Temitope Sarah Bodunrin and Tim Stone
This paper aims to investigate the idea of eating for pleasure and its effect on consumer well-being. It begins by introducing the concept of food well-being (FWB) under the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the idea of eating for pleasure and its effect on consumer well-being. It begins by introducing the concept of food well-being (FWB) under the transformative consumer research (TCR) agenda. Subsequently, it provides detailed discussions on the concept of pleasure, under which food practices involving epicurean pleasure and hedonic and eudaimonic consumption will be discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper takes a different approach to the usual qualitative methodologies by using the introspective analysis of the film Eat, Pray, Love where the consumption of food for pleasure was heavily practiced.
Findings
This paper presents the introspective voice of the lead author’s food consumption. It reveals a food consumption practice which followed an initial loss of taste, to alternative food consumption (AFC) and finally slow food ingestion. The journey of her epicurean ingestion revealed pleasurable experiences that reflected a positive subjective well-being (SWB). This attitude of ingesting food and living for the moment propelled the idea that food well-being is more about consumer happiness.
Originality/value
This paper is novel in its approach to use film introspection to probe the concept of FWB within TCR. Additionally, it reveals the transitioning moment of AFC that leads to pleasurable experience. It also reveals that a personal investment in cooking for self restores taste and improves SWB. Overall, it showcases how the appreciation of the sensations of food from its taste, as it was ingested gradually, leads to the total experiential feeling embedded in food consumption.
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Adam Mather, Raymond Cipra and Thomas Siegmund
Topologically interlocked materials are a class of materials in which individual unit elements interact with each other through contact only. Cracks and other defects occurring…
Abstract
Purpose
Topologically interlocked materials are a class of materials in which individual unit elements interact with each other through contact only. Cracks and other defects occurring due to external loading are contained in the individual unit elements. Thus, topologically interlocked materials are damage tolerant and provide high structural integrity. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the concepts of remanufacturing in the context of a material for which the intended use is structural such that the material's structural integrity is of concern. In particular, the study is concerned with the mechanical behavior of a topologically interlocked material.
Design/methodology/approach
A topologically interlocked material based on tetrahedron unit elements is investigated experimentally. Manufacturing with aid of a robotically controlled end‐effector is demonstrated, and mechanical properties are determined for a plate configuration. A conceptual mechanical model for failure of topologically interlocked materials is developed and used to interpret the experimental results.
Findings
It is demonstrated that remanufacturing of the topologically interlocked material is possible with only a limited loss of material performance. The proposed model predicts trends in agreement with the experimental findings.
Research limitations/implications
While the model predictions are qualitatively in agreement with experiments, more detailed finite element models are needed to predict the material performance accurately. Experiments were conducted on a model material obtained from a 3D printer and should be verified on other solids.
Practical implications
The authors demonstrate that damage containment together with the absence of binders or adhesives enables reuse through remanufacturing without loss of structural integrity.
Social implications
Topologically interlocked materials emerge as attractive materials for sustainable engineering once their material performance are weighted with an environmental impact factor.
Originality/value
Remanufacturing experiments on a novel class of materials were conducted and a new model for the characterization of the structural integrity of topologically interlocked materials is proposed and successfully evaluated against experiments in at least qualitative form.
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David A. Harrison, Teresa L. Harrison and Margaret A. Shaffer
Immigrants are important contributors to workplaces, but HRM scholars have only recently begun to study them systematically. We document the prevalence and cross-national…
Abstract
Immigrants are important contributors to workplaces, but HRM scholars have only recently begun to study them systematically. We document the prevalence and cross-national variation in populations of immigrant employees. Going beyond a treatment that considers them as another element of diversity, we propose how gradients of status at each level of country, organization, and work group admittance can result in unique outcomes for immigrants who are equally (dis)similar. We offer a taxonomy of immigrant pathways into their destination countries to explore the status hierarchies they are assigned by governments and reinforced by organizations. We provide insights into the ascribed status of immigrants and develop a typology of individual and organizational acculturation strategies based on the cultural tightness and looseness of the destination and origin cultures. We then describe how the reactions of members of an immigrant employee’s social environment are sensitive to ascribed status and cultural tightness-looseness. We do so in a three-stage process that begins with immigrant categorization, followed by conferral of (il)legitimacy, and finally brought together with perceptions of outcome interdependence. Finally, we offer ideas about HRM interventions to guide management scholars in their quest for understanding and improve the experiences of immigrants in the workplace.
