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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2005

John A. Volkmar and Kate L. Westbrook

To assess changes over the past decade in the self‐reported levels of adjustment, job performance, and professional acceptance of western women professionals working in Japan.

1946

Abstract

Purpose

To assess changes over the past decade in the self‐reported levels of adjustment, job performance, and professional acceptance of western women professionals working in Japan.

Design/methodology/approach

Napier and Taylor's benchmark 1995 study of western women working in Japan is replicated ten years later on a similar sample group of women in Japan. Questionnaire responses to questions about cultural adjustment, job performance, and professional acceptance are compared for the original and new samples.

Findings

Despite increased westernization of business practices in Japan and a greater representation of Japanese women in management positions, no statistically significant change is found in the scores for the three measures examined over the ten year period. The incidence of formal training, preparation, and support provided by employers was higher for the more recent sample.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size is relatively small and represents only women in the Tokyo area, which may limit the study's generalizability to women in less metropolitan areas of Japan.

Practical implications

Both for those women professionals who live and work in Japan and for HRM professionals responsible for expatriation and adjustment issues involving those women, provides evidence that adjustment challenges persist despite changes in Japan's sociocultural environment.

Originality/value

By carefully replicating the original study and sample characteristics as closely as possible, this paper provides a useful longitudinal perspective on the situation of foreign women professionals in Japan.

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 20 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

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Publication date: 30 October 2023

Nicolay Worren

Traditionally, the main goal of empirical research has been to test theories. Yet, theory-testing is problematical in the social sciences. Findings from empirical studies have…

Abstract

Traditionally, the main goal of empirical research has been to test theories. Yet, theory-testing is problematical in the social sciences. Findings from empirical studies have proven hard to replicate and there is a lack of progress in creating a coherent and cumulative knowledge base. There are both practical and epistemological issues that prevent effective empirical tests. It is difficult to operationalize constructs and design decisive tests of theories. The laws and regularities posited in theories in the natural sciences are independent of human actors, while theories in the social sciences describe systems and structures that are created and maintained by human actors. Nonetheless, human actors are sometimes guided by theories. They may change their behavior or make different decisions based on academically produced knowledge. This relationship is usually mediated by the use of tools of various sorts (i.e., design principles, diagrams, or stories). I discuss why scholars should conduct empirical research to test the pragmatic validity of tools that are derived from theories rather than testing the scientific validity of the theories themselves.

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Article
Publication date: 1 January 1954

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).

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Abstract

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

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Article
Publication date: 28 October 2013

Jennifer Emanuel

Usability studies are a form of library evaluation that are often passed off as research. However, at its core, usability is an evaluation method, not a research method. The goal…

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Abstract

Purpose

Usability studies are a form of library evaluation that are often passed off as research. However, at its core, usability is an evaluation method, not a research method. The goal is to make an argument that usability studies can be a valid form of scholarly research if certain limitations inherent in usability studies are addressed in the research design.

Design/methodology/approach

Through evaluating literature in the social sciences, this paper makes an argument for usability as a research method if certain limitations inherent within usability testing are addressed.

Findings

Usability is not only an evaluation method, but when limitations are addressed; it can be considered an important research tool within libraries.

Originality/value

No other article in the library and information sciences literature talks about methodologies for usability. Most usability articles do not address methodologies utilized in a way that would be considered research in a broader social sciences context. This article bridges the gap from when usability is considered evaluation to when it is considered research within library science.

Details

OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, vol. 29 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1065-075X

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2005

Kate L. Reynolds and Lloyd C. Harris

Proposes responding to earlier calls for further research into “fraudulent” or “feigned” customer complaints, and providing insights which explore and describe the motivations and…

9033

Abstract

Purpose

Proposes responding to earlier calls for further research into “fraudulent” or “feigned” customer complaints, and providing insights which explore and describe the motivations and forms of such deliberate “illegitimate” customer complaints.

Design/methodology/approach

Critical incident technique was utilized in analyzing 104 interviews with customers who had knowingly made an illegitimate complaint within the six months prior to the interview. Data collection stopped at the point of theoretical saturation and was subsequently analyzed according to the coding procedures advocated by Strauss and Corbin (open, axial and selective coding).

Findings

Two key insights emerged from data analysis. First, coding procedures revealed four distinct forms of customer complainants. These are labeled; “one‐off complainants”, “opportunistic complainants”, “conditioned complainants”, and “professional complainants”. Second, six main motives for articulating fraudulent complaints were uncovered during data analysis. These are termed; “freeloaders”, “fraudulent returners”, “fault transferors”, “solitary ego gains”, “peer‐induced esteem seekers”, and “disruptive gains”.

Research limitations/implications

The study is constrained by its exploratory design and qualitative methods employed. Subsequently, future studies could employ survey methods to improve empirical generalizability. Future studies could adopt a more inclusive approach and incorporate insights from employees, managers, and other relevant actors within service encounters.

