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1 – 10 of 97A. Subramanian, P. Rajendran, N. Natesan, K. Balakrishnan and T. Vasudevan
Atmospheric corrosion of mild steel, copper and zinc was studied in SO2 environment under dynamic flow conditions by weight loss measurements, and their corrosion prevention by…
Abstract
Atmospheric corrosion of mild steel, copper and zinc was studied in SO2 environment under dynamic flow conditions by weight loss measurements, and their corrosion prevention by the use of volatile corrosion inhibitors such as cyclohexylamine (CHA) and dicyclohexylamine (DCHA) is discussed. These studies assume importance as SO2 is one of the dominant pollutants in the atmosphere and more so in industrial belts affecting the stability of metal articles to a greater extent.
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N. Chinna Natesan, Michael J. Keeffe and John R. Darling
The basis of global business operations in the twenty‐first century is knowledge. The Hindu scriptural reference, the Bhagavad Gita, interpreted as “Celestial Song” or “Song of…
Abstract
Purpose
The basis of global business operations in the twenty‐first century is knowledge. The Hindu scriptural reference, the Bhagavad Gita, interpreted as “Celestial Song” or “Song of God,” is quickly becoming a critical resource in this relatively new paradigm. This paper aims to draw lessons from this.
Design/methodology/approach
The Gita is a summary of the essence of Hindu teaching and wisdom. It is a philosophical foundation from which a deeper understanding of successful solutions to management leadership issues and business practices are emerging. The paper focuses on an analysis of the primary elements found in the Gita.
Findings
The Gita's essence of Yoga, Dharma, Dhyana, Samabhava, Nishkama Karma, and Tat‐Twam‐Asi provides the keys for influencing contemporary management thought and global business practices. Yoga is the gaining of mastery over the body and mind through self‐discipline. Dharma focuses on finding a higher calling or mission in life and a calling to fulfill one's purpose or duty. Dhyana encompasses the process of identifying a higher calling by becoming rooted in one's inner strengths and potential through meditation. Samabhava is the calling to interact with the external world in achieving one's duty with equanimity. Nishkama Karma refers to developing a detached involvement by doing one's duty objectively without worrying about the consequences. And Tat‐Twam‐Asi is the recognition of the interconnectedness of nature, the human, and the spiritual. It encourages managers to look at the big picture, a holistic view, for guidance with a realization that there can be no simultaneous winners and losers. When managers change their outlook, success is enhanced.
Originality/value
The paper offers valuable insights into the lessons that can be learned from the Hindu Bhagavad Gita.
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Cristina Calvo-Porral and Jean-Pierre Lévy-Mangin
The purpose of this paper is to focus in customer-based store brand value by comparing three different retailing formats – supermarkets, hypermarkets and discounters – in order to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus in customer-based store brand value by comparing three different retailing formats – supermarkets, hypermarkets and discounters – in order to assess how store brand value stems from and to understand the store format influence.
Design/methodology/approach
Respondents were randomly selected and data were collected using an on-line structured questionnaire, focussing on Spanish large retailers. Then, hypotheses were tested performing structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results suggest that perceived quality, price image along with store commercial image have significant positive influence on store brand value and purchase intent. Moreover, store brands’ performance in the marketplace depends on different variables across the analyzed retailing formats.
Research limitations/implications
These variables may be managed by retailers in order to enhance their own brands’ value proposition. These research implications should be considered within the context of a geographical limitation, despite providing the basis for further research on the topic.
Originality/value
The study adds to the growing literature in retailing a cross-store format comparative analysis, remaining a deeper understanding on how store brands create value from the consumers’ standpoint, based on an empirical research in a European developed market.
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Avinandan Mukherjee and John McGinnis
Healthcare is among the fastest‐growing sectors in both developed and emerging economies. E‐healthcare is contributing to the explosive growth within this industry by utilizing…
Abstract
Purpose
Healthcare is among the fastest‐growing sectors in both developed and emerging economies. E‐healthcare is contributing to the explosive growth within this industry by utilizing the internet and all its capabilities to support its stakeholders with information searches and communication processes. The purpose of this paper is to present the state‐of‐the‐art and to identify key themes in research on e‐healthcare.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the literature in the marketing and management of e‐healthcare was conducted to determine the major themes pertinent to e‐healthcare research as well as the commonalities and differences within these themes.
Findings
Based on the literature review, the five major themes of e‐healthcare research identified are: cost savings; virtual networking; electronic medical records; source credibility and privacy concerns; and physician‐patient relationships.
Originality/value
Based on these major themes, managerial implications for e‐healthcare are formulated. Suggestions are offered to facilitate healthcare service organizations' attempts to further implement and properly utilize e‐healthcare in their facilities. These propositions will also help these stakeholders develop and streamline their e‐healthcare processes already in use. E‐healthcare systems enable firms to improve efficiency, to reduce costs, and to facilitate the coordination of care across multiple facilities.
