Understanding compassion in intellectual disability services

Section one of this thesis presents a systematic literature review which investigated the experiences of people with an intellectual disability of psychological talking therapy. Ten studies were included and reviewed. Eight main themes and three sub themes emerged. Developing new positive relationships along with learning new skills and confidentiality were important to people with intellectual disabilities. Negative aspects of therapy including both interpersonal problems with others in a group setting as well as process issues were difficult as was therapy itself. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed. Section two reports the findings from a qualitative, thematic analysis of staff’s understanding of the concept of compassion. Ten participants who directly worked with people with intellectual disabilities in community support setting were recruited and took part in semi-structured interviews. Four themes emerged. The themes from the research mapped onto the appraisal model of compassion that could be used by services to support a compassionate culture. The third section is the critical appraisal which provides reflections on the research process and a discussion of compassion in care. The fourth section contains the ethics application and approval documents for this thesis

The role of effective communication and trustworthiness in determining guests’ loyalty

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This study investigates the role of trustworthiness and effective communication in the development of guests’ loyalty within the hotel sector. We propose and test a conceptual model that differentiates between two types of loyalty: attitudinal and behavioral. As hotels can control and manage how they communicate their desired characteristics to guests, we posit effective communication and a hotel’s trustworthiness as the key concepts in building loyalty. This study reports on the findings of a study based on 322 hotel guests. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results reveal that implementing effective communication methods leads to a trustworthy image, which in turn has a positive impact on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. This research provides hotel managers with strategic directions for cultivating guest loyalty

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships: Benefits of Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Network (KEEN) projects

The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a mechanism that provides academics and employers with the opportunity to take forward innovative projects to prepare graduates for industry (KTP Online, 2013). Creating links with industry is important in order to provide graduates with relevant knowledge, experience and employability skills (Prince, 2007). Coventry University participated in the Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Network (KEEN) formed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). A KEEN project is a form of KTP that involves an SME and a graduate affiliate working on a business development project. An academic mentors the affiliate throughout the duration of the project. This paper will present KEEN projects involving two small marketing design agencies. The objective was to develop the marketing strategies by transferring knowledge and mentoring the graduate affiliate whilst working closely with the senior management of the companies. Specific objectives were to create an achievable project plan to understand and develop the customer base, position and strengthen the brand and to enhance their digital strategies. In fulfilling these objectives the knowledge transfer improves the future development of the business. This paper will analyse the value of KTP’s and KEEN’s to the company, the affiliate and the academic involved. Achievements of the KEEN projects will be presented including the enhancement of the companies’ digital knowledge and presence, improvement of customer relationship management and the redevelopment of the brand and core values. Various approaches to mentoring and consulting were used during the two project therefore similarities and differences will be highlighted and best practice will be recommended in managing a KTP. Experiences will be shared to demonstrate the benefits and challenges of managing a KEEN project including the use research informed teaching with the live clients

Understanding online event experience:The importance of communication, engagement and interaction

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Despite the advances in theory about how organisations should manage consumer experience, there is a lack of understanding about how variables such as consumer-to-consumer interaction, content engagement and effective communication affect consumer online experiences, with this being particularly evident in the event industry. This study examines online event experiences and their effects on consumers’ behavioural intentions towards mega events. Using a sample of 1,726 participants from four countries (United States, United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa), a structural equation model was conducted. Results indicate that online content engagement and effective communication influence consumers’ online experience and positively affects their behavioural intentions towards the event. Online consumer-to-consumer interaction also showed a positive effect on consumers’ future behavioural intentions. The findings highlight the need for event organisers to reconsider the rising importance of consumers who are likely to follow the event online and to understand the factors that shape their online experience

Professional Sports Teams: Going Beyond the Core

Purpose - The addition of products to the core of matches by Professional Sports Teams (PSTs) has received much coverage. However, there has been limited work as to how their stadiums are used to stage non-sporting events. This paper investigates how clubs in the English Football League (EFL) use their venues to diversify into other markets. Design/methodology - Secondary sources were used to categorise the teams who played in the EFL by: average division turnover, stadium capacity and stadium age. Semi-structured interviews were held with a member of the commercial teams of 21 clubs. Findings - Clubs use their stadiums to supply a range of products and working with partners is commonplace. These products are targeted at a range of stakeholders, such as supporters, the local community and regionally based organisations. In addition to their own efforts, increased geographical coverage for clubs usually develops in three ways: via internal marketing by local organisations who use the facilities, agents who market the stadium for the club, and the EFL who market the league/clubs holistically. Research limitations/implications - The use of a stadium allows PSTs to diversify by providing new products for new markets. In this instance it has led to the development of capabilities in areas such as conferencing, funerals and weddings. Originality - This is one of the first papers to examine the capabilities developed by PSTs that lie outside the staging of matches

