Inga-Britt Gustafsson, Lars Wallin, Ulrika Winblad and Mio Fredriksson
A local healthcare organisation providing healthcare to 288,000 residents in Sweden struggled with a longstanding budget deficit. Several attempts to overcome the demanding…
Abstract
Purpose
A local healthcare organisation providing healthcare to 288,000 residents in Sweden struggled with a longstanding budget deficit. Several attempts to overcome the demanding financial situation have failed. A decommissioning programme was launched, and two years later, an evaluation indicated positive outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore factors politicians and public servants perceived as enablers to the successful implementation of the programme.
Design/methodology/approach
A deductive content analysis approach using a framework of factors facilitating successful implementation of decommissioning decisions was applied to analyse interviews with 18 informants.
Findings
Important factors were: (1) a review report contributing to the clarity of evidence, which (2) made the clarity of the rationale for change undeniable and (3) strengthened the political support for change. Additional factors were: (4) the strength of executive leadership, (5) the strength of clinical leadership supported by (6) the quality of project management and (7) a cultural and behavioural change seen as an important outcome for the path forward. A way to maximise the potential for a successful implementation of a large-scale decommissioning programme is to build a shared vision and a collaboration grounded in convincing evidence. Include public servants with a clinical background in the executive leadership team to contribute with legitimacy, competence, and trust in the decommissioning programme’s intention.
Originality/value
The paper addresses the limited knowledge of best practices in decommissioning processes and contributes empirical knowledge from a successful case.
Details
Keywords
Johan Swahn, Lena Mossberg, Åsa Öström and Inga‐Britt Gustafsson
This observational study set out to investigate the effect of sensory description labels on consumer choice of apples in a grocery retail store.
Abstract
Purpose
This observational study set out to investigate the effect of sensory description labels on consumer choice of apples in a grocery retail store.
Design/methodology/approach
An independent observation study was conducted in a retail grocery store setting. A total of 1,623 consumers were observed over a four‐day period in four different sessions, each using three apple varieties (JONAGOLD, INGRID MARIE, and ELISE). Marketing strategies differed between the sessions as follows: sort name labelling only, sort name and sensory description labelling, sort name and sensory semantic description labelling, and sort name labelling and allowing consumers to taste the apples before choosing.
Findings
Consumer product choice was affected by the sensory description labels. When only the sort name was given on the label, the consumers tended to choose INGRID MARIE, which has a strong sort name. With the addition of sensory description labels, the consumer choice shifted to ELISE, which had been chosen with a low frequency when only sort name was given, but was chosen with a high frequency when sensory description labelling was used.
Research limitations/implications
The study was limited to red apples and one national market.
Practical implications
Practitioners, managers, and marketers may benefit from using proper sensory labelling as a marketing tool for various food products, such as apples, in a grocery retail store.
Originality/value
This study shows the importance and value of sensory description label marketing for food products in grocery retail stores. Little attention has previously been paid to the research area within sensory marketing communication concerning the interplay of sensory perception of food and the formulation of marketing labels, or taste marketing. This paper also addresses the possible interaction between the disciplines of sensory and marketing science.