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Interdisciplinary Journal Of Management Studies (29810795) 14(4)pp. 761-776
The present research aims to explore the relation between export strategic orientation – including export market orientation and export learning orientation – and export performance by investigating the mediating role of innovation and the moderating role of internationalization. The food and agricultural products exporting firms participating in the 26th International Agrofood Exhibition in Tehran are considered as the statistical population, estimated 760 domestic firms. Finally, 296 questionnaires were filled by export managers, business managers, employees of business and export departments, and executives. The sampling method was systematic random sampling. Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling (SEM) using Smart PLS software. Results show that the rise in export market orientation and innovation are associated with the increase in the export performance. Moreover, the research indicates that while export learning orientation decreases export performance directly, the export performance tends to increase if export learning orientation leads to a high level of innovation. In addition, innovation was found to mediate partially the relationship between both aspects of strategic orientations and export performance. Finally, the moderating effect of the degree of internationalization in the relationship between export market orientation and export performance is confirmed.
Interdisciplinary Journal Of Management Studies (29810795) (1)pp. 73-96
Studying the effect of marketing tactical capabilities on the financial performance of the firms is now proposed as one of the most important priorities of marketing researches. However, the results of the studies in many academic fields that are conducted about a specific issue are usually contrasting. Meta-analysis is a research approach that helps the researcher to achieve a suitable combination of quantitative results of consistent and inconsistent studies in the past. Although various researches have been conducted, such contrast is also observed in the relation between marketing tactical capabilities and financial performance. Therefore, the purpose of this article was to propose and test a comprehensive model of the relation between marketing tactical capabilities and financial performance by critical reviewing of research literature on the basis of meta-analysis approach. The results show that marketing cross-functional capabilities and marketing dynamic capabilities are effective on organizational performance; however, no relation is observed between marketing specialized capabilities and organizational performance. Also, customer performance and market performance will have a positive effect on financial performance of the firm.
Kazemi, A. ,
Andersson, T. ,
Elfstrand corlin, T. ,
Tengblad, S. ,
Wickelgren, M. Psychology of Leaders and Leadership (27696863) 27(2)pp. 183-207
Leader–member exchange (LMX) is the foremost relational approach to leadership. Building upon the LMX theory, this study aimed to examine the associations between three types of relationship appraisals in the workplace: leader–member (leader LMX), member–leader (member LMX), and member– member relationships (collegial climate), and their impact on employee work attitudes (i.e., employee job satisfaction and commitment). Questionnaire data were obtained from a sample of retail managers (n = 113) and retail workers (n = 555) in the Swedish retail sector. Mediation analyses confirmed the novel hypotheses that member LMX and collegial climate fully mediate the association between leader LMX and employee job satisfaction. However, in predicting employee commitment, the only significant mediator was member LMX. This study not only contributes to the existing LMX theory and research but also adds to the expanding body of knowledge in the field of positive organizational scholarship exploring the significance of positive workplace relationships in shaping employee attitudes. © (2024), (American Psychological Association). All rights reserved.
Journal of Product and Brand Management (10610421) 33(8)pp. 1088-1100
Purpose: To thrive in today’s competitive market, international small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) recognize the importance of building strong brands. Choosing the right capabilities to effectively drive brand performance remains a key challenge for SMEs. This study aims to explore how marketing capabilities affect brand orientation and performance. Specifically, the study considered the mediating impact of value cocreation and the moderating effect of innovation capabilities on the association between brand orientation and performance. Design/methodology/approach: The population of interest included SMEs exporting food and agricultural products. A sample of 296 managers and export executives completed the questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using Smart PLS3 was applied to analyze the data. Findings: The findings revealed that export market planning capabilities positively affect brand orientation, but the impact of marketing information capabilities on brand orientation was not supported. The results showed that brand orientation was directly and indirectly associated with brand performance through the mediating effect of value cocreation, and that innovation capability adversely moderated the relationship between brand orientation and performance. Research limitations/implications: This research focused only on two primary internal marketing capabilities affecting brand orientation, i.e. market information and product planning capabilities. Practical implications: Explaining why some international SMEs adopt brand orientation activities, the results may help international firms increase their brand performance by emphasizing their marketing capabilities and creating covalue with their customers. Originality/value: This research expands the existing knowledge of branding in international markets. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Social Responsibility Journal (1758857X) 20(2)pp. 363-382
Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the link between internal capabilities, innovation strategies and export performance (EP), considering the corporate social responsibility (CSR) principle as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach: The statistical population of the current study is the food and agricultural products exporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) which participated in the 27th International Agrofood Exhibition (2021) in Tehran, Iran. A sample of 296 managers was selected, using systematic random sampling, to answer the questionnaire. To analyze the data, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) and Hayes PROCESS in SPSS. Findings: Results show that just manufacturing capabilities affect both exploratory and exploitative innovation, in contrast to marketing capabilities that does not have any significant impact on these two innovation strategies. Moreover, the impact of both explorative and exploratory innovation on EP is supported in the context of food and agricultural SMEs. However, CSR positively moderates the impact of exploratory innovation on EP, showing it has a negative effect on the impact of exploitative innovation on EP. Originality/value: By addressing the research gap on the link between internal capabilities, innovation strategies, EP and CSR among SMEs, the current research provides valuable body of research that later studies in the literature can leverage or build upon. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
International Journal of Bank Marketing (2652323) 42(7)pp. 1736-1759
Purpose: Customer-to-customer (C2C) interactions substantially affect the overall service experience. This study attempts to provide a better and deeper understanding of C2C interactions during the customer journey in the banking industry. The study aims to investigate the complexities of these interactions and to detect their outcomes and further implications in banking services. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a sequential mixed-method approach. Firstly, semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify the components of C2C interactions during the customer journey. Subsequently, thematic analysis was performed to categorize the data and extract relevant components. Secondly, structural equation modeling was used to investigate the role of C2C interactions in behavioral outcomes. Findings: The findings reveal that during the customer journey, C2C interactions plays a key role by providing information, managing queuing behavior, providing resources, and addressing issues related to other customers’ misbehavior. Additionally, C2C interactions have a positive direct effect on the customer experience, satisfaction, and loyalty. Customer experience, in turn, affects customer satisfaction and loyalty. Originality/value: This study highlights the need for academic scholars to prioritize customers’ interaction during the customer journey in financial services, addressing a gap between industry directions and academic research in customer experience. Also, the findings help service providers develop effective strategies to enhance the customer experience by focusing on C2C interactions during the customer journey. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.
International Journal of Older People Nursing (17483735) 19(2)
Background: Person-centred care is widely endorsed as a promising approach for delivering high-quality care to older people. However, the multitude of existing definitions and measurement tools, coupled with the continuous emergence of new tools, can create confusion and hinder precision in assessing this concept. This review was undertaken with a recognition of the crucial role that assessment quality plays in evaluations and improvements, particularly within the context of person-centred care for older people. Objectives: This study aimed to systematically review staff-based measures of person-centredness in settings of care for older people. More specifically, the objectives were to provide description, methodological evaluation and synthesis of diverse conceptual understandings of person-centredness encapsulated in these measurement tools. Methods: We systematically searched the Cinahl, PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases for English peer-reviewed journal articles between 2000 and 2021. These articles discussed the creation of staff-based questionnaires designed to assess the extent of person-centred care. We excluded questionnaires meant for clients, patients or families, as well as non-questionnaire scales. The measures were described, and their interpretations of person-centred care were synthesised through a critical interpretive synthesis method. We evaluated methodological quality using a condensed COSMIN risk of bias checklist and adhered to PRISMA guidelines. Results: The review identified a total of 14 staff-based measures. These measures exhibited varying levels of comprehensiveness, encompassing anywhere between 2 and 17 components. Furthermore, the number of items within the measures ranged from 11 to 62, and the sample sizes exhibited significant diversity, spanning from 58 to 1428. In terms of the components scrutinised by the scales regarding person-centred care, our synthesis revealed the emergence of four distinct conceptual categories: care process, supportive care environment, relations and communication, and knowledge and attitudes. As for the methodological quality of the scales, it exhibited a notable degree of variation (i.e. from inadequate to very good). Conclusions: Diverse measures of person-centredness vary in terms of comprehensiveness, aspects covered and methodological quality. Synthesising the concept through staff-based measures offers a novel approach for researchers and practitioners, illuminating nuanced perspectives in person-centred care. Implications for practice: The synthesis enriches academic discussions and practical applications by dissecting components, ultimately enhancing care quality assessment and improvement. Further, this review is a valuable resource for unit managers and quality coordinators working in settings of care for older people, empowering them to make informed decisions tailored to their specific needs from a diverse array of available person-centred care measures. © 2024 The Authors. International Journal of Older People Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Kazemi, A. ,
Rousta, A. ,
Ghasempour ganji, S.F. ,
Heidari, K. Iranian Journal of Management Studies (20087055) 16(4)pp. 1025-1041
Based on a resource-based view and contingency-based approach, the current research investigated the link between several internal and external factors, export entrepreneurship and export performance, considering the moderating impact of psychic distance and network capacities. A random sample of 296 export managers was chosen to collect the research data, which were examined through PLS structural equation modeling. Findings demonstrated that export-learning-orientation and export entrepreneurship positively affect export performance. Moreover, export commitment and competitive intensity were the key attributes and predictors of export entrepreneurship. Psychic distance did not affect export entrepreneurship directly but had a negative moderating impact on the link between export-learning-orientation and export performance. Moreover, the moderating effect of network capacities on the link between export entrepreneurship on export performance was confirmed. Evidence from this study suggests that export entrepreneurship is multifactorial, driven by a variety of internal and external factors that are primarily contextual. Export managers of SMEs can use above findings in their decision-making and actions about the firms' export activity to enhance export performance. © 2023 Ohio Academy of Science. All rights reserved.
