Venkat Ramaswamy and Maarten K. Pieters
The authors anticipate that in a post-COVID, hyper-connected and interdependent world, all businesses will inevitably have to become co-creational “living” enterprises -…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors anticipate that in a post-COVID, hyper-connected and interdependent world, all businesses will inevitably have to become co-creational “living” enterprises -- organizations that purposefully learn and adapt through experiential interactions with all stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
Maps out how enterprises will need to develop “Platformized Impact Ecosystems of Engagements of Experiences” (PIEEE). These are digital platforms that bring together five key facets of the current fourth industrial revolution -- digital technology platforms, impacts of activities, experience personalization, service ecosystems and flows of engagements
Findings
Industry 4.0 enterprises now manage a software-based value chain that must constantly learn and adapt its offerings to meet the rising expectations of individuals as they navigate through a multitude of interactive experiences.
Practical implications
Microsoft's Health Care in the Cloud and Signify's platforms transform value for stakeholding individuals’ experiences in ways that were never possible before.
Originality/value
This article imagines a not-too-distant future in which the most successful companies conduct business with customers, partners and a variety of stakeholders on digital platforms that are so interactive, adaptive and responsive that it’s not hyperbole to describe them as co-creative “living” systems.
Sabine Fliess and Maarten Volkers
The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons why customers often cannot or do not exit a negative service encounter (lock-in) and to discuss how this affects their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons why customers often cannot or do not exit a negative service encounter (lock-in) and to discuss how this affects their well-being and coping responses. This contributes to the research on how negative service encounters emerge and evolve and how such encounters impact customer well-being and subsequent responses.
Design/methodology/approach
An inductive, exploratory approach was used. Interviews with 20 service customers yielded over 90 detailed lock-in experiences across 25 different services. A multi-step, iterative coding process was used with a mixture of coding techniques that stem from a grounded theory approach.
Findings
Four categories of factors that caused customers to endure a negative event were identified (physical lock-in, dependency on the service, social lock-in and psychological lock-in). Customers either experienced inner turmoil (if they perceived having the option to stay or leave) or felt captive; both impacted their well-being and coping strategies in different ways. Three characteristics of negative events that caused lock-in to persist over time were identified.
Research limitations/implications
This is a qualitative study that aims to identify factors behind customer lock-in, reduced well-being and coping strategies across different types of service encounters. Future research may build on these themes to investigate lock-in during specific service encounters in greater depth.
Practical implications
This research provides insights regarding how service providers can anticipate lock-in situations. In addition, the findings point to several ways in which frontline employees can assist customers with the coping process, during lock-in.
Originality/value
Customer lock-in during a service encounter is a common, yet unexplored phenomenon. This research contributes to a better understanding of why customers endure negative events and how such perceptions are reflected in their experiences and behaviors.
Details
Keywords
Warren E. Walker, Rik van Grol, S. Adnan Rahman, Maarten van de Voort, Wolfgang Röhling and Robert Burg
Wolter Pieters and Robert van Haren
The aim of the research described was to identify reasons for differences between discourses on electronic voting in the UK and The Netherlands, from a qualitative point of view.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the research described was to identify reasons for differences between discourses on electronic voting in the UK and The Netherlands, from a qualitative point of view.
Design/methodology/approach
From both countries, eight e‐voting experts were interviewed on their expectations, risk estimations, cooperation and learning experiences. The design was based on the theory of strategic niche management. A qualitative analysis of the data was performed to refine the main variables and identify connections.
Findings
The results show that differences in these variables can partly explain the variations in the embedding of e‐voting in the two countries, from a qualitative point of view. Key differences include the goals of introducing e‐voting, concerns in relation to verifiability and authenticity, the role of the Electoral Commissions and a focus on learning versus a focus on phased introduction.
Research limitations/implications
The current study was limited to two countries. More empirical data can reveal other relevant subvariables, and contribute to a framework that can improve our understanding of the challenges of electronic voting.
Originality/value
This study shows the context‐dependent character of discussions on information security. It can be informative for actors involved in e‐voting in the UK and The Netherlands, and other countries using or considering electronic voting.
Details
Keywords
Maaike de Waal, Jochem Lesparre, Ryan Espersen and Ruud Stelten
Archaeological predictive maps can be valuable tools for planning officers, spatial developers and archaeologists. In 2012, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science…
Abstract
Purpose
Archaeological predictive maps can be valuable tools for planning officers, spatial developers and archaeologists. In 2012, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science asked the St Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research (SECAR) to create archaeological predictive maps for St Eustatius and Saba. The maps were supposed to contribute to more effective management and protection of archaeological sites. The maps were published in 2013 and 2015. The purpose of this paper is to address the question whether the subsequent use of these maps has indeed improved site management and protection.
Design/methodology/approach
The evaluation proceeded by identifying the users and applications of the maps through questionnaires and an internet search engine, along with follow-up interviews with heritage professionals on both islands.
Findings
The use of the predictive maps has not yet contributed to improved management and protection of archaeological sites on St Eustatius and Saba. Suggestions have been made to ameliorate this situation and to ensure the preservation of archaeological heritage for future generations.
