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This study explores the impact of difficult coworkers on employees' turnover intention. Additionally, this study investigates the roles of employees' attitude toward difficult coworkers, perceived organizational support and affective commitment in the relationship between difficult coworkers and turnover intention.

Based on the stimulus-organism-response theory, a theoretical model was established that linked difficult coworkers to employees' attitude toward the, then to turnover intention directly and indirectly through perceived organizational support and affective commitment. The model was validated using responses from 343 Chinese employees in Macao's banking industry.

Results of the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) showed that difficult coworkers significantly influenced employees' attitude toward them. Employees' attitude toward difficult coworkers had a small and significant effect on turnover intention while perceived organizational support and affective commitment mediated the relationship between attitude toward difficult coworkers and turnover intention.

The study is the first empirical study to employ the stimulus-organism-response theory to characterize the impact of difficult coworkers on turnover intention. Fortunately, perceived organizational support and affective commitment were able to lessen the impact of difficult coworkers on turnover intention.

Background: How many higher education researchers are there in the world? How many academic articles are published by researchers each year? This paper aims to answer these two questions by tracking the number of higher education teachers and the number of publications over the past four decades.

Methods: We collected data on the number of higher education institutions and researchers from the United Nations, the World Bank, and the US, China, and UK governments (three countries with the largest number of academic publications in recent years). We used Scopus to obtain the number of publications per year. The growth of higher education researchers and academic publications were characterized using 4-parameter logistic models.

Results: The number of higher education teachers-cum-researchers increased from 4 million in 1980 to 13.1 million in 2018 worldwide. Concurrently, the number of academic publications increased from 0.65 million in 1980 to 3.16 million in 2018 based on data from Scopus. At the country level, the number of academic publications from the USA increased from 0.15 million in 1980 to 0.70 million in 2018, while that from China increased by almost 1,000 times from 629 in 1980 to 0.60 million in 2018.

Conclusions: The number of higher education researchers would reach 13.6 million and they would publish 3.21 million academic articles in 2020, imposing enormous pressure to publishers, peer-reviewers, and people who want to understand emerging scientific development. Additionally, not all academic publications are easily assessable because most articles are behind pay-walls. In addition, unethical research practices including falsification, fabrication, plagiarism, slicing publication, publication in a predatory journal or conference, etc. may hinder scientific and human development.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent of implementing management system standards among ISO (and other) certified companies in the Pearl River Delta and its effect on the perceived benefits.

A cross‐sectional survey of certified companies was carried out using a self‐administrated questionnaire. A total of 157 companies participated in the study.

It was found that the majority of the responding companies implement more than one standardized management system, mostly adopting the quality management, environmental management, and occupational health and safety management systems (i.e. ISO9001, ISO14001, and OHSAS18001). Results show that companies certified to ISO9001 and ISO14001 gain more benefits than the others.

The study shows that companies implementing multiple management systems can have better corporate performance, product quality, and marketing edges than the others. The results indicate that different combinations of management systems give rise to different level of performance.

There is a lack of empirical proof that more benefits will be gained when multiple management system standards are adopted. The paper addresses this short‐coming and provides evidence that acquiring more system certifications will result in greater perceived benefits.

This paper aims to explore the practice of quality management framework as a strategic tool for public management.

The paper starts with a basic process‐based model; it then enhances the model with the quality management principles for continuous improvement. With identification of concerned factors from the literature, it examines their usefulness in the quality management system.

An empirical analysis on the framework identifies eight factors: factual approach to decision making, use of quality tools, customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, mutually beneficial supplier partnership and internal results. The framework shows that leadership and customer focus are much more important than previously anticipated for successful implementation of quality management system.

Managers in public organizations must realize that all high performance organizations, whether private or public, are by principle customer‐driven. In addition, it is imperative for them to enhance their leadership as it is essential for effective quality improvement.

While the effect of adopting a quality management system on organizational performance has been well documented, the underlying mechanism about how the system works has yet to be empirically identified. This paper contributes to the literature by addressing such a gap and presenting a causal model for quality management principles.

The purpose of this paper is to study the implementation of ISO 9001:2000 in the public sector, using data obtained from a small‐scale and service‐oriented economy – i.e. Macao SAR, the People's Republic of China.

Based on a literature review on ISO 9001 development, a measurement instrument was established using the management principles of ISO 9001:2000 and hypotheses were developed to test the applicability and effectiveness of ISO 9001:2000. The instrument and hypotheses were tested using responses from managers and executives in public organizations.

The results show that ISO 9001:2000 is useful in enhancing organizational performance in public organizations.

