Pete Naudé, Janine Desai and John Murphy
Internal marketing orientation is an area within the broader market orientation that remains relatively under‐researched. Utilising the internal marketing orientation (IMO) scale…
Abstract
Internal marketing orientation is an area within the broader market orientation that remains relatively under‐researched. Utilising the internal marketing orientation (IMO) scale developed by Foreman and Money, this paper seeks to develop our understanding of the factors that may influence an employee's perception of their company's level of IMO. Based on 281 responses from a large UK‐based service organisation, the paper reports on the extent to which the Foreman and Money scale does, or does not, correlate with a range of “person” “situation” and “person × situation” variables identified from both focus groups and from the literature. It was found that among the single item variables age, location, and length of tenure all impacted upon levels of IMO. In the case of the more complex “person × situation” multi‐item variables, the most important determinants were found to be the perceived market orientation of local managers and direct managers/supervisors, as well as aspects of communication, socialisation, and workplace satisfaction. The results provide support for earlier work that highlights the importance of these more complex variables in managing internal marketing.
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Raija Komppula and Helen Reijonen
The purpose of this study was to identify those factors that are supposed to be the most important in terms of small business success in tourism industry. The empirical data is…
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify those factors that are supposed to be the most important in terms of small business success in tourism industry. The empirical data is collected within one region in Finland. The respondents were asked to evaluate the importance of the given factors for the firm's success and how highly the respondent evaluated the company's expertise in each factor in their operations. Questionnaires were sent by mail to a total of 214 tourism businesses. The final response rate was 43% (92 businesses). According to the analysis of the data, the respondents emphasise the importance of customer orientation, good skills in leadership, internal marketing and a good reputation of the firm and the product. The impact of external advice (incubators, consultants, research organisations) was evaluated as the least important factor of success. So, market orientation seems to play a key role in the performance of small and micro tourism firms. Customer orientation is also well mastered according to the businesses. The greatest development needs would be in the areas of price and accessibility, as well as in customer orientation. The results of this study indicate that there are no statistically significant differences in the views held by slowly or fast growing tourism businesses regarding the importance of the success factors. The same factors are considered important and less important in both slowly and fast growing businesses. Neither were there any statistically significant differences in these businesses as to the expertise in these success factors.
Chiara Xhindole, Lara Tarquinio and Laura Sierra-García
This study aims to analyse the reporting practices of a sample of companies listed in Italy and Spain that prepare a Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyse the reporting practices of a sample of companies listed in Italy and Spain that prepare a Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report. The main purpose is to analyse the reporting’s compliance with the TCFD framework and the extent of climate-related information disclosed.
Design/methodology/approach
This study performs a content and comparative analysis of climate-related information disclosed by Italian and Spanish companies listed on the FTSE MIB and IBEX-35, following the consolidated narrative interrogation (CONI) model. The analysis is carried out on 31 TCFD reports published in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, using NVivo software for content analysis and information coding.
Findings
Overall, the study shows that Italian and Spanish companies comply with the TCFD framework. However, some topics, such as governance-related aspects and risk management, are disclosed differently and may merit more in-depth reporting.
Practical implications
The findings of this study are valuable for companies and their stakeholders, in particular investors. The increasing focus on mandatory climate reporting and the adoption of new climate standards are increasing the pressure on companies to manage these issues, and the results of this work already indicate which aspects of the reporting process need to be improved to meet the new information requirement.
Originality/value
This study strengthens the theoretical and empirical literature on climate change information by conducting a cross-country content analysis of TCFD reports. The results provide a basis for future analysis of climate disclosure according to the latest developments in standards and frameworks.
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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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Ellen Martin, Naomi Senior, Ammar Abdullah, Janine Brown, Suzanne Collings, Sophie Racktoo, Sarah Walpole, Moez Zeiton and Catherine Heffernan
The aim of this small‐scale focus group study is to explore the impact the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine has on attitudes towards HPV, cervical cancer and sexual risk taking…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this small‐scale focus group study is to explore the impact the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine has on attitudes towards HPV, cervical cancer and sexual risk taking amongst university students in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants were recruited through advertisements placed on notice boards throughout the campus of the University of Leeds. The study sampled purposively to obtain two groups of ten men and two groups of ten women. A total of 34 people attended the sessions. The missing participants gave no reason for the absence. Those who agreed to take part were aged 19‐24 and were from a range of academic courses. Ethical approval was sought and approved by the Medical School Ethics Committee at the University of Leeds.
Findings
Participants saw HPV as being distinct from genital warts. This led to a duality in their view of the vaccine, which they saw as a cancer vaccine for schoolgirls and as an STI vaccine in relation to people of their own age, and thus believed it would cause sexual complacency among young adults. There was a fear that the HPV vaccine would reinforce gender bias, reinforcing the idea that females are responsible for sexual health. They maintained that mass media campaigns were more effective than sex education for improving sexual health knowledge and practices.
Originality/value
With the exception of chlamydia screening, this age group tends to be ignored in sexual health promotion campaigns. This small‐scale study provides insights that can inform larger studies and help tailor future health education campaigns on HPV for this audience.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore links between a revisionist view of the “feminisation of poverty” in developing countries and women’s work and home-based enterprise in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore links between a revisionist view of the “feminisation of poverty” in developing countries and women’s work and home-based enterprise in urban slums.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper’s discussion of the “feminisation of poverty” draws substantially from ethnographic field research conducted in The Gambia, The Philippines and Costa Rica. This research led the author to propose the notion of a “feminisation of responsibility and/or obligation”. The latter approach draws attention to issues such as gendered disparities of labour, time and resource inputs into household livelihoods, which are often most marked in male-headed units, and are not captured in conventional referents of the “feminisation of poverty”, which are rather narrowly confined to incomes and female household headship.
Findings
An integral element of the author’s critique is that the main policy response to classic “feminisation of poverty” thinking, to date, has been to “feminise” anti-poverty initiatives such as Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and microfinance programmes.
Originality/value
The paper argues that the “feminisation of poverty” compounds the tensions women already face in terms of managing unpaid reproductive and/or “volunteer” work with their economic contributions to household livelihoods, and it is in the context of urban slums, where housing, service and infrastructure deficiencies pose considerable challenges to women’s dual burdens of productive and reproductive labour. The paper emphasizes that to more effectively address gender inequality while also alleviating poverty, policy interventions sensitive to women’s multiple, time-consuming responsibilities and obligations are paramount.