Review of International Business and Strategy (20596014) 33(5)pp. 786-809
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore empirically how the two kinds of strategic orientations including export market orientation (EMO) and technology orientation (TO) predict innovation performance (IP) and export performance (EP), by investigating the mediation effect of IP and the moderation effect of external network (EN). Design/methodology/approach: The statistical population of this research is the food and agricultural products exporting firms which participated in the 26th International Agrofood Exhibition in Tehran, Iran. The sample of 296 managers filled out questionnaires using systematic random sampling methods. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings: Results demonstrate that the increase of EMO and IP is related to a rise in EP. Furthermore, the research finds that IP is a partial mediator in the link between EMO and EP. Finally, the moderation impact of the external networks in an association between TO and IP is supported by the data. Originality/value: This study is one of the limited number of studies to consider the mediation impact of innovation performance in the relationship between EMO and EP, and it is actually the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to investigate the moderating impact of EN in the relationship between TO and IP in the context of one developing country. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Ghasempour ganji, S.F. ,
Johnson, L.W. ,
Kazemi, A. ,
Sadeghian, S. Tourism and Hospitality Research (14673584) 23(3)pp. 344-360
Although the impact of tourism development on residents has received a lot of attention in the literature, the health impact of tourism has not been sufficiently addressed. Due to outbreaks of COVID-19, the importance of recognition of the negative health impact of tourism is relevant. Thus, the present study aims to identify the health impact of tourism through COVID-19 outbreaks considering residents’ perspectives. In the current research, we gathered data from semi-structured interviews conducted from 10th August to 30 August 2020 to investigate community perception regarding the negative health impact of tourism through the COVID-19 era. We conducted 30 interviews with some Iranian residents. Data is analyzed by thematic analysis via MAXQDA software. Residents perceived negative health impacts through COVID-19 outbreaks as containing three subthemes including general negative impacts, direct negative impacts, and indirect negative impacts. The results also show that residents use two coping strategies to face these negative health impacts, namely negative coping strategies and positive coping strategies. Perceived negative health impacts, and residents’ coping strategies are two major themes regarding Iranian residents’ perception toward tourism negative health impacts through COVID-19 outbreaks. © The Author(s) 2022.
Social Justice Research (15736725) 36(3)pp. 263-276
In this special issue titled “Veteran Reflections,” renowned social justice scholars assess the current state of justice research and provide valuable guidance to the younger generation of researchers. Their responses unveil a rich tapestry of diverse perspectives, with a recurring theme emphasizing the urgent need to apply scientific knowledge to real-world contexts and expand theoretical frameworks to address evolving societal challenges. These collective reflections hold immense value for justice scholars, offering indispensable guidance on making impactful contributions to the field. They emphasize the importance of embracing interdisciplinary approaches, engaging wider audiences, and fostering an authentic curiosity in research. As the field of social justice research evolves, these profound insights will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in shaping its trajectory and advancing the well-being of individuals and communities. Inspired by the veteran responses, we, as Editors-in-Chief of SJR, share our reflections on the vital aspect of scientific work—contribution. We introduce the concept of “scientific littering,” enumerating ten categories of non-contribution. Highlighting the pivotal role of research questions, we challenge the notion of novelty as the sole component of contribution. Ultimately, we assert that understanding and acknowledging contribution as the foundation of scientific progress, while honoring the legacy of giants in our field, foster impactful research and pave the way for groundbreaking discoveries in social justice research. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Psychology of Leaders and Leadership (27696863) 26(1)pp. 67-91
In this article, we draw on Buddhist psychology to consider the three attributes of high-quality social connections in the context of work, which are ethical mindedness, loving kindness, and compassion, referred to here as the bright triad of mindful leadership (BTML). These components constitute the positive counterparts of the dark triad components of mindless leadership (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy). The research on the dark triad of leadership appears to “glorify” these qualities, through suggesting that high-scoring leaders are more successful in achieving business goals. We argue that this represents a too limited perspective and is one which poorly resonates with the increased focus on sustainable work and work conditions marked by well-being, fairness, security, and trust. BTML, however, taps into the call of the positive organizational scholarship field to focus on positive and virtuous practices, and to foster high-quality relationships and positive outcomes in the workplace. We, in conceptualizing BTML, furthermore use the concepts of cultivation, attention, and awareness to facilitate the leader’s presence in the moment, and we argue that these cumulatively are necessary conditions for the triad of ethical mindedness, loving kindness, and compassion to permeate all activities that leaders engage in. © 2022 American Psychological Association
Cogent Psychology (23311908) 9(1)
Using a large representative sample of the Swedish population, the present study aimed to explore the relationship between the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality and frequency of online shopping. On three different occasions, surveys were sent out to 9,000 Swedish residents using a systematic random sampling procedure. In total, 5,238 individuals responded to the survey which, inter alia, included measures of the FFM of personality (i.e., HP5i, 15 items) and online shopping. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the construct validity of the HP5i. To examine whether and to what extent the FFM predicted self-reported frequency of online shopping, a hierarchical regression analysis was conducted in which gender and age were used as control variables. Our findings indicated that online shopping was positively associated with Openness to experience (i.e., openness to feelings) and Extraversion (i.e., hedonic capacity), and negatively associated with Conscientiousness (i.e., a high degree of impulsiveness). These results suggest that online shoppers are affective, hedonic, and impulsive; that is, characteristics that contrast with the classical view of online shoppers as cognitive, utilitarian, and goal-directed. We argue that these results, alongside the use of a large representative sample and frequency of online purchase, are a needed addition to previous research as previous research studies mainly have focused on the intention or motivation to online shopping using smaller non-representative samples. Implications for online retailers and society as well as directions for future research are discussed. © 2022 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
Employee Relations (01425455) 44(7)pp. 149-161
Purpose: Drawing on the organizational psychology literature and social resource theory, this research aimed to investigate how attitude toward the employer (i.e. loyalty) and attitude toward the client (i.e. approach to work: professional, market-oriented and person-centered) relate to the perceived importance of socio-emotional resources in providing care to older people. Design/methodology/approach: Swedish frontline care staff members participated in an electronic survey using a cross-sectional design. Mediation analyses were conducted to examine proposed direct and indirect effects of loyalty on the perceived importance of socio-emotional resources in care through three different approaches to work in care settings. Findings: In general, the results confirmed the hypotheses. Thus, the analyses showed a positive association between employee loyalty and the perceived value of socio-emotional resources in care, which was partially mediated by the person-centered and professional approaches to work. Moreover, the analyses showed that the person-centered approach was more strongly related to the perceived value of socio-emotional resources in care than the other two approaches, lending support to the superiority of the person-centered approach in this context. Originality/value: The study highlights that there exist multiple approaches to work in care settings. Also, the insights about how loyalty toward the employer relates to approach to work in care settings and the perceived value of socio-emotional resources in care are novel and of crucial importance to practitioners and the outcomes of care. © 2022, Ali Kazemi and Tinna Elfstrand Corlin.
