Cony M. Ho, Kuan-Chou Ko, Steven Liu and Chun-Chieh Wu
This study aims to understand the impact of extreme weather events on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) consumption and to examine the role of anticipated product scarcity and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand the impact of extreme weather events on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) consumption and to examine the role of anticipated product scarcity and FMCG types on such behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper conducted five studies, combining archival data analysis with behavioral experiments. The archival data included sales data from a supermarket chain and weather data from the National Weather Service. The experiments were designed to test the effect of extreme weather cues on consumption, the psychological mechanism behind this effect and moderators.
Findings
This research found that consumers’ anticipation of extreme weather events significantly increases their consumption of FMCGs. This research further discovered that these behaviors are driven by anticipated product scarcity and moderated by consumers’ altruisms and FMCG types.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of the research include the reliance on reported sales data and self-reported measures, which could introduce biases. The authors also primarily focused on extreme weather events, leaving other types of disasters unexplored. Furthermore, cultural differences in disaster response might influence results, yet the studies do not fully address these nuances. Despite these limitations, the findings provide critical insights for FMCG retailers and policymakers, suggesting strategies for managing demand surges during disasters. Moreover, understanding consumer behavior under impending disasters could inform intervention strategies, potentially mitigating panic buying and helping ensure equitable resource distribution. Last, these findings encourage further exploration of environmental influences on consumer behavior.
Practical implications
The findings have practical implications for products, brand managers and retailers in managing stock levels and product distribution during disasters. Furthermore, understanding the psychological mechanisms of these behaviors could inform policymakers’ designs of public interventions for equitable resource allocation during extreme weather events.
Social implications
The research provides significant social implications by highlighting how extreme weather events impact FMCG consumption. This understanding can guide public policymakers in creating efficient disaster management plans. Specifically, anticipating surges in FMCG purchases can inform policies for maintaining price stability and preventing resource shortages, mitigating societal stress during crises. Moreover, these findings encourage public education around responsible purchasing during disasters, potentially reducing panic buying. By collaborating with FMCG manufacturers and retailers, governments can ensure a steady supply of essentials during extreme weather events. Thus, the research can play a crucial role in enhancing societal resilience in the face of impending disasters.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to integrate the impact of extreme weather events on consumption behavior with the psychological theory of anticipated product scarcity. The unique focus on FMCGs offers a novel perspective on consumer behavior literature.
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Xiaoyu Yu, Xiaotong Meng, Gang Cao and Yingya Jia
Conflict between work and family is a significant issue for entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of entrepreneurial failure on both family–work…
Abstract
Purpose
Conflict between work and family is a significant issue for entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of entrepreneurial failure on both family–work conflict (FWC) and work–family conflict (WFC) and the moderating role of perceived control of time and organizational slack based on conservation of resources (COR) theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a questionnaire to explore the relationship between entrepreneurial failure, FWC/WFC, perceived control of time and organizational slack. Data were collected from the Chinese context in 2018 and as a result received 318 valid questionnaires, obtaining a response rate of 63.6 per cent.
Findings
The study finds that entrepreneurial failure has a significant relationship with FWC but a nonsignificant relationship with WFC and that perceived control of time and organizational slack moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial failure and FWC/WFC.
Originality/value
This study aligns the field of family–work (work–family) conflict and entrepreneurial failure. It addresses a research gap in the conflict literature by introducing one form of resource loss: entrepreneurial failure as a source of conflict between work and family based on COR theory and the work–home resources model. The study also enriches the literature on the social cost of entrepreneurial failure by exploring the crossover effect of entrepreneurial failure on conflicts in the family domain. Furthermore, the study advances the understanding of managing conflict between work and family after entrepreneurial failure.
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Hong Yang, Yimei Hu, Han Qiao, Shouyang Wang and Feng Jiang
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the interactive conflicts between business and governmental authorities in the regulatory process of an emerging business model…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the interactive conflicts between business and governmental authorities in the regulatory process of an emerging business model: sharing economy. Focusing on bike sharing system, the study also investigates the conflict-handling strategy of bike sharing companies and government regulation.
