18 research outputs found

    Behavioral foundations for open innovation: Knowledge gifts and social networks

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    The literature on “open innovation” so far focuses almost exclusively on strategic issues. In this largely conceptual paper we propose behavioral foundations for knowledge exchange and knowledge sharing to address this gap in the literature. Innovation and knowledge development that result from knowledge transfer, is an uncertain and cumulative process that typically involves a number of parties. Knowledge transfer between people and firms has been fruitfully studied from a structural or network perspective. The social network literature however, faces an “action problem”. Focusing on structural elements such as an agent’s position in a network and the types of relations entertained cannot explain why actors actually do share knowledge. The exchange of knowledge is elusive and is a discretionary act for the people involved, certainly in the case of open innovation (OI). It is argued here that social network analysis is to be complemented by the concept of gift exchange, drawing on social exchange literature. Gift exchange – following Mauss’ dictum to “give, receive and reciprocate”– establishes obligations between people especially under circumstances of ambiguity, which explain why and how knowledge exchange relations are established, persist, and may also end. Relationships in a social network and the social capital that inheres in these cannot be drawn on at will to exchange knowledge. These obligations established by gift exchange between individuals who share a connection explain why agents exchange knowledge with each other even in the absence of markets or hierarchy

    Understanding electronic word-of-mouth in tourism in the social media era

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    In recent decades, social media has fundamentally changed how communication takes place in business. It has contributed to the evolution of the Internet from a broadcasting medium to a participatory and interactive platform which allows users to generate and share information and become part of the media. For instance, social media has enabled the creation and exchange of electronic word-ofmouth (eWOM). We have witnessed the popularity of eWOM in travel and tourism industry. EWOM behaviour among individuals and the impact of eWOM on organizations have become important research focuses in eWOM research. However, the extant research has ignored the important function of social media platforms as both hedonic and social-oriented information systems (IS) for users, and few researchers have tried to explain eWOM use from the social, hedonic, and technology perspectives. eWOM application from the organizational perspective has also attracted the attention of researchers. Most prior studies in this field have focused primarily on the impact of eWOM on business performance and organizations’ eWOM strategy. However, the understanding of how social media platforms can be used to co-create value with customers and how eWOM can help organizations to engage customers is still fragmented. What is more, the understanding of the interplay between an organization’s activity and social media technology remains obscure. The objective of this study is threefold: 1) to explore eWOM use and generation behaviours among individuals by taking eWOM content, as well as the social media platform—that is, the channel of eWOM generation and use—into consideration; 2) to explore the value creation of social media and eWOM in organizations; and 3) to examine how social media and eWOM connect individuals and organizations and uncover the myth of how eWOM benefits both individuals and travel organizations. A combination of quantitative survey research and qualitative case study is used in this study. In particular, quantitative survey research method was used to explore the eWOM use among individual user’s to solve the research questions regarding the determinants of travellers’ eWOM use and generation behaviours. Qualitative case study method was used to solve the questions regarding how can tourism organizations use social media to co-create value with customers and to engage with customers via eWOM communication. This research includes empirical data collected from individual tourists in China and tourism organizations from both