Predicting public support: applying theory to prosocial behaviors

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 298-315
Author(s):  
Brooke W. McKeever ◽  
Robert McKeever ◽  
Geah Pressgrove ◽  
Holly Overton
Keyword(s):  
Financial Support ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Communication Theory ◽  
Communicative Action ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Prosocial Behaviors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply communication theory to explore and help explain public support for causes and organizations in the form of prosocial behaviors, including donating, volunteering and participating in advocacy efforts. Design/methodology/approach Through a survey of people (n=1,275) living in the USA who indicated supporting issues they cared about in 2017, this research gathered information about motivations for providing public support for various causes and non-profit organizations. Findings The situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) was applied, and support was found for the STOPS model in terms of predicting communicative action. This study also found support for situational activeness influencing other behaviors, including active forms of communication, financial support, volunteer support and other forms of advocacy. Implications for practitioners managing communications or organizations involved in such efforts are discussed. Originality/value This research applied STOPS to study behaviors, including communication, volunteering, donating and participating in advocacy efforts as forms of prosocial behavior supporting different organizations related to many important issues. The paper provides theoretical value in terms of adding to the generalizability of the STOPS model for communications scholars and discusses practical implications for non-profit and other types of organizations.

scholarly journals Implications of divergences in adult protection legislation

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 149-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorna Montgomery ◽  
Janet Anand ◽  
Kathryn Mackay ◽  
Brian Taylor ◽  
Katherine C. Pearson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Elder Abuse ◽  
Consensus Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legal Responses ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Adult Protection

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the similarities and differences of legal responses to older adults who may be at risk of harm or abuse in the UK, Ireland, Australia and the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The authors draw upon a review of elder abuse and adult protection undertaken on behalf of the commissioner for older people in Northern Ireland. This paper focusses on the desk top mapping of the different legal approaches and draws upon wider literature to frame the discussion of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the different legal responses. Findings – Arguments exist both for and against each legal approach. Differences in defining the scope and powers of adult protection legislation in the UK and internationally are highlighted. Research limitations/implications – This review was undertaken in late 2013; while the authors have updated the mapping to take account of subsequent changes, some statutory guidance is not yet available. While the expertise of a group of experienced professionals in the field of adult safeguarding was utilized, it was not feasible to employ a formal survey or consensus model. Practical implications – Some countries have already introduced APL and others are considering doing so. The potential advantages and challenges of introducing APL are highlighted. Social implications – The introduction of legislation may give professionals increased powers to prevent and reduce abuse of adults, but this would also change the dynamic of relationships within families and between families and professionals. Originality/value – This paper provides an accessible discussion of APL across the UK and internationally which to date has been lacking from the literature.

Large-cap vs small-cap portfolio performance: new empirical evidence from ETFs

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-94
Author(s):  
Gerasimos Rompotis
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Portfolio Performance ◽  
Exchange Traded Funds ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Risk Characteristics ◽  
The Usa ◽  
First Time ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeA well-documented pattern in the literature concerns the outperformance of small-cap stocks relative to their larger-cap counterparts. This paper aims to address the “small-cap versus large-cap” issue using for the first time data from the exchange traded funds (ETFs) industry.Design/methodology/approachSeveral raw return and risk-adjusted return metrics are estimated over the period 2012-2016.FindingsResults are partially supportive of the “size effect”. In particular, small-cap ETFs outperform large-cap ETFs in overall raw return terms even though they fail the risk test. However, outperformance is not consistent on an annual basis. When risk-adjusted returns are taken into consideration, small-cap ETFs are inferior to their large-cap counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsThis research only covers the ETF market in the USA. However, given the tremendous growth of ETF markets worldwide, a similar examination of the “small vs large capitalization” issue could be conducted with data from other developed ETF markets in Europe and Asia. In such a case, useful comparisons could be made, so that we could conclude whether the findings of the current study are unique and US-specific or whether they could be generalized across the several international ETF markets.Practical implicationsA possible generalization of the findings would entail that profitable investment strategies could be based on the different performance and risk characteristics of small- and large-cap ETFs.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine the performance of ETFs investing in large-cap stock indicesvis-à-visthe performance of ETFs tracking indices comprised of small-cap stocks.

