Anna Salonen, Marcus Zimmer and Joona Keränen
The purpose of this study is to explain how the application of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and experiments can advance theory development in the field of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explain how the application of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and experiments can advance theory development in the field of servitization by generating better causal explanations.
Design/methodology/approach
FsQCA and experiments are established research methods that are suited for developing causal explanations but are rarely utilized by servitization scholars. To support their application, we explain how fsQCA and experiments represent distinct ways of developing causal explanations, provide guidelines for their practical application and highlight potential application areas for a future research agenda in the servitization domain.
Findings
FsQCA enables specification of cause–effects relationships that result in equifinal paths to an intended outcome. Experiments have the highest explanatory power and enable the drawing of direct causal conclusions through reliance on an interventionist logic. Together, these methods provide complementary ways of developing and testing theory when the research objective is to understand the causal pathways that lead to observed outcomes.
Practical implications
Applications of fsQCA help to explain to managers why there are numerous causal routes to attaining an intended outcome from servitization. Experiments support managerial decision-making by providing definitive “yes/no” answers to key managerial questions that address clearly specified cause–effect relationships.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this study is to help advance theory development in servitization by encouraging greater methodological plurality in a field that relies primarily on the qualitative case study methodology.
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H. Jessie Chen‐Yu and Doris H. Kincade
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of product image at three stages of the consumer decision process for apparel products: alternative evaluation, purchase and…
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of product image at three stages of the consumer decision process for apparel products: alternative evaluation, purchase and post‐purchase stages. The three specific objectives of the study were to examine at the alternative evaluation stage the effect of product image on perceived quality and performance expectation, at the purchase stage the effect of product image on purchase intention and the price the consumer was willing to pay, and at the post‐purchase stage the effect of product image on consumer satisfaction and the effect of product image with product consumption performance on consumer satisfaction. The experimental design was used to determine the cause‐and‐effect relationships between the treatment variables (independent variables) and the dependent variables. Sweatshirts were used as the sample product category and 120 university students were recruited as participants. Results showed that at the alternative evaluation stage, product image significantly and positively influenced perceived quality and performance expectation. At the purchase stage, product image was not a determinant of purchase intention, but significantly and positively influenced the price participants were willing to pay for the product. At the post‐purchase stage, product image did not directly influence participants’ satisfaction, but product image with product consumption performance significantly affected satisfaction. When consumption performance was good, product image significantly and positively influenced satisfaction. When consumption performance was poor, product image significantly and negatively influenced satisfaction.
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Shahrzad Amirani and Roger Gates
Store image has long been recognized as a determinant of businesssuccess and has been used as a positioning and differentiation tool.Over the years, the retail image research…
Abstract
Store image has long been recognized as a determinant of business success and has been used as a positioning and differentiation tool. Over the years, the retail image research stream has witnessed numerous conceptual and operational definitions, However, despite the long‐term fascination of researchers with this construct, substantial “noise” is evident in store image research. Provides an overview of the store image literature and illustrates the usefulness of an attribute‐anchored conjoint methodology for operationalizing this construct.
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Minh Thanh Vo, Anh H. Vo and Tuong Le
Medical images are increasingly popular; therefore, the analysis of these images based on deep learning helps diagnose diseases become more and more essential and necessary…
Abstract
Purpose
Medical images are increasingly popular; therefore, the analysis of these images based on deep learning helps diagnose diseases become more and more essential and necessary. Recently, the shoulder implant X-ray image classification (SIXIC) dataset that includes X-ray images of implanted shoulder prostheses produced by four manufacturers was released. The implant's model detection helps to select the correct equipment and procedures in the upcoming surgery.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes a robust model named X-Net to improve the predictability for shoulder implants X-ray image classification in the SIXIC dataset. The X-Net model utilizes the Squeeze and Excitation (SE) block integrated into Residual Network (ResNet) module. The SE module aims to weigh each feature map extracted from ResNet, which aids in improving the performance. The feature extraction process of X-Net model is performed by both modules: ResNet and SE modules. The final feature is obtained by incorporating the extracted features from the above steps, which brings more important characteristics of X-ray images in the input dataset. Next, X-Net uses this fine-grained feature to classify the input images into four classes (Cofield, Depuy, Zimmer and Tornier) in the SIXIC dataset.
Findings
Experiments are conducted to show the proposed approach's effectiveness compared with other state-of-the-art methods for SIXIC. The experimental results indicate that the approach outperforms the various experimental methods in terms of several performance metrics. In addition, the proposed approach provides the new state of the art results in all performance metrics, such as accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score and area under the curve (AUC), for the experimental dataset.
Originality/value
The proposed method with high predictive performance can be used to assist in the treatment of injured shoulder joints.
