Nicola Walsh and Kieran Walshe
Clinical governance is the linchpin of the UK government's quality improvement strategy for the country's National Health Service. Extending quality accreditation programmes from…
Abstract
Clinical governance is the linchpin of the UK government's quality improvement strategy for the country's National Health Service. Extending quality accreditation programmes from hospitals into the primary care sector — local general practice surgeries — presents a critical set of challenges. In this extract from Accreditation in Primary Care, Nicola Walsh and Kieran Walshe explore how to evaluate accreditation initiatives to assure the quality of primary care.
Stephen Abbott, Stephen Harrison and Nicola Walsh
Total purchasing in primary care (TPPC) was piloted in the mid‐1990s, first by four “pioneer sites”, and later by over 80 first and second waves of “pilot sites”. Separate…
Abstract
Total purchasing in primary care (TPPC) was piloted in the mid‐1990s, first by four “pioneer sites”, and later by over 80 first and second waves of “pilot sites”. Separate evaluations of three of the pioneers show that they faced challenges similar to those experienced by the pilot sites, namely: the need to develop organisations which were effective both internally and, in their relationships with other health‐care agencies, externally; and the difficulties encountered when attempting to change the behaviour of local acute care providers. Although GP fund holding and/or TPPC have had some successes in influencing the pattern of delivery for some elective and community services, the challenge of reducing hospital admissions and lengths of stay remains formidable.
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Kevin Quinn Walsh, Reza Jafarzadeh, Nicola M. Short and Jason M. Ingham
The purpose of this article is to assist facilities asset managers who are dealing with regulatory environments pertaining to earthquakes and buildings. These professionals can…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to assist facilities asset managers who are dealing with regulatory environments pertaining to earthquakes and buildings. These professionals can learn a great deal from the successes and short-comings of a case study programme from the Auckland Council Property Department (ACPD), which manages the public facilities portfolio for the largest local administrative region in New Zealand in both population and landmass.
Design/methodology/approach
ACPD has initiated its response to New Zealand’s earthquake mitigation mandates by identifying buildings most at risk to an earthquake in its large and varied portfolio through the use of a rapid building evaluation programme strategically targeted to vulnerable building types with consequential attributes, including service type, number of occupants, floor area and geographic location.
Findings
ACPD was able to rapidly cull down its portfolio of approximately 3,500 buildings to just over 100 “high-exposure” buildings in urgent need of evaluation, set priorities for future evaluations, estimate needed operational and capital expenditures for long-term planning and provide useful information to more general facilities management decision-making processes.
Originality/value
A number of major cities around the world in areas of high seismicity have enacted ordinances mandating seismic retrofitting. However, much of the existing guiding literature regarding earthquake-related portfolio evaluations and costs pertains to specific scenarios involving real or hypothetical earthquakes. This case study, in contrast, details the approach taken by a public portfolio owner responding to legal mandates and attempting to quantify and reduce its life-safety risk exposure across a large portfolio as efficiently as possible using readily available information, a rapid building evaluation programme and best-practice predictive models for consulting and construction work.
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Ivan Russo, Ilenia Confente, David M. Gligor and Nicola Cobelli
This study investigated business-to-business (B2B) repeated purchase intent and its relationships with customer value and customer satisfaction. Additionally, it explored the link…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated business-to-business (B2B) repeated purchase intent and its relationships with customer value and customer satisfaction. Additionally, it explored the link between willingness to purchase again, switching costs and product returns management. Modern customers are more likely to switch suppliers; however, previous research suggests that this behaviour can be attenuated by a robust returns management experience. The purpose of this study was to provide a revised model of B2B repeated purchase intent that integrates the concept of product returns management and switching costs with existing B2B customer repurchase intent models.
Design/methodology/approach
First, a qualitative inquiry based on semi-structured interviews was conducted to test and develop a quantitative survey. Then a survey was then sent to business owners operating in the audiology industry. Finally, there were 317 responses.
Findings
The authors reveal the complex relationship between returns management and repeated purchase intent. Specifically, the authors’ results indicate that the effect of product returns on repurchase intent is opposite to the effect of customer value, depending on the value of customer value. The authors’ findings indicate that even when switching costs are low, firms can positively impact the intent to purchase again in the future if they increase the level of customer satisfaction. In addition, the authors’ findings indicate that in the context of B2B a high/low level of customer satisfaction does not trigger a positive effect of managing product returns on repurchase intent.
Originality/value
This study was the first to introduce the concept of product returns management to research on B2B repurchase intent.
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Helmut M. Dietl, Anil Özdemir and Nicolas Schweizer
The purpose of this paper is to understand and explain why some professional sports organizations outsource their sponsorship-related activities to sports marketing agencies…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand and explain why some professional sports organizations outsource their sponsorship-related activities to sports marketing agencies, whereas others purposely retain these activities in-house.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies transaction cost economics (TCE) and the resource-based view (RBV) to outsourcing of sports sponsorship activities. It examines the extent determinants descending from these theories influence the sourcing choice of professional sports organizations.