Exploring the relationship between dispositions to think critically and sustainability concern in HESD

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Shephard ◽  
Qudsia Kalsoom ◽  
Ritika Gupta ◽  
Lorenz Probst ◽  
Paul Gannon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Higher education is uncertain which sustainability-related education targets should be sought and monitored. Accepting that something needs to be measurable to be systematically improved, the authors explored how measures relate to potential targets. This paper aims to focus on dispositions to think critically (active open-minded thinking and fair-minded thinking in appraising reasoning) as measures and explored how they related to sustainability concern as an indicative educational target. Design/methodology/approach This research included the development and testing of research instruments (scales) that explored dispositions to critical thinking and sustainability concern. Authors researched these instruments within their own correspondence groups and tested them with university students and staff in Pakistan, the USA, Austria, India and New Zealand. The authors also asked a range of contextualising questions. Findings Respondents’ disposition to aspects of active, open-minded thinking and fair-minded thinking do predict their concern about facets of sustainability but their strength of religious belief was an important factor in these relationships and in their measurement. Practical implications This research demonstrates the complexity of monitoring dispositions to think critically and sustainability concern in educational systems, particularly in circumstances where the roles of religious beliefs are of interest; and suggests ways to address this complexity. Originality/value This research integrates and expands discourses on ESD and on critical thinking in diverse disciplines and cultures. It investigates measurement approaches and targets that could help higher education institutions to educate for sustainable development and to monitor their progress, in ways that are compatible with their culture and values.

Investigation of communication in budgetary accountability routines

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-344
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Mutiganda ◽  
Giuseppe Grossi ◽  
Lars Hassel
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Communicative Action ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Hierarchical Levels ◽  
Communicative Process ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Repeated Contact

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the role of communication in shaping the mechanisms of accountability routines. Design/methodology/approach Conceptual elements of the theory of communicative action and the literature on routines were used to conduct a field study in two hospital districts in Finland, from 2009 to 2015. Data were based on interviews, document analysis, observed meetings and repeated contact with key informants. Findings The findings explain how accountability routines take different forms – weak or strong – in different organisations and at different hierarchical levels. Differences depend on the generative structures and mechanisms of the communicative process – relational and normative – used to give and ask information to and from organisation members involved in accountability relationships. An explorative finding is that discourse-based communication plays an important role in bridging the gap between weak and strong accountability routines. The main theoretical contribution is to conceptualise and show the role of communicative rationalities in shaping the mechanisms of accountability routines. Practical implications The implication for practitioners and policymakers is to show to what extent the organisation policies and communicative rationalities used in accountability have potential to improve or not to improve the practices of accountability routines. Mutual understanding, motivation and capacity of organisation members to do as expected and agreed upon without pressure improve accountability routines. Originality/value The value of this study is to explain how accountability routines take different forms in practice (weak or strong) in different organisations and at different hierarchical levels, depending on the generative structures of the communicative process used in practicing accountability routines.

Examining attitudes on pay for low level workers: do consumers care?

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nora Moran
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Consumer Attitudes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Firm Reputation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper examines whether decisions to improve pay for low-level employees lead to more positive attitudes toward firms, depending on firm’s service reputation. Design/methodology Four experiments examine whether information on compensation decisions for employees affects consumer attitudes toward firms. Findings Results show attitudes toward firms providing raises are more positive when firms are known for high quality (vs average) service. This occurs because individuals use information about firm reputation as a cue to make inferences about employees, and fairness of firm pay procedures. Moderators are introduced to show how these effects can be altered. Research limitations/implications Drawing from research on the representativeness bias, this work extends theories on justice and equity and contributes to the literature on corporate social responsibility. Practical implications This research provides firms with insight on how to promote their efforts to improve employees’ financial welfare. Social implications Findings provide guidance on how to increase public support of initiatives to improve financial well-being for low-wage workers. Originality/value This research is the first to examine how specific firm factors affect reception of initiatives to improve employee financial welfare and to delineate the process.