International Journal of Business Excellence (17560055) 25(1)pp. 1-20
The objective of this study is to assess the packaging elements that affect customers’ choices through an indirect tool (SMI RED250). The focus here is to find which elements of the packaging affect consumers’ choices in selecting the exposed product. Two tasks relating to a restaurant and health clinic were introduced and distributed to the participants in a random manner. In these two tasks, the participants were instructed to choose among five brands of Camel-Doogh for consumption in a restaurant or health clinic. The statistical sample consisted of 30 students and staff members from the University of Shahid Beheshti in Tehran, Iran, in running the experiment. The eye-tracker measured the participants’ visual attention regarding these tasks. Measuring the level of attention and determining which packaging elements contribute to product selection can lead to more success in marketing a new product to the target market. The obtained results indicate that in the restaurant task, only the visual elements had a significant positive correlation with the individual’s choice. In the health clinic task, the visual elements led directly to product selection, and verbal elements led indirectly to product selection through brand awareness. Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
International Journal of Business Excellence (17560055) 23(4)pp. 559-585
Awareness of banking brand performance and its evaluation is one of the main goals and success indicators of an organisation in achieving its aims and missions. Meanwhile, performance assessment indicators in different areas and the factors influencing it are different from one organisation to another. In the current research, based on theoretical and quantitative research, we tried to present a conceptual model for explaining different dimensions of each of the variables of research. The present study is an applied research in nature and was conducted with the aim of explanation in two stages. First, after reviewing the subject literature, the basic model was designed and then the initial conceptual model was completed using the Delphi method and confirmed by experts. Eventually, the final model was analysed by data analysis and structural equation modelling and SmartPLS software. The results of the research show that customer-based brand equity directly affects market performance. It also indirectly affects market performance through customer relationship equity. Also, among the constructs that constitute brand equity and customer relationship equity, all dimensions, except brand differentiation and brand awareness, affect the constructs constituting customer relationship equity. Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
International Journal of Business Excellence (17560055) 25(1)pp. 36-55
Consumers’ perception of the skill acquired as a result of using goods and services depends to a great extent on the value created by the organisation. The ability of organisations in creating value is not just relied on their tangible assets, but the use of intangible assets creates their main power of value creation, among which brand is one of the most valuable assets that its consideration and management leads to achieving a positive viewpoint in the minds of customers. The present study aims to identify the factors affecting brand skill. This study was conducted using qualitative method through semi structured interviews with 18 managers and experts active in IMIDRO. The data obtained from the interviews were analysed by theme analysis method and finally, the factors affecting brand skill were identified in the form of four main themes of causal factors, underlying factors, features and outcomes. Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
International Journal of Business Innovation and Research (17510252) 26(1)pp. 110-125
This study aimed to investigate the impact of product innovation on organisational performance, taking into account the mediating role of organisational culture and the moderating role of market demand in tourism agencies of Isfahan province in Iran. The required data has been collected based on the research model through a questionnaire distributed among the sample population, and structural equation modelling has been used to examine the relationship between variables and test the hypotheses. The results showed that all five hypotheses were confirmed at 95% confidence level. In other words, according to the first hypothesis, product innovation affects organisational performance. According to the second hypothesis, product innovation has a significant effect on organisational culture. According to the third hypothesis, organisational culture has a significant impact on organisational performance. According to the fourth hypothesis, market demand as a moderating variable has a significant effect on the relationship between product innovation and organisational performance. According to the fifth hypothesis, market demand as a moderating variable has a significant effect on the relationship between product innovation and organisational culture. © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Current Psychology (19364733) 40(3)pp. 1287-1297
Studies examining the relationship between personality and Internet usage have usually used small and non-representative samples. In the present study, we examine the relationship between the Five Factor Model of Personality and Internet usage in a large nationally representative Swedish sample (N = 1694). Neuroticism was negatively associated with overall Internet usage, whereas extraversion and openness to experience were shown to be positively associated with overall Internet usage. However, exploring these associations across categories of Internet usage and generation cohorts revealed some other interesting patterns. Specifically, neuroticism was negatively associated with using the Internet for activities relating to information and duties but not for leisure and social activities. Extraversion was positively associated with using the Internet for leisure and social activities among DotNets (born 1977–1999), whereas among Dutifuls (born 1910–1945) and Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964) extraversion was positively associated with using the Internet for information and duty activities. Openness to experience was positively associated with Internet usage but only among Baby Boomers. Conscientiousness was a significant predictor of Internet usage only for DotNets and GenXers (born 1965–1976). In these cohorts, conscientiousness was positively associated with using the Internet for information and duty activities but negatively associated with using the Internet for leisure and social activities. Apparently, understanding the relationship between personality and Internet usage is not possible without considering the modifying role of categories of Internet usage and generation cohorts. The implications of the results for theory and practice are discussed in detail. © 2018, The Author(s).
International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management (17466474) 33(3)pp. 420-434
Assessing the dimensions of psychological factors and their influence on customers' behaviour can provide valuable information for the customers and help managers. This study is going to examine the influence of psychological factors on customers' information search behaviour in regard to preference and select domestic or foreign brands in women's clothing industry. The authors in this research presented a conceptual model for answering this question: Which psychological factors influences more on information search behaviour and for what reasons consumers of this industry prefer domestic products rather than foreign ones and vice versa? The results of this study will help women's clothing providers to create willingness in customers to choose domestic products instead of foreign one. The results demonstrate that all of the psychological factors have positive effects on customer's information search behaviour. Copyright 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
European Journal of Ageing (16139372) 18(3)pp. 417-425
Social resource theory suggests that social interaction can be conceived as resource transaction or exchange with behaviours falling within six fundamental resource categories (i.e. love, status, information, money, goods, and services) organised along two underlying dimensions: particularism–universalism and concreteness–abstractness. With the purpose of extending knowledge about quality of care, this study adopts a novel approach in that it describes and categorises care behaviours using social resource theory instead of using single instances of care behaviour. The categorisation is further used to predict client satisfaction in care services targeting older people. Daily interactions between care staff and older persons were observed in two different residential care facilities using a structured non-participant observation design. The data were analysed using principal component analysis, correlation, and regression analysis. The results confirmed the hypothesis that satisfaction with care services is predicted by resource transactions that are high on the underlying dimensions of particularism and abstractness. Thus, the resource categories of love and status (resource categories high on particularism and abstractness) were shown to be strong predictors of client satisfaction. The use of social resource theory is a novel and appropriate approach to examine person-centred care and satisfaction with care. Also, in addition to addressing potential problems in previous self-report studies on care staff behaviour, the observational technique was highly practical to this service area where dealing with clients not always able to provide feedback directly. © 2020, The Author(s).
