Adrian Ramirez-Nafarrate and Carlos Eduardo López-Hernández
Students should be able to: identify the elements of business processes; analyze efficiency measures; identify and define causes of poor efficiency in business process; analyze…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
Students should be able to: identify the elements of business processes; analyze efficiency measures; identify and define causes of poor efficiency in business process; analyze the results of a simulation model; propose process redesign alternatives based on the analysis; and acknowledge the challenges for improving public service processes.
Case overview/synopsis
The process to get a passport seems to be very simple, but Jose Hernandez, a Manufacturing Plant Director, has had bad experiences the past three times he has visited the passport office. He and his family have spent more than 3 h to get the passport for his little daughter, Maria. In this case, the authors illustrate the process analysis performed by Jose to find effective and efficient solutions to the problems that he found. The case study guides students through the analysis of a business process in public service from the perspective of the users. The students participating in the case analysis will not only learn to diagnose and describe the process but also to redesign it to achieve significant improvements. Furthermore, the students will realize that adding more resources to the process may not solve the fundamental issues, but analytical and creative skills are needed. In addition, the teaching notes provide a discussion about the existing challenges to improve public service processes.
Complexity academic level
Management and engineering undergraduate programs, operations management and business process design in Master of Business Administration programs.
Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only.
Subject code
CSS 9: Operations and Logistics.
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Carlos A.F. Sampaio, José M. Hernández-Mogollón and Ricardo G. Rodrigues
This study aims to explore the nature of the relationship between market orientation and business performance in the Portuguese hotel industry and to evaluate the mediating role…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the nature of the relationship between market orientation and business performance in the Portuguese hotel industry and to evaluate the mediating role of service quality in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature analysis on market orientation, service quality and hotel business performance was conducted. The structural model was developed, and the measurement scales’ items were generated. Working data were obtained by sending a survey to Portuguese hotel managers. A purification process was conducted, and the convergent and discriminant validity, as well the reliability, of the measurement models were assessed. The structural model was tested by conducting a path analysis, as well by evaluating the coefficient of determination (R2) and the predictive relevance indicator (Q2).
Findings
Research results show that market orientation has a positive direct effect on business performance. Moreover, results indicate that market orientation effects on business performance are mediated throughout the hotels’ ability to provide service quality.
Originality/value
Despite the large amount of research on market orientation, research on the hospitality sector has been conducted mainly using tools developed for the manufacturing and consumer goods sectors. On the other hand, little has been done to explore the nature of the mediating effect of service quality on the relationship between market orientation and business performance in the hotel industry. Moreover, despite the contribution of the tourism industry to the Portuguese gross domestic product, research on the hotel industry is scarce.
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Ángel Herrero, Héctor San Martín and José M. Hernández
The purpose of this paper is to advance in research on consumer psychology of hospitality, since it investigates how online search behavior of users (particularly, information…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to advance in research on consumer psychology of hospitality, since it investigates how online search behavior of users (particularly, information search and choice) is influenced by the opinions of other people in a new context characterized by the generalized use of Web 2.0 applications.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical research was carried out in the hotel sector in Iberian Peninsula, where two Web 2.0 applications are especially relevant for users: the review Web sites and the hotel interactive Web sites. A qualitative method (in-depth interviews with hotel managers) and a quantitative technique (personal surveys to a sample of 830 users) were used to conduct this research.
Findings
The results indicates that the perceived influence on behavior of the user-generated content on these Web 2.0 applications is determined, in both cases, by the value of the information, the credibility of the sources and the degree of similarity between the user and the creators of content.
Practical implications
Firms should have an active presence in the review Web sites and the hotel interactive Web sites, and use these platforms for market research and communication. Firms should engage users to post content, support their credibility and facilitate the evaluation of the content generators’ similarity.
Originality/value
This paper is the first study in the hospitality literature that develops and empirically tests an integrative model explaining the perceived influence on behavior of user-generated content on Web 2.0 applications.
