Sabrina Gigli, Laura Mariani and Benedetta Trivellato
This paper aims to identify the possible sources of organizational decoupling and their effects in public universities, as they transition from cash to accrual accounting, by…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the possible sources of organizational decoupling and their effects in public universities, as they transition from cash to accrual accounting, by assessing the phases of the innovation assimilation process.
Design/methodology/approach
To assess the transition, the authors develop a framework that integrates the possible sources of decoupling with the phases of the innovation process. This framework is then applied to the analysis of six Italian public universities moving from cash to accrual accounting.
Findings
The results point to regulation gaps and adverse organizational conditions as the main culprits of decoupling behaviours in the production and use of information. Delays in the characterization of the legal framework and ambiguities in the definition of accounting standards by the regulator are the first barriers to an effective transition. The organizational barriers, instead, depend on lack of adequate skills, over-bureaucratization, limitations of the IT systems and organizational complexity. Such limitations generate hybrid accounting systems that jeopardize the informative function of financial reporting.
Originality/value
From a theoretical viewpoint, this paper contributes to a conceptualization of accounting innovations and reforms as processes whose impact depends on dynamics that arise and interact differently across phases. From a practitioner’s point of view, it highlights the factors that may produce adverse effects during the implementation process: these may be taken into account during planning, so as to develop the appropriate remedial actions.
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Sabrina Gigli and Laura Mariani
The purpose of this paper is to examine the change from cash accounting to accrual accounting, identifying and assessing the institutional and organisational barriers that may…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the change from cash accounting to accrual accounting, identifying and assessing the institutional and organisational barriers that may affect this process. A specific focus on knowledge gaps is provided.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a mixed method design, combining action research activities, a survey, and in-depth qualitative interviews in the setting of Italian public universities.
Findings
The findings highlight a low degree of compliance with the accrual accounting system and budgeting system, which is the result of the lack of an accrual accounting culture in the Italian public sector.
Originality/value
The analysis confirms some barriers to the transition highlighted by previous literature and also adds further explanations of such limitations in terms of the lack of skills and accounting knowledge of the universities’ administrative staff possesses.
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Laura Fuentes-Moraleda, Ana Muñoz-Mazón, Coral Santiago-Rincón and Alicia Orea-Giner
This exploratory study aims to identify the main risk reduction strategies when individuals suffer from coeliac disease (CD) or non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) travel. Based…
Abstract
Purpose
This exploratory study aims to identify the main risk reduction strategies when individuals suffer from coeliac disease (CD) or non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) travel. Based on Yeung and Yee's (2013; 2019) model, the paper offers a new framework for analysing the main travel risk reduction strategies for people with specific food needs. The empirical work focuses on the perspectives of different stakeholders (CD and NCGS community, restaurant managers/service providers and nutritionists).
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach based on thematic analysis is adopted. The results of 32 semi-structured in-depth interviews reveal different stakeholders' perspectives in order to understand the various strategies.
Findings
The findings confirm the high level of consensus that the main food risk reducers are: travel information, staff training in safety assurance, legislation and risk prevention protocols. The findings also show significant limitations in the information offered by restaurants, organisations and tourist destinations and the negative repercussions on the tourist experience and the reputation on a particular destination.
Practical implications
The results will help hospitality business managers and destination management organisations develop food risk reduction strategies to solve some of the most important food-related problems when people in this market segment travel.
Originality/value
This work contributes to the literature by providing a new framework on travel risk reduction strategies for people with specific food needs. The novelty of this research is mainly found in the study of risk reduction strategies related to the travel decision-making process for those with CD and NCGS from different perspectives.
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Adrian Castro-Lopez, Laura Caso Fernández-Pacheco, Víctor Iglesias and Javier De la Ballina
This study aims to analyzes the effects of the consumer-generated media (CGM) boom on hotel managers’ investment behavior concerning quality signals.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyzes the effects of the consumer-generated media (CGM) boom on hotel managers’ investment behavior concerning quality signals.
Design/methodology/approach
Survival analysis has been conducted, considering the permanence/dropout of the Spanish hotels in a quality certification system during the 1998–2020 period.
Findings
The number of hotels certified since 2010 has been progressively falling, pointing to a decreasing interest of the managers in these certifications. Nevertheless, this is not a generalized phenomenon: the hotel characteristics and the number and nature of reviews about them in CGM significantly affect their permanence decisions in certification systems.
