The research design used to develop a high performance management system construct for US restaurant managers

Studies suggest that when organizations place a higher value on their employees, through the implementation of high performance management systems (HPMSs), their business performance improves. Those that have conceptualized the HPMS construct in the service sector have limited validity for the restaurant industry. To fill this gap this paper presents the research methods used to develop a construct for a HPMS within the casual restaurant sector of the US hospitality industry. The exploratory qualitative methodology that combines a variety of data collection techniques including interviews for the pilot study, the Delphi method and secondary data collection to establish the most salient dimensions of a HPMS in the casual restaurant industry, are discussed. Thirteen key HPMS dimensions are identified; training and skill development, employer of choice, information sharing, selectivity in recruiting, measurement of HR practices, promotion from within, quality of work/life, diversity, incentive pay based on performance appraisal, participation and empowerment, employee ownership, self-managed teams and high wages. In addition, an overarching HPMS construct is developed as a first step in identifying the link between HR practices and restaurant performance.     

Disinvestment in health— the challenges facing general practitioner (GP) commissioners

The economic downturn is placing increasing pressure on the financing of health care. For many health care providers, this means difficult decisions need to be made over what will and will not be funded. The NHS has not typically been good at decommissioning and disinvesting in services. The recent proposed changes to the commissioning function will mean that clinicians will have a leading role in population-based priority-setting. This could well enhance the quest for legitimacy in relation to difficult resource allocation decisions. However, it is unlikely that GPs alone will be able to meet the challenges ahead, and reasonable disinvestment decisions will require GPs to engage with a number of stakeholders including government, interest groups and the wider civic society.     

Attitudes Towards Genetically Modified Food with a Specific Consumer Benefit in Food Allergic Consumers and Non‐food Allergic Consumers

The aim of the reported study was to investigate attitudes towards genetically modified food with a specific consumer benefit. Fifty food allergic and one hundred non‐allergic consumers took part in a telephone interview study in each of Austria, Spain and the Netherlands. Participants were first asked about their purchase intentions for an unspecified genetically modified food. Next, participants were asked about their purchase intentions for a genetically modified food with a specific consumer benefit. Food allergic consumers were asked about ‘low‐allergen food’ produced using genetic modification and non‐allergic consumers were asked about ‘food that benefits your health’ produced using genetic modification. It was found that intention to purchase genetically modified food with these specific benefits was higher than intention to purchase an unspecified genetically modified food.     

Jumps in equilibrium prices and market microstructure noise

Asset prices observed in financial markets combine equilibrium prices and market microstructure noise. In this paper, we study how to tell apart large shifts in equilibrium prices from noise using high frequency data. We propose a new nonparametric test which allows us to asymptotically remove the noise from observable price data and to discover jumps in fundamental asset values. We provide its asymptotic distribution to decide when such jumps occur. In finite samples, our test offers reasonable power for distinguishing between noise and jumps. Empirical evidence indicates that it is necessary to incorporate the presence of jumps in equilibrium prices.     

Living on the Edge: Lessons from the Peri‐urban Village

The idea of an urban renaissance — based on a celebration of city life and its possibilities — is timely given half of the world's population now resides in urban areas. Yet, as appealing as this prospect may be, both in principle and planning theory, it remains at odds with the desires of many residents who seek ‘lifestyle living’ in low‐density suburban or ex‐urban settings. This article presents the results of a qualitative investigation of what it means to ‘live on the edge’ in a peri‐urban village, as understood by residents living in those settings. These results are evaluated in light of phenomenological literature on authentic and inauthentic places, and the myriad reasons so‐called amenity migrants choose the peri‐urban village as their preferred residential location. The results of in‐depth interviews with 28 residents are presented as a four‐part typology of ‘active’ lifestylers and those searching for community, and ‘passive’ speculators and those seeking a civilized society. Though prior work suggests people are attracted to the peri‐urban village for its bio‐physical environmental features, this research suggests socioeconomic factors and opportunities for active place‐making experiences are as, if not more, important.     

Sustainable Procurement in Australian and UK Universities

Sustainable procurement is a growing phenomenon and a key component of organizations’ corporate responsibility and sustainability strategy. The focus of this paper is sustainable procurement (SP) at universities in Australia and the United Kingdom. The study identifies a dearth of academic research into SP at universities and presents actionable insights gained from practitioners. Results from qualitative data collected from Australian and UK universities highlight the continued dominance of price in procurement decisions and the practical challenges faced in changing the status quo both internal and external to the university. Implications for theory, research and policy are also presented.     

An exploratory study of environmental attitudes and the willingness to pay for environmental certification in Mexico

This paper explores how environmental attitudes of consumers in Mexico influence their willingness to pay a premium (or, marginal WTP) for environmentally-certified products. In addition, we also challenge the theoretical assumption that the relationship between environmental attitudes and purchasing is linear. We test our hypotheses with an analysis of marginal WTP based on a survey of 301 Mexican consumers. Using conjoint analysis to determine marginal WTP, we find support for the idea that as attitudes become more pro-environmental, they more than proportionally boost marginal WTP. We conclude our paper by discussing implications for research and practice that focus on environmental segments of consumers.