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Lynn Goetzinger, Jungkun Park, Yun Jung Lee and Rick Widdows
The search for online health‐related information has become increasingly popular. This study examines online health information quality (relevance and clarity) and the perceived…
Abstract
Purpose
The search for online health‐related information has become increasingly popular. This study examines online health information quality (relevance and clarity) and the perceived value of online health information search (social, utilitarian and epistemic) and how they relate to consumers' satisfaction with their online health information search experience. The resulting intention to repeat a health information search over the internet is also included in a conceptual model to illustrate what drives the process.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modeling was utilized to simultaneously assess the proposed relationships among the constructs. Data from 263 online respondents were used to test the measurement and structural model.
Findings
Results show that information relevance is strongly related to the utilitarian value consumers receive from information seeking, whereas information clarity is strongly related to epistemic value. Moreover, it is the utilitarian value of the information search that drives satisfaction with and intention to repeat online health information search.
Research limitations/implications
Suggestions for web site designers in the healthcare industry and health care professionals are addressed. Web site designers should stress practical and functional features of web sites, while health care professionals should direct patients toward web sites that will provide users with the most utilitarian value. Although the study is limited by its online data collection, results provide an initial attempt to develop a conceptual model that explains what may be happening within the world of online health information search behavior. Future research should address the exclusion of potentially important variables including internet skill level and specific types of searches.
Originality/value
This study is unique in that it provides web site designers and health care professionals with clear insight into specific dimensions of online health information and value.
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The paper aims to understand and expand the idea of capitalist accumulation process from social structures of accumulation theory to religious structures of accumulation within…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to understand and expand the idea of capitalist accumulation process from social structures of accumulation theory to religious structures of accumulation within the Indian context. It analyses the philosophical tenets of Hindu religious philosophy as outlined in the Bhagavad Gita. It argues that the ideological narratives within the Bhagavad Gita are concomitant with the logic of capitalism.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws its methodological lineage to nonlinear historical narrative around the concept and construction of Asiatic modes of production debate. The paper follows discourse analysis to locate how the Hindu religion as outlined in Bhagavad Gita provides philosophical foundation to capitalism in India.
Findings
The Bhagavad Gita (Songs of God) gives social and spiritual legitimacy to a specific form of production and accumulation processes by rationalizing and justifying socio-economic stratification based on eternal inequality. The paper focuses on the interface between cardinal principles of Hindu religion as outlined in the Bhagavad Gita and capitalist modes of social and economic processes in India.
Originality/value
The paper aims to advance a new concept called “Hindu modes of accumulation” by advancing the theoretical understanding of the theological processes in the Hindu religion, which reinforces capitalism and capitalist social relations in India.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyse how five price image dimensions influence shopping intentions for different store formats.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse how five price image dimensions influence shopping intentions for different store formats.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 306 espondents evaluated three stores from a list of 18 retailers on a multiple‐item scale, resulting in 918 price‐image measurements. Based on these data, a covariance structure analysis in Mplus analyses the direct and indirect impact of five price image dimensions on shopping intentions. A multiple group analysis identifies differences in the effects between store formats.
Findings
The impact of image dimensions differs substantially between store formats. For discount stores, value for money is by far the most important image dimension. For supermarkets, price level and value are equally important, but price perceptibility and price processibility are also relevant. For organic food stores, value is most important, followed by price processibility and evaluation certainty. For the weekly market, price perceptibility plays a key role in explaining customers' shopping intentions.
Practical implications
The results carry several implications for retail pricing practice, as they indicate that retailers should not focus exclusively on price level competition. Depending on the store format, retailers should attach importance to the price image dimensions in varying degrees.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature by: advancing price‐image measurement; modelling direct effects on shopping intentions; analysing a number of different indirect effects in an integrated model; and taking the moderating effects of store format into account.
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The purpose of this paper is exploratory. The author seeks to put forward propositions on how firms may best conceive business risks in an environment characterised by constant…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is exploratory. The author seeks to put forward propositions on how firms may best conceive business risks in an environment characterised by constant change and uncertainty. To construct such a reality, the author examines how the military manages its engagement with strategic risk and uncertainty.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a summated examination of literature published over the last four decades covering three major areas of management literature; risk management, competitive strategy and military tactics are conducted.
Findings
The propositions which are put forward provide the foundation for the empirical development of an appropriate framework for strategic risk management.
Originality/value
The major contribution of the study is that it has focused readers on not only strategic risk and competition, but on how lessons can be drawn from the military's experience of dealing with irregular forms of competition.
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Japanese General Trading Companies or sogo shoshas have been instrumental in the phenomenal Japanese economic miracle of the last 40 years. In 1982, the USA passed the Export…
Abstract
Japanese General Trading Companies or sogo shoshas have been instrumental in the phenomenal Japanese economic miracle of the last 40 years. In 1982, the USA passed the Export Trading Company Act to home grow its own sogo shoshas; to date the Act has been ineffective ‐ yet the need remains. Examines what trading companies are and what functions they perform. Observes the steps that need to be taken to make them profitable and successful. Postulates that trading companies are an integral part of this country’s future.
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