Food consumption and manufacturing output

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 38-40
Author(s):  
Graham Cole
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Healthcare Costs ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Recent decades have witnessed growing concerns about obesity and serious medical conditions. These issues are especially prominent in the USA. One significant consequence is a stronger commitment toward improving health in the workplace. It is widely accepted that positive correlation exists between employee well-being and productivity. The reverse is also true though. Chronic disease among the workforce invariably affects the organization’s ability to compete with its rivals. An inevitable rise in healthcare costs further heightens the negative fallout. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent, information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Profiling the competencies of lean management professionals

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 45-47
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Lean Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Management Professionals ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This research paper concentrates on the advertised job profiles of lean management professionals in the USA, UK and Germany, with the aim of providing a framework of commonly required competencies. Comparing results between the three countries reveals both similarities and differences in skill preferences, for example US-based companies are far more focused on project administration, and German companies place low priority on leadership skills. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Collectors behaving ethically: an emerging consumption constellation

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Yurchisin ◽  
Sara B. Marcketti
Keyword(s):  
Fair Trade ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Significant Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Predominantly Female ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Disadvantaged People

PurposeThis study aims to examine the characteristics of ethnographic textile collectors and compare them with the literature regarding fair trade consumers to explore the existence of a possible consumption constellation between collecting and fair trade purchasing.Design/methodology/approachPurposive sampling was used for the study as it maximized the attainment of significant information related to ethnographic textile collecting. Qualitative data from ethnographic textile collectors (n=12) were collected.FindingsResults suggested that collectors were interested in purchasing high quality, authentic products that expressed their identity and individuality. These are similarities shared with fair trade consumers. Furthermore, collectors' motives to help artisans overcome poverty were evident; a similar value guides fair trade purchasing.Research limitations/implicationsThe predominantly female sample of academics may not be representative of the average ethnographic textile collector.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the multiplicity of products and activities representative of one consumer group's lifestyle is beneficial to both for‐profit and non‐profit organizations in terms of product promotion or donation solicitation. The understanding of these consumers' lifestyle can, in turn, help marketers design and implement effective advertising and fundraising campaigns that improve the livelihood and wellbeing of excluded and disadvantaged people in developing countries.Originality/valueThe paper furthers the knowledge base and understanding of these different consumer segments by providing evidence of a consumption constellation between ethnographic textile collectors and fair trade consumers.

scholarly journals Charting relationship marketing practice: it really didn’t emerge in the 1970s

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Tadajewski
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Relationship Marketing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Level Of Detail ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Marketing Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a history of relational perspectives in marketing practice from the nineteenth through to the twentieth century. Design/methodology/approach – This paper engages in a systematic reading of published histories of retailing practice using the key attributes of transaction and relationship marketing as a conceptual framework to interrogate whether earlier practitioners were committed to either approach. Findings – This paper supplements the studies conducted in other domains that undermine the idea that relational practices were rejected in favor of transaction-type approaches during the industrialization of the USA and Canada. Practical implications – The content of this paper provides textbook authors with a means to fundamentally revise the way they discuss relationship marketing. It has a similar pedagogic utility. Originality/value – This paper studies the writings of practitioners known to be pioneers of retailing to unravel their business philosophies, comparing and contrasting these to known attributes of relationship marketing. It deals with an historical period that has not previously been studied in this level of detail by marketing historians.

What goes up and what goes down

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 7-9
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
General Motors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings For many young managers and strategists, few of them will realize just how mighty Japan and its firms were in the 1990s. As the world’s second biggest economy, it saw many of its firms lead their industries in both size and innovation – Toyota and Sony being just two examples – so that they genuinely threatened to overtake the USA and its preeminence. Indeed, when Toyota finally overtook General Motors as the world’s biggest car manufacturer, the effect was felt through Detroit and beyond. Further stories about the similar rise in the price of Tokyo real estate became legendary as well – for example that the well-heeled district of Ginza in central Tokyo was worth more than the whole of California. Practical Implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

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