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Allison Brown Ledford, Anna Hyre, Gregory Harris, Gregory Purdy and Thomas Hedberg Jr
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a prominent area of interest in the field of manufacturing that is bringing about revolutionary changes. In this study, the authors sought to…
Abstract
Purpose
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a prominent area of interest in the field of manufacturing that is bringing about revolutionary changes. In this study, the authors sought to determine whether professionals in academia or industry could have predicted the composition of advanced technologies associated with Industry 4.0 before Germany's Industrie 4.0 policy announcement. The purpose of this paper is to use the process for identifying technologies that can be included in industrial policy to improve national competitiveness in manufacturing.
Design/methodology/approach
Relevant documented research from 2000 to 2012 was identified and captured using a systematic literature review. The significant technological advancements during this period were analyzed to determine how technological innovations may have affected predictions about the future of manufacturing. The identified predictions were analyzed using an open-source natural language processing code that clustered relevant topics in the predictions that indicated common themes. The results were then compared to the ideas within “Industry 5.0”.
Findings
The results of this study showed that an aggregate analysis of manufacturing predictions would have preemptively revealed the Fourth Industrial Revolution and could have been used to inform industrial policy that could accelerate technology adoption. Also, contrary to popular belief, the popular Industry 5.0 is a sematic exemplification of a concept already embedded within the origins of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Practical implications
By examining the provenance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, lessons are learned that bring light to Industry 4.0 and the measures that can be taken to enable the advancements that it brings. The results of this study show that is would be wise for government policymakers to enact programs that monitor the manufacturing predictions coming out of academia and to analyze them aggregately using natural language processing as a means to identify the next evolutions and revolutions and to mobilize policymakers to enhance outcomes of enacting policy.
Originality/value
Despite high hopes for the realization of Industry 4.0, there has been little discussion about the technological innovations and events that occurred to enable it. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that has determined that an aggregate analysis of manufacturing predictions would have preemptively revealed the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The success of the methodology used in this study has theoretical implications in support of natural language processing (NLP) being used to inform national policy.
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The purpose of this paper is to delineates workers’ labour turnover and considerations around work, in a context of informalisation of work, through a case study of temporary…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to delineates workers’ labour turnover and considerations around work, in a context of informalisation of work, through a case study of temporary non-resident farm workers in the deciduous fruit sector in Ceres, South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is a three-phase exploratory sequential mixed-methods strategy. Findings from 29 in-depth interviews were refined, verified and ranked in four focus groups. These informed grounded indicators in a survey of 200 farm workers employed in peak season and their 887 household members.
Findings
Considerations are informed by work-related insecurities, interpersonal workplace relationships and reproductive insecurity in the form of care of others, social linkages and residential insecurity, seemingly hierarchical. The least important considerations most thwart workers’ ability to complete fixed-term contracts and account for over 70 per cent of labour turnover in the form of resignations. In sum, workers experience constrained considerations around work arising from their material, social and economic conditions.
Originality/value
This is the first study on the labour turnover of farm workers in South Africa and the fifth globally. The research gives precedence to the voice of farm workers and is a thick description of workers’ considerations around work.
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As the world becomes a global village, sports organisations have begun to extend their markets and fan bases to different groups of customers. David Beckham, a British soccer star…
Abstract
As the world becomes a global village, sports organisations have begun to extend their markets and fan bases to different groups of customers. David Beckham, a British soccer star with a high profile marriage and much media attention, has endorsed numerous products, thereby becoming an excellent case study for the current trend of athlete endorsement in the international sports industry. The results of this case study provide insights into factors that might influence the success of athlete endorsement.
Antoinette Pole and Archana Kumar
– The purpose of this paper is to seek to segment CSA members based on their motivations to join a CSA.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to seek to segment CSA members based on their motivations to join a CSA.
Design/methodology/approach
Data obtained from an online survey of 565 members belonging to a New York state CSA were analyzed using a combined hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analysis.
Findings
Based on their motivations to join a CSA results reveal four distinct types of segments among CSA members: No-Frills Member, Foodie Member, Nonchalant Member, and Quintessential Member. Results show all four clusters differ statistically across demographic characteristics including gender, political affiliation, and household income. The clusters differed across psychographic characteristics such as attitudes toward the treatment of animals, treatment of farm workers, pesticide use, the environment, food miles, and limiting factory farm purchases. Quintessential Members emerge as most concerned with food purchasing decisions while No-Frills Members are least concerned.
Research limitations/implications
The study employs a non-random purposive sample of CSAs in New York state. Respondents were recruited indirectly to participate in an online survey. The length and complexity of the survey, absence of an email address for respondents, levels of digital fluency, and technical glitches may result in lower participation rates.
Practical implications
This paper offers recommendations to farmers for retaining and attracting different types of CSA members.
Originality/value
This is the first study that segments CSA members in the USA based on their motivations to subscribe to a CSA, and it differentiates CSA member clusters based on their demographics, psychographics, and food purchasing decisions.
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Kirstin Hallmann and Pamela Wicker
Although participation in golf has increased in several countries and is associated with an evolving golf industry, research on golf and golf players is rather limited. Therefore…
Abstract
Purpose
Although participation in golf has increased in several countries and is associated with an evolving golf industry, research on golf and golf players is rather limited. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the sport-related expenditure of golfers and diferences of heavy and light spenders.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data of golf players were collected in Germany using a written survey which resulted in a convenience sample of n=197 golfers.
Findings
The regression results indicate that the social motive, time for playing and training, handicap, age, and income have a significant impact on sport-related expenditure. There are several significant difference between heavy and light spenders based on psychological, behavioural, demographic, and resources variables.