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María Muñoz Sanz-Agero and Carl Antonius Lemke Duque
This study provides a new look at the late 19th-century university issue in Spain. Loss of self-government among universities and the state’s centralization brought a conflict…
Abstract
Purpose
This study provides a new look at the late 19th-century university issue in Spain. Loss of self-government among universities and the state’s centralization brought a conflict between science and religion to the fore in the process of the secularization of knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
We first delve into the anti-Darwinian framework associated with the scientific professionalization process, focusing on the case of the jurist Antonio Hernández Fajarnés (1851–1909). Secondly, we study the idea of the university that emerged from the Ateneo de Madrid, analyzing key speeches from the jurist Francisco Fernández de Henestrosa (1855–s.d.) given in 1887/88 and from the pharmacist José Rodríguez Carracido (1856–1928).
Findings
The study concludes that the Restoration Era in Spain was characterized by a generalized desire – shared by neo-Scholastics, conservatives and liberal rationalists – to improve the public university system. In this context, French influence was no doubt decisive; however, the Humboldtian university idea had already begun to have notable influence.
Originality/value
This article analyzes sources yet unknown to international research, such as the Ateneo de Madrid debates and Spanish university rectors’ inaugural speeches. It opens up a critical examination of the so-called displacement of educational principles in Spain toward a state-centered system of doctrinal moderantismo as opposed to the nation-centered system of the Cádiz liberalism. At the same time, it identifies key pockets of resistance relative to Spanish university transformation toward increased methodological secularization.
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Marlene Bartolomé Sáez, Antolin E. Hernández Battez, Jorge Espina Casado, José L. Viesca Rodríguez, Alfonso Fernández-González and Rubén González Rodriguez
The purpose of this paper is to study the antifriction, antiwear and tribolayer formation properties of the trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the antifriction, antiwear and tribolayer formation properties of the trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinate ionic liquid (IL) as additive at 1 wt.% in two base oils and their mixtures, comparing the results with those of a commercial oil.
Design/methodology/approach
The mixture of the base oils used in the formulation of the commercial oil SAE 0W20 plus the IL was tested under rolling/sliding and reciprocating conditions to determine the so-called Stribeck curve, the tribolayer formation and the antifriction and antiwear behaviors.
Findings
The use of this IL as additive in these oils does not change their viscosity; improves the antifriction and antiwear properties of the base oils, making equal or outperforming these properties of the SAE 0W20; and the thickness and formation rate of the tribolayer resulting from the IL-surface interaction is highly dependent on the type of base oil and influence on the friction and wear results.
Originality/value
The use of this IL allows to replace partial or totally commercial antifriction and antiwear additives.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-05-2020-0179/
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José M. Zea Pérez, Jorge Corona-Castuera, Carlos Poblano-Salas, John Henao and Arturo Hernández Hernández
The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of printing strategies and processing parameters on wall thickness, microhardness and compression strength of Inconel 718…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of printing strategies and processing parameters on wall thickness, microhardness and compression strength of Inconel 718 superalloy thin-walled honeycomb lattice structures manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF).
Design/methodology/approach
Two printing contour strategies were applied for producing thin-walled honeycomb lattice structures in which the laser power, contour path, scanning speed and beam offset were systematically modified. The specimens were analyzed by optical microscopy for dimensional accuracy. Vickers hardness and quasi-static uniaxial compression tests were performed on the specimens with the least difference between the design wall thickness and the as built one to evaluate their mechanical properties and compare them with the counterparts obtained by using standard print strategies.
Findings
The contour printing strategies and process parameters have a significant influence on reducing the fabrication time of thin-walled honeycomb lattice structures (up to 50%) and can lead to improve the manufacturability and dimensional accuracy. Also, an increase in the young modulus up to 0.8 times and improvement in the energy absorption up to 48% with respect to those produced by following a standard strategy was observed.
Originality/value
This study showed that printing contour strategies can be used for faster fabrication of thin-walled lattice honeycomb structures with similar mechanical properties than those obtained by using a default printing strategy.
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Yuan Sun, Yating Zhong and Qi Li
As an increasingly popular tool for product exploration, online communities have an important impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions. The purpose of this study is to gain a…
Abstract
Purpose
As an increasingly popular tool for product exploration, online communities have an important impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how visiting behaviors in online communities affect consumers’ offline purchasing behavior. The moderating role of two dimensions of consumer visiting behaviors (visiting depth and visiting breadth) also receives attention. Moreover, the impact of consumer visiting behaviors on offline sales for different types of online communities is also the focus of this paper.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the empirical model, the authors collected data on consumers’ visits to an online real estate platform with local housing sales data. In addition to the baseline regression analysis of the data with the help of Stata 17.0, the study also analyzes the robustness of the results through several methods.