The conceptualisation of building and enhancing customer experience using an Omnichannel approach

This paper investigates how retailers can enhance customer experience using a holistic hybrid approach. By using an integrated approach and joining up the customer experience, retailers can improve engagement with customers and increase convenience. The way customers shop is evolving with the spread of the internet, social media, smart phones and tablets, customers have access to information and shopping sources 24 hours a day. The technological advances in mobile devices enable customers to instantly access and download information, make purchases online and engage in online services (Rose, Hair & Clark 2011). The importance of what affect a holistic hybrid approach could have on a customer’s satisfaction and how this approach could help build loyalty and trust for a retailer needs exploring. Omni-channel is receiving significant attention from practitioners and retailers and is different from a multi-channel approach. Retailers are in need of a better integrated approach as customers are now expecting more, by having a multi-channel presence is not enough; customers expect a seamless, consistent experience across all channels (Arthur, 2012). There is lack of academic research on what the effects of an Omni-channel approach has on customer experience

Holistic hybrid (Omni-channel) approach to retailing and customer experience: A review, conceptual framework and future research directions

The manner in which customers shop is evolving and there has been an increase in customers shopping online and in physical shops using a multi-channel approach (Hsiao, Yen & Li, 2012). Customers now shop using mobile phones, tablets and have access to shopping sources 24 hours a day. Multi-channel shopping is where customers use multiple channels such as online, in-store, catalogues or mobile devices to purchase products or services (Zhang et al., 2010). Research has shown that multi-channel strategies enhance customer’s satisfaction and retailer loyalty (Wallace, Giese & Johnson 2004). With the advances of technology and the internet there has been an increase in customers shopping online. More than 80% of US retailers sell merchandise through multi-channels and 94% of the “winners” (best financial performance) are multi-channel retailers (Zhang et al., 2010). Multi-channel retailing generates more sales and profit compared to a single-channel approach (Kim, Park & Pookulangara, 2005). Retailers use multi-channel approaches to engage with customers and can maximise profit compared to a single-channel approach. Where customers shop across multiple product categories they are more likely to shop via multi-channels and more likely to migrate to a new channel (Kumar & Venkatesan, 2005). However having a multi-channel strategy does not automatically mean an integrated marketing approach. Retailers can face channel conflict and difficulties in integrating processes (Kim, Park & Pookulangara, 2005). There is a distinction between multiple channels and channel integration (Friedman & Furey, 2003). There is a growing priority to improve customer experience in both academic literature and by retail managers, as the emphasis on experience is more prominent and is gradually replacing service quality (Grewal, Levy & Kumar, 2009; Klaus & Maklan, 2013; Verhoef et al., 2009). With a more customer centric focus there is an emphasis on the company-customer interaction across multiple channels (Klaus & Maklan, 2013). The multi-channel approach is used with the aim to attract and retain new customers through sustaining and meeting various expectations through these channels, i.e. customers will have different expectations and demands when shopping online vs. in-store. In addition, customers will also have a different expectation when combining a multi-channel shopping experience (Shainesh, 2012). However there is a lack of empirical research on the effect of customer satisfaction between multi-channel performances (Birgelen, Jong & Ruyter, 2006). There is lack of academic research on what the effect of an Omni-channel approach has on customer experience. The importance of what effect a holistic hybrid approach could have on a customer’s satisfaction and how this approach could affect important outcomes such as build loyalty and satisfaction for a retailer needs exploring (Klaus & Maklan, 2013). Due to the lack of academic research on an Omni-channel approach, this research will therefore identify factors from the multi-channel approach that can affect a customer’s experience and investigate how a holistic hybrid (Omni-channel) approach to retailing can improve customer experience