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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1960

N.T. Shideler

Coal‐tar and asphalt‐base coatings have been the major protective coatings used on pipelines for nearly half a century. The coal‐tar coatings are the only ones recognised for use…

44

Abstract

Coal‐tar and asphalt‐base coatings have been the major protective coatings used on pipelines for nearly half a century. The coal‐tar coatings are the only ones recognised for use as a lining and coating for water‐lines, but in oil and gas systems both types are being used. The coal‐tar hot‐applied coatings have dominated even this field. It is estimated that, since the war, the amount of the two types of hot‐applied coatings used in the Western hemisphere has varied between 200,000 and 350,000 tons p.a. and the percentage of hot‐applied asphalts used has varied between 10 and 30%.

Details

Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0003-5599

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Article
Publication date: 26 October 2012

David Shideler and Narine Badasyan

The paper aims to examine the relationship between broadband availability and firm establishment growth rates by employment size and by industry to assess the impact of broadband…

1199

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to examine the relationship between broadband availability and firm establishment growth rates by employment size and by industry to assess the impact of broadband on small business growth in Kentucky.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a modified growth model as the theoretical foundation for empirical analysis.

Findings

Broadband availability does increase growth in small and medium‐sized businesses. While broadband does tend to affect specific industries differently, the scope of the affects is limited to only a few industries: broadband encourages growth in small manufacturing firms, but discourages growth in financial services.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of analysis is limited to the period of 2003‐2005, while some of the counties in Kentucky did not have sizable broadband deployment until 2005. Owing to the lack of data availability, the current research does not consider demand‐side factors, though several industries considered are likely to be demand‐driven rather than cost‐driven.

Originality/value

Utilizing unique broadband saturation data for Kentucky counties, this study presents ex‐post analysis of the effect of broadband deployment on local economies.

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Article
Publication date: 13 April 2015

John Mann and David Shideler

As an economic development strategy, entrepreneurship policies should target innovative activities – those which Schumpeter described as leading to new goods, production methods…

765

Abstract

Purpose

As an economic development strategy, entrepreneurship policies should target innovative activities – those which Schumpeter described as leading to new goods, production methods, markets, input sources, or new industries. However, popular entrepreneurship proxies, such as firm births (<500 employees) and sole proprietorships, capture multiple types of entrepreneurship which may have conflicting qualities. To address the need for more accurate measures of Schumpeterian activity, indices are constructed to specifically measure the relative amount of Schumpeterian activity among US states. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Four composite indices of Schumpeterian activity are constructed using different methods to combine variables related to innovative activity into single indicator, since there is uncertainty about the weighting of dimensions: principal component analysis (PCA), factor analysis (FA), data envelopment analysis and equal weights. Robustness checks were used to compare state rankings across indices. These indices were also compared to common entrepreneurship proxies and real GDP to demonstrate and justify their measurement of Schumpeterian activity.

Findings

The results show that the Schumpeterian Activity Indices (SAIs) similarly rank states and measure phenomena different from the common proxies of entrepreneurship. Furthermore, these indices better predict GDP than the common proxies. Lastly, state rankings based upon the SAIs support previous research suggesting that innovation and agglomeration economies are interrelated.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates a methodology for constructing a measure of innovative activity, which is necessary to develop and evaluate entrepreneurship policy for economic development.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2045-2101

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 August 2018

Giri Aryal, John Mann, Scott Loveridge and Satish Joshi

The innovation creation literature primarily focuses on urban firms/regions or relies heavily on these data; less studied are rural firms and areas in this regard. The purpose of…

2539

Abstract

Purpose

The innovation creation literature primarily focuses on urban firms/regions or relies heavily on these data; less studied are rural firms and areas in this regard. The purpose of this paper is to employ a new firm-level data set, national in scale, and analyze characteristics that potentially influence innovation creation across rural and urban firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the 2014 National Survey of Business Competitiveness (NSBC) covering multiple firm-level variables related to innovation creation combined with secondary data reflecting the regional business and innovative environments where these firms operate. The number of patent applications filed by these firms measures their innovation creation, and the paper employs a negative binomial regression estimation for analysis.