Asghari, S. ,
Targholi, S. ,
Kazemi, A. ,
Shahriyari, S. ,
Rajabion, L. Competitiveness Review (20513143) 30(5)pp. 555-576
Purpose: Competitive intelligence (CI) collects data through the distribution of knowledge to make decisions in a competitive environment. To better comprehend the concept of CI, the purpose of this paper is to determine the role of effective factors (knowledge sharing, competitor information, information technology (IT) and organizational culture) and their impact on CI. In addition, the paper provides a conceptual framework for determining the practical factors on CI. Design/methodology/approach: For evaluating the elements of the model, a questionnaire is considered. Questionnaires were reread by specialists with significant experiences in the CI field. For statistical analysis, the SPSS 22 and SmartPLS 3.2 software package is also used. Findings: Findings from the study showed the validity of the model for a CI assessment. Furthermore, the results confirmed that the competitor information significantly influenced CI. In addition, the obtained results implied that IT has a significant and positive influence on CI. The effect of organizational culture on CI also proved to be positive and significant. Research limitations/implications: This paper makes significant contributions for both researchers and practitioners; however, the authors determine some limitations, which are as follows: First, the authors showed the result in a single region. It cannot be assured that the results are generalizable to other areas. Second, because of time and financial constraints, the authors gathered the data using a sample from a single location. Third, the use of variables to depict CI may be not exhaustive. The authors, therefore, encourage future research to study these CI dimensions. Practical implications: This study meaningfully contributes to the knowledge and literature by focusing more on CI, examining other significant aspects and applying advanced statistical analysis method. Also, current research results suggest practical implications for marketing practitioners and managers who implemented tools and made strategic plans to enhance the organization’s performance. From a practical perspective, the statistical results support the crucial role of the following factors: IT, competitor information, organizational culture and knowledge sharing on CI. Originality/value: Experts in the area of knowledge management, CI and strategic management can use this study to gain a competitive advantage based on knowledge and information resources. Organizations must have knowledge management function and CI to support the strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Iranian journal of Management Studies (20087055) 13(3)pp. 527-564
The concept of consumer confusion has gained a considerable attention in consumer behavior literature during recent years. However, it is considered as a relatively new concept in marketing, particularly in businesses that provide intangible products such as tourism. This study aimed to investigate factors that potentially influence consumer confusion proneness in purchasing outbound package tours. It also ranked the influential factors based on their importance or perceived influence strength from the experts’ point of view through a two-phase methodology constituting of Thematic-Analysis and Fuzzy Delphi Method. As a qualitative method, the first phase was done based on data collected from 23 in-depth qualitative interviews with the consumers of outbound tours. This phase resulted in a list of drivers potentially functioning as the antecedents of consumer confusion in the target society. The second phase was based on group consensus acquired from a panel of qualified experts providing their opinions on a specific issue. In this phase, 15 experts of consumer behavior, tourism, and psychology were interviewed to provide professional opinions and responses to tourism-oriented questions. The group consensus was obtained after the third round of running the questionnaires among experts. According to the consensus, 23 factors had potential influence on consumer confusion in buying an outbound package tour. © 2020 Iranian journal of Management Studies.
International Journal of Business Excellence (17560047) (1)pp. 52-68
The aim of this research is to identify the key factors of success of shopping centres in Iran. It will help investors, especially banks, reduce their investment risk. This research is a developmental study in terms of objective and descriptive-survey in terms of method. The tool to collect the data included interview and questionnaire based on Likert scale. Qualitative data were analyzed by using thematic analysis techniques and quantitative data were analyzed using SEM. The results revealed that six key factors play role in the success of shopping centres: 1) factors related to location; 2) factors related to administration of the shopping centres; 3) factors related to ownership and tenants; 4) factors related to goods and services; 5) factors related to marketing; 6) factors related to architecture and design. In addition, the moderating variable of the size of the shopping centre can change the effect of each of these factors. © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.. All rights reserved.
International Journal of Procurement Management (17538432) 13(3)pp. 332-346
This study aims to formulate optimal human resource strategies for engaging in health tourism in Isfahan. The expert population of study consists of the professors of Isfahan University and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, managers of cultural heritage organisation, and administers of Isfahan hoteliers and tourism agencies. Strategic plans were formulated using SWOT matrix and space matrix. The indices of medical tourism locating were first extracted for four parts of SWOT matrix, i.e., strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities using Delphi technique. Then, SWOT matrix was developed based on which industry attractiveness, financial power, environment stability and competitive advantage were configured in space matrix. Then, the competitive situation was determined using fuzzy Delphi technique. Finally, human resource (HR) strategies were prioritised aligned with competitive strategies using QSPM. © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Competitiveness Review (20513143) pp. 315-338
Purpose: This paper aims to assess the contribution of competitiveness factors in how small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) would access competitive advantage (CA) by focussing on industry structure and devise a conceptual model thereof. Design/methodology/approach: The enterprises from three industries consisting of knowledge-based, single-use medical device producers and construction stone cutting each with different structures were assessed. The method is qualitative and quantitative where grounded theory and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) are applied. The initial survey involves 36 deep semi-structured interviews with some of the top managers of each of the three selected industries and a questionnaire distributed among 158 individuals with 46 structured questions. Findings: The findings indicate that the micro-competitiveness factors are more contributive in achieving CA than macro factors as follows: in knowledge-based enterprises, customer relationship management (CRM), goods/services features and knowledge management are the most important variables. As to single-use medical device production industry, the sales force, sales promotion, and CRM are the most effective factors. Regarding construction stone-cutting industry, quality of the stone, sales promotion, and advertisement play the same role. The results of the EFA indicate that the three impressive factors, including capabilities of the enterprises, strategies of the enterprises and macro factors, are the extracted factors. Practical implications: The findings here would assist SMEs’ managers in identifying the most essential factors in accessing CA. Originality/value: The innovation of this study is that although there exist many studies on SMEs and their CAs, this study seeks the models of CA among SMEs in industries with different structures. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Journal of Health Organization and Management (14777266) 35(4)pp. 492-510
Purpose: As marketization has gained ground in elderly care, satisfaction with care has come to play a crucial role in designing for high-quality care. Inspired by the service-profit chain (SPC) model, the authors aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the intricate interplay between supportive leadership practices, organizational climate, job satisfaction and service quality in predicting satisfaction with care. Design/methodology/approach: A Swedish sample of frontline elderly care staff (n = 1,342) participated in a cross-sectional questionnaire study. Mediation analyses were conducted to test the proposed model. Findings: As predicted, engaging in supportive leadership practices was directly and positively associated with satisfaction with care. In addition, as predicted, this relationship was partially mediated by organizational climate and job satisfaction. Moreover, job satisfaction predicted satisfaction with care with service quality explaining a statistically significant part of this relationship. Practical implications: Managers in elderly care services may improve satisfaction with care in multiple ways but primarily by showing that they care about the staff and ensuring that they are satisfied with their working conditions. Employee job satisfaction seems to be particularly crucial for satisfaction with care, beyond what can be accounted for by care service quality. Originality/value: The authors proposed a novel service-outcome model. Adding to the original SPC model, the model in this study suggested previously unexplored relationships including a direct path between leadership practices and satisfaction with service and a multiple-mediator model explaining this relationship. Also, new measures of organizational climate and supportive leadership were developed for which satisfactory reliability estimates were obtained. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.
International Journal of Business Information Systems (17460972) 33(4)pp. 429-445
The purpose of this study is to identify the dimensions of the human capital capability model in the cyberspace of national media. This study is typically qualitative and the field study has been performed on the cyberspace experts in Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) organisation who have been selected and interviewed by semi-structured deep interview method. The interview continued with 26 experts to reach the theoretical saturation. Then, using content analysis technique, data analysis has been performed. Findings indicate that core competencies in the field of cyberspace can be explained in five core individual capabilities including competencies, knowledge and academic competencies, interpersonal and communication competencies, organisational competencies and virtualisation competencies. In addition, 85 subordinate competencies can be extracted out of the total results. Copyright © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
International Journal of Procurement Management (17538432) 13(4)pp. 462-481
The purpose of this research is to develop a customer knowledge management model adopting a social marketing approach for solving social problems by a case study for the facilitation of water market implementation. In this regard, mixed research and qualitative approaches consisting of thematic analysis and grounded theory, together with a quantitative approach (artificial neural network) have been used, and ultimately, a combination model has been proposed. The statistical population incorporates three groups of experts (academics, farmers and water industry experts) in the qualitative section of the research, and in the quantitative section, it includes farmers throughout the Zayandehrood Basin in Iran. One of the most important results of this research is the ranking of customer knowledge management indicators taking a neural network approach in predicting the social facilitation and planning, based on which it attracts popular participation in social issues. © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Working with Older People (13663666) 24(1)pp. 19-26
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe three different approaches to work in elderly care (i.e. professional, market-oriented and person-centred) and examine whether these theoretically derived approaches can be confirmed empirically. Additional aims were to examine the endorsement of these approaches and whether there were differences in the endorsement of these approaches in nursing home vs home care and municipality vs privately run care units. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected using a cross-sectional survey study of frontline care staff (n=1,342). Exploratory factor analysis was used to investigate the empirical validity of the proposed approaches to work in elderly care. A series of paired and independent samples t-tests were conducted to analyse mean differences between the proposed approaches to work. Findings: A principal axis factoring analysis yielded three theoretically meaningful factors as proposed. These results indicated that the respondents were able to differentiate between three distinct but related approaches to work with older persons. The results also showed that the professional care approach was the highest endorsed and the market-oriented the lowest endorsed approach. No notable differences in approaches to work were observed in nursing home vs home care and municipality vs privately run care units. Originality/value: This is the first study to examine multiple approaches to work in elderly care as previous research studies mainly have investigated the person-centred care approach. Current findings indicate that these approaches to work often coexist in various combinations and that the care staff adopts all these approaches but to varying degrees. The approaches differ in several important respects (e.g. legitimacy and view of the older person) and most likely affect the way care staff treats the older person and how the older person perceives their relationship with the care staff. Knowledge about these differences facilitates management of the care staff’s work situation and helps to improve the quality of care. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited.
