Noreen Byrne and Olive McCarthy
The purpose of this paper is to examine the technical and relational value proposition preferences of credit union members and to examine the relationship between their preference…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the technical and relational value proposition preferences of credit union members and to examine the relationship between their preference and patronage activity.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 800 members of credit unions were surveyed. Exploratory factor analysis was used and four factors were extracted incorporating technical and relational dimensions of the credit union service. Member value proposition preferences are examined and the relationship to patronage activity of the credit union was explored.
Findings
The majority of members express a higher or equal preference for a relational rather than a technical value proposition. Those that express a greater or equal preference for relational value are more likely to have a higher level of patronage activity.
Research limitations/implications
Credit unions are member-owned financial institutions and hence the study is context dependent. Credit unions are member-owned financial institutions and hence relational value may be more significant than in the case of non-member owned entities.
Practical implications
The research highlights the importance of consideration of relational value in financial services entities whose competitive advantage lies in the relational. In terms of the credit union, the impact on the relational value proposition of the credit union must be considered in the design and implementation of industry restructuring.
Originality/value
This paper extends the emotional value and interactive quality construct to incorporate a greater relational focus which the paper suggests is of greater relevance to high-contact financial services. The research in this paper also extends beyond the criticised static focus of consumer perceived scales (consumer perceived value) and the episode focused service quality scales. Hence, it has a more longitudinal and holistic focus. The paper also incorporates a preference between benefits approach rather than an evaluative or trade-off between benefits and costs framework.
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Evangelia Blery and Eugenia Sfetsiou
The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues related to the promotion and marketing of olive oil, by the Greek company Minerva S.A. Thus, the product, its target market and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues related to the promotion and marketing of olive oil, by the Greek company Minerva S.A. Thus, the product, its target market and competition are examined, a SWOT analysis is performed and the marketing mix is presented.
Design/methodology/approach
Since the aim of this study was to examine the marketing practices of the company Minerva S.A., the case study method was preferred because its fundamental characteristic is the “focus on a particular setting or event”.
Findings
The findings showed that the company offers high quality products in good prices and is a market leader. However, it faces severe competition. The company advertises its olive oil products and conducts intense promotional campaigns to promote them in the local market and abroad. Exports are a good opportunity to increase sales.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the few that have examined the promotion and marketing of olive oil worldwide and it is one of the very few that have examined such issues in the Greek market, where little research has taken place in this sector. Thus, it can give an important insight in the olive oil sector and become a useful tool for managers in this sector.
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Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun, Lebene Soga and Rita Nasr
Working-from-home (WFH) models represent one of several types of flexible work practices gaining ground in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of particular interest is the…
Abstract
Working-from-home (WFH) models represent one of several types of flexible work practices gaining ground in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of particular interest is the increase in the use of digital technology platforms for work collaboration and communication. These have been largely well received in terms of their potential to mitigate disruptions to business activity and employee work life in the absence of in-person work contexts. Research indicates that the sales and adoption of many digital platforms have witnessed sharp increase since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. These have contributed to creating seamless organisational collaborations, shared access to electronic data and new organisational processes to mirror previous in-person work arrangements. Many organisational members have had to upskill at rapid rates to catch up with these developments. Despite the benefits to employees, managers and organisations in terms of facilitating continued remote work, we illuminate the hidden inequities within this work model and highlight the unintended consequences from the standpoint of gender, race and the digital divide. We identify key aspects of WFH that represent underlying factors which create conditions for inequities and illustrate these with a case study. Additionally, we analyse the role of technology as a platform for WFH, noting impacts on employee well-being, team dynamics, as well as manager-employee relations. We conclude by raising implications for managers, offering recommendations to rebalance the inequities identified, such as developing an inclusive organisational culture, creating systems to access and evaluate employee feedback as well as developing appropriate response mechanisms that support particularly vulnerable groups.