Findings
This paper argues that determinants derived from TCE and the RBV are useful to understand the factors likely to influence an outsourcing decision and to analyze which sponsorship-related activities are more or less likely to be outsourced. However, these determinants are insufficient to shed light on why sports organizations arrive at different conclusions about their internal and external environments. With recourse to contingency theory, the authors propose two additional contingencies that affect the sourcing decision: a sport organization’s size and its degree of professionalism. This integrative conceptual framework improves the understanding of sports sponsorship outsourcing, makes several propositions, and paves the way for future empirical research in sports sponsorship.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to apply classical theoretical concepts to outsourcing sports sponsorship activities. As a conceptual paper, it hopes to stimulate further research on outsourcing in sports sponsorship and on the relationship between sports organizations and sports marketing agencies.
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Guido Capaldo, Nicola Costantino, Roberta Pellegrino and Pierluigi Rippa
This paper aims to investigate factors and weaknesses influencing university–industry interactions diffusion and success by focusing on the research services initiatives because…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate factors and weaknesses influencing university–industry interactions diffusion and success by focusing on the research services initiatives because there are limited studies in literature focusing on this specific form of interaction between the two actors.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors carried an explorative research based on multiple case studies referring to research services experienced between two big Italian universities and small and medium-sized enterprises located in the same area.
Findings
By conducting a cross-case analysis, the authors highlight categories of data in terms of factors influencing interactions’ diffusion and success, as perceived by researchers and by firms; and weaknesses in the interactions process to identify suggestions for improving interactions’ diffusion and success, from researchers and firms.
Practical implications
The outcomes provide managerial implications useful for agencies supporting the diffusion of innovation among firms and firms’ systems for defining new policies and action plans aimed at making the university–industry interactions faster and more effective, improving the innovation processes within firms.
Originality/value
This paper gives new insight in the analysis of factors enhancing university–industry relationships with a focus on research services collaborations and focusing both on university and industry, where large contributions focus predominantly on both groups.
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Eamon O'Shea, Kieran Walsh and Tom Scharf
This paper aims to explore, for the first time, community perceptions of the relationship between age and social exclusion in rural areas of the Republic of Ireland and Northern…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore, for the first time, community perceptions of the relationship between age and social exclusion in rural areas of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds on learning from a previous baseline cross‐border rural ageing study and draws its methodology from a broader ecological multi‐level approach. The research was conducted through focus groups with community stakeholders, which were undertaken in ten communities in different rural settings (village, near‐urban, island, dispersed, and remote) in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Findings
In total, four interconnecting thematic areas emerged as important in determining exclusion or inclusion for older people living in rural areas: place, economic circumstances, social provision, and social connectedness. Within these themes, various tipping points emerged as important for pathways into and out of exclusion, most notably local systems of social support and the mindset of older people themselves in relation to participation.
Originality/value
This research lays the foundations for understanding the lived experiences of older people on the island of Ireland and the pathways for their inclusion and exclusion in diverse rural areas, as seen through the lens of community stakeholders.
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Nicola Raimo, Filippo Vitolla, Giuseppe Nicolò and Paolo Tartaglia Polcini
The latest developments in the football industry, the commodification of sport, the excessive focus on profitability and the limited attention to social and environmental aspects…
Abstract
Purpose
The latest developments in the football industry, the commodification of sport, the excessive focus on profitability and the limited attention to social and environmental aspects have caused a legitimation crisis for football clubs. According to the legitimacy theory, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure represents a tool capable of allowing the construction or repair of legitimacy. This study, in line with this theory, aims to analyse the amount of CSR disclosure provided by football clubs and the determinants, related to visibility, of the level of information provided.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a manual content analysis on the corporate websites of the 80 football clubs that qualified for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League group stages for the 2019–2020 year to measure the level of CSR disclosure and subsequently a regression analysis to examine the impact of visibility on the amount of information provided.
Findings
Results reveal that football clubs still disclose relatively little information about sustainability issues, and that sports performance visibility, human capital visibility and social media visibility positively affect the amount of information that football clubs disclose.
Originality/value
This study extends the horizons of CSR disclosure to the football industry which is still little explored in the academic literature. Furthermore, it extends the scope of legitimacy theory, showing how CSR disclosure can be a means for football clubs to obtain or repair legitimacy. Furthermore, this study extends the list of determinants of the level of CSR disclosure, showing that visibility can influence the amount of CSR information.
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Jane Bailey, Nicola Henry and Asher Flynn
While digital technologies have led to many important social and cultural advances worldwide, they also facilitate the perpetration of violence, abuse and harassment, known as…
Abstract
While digital technologies have led to many important social and cultural advances worldwide, they also facilitate the perpetration of violence, abuse and harassment, known as technology-facilitated violence and abuse (TFVA). TFVA includes a spectrum of behaviors perpetrated online, offline, and through a range of technologies, including artificial intelligence, livestreaming, GPS tracking, and social media. This chapter provides an overview of TFVA, including a brief snapshot of existing quantitative and qualitative research relating to various forms of TFVA. It then discusses the aims and contributions of this book as a whole, before outlining five overarching themes arising from the contributions. The chapter concludes by mapping out the structure of the book.