Ashima Gupta and Mini K. Sheth
Gujarati households are known for high consumption of edible oil and fried foods. However, there is lack of information on their knowledge about its use for various preparations…
Abstract
Purpose
Gujarati households are known for high consumption of edible oil and fried foods. However, there is lack of information on their knowledge about its use for various preparations and associated health risks. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Guajarati housewives in the age group of 30‐65 years were surveyed from five different zones of Vadodara. Information on their knowledge about the use of edible oils and associated health risks was collected using a pre‐tested structured questionnaire and food frequency questionnaire.
Findings
Only 5 percent subjects consumed deep fried foods daily. Odds ratio showed high association (OR=4.50) between daily consumption of deep fried food and obesity. Significant association (p<0.05) and high odds ratio (5.13) were seen between daily consumption of shallow fried foods and presence of diabetes. Obesity and hypertension were seen in 54.1 and 15.8 percent subjects, respectively. About 24 percent families used hydrogenated vegetable oil (vanaspati) for cooking purposes. Butter and ghee rich in saturated fats were regularly used by most families.
Practical implications
Poor knowledge amongst the Gujarati housewives on the correct use of fats and oils in their daily diets calls for an exhaustive education program to reduce high prevalence of obesity and other co‐morbidities prevalent in this part of the country.
Originality/value
This is an original research work completed in September 2011.
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Wilson K.S. Leung, Sally P.M. Law, Man Lai Cheung, Man Kit Chang, Chung-Yin Lai and Na Liu
There are two main objectives in this study. First, we aim to develop a set of constructs for health task management support (HTMS) features to evaluate which health-related tasks…
Abstract
Purpose
There are two main objectives in this study. First, we aim to develop a set of constructs for health task management support (HTMS) features to evaluate which health-related tasks are supported by mobile health application (mHealth app) functions. Second, drawing on innovation resistance theory (IRT), we examine the impacts of the newly developed HTMS dimensions on perceived usefulness, alongside other barrier factors contributing to technology anxiety.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a mixed-method research design, this research seeks to develop new measurement scales that reflect how mHealth apps support older adults’ health-related needs based on interviews. Subsequently, data were collected from older adults and exploratory factor analysis was used to confirm the validity of the new scales. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze survey data from 602 older adults.
Findings
The PLS-SEM results indicated that medical management task support, dietary task support, and exercise task support were positively associated with perceived usefulness, while perceived complexity and dispositional resistance to change were identified as antecedents of technology anxiety. Perceived usefulness and technology anxiety were found to positively and negatively influence adoption intention, respectively.
Originality/value
This study enriches the information systems literature by developing a multidimensional construct that delineates how older adults’ health-related needs can be supported by features of mHealth apps. Drawing on IRT, we complement the existing literature on resistance to innovation by systematically examining the impact of five types of barriers on technology anxiety.
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Mini Sheth, Ashima Gupta and Tejal Ambegaonkar
The purpose of this paper is to report the hygiene and sanitation practices of restaurant food handlers of urban Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report the hygiene and sanitation practices of restaurant food handlers of urban Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 55 food handlers were purposively selected, to study their personal hygiene and unit hygiene practices using semi‐structured questionnaire and observation schedules, from 40 small and medium‐sized restaurants of urban Vadodara. Microbial analysis of five samples, namely, hand rinse sample, table mop cloth, towel, knife and plate swabs was carried out to determine the total plate count and presence of Staphylococcus aureus, Coliform counts, Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli 0157:H7.
Findings
Most food handlers exhibited poor personal hygiene and poor personal habits. E. coli 0157:H7 was detected in two out of three knife samples and table mop cloth samples; Salmonella was detected in one of the table mops cloths and two hand towel samples, respectively. Two of the table mop cloth samples also indicated presence of Shigella.
Research limitations/implications
The survey of food handlers implies gross violation of codex guidelines laid down for safe cooking and services practices for small and medium‐sized restaurants.
Practical implications
Consumption of foods at small and medium‐sized restaurants of urban Vadodara poses a high risk for the consumers.
Originality/value
This is an original study which should act as an eye opener for the food safety officers who need to enforce the food safety laws more stringently, so as to reduce the risk of outbreaks of food borne illnesses in the city of Vadodara.
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V. Kumar, Ankit Anand and Nandini Nim
Traditionally, firms have been dependent on internal sources such as their own employees – and up to a certain extent, on some external sources, their customers – for innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
Traditionally, firms have been dependent on internal sources such as their own employees – and up to a certain extent, on some external sources, their customers – for innovation. However, in the current scenario of technological dynamism, firms are exploring multiple sources to generate ideas for innovation. Therefore, there is a need to understand the relative effect of various sources of innovations on a firm’s performance.
Methodology/approach
We offer a conceptual framework where we identify six distinct sources of innovations – firm, customers, external network, competition, macro-environment, and technology and how they create value for focal firms especially their brand equity. We introduce a taxonomy of various costs and benefits related to innovations. We then argue using our proposed taxonomy to understand the relative strengths of various sources of innovation affecting a firm’s brand equity.
