Ruud Gerards, Andries de Grip and Arnoud Weustink
The purpose of this paper is to provide a first investigation of how new ways of working (NWW) and their various facets relate to employee informal learning at work, while…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a first investigation of how new ways of working (NWW) and their various facets relate to employee informal learning at work, while accounting for a range of known antecedents of informal learning.
Design/methodology/approach
The job demand–control model and the job demands–resources model underpin our hypotheses on how NWW would relate to informal learning. The hypotheses are tested using the Preacher and Hayes (2008) bootstrap method for mediation analysis, accounting for the potential mediating effect of the frequency with which employees receive feedback.
Findings
The analyses show that NWW positively relate to informal learning at work. This relation is mediated by the frequency with which employees receive feedback. Further analysis shows that one particular NWW facet – access to organizational knowledge – is an independent driver of informal learning, hardly mediated by receiving feedback.
Practical implications
The results suggest that managers who seek new ways to stimulate informal learning can do so by giving their employees more access to organizational knowledge, for instance, by leveraging the potential of modern ICT.
Originality/value
This empirical paper is the first study on the impact of NWW on informal learning at work. Using data on the Dutch working population, it provides novel insights for several strands of literature as well as for practitioners.
Details
Keywords
Ruud Gerards, Andries de Grip and Claudia Baudewijns
The purpose of this paper is to shed more light on the impact of the various facets of new ways of working (NWW) on employee work engagement, taking into account multiple sectors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed more light on the impact of the various facets of new ways of working (NWW) on employee work engagement, taking into account multiple sectors and occupational fields.
Design/methodology/approach
Insights from the literature and the job demands-resources model underpin the hypotheses on how NWW would affect work engagement. The hypotheses were tested using the Preacher and Hayes’ (2008) bootstrap method for multiple mediation and controls, taking into account two potential mediators between (facets of) NWW and work engagement: social interaction in the workplace and transformational leadership.
Findings
The analyses show that three facets of NWW – management of output, access to organizational knowledge, and a freely accessible open workplace – positively affect employees’ work engagement. The latter two facets appear to be fully mediated by social interaction and transformational leadership.
Practical implications
The results imply that firms should foster transformational leadership styles among their line managers, and social interaction in the workplaces, to maximize the positive impact of NWW on work engagement.
Originality/value
This empirical paper draws on a unique data set on the Dutch working population to provide novel insights with a substantial degree of generalizability into the relation between NWW and work engagement, whilst applying a more comprehensive definition of NWW than previously applied, while incorporating two potential mediators.
Details
Keywords
The group began the online service in 1979 based on the Kluwer Law and Taxation publications. A description of the group and the Databank is given. The development of the online…
Abstract
The group began the online service in 1979 based on the Kluwer Law and Taxation publications. A description of the group and the Databank is given. The development of the online service is described and the needs of lawyers. There follows a non‐technical description of the dial‐up service based on a Honeywell computer using the STATUS software package. Text input procedures are outlined and particularly the use made of a Kurzweil Data Entry Machine. The databases contain an estimated 180 Megabytes and are growing by some 120 MB annually. 12000 cases and 18000 abstracts of legal literature are stored. The procedure for instructing users is shown with an example of a search and the prompt card. Some 50 terminals are now connected and over 350 users have been trained. Search evaluation revealed that searches for case‐law and literature for research is quite different from a search by a practising lawyer for a specific case or article. Details of costs of using the system are given. No refs.
Michael J. Turner and Leonard V. Coote
This paper aims to introduce and illustrate how discrete choice experiments (DCEs) can be used by accounting researchers and present an agenda of accounting-related research…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce and illustrate how discrete choice experiments (DCEs) can be used by accounting researchers and present an agenda of accounting-related research topics that might usefully benefit from the adoption of DCEs.
Design/methodology/approach
Each major phase involved in conducting a DCE is illustrated using a capital budgeting case study. The research agenda is based on a review of experimental research in financial accounting, management accounting and auditing.
Findings
DCEs can overcome some of the problems associated with asking decision-makers to rank or rate alternatives. Instead, they ask decision-makers to choose an alternative from a set. DCEs arguably better reflect the realities of real-world decision-making because decision-makers need to make trade-offs between all of the alternatives relevant to a decision. An important advantage that DCEs offer is their ability to calculate willingness-to-pay estimates, which can enable the valuation of non-market goods. Several streams of experimental accounting research would appear well-suited to investigation with DCEs.
Research limitations/implications
While every effort has been made to ensure that this illustration is as generic to as the many potential studies as possible, it may be that researchers seeking to utilise a DCE need to refer to additional literary sources. This study, however, should serve as a useful starting point.