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Aleksandar Grubor and Nenad Djokic
Having the discrepancies between different descriptions of an organic food consumer profile in various researches worldwide as well as the causes of their emergence as a starting…
Abstract
Purpose
Having the discrepancies between different descriptions of an organic food consumer profile in various researches worldwide as well as the causes of their emergence as a starting point, the purpose of this paper is to apply the method of preference-based market segmentation (by means of conjoint and cluster analysis) to Serbian organic food market, searching for advantages of using that methodological approach and deepening knowledge about specific organic food market.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted from May to July 2014 with 400 respondents participating (aged 18-30). Primary data were gathered by means of focus groups and a survey – structured personal interviews by using a questionnaire.
Findings
When applying conjoint and cluster analysis to data about Serbian consumers’ preferences towards researched product, it is possible to identify a segment that prefers organic food the most. Compared to other segments, these consumers are predominantly female, somewhat more mature, with the highest proportion of employed and near the top by the percentage of respondents who are married and have children. They strongly value the importance of diet for health, a number of them have experience with a disease of a close person, which is believed that could be prevented by proper diet, but they do the least sports.
Practical implications
The authors give managerial recommendations to actors operating at domestic organic food market.
Originality/value
According to the authors’ knowledge, the first application of preference-based market segmentation by conjoint and cluster analysis to organic food market, performed in Serbia, generally characterised by scarce food consumer research.
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Elisabete Figueiredo and Antonio Raschi
Rural tourism agents and operators occupy a central role in the use and diffusion of certain social representations of rurality through the mobilization and utilization of…
Abstract
Rural tourism agents and operators occupy a central role in the use and diffusion of certain social representations of rurality through the mobilization and utilization of specific (yet increasingly global) signs and symbols that, in the urban imaginary, characterize typical and traditional rural settings. Rural tourism promotional materials may contribute to the reconfiguration of the countryside more in accordance with an idealized rural than with the reality of local features. This chapter examines how rural areas and rurality are presented and commodified, using an exploratory content analysis of online and offline materials combined with a survey directed at rural tourism entrepreneurs in five municipalities of two different Italian regions – Campania and Tuscany. Evidence strongly suggests a discrepancy between the real and the portrayed rurality, pointing at the emergence or reinforcement of rural reconfiguration processes, shaped by external and often global images and imaginaries.
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Ghassan Abo Chameh, Fadi Kheder and Francois Karabet
The purpose of this paper was to find out the appropriate enzymatic hydrolysis conditions of alkali pretreated olive pomace (OP) which enable maximum yield of reducing sugar.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to find out the appropriate enzymatic hydrolysis conditions of alkali pretreated olive pomace (OP) which enable maximum yield of reducing sugar.
Design/methodology/approach
The commercial enzymatic preparation (Viscozyme® L) was used for the hydrolysis of OP. The effects of pretreatment, time, temperature, pH, enzyme quantity and substrate loading on the hydrolysis yield were investigated.
Findings
This study showed that enzymatic hydrolysis of OP using Viscozyme® L can be successfully performed at 50°C. Alkaline pretreatment step of OP prior the enzymatic hydrolysis was indispensable. The hydrolysis yield of alkaline pretreated OP was 2.6 times higher than the hydrolysis yield of untreated OP. Highest hydrolysis yield (33.5 ± 1.5 per cent) was achieved after 24 h using 1 per cent (w/v) OP load in the presence of 100 μl Viscozyme® L at 50°C and pH 5.5 with mixing rate of 100 rpm (p = 0.05).
Originality/value
Reaction time, temperature, pH value and enzyme quantity were found to have a significant effect on enzymatic hydrolysis yield of alkali pretreated of OP. Although high-solid loadings of OP lowered the hydrolysis yield, it produced higher concentration of reducing sugars, which may render the OP conversion process more economically feasible.
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Madeleine Pullman, Lucy McCarthy and Carlos Mena
This pathway paper offers research guidance for investigating illegal supply chains as they increasingly threaten societies, economies and ecosystems. There are implications for…
Abstract
Purpose
This pathway paper offers research guidance for investigating illegal supply chains as they increasingly threaten societies, economies and ecosystems. There are implications for policy makers to consider incorporating supply chain expertise.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors’ work is informed by the team's previous and ongoing studies, research from fields such as criminology, investigative journalism and legal documents.
Findings
Illegality occurs in many supply chains and consists in multiple forms. Certain sectors, supply chain innovations, longer supply chains, and heterogeneous regulations and enforcement exacerbate illegal activities. But illegal activity may be necessary for humanitarian, religious or nationalistic reasons. These areas are under explored by supply chain researchers.
