Is brand value co-creation actionable? A facilitation perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 1476-1488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Biraghi ◽  
Rossella Chiara Gambetti
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Brand Management ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Brand Value ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Purposive Sample ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Extant branding literature is dominated by a metaphorical view of value co-creation in which the roles of brand actors remain unspecified. To help provide clarity, the purpose of this paper is to critically appraise how brand professionals understand brand value co-creation and perceive their role in facilitating it, with the aim of questioning its viability in day-to-day brand management practices. Design/methodology/approach Building on brand professionals’ reflexivity, the study develops a qualitative methodological glance via semi-structured interviews based on confrontational techniques with a purposive sample of 28 experienced brand decision-makers. Findings Brand professionals perceive accessibility, reciprocity and citizenship as the gateways provided by the firm for value co-creation to happen. Despite their enthusiastic rhetorical afflatus in making explicit their viewpoints about how firms can facilitate value co-creation, the current translation into practice of the role of the firm does not seem to be able to overcome the sender-biased approach that still resides in brand management. Practical implications To go beyond the limits of rhetorical representations and make brand value facilitation more actionable, the authors provide guidelines on how firms can create and enhance the circumstances for the co-creation of brand value to occur in interactions with consumers and stakeholders. Originality/value This study contributes to the critical actionability of the brand value co-creation by elucidating how firms currently perceive their facilitation role. The paper provides strategic recommendations to put co-creation rhetoric into practice by reframing and expanding the scope and the significance of brand management.

Size does matter – span of control in hospitals

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Holm-Petersen ◽  
Sussanne Østergaard ◽  
Per Bo Noergaard Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Leadership Capacity ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Span Of Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Frontline Leaders ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Centralization, mergers and cost reductions have generally led to increasing levels of span of control (SOC), and thus potentially to lower leadership capacity. The purpose of this paper is to explore how a large SOC impacts hospital staff and their leaders. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a qualitative explorative case study of three large inpatient wards. Findings The study finds that the nursing staff and their frontline leaders experience challenges in regard to visibility and role of the leader, e.g., in creating overview, coordination, setting-up clear goals, following up and being in touch. However, large wards also provide flexibility and development possibilities. Practical implications The authors discuss the implications of these findings for decision makers in deciding future SOC and for future SOC research. Originality/value Only few studies have qualitatively explored the consequences of large SOC in hospitals.

Assessing the objectives of dry ports: main issues, challenges and opportunities in Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago de Almeida Rodrigues ◽  
Caroline Maria de Miranda Mota ◽  
Udechukwu Ojiako ◽  
Fikri Dweiri
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Dry Ports ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose is to identify the main characteristics of dry ports (DPs) in Brazil, discussing the role of this logistic player, challenges and opportunities. Furthermore, this study provides a structured framework to drive DP decision-makers, identifying and assessing a network of means–end objectives, which could be replicable to other contexts.Design/methodology/approachThis article approached initially a literature review and exploratory research to discuss the main characteristics of DPs in Brazil. The second step was to conduct a qualitative analysis following the value-focused thinking (VFT) approach in two case studies in Pernambuco state to assess the achievement of the main objectives.FindingsThis article identified that the main characteristics of DPs in Brazil are offering additional services with a cheaper storage cost, handling mainly import cargo and being connected to seaports through highways. Moreover, this study resulted in a framework to assess the objectives of DPs, which could be replicable in other contexts, improving the current operations of DPs.Practical implicationsThe framework to assess DPs' objectives bridged the gap between the literature and the practice working as a tool to drive decision-makers to improve the current performance of DPs in Brazil. Additionally, the main issues, challenges and opportunities discussed provide managers, policymakers and DPs operators with valuable insights into this theme.Originality/valueThis paper is the first study to present a framework to assess the objectives of DPs as a valuable tool to drive decision-makers to improve DPs operations. From this study, lessons could be learned and the process described could be replicable in other countries.

scholarly journals Role of organizational career websites for employer brand development

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Gunesh ◽  
Vishwas Maheshwari
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Employer Branding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Development ◽  
Employer Brand ◽  
Purposive Sample

PurposeThe paper aims to demonstrate the utilization of banks’ career website for publicizing the employer branding strategy to enable effective strategic talent relationship management through talent attraction, engagement and retention.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach using purposive sample comprising HR professionals involving HR directors, reward managers and talent relationship managers, participated in semi-structured interviews.FindingsThis paper provides empirical insights on the use of career websites to disseminate the employer brand. The findings reveal the presence of recruitment orientation career websites across the banking sector. It also conveys HR practitioners’ suggestions for revamping the banks’ career websites to a more screening orientation approach for greater interactivity by both the internal and external talent pools.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper depicts the importance attributed around the utilization of career websites in promoting the employer brand by the HR community across the banking sector. It provides clear insights about the specific contents of career websites to enable sustainable talent attraction, engagement and retention.Originality/valueThis paper provides a qualitative insight to the study of employer branding and career websites. Whereas most previous research on career websites have been of a quantitative nature relying predominantly on fictitious websites, having mostly undergraduate students as research participants. This study contributes enormously to the existing literature and practice by unveiling the perceptions of HR professionals on the dissemination of the employer brand through the career website.

