The purpose of this paper is to gather stakeholder tacit knowledge to design new product concepts with optimal product attributes for new health promoting food products for the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to gather stakeholder tacit knowledge to design new product concepts with optimal product attributes for new health promoting food products for the ageing population.
Design/methodology/approach
This research employed a qualitative research method. A total of 16 in-depth interviews were carried out to identify key product design attributes. These attributes were used to design health promoting foods for the ageing population.
Findings
Age-related conditions affect and alter the design of health promoting foods targeted at the ageing population. Providing the ageing consumer segment with access to health promoting foods facilitates positive ageing intervention. The integration of affordability and convenience elements into ageing food design attributes is important for product acceptance. The multi-level demands and heterogeneity of ageing consumers result in the need for a variety of nutritionally tailored food formats. A dairy-based beverage was considered to be the optimal product concept for the ageing population.
Research limitations/implications
The inclusion of stakeholders from the food industry could result in levels of food industry bias. The sample size of stakeholders was limited to 16 participants. One interview guide was used throughout all interviews to ensure consistency levels. A more flexible instrument may have captured more specific stakeholder information.
Practical implications
During the early stages of the new product development process, a market-oriented research methodology can help to optimise product design in terms of product attributes that drive consumer acceptance.
Originality/value
This paper provides important insights into the significance of stakeholder tacit knowledge generation throughout the need identification stage of the NPD process. Specifically this paper provides stakeholder tacit knowledge on the optimal design of health promoting foods for the ageing population. This knowledge has the ability to provide market-oriented information on health promoting food concepts which can be valuable for food manufacturers to maximise NPD performance, create value and develop competitive advantage within their marketplace. Finally, design templates of health promoting foods for the ageing population are of high strategic importance to food manufacturers, governments, health professionals and medical professionals.
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Calvin Swords and Stan Houston
The concept of personal recovery is now a key pillar of service delivery. It aims to support individuals to flourish and establish a new identity following an acute episode or…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of personal recovery is now a key pillar of service delivery. It aims to support individuals to flourish and establish a new identity following an acute episode or diagnosis. This view of recovery is unique to each person on that journey. However, there has been a significant focus on measuring these experiences. This paper aims to explore the influence of social constructionism on the concept of recovery within an Irish context, seeking to understand the influence of language, discourse and power on service users’ experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative, interpretivist methodology was adopted for this case study design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 service users. Thematic analysis was chosen as the method of analysis.
Findings
Personalising recovery did not always lead to the removal of biological symptoms, but with the appropriate supports, individual’s recovery journey was greatly enhanced. On the contrary, personal recovery places overwhelmingly responsibility on the individual to succeed, largely driven by neoliberal discourse. This focus on individualism and the pressure to succeed was further experienced when people sought to re-integrate into society and participate in normalised social order. Ultimately, for many service users, they viewed personal recovery as an unfulfilled promise.
Research limitations/implications
It is not a representative sample of service users within an Irish context.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore influence of social constructionism on the concept of personal recovery within a mental health service context.
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Abstract
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Na Fu, Patrick C. Flood, Janine Bosak, Tim Morris and Philip O'Regan
The aim of this study is to better understand service supply chain management by analysing the professional service supply chain in professional service firms (PSFs) and exploring…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to better understand service supply chain management by analysing the professional service supply chain in professional service firms (PSFs) and exploring how the high performance work systems (HPWS) influence professional service supply chain performance. In addition, this study seeks to examine the relationship between professional service supply chain performance and the overall organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis of PSF suggests a three‐step of professional service supply chain as the clients' requests, partners forming working teams or so‐called team formation and utilization, and delivering of solutions or services to clients. Based on extensive literature review, the authors hypothesize that HPWS have a positive impact on the professional service supply chain performance and the team formation and utilization mediates the link. They also hypothesize the positive link between the professional service supply chain performance and the overall organisational firm performance. Employing survey method, data was collected from 93 accounting firms at two time points. In May 2010 (Time 1), a survey including questions on HPWS, team formation and utilization and professional service supply chain performance were sent out to the managing partners and HR directors in accounting firms based in Ireland. Around one year later (Time 2), another survey measuring firm performance was sent out. This data allowed the authors to establish causal pattern in their results. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyse data to test hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate the positive link between HPWS and the professional service supply chain performance. The team formation and utilization mediates the above relationship. In addition, professional service supply chain performance was found to be positively linked to the firm performance.
Research limitations/implications
The present study is limited in terms of sample size, single industry and self‐report data. Future research also needs to examine more mediators or moderators – the mechanisms through which HPWS work on the professional service supply chain.