Practical implications

Practical implications highlighted by the study include a need for businesses to examine and, in many cases, reevaluate their personnel training, customer complaint and service recovery procedures. Furthermore, managers may wish to enforce mechanisms wherein customer complaints are monitored and tracked in a manner that assists in the identification and challenging of re‐offending fraudulent complainers.

Originality/value

The study constitutes the first systematic attempt to explore and describe illegitimate customer complaining behaviors.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 19 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

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Article
Publication date: 22 October 2021

Rebekah Willson

“Bouncing ideas” is a phrase used colloquially to illustrate a way of advancing ideas in the workplace. While described by some as a key part of their information work, it has…

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Abstract

Purpose

“Bouncing ideas” is a phrase used colloquially to illustrate a way of advancing ideas in the workplace. While described by some as a key part of their information work, it has remained largely unexplored in the information science literature. As a metaphor used to depict information work, it describes a process of working on ideas in conjunction with others. This paper examines how early career academics use the term when describing their academic work.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports on one of the findings from a larger, in-depth study that examined the information behaviour of early career academics undergoing career transitions, which was carried out using constructivist grounded theory (CGT). CGT provides both a framework for the systematic collection (that included multiple interviews and check-ins with 20 early career academics) and analysis of the data (that consisted of multiple rounds of iterative, inductive coding).

Findings

The findings identify the component parts of bouncing ideas, which include three component in-formation activities – information seeking, information sharing and information creation – and are undertaken as cooperative information work (joint work for a shared purpose, but the benefits of the work may not be equal between participants).

Originality/value

Bouncing ideas is proposed as a complex information practice, defined as engaging in a temporary cooperative effort that involves social information exchange in order to gain help and/or support for an intellectual endeavour to create new information. The work identifies that more research into bouncing ideas is needed to more fully explore the distinct component behaviours that take place whilst bouncing ideas and the social conditions that foster this collaborative exchange.

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Article
Publication date: 29 December 2022

Neeru Malhotra, Bernadette Frech, Peter Leeflang, Young-Ah Kim and Helen Higson

While extant research has predominantly focused on outcomes of customer satisfaction that benefit the focal firm such as customer engagement behaviors (CEBs), little is done to…

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Abstract

Purpose

While extant research has predominantly focused on outcomes of customer satisfaction that benefit the focal firm such as customer engagement behaviors (CEBs), little is done to understand human capital-related outcomes that directly benefit customers and thus benefit the firm indirectly. Drawing on the theory of reasoned action, broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and human capital theory, this study aims to understand how and why a satisfied customer benefits the firm directly (CEBs) and indirectly (human capital-related outcomes).

Design/methodology/approach

Following a sequential mixed-methods approach, two studies are conducted in an extended service encounter context (higher education) where customers also constitute key human capital of the service firm. First, a qualitative study is conducted, which is then followed by a quantitative study. Survey data collected from students working as interns in organizations and their immediate managers resulted in 209 “intern–manager” dyads.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that customer satisfaction on its own does not substantially account for either human capital-related outcomes or CEBs (except word of mouth [WOM]). Both emotional and cognitive mechanisms play key and unique mediating roles in translating satisfaction into outcomes that benefit a service firm directly and indirectly by benefiting its customers.

Research limitations/implications

While much research demonstrates benefits of customer satisfaction for the focal firm, this research advances our understanding of the novel consequences of customer satisfaction by shedding light on human capital-related outcomes that directly benefit customers. It also aids in explicating prior inconsistent findings on the relationship between customer satisfaction and CEBs by uncovering the underlying mediating mechanisms.

Practical implications

This investigation provides a deeper understanding of the significance of customer satisfaction by demonstrating how and why satisfied customers increase firm value beyond purchase, for instance, by being direct (through positive WOM) and indirect (through enhanced human capital performance) promoters, consultants (through participation) or investors (through monetary giving). A key implication of this research is that simply enhancing customer satisfaction on its own may not suffice as the findings suggest that satisfaction translates into beneficial outcomes only when satisfaction is channeled toward enhancing customer perceptions of competence and their positive emotions.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by providing a deeper understanding of how and why customer satisfaction influences outcomes that not only benefit the firm but also its customers in extended service encounter context.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 57 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 10 December 2018

Devinder Pal Singh

The paper aims to investigate materialism as one of the retail shopping motives along with utilitarian/hedonic motivations in the Indian context. It aims to identify the key…

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to investigate materialism as one of the retail shopping motives along with utilitarian/hedonic motivations in the Indian context. It aims to identify the key shopping motivations, which explain the shopping value in the context of malls. Furthermore, it intends to develop a shopping motivations-based typology of Indian mall shoppers, and to profile the motivational and demographic characteristics of the discerned segments.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected through a mall intercept survey. The shopping motivations were identified through literature, and established scales were utilised to collect data. Exploratory factor analysis was used to understand the underlying structure of mall shopping motives. Hierarchical and K-means clustering were used to cluster the consumers. Additionally, ANOVA along with post hoc tests were used to explore the mean differences between the various clusters. Cross-tabulation along with the chi-square statistic was used to understand the demographic characteristics of the clusters.

