Yvonne Kuipers, Gail Norris, Suzanne Crozier and Connie McLuckie
This paper aims to generate knowledge about relevant evaluation topics that align with and represent the unique character of the midwifery programme for students living in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to generate knowledge about relevant evaluation topics that align with and represent the unique character of the midwifery programme for students living in the rural and remote areas of Scotland.
Design/methodology/approach
The first two central concepts of Practical Participatory Evaluation (P-PE) framed the research design: the data production process and (2) the knowledge co-construction process. The data were collected using a semi-structured approach via online discussions, dialogues and email-based consultation among programme stakeholders. A structural analysis was performed: the units of meaning (what was said) were extracted, listed and quantified in units of significance (what the texts were talking about), from which the key topics for evaluation emerged.
Findings
A community of 36 stakeholdersengaged in the discussions, dialogues and consultations. The stakeholders identified 58 units of significance. Fifteen subthemes were constructed in five main themes: student profile, student well-being, E-pedagogy, student journey/transition from being a nurse to becoming a midwife and learning in (an online) geographically remote and isolated area. The themes, or topics of evaluation, are dynamic functions and underlying mechanisms of the commonly used evaluation measures student progress and student evaluation.
Research limitations/implications
This P-PE is a single-site study, focusing on a unique programme consisting of a specific group of students living and studying a specific geographic area, affecting the transferability of the findings.
Originality/value
In collaboration with stakeholders, parameters to evaluate the uniqueness of the programme in addition to higher education institution routinely collected data on student progress and satisfaction were systematically identified. The themes highlight that if student progress and satisfaction were the only evaluation parameters, knowledge and understanding of the contributing factors to (un)successfulness of this unique online midwifery programme could be missed.
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Frank Franzak, Suzanne Makarem and Haeran Jae
The objective of this paper is to develop a better understanding of brand engagement by examining two of its antecedents: design benefits and consumer emotions. The authors…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to develop a better understanding of brand engagement by examining two of its antecedents: design benefits and consumer emotions. The authors explore the relationship between design and brand engagement and advance a model with emotional responses as mediator.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper integrates a range of theoretical works across design and marketing, including concepts of product design, types of design benefits, brand engagement, and brand communities.
Findings
The authors propose a conceptual model where emotional arousal, which differs across design benefits, mediates the relationship between design benefits and brand engagement. Brand engagement intensifies with emotional arousal as design benefits change from functional, to hedonic, to symbolic.
Research limitations/implications
The conceptual model proposed in this paper can have significant applications in the areas of product design, branding strategies, and brand communications. However, it has not been tested empirically.
Practical implications
The resulting model improves understanding of how marketers can use design to elicit different forms of brand engagement. Implications for marketers include planning brand engagement outcomes early in the product or service development process; involving consumers in that process, clearly communicating the benefits of the design; and supporting venues where brand engagement of different types can be practiced.
Originality/value
Brand engagement is unique brand-related behavior that has received limited attention in the design and marketing literatures. The proposed model offers a look at brand engagement from a design perspective, while emphasizing the role of consumers' emotional responses to design benefits.
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Maya Cara, Julian Birkinshaw and Suzanne Heywood
In this chapter, we explore the relationship between organizational complexity and firm-level innovation. We define and operationalize a new construct, experienced complexity…
Abstract
In this chapter, we explore the relationship between organizational complexity and firm-level innovation. We define and operationalize a new construct, experienced complexity, which is the extent to which the organizational environment makes it challenging for decision makers to do their jobs effectively. We distinguish experienced complexity from structural complexity, which is the elements of the organization, such as the number of reporting lines or integrating mechanisms, that are deliberately put in place to help the organization deliver on its objectives, and we argue that structural complexity correlates positively with firm-level innovation, while experienced complexity correlates negatively with innovation. Using a novel dataset combining survey and objective data on 209 large firms, we find support for our arguments.
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As a means of contributing to the literature surrounding the evolution and growth of firms, this paper seeks to outline the explanatory concept of growth trigger points. It aims…
Abstract
Purpose
As a means of contributing to the literature surrounding the evolution and growth of firms, this paper seeks to outline the explanatory concept of growth trigger points. It aims to examine the forces that propel firms towards different stages of growth and argues that high‐growth firms (HGFs) often encounter important “trigger points” that can affect their growth capabilities. The paper's main aim is to define, conceptualise and illustrate the role of trigger points in promoting rapid growth within businesses.
Design/methodology/approach
The primary methodological approach used was intensive case study research of HGFs in Scotland. The case studies, 40 firms in total, were compiled using a mixed method research approach that included, inter alia, background desk research, firm interviews and interviews with business advisers.
Findings
The research discovered that growth trigger points are extremely diverse and play a major role in shaping the growth trajectory of firms, and highlights three main types of trigger points. While trigger points can fundamentally reconfigure organisations, providing a catalyst for a business to undertake a period of rapid, transformative growth, these events can conversely cause severe organisational turbulence or even decline. Often the critical period determining the ultimate success of the growth opportunity presented is the post‐trigger transition period identified by the authors.
Practical implications
The paper aims to inform public policy on how to support high‐growth entrepreneurship. From a policy perspective, understanding these trigger points is essential for helping policymakers to prioritise and optimise their interventions to help promote rapid firm growth.
Originality/value
The paper's unique contribution to the literature is to help conceptualise how firms move along a growth trajectory, by introducing the novel concept of growth “trigger points”. The paper also seeks to inform public policy, so that interventions can be better attuned to the requirements of dynamic growth businesses.
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The first‐ever conference on “computer‐supported cooperative work” (CSCW) defined a new perspective and perhaps even a new speciality in the field of computer science. The…
Abstract
The first‐ever conference on “computer‐supported cooperative work” (CSCW) defined a new perspective and perhaps even a new speciality in the field of computer science. The fundamental insight is that, with very few exceptions, our work does not take place in isolation but, rather, is embedded in a multiplicity of social contexts. And this, obviously, has enormous implications for how information technology is conceived and designed.
LAST WEEK I was asked to go and buy two publications. This gave me a chance to visit GILLIAN CLEGG, librarian of the advertising trade paper ‘Campaign’. She had won the 1971 Sir…
Abstract
LAST WEEK I was asked to go and buy two publications. This gave me a chance to visit GILLIAN CLEGG, librarian of the advertising trade paper ‘Campaign’. She had won the 1971 Sir Evelyn Wrench Travelling Fellowship and during her month in the us and Canada visited libraries providing business information particularly in publishing, advertising and marketing. Not a surprising choice for a girl who had previously worked for the advertising agencies J Walter Thompson and Lintas! I asked her about the visit.