Can we learn to live differently? Lessons from Going for Green: a case study of Merthyr Tydfil (South Wales)

Participation at the local level is an important factor in determining the success of programmes developed to achieve sustainable development. This paper is concerned with debates over the role of the individual citizen in relation to that participatory process. In particular, it focuses on the UK Governments’ citizens environmental initiative ‘Going for Green’ (GFG). Through this initiative a five‐point Green Code was developed to assist in the delivery of its sustainable development message to the general public. The initiative's overall approach to participation was based on an assumption that the primary barrier to translating environmental concern into local action was a lack of information, and that individuals would respond to messages in a similar way. As a research strategy, the case study was used to evaluate how the initiatives’ pilot Sustainable Communities Project was implemented in two comparative geographical communities in Merthyr Tydfil (South Wales). Research findings from this study have demonstrated that the case study was invaluable in terms of understanding the participatory process and experiences of broad a range of community stakeholders. Promoting a single model of participation, GFG was found to restrict the participatory process in terms of who was encouraged to participate, the scope of their participation, and those outcomes that could be achieved. This paper concludes that if significant progress is to be made in relation to achieving sustainable development, the role of the individual citizen needs to be extended beyond that of a consumer of the environment, and involve active participation in a process that is based on collective action.     

International franchise partner selection and chain performance through the lens of organisational learning

This study aims to investigate how international franchisors engage in exploratory and exploitative learning in the partner selection process and the implications for chain performance. Based on an embedded case study of a leading international hotel organisation, the findings reveal that the franchisor attempted a balanced learning approach in response to challenges caused by high cultural distance in international markets. However, the ‘crowd-out’ effect of exploration and exploitation created a ‘tension’: exploration emphasising adaptation to local needs dominated the partner identification stage in country markets, whilst exploitation stressing standardisation and efficiencies dominated the partner decision-making stage at division. As a result, a consistent brand image came at the cost of very cautious international expansion.     

Internal marketing as a change management tool: A case study in re-branding

This article examines the rational, power and political considerations of internal marketing (IM) when implementing a change management initiative, such as re-branding. Based on the findings of a qualitative case study of a Canadian university and the views of multiple stakeholder groups, additional considerations have been identified that relate to the transformation or ‘control’ stage of change. Particularly, tactics have been presented that are believed to facilitate the transition or re-branding process. This research provides important perspective on the role of IM in the context of organizational behavior. Using a grounded theory research method, an adapted model is proposed that comprises elements of internal marketing as well as change management.     

Theorising digital personhood: a dramaturgical approach

This paper reports on findings from a study which investigates our digital identities. Through examination of the process of constructing biographical films derived from users’ social media (SM) data, we progress understanding of the digital self. Building on dramaturgical understandings of performance of self, we challenge the dominant views which argue that SM users operating as their ‘authentic selves’ can be empowered by having the potential for contemporaneous multiple selves. Through the introduction of the concepts of SM leakage and multiple temporal selves, we note the challenge of living with these digital self-representations which are sustained over time. We propose strategies for dealing with temporal shifts, as well as dispensing with the notion of the separation of these selves.     

British overseas retailing, 1900–60: International firm characteristics,market selections and entry modes

We examine the historical developments of the environmental adaptation process at one Swedish metal smelting firm, contrasting the result with cases in Canada. The findings suggest that the Swedish system in excluding stakeholders, focusing on plant emissions and stipulating pollution reduction at economically feasible costs mitigated risk which resulted in long-term contracts in a cooperative framework in which engineers were given a high degree of discretion. This enabled an ‘expansion-for-emission-reduction’ strategy which is consistent with the so-called Porter and van der Linde hypothesis. Moreover, the findings suggest that environmental management systems should be considered in the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) research.     

Pet‐related consumption as a consumer identity constructor

The objective of this paper was to analyse how pet‐related consumption can be connected to consumer identity construction. This objective is based on the idea that consumers use symbolic meanings from possessions to construct and communicate their identities. Objects of attachment have especially been found to be closely connected to the formation of consumer identity. Furthermore, it is often assumed that consumers struggle to maintain a true sense of self or personal identity while retaining a feeling of belonging and social identity. This may be portrayed through layers of identity, which are composed of personal identity, social identity and other people. Empirical research was conducted using focus groups to create individual collages. The findings indicated that pet‐related consumption was used in the following six ways to construct consumer identity: ‘character developer’, ‘source of well‐being’, ‘means to connect’, ‘status communicator’, ‘object of devotion’ and ‘intermediary’, all of which found their places in the layers of identity. Each of these ways of using pet‐related consumption was paired with one other so that the extremes formulated three dimensions in a consumers' identity construction: the personal dimension, the social dimension and the dimension of emotional attachment. In conclusion, it was proposed that consumer identity construction illustrated via pet‐related consumption as created within both social interactions with meaningful others and those three dimensions is multi‐levelled and multifaceted. The paper invites future research to study both identity construction and emotional attachment, being such multifarious phenomena, and to explore the dynamic interactions that may exist.     