Findings

Indian mall shoppers are motivated by hedonistic, materialistic and utilitarian motives. They can be primarily classified into four clusters, namely, balanced shoppers, materialist shoppers, hedonistic shoppers and value shoppers.

Research limitations/implications

Knowledge of distinct consumer segments will aid marketers in formulating marketing and promotional strategies for augmenting mall footfalls.

Originality/value

Although past research has accentuated hedonic and utilitarian motivations as the primary shopping motives, little research has been conducted to examine materialism as a shopping motive. Rise of materialism in the emerging Indian market has metamorphosed the consumer behaviour. The study examines the utilitarian, hedonistic and materialistic dimensions of shopping and unfolds a typology of mall shoppers. It contributes to the repository of cross-national research on shopping behaviour by unravelling the shopping motivations of Indian consumers.

Details

Journal of Asia Business Studies, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1558-7894

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 25 January 2020

Mauricio Palmeira, Gerri Spassova and Jordi Quoidbach

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether people’s intuitions regarding the social consequences of word of mouth (WOM) match the actual consequences. The authors investigate…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether people’s intuitions regarding the social consequences of word of mouth (WOM) match the actual consequences. The authors investigate the expectations people have about how sharing WOM (positive or negative) will change others’ perceptions of them and then compare these expectations to the actual impact of WOM.

Design/methodology/approach

Six studies were conducted. Study 1 predicted how sharing their experiences with various products or services would change others’ opinion of them. Studies 2a/2b contrasted participants’ intuitions about the potential social consequences of sharing WOM with the consequences. Studies 3a/3b and 4a/4b tested for the hypothesized mediating mechanism. Studies 5a/5b focused on negative WOM and used participants’ own reviews to compare intuitions with impact. Study 6 explored whether considering one’s own consumption experience mitigates the negative social impact of WOM.

Findings

Consumers expect positive WOM to improve perceptions as it conveys only positive cues about the communicator (i.e. helping intentions and a positive personality). Negative WOM is expected to have neutral impact, as it conveys mixed cues (i.e. helping intentions but a negative personality). In contrast, the authors show that sharing negative WOM tends to be quite detrimental, whereas sharing positive WOM has little impact. People are largely unaware of these effects.

Research limitations/implications

The research contributes to the literature on WOM and social transmission by comparing people’s intuitions about the social consequences of WOM with its actual consequences. The authors acknowledge that they used mostly WOM messages that were pre-written (vs spontaneously generated by participants). This may have constrained the generalizability of the results. Several potential moderators remain to be investigated, such as the role of message extremity, the interpersonal closeness between communicator and receiver, whether the WOM was solicited vs spontaneous, online vs offline, etc.

Practical implications

Greater effort is needed to raise consumers’ awareness about the gap between their expectations and the actual social consequences of WOM. Furthermore, marketers responsible for designing product review opportunities should be encouraged to provide consumers with more flexible options, such as the ability to easily remove an online review. Finally, consumers transmitting negative WOM in particular should be aware that their negative tone may compromise the persuasiveness of their message by making the receiver more vigilant and thus less receptive.

Originality/value

The authors are the first to directly contrast people’s intuitions about the social consequences of WOM with its consequences. Unlike the previous literature, the authors investigate people’s intuitions directly, and investigate the consequences of positive and negative WOM by comparing them to a neutral no-WOM condition. They also shed light on the specific personality traits people infer from WOM.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 54 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 12 February 2018

Stephanie Thomas, Jacqueline Eastman, C. David Shepherd and Luther Trey Denton

The purpose of this paper is to study the relational impact of using win-win or win-lose negotiation strategies within different types of buyer-supplier relationships.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the relational impact of using win-win or win-lose negotiation strategies within different types of buyer-supplier relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-method approach is used. Qualitative interviews with supply chain managers reveal that relationship-specific assets and cooperation are important relational factors in buyer-supplier negotiations. Framing interview insights within the social exchange theory (SET), hypotheses are tested using a scenario-based behavioral experiment.

Findings

Experimental results suggest that win-lose negotiators decrease their negotiating partner’s commitment of relationship-specific assets and levels of cooperation. In addition, the use of a win-lose negotiation strategy reduces levels of relationship-specific assets and cooperation more in highly interdependent buyer-supplier relationships than relationships that are not as close.

Research limitations/implications

Buyer-supplier relationships are complex interactions. Negotiation strategy choice decisions can have long-term effects on the overall relationship. As demonstrated in this study, previous research focusing on one side “winning” a negotiation as a measure of success has oversimplified this complex phenomenon.

Practical implications

The use of a win-lose negotiation strategy can have a negative impact on relational outcomes like cooperation and relationship-specific assets. For companies interested in developing strong supply chain relationships, buyer and suppliers should choose their negotiation strategy carefully as the relational impact extends beyond the single negotiation encounter.

Originality/value

Previous research predominantly advocates for the use of a win-win negotiation strategy within interdependent relationships. This research offers evidence that the use of a win-lose strategy does have a long-term relational impact.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

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