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Entrepreneurs may wish to be selective about which relatives to include or exclude in their businesses. For example, their child might be inept but their niece might be…
Abstract
Entrepreneurs may wish to be selective about which relatives to include or exclude in their businesses. For example, their child might be inept but their niece might be outstanding. What aspects of kinship systems affect their ability to make these sorts of choices? What enables them to bend their ties of kinship and marriage to the interests of their business? Most broadly, what dimensions of kinship lend themselves to tactical or instrumental actions? This question is sweeping just as my meaning of “entrepreneurs” is very broad: those who take actions with the goal of growing their capital (Stewart, 1991). This capital may take the form of newly started ventures, dynastic firms, or even in precapitalist systems other social forms, for example, rural estates farmed by followers.
Educators who work in K-12 educational settings have only begun to make sense of the many consequences the COVID-19 pandemic has had for students. Months of remote teaching and…
Abstract
Educators who work in K-12 educational settings have only begun to make sense of the many consequences the COVID-19 pandemic has had for students. Months of remote teaching and learning have made one thing quite clear; the academic, physical, and mental health benefits of in-person schooling are difficult to replicate through online learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated the importance of social emotional learning (SEL) as children have experienced substantial reductions in social contact with peers while attending school remotely. Given the profound impact this past year has had on children’s social emotional (SE) health, it has never been more important for educators, parents, and caregivers to support student’s SE health. While it may be tempting to put student’ SE well-being on the back burner as we scramble to make up for lost learning; we stand at a crossroad. We can radically weave SEL into the school day to ensure students continue to develop critical SE skills in a socially distanced world or we can fall back on business as usual.
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Cheng‐An Tsai and Chao‐Tung Wen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of relational embeddedness on entrepreneurship in Taiwanese subsidiaries in China that are facing an uncertain and emerging…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of relational embeddedness on entrepreneurship in Taiwanese subsidiaries in China that are facing an uncertain and emerging environment.
Design/methodology/approach
First, four case studies are conducted to modify theoretical concepts and measuring instruments to fit them into the entrepreneurial context of multinational subsidiaries in a transitional economy. In the second stage, a survey is conducted to examine the associations between relational embeddedness and subsidiary entrepreneurship. A total of 265 executive officers, which is approximately 29 percent of 922 managers in the mailing list, reply to the questionnaire on their subsidiaries.
Findings
This study finds that subsidiary entrepreneurship has an inverse U‐shaped relationship with regards to customer or supplier relational embeddedness, a positive relationship with corporate relational embeddedness and no relationship with government relational embeddedness.
Originality/value
Based on this study of Taiwanese subsidiaries operating in China there is an inverse‐U‐shaped link between relational embeddedness and customers and suppliers. Hence, this study confirms that over‐embeddedness with customers or suppliers negatively influences subsidiary entrepreneurship.
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Martine Lappé and Hannah Landecker
This study analyzes the rise of genome instability in the life sciences and traces the problematic of instability as it relates to the sociology of health. Genome instability is…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes the rise of genome instability in the life sciences and traces the problematic of instability as it relates to the sociology of health. Genome instability is the study of how genomes change and become variable between generations and within organisms over the life span. Genome instability reflects a significant departure from the Platonic genome imagined during the Human Genome Project. The aim of this chapter is to explain and analyze research on copy number variation and somatic mosaicism to consider the implications of these sciences for sociologists interested in genomics.
Methodology/approach
This chapter draws on two multi-sited ethnographies of contemporary biomedical science and literature in the sociology of health, science, and biomedicine to document a shift in thinking about the genome from fixed and universal to highly variable and influenced by time and context.
Findings
Genomic instability has become a framework for addressing how genomes change and become variable between generations and within organisms over the life span. Instability is a useful framework for analyzing changes in the life sciences in the post-genomic era.
Research implications
Genome instability requires life scientists to address how differences both within and between individuals articulate with shifting disease categories and classifications. For sociologists, these findings have implications for studies of identity, sociality, and clinical experience.
Originality/value
This is the first sociological analysis of genomic instability. It identifies practical and conceptual implications of genomic instability for life scientists and helps sociologists delineate new approaches to the study of genomics in the post-genomic era.
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Laura Caulfield and Bozena Sojka
Previous research has demonstrated the positive impact of participation in a music programme run by a Youth Offending Team in England (Caulfield et al., 2020). While the previous…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research has demonstrated the positive impact of participation in a music programme run by a Youth Offending Team in England (Caulfield et al., 2020). While the previous research focused solely on children involved with the criminal justice system, the purpose of this current paper is to report findings from research extended to young people identified as ‘at risk’ of involvement with the criminal justice system, vulnerable, or disengaged.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-methods approach was taken, using quantitative measures of the primary outcomes (educational engagement, well-being, musical development and attitudes and behaviour), complemented and extended by semi-structured interviews with a sample of participants.
Findings
Analysis of the quantitative data from 57 participants showed significant improvements in self-reported engagement with education, musical ability and well-being. In-depth interviews with 11 participants added a depth of understanding about children’s experiences of the programme and the impact they felt, providing a safe space and improved confidence and well-being.
Originality/value
This paper builds on previous research in schools and youth justice settings by presenting findings on the impact of a music programme on the educational engagement and well-being of children identified as at-risk of offending, vulnerable or disengaged.