Can the label ‘member’ in a loyalty program context boost customer satisfaction?

ABSTRACT

This study examines if labeling customers as ‘member’ versus ‘non-member’ in the context of a firm’s loyalty program can influence the customers’ evaluations of the firm. It was assumed that firms’ membership-related labels, which typically are euphemisms in relation to the mere discounts offered by many loyalty programs, can (a) prime customers so that positively charged content in a general member category is activated, and that (b) this content can have a positive impact on evaluations of firms with loyalty programs. An experiment showed that evoking customers’ membership status resulted in a higher level of sense of belonging, and higher customer satisfaction, for members than for non-members. Sense of belonging mediated the impact of evoking membership status on customer satisfaction. A second study confirmed that the content of customers’ general member construct is indeed associated with sense of belonging and satisfaction.     

Developing e-service quality scales: A literature review

This study reviews the literature on e-service quality (e-SQ), with an emphasis on the methodological issues involved in developing measurement scales and issues related to the dimensionality of the e-SQ construct. We selected numerous studies on e-SQ from well-known databases and subjected them to a thorough content analysis. The review shows that dimensions of e-service quality tend to be contingent on the service industry. Despite the common dimensions often used in evaluating e-SQ, regardless of the type of service on the internet (‘reliability/fulfilment’, ‘responsiveness’, ‘web design’, ‘ease of use/usability’, ‘privacy/security’, and ‘information quality/benefit’), other dimensions are specific to e-service contexts. The study also identifies several conceptual and methodological limitations associated with developing e-SQ measurement such as the lack of a rigorous validation process, the problematic sample size and composition, the focus on functional aspects, and the use of a data-driven approach. This is the first study to undertake an extensive literature review of research on the development of e-SQ scales. The findings should be valuable to academics and practitioners alike.     

Sustainable consumption

Participation at the local level is an important factor in determining the success of programmes developed to achieve sustainable development. This paper is concerned with debates over the role of the individual citizen in relation to that participatory process. In particular, it focuses on the UK government's citizens’ environmental initiative ‘Going for Green’. Through this initiative a five‐point Green Code was developed to assist in the delivering of its sustainable development message. The initiative's overall approach to participation was based on an assumption that the primary barrier to translating environmental concern into local action was a lack of information, and individuals would respond to messages in a similar way. As a research strategy, the case study was used to evaluate methods and processes used to implement the initiative's pilot Sustainable Communities Project in two comparative geographical communities in Merthyr Tydfil (South Wales). Research findings from this study have demonstrated that the case study was invaluable in terms of understanding the participatory process and experiences of a broad range of community stakeholders. Promoting a single model of participation was found to restrict the participatory process in terms of who was encouraged to participate, the scope of their participation, and those outcomes that could be achieved. This paper concludes that if significant progress is to be made in relation to achieving sustainable development, the role of individual citizens needs to be extended beyond that of a consumer of the environment, and also include active participation in a process that is based on collective action.     

Facilitating transformative change in medication adherence practices

ABSTRACT

This article explores how healthcare consumer collectives integrate self-service technology as part of their everyday lives on a long-term basis. Combining previously published research with data collected from field observations, in-depth interviews and focus groups, the author uncovers distinct adoption styles and then links these to well-being in a chronic healthcare context. Importantly, findings from the research suggest that successful long-term adoption of new technology depends not only on improving a targeted practice (medicating patients in this case), but also other affected everyday practices in the lives of consumers. By drawing on insights from the literature of service-dominant logic and practice theory, the author identifies ‘value-in-context’ and ‘lifestyle fit’ that underlie resource integration in medication adherence. Four adoption styles were uncovered, in which two in particular, ‘door opener’ and ‘transformative change,’ should be emphasized by healthcare managers and developers as they tend to be associated with higher well-being.     

Supply chain capabilities for facilitating the internationalisation of retailers – a multiple case study of three Swedish retail companies

ABSTRACT

Market-oriented aspects of retail internationalisation have received a lot of research attention since the 1990s. However, beyond these aspects lies also supply-chain oriented capabilities that are necessary for retailers to successfully internationalise into foreign sales markets. By using a perspective based on resource-based theories, this paper explores supply-chain oriented capabilities that facilitate retail internationalisation. The research is based on a multiple case study of three Swedish retailers. Through the perspective of research based theories, specifically capabilities, the empirical data is studied in a single-case as well as a cross-case analysis. Findings reveal three supply chain-oriented capability categories (leadership capability, integration capability and learning capability) of importance for retail internationalisation. Resources necessary for the capabilities are to be found internally at the retailer, but also externally at other firms. This research adds to the market-oriented knowledge on retail internationalisation by adding a supply-chain oriented perspective. Further, it provides an understanding of the early phases of retail internationalisation.     