China and Finland. This study contributes to the understanding of eWOM in tourism context. Specifically, it contributes to the understanding of customers’ eWOM behavior by taking the social and hedonic functions into consideration, and sheds light on the understanding of eWOM application in organizations. This study also integrates eWOM research from both individual and organization perspectives and helps to explain the eWOM interplay between them. From practical view, the results of this study have important implications for tourism e-service practitioners in their understanding of customers’ decision making process, and the strategy to facilitate customers’ propensity of eWOM generation behavior. It also helps eWOM website designers to make successful eWOM websites. The findings also shed lights on e-service providers on how to co-create value with customers via social media platform and how to engage customer via eWOM communication.Sosiaalinen media on ratkaisevasti muuttanut tapaa jolla liikeviestintää hoidetaan nykyvuosikymmenellä. Se on muuttanut Internetin yksisuuntaisesta julkaisukanavasta yhteisölliseksi ja interaktiiviseksi alustaksi joka mahdollistaa käyttäjien informaation tuottamisen ja jakamisen, heidän tulemisensa osaksi mediaa. Esimerkiksi, sosiaalinen media on mahdollistanut eWOM-ilmiön, jolla tarkoitetaan asiakkaiden ja käyttäjien jostain kohteesta tekemien arvioiden antamista ja jakamista sähköisillä alustoilla. eWOM on osoittautunut erittäin suosituksi matkailun ja turismin alalla viime vuosina. eWOM-yksilökäyttäytyminen sekä se miten eWOM vaikuttaa organisaatioihin ovat tulleet tärkeiksi tutkimuskohteiksi eWOM-tutkimuksessa. Kuitenkin nykyinen tutkimus on jättänyt ottamatta huomioon sen että sosiaalisen median alustat toimivat myös mielihyvää tuottavina ja sosiaalisesti orientoituneina tietojärjestelminä käyttäjille, ja vain vähäinen tutkimus on yrittänyt selvittää eWOMkäyttöä sosiaalisesta, hedonisesta ja teknologisesta näkökulmasta. eWOM tutkimus organisatorisesta näkökulmasta keskittyy pääosin siihen miten eWOM vaikuttaa liiketoimintaan ja organisaation eWOM-strategiaan. Kuitenkin sen ymmärtäminen miten sosiaalisen median alustoja voidaan käyttää arvon yhteiseen tuottamiseen ja kuinka eWOM voi auttaa organisaatioita sitouttamaan asiakkaan on yhä sirpaleista. Lisäksi, organisaation toiminnan ja sosiaalisen median teknologian vuorovaikutuksen ymmärtäminen on yhä häilyvää. Tällä tutkimuksella on kolme tavoitetta: 1) tutkia eWOM-käyttöä ja tiedon tuottamista yksilötasolla ottamalla eWOM-sisältö samoin kuin sosiaalisen median alusta – kanava eWOMin tuottamiseen ja jakamiseen – huomioon; 2) tutkia eWOMin sosiaalisen median arvontuottoa organisaatiossa; 3) tutkia miten sosiaalinen media ja eWOM yhdistävät yksilöitä ja organisaatioita, jotta voitaisiin selvittää myytti siitä miten eWOM hyödyntää sekä yksilöitä että organisaatioita. Tässä tutkimuksessa käytettiin kvantitatiivisen kyselytutkimuksen ja kvalitatiivisen tapaustutkimuksen yhdistelmää. Erityisesti, kvantitatiivista kyselytutkimusta käytettiin tutkimusmenetelmänä tutkittaessa yksilöiden eWOM-käyttöä, jotta voitiin vastata tutkimuskysymykseen koskien matkustajien eWOMgeneroinnin ja –käytön keskeisiä suureita. Laadullista tapaustutkimusta käytettiin tutkimusmenetelmänä selvitettäessä sitä miten organisaatiot käyttävät sosiaalista mediaa tuottaakseen lisäarvoa asiakkaiden kanssa ja miten ne sitouttavat asiakkaat eWOM-viestinnän keinoin. Tämä tutkimus sisältää empiiristä dataa jota on kerätty sekä yksittäisiltä matkustajilta Kiinassa sekä matkailualan yrityksiltä sekä Kiinassa että Suomessa. Tämä tutkimus lisää ymmärrystä eWOM-ilmiöstä matkailussa. Erityisesti se tuottaa tietoa asiakkaiden eWOM-käyttäytymisestä ottamalla eWOMin sosiaaliset ja hedoniset aspektit huomioon, ja tuottaa tietoa eWOMin käytön ymmärtämiseksi organisaatioissa. Tämä tutkimus integroi eWOM-tutkimuksen sekä yksilön että organisaation näkökulmasta ja auttaa ymmärtämään näkökulmien yhteydet. Käytännön näkökulmasta tämän tutkimuksen tuloksilla on tärkeitä viestejä sähköisen palvelutuotannon toteuttajille kun he pyrkivät ymmärtämään asiakkaan päätöksentekoa. Se myös auttaa eWOM-suunnittelijoita tekemään onnistuneita eWOM-verkkopalveluita. Tutkimustulokset myös kertovat verkkopalveluiden tuottajille miten tuottaa lisäarvoa yhdessä asiakkaiden kanssa sosiaalisessa mediassa ja miten sitouttaa asiakkaat eWOM-kommunikaation avulla