Findings
The authors focus on an online community for newly-built housing and find that consumer visits to the focal online community have a positive impact on offline sales. Visiting breadth has a negative moderating effect on this relationship, and no statistically significant moderating effect is found for visiting depth. Further, our empirical exploration finds that consumer visits to competitive online communities have a positive impact on offline focal product sales, but visits to complementary online communities have no statistically significant effect on offline sales.
Originality/value
Our findings contribute to the understanding of consumers’ cross-channel purchasing behavior and provide new insights into how visiting behaviors in online communities affect consumers’ purchasing decisions.
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José Aguado-Romero, Antonio M. López-Hernández and Simón Vera-Ríos
In Spain contract auditing has been applied since 1988 to determine the final cost of defense procurement contracts. In this respect, the Spanish Department of Defense takes the…
Abstract
In Spain contract auditing has been applied since 1988 to determine the final cost of defense procurement contracts. In this respect, the Spanish Department of Defense takes the US methodology as a reference model, and therefore it may be useful to study the degree of convergence between the two models. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the degree to which the US contract auditing model for the procurement of defense materiel has influenced the system applied in Spain. Accordingly, the comparative method is used to highlight the main features of the contract auditing models used by the Spanish and the US Departments of Defense. The results obtained show that the methodology used by Spain is not an original approach, but that there is only a low degree of convergence with the US model.
José A. Folgado-Fernández, Paulo Duarte and José Manuel Hernández-Mogollón
The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the role of communication, structural and intangible elements on both tourists’ rational and emotional engagement across…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the role of communication, structural and intangible elements on both tourists’ rational and emotional engagement across five different types of events (nature, gastronomy, religion, theatre and music).
Design/methodology/approach
Responses from 1,528 tourists were obtained through a face to face questionnaire in five heterogeneous events in the Spanish region of Extremadura, a well-known cultural tourism destination. Linear regressions were used to evaluate focal constructs’ contribution (emotional and rational engagement, formal and informal communication and structural and non-structural elements) on tourists’ engagement across events.
Findings
The results revealed that tourist’s rational and emotional engagement depends on the type of event. Non-structural elements seem to be important for rational and emotional engagement for gastronomic and cultural events. Besides the impact of structural elements on rational engagement, all other factors seem to have a mixed influence. Therefore, practitioners must select the factors to highlight according to the type of events, besides structural factors.
Practical implications
The current results allow tourism managers to understand the mechanisms for tourists’ engagement in a multi-event scenario to strategically select and use and communicate each type of appeal when planning and communicating events to specific target audiences.
Originality/value
Unlike most studies that focus on a single event or typology, this study combines a set of heterogeneous events to provide a complete picture of tourism engagement for the tourism sector.
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Elide Di-Clemente, José Manuel Hernández-Mogollón and Ana María Campón-Cerro
The purpose of this paper is to test the value of experientiality as a determining factor for destination loyalty (LOYD) in the context of culinary tourism. The present research…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the value of experientiality as a determining factor for destination loyalty (LOYD) in the context of culinary tourism. The present research sees in memorability (MEM), Quality of Life (QoL) and place attachment (PA) experiential variables driving future loyal intentions to revisit a certain place.
Design/methodology/approach
The causal relationships between the concepts have been analysed using structural equation modelling and the partial least squares technique.
Findings
Results achieved confirmed that new concepts should be considered in order to reach a better understanding of the current experiential phenomenon and to provide destinations and practitioners with new strategies in line with the requirements of the sector and the modern consumers’ expectations.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the application of a convenience sample, results should be understood within the context of this case study.
Practical implications
The conclusion of this research highlights the importance of delivering food-based experiences to travellers with the aim of generating a positive impact in individuals’ lives, beyond the holiday time. This can result in QoL and PA which are strong antecedent of future loyal intentions towards a destination.
Originality/value
This work represent one the first attempts to measure the experiential value of food-based experiences lived on holidays and its effect on marketing results. This research outlines useful strategies for enhancing the competitiveness of destinations in the new experiential scenario.