Practical implications
Firms using higher level of HPWS experience better professional service supply chain performance. Human resource management practices that promote employees' ability, motivation and opportunities which allow teams to be formed more effectively to work with clients enhance organizational performance and higher profit levels. Managers able to effectively adopt and implement these teamwork‐based HR practices and encourage and support employees' collaboration through such practices enhance the firm's professional service supply chain effectiveness and its organisational performance.
Social implications
The authors' study focuses on the service supply chain management operations within the professional service firms. In doing so, their research answers the call by Ellram et al. for more supply chain management research with respect to the service sector. It addresses a significant research gap identified by Rahman and Wu, namely, “relatively little attention has been given to the service suppliers' perspective”. By linking service supply chain management and human resource management, this study also answers a few calls for more research on the interaction of human resource management and supply chain management, service supply chain and human resource management in professional service firms.
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies to analyse the professional service supply chain management and assess the human resource management and supply chain management link. Moreover, it is the first study which empirically establishes the link between human resource management and professional service supply chain performance in PSFs.
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Louise Walker and Orla Flannery
The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of office cake (OC) consumption and the associated attitudes and behaviours among UK office workers to gain insight…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of office cake (OC) consumption and the associated attitudes and behaviours among UK office workers to gain insight into the implications for workplace health.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional online questionnaire was completed by 940 respondents. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation with χ2 tests for between-group difference.
Findings
Respondents reported both positive social and negative health-related consequences of OC. OC influenced eating behaviour through increased salience and availability, and the effects of social influencing. Almost all (94.8 per cent) reported ideal OC frequency to be once/week or less. Gender and age significantly affected attitudes and behaviour.
Research limitations/implications
The questionnaire was not validated so data accuracy could have been diminished or biased. Portion size was not examined and consumption data were self-reported which could have resulted in under-reporting. Only office workers were investigated therefore results may not be applicable to other workplaces.
Practical implications
OC appears to influence both the workplace eating environment and employee eating behaviour. It could therefore affect employee health and workplace health promotion programme efficacy. However the findings suggest that nudge-based initiatives could reduce OC consumption to make workplaces healthier while retaining social benefits.
Originality/value
The present study provides the first data on OC culture and insights on how to address it sensitively. It also highlights that sweet treats used for celebration and employee recognition should be considered a relevant part of workplace food provision alongside canteens and vending.
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The main research questions critically examine online videos that draw attention to a local community of musical practice, noticing how these can potentially be included within…
Abstract
Purpose
The main research questions critically examine online videos that draw attention to a local community of musical practice, noticing how these can potentially be included within the tourism promotion strategies. This paper develops a case study of four videos realised by the Louth County Board of the organisation Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ) in Co. Louth, Ireland, as a part of the FleadhFest 2021 initiative. It highlights the role that virtual spaces have in enhancing a sense of belonging to a music/festival community as well as the possibility that visual and audio supports have in promoting and celebrating a destination and its cultural features.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis involves a netnographic examination of these videos (Janta, 2017), informed by the concept of “tourist gaze” (Urry, 1990; 2002) and influenced by film-induced tourism studies (Beeton, 2005).
Findings
Results show how festival and event organisers responded to COVID-19 social restrictions by creating a virtual space for celebrating music heritage and local musicscape, placing an emphasis on local musical scene.
Research limitations/implications
The research aims to inform future developments in how the organisation operates within and engages with virtual space, its members and a wider audience.
Originality/value
This is the first study to consider the virtual activities of CCÉ from an ethnomusicological as well as tourism, perspective.
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Na Fu, Patrick C. Flood, Janine Bosak, Tim Morris and Philip O'Regan
The purpose of this paper is to examine how a system of human resource management (HRM) practices, labelled high-performance work systems (HPWS), influences organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how a system of human resource management (HRM) practices, labelled high-performance work systems (HPWS), influences organizational innovation in professional service firms (PSFs). In this study, innovation in PSFs is seen as an indicator of firm performance and is calculated as the revenue per person generated from new clients and new services, respectively.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative data were collected from 195 managing partners, HR managers or experienced Partners in 120 Irish accounting firms. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The analysis results indicate strong support for the mediating role of employees’ innovative work behaviours in the relationship between HPWS and two types of PSFs’ innovation performance.
Practical implications
Managers need to effectively adopt and implement innovation-based HRM practices to encourage and support employees’ creative thinking and innovation. Through the adoption and utilization of these practices managers can enhance the firm’s innovation and its performance.
Originality/value
This study contributes to our understanding of the link between HRM and firm innovation by explicating a pathway between these variables. This study also generalizes consistent findings on the HRM-firm innovation relationship to a different context, i.e. PSFs.