The purpose of this paper is to introduce measures of the motivation of tourists who travel to their ancestral homes. A set of learning exercises is presented for students and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce measures of the motivation of tourists who travel to their ancestral homes. A set of learning exercises is presented for students and managers to apply understanding of these motives to tourism strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a brief review of the literature of heritage tourism and the special segment concerning travel with genealogical objectives. Survey data on motives to seek out ancestors are provided with learning exercises to link motives to tourism planning.
Findings
Data on the importance of multiple motives are presented with analytical measures of their overall importance levels and of differences between US and UK samples.
Research limitations/implications
The motivational variables and data collection are primarily exploratory, focusing on samples that are interested in genealogy and heritage tourism. Further research could certainly be expanded to cover broader populations of tourists and genealogists.
Practical implications
By combining primary research with trade association research included in the paper students and tourism managers have the opportunity to apply research findings to tourism and hospitality decision making to attract and satisfy tourists who have genealogical goals in their travel agendas.
Originality/value
Data based on the important and growing domain of motivational research in ancestral/genealogical‐related tourism have not been presented for analysis and application until now. Strength of motives and differences between nationalities of tourists present a unique analytical opportunity in learning exercises.
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Of all the social phenomena that have been investigated in the distribution channel context – including power, conflict, dependence, role performance, and opportunism – one that…
Abstract
Of all the social phenomena that have been investigated in the distribution channel context – including power, conflict, dependence, role performance, and opportunism – one that has escaped attention until now is alienation. Borrowing from traditional behavioral science and consumer behavior, the following monograph defines the concept of distributor alienation and elaborates a method for its measurement. After surviving a validation regimen, the measure is applied within the confines of a test of a theoretical model. The results may provide a preliminary framework for a future structure of channel alienation theory.
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This study empirically explores one of the important channel issues – the relationship between various channel support given to channel partners and the perceived (by managers…
Abstract
This study empirically explores one of the important channel issues – the relationship between various channel support given to channel partners and the perceived (by managers) goal‐orientation of a firm. Results from an emerging market, India, indicate that perceived orientation towards both profitability and market share is not associated with any of the channel support considered. Growth orientation however is strongly associated with most of the channel support activities – both business (e.g., business advice, pricing and ordering assistance, and personnel training) as well as marketing (advertising support, sales promotional material, and inventory management assistance) oriented activities. In contrast, perceived sales volume orientation is only associated with advertising support and business advice, however, the relationship is negative. These findings have interesting implications for channel management and channel motivation.
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Jeffrey E. McGee and Troy A. Festervand
Describes the experiences of an American professor who taught a graduate course in cross‐cultural management at a Portuguese university. Outlines the overall experience before…
Abstract
Describes the experiences of an American professor who taught a graduate course in cross‐cultural management at a Portuguese university. Outlines the overall experience before detailing several pedagogic issues which were unforeseen/problematic. Proposes ten axioms to guide similar future internal exchange experiences. Emphasizes four areas of difficulty, preparation, expectations, conduct and relationships.
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Ben Kerrane and Margaret K. Hogg
The purpose of this paper is to examine children's consumption experiences within families in order to investigate the role that different family environments play in the consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine children's consumption experiences within families in order to investigate the role that different family environments play in the consumer socialisation of children.
Design/methodology/approach
Key consumer socialisation literature is reviewed and family communication patterns and parental socialisation style studies are introduced. Such studies argue for the homogenous and shared nature of the family environment for children. A three‐stage qualitative study of six families is reported, incorporating existential phenomenological interviews. The voices of children and their parents are captured, and the transcribed interview texts are analyzed on two levels (within and across family cases) using a hermeneutical process.
Findings
The findings of the study point towards the differential treatment of children within the family environment by both parents and siblings. It is proposed that children inhabit a unique position, or micro‐environment, within their family setting. Consumer micro‐environments are introduced; these have important implications in terms of children's consumption behaviour and, more importantly, their consumer socialisation process within the family setting.
Research limitations/implications
Consumer micro‐environments have potentially important implications in any re‐evaluation of the literature on consumer socialisation, and it is suggested that children may not have equal access to socialisation advice and support offered by family members. A limited number of families and family types are recruited in this exploratory study, and scope exists to explore family micro‐environments across a greater variety of family forms.
Originality/value
A series of micro‐environments, which have implications for the consumer socialisation of children, will be developed on a theoretical level. Existing consumer research views the family environment in homogenous terms, with suggestions that children are socialised by their parents in a similar manner (inhabiting a shared family environment). These findings problematise such a view and also offer insights into the role played by siblings in the consumer socialisation process.
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Examines the sixteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects…
Abstract
Examines the sixteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.
