MYTHS, RITUALS AND RESTRICTIONS OF THE AFRICAN IRON INDUSTRY IN THE 18th CENTURY: THE CASE OF TAAVISA IN NSO’ GRASSFIELDS OF CAMEROON

The peculiarity of the African iron industry is its cultural dimension; where in, symbolism was evident in virtually all the stages of the production chain. With the use of archival, secondary and oral sources, this paper investigated the Taavisa slag heap which revealed that smelting residue was cleared to create space for a royal cemetery and a hut constructed over the grave of Fon (king) Sanggu of Nso’ around 1750. Sanggu was probably the seventeenth Sovereign of the Nso’ Dynasty at Kovifem, who died while in refuge on the peripheries of his kingdom, subjected to Chamba and later Fulani raids. Taavisa was a retreat spot in several situations and developed into a rest palace for reigning Fons of Nso’. Given its strategic location, smelting, pre-forging and sanctity which emanated from iron works, this old iron working site became a place of honour and thus mutated into a shrine. Thus, multidimensional values attached to Taavisa account for Nso’ seizure of the area and subsequent expansion towards its southern boarder Fondoms (Kingdoms). A new element therefore adds to symbolisms attached to the African iron industry that is: a smelting site turned into a royal cemetery.

Emergence and Development of Kalmykias Press in the Information Landscape of the Russian South in 1917-1943

The Russian South hosts over a hundred peoples whose cultures and confessions representing all the three world religions successfully co-exist and interact, which makes the region unique. One of the ethnies is the Kalmyks, who belong to Mongolian language group and cultural community. The local journalism has been one of the key socio-cultural factors that brings together all the multidimensional values of the various ethnic groups, including the Kalmyks. All this explains the relevance of the research. The article deals with the retrospective of the studies of Kalmykia’s printed press, determines the key stages in historiography on this field, and analyzes the extent of its scientific coverage. Studies on the history of the local press and the content of the publications, which is large empirical data, provide for an objective evaluation of the events in particular historical contexts. Viewing the history of the ethnos, its education, culture, literature, ethnography, and socio-political realias of the period under consideration adds to the topicality of the research. The authors track the Kalmykia theme in the press of the Russian South, study the emergence and development of the local mass media and journalism, which has adopted the best practices of the neighboring region’s mass media. The article also point out the big role of Nomto Ochirov, a scientist and socio-political figure, in the establishment of Kalmyk national press.

Modelling the Conditions Affecting Population Migration Activity in the Eastern European Region: The Case of Ukraine

This paper presents the authors’ algorithm for estimating the conditions affecting population migration activity in the Eastern European region (on the example of Ukraine), which includes selection of indicators, determination of indicators’ weights in a group, calculation of weighted multidimensional values by each group, determination of the weights of indicators’ groups in the integral index, estimation of the calculation reliability, construction of the integral index and its interpretation. The concept of the conditions affecting migration activity is regarded as a set of factors distributed in five groups (demographic stability and public health status, education coverage, labour market and employment conditions, standard of living, country’s economic development). Based on the results of estimating the conditions affecting population migration activity in Ukraine, the conclusions are drawn regarding the level of the country’s enabling migration conditions.

Multidimensional value creation through different reverse supply chain relationships in used clothing sector

Purpose This paper aims to purport deeper understanding of, and instigate theoretical elaboration to, multidimensional value created through different reverse supply chain (RSC) relationships. Design/methodology/approach By capturing the relationships (and their differences) constituted and embedded in three “extreme” case studies from global used clothing supply chain, the sources of multidimensional values are explored in line with Dyer and Singh’s (1998) relational theory. Findings In the RSC, when downstream relationships are typically more opportunistic, value is created using inter-personal ways of knowledge sharing and through use of informal safeguards. In contrast, the upstream RSC relationships are more symbiotic, and value is created through more seamless (and routinized) knowledge sharing practices, and additional use of more formal transaction-specific controls or financial incentives as safeguarding instruments. Research limitations/implications The use of consolidated case studies may affect the consistency in the findings presented. Another limitation relates to deriving propositions per each source presented in relational theory. Practical implications Practitioners particularly from industries whose global RSCs include different natures of relationships and multiple value incentives can be benefited through this study. Originality/value The paper extends the original sources of value creation prescribed in relational theory by contextualizing them in RSCs. It depicts how multidimensional values are created relationally by dyadic partners as the nature of relationship differs between upstream and downstream.

Licensing a sports brand: effects of team brand cue, identification, and performance priming on multidimensional values and purchase intentions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into how consumers value sports team-branded merchandise. Two experiments are conducted to examine the effects of rivalry and team identification on evaluations of licensed product (Study 1). Study 2 examined the effects of team brand cue, team performance priming and product category on licensed product evaluations. Design/methodology/approach – Study 1 (N = 104) examined the effects of team rivalry and team identification on multidimensional product values and purchase intent. In Study 2, a 3 (performance priming: positive/negative/neutral) × 2 (team brand cue: present/absent) × 2 (product category: symbolic/utilitarian) between-subjects design (N = 285) was utilized. Samples were recruited from students and alumni at a large Midwestern university in the USA. A series of multivariate analysis of covariance was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings – Fans view a product licensed with a rival team’s logo to have significantly less functional, emotional and social value than a product licensed with their favorite team’s logo. Highly identified fans showed greater bias in evaluating the product than less identified fans. Team performance priming also moderated the effect of team brand cues on purchase intentions toward the licensed product. Research limitations/implications – Team identification level accentuates bias in valuations of a licensed product. In addition, better performance of a team further motivates purchase decisions. Use of a collegiate brand in this study limits generalizability of the findings. Practical implications – Practitioners should realize that simple heuristic cues can change consumers’ perceptions of licensed merchandise product values. Originality/value – The current study extends previous research on licensed product valuation by using multidimensional value propositions and a variety of product-related cues.

The RBV and value creation: a managerial perspective

PurposeThe paper aims to explain why the customer value construct is important to resource‐based view (RBV) scholars and how one might define it to study it.Design/methodology/approachBy a summary of the ideas behind the RBV and previously applied definitions of customer value, the paper explains why Woodruff's multidimensional definition of customer value is suited to studying customer value from a managerial perspective. To this end, it develops a framework and derives three research questions for studying how managers use the firm's resources to create customer value.FindingsIt was found that to understand how managers invest in dynamic capabilities to create customer value one must identify how a firm's managers develop a shared understanding of their customers' values and the firm's capacity to deliver on them. This shared understanding will need to reflect customers' multidimensional values and what is most important to the firm.Practical implicationsThese phenomena are best studied qualitatively because the focus is on understanding how managers work together and use the resources at their disposal to create customer value. The performance effects of different resource investment decisions can be examined by including high and low performing firms in the study dataset.Originality/valueThe paper describes a framework that can explain how managers map customer value and its different dimensions against the resources at the firm which they believe can deliver an optimal product and service mix to the firm's customers.