Findings

After controlling for industry, county and state factors, rural and urban firms differ in their innovation creation characteristics and behaviors, suggesting that urban firms capitalize on their resources better than rural firms. Other major findings of the paper provide evidence that: first, for rural firms, the influence of university R&D is relevant to innovation creation, but their perception of university-provided information is not significant; and second, rural firms that are willing to try, but fail, in terms of innovation creation have a slight advantage over other rural firms less willing to take on the risk.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first to analyze the 2014 NSBC, a firm-level national survey covering a wide range of innovation-related variables. The authors combine it with other regional secondary data, and use appropriate analytical modeling to provide empirical evidence of influencing factors on innovation creation across rural and urban firms.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2045-2101

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 26 July 2021

Issaka Dialga and Thomas Vallée

The purpose of this paper is to deal with methodological issues in the Index of Economic Freedom (IEF) building by using principal components analysis (PCA) and benefit of the…

417

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to deal with methodological issues in the Index of Economic Freedom (IEF) building by using principal components analysis (PCA) and benefit of the doubt (BOD) methods to generate component- and country-specific weights in computing the scores.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses endogenous model and country-specific weight system to generate country-specific score unlike the equal weight used by the Heritage Foundation.

Findings

The PCA and BOD analyses provide consistent results that differ dramatically with the baseline ones (results using equal weights).

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of the paper is that the results change depending on the method used.

Practical implications

Given results provided by the PCA and BOD analysis, the IEF would receive broad legitimacy basing the calculation of its scores on endogenous weighting models.

Social implications

As composite indicators are essential in public debates and policies, their construction must be objective and well-known by a large public, making the methodological matters in composite indexes building one of the big challenge to researchers and a major democratic issue.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper is to use endogenous approach to generate weights and countries’ scores.

Details

Studies in Economics and Finance, vol. 38 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1086-7376

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Article
Publication date: 9 August 2011

Paul D. Earl

The purpose of this paper is to examine the meaning and content of the term “orderly marketing” as it was adopted by Western Canadian farm leaders in the 1920s, and to determine…

331

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the meaning and content of the term “orderly marketing” as it was adopted by Western Canadian farm leaders in the 1920s, and to determine whether the expected results of “orderly marketing”, as they were enunciated by farm leaders, were met.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the critique that farm leaders and Wheat Pool officials levelled against the open market, and the way they posited “orderly marketing” as a solution to their perceived problems. Using contemporary data on wheat prices and movements, it analyzes the content of orderly marketing, and the results of its implementation by the Pools.

Findings

The paper finds that “orderly marketing” was primarily a campaign slogan, that the problems it was alleged to address did not exist, and that its implementation by the Wheat Pools did not yield the results that the farm leaders had promised. The paper acknowledges however, the significant accomplishments of these organizations, and postulates that the concept of orderly marketing resonates with aspects of Canadian culture and helps to explain why grain marketing in the USA and Canada evolved so differently.

Originality/value

The agricultural cooperative movement in Western Canada has been the subject of a great deal of historical research, most of it positive. However, there are no recently published qualitative studies of the history of the term, nor in‐depth quantitative analyses of the economic results achieved by the Wheat Pools during the 1920s that compare with the contents of this paper.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 16 November 2015

Heini Maarit Taiminen and Heikki Karjaluoto

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the utilization and goals of digital marketing, and examines factors that influence the adoption and use of digital marketing…

34000

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the utilization and goals of digital marketing, and examines factors that influence the adoption and use of digital marketing channels in SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach

The data comprises semi-structured theme interviews in SMEs among 16 managers and 421 survey respondents in Central Finland.

Findings

The results of this study reveal that SMEs seem not use the full potential of the new digital tools, and so are not deriving benefit from the opportunities they provide. Furthermore, the results also raise the question of whether SMEs have understood the fundamental change in the nature of communication brought about by digitization.

Research limitations/implications

The data comes from one region and thus the research context limits the generalizability of the results.

Practical implications

SMEs seem not to be keeping pace with digital developments, mostly due to the lack of knowledge of digital marketing. Most of the studied SMEs do not apply the full potential of the new digital tools and hence are not benefitting fully from them.