International Journal of Business Innovation and Research (17510252) 20(3)pp. 337-353
This study aims to identify the dimensions of service experience at touch points and then test the resulting model in Iranian banking services. A sequential mixed method approach was used in this study (qual/quan design). The study benefits from both qualitative and quantitative methods respectively. Firstly, in qualitative method, data were collected through semi-structured interview with bank customers. The obtained data from the qualitative interviews were analysed by the Gioia method. Then, the analysed data resulted in developing a model of service experience at touch points. Secondly, in quantitative method, a questionnaire was administrated to measure the service experience model based on the qualitative results. Subsequently, to analyse the hierarchical model and validate the constructs, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was conducted. Finally, the results of the qualitative study revealed five dimensions for service experience at touch points across customer journey consisting of experience of customer-people interaction, bank environment, communication, technology, and service process. Moreover, the quantitative study confirmed the tested model for service experience at touch points. The findings of this study assist the service providers to monitor and manage the service experience across all touch points in customer journey to achieve a higher competitive advantage. Copyright © 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism (1528008X) 20(4)pp. 491-506
Destination competitiveness is the ability to sustain or improve market position and market share of a destination over a period of time. Different markets have different expectations which increase the importance of features a destination should provide in order to achieve competitive advantage. The results of this study show that the domestic model of Iran’s destinations competitiveness comprises 9 major indices. These indices are made of 64 variables which have been derived from literature reviews and qualitative surveys. The results of running the model for all selected destinations are consistent with the destinations’ tourist statistics except for one destination (Qom). © 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Competitiveness Review (20513143) 29(5)pp. 573-591
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to meta-analytically compare the effect of differentiation strategy formulation on financial and non-financial performance to explore the agency problem. Design/methodology/approach: This study was conducted using a meta-analysis approach and CMA2 software. Hypotheses has been tested using cumulative effect sizes. Then, the cumulative effect sizes if some subsamples are also tested for robustness check by manipulation of circumstances. Findings: Based on the findings, differentiation affects performance dimensions. However, spite of shareholders’ wealth maximization, differentiation has a smaller effect on financial performance (as the proxy of shareholders’ wealth) compared with operational performance. Meanwhile, the robustness test showed that the results in all subcategories has also confirmed, and this supports the results. Research limitations/implications: The results catch attentions of shareholders to review the elements of management evaluation in the corporate governance system in a way that they focus more on stakeholders’ interests in developing differentiation strategy. Limitations of this study is firstly based on limitations of meta-analysis approach, which provide general results of relevant studies so that the local conditions of each firm should be considered in deploying implications. Originality/value: Exploring the overall schema of firms (from past to present and in different research conditions) regarding the impact of differentiation strategy on performance has been the originality of this research because of potentials of meta-analysis against past field studies. This originality led to the discovery of the general confusion of firms in the development of differentiation strategy so that it emphasizes operational performance more than financial performance. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Hoseinipor, S.E. ,
Rezaei dolatabadi, H. ,
Kazemi, A. International Journal of Applied Management Science (17558913) 11(2)pp. 113-123
Marketing experts are interested in travel intention since it enables them to analyse tourists' consumer behaviour. In order to understand the behaviour of religious tourists, this study concentrates on the effect of decision-making styles on travel intention of tourists travelling to Qom (a religious city in Iran). Data were collected through a field survey among 350 people who visited Qom City and data was analysed using partial least square (PLS) modelling. The results show that brand-conscious consumer style, recreational and hedonistic consumer style and confused-by-overchoice consumer style are the main controllers of religious tourists' travel intention. Also, perfectionist conscious consumer style, novelty and fashion-conscious consumer style, price-conscious consumer style, habitual and brand-loyal consumer style, impulsive and careless consumer styles did not affect travel intention of religious tourists. This is the first study that investigates decision-making styles of religious tourists. Copyright © 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Tourism, Culture and Communication (1098304X) 19(1)pp. 17-29
The current study outlines the measurement of frontline employees' guest-directed ethnocultural empathy abilities in the context of Islamic hospitality in Iran. To this end, nine 4-and 5-star hotels located in three of the country's main cities were sampled for examining their frontline employees by a modified version of Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy. To test this scale and analyze the data, the variance-based technique of partial least squares structural equation modeling was selected. Out of the scale's dimensions, Empathic Feeling and Expression exerted the strongest influence on the ethnocultural empathy levels, followed by Empathic Perspective Taking, Acceptance of Cultural Differences, and Empathic Awareness. These underlying four dimensions accounted for more than two thirds of the total variance of ethnocultural empathy. This, along with the substantiation of convergent validity, discriminant validity, high reliability, and satisfactory model indices, indicates a high contribution of the above dimensions and their modified items to the quantitatively measurement of frontline employees' competencies to empathize with guests of other racial or ethnic groups. Hotel managers can take advantage of this scale to identify any likely weaknesses with such competencies in order to improve them based on the priorities that various guest segments seek. © 2019 Cognizant, LLC.
Journal of Islamic Marketing (17590833) 10(2)pp. 673-688
Purpose: Religious and peculiar beliefs are two of the factors affecting consumer behavior and may differentially affect individuals and societies. Therefore, this study aims to investigate them from the study of Iranian customers’ behavior. Design/methodology/approach: These beliefs are sensitive issues, hence, to investigate them, the grounded theory method through 15 in-depth interviews was applied. Findings: The results indicated that evil-eye effect, as a peculiar belief, affected the behavior of luxury cars’ consumers in the Iranian society while religion had no such effect on the consumers’ behavior, in spite of religious notions about luxury. Furthermore, the findings revealed that consumers may legitimize their inconsistent behaviors through a variety of tactics such as different interpretations of religious notions or dissembling their superstitious beliefs. Originality/value: The present study will contribute to the literature on religion and customer behavior through taking advantage of the application of a qualitative research design. Besides, the originality of the study might be in the application of various tactics by the customers to legitimize their behaviors inconsistent with religion. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Kazemi, A. ,
Baghbanian, A. ,
Maymand, M.M. ,
Rahmani, H. Journal of International Migration and Integration (14883473) 19(3)pp. 757-770
It is estimated that almost 244 million people have migrated around the world for a variety of complex reasons. For some, (tertiary) education has been the primary motivating factor. Countries that experience a brain drain as a result of migration may suffer a population and cultural loss. Iran is believed to suffer from such a brain drain in their skilled-labour market, otherwise known in many areas as education immigration. This study was undertaken to explore why Iranian students emigrate to Malaysia and what are the most common causes of migration growth that have accompanied this trend. A descriptive analytical research method, cross-sectional in nature, was applied. A sample of 250 Iranian post-graduate and undergraduate students—who were studying in Malaysia—was selected randomly to participate in this study. A self-administered questionnaire was adapted to collect data, which was tested for validity and reliability based on the research scholars’ advice and calculating Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α = 0.90). ‘SPSS’ v. 19.0 was used to analyse the data. The significance level was set at 0.05. In total, 219 questionnaires were completed. The majority of students (73.5%) were male, and most of them (62.1%) belonged to the age group of 25–30 years. Nearly 65% of the students had been living in Malaysia for 3 years or more. Low tuition fees and living costs (68%), exceptional educational technologies at Malaysian universities (54.3%), the existence of international companies in Malaysia (65.3%), easy entry to Malaysian universities (70.3%), high rankings of Malaysian universities in the world (58%) and greater freedom in social interaction for respondents compared to Iran (49.3%) were the most compelling reasons for these students’ emigration to Malaysia. Further analysis revealed that Iranian students’ intention to emigrate to Malaysia was significantly correlated with socio-political factors and religious concerns in Iran, reasonable tuition fees in Malaysia and access to advanced technologies and international cooperation in Malaysia. Other contributing factors included the simple process of obtaining an entry visa and subsequent resident visa or work permits for Malaysia and the high rankings of Malaysian universities among international institutions (P value < 0.001). Concern over the issue of immigration continues to mount confounding and challenging legislators, politicians, community leaders, policy-makers and academics to develop solutions to overcome it. In the case of Iran, authorities are required to focus on the big picture of the immigration process and should explore the extent of the challenges Iranian students face. They need to secure the employment of graduates produced by educational institutions to ensure their country does not continue to experience brain drain. A more unified effort is required to stop the brain drain by establishing high-tech, affordable and accessible universities in Iran and offering more freedom in the areas of politics, social and religious activities. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature.