Nostalgia and brands: a sweet rather than a bitter cultural evocation of the past

Abstract

This study focuses on the cultural consumer environment of brands considered as nostalgic. The research questions are thus the following: what is the impact of culture on the consumer relationship with brands considered as nostalgic? In which cases are these relationships positive, and in which cases are they negative? To answer these questions, a longitudinal data collection was conducted, consisting of interviewing the same sample of respondents three times, at more or less one-year intervals. The results were analysed taking into account three dimensions of culture: time, place and social aspects. In the time-based approach, brands are associated with traditional celebrations and rites of passage. Thus, they give rise to ‘traditional purchase’ and consumer loyalty. In the place-based approach, brands evoke original authenticity and myths. They offer protection to reduce perceived risks and therefore facilitate consumers’ trust. In the social approach, brands are associated with symbolic icons and attract communities of fans. Finally, this article shows that culture involves sweeter rather than bitter nostalgic brand relationships. This article brings to light four cases when the consumer cultural environment may induce a rejection of the nostalgic brand: (1) the ‘corrupted’ brand; (2) the ‘immoral’ brand; (3) the ‘precarious’ brand; and (4) the ‘stereotypical’ brand. It shows that only one case – the ‘corrupted’ brand – may be particularly prejudicial due to its unwelcome role in History.     

An investigation of consumer intention to use pick-up point services for last-mile distribution in a developing country

Pick-up point services are one response to last-mile distribution challenges in the e-commerce growth scenario. However, in large cities in developing countries where the low-income and high-income groups are clearly divided, differences in consumer behavior between income groups may affect service distribution. The literature shows that most consumers may use pick-up points when available. However, the service implementation is facing huge inertia. A survey was carried out with 396 consumers in São Paulo, and a conceptual framework was proposed to expand the Diffusion of Innovation Theory to reveal these behaviors. Data were accessed using advanced structural equation modeling techniques (Multigroup and IPMA) to conduct a case study. The findings suggest that ‘Trialability’, ‘Compatibility’, and ‘Relative advantage’ constructs most affect consumer behavior. Location security and accessibility are matters of great concern. The higher preference to use the pick-up point system comes from low-income consumers (social classes D and E); almost 96% of them reported being affected by delivery issues. They also prefer personal attendance and supermarkets as safe and accessible locations. Higher social classes (A and B) still prefer home delivery. This research will help retailers to understand how to operate in a given market to provide an effective, fair, and sustainable service, promoting its diffusion.     

Expectations and Satisfaction in Channel Member Relationships in the Victorian (Australia) Fruit Industry

Abstract

The paper reports findings of research into the dynamics of customer satisfaction formation amongst fruit producers and their distribution channel(s), within the economically important northern Victorian (Australia) fruit industry. The paper suggests reasons why previous approaches to the issue of satisfaction in channel member relationships, which typically utilize constructs of ‘economic’ and ‘non-economic’ satisfaction, may usefully be supplemented by application of the ‘disconfirmation of expectations’ model. The research actually tests a modification of the traditional disconfirmation model that incorporates dimensions of ‘outcome’ and ‘process’ at the levels of expectations, performance and disconfirmation—a ‘dualistic’ model. This had previously been tested only in a radically different business-to business-context, that of advertising creative services. The findings suggest that satisfactory measurement of growers' expectations can be achieved. They also suggest that the disconfirmation model does appear to apply in this previously untested service context, whether unitary measures of expectations and performance, or the dualistic interpretation of expectations/performance, are utilized.     

The ‘Catch 22’ of communicating CSR: Findings from a Danish study

This research explored the apparent ‘Catch 22’ of communicating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Although companies are regularly encouraged to engage in CSR, they are simultaneously discouraged to communicate about this engagement. We contribute with two models that may help to explain how companies can best communicate about their CSR initiatives. Based on a reputation survey and two case studies of Danish corporate CSR frontrunners, first we develop an ‘inside‐out approach’ to suggest how managers can manage their CSR activities to achieve favourable CSR reputation in a ‘Catch 22’ context. Employees appear as a key component in building trustworthiness as CSR communication is shown to evolve when taking an ‘inside‐out approach’. Second, we develop a CSR communication model with two CSR communication processes targeting different stakeholder groups: ‘the expert CSR communication process’ and ‘the endorsed CSR communication process’. Integrating these models and processes may help companies strategically capture reputational advantage from their CSR initiatives.     

