Mauro Díaz Moreno, Nathalia Alarcón Ayala, Yarelix Estrada, Vannesa Morris and Julián Quintero
The purpose of this paper is to present the results and context of the drug checking service (DCS) performed by the harm reduction project Échele Cabeza (EC) in Colombia.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the results and context of the drug checking service (DCS) performed by the harm reduction project Échele Cabeza (EC) in Colombia.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from several years are presented with a focus on data from 2021. In 2021, data were derived from 2,339 questionnaires filled out by DCS users and a total of 2,868 drug checking test results from samples collected at the fixed-site service in Bogotá and 30 music festivals in 8 cities nationwide.
Findings
The tusi phenomenon is gaining strength in Colombia revealing a problem associated with the changing makeup of tusi and, thus, polydrug use. MDMA adulteration and misrepresentations have increased in comparison to 2019. There is an increasing number of people who want to use the DCS in Colombia, which is encouraging but also exposes the limitations of the drug checking methods available to EC.
Originality/value
This paper offers the first publication of the pioneering drug checking organization EC in Latin America.
Details
Keywords
Ismael San Mauro Martin, Juanjo Nava Mateo, Jesús Ortiz Rincón, Marta Villanueva Nieto, Elena Ávila Díaz, Sara Sanz Rojo, Licia de la Calle, Yaiza Quevedo Santos, Paloma Elortegui Pascual, Víctor Paredes Barato, Sara López Oliva and Elena Garicano Vilar
The world’s aging population has led to a greater use of prescription and non-prescription medication by the elderly. Besides, older drinkers consume alcohol often regardless of…
Abstract
Purpose
The world’s aging population has led to a greater use of prescription and non-prescription medication by the elderly. Besides, older drinkers consume alcohol often regardless of the medication they consume. The purpose of this paper is to examine the intake of medication and alcohol simultaneously in a group of elderly in the community of Madrid, and the possible differences in consumption between men and women.
Design/methodology/approach
An observational cross-sectional study of 342 elderly in Madrid, aged 65–96 years was conducted, including the collection of anthropometric data (weight, height, waist circumference, BMI), information about the quantity of daily alcohol intake and medication taken from each subject.
Findings
A high percentage of the sample used medication, especially women. A smaller percentage of the sample consumed alcohol, being more frequent among men and decreasing with age. In addition, almost half of the sample (46.4 percent) combined medication intake with alcohol, especially men. High alcohol consumption was observed simultaneously in those subjects taking medication; in addition to the non-perception of the real risk to health. Statistically significant sex differences were observed, since men drank more, including when taking medication; although women may be more vulnerable to harm derived from alcohol.
Originality/value
This study contributed to estimate the risk to the public health of old people, and the integrity of their health, by observing the consumption of both medication and alcohol, given that medication taken in conjunction with alcohol can cause adverse side effects.
Details
Keywords
Mauro Dini, Simone Splendiani, Laura Bravi and Tonino Pencarelli
This paper aims to deepen understanding of the role played by new technological tools used in customer–travel agency (TA) interactions by analysing the TA owner/managers'…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to deepen understanding of the role played by new technological tools used in customer–travel agency (TA) interactions by analysing the TA owner/managers' perceptions, pre- and post-Covid-19, regarding the effectiveness of in-store traditional and innovative tools.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study is based on a questionnaire-based survey conducted among Italian TAs and distributed via email from September 2020 to January 2021.
Findings
The study highlights how, even among TAs, the role of in-store technology is gradually taking on greater importance, and it delves into the specific business and socio-demographic factors that seem to cause differences among agencies.
Research limitations/implications
The study focuses on the Italian context, which does not allow for any generalisations. Furthermore, it is only the travel agent perspective that is observed and not the consumer's.
Originality/value
In addition to helping to bridge the literature gap, this study on in-store technologies focuses on the TAs sector, where human resources and human relationships play a decisive role in customer experience and interaction. The paper investigates the travel agents' point of view regarding the introduction of new in-store technologies; it also highlights their growing adoption and use, overall, despite the travel catalogue still remaining the main tool for interacting with customers. The study also shows how the advent of Covid-19 has increased travel agents' propensity to use digital technologies.