Journal of Convention and Event Tourism (15470148) 19(4-5)pp. 420-445
The extant tourism literature contains only a limited number of studies that have examined brand equity and its determining factors for an island tourist destination. This paper aims to address this gap by developing a brand equity model in an island destination context from the perspective of both domestic visitors and experts. To this end, a two-stage qualitative and quantitative mixed method was taken into consideration. Applying content analysis and structural equation modeling, the results led to the conclusion that there are six dimensions for island brand equity construct as in the following: familiarity, image, value, quality, loyalty, and cultural and natural assets. According to the total effects, out of the dimensions, the construct of cultural and natural assets had the highest explanatory power. The results offer significant insight into island destination managers and policy makers to tailor their brand-building strategies. © 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis.
International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management (17500664) 11(2)pp. 105-125
The aim of this study is to investigate the reasons behind different compositions of smartphone applications chosen to be used by smartphone users. In other words, this research is designed to unveil why different users utilise different portfolios of smartphone applications. For this purpose, a semi grounded theory (GT) approach has been carried out. After the emergence of the core category, more observations and informal interviews have been organised for the sake of saturating the categories and their relationships. Then, structural equation modelling (SEM) has been used to test the relationships among categories using analysis of moment structure (AMOS) software. Findings indicate that the four constructs emerged from the GT phase are mobile connectivity stance (MCS), expectable use, social applications usage and functional applications usage. The results revealed that social application usage affects functional application usage and is affected directly by MCS. Expectable usage strongly affects both social and functional applications usage. MCS has an indirect impact on functional application usage. Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Decision Science Letters (19295804) (4)pp. 455-464
The present study aimed at identifying and evaluating the factors affecting the service experience at the touch points of banking services. These factors were prioritized to help the managers understand the most important factors for achieving the favorable service experience. In this study, the theoretical foundations and interviews with customers were used to identify the factors forming the service experience at touch points. Then, the Best-Worst method (BMW) was used to evaluate and determine the significance of each identified factor. Sixteen customers participated in the interview and ten customers participated in the study by the BMW method. Six touch points and 34 factors forming the service experience were created at these points of interview analysis. The research findings showed that ‘service process’ and ‘interaction customer-employees’ for creating a favorable experience are significant in banking services. In addition, the findings showed that bank managers should allocate their resources for improving them to achieve the competitive advantage. © 2018 by the authors.
Journal of the Association for Consumer Research (23781823) 2(1)pp. 5-25
The shift to consumer-centric marketing accentuates the need for a more comprehensive understanding of consumer desires, including how consumers manage their resources to satisfy these desires. However, the complexity of the resource concept combined with a fragmented research stream thus far provides a limited understanding of consumer resources and their effect on consumer well-being. The purpose of this article is to encourage continued research into consumer resources, including resource exchange, to gain a more complete understanding of the concept and to facilitate the development of a unified theory of consumer resources. To accomplish our objective, resource theories proposed in different disciplines (economics, management/marketing, psychology, and social psychology) are summarized and used to provide research direction into a wide variety of consumer behavior issues related to consumer resource management and resource exchange behavior. © 2016 the Association for Consumer Research. All rights reserved.
International Journal of Organizational Analysis (19348835) 25(1)pp. 45-61
Purpose: The current conceptualizations and measurements of well-being are inadequate in the context of work. Specifically, well-being research has neglected the social aspects of well-being. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the validity of a multi-dimensional view of occupational social well-being. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected in an educational setting, i.e. six different schools in a Swedish municipality. A total of 314 teachers and other categories of school staff (239 females and 75 males) participated in a survey study. Findings: Results provided empirical support for a multi-dimensional view of occupational social well-being. The dimensions were integration, acceptance, contribution, actualization and coherence, and they were differentially correlated with previous measures of well-being. Furthermore, occupational social well-being accounted for additional variance in work tension, overall job satisfaction and organizational commitment over and above the variance accounted for by positive and negative affect and satisfaction with life, indicating the value of taking domain-specific social indicators of well-being into account in explaining various employee outcomes. Practical implications: Occupational social well-being is an umbrella term for describing the well-lived social life in the context of work. As such, this is a crucial part of a holistic view of well-being at work. Thus, effective employee well-being enhancement programs should not only focus on physical and mental health promotion or competence development but must also include measures of relational experience and functioning as discussed in the present study. Originality/value: This is the first study to measure and validate occupational social well-being as an attempt to complement existing measures of subjective and psychological well-being. Measures of social aspects of well-being are crucial to assess as it has been argued in previous research that context-free measures of well-being might render misleading results. © 2017, © Emerald Publishing Limited.
International Journal of Older People Nursing (17483735) 12(2)
Aim and objective: In this study, we explore how personal and situational factors relate to the provision of person-centred care (PCC) in nursing homes. Specifically, we focus on the relationship between the care staff's personality traits and provision of PCC and to what extent perceptions of the working environment influences this relationship. Background: The ultimate goal of elderly care is to meet the older person's needs and individual preferences (PCC). Interpersonal aspects of care and the quality of relationship between the care staff and the older person are therefore central in PCC. Design and methods: A cross-sectional Swedish sample of elderly care staff (N = 322) completed an electronic survey including measures of personality (Mini-IPIP) and person-centred care (Individualized Care Inventory, ICI). A principal component analysis was conducted on the ICI-data to separate the user orientation (process quality) of PCC from the preconditions (structure quality) of PCC. Results: Among the five factors of personality, neuroticism was the strongest predictor of ICI user orientation. ICI preconditions significantly mediated this relationship, indicating the importance of a supportive working environment. In addition, stress was introduced as a potential explanation and was shown to mediate the impact of neuroticism on ICI preconditions. Conclusions: Personality traits have a significant impact on user orientation, and the perception of a supportive and stress free working environment is an important prerequisite for achieving high-quality person-centred elderly care. Implications for practice: Understanding how personality is linked to the way care staff interacts with the older person adds a new perspective on provision of person-centred elderly care. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences (1756669X) 9(2)pp. 138-147
Purpose: National Board of Health and Welfare claims that the quality of elderly care services differ considerably between municipalities in Sweden. This study aims to analyze to what extent these variations can be accounted for by the older person’s municipality affiliation (i.e. receiving elderly care in a certain municipality). Design/methodology/approach: Addressing this issue, national survey data from 78,538 older respondents receiving elderly care services in Sweden were analyzed using multilevel modeling (MLM). Findings: The results showed that municipality affiliation only marginally explained the variance in satisfaction with care, i.e. its variations were larger within than between municipalities. Instead, user-oriented care accounted for the variation in satisfaction with care. Specifically, the way the care workers behave toward the older person proved to be much more crucial for satisfaction with care than municipality affiliation. Moreover, random effects analyses revealed that the effects of user-oriented care on satisfaction with care varied across municipalities. Care setting (i.e. home care or nursing home) only marginally accounted for its variance. Practical implications: Developing care quality should start and primarily be discussed at the interpersonal care level, and not, as is customary, at the municipality level. Originality/value: The present research is the first in its kind to quantitatively investigate the sources of variation in perceived quality of Swedish elderly care using MLM. © 2017, © Ali Kazemi and Petri Kajonius.