What organic and Fair Trade labels do not tell us: towards a place‐based understanding of certification

Certified organic and Fair Trade food products are making their way into the mainstream among Western consumers and, as such, are increasingly viewed as sustainable and preferable alternatives to the conventional food system, with its many negative social and environmental externalities. Two case studies discussed in this paper indicate, however, that operationalizing the goals for organic and Fair Trade food via certification can be a complex and difficult process. Specifically, the implementation of certification creates a disconnect between expectations raised by labels and the ‘lived experience’ of small farmers. In the case of small farmers in Mexico growing certified organic tomatoes and herbs, certification exacerbated socio‐economic inequality and disrupted local social norms by creating a hyperfocus on surveillance. In the case of small farmers in the Dominican Republic growing Fair Trade bananas, the certification process prioritized the demands of the market to such a degree that the farmers were largely unaware that they were participating in anything ‘alternative’, and it simultaneously reinforced socio‐economic inequalities within the communities. These findings suggest that if the appeal of certified labels rests on the integrity of what the label represents to consumers, then such consumer movements would benefit from a more robust analysis of how certification intersects with and affects local spaces, cultures and communities at the point of production.     

The breakdown of the workplace ‘family’ and the rise of personnel management within an Australian financial institution 1950–1980

The management of its people defines the way in which an organisation develops the capabilities to successfully compete in the market environment. Since the 1950s, approaches to staff management have evolved from traditional bureaucratic foundations to strategic planning exercises. This article uses a case study approach to investigate the way in which the process of organisational learning evolved in the development of personnel management practices. It suggests that although old and new practices were often overlaid on each other, ‘bridges’ developed which allowed the progressive development of new managerial processes.     

The Impact of the Single Market Programme on EU Banking

The rise of the service economy has been the predominant pattern of structural change in the twentieth century. This article investigates the driving forces behind the recent stages of this development. Focusing on international input—output data from the early 1970s to the 1990s, a decomposition analysis separates the quantitative impacts of demand, technology and trade-driven determinants of output growth. Our findings confirm the rise of knowledge-based services as the most dynamic component, thus strengthening the case for ‘quaternarisation’ as a process which is distinctly characterised by the substantial contribution of technological and organisational change to structural development.     

An analysis of prediction error for new prime-time television programmes: a comparative study between the USA and Korea

This study investigates possible factors in prediction error for audience share for new prime-time television programmes in the USA and Korea. While previous studies have focused on the factors affecting the size of a programme's actual audience, little attention has been paid to the accuracy of audience share prediction. A total of 193 new prime-time TV programmes from 1994 to 1997 for the USA and from 1998 to 2001 for Korea were examined. Advertising industry forecasters' predicted audience share, and actual share data were accumulated from Broadcasting & Cable and Weekly Nielsen Reports. Findings show that the ‘Programme Type’, ‘Returning Lead-Ins’ and ‘Returning Lead-Outs’ worked as significant factors for estimating error in audience share in the USA, and ‘Programme Type’ and ‘Programme Length’ played major roles in forecasting error in Korea. The degrees of relationship with forecasting error are consistent with previous studies' findings. Similarities and dissimilarities in prediction error in both countries were found and are discussed in this study.     

Cooperation in Stakeholder Networks: Firms’ ‘Tertius Iungens’ Role

In stakeholder theory, most research on cooperation has been focused on inter-organizational collaboration field centered at the dyadic level, excluding the relational or network data. Relational or network data are important as the firms do not simply respond to each stakeholder individually but to an interaction of influences from the entire stakeholder set. The purpose of this article is to analyze the cooperation process among the firm and its stakeholders by considering the relational data and to describe the role of the firm in such cooperation processes. The empirical evidence is provided by an inductive in-depth case study on the company ‘Gas-Nat’ and its stakeholders cooperating on the ‘natural gas pipeline program’ in Argentina. To do so, I combined both quantitative sociometric data and qualitative data from grounded theory and ethnographic observations. This research suggests a stakeholder cooperation model based on structural (stakeholder’s position) and relational factors (framing process). The results indicate that stakeholder cooperation is not just determined by stakeholder position, but they can vary depending on the political opportunity structure in the network and on the framing process. It was found that network structure may create a context for selective cooperation but doesn’t explicitly determine it which is different from the previous research in stakeholder network literature. The role of the firm in the cooperation process was found as a tertius iungens role which implies to join, unite, or connect, and it is different from the existing prominent network literature of tertius gaudens.