The Internet,employment and Polish migrant workers: communication,activism and competition in the new organisational spaces

This article discusses the content of Polish community–administered websites and trade union engagement. It is based on three sources of data, firstly, semi‐structured interviews with Polish web administrators and trade union officers in the north of England. Secondly, audits of the location of Polish administered UK websites undertaken in April 2007 and 2008. Lastly, an in‐depth thematic questionnaire was undertaken of websites in November 2008. The key findings are that the Internet is an increasingly systematic feature of new migrant politics and representation. Further the trade union movement is not ‘at odds’ with independent and virtual forms of communication and representation. It does pose questions of how to combine and coordinate these and create a more meaningful and sustainable dialogue based on a politics of empowerment.     

Author’s Biographies

Leadership has become a more popular term than management, even though it is understood that both phenomena represent important organizational behaviors. This paper focuses on empathy in leadership, and presents the findings of a study conducted among business students over the course of 3 years. Finding that empathy consistently ranked lowest in the ratings, the researchers set out to discover the driving motives behind this invariable trend, and conducted a second study to obtain opinions about possible underlying factors. The paper presents the findings of both studies, as well as literature reviews on the differences between management and leadership, a historical overview of leadership, a reflection of 21st century leadership, the ongoing debate on the effects of corporate psychopaths on ethical performance, and scholars’ perception on empathy in corporate leadership. The findings indicate the need for a paradigm shift in corporations as well as business schools in regards to leaders’ required skills, and suggest a proactive approach from business faculty to change the current paradigm.     

The upswing of regional income inequality in Spain (1860-1930)

This paper studies the evolution of Spanish regional inequality from 1860 to 1930. The results point to the coexistence of two basic forces behind changes in regional economic inequality: industrial specialization and labor productivity differentials. The initial expansion of industrialization, in a context of growing economic integration of regions, promoted the spatial concentration of manufacturing in certain regions, which also benefited from the greatest advances in terms of labor productivity. Since 1900, the diffusion of manufacturing production to a greater number of locations has generated the emulation of production structures and a process of catching-up in labor productivity and wages.     

A construction of consumer cognitive structures and their implications in furniture shopping decisions: a means-end chain approach

The main purpose of this study is to construct a hierarchical value map (HVM) based on an investigation of how consumers in Taiwan link attributes of furniture and home accessories stores with particular consequences, and how these consequences satisfy their personal values. Further, this study compares differences in consumer HVMs in terms of gender, as well as across different chain stores. This study used the means-end chain approach and laddering technique to interview 40 consumers of furniture and home accessories stores in Taiwan. We obtained six ladders regarding furniture and home accessories store consumption. From these ladders, this study found three critical store attributes (function, facility convenience, and price), four consequences that consumers care most about (shopping ease, comfort and pleasure, practicality, and integrated design), and three dominant values that consumers wish to achieve (warm family, pleasurable life, and security). The findings of this study can be used as a basis for market segmentation and the development of retail service marketing strategies.     

‘I send the wife to the doctor’– Men's behaviour as health consumers

This paper explores men's behaviour and attitudes in relation to health matters. While there has been some practical and research progress in engaging with users of health services, there is less development in the area of engaging non‐users. In effect, all members of the society can be the consumers/users of health promotion, though not all are. This paper reports on the first stage of a wider project aimed at increasing the effectiveness of skin cancer awareness messages aimed at men. The project focuses on men over 50 from an area of socio‐economic disadvantage, since these men tend to have the lowest life expectancies in general, and the highest incidences of mortality for skin cancer both at a national and international level. The research was conducted through community‐based focus groups and while the sample was relatively, small it produced some interesting outcomes in terms of how this cohort audited and responded to public health promotion campaigns; how they perceive cancer and health issues in general; how they respond to health issues; and how they view both the public health service in Ireland and the ways health professionals relate to them. It confirms many theories about how men view their health and how they respond to health promotion campaigns. Among other points, it raises questions about the possible mixed benefits of testimonial‐based advertising. It also indicates that there may be further layers of complexity connected to identity, fatalism, problem solving and respectful treatment that have not been sufficiently articulated in the literature. It points to the need for greater engagement by service planners and providers with the needs of their target audience, which may require a more encompassing definition of service user.     

Effects of product-specific word-of-mouth communication on product category involvement

Drawing primarily from categorization theory, this paper presents justification for the effects of word-of-mouth (WOM) communication on product category involvement. Results of an empirical test of this relationship are presented showing an enduring effect of positive WOM communication on product category involvement; this effect was not found for negative WOM. These results suggest that positive WOM about one firm's brand may help competitors by increasing involvement, thus generating more sales (not necessarily of one's own brand) in an entire product category. Our findings, coupled with categorization theory, provide support for a series of propositions presented concerning the effects of changes in product category involvement on nondiscussed brand attitudes and purchase intentions.     

IS THERE A ‘SECESSION OF THE WEALTHY’? PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE UPTAKE AND NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM SUPPORT

The purchase of private health insurance (PHI) as a means to partially supplement the National Health System (NHS) coverage is often regarded as a potential signal for a declining support for the NHS. Exploiting the fact that PHI is typically purchased by the most affluent, in this paper we test the so called ‘secession of the wealthy’ hypothesis whereby the likelihood of expressing ‘lack of support for the NHS’ increases with having supplementary PHI. Using empirical data from Catalonia, we draw upon an empirical strategy that circumvents an obvious simultaneity problem by estimating both a recursive bivariate probit as well as an IV probit. After controlling for insurance premium, household income and other socio‐demographic determinants, we find that the purchase of PHI reduces the propensity of individuals to support the NHS. We also find evidence that PHI is a luxury good and sensitive to fiscal incentives.