Design/methodology/approach
An evolutionary game model is introduced to illustrate the interactive conflict between bike sharing companies and government regulation, combined with system dynamics (SD) to simulate the evolutionary conflict-handling strategies between the two players.
Findings
The dynamic strategies of the two players are observed, and under five conditions the conflict outcomes are evolutionary stable states. Simulations show that each party sacrifices part of its interest and adjust its strategy according to that of the other, indicating the conflict-handling strategy as a compromising mode. Furthermore, the strategies of bike sharing companies are sensitive to additional operation and maintenance costs for producing low-quality bicycles and costs of positive regulation, which provides theoretical guidance for regulatory authorities.
Originality/value
The station-less bike sharing come up in China recently, and it is an important research field of entrepreneurship. Owing to the uniqueness and novelty of the phenomenon, conflicts and challenges exist during the regulation process. Thus, the study practically contributes to the conflict-handling strategies of businesses and government under the context of sharing economy. Methodologically, as a novel issue with less available data to carry out empirical research, this study combines evolutionary game theory with SD to shed light on the complex interactions between businesses and government. The research method can be applied to other entrepreneurial studies.
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Renhuai Liu, Steven Si, Song Lin, Dean Tjosvold and Richard Posthuma
Di Kang, Steven W. Kirkpatrick, Zhipeng Zhang, Xiang Liu and Zheyong Bian
Accurately estimating the severity of derailment is a crucial step in quantifying train derailment consequences and, thereby, mitigating its impacts. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
Accurately estimating the severity of derailment is a crucial step in quantifying train derailment consequences and, thereby, mitigating its impacts. The purpose of this paper is to propose a simplified approach aimed at addressing this research gap by developing a physics-informed 1-D model. The model is used to simulate train dynamics through a time-stepping algorithm, incorporating derailment data after the point of derailment.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, a simplified approach is adopted that applies a 1-D kinematic analysis with data obtained from various derailments. These include the length and weight of the rail cars behind the point of derailment, the train braking effects, derailment blockage forces, the grade of the track and the train rolling and aerodynamic resistance. Since train braking/blockage effects and derailment blockage forces are not always available for historical or potential train derailment, it is also necessary to fit the historical data and find optimal parameters to estimate these two variables. Using these fitted parameters, a detailed comparison can be performed between the physics-informed 1-D model and previous statistical models to predict the derailment severity.
Findings
The results show that the proposed model outperforms the Truncated Geometric model (the latest statistical model used in prior research) in estimating derailment severity. The proposed model contributes to the understanding and prevention of train derailments and hazmat release consequences, offering improved accuracy for certain scenarios and train types
Originality/value
This paper presents a simplified physics-informed 1-D model, which could help understand the derailment mechanism and, thus, is expected to estimate train derailment severity more accurately for certain scenarios and train types compared with the latest statistical model. The performance of the braking response and the 1-D model is verified by comparing known ride-down profiles with estimated ones. This validation process ensures that both the braking response and the 1-D model accurately represent the expected behavior.
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Chloe A. Thompson, Madeleine Pownall, Richard Harris and Pam Blundell-Birtill
An important facet of student’s sense of belonging is students’ relationships with, and time spent in, the university campus. The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion…
Abstract
Purpose
An important facet of student’s sense of belonging is students’ relationships with, and time spent in, the university campus. The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion that access to campus “green space”, including parks, fields and gardens, may bolster students’ sense of belonging, improve well-being feelings and promote place attachment.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors surveyed students in different locations (including three green and one non-green campus spaces) across a large UK campus-based Northern institution. 146 students participated in the study in one of the four campus locations. The authors investigated how being in green spaces on campus may impact students’ sense of belonging, well-being and place attachment. The authors also qualitatively explored students’ perceptions of campus spaces through Ahn’s (2017) 10 Words Question measure.
Findings
Analyses demonstrate that students surveyed in green spaces reported significantly more positive sense of belonging, compared to students surveyed in non-green campus spaces. Campus location did not impact well-being, however. Students associated green spaces on campus with “calm”, “positive emotion” and “nature” words and non-green spaces with “busy”, “social” and “students”.