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Benita Cox and Nina Dawe
Describes part of a wider evaluation exercise undertaken to assess the impact of the introduction of a picture‐archiving and communication system (PACS) on the adult intensive…
Abstract
Describes part of a wider evaluation exercise undertaken to assess the impact of the introduction of a picture‐archiving and communication system (PACS) on the adult intensive care unit (AICU) at the Royal Brompton NHS Trust in London. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the perceptions of PACS of the medical and ancillary staff working within AICU as well as to undertake a preliminary assessment of its impact on the workload of radiographers. Questionnaires, interviews and a process analysis were undertaken. The research findings indicate that the overall perception of staff towards the introduction of the PACS was positive. The impact of the system on the workload of radiographers was significant, reducing the time taken to obtain an image from 90 to 60 minutes. However, lessons to be learned for future PACS implementations include the need to ensure compatibility with existing IT systems, adequate IT support and initiatives to ensure that the benefits of PACS are communicated to the hospital at large.
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Nikoletta-Theofania Siamagka, George Christodoulides and Nina Michaelidou
The extant literature highlights the significant role of brand perceptions in buying behavior and brand equity. Despite the importance of brand perceptions and the proliferation…
Abstract
Purpose
The extant literature highlights the significant role of brand perceptions in buying behavior and brand equity. Despite the importance of brand perceptions and the proliferation of online brands, research in an online context is still scarce. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by investigating the effect of positive and negative comparative affective states (online vs offline) on online brand perceptions. Consistent with existing evidence, highlighting the role of culture on brand perceptions and affective states, this research is conducted in a cross-national setting to identify the stability of the hypothesized relationships among countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses consumer survey data from five countries (UK, USA, Australia, Canada and China). After imposing metric and factor variance invariance, we used multi-group CFA to test the hypotheses regarding the impact of positive and negative comparative affective states on online brand perceptions across the five countries in the sample.
Findings
The results show that positive comparative affective states have a significant and positive impact on online brand perceptions across the countries studied, although the impact size varies by country. The findings also show that negative comparative affective states, which are context-specific and not induced by any particular brand, have no effect on online brand perceptions across the country samples.
Practical implications
Managers can use the findings reported in this research to inform their branding strategies. For instance, managers may focus on triggering feelings of comfort online as these lead to more favorable online brand perceptions rather than on supressing feelings of caution, as the latter do not directly impact online brand perceptions.
Originality/value
The study builds on and extends the recent work of Christodoulides et al. (2013) by focussing on online brand perceptions and looking into the role of affective states in a cross-national setting.
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Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha, Nina Van Dyke, Michael Spittle, Anthony Watt and Andrew Smallridge
This study explores the perceptions of Australian employers regarding the benefits and challenges of micro-credentials within higher education and enablers of their effectiveness.
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the perceptions of Australian employers regarding the benefits and challenges of micro-credentials within higher education and enablers of their effectiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach that included 11 semi-structured interviews with employers affiliated with an Australian university was used. A deductive thematic approach was employed to analyse the data.
Findings
Micro-credentials were generally seen to be beneficial for an array of people, including employees, employers, customers and communities – stakeholders in all environmental layers of micro-credentials’ ecological system. Findings also indicated that both challenges of micro-credentials and enablers of their effectiveness depended heavily on attributes of learners, employers and higher education providers. The conclusion is that, based on the evidence of this study, micro-credentials within higher education are worth trialling.
Originality/value
Although research interest in micro-credentials is growing, few empirical studies have investigated micro-credentials’ benefits, challenges and enablers of effectiveness, especially from the perspective of employers. The study carries practical and policy implications for those involved with micro-credential research and development.
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Ulrike Pröbstl-Haider and Nina Mostegl
The effects of climate change are no longer a distant, slow-paced, future phenomenon. Due to the high dependency on reliable snow conditions, the tourism sector in Austria will…
Abstract
The effects of climate change are no longer a distant, slow-paced, future phenomenon. Due to the high dependency on reliable snow conditions, the tourism sector in Austria will need to rapidly implement adaptation measures to forego further negative impacts. However, the framing of the subject in tourism is already difficult and complex. Despite an increase in climate change awareness, the necessary collective change seems to be deliberately tardy and adaptation processes are slowly considered in political decision-making. Strategic documents on tourism policy are still lacking clear information about this challenging task and suitable strategies. Against this background, the chapter at hand discusses instruments and pathways to deal with wicked problems using climate change and winter tourism in Austria as an example. The adaptation processes for winter tourism make it possible to describe different strategies, such as normative authoritative ones, evidence-based technocratic problem-solving, incremental adjustments or participatory processes and to analyse them using case studies. It becomes clear that evidence-based, normative or participatory approaches all have their strengths and weaknesses. While, on the policy level in Austria, the discussion about the right instruments has just started, a closer look at the project-based level shows the significant potential of a bottom-up approach. However, what is required is more exchange between governmental levels, a transparent distribution of responsibilities, detailed adaptation monitoring and reliable climate-proofing of new and existing policies. Currently, it is the bottom-up processes that show more courage for change and effective implementation of measures against global warming.