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The ‘sharing economy’ involves the giving and taking of goods, services, your room, my car, our food recipes and alternative forms of money to create a new economic imperative…
Abstract
The ‘sharing economy’ involves the giving and taking of goods, services, your room, my car, our food recipes and alternative forms of money to create a new economic imperative. Its open-sourced character is the creation of producers, users, consumers and, crucially, citizens, who consciously or unwittingly are carving out a new economy with a collaborative, social impetus. Driven, on the one hand, by technology that refuses to be constrained in the hands of the few, and, on the other, by the fracturing of our economies and societies by inequality (ecological, demographic, the movement of people across borders), the giving-and-taking phenomenon is lubricated by new sources of funding and philanthropy. The sharing economy opens up possibilities for the further consolidation of wealth either in the coffers of a privileged minority or a reversal of wealth creation and the inculcation of entrepreneurship as the right and responsibility of citizens through the sharing of ideas, technologies and values, locally and globally in varied ‘commons’. This chapter offers an analysis of the phenomenon of giving and taking in an open-sourced environment and proposes ideas for a prospective citizen entrepreneurship to open up spaces for collaborative new ventures.
Nicky Dries, Anneleen Forrier, Ans De Vos and Roland Pepermans
The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between self-perceived employability resources and perceived psychological contract (PC) obligations. To examine the extent…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between self-perceived employability resources and perceived psychological contract (PC) obligations. To examine the extent to which organizational ratings of potential, through their “signaling” function, might serve as a buffer between employability and PC perceptions that are undesirable from an employer's point of view.
Design/methodology/approach
Both self-report data (i.e. self-perceived employability resources and perceived PC obligations) and data reported by the HR departments of the participating organizations (i.e. organizational ratings of potential) were collected in a case-control design (n=103).
Findings
Self-perceived employability resources are not related to lower intentions to stay with one's current employer. High-potential employees did not perceive themselves as particularly obliged to reciprocate their organizations’ additional investments in them by expressing longer term loyalty, or a higher performance level.
Practical implications
Organizations should not be hesitant to assist their employees in enhancing their employability resources. In addition, they should engage in deliberate PC building with their high-potential employees so as to align their perceived PC obligations with the organizational agenda.
Originality/value
The relationship between self-perceived employability resources and perceived PC obligations has been underexamined; hardly any PC research has taken organizational variables into account; hardly any research exists on the psychological implications of being identified as a high potential; and the study draws both on self-report data and data reported by the HR departments of the participating organizations.
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Launched in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) induced radical changes in both the public-private boundaries and the production of…
Abstract
Launched in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) induced radical changes in both the public-private boundaries and the production of state-provided services. Such ‘budgetary revolution’ impacted the biggest state spender in capital expenditures, that is, the Ministry of Defence. Today many MoDs are expected to leverage on the British experience and develop their own approach of PPPs to overcome both the ineffectiveness of their defence spending and today’s stalemate in public budgets. This chapter leverages on British experiences over the past two decades to analyse the benefits and limits of PPPs in the realm of defence. Does such contractual arrangement fit defence-related investment? This chapter explores the on-going redefinition of public and private realms in military matters and it puts into relief the key dimensions of PPPs in terms of contractual arrangement.
An episode in the development of accounting for Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme transactions is explored from a social constructionist perspective. The “carrying” of…
Abstract
An episode in the development of accounting for Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme transactions is explored from a social constructionist perspective. The “carrying” of meanings between sub‐worlds of the financial accounting world through social processes, principally by means of the standard‐setting body’s conceptual framework, is shown to be implicated in the social construction, maintenance and modification of accounting meanings. The social constructionist model is developed in several ways, some of which respond to particular characteristics of the financial accounting world.
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Dan N. Stone, Alexei N. Nikitkov and Timothy C. Miller
This paper aims to adapt Simons’ (1995b) theory of the role of information technology (IT) in shaping and facilitating the levers of control (i.e. the Levers of Control Applied to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to adapt Simons’ (1995b) theory of the role of information technology (IT) in shaping and facilitating the levers of control (i.e. the Levers of Control Applied to Information Technology – LOCaIT) as a framework for investigating how eBay’s business strategy was realized through its management control system (MCS) in the first 10 years of the online auction market.
