Value of information analysis in healthcare: a review of principles and applications

Background:

Economic evaluations are increasingly utilized to inform decisions in healthcare; however, decisions remain uncertain when they are not based on adequate evidence. Value of information (VOI) analysis has been proposed as a systematic approach to measure decision uncertainty and assess whether there is sufficient evidence to support new technologies.

Scope:

The objective of this paper is to review the principles and applications of VOI analysis in healthcare. Relevant databases were systematically searched to identify VOI articles. The findings from the selected articles were summarized and narratively presented.

Findings:

Various VOI methods have been developed and applied to inform decision-making, optimally designing research studies and setting research priorities. However, the application of this approach in healthcare remains limited due to technical and policy challenges.

Conclusion:

There is a need to create more awareness about VOI analysis, simplify its current methods, and align them with the needs of decision-making organizations.     

Talent Management Practices in IT Companies from Emerging Markets: A Comparative Analysis of Russia,India, and China

ABSTRACT

In this article, the authors review talent management practices in information technology (IT) companies from Russia, India, and China, discussing their differences and similarities. Using the emerging market context, the authors debate the factors influencing talent management, specifically in IT companies. The article examines the relevant research on the main talent management issues in Russia, India, and China, and offers one of the first intercountry comparative analyses of talent management practices in IT companies from emerging markets. The authors argue that although talent management practices are influenced by different institutional and cultural factors, there are similarities and differences that can be explained by the emerging market and industry-specific contexts.     

An Examination of the Relationship Between Employee Perception and Hotel Brand Equity

Brand management stresses the importance of satisfying the needs of external customers. Employee branding management shows an evolving trend as employees begin living the brand. It is, therefore, necessary that employees are convinced by the hotel brand prior to having confidence to “sell” the brand to customers. The present study aims to investigate employee perception toward hotel brand equity, particularly in the Hong Kong hotel industry. Factor analysis is used to identify four underlying factors—namely, employee commitment, employee engagement, employee identification, and service quality. The four constitute the perception of the employee on the evaluation of the brand. Correlation analysis is employed to examine relationship among the underlying factors and three dimensions of hotel brand equity—including brand image, brand awareness, and perceived quality. Moderate association is generally noted, and perceived quality has the most significant relationship with employee perception on brand equity. Managerial implications on employee branding management are introduced to hotel management. Topics for future research are also recommended.     

THEMEQUAL—Adapting the SERVQUAL Scale to Theme Park Services: A Case of Hong Kong Disneyland

Faced with keen competition in the theme park operating environment, operators have realized the necessity of maintaining a high standard of service quality in order to survive. Because of the scarcity of literature on theme park service quality, the present study adapts the SERVQUAL model and modifies it as the THEMEQUAL model to measure the gap between perceived service quality and expected service quality from visitors under the theme park setting. The Hong Kong Disneyland is selected due to its importance to the Hong Kong tourism industry. The impact of the dimensions of the model on visitor satisfaction is also examined. Results expressed visitor satisfaction in terms of physical environment, but signified dissatisfaction on employee performance. Among the six dimensions of the model, “responsiveness and access,” “assurance,” and “empathy” are the critical predictors of visitor satisfaction. Discussions on the findings are presented and managerial implications are explained in detail.     

Surplus measures and luenberger Hicks–Moorsteen productivity indicator

This paper extends to production theory some notions of compensated and equivalent variation analyzed in Luenberger (Econ Theory 7:445–462, 1996) in a consumer context. Along this line the Luenberger–Hicks–Moorsteen productivity indicator introduced in Briec and Kerstens (Econ Theory 23:925–939, 2004) is derived from these concepts for multi-output production technologies. The dual properties of this productivity indicator are analyzed and an aggregate indicator is introduced inspired from the resource function proposed in Luenberger (1996). A connection to a suitable Slutsky matrix is established.     

Framing Modern Monetary Theory

This article argues that Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) has struggled to gain traction in wider economic and political debates due to: (1) An incomplete understanding of key macroeconomic terms among economic commentators, especially journalists, and the wider community (lack of education); and (2) The deployment of key macroeconomic terms (incorrectly) in the context of pervasive cultural metaphors to support policy interventions that effectively benefit a privileged few at the expense of the majority. We provide a conceptual basis for understanding how the language we use constrains our thinking and we examine some of the key metaphors used to reinforce the flawed message of orthodox economics. We examine key ideas of modern monetary theory—an apolitical model of macroeconomic operations—and propose effective ways of expressing those key ideas in a progressive social and economic framework.     

Limitations and Strengths of Pan-Asian Advertising Media: A Review for International Advertisers

Economic growth in Asia has led to a proliferation in the supply of pan-regional media. Most of these are elitist media targeting affluent businessmen and travellers. The increasing importance of the Chinese-speaking market spurs the growth of Chinese language pan-Asian media. The emergence of satellite television networks popularizes pan-regional media to a broader audience, although its penetration is still small in comparison to local media. When selecting pan-regional media for advertising in the region, advertisers are advised to use data from pan-Asian audience surveys, publication audit figures and competitive advertising expenditure reports in examining the cost-efficiency of each media vehicle. In choosing between pan-regional and local media, advertisers should consider the homogeneity and socio-economic status of their target audience, the importance of international recognition and consistency in image for the brand, geographic strengths, and other added values of the media.     

Residents' Perceptions Toward the “Chinese Tourists' Wave” in Hong Kong: An Exploratory Study

Mainland China experienced an extraordinary progress in its economy in the past two decades which directly stimulates more outbound travels. Considering the geographical proximity and political ties between Hong Kong and Mainland China, the share of inbound tourists to Hong Kong has been, and will continuously be, largely occupied by Mainland Chinese tourists on an uprising basis. The phenomenon of the “Chinese tourists' wave”, operationalizing as the influx of tourists from Mainland China, has brought tremendous change on Hong Kong's tourism industry, economy and local community. It is, thus, of necessity to understand the perceptions and response toward this phenomenon from local residents' perspective as they are the stakeholders of local tourism. Drawing on the findings from three focus group interviews with 18 Hong Kong residents, three conventional dimensions, namely “Economic”, “Social-cultural” and “Environmental” were identified and discussed to demonstrate the local residents' perceptions toward the impact of “Chinese tourists' wave” phenomenon. Generally, residents tend to recognize the positive economic impacts as well as negative social–cultural and environmental impacts generated from this tourism phenomenon. The recommendations suggested in this study also serve as a reference for tourism authorities concerned to redress the existing problems.     

Impact assessment of microfinance programmes,including lessons from Khula Enterprise Finance

This article discusses approaches to impact assessment of microfinance programmes through a survey of empirical literature and findings of an impact study of Khula Enterprise Finance, a South African wholesale finance institution that facilitates access to financial services by small, medium and microenterprises. The article notes that impact assessment has now opened up to the needs of a mix of stakeholders and a wide range of purposes. There has been a shift from a donor-driven approach to a practitioner-led approach that emphasises learning and improving practice. Nevertheless, findings of an impact study of Khula Enterprise Finance, a characteristically donor-driven type of study, indicate a positive impact on the beneficiaries of microfinance, especially women in rural areas where they are specifically targeted. Furthermore, the impact study shows that lower-income communities in rural areas have benefited less than their not-so-poor counterparts in the urban areas, an observation that is consistent with findings in other studies.