Details
Keywords
Simone Splendiani, Mauro Dini, Francesca Rivetti and Tonino Pencarelli
The purpose of the present study is to investigate travel agencies' social media usage and its perceived effectiveness by small- and micro-Italian travel agencies; the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the present study is to investigate travel agencies' social media usage and its perceived effectiveness by small- and micro-Italian travel agencies; the pre-pandemic period is compared to the forecasts for the post-Covid-19 period and different characteristics of firms and entrepreneurs are considered. Furthermore, the study analyses the expected benefits in terms of marketing objectives, such as improving brand image and/or personalizing the offer.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was developed through a questionnaire administered electronically to travel agents (282 respondents). The resulting data was analyzed by applying the McNemar test, a pairwise t-test and the multivariate analysis of variance.
Findings
The results show that social media are strategically significant for travel agents, even though their adoption is influenced by different agency aims; the perceived effectiveness results are diversified according to varying agency typologies.
Research limitations/implications
The two main limitations of the study are its focus on the Italian context only and the missing consideration of the consumer's point of view. The latter prevents an exhaustive assessment of future trends regarding the use of social media in the client–agency relationship.
Originality/value
The study, which focuses on a little debated topic concerning the relationship between social media and SMEs, organically explores various dimensions related to the adoption of social media by small agencies, also considering the impact of the Covid-19 on the perception of travel agents. As a further element of originality, the research takes into consideration the main social platforms separately rather than the set of tools as a whole.
Details
Keywords
José Manuel Montero Guerra and Ignacio Danvila-Del Valle
This article aims to examine whether the organizational changes brought about by digital transformation (DT) -such as a new organizational culture, new leadership and new business…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to examine whether the organizational changes brought about by digital transformation (DT) -such as a new organizational culture, new leadership and new business models-influence talent management, with the latter being seen as one of the major challenges facing companies in their process of digital transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a quantitative methodology, a survey was applied to 314 companies in order to analyze the results of their talent management in the DT process. DT is not only digitalization as demonstrated in this study. Talent management is the key piece that can facilitate or block achieving high levels of digital maturity.
Findings
The study finds that the changes brought about by DT impact talent attraction, talent retention, and talent management in general, and also shows that digital transformation does not depend on digitalization, but rather that talent management is the key to either helping or preventing high levels of digital maturity being achieved.
Originality/value
The originality of this work lies in examining the influence of the changes that DT entails in talent management.
Details
Keywords
Olusola Joshua Olujobi and Oshobugie Suleiman Irumekhai
The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise the intricate relationship between the inadequate enforcement of anti-corruption laws and the application of good governance and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise the intricate relationship between the inadequate enforcement of anti-corruption laws and the application of good governance and the persisting prevalence of coups d'état and poverty in Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a doctrinal legal research approach, synthesising existing literature while extensively analysing primary and secondary legal sources. Its primary aim is to scrutinise the intricate relationship between the inadequate enforcement of anti-corruption laws and the application of good governance and the persisting prevalence of coups d'état and poverty in Africa. The choice of case study countries Burkina Faso, Chad, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Sudan stems from their historical significance, regional diversity, data accessibility and potential insights into the interplay among anti-corruption enforcement, governance, poverty and coups d'état in Africa.
Findings
The enforcement of anti-corruption laws and the promotion of good governance are indispensable for democracy and economic stability; their suboptimal enforcement directly contributes to coups d'état and the worsening of poverty in African nations. It emphasises the imperative for African countries to consistently and proficiently enforce anti-corruption laws and adhere to principles of good governance, effectively and responsibly, to mitigate coups d'état and alleviate poverty in the region.
Originality/value
This study designs a model strategy for combating coups d'état and corruption in Africa as contribution to knowledge in the field of study.
Details
Keywords
Ahmed Zaky, Hassan Mohamed and Gunjan Saxena
This study aims to conceptualise the panic buying behaviour of consumers in the UK during the novel COVID-19 crisis, using the assemblage approach as it is non-deterministic and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to conceptualise the panic buying behaviour of consumers in the UK during the novel COVID-19 crisis, using the assemblage approach as it is non-deterministic and relational and affords new ways of understanding the phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
The study undertakes a digital ethnography approach and content analysis of Twitter data. A total of 6,803 valid tweets were collected over the period when panic buying was at its peak at the beginning of the first lockdown in March 2020.