Design and method
The qualitative method uses data from public record interviews, teaching cases, books, Securities and Exchange Commission filings and other archival sources to longitudinally trace the realization of eBay’s strategy through its MCS and IT.
Findings
Realizing its strategy through the eBay MCS necessitated a diagnostic control system unlike any previously seen. This system created a close-knit online community and enabled buyers and sellers to monitor one another’s performance and trustworthiness.
Research limitations and implications
The LOCaIT theory facilitated understanding the core aspects of the realization of eBay’s strategy through its MCS and IT. However, LOCaIT largely omits the strong linkages evident among elements of the MCS, the importance and necessity of building a core IT infrastructure to support eBay’s strategy and the central role of building consumer trust in the realization of this strategy.
Practical and social implications
eBay’s MCS is now, perhaps, the world’s most widely imitated model for creating online trust and user interactions (e.g. Yelp, TripAdvisor, Amazon). In addition, eBay’s MCS was “sold” as a consumer product that was instrumental in facilitating consumer trust in the online auction market.
Originality/value
Contributions include: tracing the creation, growth and evolution of, perhaps, the world’s largest and most widely imitated MCS, which redefined the boundaries of accounting systems monitoring; and testing the range, usefulness and limitations of Simons’ LOCaIT theory as a lens for understanding eBay’s use of IT in their MCS.
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Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American…
Abstract
Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American preemptive invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the subsequent prisoner abuse, such an existence seems to be farther and farther away from reality. The purpose of this work is to stop this dangerous trend by promoting justice, love, and peace through a change of the paradigm that is inconsistent with justice, love, and peace. The strong paradigm that created the strong nation like the U.S. and the strong man like George W. Bush have been the culprit, rather than the contributor, of the above three universal ideals. Thus, rather than justice, love, and peace, the strong paradigm resulted in in justice, hatred, and violence. In order to remove these three and related evils, what the world needs in the beginning of the third millenium is the weak paradigm. Through the acceptance of the latter paradigm, the golden mean or middle paradigm can be formulated, which is a synergy of the weak and the strong paradigm. In order to understand properly the meaning of these paradigms, however, some digression appears necessary.
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David Hutchinson, Jang Singh and Kent Walker
The purpose of this paper is to describe a Canadian corporation's implementation and application of a sustainable business operation and model. It is based upon a case study of an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a Canadian corporation's implementation and application of a sustainable business operation and model. It is based upon a case study of an International Canadian coffee and donut chain: Tim Hortons.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through: extensive publications of corporate documents, observations of actual operations at retail sites and social media sites.
Findings
The paper finds that Tim Hortons has clearly made progress toward greater sustainability. However, its program often lacks specificity, particularly in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Within a visibly and highly polluting industry Tim Hortons sustainability program is a step in the right direction but there are areas in need of improvement.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study paradoxically suggest that it is difficult for a company in the fast food industry to truly become sustainable given certain characteristics of the industry (disposal food and beverage containers, and drive‐thrus for example), yet sustainability is also imperative to business success and competitiveness.
Practical implications
Through a detailed examination of Tim Hortons' sustainable business approach the authors delineate a number of areas where the company can improve its sustainability. The paper also discusses areas of difficulty (e.g. drive‐thrus) and areas in need of improvement (e.g. a detailed description of the sources of the company's greenhouse‐gas emissions).
Social implications
Tim Hortons' sustainability program was only recently launched, and although the motivations behind the program are not discussed, it was not developed in response to any government subsidies or legislation.
Originality/value
The main contributions are as follows. First, the authors methodically analyze the sustainable business approach of a Canadian fast‐food company including but not limited to its value‐added process, driving forces, and purchasing policies. This provides a beginning for others who wish to implement sustainability into an industry not known for its environmental responsibility. Second, the authors suggest ways that Tim Hortons could improve its sustainable business approach. Third, the authors provide a case study of how an iconic Canadian company with revenues over $2.5 billion and nearly 4,000 stores across the globe has begun to implement sustainability into its core strategic approach.