Research limitations/implications
By encouraging supply chain academics to research in this area as well as form collaborative partnerships outside of the discipline, the authors hope to move the field forward in prevention as well as learning from illegal supply chains.
Practical implications
Practitioners seek to prevent issues like counterfeiting with their products as well as fraud for economic and reputational reasons.
Social implications
Governments strive to minimise impacts on their economies and people, and both governments and NGOs attempt to minimise the negative social and environmental impacts. Policy makers need supply chain researchers to evaluate new laws to prevent enabling illegality in supply chains.
Originality/value
As an under-explored area, the authors suggest pathways such as partnering with other disciplines, exploring why these supply chains occur, considering other data sources and methodologies to interdict illegality and learning from illegal supply chains to improve legal supply chains.
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Simon Bonell and Jane McCarthy
This case report highlights the complex factors in prescribing psychotropic medication for people with intellectual disability with significant co‐morbid physical and mental…
Abstract
This case report highlights the complex factors in prescribing psychotropic medication for people with intellectual disability with significant co‐morbid physical and mental health problems. The case study is of a young man with a mitochondrial disorder, secondary sensory impairments, mild intellectual disability, epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder who developed a psychotic illness. The report focuses on the use of psychotropic medication in this man and discusses the issues regarding psychotropic medication that need to be considered with service users and their carers.
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Social movement scholarship convincingly highlights the importance of threats, political opportunities, prior social ties, ideological compatibility, and resources for coalition…
Abstract
Social movement scholarship convincingly highlights the importance of threats, political opportunities, prior social ties, ideological compatibility, and resources for coalition formation. Based on interviews with Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists involved in two transnational coalitions in Israel/Palestine, this chapter illustrates the emergence of transnational coalitions, particularly those that cross polarized ethno-national divides, depends not only on such facilitators, but also, and critically, on the belief that such diverse cooperation is strategic. I argue these unique coalitions intentionally formed with individuals and organizations situated in different national communities out of a strategic decision by the Palestinian initiators, given the closed political opportunity structure they faced domestically, to enlarge the scope of conflict by drawing in new people and communities who may have some leverage on the Israeli government. Consequently, this chapter also makes clear that partners in the Global South make intentional choices about who to partner with, and that the agency is not solely linked with their more privileged partners in the Global North (cf., Bob, 2001; Widener, 2007). Finally, it illustrates that coalition partners are recruited not only because of social ties, prior histories of interaction, ideological similarity, and shared organizational framing, but also due to key considerations including perceptions of what the ethno-national diversity, varying networks, and differing privileges make available.
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James Cronin, Mary McCarthy, Mary Brennan and Sinéad McCarthy
This paper aims to argue that the limited success in addressing rising rates of obesity is underscored by health promotion practices and policies’ failure to consider the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to argue that the limited success in addressing rising rates of obesity is underscored by health promotion practices and policies’ failure to consider the instrumental and symbolic functioning of food as part of identity formation, relationship construction and socio-cultural conditioning over consumers’ life course events. The aim of this paper is to ignite the power of critical approaches that seek social change through contextualising the subjectivities of obese individuals’ personal lived experiences with food.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking a transformative consumer research approach which recognises the range of theories and paradigms required to comprehend and positively influence well-being, this paper draws on the work of Foucault and Bourdieu to study the discourses of 21 obese adult consumers.
Findings
The research shows that food behaviours conducive to weight gain are enmeshed in participants’ biographies and everyday experiences across the arenas of identity, environment and the body. Transposable dispositions are formed across these arenas which often can be at odds with practices of self-care and frame how individuals use food in their responses to significant life occurrences.
Practical implications
The findings provide an avenue to potentially guide policymakers in shaping health-promotion programmes which assist consumers in self-regulation without compromising their relational identities, interests and self-knowledge.
Originality/value
This paper makes several important contributions to the managerial understanding of obesity, including the consideration of “obesogenecity” beyond its relativity to the temporal surroundings of “built” and social fields in the here and now, and more relative to the illimitable occasions, times, spaces or stages consumers traverse through their lives.