Practical implications
Accounting researchers are expected to benefit from reading this article by being: made aware of the DCE method and its advantages; shown how to conduct a DCE; and provided with an agenda of accounting-related research topics that might usefully benefit from application of the DCE methodology.
Originality/value
It is the authors’ understanding that this is the first article directed to accounting academics regarding the conduct of DCEs for accounting research. It is hoped that this study can provide a useful platform for accounting academics to launch further research adopting DCEs.
Details
Keywords
Mina Bahrampour, Abbas Bahrampour, Mohammadreza Amiresmaili and Mohsen Barouni
High quality healthcare is important to all patients. If healthcare is felt to be high quality, then patients will be satisfied, and the relationship between patients and…
Abstract
Purpose
High quality healthcare is important to all patients. If healthcare is felt to be high quality, then patients will be satisfied, and the relationship between patients and healthcare providers will improve. Patient satisfaction is among the most commonly used service quality indicators; however, it is not fully known which factors influence satisfaction. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the elements that affect both healthcare quality and patient satisfaction. Nowadays, several methods are used in health economics to assess patient preferences, prioritize them and help health policy makers improve services. Discrete choice experiment (DCE) is one method that is useful to elicit patient preferences regarding healthcare services. The purpose of this paper is to apply DCE and elicit patient preferences in medical centers to rank certain healthcare quality factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The descriptive, analytical study used a cross-sectional questionnaire that the authors developed. In total, 12 scenarios were chosen after applying fractional factorials. The questionnaire was completed by patients who were admitted to Kerman General Teaching Hospitals, South-East Iran in 2015. Patient preferences were identified by calculating the characteristics’ marginal effects and prioritizing them. The generalized estimation equation (GEE) model was used to determine attribute effects on patient preferences.
Findings
In total, 167 patients completed the questionnaire. Prioritizing the attributes showed that “physical examination” was the most important attribute. Other key features included “cleanliness,” “training after discharging,” “medical staff attention,” “waiting for admission” and “staff attitude.” All attributes were statistically significant (p<0.05) except staff behavior. No demographic characteristic was significant.
Practical implications
To increase hospital patient satisfaction, health policy makers should develop programs to enhance healthcare quality and hospital safety by increasing physical examination quality and other services.
Originality/value
To estimate DCE independent variables, logistic regression models are usually used. The authors used the GEE model to estimate discrete choice experiment owing the explanatory variables’ dependency.
Details
Keywords
Corrine Hendy and Mark Pearson
As the evidence base in relation to open dialogue continues to grow and develop, this paper contributes to the growing evidence base within the UK. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
As the evidence base in relation to open dialogue continues to grow and develop, this paper contributes to the growing evidence base within the UK. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the experiences of those who have received the service and reports a qualitative evaluation of an open dialogue service operating within the National Health Service of the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
The opportunity to participate was offered to all those who had received open dialogue within this particular National Health Service (NHS) trust. In total, seven participants, from four different social networks, participated in the research and attended semi-structured focus groups. The audio recordings of all focus groups were transcribed and the data as subjected to inductive thematic analysis.
Findings
The results provide an insight into the lived experience of the individuals who received open dialogue. The analysis of the data gathered in the focus groups revealed three major themes: relational mutuality, dichotomy with other mental health services and dialogical freedom.
Practical implications
The results suggest that individuals and networks positively experienced receiving open dialogue, particularly in relation to the way in which they were able to relate to, and work with practitioners. However, the results did also raise some issues in relation to the complications of introducing the open dialogue model into existing NHS structures.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the emerging evidence base in relation to open dialogue, especially considering the current lack of existing research undertaken within the UK.
Details
Keywords
Hao Wang, Shan Liu, Baojun Gao and Arslan Aziz
This study aims to explore whether seeking recommendations for doctors from offline word-of-mouth or online reviews influences patient satisfaction after treatment, and how the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore whether seeking recommendations for doctors from offline word-of-mouth or online reviews influences patient satisfaction after treatment, and how the source of recommendation affects this effect.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a unique dataset of more than three million reviews from a popular Chinese online health community, this study used the coarsened exact matching method and built fixed-effect models to conduct empirical analysis.
Findings
The results suggest that selecting doctors according to recommendations can improve patient satisfaction and mitigate their dissatisfaction when encountering service failures. However, online recommendations were found to be less effective than offline sources in improving patient satisfaction.
Originality/value
This study provides important insights into patient satisfaction and doctor-patient relationships by revealing the antecedents of satisfaction and the potential for improving this relationship. It also contributes to the understanding of how recommendations in the healthcare context can improve patient satisfaction and alleviate the negative impact of service failures.