    The economics of benevolence : an Islamic paradigm

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    This study is an endeavour to propose an Islamic paradigm of the economics of benevolence. It attempts to elicit the behavioural significance of the ubiquity of benevolence as an essential, jure divino, motive force, and the relaxation of the utilitarian assumption of egoistic human motivation. Benevolence has been epitomized in the development of a benevolent homo Islamicus as an alternative to the conventional solipsist homo economicus. The behavioural norms underlying these assumptions constitute the nucleus for a new economic paradigm - an ethico-Islamic economics. The introduction puts the study in an ethico-economic context. The first chapter is a necessary investigation of the pros and cons of non-selfish behaviour in western thought. The second chapter is an exposition on the Islamic ethico-philosophic foundations of benevolence both as an innate trait of character and a divine imperative. The third chapter is an attempt to propose a 'benevolence market' as a unique third market in the Islamic Economy. The forth chapter is an elucidation on the homo Islamicus' consumption and production behaviour under the all-pervasive norm of benevolence. The fifth chapter is an an endeavour to infer the Islamic philosophy of factor compensation - the fair and congenial capital-labour and employer-employee relation under the assumption of benevolence. The conclusion recapitulates the main issues raised in the preceding chapters

    The functions of marketing as performed cooperatives

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    Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston Universit

    Tourism in Timor Leste: contributions to a sustainable development

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    The main goal of this thesis is to analyse tourism as a contributor to sustainable development, from a supply and demand perspective, in Timor-Leste, a destination not only “young” but also framed in an early stage of touristic development. From the supply side, studies 1 and 2 present a literature review on the concept of sustainable development, in small islands destinations, its weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and whose attractiveness lies in an integrated set of natural resources (attractive beaches, biodiversity, the coral triangle, a rich fauna and flora), its geographic location, tropical climate, socio cultural tradition and a Luso-Timorense cultural mix, that can meet the needs of important segments of the tourist demand. In these studies, the focus is on the residents’ attitudes in relation to sustainable development and, in particular, on the perceptions of local leaders about the importance of the operationalization of the concept. As Timor-Leste is a “young” destination, it is travel industry is still faced with several problems in order to be able to satisfy the demand and to meet the tourists’ motivations, preferences and requirements. In this perspective, the study 3 examines diaspora tourism, while a niche market, allowing for not only the entry of Timor-Leste in the international tourism market, but also an articulation between the people of Timor-Leste in the diasporas and the development of sustainable tourism . In general, the results show that the development of sustainable tourism cannot be successfully implemented without the involvement of all stakeholders such as residents, public sector (local government, policy makers, planners), private sector (tourism operators), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that include civil society, religious institutions, the academic community (the supply side), and Timorese diasporas tourists as consumers (the demand side)

    Behind Networks: Knowledge Transfer, Favor Exchange and Performance

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    The value of knowledge for economic development can hardly be overstated as it essentially determines what organizations do as well as how they do it. Ensuring firm survival yields fierce competition, requiring organizations to continually improve their product and operations. That is, upgrade their knowledge base and develop new knowledge on how to do the right things more efficiently. Managing organizational knowledge and stimulating its development means that firms must carefully consider their knowledge development and diffusion strategies. Doing so, as this book argues, requires practitioners to realize that knowledge development and diffusion is a social cooperative process. At its most basic level new knowledge is created as a result of human interaction. Knowledge is shared between individuals and is fueled by micro-objectives and motivations. Applying a micro perspective, this book posits that knowledge exchange resembles the exchange of gifts. It follows that professional networks, as the conduits through which knowledge is exchanged, are an important determinant for scientists’ performance. Utilizing the full potential of organizational scientific and human technical capital requires firms to map, shape and encourage individual network formation

    The Ledger & Times, March 28, 1935

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    Strengthening nursing, midwifery and allied health professional leadership in the UK - a realist evaluation