Practical implications
The findings provide several keys to optimizing investment management in quality signals considering hotel characteristics and their positioning in CGM.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyses the relationship between the presence of hotels in CGM and their investments in alternative quality signals. The results will allow future investment decisions based on previous real business experiences.
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Emanuele Lettieri, Laura Marone, Nicola Spezia, Ilenia Gheno, Cinzia Mambretti and Giuseppe Andreoni
This study aims to offer novel insights on how industrial marketing might contribute to bringing innovations to market in the peculiar case of health care. This study aims at…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to offer novel insights on how industrial marketing might contribute to bringing innovations to market in the peculiar case of health care. This study aims at shedding first light on how the alignment between dissemination and exploitation activities might contribute to bringing to market innovations developed by public–private partnerships funded by the European Commission (EC).
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical development comes from an inductive research design based on the 42-month pan-European H2020 research project NESTORE aimed at developing an integrated portfolio of innovations for the healthy aging of European citizens.
Findings
This study advances the theory and practice of industrial marketing in health care by conceptualizing an actionable method to align dissemination and exploitation activities within EC-funded projects, facilitating that innovations will go to market. The method is composed of five phases. First, an external analysis to define market opportunities and users’/stakeholders’ needs. Second, an internal analysis to identify the most promising exploitable outputs. Third, scenarios crystallization to define the most suitable scenarios (business models) to bring the selected exploitable outputs to market. Fourth, exploitation and dissemination alignment through the identification and involvement of the most relevant stakeholders. Fifth, scenario refinement and business plan.
Originality/value
This study is relevant because many EC-funded projects still fail to move innovations from labs to market, thus limiting the benefits for the European citizens and the competitiveness of Europe with respect to the USA and China. Although this relevance, past studies overlooked the peculiar context of EC-funded innovation projects, privileging pharmaceutical and biomedical companies. This study advance theory and practice of industrial marketing in health care.
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Paolo Figini, Laura Vici and Giampaolo Viglia
This study aims to compare the rating dynamics of the same hotels in two online review platforms (Booking.com and Trip Advisor), which mainly differ in requiring or not requiring…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to compare the rating dynamics of the same hotels in two online review platforms (Booking.com and Trip Advisor), which mainly differ in requiring or not requiring proof of prior reservation before posting a review (respectively, a verified vs a non-verified platform).
Design/methodology/approach
A verified system, by definition, cannot host fake reviews. Should also the non-verified system be free from “ambiguous” reviews, the structure of ratings (valence, variability, dynamics) for the same items should also be similar. Any detected structural difference, on the contrary, might be linked to a possible review bias.
Findings
Travelers’ scores in the non-verified platform are higher and much more volatile than ratings in the verified platform. Additionally, the verified review system presents a faster convergence of ratings towards the long-term scores of individual hotels, whereas the non-verified system shows much more discordance in the early phases of the review window.
Research limitations/implications
The paper offers insights into how to detect suspicious reviews. Non-verified platforms should add indices of scores’ dispersion to existing information available in websites and mobile apps. Moreover, they can use time windows to delete older (and more likely biased) reviews. Findings also ring a warning bell to tourists about the reliability of ratings, particularly when only a few reviews are posted online.
Originality/value
The across-platform comparison of single items (in terms of ratings’ dynamics and speed of convergence) is a novel contribution that calls for extending the analysis to different destinations and types of platform.
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Veronica Ungaro, Laura Di Pietro, Roberta Guglielmetti Mugion and Maria Francesca Renzi
The paper aims to investigate the practices facilitating the transformation of healthcare services, understanding the resulting outcomes in terms of well-being and uplifting…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to investigate the practices facilitating the transformation of healthcare services, understanding the resulting outcomes in terms of well-being and uplifting changes. a systematic literature review (SLR) focusing on analyzing the healthcare sector under the transformative service research (TSR) theoretical domain is conducted to achieve this goal.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing a structured SLR developed based on the PRISMA protocol (Pickering and Byrne, 2014; Pickering et al., 2015) and using Scopus and WoS databases, the study identifies and analyzes 49 papers published between 2021 and 2022. Content analysis is used to classify and analyze the papers.
Findings
The SLR reveals four transformative practices (how) within the healthcare sector under the TSR domain, each linked to specific well-being outcomes (what). The analysis shows that both practices and outcomes are mainly patient-related. An integrative framework for transformative healthcare service is presented and critically examined to identify research gaps and define the trajectory for the future development of TSR in healthcare. In addition, managerial implications are provided to guide practitioners.