Practical implications
Taken together, the results of this paper suggest that access to green spaces can be important for campus sense of belonging. Thus, efforts should be made to ensure the sustainability of these important spaces across university campuses.
Originality/value
This study crucially examines how occupying green spaces on university campuses may impact students’ feelings of belongingness. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that uses field-based methods to understand students’ feelings whilst occupying green spaces.
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Professionals often dislike dirty work, yet they accommodate or even embrace it in everyday practice. This chapter problematizes Andrew Abbott’s professional purity thesis by…
Abstract
Professionals often dislike dirty work, yet they accommodate or even embrace it in everyday practice. This chapter problematizes Andrew Abbott’s professional purity thesis by examining five major forms of impurities in professional work, namely impurity in expertise, impurity in jurisdictions, impurity in clients, impurity in organizations, and impurity in politics. These impurities complicate the relationship between purity and status as some impurities may enhance professional status while others may jeopardize it, especially when the social origins of professionals are rapidly diversifying and professional work is increasingly intertwined with the logics of market and bureaucracy. Taking impurities seriously can help the sociology of professions move beyond the idealistic image of an independent, disinterested professional detached from human emotions, turf battles, client influence, and organizational or political forces and towards a more pragmatic understanding of professional work, expertise, ethics and the nature of professionalism.
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Michael Egnoto, Gary Ackerman, Irina Iles, Holly Ann Roberts, Daniel Steven Smith, Brooke Fisher Liu and Brandon Behlendorf
Testing technologies for policing is costly and laborious. Previous research found that police can be reticent about technology adoption. The purpose of this paper is to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
Testing technologies for policing is costly and laborious. Previous research found that police can be reticent about technology adoption. The purpose of this paper is to examine law enforcement adoption of programmatic innovations focused on particular crime types (radiological and nuclear threats).
Design/methodology/approach
First, an expert police panel explored readiness to adopt an advanced technology (personal radiation detectors (PRDs)). A survey was then developed from the panel findings (n=101 sampled from East Coast metropolitan police).
Findings
Results indicated that on-duty device adoption was likely, but not off-duty. In addition, concerns about ease of carrying PRDs, personal health and security issues, and concerns about job performance were raised. Furthermore, findings suggest that police respond negatively to financial incentives, and focus instead on how innovations can contribute to their own safety and that of their immediate families. Additionally, results indicate that false positives are not a significant barrier to adoption, but device training is important.
Practical implications
This work gives insight how to engage officers more meaningfully in technology adoption for benefit of policing in the field.
Originality/value
This work expands previous police adoption literature and advances understanding of the increasing role officers are taking in counter-terrorism efforts in the USA with applications around the world.
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Steven Si, Song Wang and Steven M. Welch
This study aims to investigate how firm capability can be accumulated with the inputs of learning efforts targeted at resolving barriers existing in the imitative innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how firm capability can be accumulated with the inputs of learning efforts targeted at resolving barriers existing in the imitative innovation process. This paper takes imitative innovation as a process involving a few stages during which learning efforts are targeted at overcoming barriers existing within each process.
Design/methodology/approach
The multiple case study approach has been adopted to explore how Chinese manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) learn and increase their technological capabilities through a continuous process of product refinement and improvement based on imitative innovation. In particular, the authors accentuate the learning efforts that firms must make to cope with various technological barriers
Findings
It is revealed that during the initial stages of imitative innovation, the organizational learning of Chinese manufacturing SMEs is highly constrained by the limitations of their technological resources and capabilities. It is also found that original equipment manufacturers can play an important role in providing Chinese learners with both explicit and tacit technological knowledge.
Originality/value
This study investigates how firm capability can be accumulated with the inputs of learning efforts targeted at resolving barriers existing in the imitative innovation process. The multiple case study approach has been adopted to explore how Chinese manufacturing SMEs learn and increase their technological capabilities through a continuous process of product refinement and improvement based on imitative innovation that could add new and great value to this research area.