Sustainable tourism development in islands: a case study of Gran Canaria

While sustainable development is recognized as an essential requirement for achieving economic goals without degrading the environment, major problems arise in defining methods for formulating and implementing sustainable strategic actions at the macro‐level, including islands. Bearing in mind this limitation, this research paper will attempt to present a strategic planning methodology for drawing up strategic issues for tourism development from the point of view of sustainability, which is particularly appropriate to islands. The authors first review existing literature on sustainable development with a view to defining a conceptual approach to sustainability and identifying particular areas for sustainable tourism development in the island context. A methodology for formulating strategic issues for sustainable tourism development in Gran Canaria is then drawn up. Sociocultural aspects, the environment and the economy, with particular emphasis on tourism, are examined in order to identify major strategic issues for sustainable development in Gran Canaria. Copyright Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The Moderating Effect of Perceived Effectiveness of SMEs' Marketing Function on the Network Ties—Strategic Adaptiveness Relationship

This study examines the critical role of perceived effectiveness of the Marketing function (MF) in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in leveraging entrepreneurial network ties to improve strategic adaptiveness (SA). The study tests whether a MF perceived as effective by SMEs’ managers/owners moderates the relationship between SMEs network ties and SA required for improved performance. Findings of a moderated regression analysis on a sample of 263 Croatian SMEs indicate that network ties contribute significantly to their SA, and that a MF perceived as effective only moderates the impact of customer and competitor ties on SMEs’ SA. Research and practical implications are discussed.     

Linking Unlearning with Work–Life Balance: An Initial Empirical Investigation into SMEs

The use of work–life balance (WLB) supporting cultures to provide and support the welfare of both the individuals and their families is expected to improve organizational outcomes by enabling company members to improve levels of job satisfaction and commitment to work. However, creating or introducing another culture in the company frequently generates internal problems when it conflicts with the current culture in terms of the beliefs, habits, and things managers take for granted. In this paper, we develop a framework for modeling how the unsuitable knowledge may be mitigated in order to strengthen a WLB culture. It is based on the idea that the presence of an unlearning context that fosters the updating of knowledge is likely to be essential for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) that are trying to implement a WLB culture. The research model and hypothesized relationships are empirically tested using the structural equation modeling approach, validated by factor analysis of 229 SMEs in the Spanish metal industry. Our findings show that in order to strengthen a WLB culture and thus positively influence innovation‐related outcomes, SMEs meet the challenge of developing an unlearning context to counteract the negative effects of the outdated knowledge in relevant areas and to facilitate the replacement of out‐of‐date or obsolete knowledge.     

About Gender Differences and the Social Environment in the Development of Entrepreneurial Intentions

This study analyzes the interplay between gender differences and the social environment in the formation of entrepreneurial intentions. Data were obtained from two different European regions. The results show that the formation of entrepreneurial intentions is similar for men and women. At the same time, men consistently exhibit more favorable intentions than women do. Nevertheless, the perception of the social legitimation of entrepreneurship only serves to reinforce male entrepreneurial intentions, and not those of women. This holds for both regions and probably is a consequence of women feeling entrepreneurship to not be an acceptable career option for them. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Social Capital or Ethnic Enclave Location? A Multilevel Explanation of Immigrant Business Growth

The rapid increase in migration into host countries and the growth of immigrant‐owned business enterprises has revitalized research on ethnic business. Does micro (individual)‐level social capital, or meso (group)‐level location within the ethnic enclave lead to immigrant business growth? Or do you need both? We analyze quantitative data collected from 110 Chinese restaurants in Australia, a major host country. At the micro level we find that coethnic (same ethnic group) networks are critical to the growth of an immigrant entrepreneur's business, particularly in the early years. But non‐coethnic (different ethnic group) social capital only has a positive impact on business growth for immigrant businesses outside the ethnic enclave. Our findings are relevant, not only to host‐country policymakers, but also for future immigrant business owners and ethnic community leaders trying to better understand how to promote healthy communities and sustainable economic growth. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Is the cardholder an efficient alarm system to detect credit card incidents?

There is a growing tendency in credit card industry to increase the contribution of the smallest players, the cardholders, in the detection of card incidents. This article examines whether cardholders are efficient at detecting/communicating incidents of theft, loss or fraudulent use of their cards. The analysis focuses on whether they demonstrate enough speed of response to support a risk control subsystem by the issuer. The research follows a completely new approach showing how the issue can be handled by applying the concept of elasticity, a notion just recently exported from economics to the field of statistics by linking it with the reverse hazard rate. The issue is focused on the analysis of the characteristics of the elasticity function of the random variable that measures the delay of cardholders in reporting incidents. This study is illustrated with an application to a real data set of 1069 incidents.     

Who will make an indulgent food choice after having fulfilled their healthy eating goal?

This research considers how subjective nutrition knowledge and calorie consciousness moderate the effects of eating goals on indulgent vs. healthy consumers and their on subsequent choices. A two between‐subjects design (an eating goal invoked by a main course: healthy vs. indulgent) was conducted, where the choice of salad dressing (healthy or indulgent) was a dependent variable. Two individual traits (subjective nutrition knowledge and calorie consciousness) were considered as moderators between eating goals and food choices. The results indicated that individuals with high levels of subjective knowledge about nutrition or with a high level of consciousness about calories were more likely to choose a healthy option when their indulgent goal had been invoked. However, they were more likely to make indulgent choices when their healthy goal had been fulfilled by the main course. In contrast, for those with low levels of subjective nutrition knowledge or with a low level of consciousness about calories, food choices were not influenced by the eating goal which had been invoked. The findings could help practitioners in the food industry to develop different food combinations with which to satisfy their customers through understanding personality traits.     

Increasing a brand’s competitive clout: the role of market share,consumer preference,and price sensitivity

The market power (or ‘competitive clout’) of a brand is an increasingly important component of modern marketing strategies. However, the factors that enhance a brand’s competitive clout (BCC) are poorly understood. This study therefore suggests an integrated model of BCC and three factors that are proposed to play a role in its formation: (i) consumer price sensitivity; (ii) brand market share; and (iii) consumer brand preferences. These variables are examined both individually and simultaneously to demonstrate the direct effect of each on BCC and how their inter-relationships contribute to BCC. In doing so, a two-step empirical analysis is conducted. First, two multinomial logit models provide an own- and a cross-price response matrix for a chosen set of competitive brands. Secondly, BCC is regressed against the variables of market share, intrinsic preferences, and price sensitivity using an interaction effects regression model. The results of the analysis show that market share is not the only way to increase BCC; in particular, consumer preferences, and especially pricing decisions, are shown to play a key role in developing a strong brand.