The challenges of introducing internal social media – the coordinators’ roles and perceptions

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vibeke Thøis Madsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Internal Social Media ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges associated with introducing internal social media (ISM) into organizations in order to help them reap the benefits of coworker communication on ISM. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on an exploratory study in ten organizations. The data were collected in semi-structured interviews with ISM coordinators in Spring 2014. Findings According to the ISM coordinators, four challenges were associated with introducing ISM: coworkers could perceive communication on ISM as not work related; coworkers might not understand the informal nature of communication on ISM, and self-censorship might stop them communicating on ISM; ISM was not considered a “natural” part of the daily routines in the organizations; and top managers mainly supported ISM in words, not in action. Research limitations/implications The study is based on the perceptions of ISM coordinators. Further research is called for to explore both coworker perceptions and actual communication on ISM. Practical implications Practitioners introducing ISM should be aware of these four challenges, and should help coworkers to make sense of communication on ISM as work-related communication among coworkers. ISM coordinators’ perceptions of their own role in relation to coworker communication on ISM make a difference. Originality/value The study provides insights into the key challenges associated with introducing ISM, as well as the role of ISM coordinators as community facilitators and sense-givers.

Budget preparers’ perceptions and performance-based budgeting implementation

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzaneh Jalali Aliabadi ◽  
Bita Mashayekhi ◽  
Graham Gal
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Loose Coupling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Organizational Processes ◽  
Budgetary Slack ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Budgeting Process

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the reason for the failure of implementing performance-based budgeting (PBB) at Iranian public universities and research institutes (PURI). This examination focuses on the actors participating in the budget processes and their perceptions.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses grounded theory and employs deep semi-structured interviews of budget preparers at Iranian PURI.FindingsThe results indicate a loose coupling between perceived and regulated budgeting process. This leads to budgetary slack as a barrier for authentic information flow and indeed PBB implementation. In the analysis of the results, the authors suggest some ways to improve the current situation of the budgeting processes at Iranian PURI.Practical implicationsPublic organizations that desire to transform their budgeting system need to consider their actors’ perceptions regarding the budgeting process. By explicitly considering their perceptions the organization may be able to solve any loose coupling as a result of internal, external and behavioral conditions.Originality/valueThis research examines issues that arise in the transformation of organizational processes. The focus on budget processes is critical for organizations which receive most, if not all, of their operational funds from a central authority. This research highlights the role of budget actors’ perceptions in transforming the budgeting process. An important result of this analysis is documenting the existence of loose coupling in the current budgeting process at Iranian PURI. This loose coupling results in slack creation and restricts the implementation of a PBB system. Additionally, this loose coupling limits the flow of authentic information.

Step-by-step to stopping the cyber-bully

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 31-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Sarkar
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Zero Tolerance ◽  
Job Design ◽  
Cyber Bullying ◽  
Traditional Bullying ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Zero Tolerance Policy ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Describes the role of HR in addressing traditional bullying and cyber-bullying at the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – Explains how organizations can design policy guidelines to tackle the issue of bullying and, thereby, help every employee to contribute to his or her best ability. Findings – Argues that the proliferation of electronic communication has made cyber-bullying rampant in workplaces and has devastating effects on some employees. Practical implications – Advances the view that creating a zero-tolerance policy against bullying, using technological help, conducting structured interviews, providing an employee-sensitization program, crafting effective job design and, from time to time, taking employees’ opinion can go a long way in ensuring a safe workplace for all. Social implications – Shows that bullying in any form is a social menace both for employees and the organization, and it needs to be nipped in the bud. Originality/value – Provides insights into how organizations can effectively address the issue of bullying at the workplace.

Designing a memorable in-store customer shopping experience: practical evidence from sports equipment retailers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Bonfanti ◽  
Georgia Yfantidou
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Shopping Experience ◽  
Retail Managers ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis study aims to detect the dimensions of the in-store customer shopping experience from the sports retailer perspective and to investigate how the role of sports equipment stores is changing.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study performs semi-structured interviews with retail managers of sports equipment stores.FindingsThis research reveals the importance of the dimensions of immersive design, sensorial ambient elements, social relationships, trialability and real experience sharing in designing a memorable in-store shopping experience in sports stores, and it highlights that the store's role in the sports context is transitioning from sales space to an interactive, immersive, engaging and convivial place. It proposes a model to design the in-store customer shopping experience effectively.Practical implicationsSports equipment managers can make their physical stores as experiential as possible by investing in expert, passionate personnel and technology in order to create a real in-store experience of the product and the sports practice.Originality/valueWhile sports equipment retailers acknowledge the importance of providing customers with a memorable shopping experience by creating an evocative environment and placing multiple touchpoints in stores, management scholars have paid limited attention to sports stores. This study explores the ways in which sports retail managers can design their stores effectively in experiential terms.