Social implications

Discussions on the future regional development of SMEs have called for training programmes to help SMEs exploit digitization. This is something that the government should take note of.

Originality/value

Whereas the adoption process of new technologies such as IT in general and the internet in particular have been examined in the SME literature, this is among the first studies examining adoption and usage of digital tools from the marketing perspective.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 10 October 2024

Stephanie A. Kolakowsky-Hayner, Kandis Jones, Amanda Kleckner, Kimberly Kuchinski, Alyssa Metzger and Jennifer Schueck-Plominski

Cerebral palsy is one of the leading causes of chronic disability in children. The current pilot study investigated (1) whether an exoskeleton system enables physiological gait…

325

Abstract

Purpose

Cerebral palsy is one of the leading causes of chronic disability in children. The current pilot study investigated (1) whether an exoskeleton system enables physiological gait patterns and (2) whether the system is user-friendly enough to envision its use in a clinical setting.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants included a convenience sample of six children with cerebral palsy. Following informed consent, study volunteers underwent baseline assessments, participated in eight sessions during which they used the exoskeleton system with the objective of achieving proficiency in use of the system, and underwent an end-of-study assessment of walking. Satisfaction and usability questionnaires were given to the family/caregiver.

Findings

All participants achieved a more regular gait pattern and improved their 6-Minute Walk Test scores. Overall satisfaction and usability were rated as good.

Practical implications

The exoskeleton system enabled physiological gait patterns, and the system was user-friendly enough to envision its use in a clinical setting.

Originality/value

There is potential for guiding treatment plans for individuals with cerebral palsy.

Details

Journal of Enabling Technologies, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-6263

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 6 February 2024

Rita de Cássia Leal Campos, Luiz Henrique de Barros Vilas Boas, Daniel Carvalho de Rezende and Delane Botelho

This study aimed to the attributes, consequences and personal values that motivate the behavior of consumers of fruits and vegetables (FV) at local markets and how these elements…

255

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to the attributes, consequences and personal values that motivate the behavior of consumers of fruits and vegetables (FV) at local markets and how these elements are associated with food safety.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a qualitative research that used the laddering in-depth interview technique for data collection. Fifty interviews were conducted with consumers from Minas Gerais, Brazil. From the codification of the interview content, a hierarchical value map was constructed, showing the relationships between the attributes, consequences and values involved in the consumers’ purchasing decision.

Findings

Consumers value characteristics related to the origin of the product and the way it is produced and marketed. They seek particular benefits – such as satisfaction with the purchase, care for their health/well-being and safety when consuming food – and social benefits, such as the possibility of contributing to the local economy. Issues related to hygiene, organization, exposure and handling of products were some of the concerns reported by respondents with regard to food safety.

Research limitations/implications

It is worth highlighting the application of the laddering technique itself. Analyzing the predictive validity of the method, there is a propensity for biases linked to possible interference by the researcher, especially in the coding stage of the elements.

Practical implications

This study can be used by producers, marketing professionals and public policymakers to promote FV sold at local markets and to encourage the improvement of food safety practices.

Originality/value

The research points to five consumer segments according to the different motivations that guide their purchase behavior for local FV. In addition, a focus is given to food safety, revealing its importance in the investigated context.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

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Article
Publication date: 10 January 2023

Lala Hu, Mirko Olivieri and Riccardo Rialti

This paper aims to investigate small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) adoption of social media platforms and how they integrated them within their marketing strategies during the…

1158

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) adoption of social media platforms and how they integrated them within their marketing strategies during the COVID-19 outbreaks. Dynamic capabilities – observed as the interplay between sensing, seizing and reconfiguration capabilities – represent the principal theoretical framework used in this research to explain challenges in social media adoption and their effects on these businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts the grounded theory approach to analyze semistructured interviews with 19 key informants from Italian SMEs belonging to diversified industries.

Findings

The findings of this research are summarized in a holistic framework that explores three types of capabilities (i.e. sensing, seizing and reconfiguration capabilities) and the marketing outcomes of social media adoption among SMEs.

Originality/value

This study attempts to unpack the specific dynamic capabilities that allowed SMEs to be successful in social media adoption during COVID-19 outbreaks.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 38 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

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