Findings
We discuss and compare the relative effects of these sources of innovations on a firm’s brand equity by rank-ordering the sources. The customers and the technology as a source of innovation have the maximum impact on the firm’s brand equity followed by the marginal impact of macro-environment and external network of a firm. The firm itself has a moderate impact on its brand equity, while competition has the minimal impact. Further, we also discuss how the relationship is moderated by different innovation characteristics (nature and type of innovations).
Practical implications
The main practical implication is to create awareness among managers about various costs and benefits of the proposed six sources of innovations and their effects on brand equity. Managers would be able to prioritize their sources of innovation based on firms’ current needs, and whether to focus on lower costs or building higher brand equity in the scarce resource environment.
Originality/value
We offer a comprehensive list of six sources of innovation, build a conceptual framework wherein we discuss the relative strengths of these sources affecting brand equity.
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Chen Hao and Chen Hai-tao
The purpose of this paper is to examine and explore the factors that drive users to gift through social network services (SNS).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine and explore the factors that drive users to gift through social network services (SNS).
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire method was applied to collect data from the sample of the WeChat users who have used mini-program. This paper employed the partial least squares method and used SmartPLS2.0 to analysis sample data, which examined the validity as well as reliability of the sample and further tested the hypotheses by the path coefficients.
Findings
The empirical results showed that pleasure, social relationship maintenance, convenience and comprehensiveness are significantly related to SNS gifting behavior, and conscientiousness moderates the relationship between intention and behavior in the context of SNS gifting. However, this study cannot find the effect of symbolic representation, impersonality and gift reciprocity motivations.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, this study perfects the research of SNS gifting on the lack of exploring characteristics of comprehensiveness. Practically, this paper lends insights on how SNS providers attract users to adopt gifting.
Originality/value
SNS gifting lacks a complete and effective promotion strategy, resulting in a small number of users as well as low profit. Besides, prior studies have focused on tradition gifting and online gifting. Little research talks about gifting on SNS phenomena, and thus it is necessary to perfect the theory of SNS gifting.
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The purpose of this paper is to stimulate historical thinking in dealing with problems of marketing thought, by explaining the advantages of studying the history of a discipline's…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to stimulate historical thinking in dealing with problems of marketing thought, by explaining the advantages of studying the history of a discipline's ideas; examining what has been included in prior histories; and evaluating the completeness of coverage in Tadajewski and Jones' (2008) The History of Marketing Thought.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a comparative analysis based upon prior histories of marketing thought.
Findings
For teaching, with modest supplementation, The History of Marketing Thought provides a full appreciation of the intellectual heritage of marketing. For research purposes, The History of Marketing Thought does reasonably well in organizing concepts and theories into schools of marketing thought but less well in showing how these ideas can be organized across the readings to produce new knowledge.
Practical implications
There were some important omissions in the collection. Marketing's leading thinker was largely neglected and many significant problems for marketing thought are overlooked. There was no discussion of methodological issues and minimal editorial commentary connected the parts and sections to provide a research thrust to the work. Consequently, it is recommended that another volume or two be added to this set.
Originality/value
The educational value of this work is in transmitting the knowledge base of the discipline from one generation of marketing scholars to the next. It is only after the ideas developed by earlier marketing thinkers are fully understood that innovative theories can be constructed and new knowledge created.
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Mahima Mathur, Ritu Mehta and Sanjeev Swami
This paper develops a comprehensive marketing framework that firms could use as a foundation for developing a successful business model that ensures sustainability in BOP markets.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper develops a comprehensive marketing framework that firms could use as a foundation for developing a successful business model that ensures sustainability in BOP markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a qualitative research approach based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with founders or senior managers of Indian firms who have been successfully operating in the Indian BOP market. The data is then systematically coded and categorized with the help of software to get better insights.
Findings
The findings of the paper indicate that although the traditional 4As of marketing are important, they do not explain the success of firms adequately. Based on the findings of the interviews, we propose an 8A model that comprises the original 4As along with adaptability, assistance, action innovation and accelerating scale.
Practical implications
The proposed 8A framework would be useful for domestic and multi-national firms aiming to make a foray into the Indian BOP market.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature on the BOP market by identifying the factors important for succeeding in the BOP market. It builds on the 4A model to propose 8As marketing framework in the context of BOP markets.
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Allan H. Church, Christopher T. Rotolo, Alyson Margulies, Matthew J. Del Giudice, Nicole M. Ginther, Rebecca Levine, Jennifer Novakoske and Michael D. Tuller
Organization development is focused on implementing a planned process of positive humanistic change in organizations through the use of social science theory, action research, and…
Abstract
Organization development is focused on implementing a planned process of positive humanistic change in organizations through the use of social science theory, action research, and data-based feedback methods. The role of personality in that change process, however, has historically been ignored or relegated to a limited set of interventions. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a conceptual overview of the linkages between personality and OD, discuss the current state of personality in the field including key trends in talent management, and offer a new multi-level framework for conceptualizing applications of personality for different types of OD efforts. The chapter concludes with implications for research and practice.