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The attitude of the courts to extensions of the duty of care for those who produce company prospectuses has seemed fixed at the restrictive end of the scale for some time. The decision of Lightman J in the Possfund v Diamond case suggests that this might be about to change.

It is contended that the theory and practice of qualitative research is an integral part of a comprehensive marketing course. Both postgraduate and undergraduate students of marketing may be expected to be familiar with, and have experience of, qualitative techniques. Focus groups are arguably the most frequently employed qualitative technique, and as such are used as a starting point for the study of qualitative research. Their accepted advantages of speed, flexibility and economy, together with the rich data generated, make qualitative methods eminently suitable for student research, with its attendant limitations on time and money. A detailed practical guide to the procedures for planning, conducting and analysing focus groups is presented.

Management information facilities transform the library management system into a much more effective management tool. Three levels of management can be identified — operational, tactical and strategic — and each of these has its own unique management information needs. Earlier work on the use of management information in libraries and the development of management information systems demonstrates that progress in these areas has been slow. Management information systems comprise three components: facilities for handling ad hoc enquiries; facilities for standard report generation; and management information modules, or report generators that support the production of user‐defined reports. A list of standard reports covering acquisitions, cataloguing, circulation control, serials and inter‐library loans is provided. The functions of report generators are explored and the nature of enquiry facilities reviewed. Management information tools available in library management systems form a valuable aid in decision making. These should be further exploited and further developed.

This paper presents new research on the potential pathways for integrated adaptation that could make England's suburbs more resilient to future climate conditions. It focuses on the role of central government, local agencies and householders in making adaptations to the built and natural environment.

This paper uses evidence from three facilitated workshops run with built environment and policy professionals associated with climate change adaptation in three cities in England: Oxford, Bristol and Stockport. The workshop contributions are presented in relation to the potential role that central government, local agencies and residents could play in adapting suburbs.

Central government, local agencies and householders form an interconnected network of agents responsible for adaptive action in suburbs. Professional and institutional stakeholders expect central government to take a lead and ensure planning policies and building regulations support effective adaptation. However, those local authorities and agencies that are expected to offer leadership locally do not have the resources to make adaptation happen on the ground. Overall, the stakeholders in this research believe that effective adaptation in suburbs may only happen once householders and government have experienced worsening climatic conditions. This could be a very costly stance in the long term.

This paper provides empirical evidence on how stakeholders engaged in suburban adaptation are making changes now, and on how they envisage change in the future. It reveals clearly the challenges involved in integrating mitigation and adaptation actions and highlight the complexities around implementation on the ground.

The global tourism industry is continuing to experience a change from high-touch to high-tech with the increasing implementation of self-service technologies (SSTs) such as hotel reservation websites, kiosk technologies at airports and smartphone applications. SSTs require active customer involvement in the service delivery process and as such, the customer serves as a co-creator of value along with the tourism provider. Although there are benefits to customer involvement in service provision, there is a risk that SST usage may also detract value from the service experience. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore customer perspectives on their experiences of SST usage in a tourism context, through the theoretical lens of the service–dominant logic framework.

This interpretivist study employs a two-stage qualitative methodology of short interviews with 133 participants at an international airport, followed by 32 in-depth interviews with SST users in a tourism context.

Six diverse customer SST experiences are identified and then classified in terms of being either value-creating or value-destroying. The first two experiences accruing from SST usage, namely accomplishment and supportiveness, are deemed to be value-creating, while the experiences of lack of control, manipulation, concern about discrimination and social tension are deemed to be value-destroying.

The study responds to a gap in the literature regarding the concept and nature of customer value co-creation pertaining to the use of SSTs in a tourism context. The research findings indicate that value is not only created but may also be destroyed in the SST encounter. The study also illustrates that SST usage may have a strong social element in terms of the presence and role of other customers and employees. This challenges the consensus in the literature that SST usage reduces or removes human interaction.

Trauma can affect everyone. The effects of trauma often extend into workspaces, adversely affecting relationships and productivity. A trauma-informed leader is someone who incorporates compassion and empathy into their management toolkit. This chapter will define trauma-informed leadership, the role it can play in shaping the lives of individuals and creating a positive work environment which fosters health and well-being, and how it can be applied in a library setting with a specific focus on grief and loss.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the co-creation of small and medium enterprise (SME) designer fashion brands during internationalisation.

As an exploratory study, this research utilises grounded theory methodology and incorporates the use of 38 semi-structured in-depth interviews with designer fashion enterprises (DFEs) and their support network of sales and PR agencies.

Co-creation was identified as an important element for the successful integration of the entrepreneurial DFE into the global fashion industry network. Within relationship marketing, the concept of co-creation emphasises consumer experience, influence and power in the development of brand value. However current understanding of co-creation inadequately explains the development of the entrepreneurial designer fashion brand, requiring examination of the concept using grounded theory. The findings of this research highlight how these SMEs react and respond to the interpretation of their brand identity through the co-creation process as they seek to introduce and grow their firms within the global fashion marketplace.

This paper identifies the influence of industry stakeholders on the process of fashion brand co-creation. Additionally, by identifying the process by which the entrepreneurial DFE navigates the introduction of their collections to the industry’s network, and responds to interpretations of the firm’s brand identity, this paper recognises the influence of the firm throughout the co-creation process.

Social media has significantly impacted the value creation processes within the consumer–brand relationship. This study aims to examine value formation processes within a cosmetics social media brand community and to establish the types of value formation associated with different categories of interactions within a social media brand community.

The research adopted a netnographic approach and followed the operational protocols of netnography. Conversations in one large cosmetics social media brand community were observed and downloaded for analysis over a two-month period. Examples of value-creation and formation processes were identified using netnographic interpretative procedures to develop higher-order themes.

The findings supported the creation of a “Consumer and brand value creation and co-creation framework” highlighting disparate value types within the following interactions: consumer-to-consumer; brand-to-consumer; and consumer-to-brand. The identified value types were specific to the actors (i.e. consumers and brands) involved in value formation processes. The analysis also revealed consumers’ ability to independently generate value through direct interaction with a social media brand community and the brands’ role in supporting consumers in value formation through value facilitation.

The pivotal role of disparate actors’ interactions in value formation processes is highlighted, alongside the autonomous ability to form value with the aid of resources stored and shared within the social media brand community. The network of interactions and value-creation processes contribute to a holistic understanding of the interactions in a social media brand community. Furthermore, the research explores and highlights the emerging role of social media brand communities as “value vestiges”.

This study explored the impact of emphasis on the group development process on the perceived importance of and confidence in group work skills and students’ perception of group work use in the collegiate classroom as developed by Tuckman and Jensen (1977). The purposive sample utilized in this study included 33 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory leadership and service course at a southern, land-grant institution. Knowledge of the group development process enhances a student’s perceived importance and confidence in group work skills. The emphasis on group development process also positively impacted students’ perception of group work being utilized in the collegiate classroom. The importance of group work skills continues to be reflective of the demand from employers; therefore, educators must continue to develop these transferable skills in today’s students. Although relevant across disciplines, leadership educators should take a leading role in developing such skills in students.