Making the link between work-life balance practices and organizational performance

The business case for work-life balance practices, as espoused by many organizations, rests on attracting better applicants and reducing work-life conflict among existing employees in order to enhance organizational performance. This review of the literature provides some evidence for the claim regarding recruitment, but there is insufficient evidence to support the notion that work-life practices enhance performance by means of reduced work-life conflict. We suggest that the business case may therefore need to be modified to reflect the number of additional routes by which work-life balance practices can influence organizational performance, including enhanced social exchange processes, increased cost savings, improved productivity, and reduced turnover. The impact of these processes may, however, be moderated by a number of factors, including national context, job level, and managerial support. The importance of further research into the effects of these practices is discussed.     

Managing a sphere of influence: WFSF and its institutional members

The World Futures Studies Federation has nearly seventy Institutional Members from around the world. Combined, Institutional Members' day-to-day endeavors span an assortment of professional, academic, governmental and research areas. The activity and visibility of the Institutional Members was informally monitored during a nine-month period in 2002-2003 which resulted in a strong impression that, despite abundant access to Institutional Members, the WFSF is underutilizing its sphere of influence. The WFSF should initiate a strategy of outreach to Institutional Members that maximizes relationships and is mutually beneficial for everyone involved in the organization. The basis of this outreach should be focused on fulfilling WFSF's stated mission to promote Futures Studies and awareness for the future. WFSF is also strongly committed to promoting democracy, which must also underlie any effort in this context. In addition to the internal state of affairs there needs to be consideration of trends and current conditions outside the field of Futures Studies. By examining four scenarios this essay suggests ways in which WFSF can anticipate the future and increase its impact.     

How does entry regulation influence entry into self‐employment and occupational mobility?1

We analyse how an entry regulation that imposes a mandatory educational standard affects entry into self‐employment and occupational mobility. We exploit German reunification as a natural experiment and identify regulatory effects by comparing differences between regulated and unregulated occupations in East Germany with the corresponding differences in West Germany after reunification. Consistent with our expectations, we find that entry regulation reduces entry into self‐employment and occupational mobility after reunification more in regulated occupations in East Germany than in West Germany. Our findings are relevant for transition or emerging economies as well as for mature market economies requiring large structural changes after unforeseen economic shocks.     

Volunteer tourism as an emerging trend or an expansion of ecotourism? A look at potential clients' perceptions of volunteer tourism organisations

• Volunteer tourism (VT) has recently been proposed as an alternative to ecotourism to link tourism and nature conservation. It is believed that VT represents an emerging tourism sector for vacationers who want to make a difference during their holidays. This investigation questions this belief using potential tourists' perceptions of volunteer tourism organisations.
• Through a multiple sorting procedure, respondents interpreted the promotional material of volunteer tourism organisations to describe this form of tourism and differentiate between organisations. The results suggested that respondents distinguish between organisations offering a volunteering experience and a holiday experience.
• Furthermore, the respondent's level of familiarity with expedition activities was important, as respondents with a high level of familiarity seek different benefits from their experience. The study suggests that volunteer tourism is a diverse sector, with different emphases on holiday and volunteering elements.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of tacit knowledge on customer loyalty

Tacit knowledge about customers held by contact personnel is a priority for better satisfying customer needs and creating added value. This research project seeks to develop a model to analyse the impact of tacit knowledge on loyalty for rural tourism lodgings. A questionnaire was applied to the clients of rural tourism lodgings who had either already consumed rural tourism services at least once or were then currently consuming such services. By applying structural equation models, the results demonstrate how tacit knowledge does improve the performance of employees in engaging in affective bonds and enables better understanding of the needs and expectations of customers. Furthermore, the results confirm how tacit knowledge about customers represents a resource able to promote customer loyalty and thus a very strong potential source of competitive advantage.     

Young UK adults and the 5 A DAY campaign: perceived benefits and barriers of eating more fruits and vegetables

Although consuming adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of developing chronic diseases, it is widely recognized that young adults' intakes are currently well below the Department of Health's recommended five portions a day, with men consuming even less than women. One approach in the UK has been to introduce health campaigns such as the 5 A DAY programme; however, little is currently known about how well their messages are understood amongst young adults. This study examined current knowledge of the 5 A DAY message in young adults, as well as the perceived benefits and remaining barriers towards consuming more fruits and vegetables. In total, four focus groups were conducted using male (n = 22) and female (n = 18) students at the University of Reading. Content analysis revealed that while participants were aware of the 5 A DAY recommendation, there was widespread confusion regarding the detail. In addition, men were less accepting of the message than women, reporting greater disbelief and a lack of motivation to increase intake. Finally, a range of barriers was reported by participants of both genders, despite the perceived beneficial effects for health and appearance. The results illustrate a considerable gap between awareness and knowledge of the 5 A DAY message, and underscore the challenge that changing behaviour in young adults represents. As well as stepping up education‐ and skill‐based health campaigns, more targeted gender specific interventions will be needed to achieve sustained increases in fruit and vegetable intake.     

Die LOHAS im Kontext der Sinus-Milieus

Aktuelle Diskussionen im Kontext des nachhaltigen Konsums sind ohne den LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) als neuartige Zielgruppe kaum noch denkbar. Auch wenn der LOHAS die zentralen Anforderungen an das Lebensstilkonzept erfüllt, so lassen sich die abgeleiteten Implikationen nur schwierig in ein operativ erfolgreiches Nachhaltigkeitsmarketing übertragen. Die Verortung des LOHAS innerhalb der Sinus-Milieus kann die Unsch?rfe dieses Ansatzes reduzieren und so zus?tzlich Informationen für das Marketing bereitstellen.     

The cul-de-sac of foreign industrial investments to Russia

Abstract

The aim of this article is to determine the rationale for the ‘irrational’ investment behaviour of multinational corporations (MNCs) in Russia. During the on-going recession in a number of major sectors, MNCs have undertaken only a very limited number of divestments and, instead, have commissioned a record number of new manufacturing facilities (by opening new plants and expanding the capacities of existing plants). To explain this phenomenon, we first provide an overview of existing theoretical and empirical studies on investments in difficult locations and divestments of foreign subsidiaries, and identify the major weaknesses of the prevailing approaches and underlying assumptions of such studies. Next, we present a detailed picture of both industrial investments and divestments in Russia from January 2015 to March 2017. Finally, we indicate how a combination of systemic and contingent factors (pressure from the host country’s government, subsidiaries’ orientation towards the host country’s markets, and the absence of potential local and international acquirers for existing Russian manufacturing facilities of Western MNCs) has created ‘cul-de-sac’ conditions for foreign-owned industrial assets in Russia.     

Biotechnical portfolio management of mixed-species forests

Based upon the historical data—obtained from the French National Forest Inventory—on the tree species’ productivities, assimilated to be a measure of return on investment, as well as on their variances as sources of risk, we apply the portfolio selection theory in order to optimize the species distributions in France. We thus determine the optimal return-risk combinations of tree species and map them per administrative department. We also estimate the resistance of optimal portfolios using the species’ probabilities of presence. Our results show that greater weights in the optimal portfolios match with higher probabilities of presence, implying that foresters have incentives to invest in the most resilient species.