Understanding University Brand Loyalty: The Mediating Role of Attitudes towards the Department and University

AbstractFor today's competitive academic environment, brand management in higher education is becoming highly important. As students have many options available to them, there is a growing need to study factors that enable higher education institutions to attract and retain students. In literature, there are many factors that foster or challenge branding activities of universities. In this study, the mediating role of attitude on university performance variables and university brand loyalty relationship is investigated. A survey is used as a research instrument and applied to university students. Data is collected from 321university students studying at business administration department of a public university. Hierarchical multiple regression is used to test the hypotheses which revealed partial mediation of attitude between the relationship of university performance and university brand loyalty

The Relationship between Organizational Socialization and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediating Role of Person-Environment Fit

AbstractOrganizational socialization is a crucial concept for both employees and employers in order to facilitate the process of employee adjustment. In addition to various results of successful socialization, organizational citizenship behavior is regarded as an important consequence of organizational socialization. This study aims to examine the mediating effect of person-environment fit on the relationship between organizational socialization and organizational citizenship behavior. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 202 white collar employees in Istanbul. The findings revealed that person-environment fit mediates the relationship between organizational socialization and organizational citizenship behavior

A vicious cycle of superficial conceptualization: Deconstructing nature in social innovation (policy) discourse

Critical studies of social innovation (SI) reveal sustainability concepts are widely used by scholars, policy makers and practitioners on a superficial level (Eichler & Schwarz, 2019). Even if SI is mainly linked to social and economic dimensions, the relationship between SI and environment is still vague and needs further research. One possible reason for this disconnectedness would be the dominating anthropocentric assumptions instead of ecocentric assumptions? To fill this gap, this paper aims to explore the conceptualization of nature in SI documents. We do this through an analysis of United Nations (UN) publications, particularly, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Labs. In addition, we consider how SI is understood, executed, promoted and how perceptions of nature affect SI. Eco-critical discourse analysis (ECDA) is adopted as an analytical approach for this study. This study utilizes texts as empirical material on SI published by the UN. The focus on the UN is appropriate, as they are a highly influential institution on national economies in shaping their SI policies and practices. Therefore, this study is undertaken on the basis that the discourse of these documents affects the SI discourse and practices of countries and the field. The contribution of this study lies in its effort to reveal embedded propositions in SI texts through language-driven analysis, then to discuss how a deeper understanding would regain the agenda for long-lasting socio-economic problems through an ecocentric critical discourse

The Relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance; Evidence from Turkish SMEs

This research aims to find the factors linked to Entrepreneurial orientation and corporate entrepreneurship that effect export and sales growth performance of SMEs. Thereby a model was developed to reveal the relationship between these factors. The questionnaire had parts such as general information about firm and owner/manager, entrepreneurial orientation, corporate entrepreneurship and growth in sales revenue and exportation rate over the most recent 3 year period of the SMEs. The measurements have been gathered together in 72 item in survey and applied to 163 SMEs manufacturing generally in Ankara and Bursa, Turkey. The result showed that entrepreneurial orientation is positively and significantly related with SMEs’ sales growth and exportation performances. SMEs have to be proactive in any circumstances and especially exporter SMEs need to be more risk taking than proactive and least innovative. Also organizational boundaries has greater effect on performance than other dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship

Divergent in situ expression of IL‐31 and IL‐31RA between bullous pemphigoid and pemphigus vulgaris

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) and pemphigus vulgaris (PV) are two major autoimmune blistering skin diseases. Unlike PV, BP is accompanied by intense pruritus, suggesting possible involvement of the pruritogenic cytokine IL-31. However, the underlying mechanisms of the clinical difference between BP and PV in terms of pruritus are not fully understood. To compare the expression levels of IL-31 and its receptor IL-31RA in the lesional skin, including peripheral nerves in BP and PV patients, immunohistochemical staining for IL-31 and IL-31RA was performed in skin samples of BP and PV patients and healthy controls (HC). The IL-31RA-expressing area in epidermis and peripheral nerves was analysed using ImageJ and the percentage of positive cells for IL-31/IL-31RA in dermal infiltrating cells was manually quantified. Quantitative analyses revealed that IL-31/IL-31RA expressions in the epidermis and dermal infiltrate were significantly increased in BP compared to PV and HC. The difference between BP and PV became more obvious when advanced bullous lesions were compared. Peripheral nerves in BP lesions presented significantly higher IL-31RA expression compared to PV lesions. In conclusion, we found significantly augmented expressions of IL-31/IL-31RA in BP lesions, including peripheral nerves, in comparison to PV. These results suggest a possible contribution of IL-31/IL-31RA signalling to the difference between BP and PV in the facilitation of pruritus and local skin inflammation, raising the possibility of therapeutic targeting of the IL-31/IL-31RA pathway in BP patients

The gap between academy and industry - A qualitative study in Turkish aviation context

Following the rapid growth of aviation industry in Turkey, the number of universities offering aviation management programs and enrolled students have substantially increased. The aim of these programs is to meet the demand of qualified personnel needed by the growing aviation industry and to contribute to its development. However, the extent to which these departments fulfill their missions is unknown. Universities and industry face different public pressures, regulatory expectations, and industry norms. In addition, both sides have different cultures, policies, and institutional logics. These differences affect how the academy and the industry form and manage their relationship. The aim of this study is to explore the current relationship between Turkish aviation industry and aviation management departments of Turkish universities and to understand how their expectations and values are shaped by the institutional dynamics and institutional logics. The findings reveal that different institutional logics of the aviation industry and aviation management programs result in a gap between what the aviation industry managers value and what aviation management programs offer. This gap causes graduates to face difficulty in finding job in the aviation industry and it also hinders the effective collaboration between industry and academy

Innovation orientation, market orientation and e-loyalty: evidence from Turkish e-commerce customers

Present study aims to explore the relationship among e-commerce, market orientation, innovation orientation and e-loyalty. E-commerce usage is becoming more and more widespread among customers. E-loyalty is a useful measurement for e-commerce success, since loyal customers tend to make repetitive purchases which lead to increase in financial performance of the firms. Innovativeness is a core capability for today's highly competitive firms including online ones. Market orientation enables firms to explore, define and meet customer needs; which may in turn drive the innovation orientation. Present model based on these concepts was studied on 376 participants (n=376). In light of the major findings, present article aims to provide managerial implications for customer loyalty in the setting of e-commerce

Understanding university brand loyalty: the mediating role of attitudes towards the department and university

AbstractFor today's competitive academic environment, brand management in higher education is becoming highly important. As students have many options available to them, there is a growing need to study factors that enable higher education institutions to attract and retain students. In literature, there are many factors that foster or challenge branding activities of universities. In this study, the mediating role of attitude on university performance variables and university brand loyalty relationship is investigated. A survey is used as a research instrument and applied to university students. Data is collected from 321university students studying at business administration department of a public university. Hierarchical multiple regression is used to test the hypotheses which revealed partial mediation of attitude between the relationship of university performance and university brand loyalty