Vanessa Pope and Peter A. Sykes
Official waiting times rarely take account of the wait for investigations needed prior to determining what treatment to offer. A postal survey was carried out of hospitals in the…
Abstract
Official waiting times rarely take account of the wait for investigations needed prior to determining what treatment to offer. A postal survey was carried out of hospitals in the northwest of England, to gauge waiting times for commonly requested investigations. Waiting times were shortest when there was a high suspicion of underlying malignancy, with 92 per cent under four weeks. When malignancy was thought unlikely, the wait for investigations was much longer, with some departments quoting waits of over eight months. It is concluded that the wait for investigations is often considerable and should be included in official waiting times.
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Within entrepreneurship literature, the conventional approaches inspired by Schumpeter's “creative destruction” have largely emphasized the role of human cognitive processes to…
Abstract
Within entrepreneurship literature, the conventional approaches inspired by Schumpeter's “creative destruction” have largely emphasized the role of human cognitive processes to come up with new business ideas. In contemporary studies, however, there is a recent research stream wherein creativity is aestheticized. As a research line of the aesthetic approach, there is an increasing interest for playfulness and other signals of enjoyment that can also stimulate the entrepreneur's creative acts.
This chapter is a reflexion about the liberating and creative role of play in the context of sport entrepreneurship, particularly, in the fitness industry. It aspires to give to the recent development of the sport entrepreneurship field a novel twist by relating it to a theology of play. Drawing on the work of one of the most influential twentieth-century theologians who has approached play theology, Hugo Rahner, we present how his theological approach may be used to widen our understanding of sport entrepreneurship. This theological perspective allows us to develop alternative thoughts based on concepts that transcend the typical rationalist business approach and its instrumental language.
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David Nickell, T. Bettina Cornwell and Wesley J. Johnston
The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on sponsorship‐linked marketing and to present a set of research propositions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on sponsorship‐linked marketing and to present a set of research propositions.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach to the research propositions was to explore the existing literature to discover areas where opportunities for further research exist.
Findings
The authors propose that not only does sponsorship‐linked marketing influence attitudes towards the sponsor, but that the relationship is that of an S‐shaped curve where the incremental impact of sponsorship is slight for brands with very little or very strong attitudes established towards the brand. The most dramatic influence that sponsorship‐linked marketing will have is for those sponsors with a moderate amount of established brand attitude. The authors also present an argument that extreme congruity or extreme incongruity will drive brand awareness more dramatically than an expected level of sponsor‐property congruity, thus suggesting a U‐shaped relationship between awareness and congruency. Moreover, while an extremely incongruent partnership may gain widespread attention, it is unlikely to positively influence an emotional or behavioral response for either the property or sponsor.
Originality/value
The majority of the previous literature regarding sponsorship‐linked marketing proposed or assumed a linear relationship between current brand attitudes and the impact of a sponsorship. This paper suggests that this relationship is actually non‐linear and is, in fact, an S‐shaped relationship. Further, while congruency was believed to be linearly related to awareness, this paper proposes that the association between awareness and congruency is a U‐shaped phenomenon.
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H. Eric Schockman, Vanessa Alexandra Hernández Soto and Aldo Boitano de Moras
Chibueze Clinton and Sarvjeet Kaur Chatrath
Changing economic and social landscape due to globalisation, increased communication, general environmental challenges and marketing scandals are factors which have significantly…
Abstract
Changing economic and social landscape due to globalisation, increased communication, general environmental challenges and marketing scandals are factors which have significantly impacted marketing in the twenty-first century. To this effect, this research examines how marketers can increase confidence in their consumers through active engagement in consumer awareness and corporate social responsibility (CSR). It focuses on the roles of consumer awareness and CSR in marketing and aims to show the degree of influence the synthesis of both variables can have in marketing. The research, which is exploratory, depends on secondary sources of data and concludes that knowledge of products, services, consumer rights and CSR activities of a company is potent in shaping consumer behaviour. In addition, it shows that the synthesis of both variables has a great influence on moderating the effectiveness of each other and in improving marketing.
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Tim Benijts, Wim Lagae and Benedict Vanclooster
This study seeks to examine how a sport league, a unique feature of professional sport, influences the business‐to‐business marketing of teams participating in the sport league.
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to examine how a sport league, a unique feature of professional sport, influences the business‐to‐business marketing of teams participating in the sport league.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a qualitative research design based on a single case study, the UCI ProTour in professional road cycling. The primary sources consist of 27 semi‐structured interviews complemented by written sources and controlled for construct validity, external validity and reliability.
Findings
From a theoretical point of view, a sport league is a marketing channel network (a specific type of an intentionally developed business network or IDBN). Theoretical analysis also reveals that the teams' business‐to‐business marketing is positively related to the network's value‐creating system. Empirically, it is argued that the introduction of a marketing channel network has a positive influence on the financial value of the teams' business‐to‐business market but does not result in a change in the business demographics of corporate sponsors.