International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance (09526862) 29(2)pp. 162-176
Purpose – Care process quality (i.e. how care is enacted by a care worker toward a client at the interpersonal level) is a strong predictor of satisfaction in a wide range of health care services. The purpose of this paper is to describe the basic elements of care process quality as user-oriented care. Specifically, the questions of how and why quality in user-oriented care varies were investigated in the context of elderly care. Design/methodology/approach – Two municipalities were selected for in-depth field studies. First, in each municipality, the authors interviewed and observed care workers’ interactions with the older persons in both home care and nursing homes during two weeks (Study 1). Second, in an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of why process quality in terms of user-oriented care varies, the authors conducted interviews with care workers and care unit managers (Study 2). Findings – A new taxonomy for categorizing process quality variation, the Big Five of user-oriented care (task-focus, person-focus, affect, cooperation, and time-use), is proposed. In addition, the perceived reasons for process quality variation are reported in our own developed Quality Agents Model, suggesting that variations in care process evaluations may be explained from different perspectives at multiple levels (i.e., older person, care worker-, unit-, department-, and municipality level). Originality/value – The proposed taxonomy and model are useful for describing user-oriented care quality and the reasons for its variations. These findings are of relevance for future quality developments of elderly care services, but also may be adapted to applications in any other enterprise employing a user-oriented approach. © 2016, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Social Psychology (18649335) 47(4)pp. 214-222
Seventy-two undergraduates participating in a step-level asymmetric public good dilemma were requested to distribute the provided public good among the group members to achieve different group goals. In line with the hypotheses, economic productivity resulted in equitable allocations, harmony in equal allocations, and social concern in need-based allocations. The results also supported the hypotheses that salience of group goal minimizes influences of self-interest on allocations and that perceived fairness accounts for why people pursuing different group goals differ in their preferences for allocation of public goods. © 2016 Hogrefe Publishing.
Home Health Care Management and Practice (15526739) 28(4)pp. 250-255
There is a widespread belief among the public and policy makers that quality of care in terms of user satisfaction can be improved with increased spending. However, recent research indicates that structural resources (e.g., budget per elderly) in elderly home care do not predict quality of care in terms of older persons’ satisfaction with care. In the present study, we analyzed the longitudinal trends in costs and perceived quality of care across 3 years using nationwide data in Swedish elderly home care. The results showed that although costs have been steadily increasing, perceived quality of interpersonal treatment in care has remained at the same level. An important implication is that future research and policy efforts to improve quality should more directly target the mechanisms generating satisfaction. © 2016, © The Author(s) 2016.
Social Justice Research (15736725) 29(1)pp. 103-118
There is a paucity of empirical research on the social psychology of justice in educational settings. A few previous studies have predominantly focused on distributive and procedural justice concerns, and knowledge about the role of what have been called informational and interpersonal justice for school outcomes is very scarce. In the present study, data from 227 eighth- and ninth-grade students who participated in a survey study were analyzed to examine the interplay between relational justice concerns (decomposed into procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice), motivation to study, and school achievement. A comprehensive theoretically grounded multi-item measure of informational justice was developed and validated. The results showed that informational justice significantly predicts school grades, and that motivation to study fully mediates this effect. Neither procedural nor interpersonal justice was associated with school grades. The implications of these results for research and practice are discussed in detail. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work (15426440) 35(1-2)pp. 7-23
Over the last three decades, the practice of mindfulness has grown to become one of the most widespread health promoting applications in the West—so much that terms like yoga and meditation have now become standard household words. The purpose of this article is to discuss the meaning of mindfulness within both its Buddhist and its Western contexts. In the former case, the aim will be to shed light on mindfulness as a concept and practice that is rooted in Buddhist understandings (i.e., the Buddhist perspective); and in the latter case, the meaning of mindfulness will be more broadly explored in terms of its relevance to society, social work, and everyday life (i.e., the social [work] perspective). © 2016 Taylor & Francis.
Leadership in Health Services (17511879) 29(1)pp. 82-94
Purpose – Previous research has shown that user-oriented care predicts older persons’ satisfaction with care. What is yet to be researched is how senior management facilitates the implementation of user-oriented care. The purpose of this study is to investigate the organizing principles and management climate characterizing successful elderly care. Design/methodology/approach – The department in one highly ranked municipality was selected and compared with a more average municipality. On-site in-depth semi-structured interviews with department managers and participatory observations at managers’ meetings were conducted in both municipalities. Findings – Results revealed three key principles for successful elderly care: organizing care from the viewpoint of the older person; recruiting and training competent and autonomous employees; instilling a vision for the mission that guides operations at all levels in the organization. Furthermore, using climate theory to interpret the empirical material, in the highly successful municipality the management climate was characterized by affective support and cognitive autonomy, in contrast to a more instrumental work climate primarily focusing on organizational structure and doing the right things characterizing the more average municipality. Originality/value – The authors suggest that guiding organizing principles are intertwined with management climate and that there are multiple perspectives that must be considered by the management, that is, the views of the older persons, the co-workers and the mission. These results can guide future care quality developments, and increase the understanding of the importance of organizational climate at the senior management level. © 2016, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Review of General Psychology (10892680) 20(2)pp. 183-193
Mindfulness is an emerging concept in many professions and spheres of social life. However, mindfulness (or sati in Buddhism) can connote many plausible meanings. Thus, the concept is not easily defined and the definitions provided in the literature easily confuse the reader. Some mindfulness researchers offer definitions whereas others do not and take the definition of mindfulness for granted. Beyond the problem of defining mindfulness, the fact that the phenomenon is of great interest to various disciplines, each of which has its own theoretical and methodological approaches, different authors use different terms in describing this phenomenon. In the present article 33 definitions of mindfulness were extracted from a pool of 308 peer-reviewed full-length theoretical or empirical articles written in English, published between 1993 and March 2016, after systematic searches in Google Scholar, PsycARTICLES, and SocINDEX. The definitions were analyzed with a particular focus on the defining attributes or core elements of the concept of mindfulness. The analysis yielded 4 core elements of awareness and attention, nonjudgmental attitude, external events, and cultivation. Furthermore, an additional core element emerged from this analysis as being absent in Western definitions of mindfulness. This formed the basis for formulation of a new definition of mindfulness with an emphasis on ethical-mindedness. We argue that this core element is instrumental in filling in the gap that exists in current Western definitions, and with highlighting this element we hope to bridge the Western and Buddhist notions of mindfulness. © 2016 American Psychological Association.
Gerontologist (17585341) 56(5)pp. 928-936
Maximizing satisfaction among the older persons is the goal of modern individualized elderly care and how to best achieve this is of relevance for people involved in planning and providing elderly care services. Purpose of the Study: What predicts satisfaction with care among older persons can be conceived as a function of process (how care is performed) and the older person. Inspired by the long-standing person versus situation debate, the present research investigated the interplay between person-and process-related factors in predicting satisfaction with elderly care. Design and Methods: A nationwide sample was analyzed, based on a questionnaire with 95,000 individuals using elderly care services. Results: The results showed that person-related factors (i.e., anxiety, health, and loneliness) were significant predictors of satisfaction with care, although less strongly than process-related factors (i.e., treatment, safeness, and perceived staff and time availability). Among the person-related factors, loneliness was the strongest predictor of satisfaction among older persons in nursing homes. Interestingly, a path analysis revealed that safeness and treatment function as mediators in linking loneliness to satisfaction. Implications: The results based on a large national sample demonstrate that the individual aging condition to a significant degree can be countered by a well-functioning care process, resulting in higher satisfaction with care among older persons. © The Author 2015.