Instrumental red teaming of “terrorism”: attack-concept gaming to develop comprehension, anticipation and resilience

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-94
Author(s):  
Charles Knight
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a gaming approach to making key theoretical ideas accessible, understandable and useful for security practitioners confronting “terrorism” in the real world. Design/methodology/approach The tool is instrumental “red-team” matrix gaming: a structured way to first build and then wargame instrumental “terrorist” attack plans. The working assumption is that “terrorist” violence is designed with purpose, and that it reflects Fromkin’s understanding that terrorism is a form of jujitsu to manipulate more powerful opponents into politically and ideologically self-destructive behaviours. By designing and gaming attack plans with political objectives as the focus, practitioners quickly gain a deeper understanding of the processes of violent influence and the role of responders and decision makers. The paper is structured to, first, provide a theoretical explanation of contemporary conflict, focussing on the public support and how violence can be differently designed to political ends. On this foundation, the methods for learning are explained. A “playing-card” technique for setting students objectives in terms of psychological levers, vulnerabilities, political purposes and influence targets is described and options for participants generating scenarios outlined. Then the matrix-gaming approach, where play progresses according to the result of a dice roll applied to a probability based on the merit of participants’ competing arguments is explained with an example. Findings The described method of creating and wargaming terrorist attack plans offers a new and engaging method of exploring and understanding the processes of terrorism while preparing practitioners by potentially developing both their decision making and resilience. Practical implications The method described has potential value for teaching about terrorism by generally improving student engagement, preparing practitioners to respond to terrorism and wider application (of matrix gaming) to other topics. Originality/value This is a novel application of matrix gaming in a simplified format suited for classrooms.

Role of social and organizational support in the adjustment of Tunisian self-initiated expatriates

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 171-190
Author(s):  
Hajer Khedher ◽  
Muhammad Ali Asadullah
Keyword(s):  
Host Country ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Advance Research ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to explore the lived experiences of Tunisian self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) for social and organizational support that they experienced during their international expatriation assignment in a host country. Design/methodology/approach This study is a qualitative research. The data were collected from Tunisian Expatriates through semi-structured interviews. Findings This study has revealed diverse some interesting insights about the lived experiences of Tunisian SIEs about the support which they received from their family members, social network and members of the host-country organization. This study has also introduced a scale that can be used for measuring the level of social and organizational support received by SIEs. Practical implications This study has offered some implications for the researchers and professionals to advance research and practice to regulate the lived experiences of SIEs. Originality/value This study has highlighted the lived experiences of SIEs for social and organizational support in the Tunisian context representing the collectivist Muslim society.

Mothers' negotiation of welfare support: the emergence of privatized entitlement

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 1439-1454
Author(s):  
Orly Benjamin
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Longitudinal Data ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Material Scarcity ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposePrevious accounts of exclusion, primarily those proposed in the context of access to welfare, marginalize the role of negotiation and its potential for highlighting distinct barriers and possibilities within specific institutional configurations. Furthermore, when negotiation is examined in the context of access to social services, it is rarely considered as reflecting changes in exclusion or the need to distinguish among exclusionary outcomes in mothers' lives. The author proposes a conceptualization of the distinction between civic exclusion and isolated exclusion, introducing the latter as a specific condition in which mothers are forced to respond to their children's needs by resorting to privatized entitlement.Design/methodology/approachStructured interviews were conducted between 2016 and 2017 with 90 mothers “providing in poverty” from seven marginalized categories in Israel. The interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory perspective.FindingsThree negotiation positions are revealed: positive citizenship, privatized entitlement and inconsistent gains. These positions reflect specific conditions of civic exclusion, which manifests in the form of multiple disadvantage in the lives of mothers, regardless of available forms of welfare support; and isolated exclusion, which manifests as the inability to protect one's children from harsh material scarcity, regardless of attempts to establish eligibility.Research limitations/implicationsLongitudinal data could better reflect the ramifications of isolated exclusion, particularly when translated into privatized entitlement.Practical implicationsThe consequences of isolated exclusion should be studied, in order to prevent negotiation failure leading to this phenomenon.Originality/valueUp until recently, the notion of exclusion was used without relevant distinctions obscuring the meaning of failing to negotiate access to welfare, in mothers' lives. Conceptualizing negative outcomes of negotiation as leading to isolated exclusion and privatized entitlement clarifies the meaning of poverty as dependency. Further, without relevant distinctions, scholars' and activists' effort to introduce higher commitment to mothers' negotiation among street-level bureaucrats cannot be accounted for.

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