Originality/value
This research is among the first to analyze TSR literature in the context of healthcare. The study critically examines the TSR’s impact on the sector’s transformation, providing insights for future research and offering a roadmap for healthcare practitioners to facilitate uplifting changes.
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Laura Bravi, Federica Murmura, Gilberto Santos, Luca Tomassini and Alessio Gnaccarini
This study aims to analyze the innovations introduced, with reference to enterprise resource planning, in the Italian wood–furniture sector, focusing attention on the COSMOB…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the innovations introduced, with reference to enterprise resource planning, in the Italian wood–furniture sector, focusing attention on the COSMOB S.p.A. case study, identifying how this small company tried to exploit the advantages offered by the introduction of new digital technologies to remain competitive in the context of the accredited Test Laboratories in the furniture industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The research has been developed with a qualitative approach. The study is a conceptual development and it uses exploratory interviews to create a single case study of COSMOB. The case study was developed with the realization by the researcher of a long period of support to the company’s Quality Manager, and periodic bi-monthly interviews for an update of their perceptions on the development of the activity.
Findings
The need for rapid decision-making processes, the management of high volumes of data and the need for inter- and intra-organizational connection had a critical relief in company’s decision to adopt the integrated software. As for the main problems related to its adoption, these were the duration of the implementation of the operation, the complexity of the system and its limited adaptability.
Originality/value
The value of the paper relies on the development of an in-depth company case study, where the researcher supported the implementation of the system for the entire activity, obtaining therefore, a qualitative base of information that cannot be obtained through limited interviews.
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Maria Giovina Pasca, Maria Francesca Renzi, Laura Di Pietro and Roberta Guglielmetti Mugion
The present study aims to synthesize and conceptualize, through a systematic literature review (SLR), the current state of gamification knowledge in the tourism and hospitality…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to synthesize and conceptualize, through a systematic literature review (SLR), the current state of gamification knowledge in the tourism and hospitality (T&H) sector, providing a roadmap for future research recommendations for service research and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based on a systematic literature review and adopts a systematic quantitative approach to summarize existing evidence on gamification usage in the T&H sector, focusing on relevant service literature on gamification. The authors analyze 36 papers published between 2011 and 2019.
Findings
The authors synthesize existing knowledge into five themes describing gamification's role in T&H (Edutainment, Sustainable behavior, Engagement factors, Service provider-generated content and User-generated reviews). Then, a cross-analysis of the five themes reveals the pivotal elements (affordances, behavioral and psychological outcomes, and benefits) generated by gamification mechanics in T&H, simultaneously highlighting potential implications and relevant insights for service literature. The review identifies critical issues affecting gamification research and provides a future research agenda, considering opportunities for T&H and service research.
Originality/value
The study provides the first SLR investigating gamification in T&H. The findings present potential implications and relevant insights for T&H contributing to the construction of a more holistic understanding of gamification adoption in service research.
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Marcello Mariani, Rodolfo Baggio, Matthias Fuchs and Wolfram Höepken
This paper aims to examine the extent to which Business Intelligence and Big Data feature within academic research in hospitality and tourism published until 2016, by identifying…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the extent to which Business Intelligence and Big Data feature within academic research in hospitality and tourism published until 2016, by identifying research gaps and future developments and designing an agenda for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The study consists of a systematic quantitative literature review of academic articles indexed on the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The articles were reviewed based on the following features: research topic; conceptual and theoretical characterization; sources of data; type of data and size; data collection methods; data analysis techniques; and data reporting and visualization.
Findings
Findings indicate an increase in hospitality and tourism management literature applying analytical techniques to large quantities of data. However, this research field is fairly fragmented in scope and limited in methodologies and displays several gaps. A conceptual framework that helps to identify critical business problems and links the domains of business intelligence and big data to tourism and hospitality management and development is missing. Moreover, epistemological dilemmas and consequences for theory development of big data-driven knowledge are still a terra incognita. Last, despite calls for more integration of management and data science, cross-disciplinary collaborations with computer and data scientists are rather episodic and related to specific types of work and research.
Research limitations/implications
This work is based on academic articles published before 2017; hence, scientific outputs published after the moment of writing have not been included. A rich research agenda is designed.
Originality/value
This study contributes to explore in depth and systematically to what extent hospitality and tourism scholars are aware of and working intendedly on business intelligence and big data. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first systematic literature review within hospitality and tourism research dealing with business intelligence and big data.