Research limitations/implications
A convenience sample was drawn and the sample size with n=197 respondents could be improved. Nonetheless, the descriptive results revealed that the sample structure was similar to previous research with regard to socio-demographic variables.
Practical implications
Since the underlying motives of golfers vary immensely indicating a range of target groups, sport managers need to address each target group differently to fully exploit the marketing potential.
Originality/value
Expenditure of golfers seems to be under researched and the results reveal that the average sport-related expenditure of golfers confirms that golf can be an expensive sport and that golf players are willing to spend on average one monthly income on their sport over a 12-month period.
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Farm labor contractors operate as intermediaries between farmworkers and agricultural employers by recruiting and supplying labor to US farms. In a political economy where there…
Abstract
Purpose
Farm labor contractors operate as intermediaries between farmworkers and agricultural employers by recruiting and supplying labor to US farms. In a political economy where there are employer sanctions for hiring workers without proper documentation, contractors share risk alongside final employers. Furthermore, contractors may facilitate quick employment matches during time sensitive agricultural tasks such as harvesting. For undocumented workers, using a contractor may decrease uncertainty associated with a foreign labor market and ease language barriers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current role of labor contractors in delivering immigrant agricultural workers, particularly undocumented workers, to farms.
Design/methodology/approach
Determinants of labor contractor use and relationships to final worker outcomes are examined using econometric methods and a large nationally‐representative worker survey that is distinctive in that it distinguishes legal status.
Findings
Undocumented farmworkers are shown to be more likely to use contractors than are documented workers, though statistical significance is sensitive to the inclusion of crop and task indicators, and wages and fringe compensation to workers who use contractors are lower, even after controlling for legal status.
Research limitations/implications
The paper contributes to limited recent academic work on the role of labor contractors in US agriculture. Future work may examine ongoing changes to this role in the context of mutable immigration policy and public opinion.
Practical implications
It is argued that the decline in labor contracting increases the need for employer‐level bilingual communication skills and compliance with labor regulations.
Originality/value
Understanding current dynamics of the agricultural labor market should be of value to scholars of rural economies, farm owners and agricultural policymakers.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe two social simulations created to assess leadership potential and train leaders to make effective decisions in turbulent environments. One…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe two social simulations created to assess leadership potential and train leaders to make effective decisions in turbulent environments. One is set in the novel environment of a lunar moon colony and the other is a military combat command. The research generated from these simulations for assessing the decision effectiveness of potential leaders with different personality traits and decision styles under varying degrees of information quantity, uncertainty and complexity is summarized. Opportunities and limitations of applying current computer assisted technology to social simulations for assessing and developing leaders' decision effectiveness in turbulent environments is discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
College undergraduates and officer candidates in university ROTC programs made a series of decisions while being subjected to varying degrees of environmental turbulence in social simulations. The decision effectiveness of subjects with different personality characteristics under varying degrees of environmental turbulence was assessed through researcher observations, self‐reports, and peer ratings.
Findings
Social simulations are a cost effective way to assess and train leaders to make effective decisions in turbulent environments. The results of controlled experiments in social simulations have suggested that leaders with high levels of cognitive complexity and incongruity adaptation are more likely to be successful in highly turbulent environments than leaders with lower levels of incongruity adaptation ability and cognitive complexity who are more effective in more stable and structured situations.
Research limitations/implications
The ease of modifying computer games renders them effective as low‐cost virtual worlds that have relevance in military leadership experimentation. However, the use of computer simulations alone fails to capture the impact that relationships and emotions have on leader decision making, highlighting the continuing need for social simulations that include these interpersonal aspects of decision making.
Practical implications
By participating in realistic social simulations, leaders can experiment with new decision styles without the risk of making real world mistakes that could jeopardize their own and their organization's future. The leaders who are most successful in adapting their decision style to the more complex requirements can be identified for promotion or assignment to appropriate settings.
Originality/value
Both military and civilian organizations are in need of cost effective way to assess and train leaders to make effective decisions in turbulent environments. Social simulations provide a unique approach to meeting these needs and can simultaneously provide a venue for research in associated areas.
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Abstract
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Bodil Bergman, Pernilla Larsman and Jesper Löve
The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a new measure of gender equality at male-dominated workplaces, allowing quantitative analyses of men's beliefs about…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a new measure of gender equality at male-dominated workplaces, allowing quantitative analyses of men's beliefs about gender-based inequality at work.
Design/methodology/approach
The present paper examines a questionnaire developed from qualitative interviews based on grounded theory methodology and designed to assess men's beliefs about gender inequality. A 23-item version of the Men's Polarized Gender Thinking Questionnaire (MPGQ) was completed by a sample of 220 men from three different male-dominated organizations in Sweden. Recommended psychometric testing procedures were conducted.
Findings
Confirmatory factor analysis supported a six-factor model of male attitudes to gender-based inequality: different views on success, stereotypical gender roles – different jargons, benevolent sexism, conscious of gender order, conscious of the male norm system and strategies for gender equality at work. The final model showed acceptable fit to data. All six factors were positively intercorrelated.
Practical implications
It was concluded that the MPGQ provides a useful tool for further studies of men's sometimes polarized views of gender equality in male-dominated workplaces. Hence, MPGQ may allow researchers and practitioners to go deeper in their understanding of persistent and often hidden gender-based inequality at work.
Originality/value
Equality plans are difficult to fulfill if people do not know on which subtle mechanisms the concept gender-based inequality is founded. The MPGQ illustrates how they are manifested at a specific workplace. Because of the scarcity of this type of workplace measures, this study may make a contribution of concern to the literature. By measuring these sometimes polarized beliefs, management strategies aiming at decreasing barriers to gender equality at work could become more accurate and efficient.