Originality/value
The creation of archaeological predictive maps can be an important step towards improving management and protection of archaeological heritage, education and heritage awareness. This is important for St Eustatius and Saba, islands that are characterised by vulnerable archaeological heritage, rapid spatial development and a lack of efficient protection measures. This paper points to the importance of follow-up efforts to ensure effective site management and protection.
Details
Keywords
Trilce Navarrete and Elena Villaespesa
This study aimed at understanding the use of paintings outside of an art-related context, in the English version of Wikipedia.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed at understanding the use of paintings outside of an art-related context, in the English version of Wikipedia.
Design/methodology/approach
For this investigation, the authors identified 8,104 paintings used in 10,008 articles of the English Wikipedia edition. The authors manually coded the topic of the article in question, documented the number of monthly average views and identified the originating museum. They analysed the use of images based on frequency of use, frequency of view, associated topics and location. Early in the analysis three distinct perspectives emerged: the readers of the online encyclopaedia, the editors of the articles and the museum organisations providing the painting images (directly or indirectly).
Findings
Wikipedia is a widely used online information resource where images of paintings serve as visual reference to illustrate articles, notably also beyond an art-related topic and where no alternative image is available – as in the case of historic portraits. Editors used paintings as illustration of the work itself or art-related movement, but also as illustration of past events, as alternative to photographs, as well as to represent a concept or technique. Images have been used to illustrate up to 76 articles, evidencing the polysemic nature of paintings. The authors conclude that images of paintings are highly valuable information sources, also beyond an art-related context. They also find that Wikipedia is an important dissemination channel for museum collections. While art-related articles contain greater number of paintings, these receive less views than non-art-related articles containing fewer paintings. Readers of all topics, predominantly history, science and geographic articles, viewed art pieces outside of an art context. Painting images in Wikipedia receive a much larger online audience than the physical painting does when compared to the number of museum onsite visitors. The authors’ results confirm the presence of a strong long-tail pattern in the frequency of image use (only 3% of painting images are used in a Wikipedia article), image view and museums represented, characteristic of network dynamics of the Internet.
Research limitations/implications
While this is the first analysis of the complete collection of paintings in the English Wikipedia, the authors’ results are conservative as many paintings are not identified as such in Wikidata, used for automatic harvesting. Tools to analyse image view specifically are not yet available and user privacy is highly protected, limiting the disaggregation of user data. This study serves to document a lack of diversity in image availability for global online consumption, favouring well-known Western objects. At the same time, the study evidences the need to diversify the use of images to reflect a more global perspective, particularly where paintings are used to represent concepts of techniques.
Practical implications
Museums wanting to increase visibility can target the reuse of their collections in non-art-related articles, which received 88% of all views in the authors’ sample. Given the few museums collaborating with the Wikimedia Foundation and the apparent inefficiency resulting from leaving the use of paintings as illustration to the crowd, as only 3% of painting images are used, suggests further collaborative efforts to reposition museum content may be beneficial.
Social implications
This paper highlights the reach of Wikipedia as information source, where museum content can be positioned to reach a greater user group beyond the usual museum visitor, in turn increasing visual and digital literacy.
Originality/value
This is the first study that documents the frequency of use and views, the topical use and the originating institution of “all the paintings” in the English Wikipedia edition.
Details
Keywords
Kehinde Peter Alabi, Ayoola Patrick Olalusi, John Isa, Kehinde Folake Jaiyeoba and Michael Mayokun Odewole
Fresh fruits and vegetables (FV) are crucial global food resources, but the presence of heat loads during harvest adversely impacts their shelf life. While freezing technology…
Abstract
Purpose
Fresh fruits and vegetables (FV) are crucial global food resources, but the presence of heat loads during harvest adversely impacts their shelf life. While freezing technology provides an effective means of removing heat loads, it is an energy-intensive process and may consequently prove too costly for practical business viability. The growing interest in utilizing magnetic field (MF) technology during the freezing of fresh FV enhances the freezing rate and rapidly removes the heat loads of products.
Design/methodology/approach
In the present study, pulsed magnetic field (PMF) pretreatment employing specific field strengths (9 T, 14 T and 20 T) was examined as a preliminary step before freezing mango and tomato and compared to the conventional freezing method (untreated) at − 18 °C.
Findings
PMF pretreatment prior to freezing demonstrated a noteworthy enhancement in freezing rate by around 10 and 12% when compared with the conventional (untreated) freezing, which exhibited freezing rates of −0.08 °C/min and −1.10 °C/min for mango and tomato, respectively. The PMF pretreatment (at 20 T) provided a higher freezing rate (at p = 0.05) than the conventional freezing method reduced heat loads amounting to 1.1 × 107 J/kg oC and 2.9 × 106 J/kg oC, significantly (at p = 0.05) from mango and tomato, respectively. These reductions in heat loads were approximately more than 5% of the calculated heat loads removed during conventional freezing.
Research limitations/implications
Mango and tomato samples were only tested; the results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test for other products for further studies.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for the development of a rapid freezing technique, the development of “pulsed magnetic field” and for eliminating the problem associated with conventional (slow) freezing.
Originality/value
The study holds significance for the production of postharvest freezing technology, providing insightful information on the PMF-assisted freezing of cellular foods.