Research limitations
The study has possible sport‐specific limitations.
Practical implications
Business‐to‐business marketers and sport league managers should pay attention to the characteristics of the sport league as these influence the teams' business‐to‐business market. This is especially valid for sports in which teams rely strongly on sport sponsoring and, to a lesser extend, on gate revenues, television rights and prize money.
Originality/value
For the first time, this study examines and provides data on the business‐to‐business environment of teams in professional road cycling. It contributes to the literature of international sport marketing and professional road cycling, a sport gaining momentum in various countries and which is understudied in comparison to other sports.
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Sten Söderman and Harald Dolles
The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe the key driving forces in international sponsorship during the years preceding the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe the key driving forces in international sponsorship during the years preceding the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Design/methodology/approach
A “means‐objectives model” is applied, thereby linking sponsorship to brand equity factors and to strategic aims. Co‐branding, revenue streams and new customers are identified as means factors. The objective factors are presented in three dimensions: product, corporation and region. The analysis is based on 492 advertisements, articles and press releases collected from Chinese newspapers and Chinese official web pages covering the period 2001‐2007.
Findings
Analysis sees seven dominant means‐objectives combinations in sponsorship leading to different pattern of sponsor advertising strategies depending on the lead time to the Olympic Games. First, sponsors mainly focus on co‐branding marketing efforts. In the second stage, global Olympic sponsors link co‐branding with corporation image, Chinese brands are focusing on product/corporation image and new customers. In the third stage global Olympic sponsors focus more on local markets and customers in advertising. Chinese brands tend to keep an activation strategy based on revenue and product. Only a few local sponsors place emphasis on leveraging their sponsorship investment toward creating an international image.
Research limitations/implications
Data collection is limited to a period of altogether three months in 2006 and 2007, focusing on Chinese print media available in Beijing and Shanghai universities' libraries. Given the size of the Chinese media market the data therefore consist only of a random selection of advertisements. Further, the sample does not cover different marketing channels, like TV, radio etc., which might also be part of the sponsor's advertising strategy.
Originality/value
In addition to providing further understanding of Olympic sponsor advertising behavior and sponsorship in an emerging market context, this paper provides insights into how the strategic aims related to sponsorship depended on the level of internationalization of the firm.
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– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the experiences of older consumers with a range of product packaging.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the experiences of older consumers with a range of product packaging.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses qualitative diary research (QDR). Ten seniors recorded all their experiences with packaging over a two-week period. Using a frame narrative that views ageing as multidimensional, diary entries uncover rich data that goes beyond physical age-related issues.
Findings
In addition to physical problems with packaging, older adults experience psychological frustration and feelings of alienation. Social implications of dependence on others are also discovered, despite many being purchasers of up-market luxury products.
Research limitations/implications
The study is exploratory and due to its qualitative methodology findings cannot be generalised to the wider population. Nevertheless it provides a starting point for future research into packaging and senior consumers.
Practical implications
The study has implications for all managers who participate in planning and designing brand packaging and calls for them to work more closely with ergonomics and design professionals in order to better plan for the needs of a large and growing sector of the population.
Social implications
Findings suggest that the basic need to feed oneself is hampered by some packaging, which of course is detrimental to the quality of life of older adults.
Originality/value
Few studies consider packaging and older consumers and this is particularly true in the marketing literature. This is the first study to use QDR in this context, and as such has several advantages over recall studies. The study also makes a contribution to knowledge pertaining to vulnerable consumers.
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Hugues Seraphin, Vanessa Gowreesunkar, Mustafeed Zaman and Thierry Lorey
Many tourism destinations are now facing the problem of overtourism, and destination management organisations (DMOs) are in search of an effective and sustainable solution. With…
Abstract
Purpose
Many tourism destinations are now facing the problem of overtourism, and destination management organisations (DMOs) are in search of an effective and sustainable solution. With this as a foundation, the purpose of this study is to identify factors causing overtourism at popular tourism destinations and to propose an alternative solution to overcome this phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is based on an inductive and a deductive approach. The paper draws its conclusion from secondary and tertiary data (literature review and online research).
Findings
The study shows that Trexit (tourism exit) is not a sustainable solution to overtourism and that an alternative strategy may be adopted to tackle this phenomenon. The overall outcome shows that if sociological factors, business factors, technological and economic factors are addressed, the effect of overtourism may be managed and controlled.
Practical implications
The findings of this piece of research refer to a Just-in-Time strategy for managing overtourism. The findings could be useful to practitioners, as the study proposes an alternative means to overcome overtourism and manage destinations without affecting visitor flow and profitability.
Originality/value
This research fulfils an existing research gap, as it proposes an alternative solution to tackle overtourism. The proposed model also helps to provide a broader insight of the dynamics surrounding overtourism at tourism destinations. In so doing, it advances the existing body of knowledge by providing new inputs to a topic that has not been discussed, namely, Trexit or tourism exit.