Health and Social Care in the Community (09660410) 24(6)pp. 699-707
The structure versus process approach to quality of care presented by Donabedian is one of the most cited ever. However, there has been a paucity of research into the empirical validity of this framework, specifically concerning the relative effects of structure and process on satisfaction with elderly care as perceived by the older persons themselves. The current research presents findings from a national survey, including a wide range of quality indicators for elderly care services, conducted in 2012 at the request of the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare in which responses from 95,000 elderly people living in 324 municipalities and districts were obtained. The results revealed that the only structural variable which significantly predicted quality of care was staffing, measured in terms of the number of caregivers per older resident. More interestingly, process variables (e.g. respect and access to information) explained 40% and 48% of the variance in satisfaction with care, over and above the structural variables, in home care and nursing homes respectively. The findings from this large nationwide sample examining Donabedian's model suggest that quality in elderly care is primarily determined by factors pertaining to process, that is, how caregivers behave towards the older persons. This encourages a continued quality improvement in elderly care with a particular focus on process variables. © 2015 The Authors. Health and Social Care in the Community Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Social Justice Research (15736725) 28(4)pp. 401-414
Previous research has demonstrated that unfairness judgments of resource allocations become more complex when there are more than two recipients. In order to explain some of this complexity, we propose a set of psychological mechanisms that may underlie four different choices of maximally unfair resource allocations (MUA): Self-Single-Loser, Self-One-Loser-of-Many, Self-Single-Winner, and Self-One-Winner-of-Many. From this psychological theory, several predictions are derived and tested in vignette studies involving a total of 708 participants recruited online using MTurk. As predicted by our theory, (1) choices of MUA where there is a single loser were much more common when the allocated resource was of negative rather than positive valence, and (2) the amount of egoistic bias individuals exhibited when judging the unfairness in receiving a small rather than a large share in a non-extreme multi-party allocation was predicted by their choices of MUA. These findings suggest that an individual’s choice of MUA reveals some generally relevant principles of how unfairness is perceived in multi-party allocations. This opens up new lines of inquiry, especially regarding research on social dilemmas and social value orientation. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
Journal of Management Development (02621711) 34(5)pp. 601-620
Purpose – Literature review indicates lack of using the Kano model in organizational behavior domain and managers’ satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to propose a Kano-based model for managers’ satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – In order to examine one of the proposed behaviors in this model, the role of employees’ organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as an attractive behavior, has been investigated. The statistical population includes managers of the Isfahan’s financial service industries. After distributing questionnaires, 224 accurate questionnaires have been used for data analysis. In designing the survey questionnaire, the OCB questionnaire developed by Podsakoff et al. (1990) and Bell and Menguc (2002) has been used. For each of the OCB dimensions, some questions have been initially designed; then after collecting data, by using Kano evaluation table, the behavior types have been determined. Findings – Findings imply that by using the Kano model, five types of behaviors, i.e. must-be, one-dimensional, attractive, indifferent, and reverse can be identified. The findings related to case study also indicate that out of five dimensions of OCB, three dimensions of altruism, sportsmanship, and civic virtue are located in Attractive category; the courtesy dimension is located in must-be category; the conscientiousness dimension is located in one-dimensional category; and in reverse category, no dimension is located. In general, OCB is located in attractive category. Research limitations/implications – By using the results of this survey, a new classification of employees’ behaviors types can be suggested. The results of this study can help employees in understanding what kind of their behaviors causes managers’ satisfaction. Originality/value – The results of this study have an important contribution in the literature of the Kano model and OCB. © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Quality in Ageing and Older Adults (20428766) 16(3)pp. 140-152
Purpose - User-oriented care, defined as individualized assisting behaviors, is the dominant approach within elderly care today. Yet, there is little known about its conceptual structure. This paper proposes that user-oriented care has a bi-partite structure which may be decomposed into the two dimensions of task and relation. Design/methodology/approach - Care workers were "shadowed" (i.e. observed) at their work (n=391 rated interactions). User-oriented care was assessed along ten process quality indicators targeting the acts of caregiving (i.e. task focus, relation focus, involvement, time-use, body language, autonomy, respect, warmth, encouragement, and information) in two elderly care settings, i.e. home care and nursing home. Observations added up to 45 hours. Findings - Principal component analyses confirmed the proposed two-factor structure of user-oriented care. Specifically, the user-oriented care indicators loaded on two distinct factors, i.e. task and relation. The underlying structure of user-oriented care revealed to be invariant across the two settings. However, the results revealed interesting structural differences in terms of explained variance and the magnitude of factor loadings in the home care and nursing home settings. Differences also emerged specifically pertaining to the indicators of autonomy and time-use. These findings suggest that user-oriented behavior may to some extent denote different acts of caregiving and what may be called task- and relation-orientation may be loaded with different meanings in these two care settings. Originality/value - This is the first study investigating user-oriented behavior in the context of elderly care using a quantitative observational approach. The authors propose that the observed differences between the two care settings are primarily not due to better elderly care work in home care, but due to some inherent differences between these two contexts of care (e.g. better health and living at home). © Ali Kazemi and Petri J. Kajonius. Published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
A thorough understanding of conflicts is crucial as conflicts may be destructive to the welfare of individuals, groups, and societies. Conflicts are closely related to justice concerns in that perceived injustices give rise to conflicts and destructive conflicts give rise to injustices. However, the notion of conflict is rather underdeveloped and the definition of it often taken for granted in justice theory and research. In this chapter we propose a useful conceptualization and classification of justice conflicts. Specifically, five types of conceptual distributive justice conflicts, five types of social distributive justice conflicts, and three types of a mixture of both are defined and described. Some of these basic types, in turn, encompass two or more subtypes of conflict. These result in different dilemmas and processes, the natures of which are likely to have important implications for conflict resolution. The present chapter highlights several shortcomings of current conceptualizations of justice conflict, and provides a new integrated framework for a more systematic approach. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights are reserved.
Social Justice Research (15736725) 23(4)pp. 308-328
The perceived justice of a situation is frequently a function of both outcome and procedure, but the importance of each may vary when making justice judgments. This study investigated the impact of type and severity of offence, social relationship and status on the perceived importance of the outcome and procedure for justice judgments. The outcome was considered more important than the procedure for judgments of both theft and physical abuse, regardless of offence severity, status of the offender and the victim-perpetrator social relationship. Both outcome and procedure were viewed as more important for judgments of physical abuse than theft. Data obtained for exploratory purposes yielded no correlation between ratings of justice and importance, indicating that the two are not aspects of the same construct. Integrations with work within criminology are discussed. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
Social Justice Research (15736725) 23(4)pp. 239-258
This research examined reactions towards female rape victims from a system justification perspective. Study 1 demonstrated that gender-related system justification motivation (Modern Sexism) predicted the propensity to blame a female rape victim among men, but not among women. Modern sexism predicted rape victim blaming among men even when statistically controlling for a general antipathy towards women, and the results were unaffected by social desirability concerns. Consistent with previous study on system justification theory, we demonstrated in Study 2 that system justification motivation can predict victim blaming also among women, provided that complementary stereotypes about women have been activated. By contrast, system justification motivation predicted men's propensity to blame a rape victim irrespective of whether complementary stereotypes about women had been experimentally activated. © 2010 The Author(s).
In everyday life, people often encounter situations where their personal interests are at odds with the welfare of a larger collective to which they belong. What seems to be an individually rational choice may later have detrimental effects on the wellbeing of the group. Such conflicts of interest are referred to as social dilemmas (Dawes, 1980). Social dilemmas are formally defined as situations in which (1) individual outcomes for non-cooperative behavior or defection are larger than outcomes for cooperative behavior (favoring the collective interest), regardless of how other members in a collective behave; but (2) if all members adhere to this individually rational behavior, all members will acquire a lower payoff in the end as compared to if all had chosen to cooperate in the first place. © 2008 Springer US.
Nordic Psychology (19012276) 60(3)pp. 209-234
This article provides an overview of some selected aspects of social psychological theory and research on justice in the allocation of social resources. We start with a brief outline of the origins of systematic inquiries of justice in social psychology. Six central issues in social justice theory and research are discerned and discussed (the definition, dimensionality, and criteria of justice, the salience of the justice motive, the importance of justice, the formation of justice judgments, the cognitive and behavioral reactions to injustice, and the cross-cultural generality of justice considerations). A selective overview of recent applications, developments, and areas of interest are also presented, and some avenues for future research are suggested. © 2008 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
Social Behavior and Personality (11796391) 35(6)pp. 803-818
Previous research has not been conclusive as to whether people prefer different or identical allocation principles in distributions of positive and negative outcomes. Thus, in this study, the question of whether or not group goal accounts for preferred allocation of positive and negative outcomes was posed. As hypothesized for division of surpluses, the results showed that relationship-oriented goals predicted preferences for equality, whereas performanceoriented goals predicted preferences for equity. Moreover, the results were the same for allocation of deficits. This suggests that people implicitly have different orientations, or goals, in mind in group situations that similarly influence the way they prefer to allocate positive and negative outcomes. The results also showed that participants allocating deficits deviated to a larger extent from the allocation principles than did participants allocating surpluses. © Society for Personality Research (Inc.).