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    Purpose: This paper aims to share the findings of a realist evaluation study that set out to identify how to strengthen nursing, midwifery and allied health professions (NMAHP) leadership across all health-care contexts in the UK conducted between 2018 and 2019. The collaborative research team were from the Universities of Bangor, Ulster, the University of the West of Scotland and Canterbury Christ Church University. Design/methodology/approach: Realist evaluation and appreciative inquiry were used across three phases of the study. Phase 1 analysed the literature to generate tentative programme theories about what works, tested out in Phase 2 through a national social media Twitter chat and sense-making workshops to help refine the theories in Phase 3. Cross-cutting themes were synthesised into a leadership framework identifying the strategies that work for practitioners in a range of settings and professions based on the context, mechanism and output configuration of realist evaluation. Stakeholders contributed to the ongoing interrogation, analysis and synthesis of project outcomes. Findings: Five guiding lights of leadership, a metaphor for principles, were generated that enable and strengthen leadership across a range of contexts. – “The Light Between Us as interactions in our relationships”, “Seeing People’s Inner Light”, “Kindling the Spark of light and keeping it glowing”, “Lighting up the known and the yet to be known” and “Constellations of connected stars”. Research limitations/implications: This study has illuminated the a-theoretical nature of the relationships between contexts, mechanisms and outcomes in the existing leadership literature. There is more scope to develop the tentative programme theories developed in this study with NMAHP leaders in a variety of different contexts. The outcomes of leadership research mostly focussed on staff outcomes and intermediate outcomes that are then linked to ultimate outcomes in both staff and patients (supplemental). More consideration needs to be given to the impact of leadership on patients, carers and their families. Practical implications: The study has developed additional important resources to enable NMAHP leaders to demonstrate their leadership impact in a range of contexts through the leadership impact self-assessment framework which can be used for 360 feedback in the workplace using the appreciative assessment and reflection tool. Social implications: Whilst policymakers note the increasing importance of leadership in facilitating the culture change needed to support health and care systems to adopt sustainable change at pace, there is still a prevailing focus on traditional approaches to individual leadership development as opposed to collective leadership across teams, services and systems. If this paper fails to understand how to transform leadership policy and education, then it will be impossible to support the workforce to adapt and flex to the increasingly complex contexts they are working in. This will serve to undermine system integration for health and social care if the capacity and capability for transformation are not attended to. Whilst there are ambitious global plans (WHO, 2015) to enable integrated services to be driven by citizen needs, there is still a considerable void in understanding how to authentically engage with people to ensure the transformation is driven by their needs as opposed to what the authors think they need. There is, therefore, a need for systems leaders with the full skillset required to enable integrated services across place-based systems, particularly clinicians who are able to break down barriers and silo working across boundaries through the credibility, leadership and facilitation expertise they provide. Originality/value: The realist evaluation with additional synthesis from key stakeholders has provided new knowledge about the principles of effective NMAHP leadership in health and social care, presented in such a way that facilitates the use of the five guiding lights to inform further practice, education, research and policy development

    Competition in an evolving stochastic market

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    "In an efficient market all identical goods must have only one price." So states the aptly named law of one price. In the real world, however, one may easily verify that identical products are often sold for different prices. This thesis develops an extension of the Bertrand model in economics to include spatially localised competition to explain this price variation, which is then studied through simulation methods and theoretical analysis. Our model studies the effect that local heterogeneities in the environment experienced by sellers have on successful pricing strategies. Taking inspiration from models of evolutionary dynamics, we define the fitness of a seller and evolve seller prices through selection and mutation. We find three distinct steady states in our model related to the probability that a seller experiences competition for a buyer, mediated by the number of bankrupt sites in the system. When competition-free sales are unlikely, the system collapses on to a single price. If temporary monopoly situations do exist sellers can accumulate capital and variation in prices is stable. In this scenario, sellers spontaneously separate into two classes: cheap sellers – requiring sales to every potential buyer; and expensive sellers – requiring only occasional sales. Finally, we find an intermediate regime in which there is a single highly favoured price in the system which oscillates between high and low extrema. We study the properties of these steady states in detail, building a picture of how globally uncompetitive sellers can nonetheless survive if competition is strictly local.We show how the system builds up correlations, leading to niches for expensive sellers. These niches change the nature of the competition and allow for long-term survival of uncompetitive sellers. Not all expensive prices are equally likely in the steady state and we analyse why (and where) peaks in the price distribution appear.We can do this exactly for the early time dynamics of the model and extend the argument more qualitatively to the steady state. This latter analysis allows us to predict, for an observed steady distribution, the minimum price an expensive seller should charge to guarantee profit. The oscillatory ‘steady state’ is qualitatively reminiscent of boom and bust cycles in the global market. We study methods to suppress the oscillations and suggest ways of avoiding catastrophic crashes in the global economy – without negatively affecting the ability of outliers to make large profits
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