Findings
The panic buying phase was a radical departure from the existing linguistic, discursive, symbolic and semiotic structures that define routine consumer behaviour. The authors suggest that the panic buying behaviour is best understood as a constant state of becoming, whereby stockpiling, food waste and a surge in cooking at home emerged as significant contributors to positive consumer sentiments.
Research limitations/implications
The authors offer unique insights into the phenomenon of panic buying by considering DeLanda’s assemblage theory. This work will inform future research associated with new social meanings of products, particularly those that may have been (re)shaped during the COVID-19 crisis.
Practical implications
The study offers insights for practitioners and retailers to lessen the intensity of consumers’ panic buying behaviour in anticipation of a crisis and for successful crisis management.
Originality/value
Panic buying took on a somewhat carnivalesque hue as consumers transitioned to what we consider to be atypical modes of purchasing that remain under-theorised in marketing. Using the conceptual lenses of assemblage, the authors map bifurcations that the panic buyers’ assemblages articulated via material and immaterial bodies.
Details
Keywords
Mauro Fracarolli Nunes, Camila Lee Park and Ely Laureano Paiva
The study investigates the interaction of sustainability dimensions in supply chains. Along with the analysis of sustainability trade-offs (i.e. prioritizing one dimension to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The study investigates the interaction of sustainability dimensions in supply chains. Along with the analysis of sustainability trade-offs (i.e. prioritizing one dimension to the sacrifice of others), we develop and test the concept of cross-insurance mechanism (i.e. meeting of one sustainability goal possibly attenuating the effects of poor performance in another).
Design/methodology/approach
Through the analysis of a 20-variation vignette-based experiment, we evaluate the effects of these issues on the corporate credibility (expertise and trustworthiness) of four tiers of a typical food supply chain: pesticide producers, farmers, companies from the food industry and retail chains.
Findings
Results suggest that both sustainability trade-offs and cross-insurance mechanisms have different impacts across the chain. While pesticide producers (first tier) and retail chains (fourth tier) seem to respond better to a social trade-off, the social cross-insurance mechanism has shown to be particularly beneficial to companies from the food industry (third tier). Farmers (second tier), in turn, seem to be more sensitive to the economic cross-insurance mechanism.
Originality/value
Along with adding to the study of sustainability trade-offs in supply chain contexts, results suggest that the efficiency of the insurance mechanism is not conditional on the alignment among sustainability dimensions (i.e. social responsibility attenuating social irresponsibility). In this sense, empirical evidences support the development of the cross-insurance mechanism as an original concept.
Details
Keywords
Benjamin Nitsche and Christian F. Durach
A conceptual framework of supply chain volatility (SCV) is developed to help researchers and practitioners converge their discussions and understandings on this vital phenomenon…
Abstract
Purpose
A conceptual framework of supply chain volatility (SCV) is developed to help researchers and practitioners converge their discussions and understandings on this vital phenomenon. Sources, dimensions and moderators of SCV are investigated and a conceptual framework is proposed. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Data triangulation was performed through reviewing 2,789 peer-reviewed articles and conducting a group exercise with 23 practitioners. Consequently, 364 sources were identified. Through a structured synthesis process that built on the Q-methodology with multiple academics, a framework of meta-level sources, dimensions and moderators of SCV was developed. An additional on-site meeting with 17 practitioners was conducted aiming at delineating the dimensions by their effect on SCV.
Findings
The authors propose 20 meta-level sources that contribute to five distinct dimensions of SCV, proposing behavior of customers and decision makers as contextual moderating variables. A classification scheme consisting of three descriptive SCV-affecting characteristics is proposed to delineate the dimension’s effect on SCV: relative deviating impact, repetitiveness and influenceability. Results are summarized in 15 propositions.
Research limitations/implications
The paper extends knowledge on SCV and provides a coherent conceptualization of the phenomenon for future research. The proposed framework demands quantitative testing to derive more reliable conclusions.
Practical implications
The framework aims at reducing the gap between research and practice. It helps managers to understand researchers’ discussions and how to derive expedient implications from them.
Originality/value
It is the first study that systematically synthesizes widely spread literature in this field to derive a conceptual framework that seeks to explain SCV in a holistic way.