkered outlook in days when the commerce of thought is international and no country is insulated from another.

Hospitals in North America consistently have employee injury rates ranking among the highest of all industries. Organizations that mandate workplace safety training and emphasize safety compliance tend to have lower injury rates and better employee safety perceptions. However, it is unclear if the work environment in different national health care systems (United States vs. Canada) is associated with different employee safety perceptions or injury rates. This study examines occupational safety and workplace satisfaction in two different countries with employees working for the same organization.

Survey data were collected from environmental services employees (n = 148) at three matched hospitals (two in Canada and one in the United States). The relationships that were examined included: (1) safety leadership and safety training with individual/unit safety perceptions; (2) supervisor and coworker support with individual job satisfaction and turnover intention; and (3) unit turnover, labor usage, and injury rates.

Hierarchical regression analysis and ANOVA found safety leadership and safety training to be positively related to individual safety perceptions, and unit safety grade and effects were similar across all hospitals. Supervisor and coworker support were found to be related to individual and organizational outcomes and significant differences were found across the hospitals. Significant differences were found in injury rates, days missed, and turnover across the hospitals.

This study offers support for occupational safety training as a viable mechanism to reduce employee injury rates and that a codified training program translates across national borders. Significant differences were found between the hospitals with respect to employee and organizational outcomes (e.g., turnover). These findings suggest that work environment differences are reflective of the immediate work group and environment, and may reflect national health care system differences.