Mangers in public organizations must realize that simply adopting and maintaining the ISO 9001:2000 certificate is not enough. More resources and commitment are needed to achieve better organizational performance.

The paper contributes to the literature by developing a measurement instrument using the quality management principles of ISO 9001:2000 and offering new empirical evidence on the applicability and effectiveness of ISO 9001:2000 in the public sector.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the patterns with which ISO 9000:2000 was implemented in service organizations, and to examine the performance outcomes and contextual factors which are associated with different ISO 9000:2000 implementation patterns.

Based on a literature review of quality management practice, a questionnaire was developed based on quality management principles of ISO 9000:2000 and three propositions. The propositions were tested using responses from managers or executives in 45 service organizations.

Cluster analysis shows that there are two markedly different ISO 9000:2000 implementation patterns among sample organizations. The analysis results also indicate that organizations with different ISO 9000:2000 implementation patterns performed differently in the two outcomes analysed.

Managers in service organizations must realize that ISO 9000:2000 is capable of generating a competitive advantage only if top management is fully committed to the program implementation from a strategic perspective.

The paper contributes to the literature by offering new insights on the implementation patterns of ISO 9000:2000 in service organizations and their relationships with performance outcomes and contextual factors.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the acquisition of an ISO 9000 certification and the overall financial performance of the certified firms. More specifically, the study proposes a multidimensional conceptual framework, including “customers’ demand”, “ISO adoption”, “operation efficiency”, “market efficiency” and “overall financial performance”. Such a multidimensional approach has randomly been explored in the existing literature, making the examination of the proposed conceptual framework an interesting research topic.

The proposed conceptual framework was tested on a sample of Greek ISO 9000-certified companies of various economic sectors. Quality managers were used as key respondents. The final sample consisted of 168 companies. The reliability and the validity of the questionnaire were thoroughly examined. Empirical data were analyzed using the structural equation modelling technique. The findings are based on the 2000 version of the ISO series, which is generally accepted and has widespread use, as it has eliminated most of the disadvantages of the 1994 version. The present study is empirical (it is based on primary data), explanatory (examines cause and effect relationships), deductive (tests research hypotheses) and quantitative (includes the analysis of quantitative data collected with the use of a structured questionnaire).

The findings of the study provide strong evidence that ISO 9000 implementation is highly associated with improvements in overall financial performance. Moreover, it was found that ISO implementation is directly associated with significant improvements in quality awareness, operations execution, market share, customer satisfaction and sales revenue. Finally, customers’ demand was not found to be the most important motivation for implementing an ISO certification. Rather, it seems that companies seek for quality improvement due to internal motives.

A limitation stemming from the implemented methodology is the use of self-report scales to measure the constructs of the proposed model. Moreover, the present paper lacks a longitudinal approach, since it is cross-sectional and provides a static picture of ISO implementation.

The paper makes an analytical effort in order to point out areas that companies should emphasize in order to successfully implement ISO 9000 and, therefore, harvest its potential benefits. Certain practical implications are offered in the final part of the paper.

The paper proposes an enhanced conceptual framework that examines vital issues concerning the successful implementation of ISO 9000, thus, providing valuable outcomes for decision makers and academics. Moreover, the results of the study may be generalized in other developed countries whose economy faces similar significant challenges as Greece.

Aligned with cultural attraction theory, this study aims to propose a cultural attractiveness index (CAI) that helps tourism practitioners and scholars evaluate and track the cultural attractiveness of urban destinations (cities) in the context of sustainable development.

Applying the Delphi method, a panel of experts was recruited to conduct three rounds of review to generate dimensions and determine indicators and corresponding weights. This study then verified CAI with statistical data from three sample cities (London, New York and Beijing).

A 12-item three-dimensional index structure (cultural places, cultural activities and cultural atmosphere) was created as CAI. This study also applied the CAI to compare three sample cities. The comparison identified possible aspects to be improved in developing cultural attractiveness, confirming CAI’s usefulness in fostering sustainable development.

The new CAI offers an effective tool for ascertaining a sustainable city’s cultural attractiveness while extending the cultural attraction theory and filling the existing gaps in the literature through a benchmark instrument. The CAI also provides an effective tool for destination managers and tourism practitioners for their sustainable initiatives in cities.

本研究旨在于建立文化吸引力指数(CAI), 帮助旅游从业者和学者在可持续发展的背景下评估和跟踪旅游城市的文化吸引力。

本研究采用德尔菲专家咨询法, 聘请了一个专家小组对指标体系进行了三轮审查, 以建立评价维度、确定指标和相应的权重。最后, 该研究用三个样本城市(伦敦、纽约和北京)的统计数据验证了CAI。

本文创建了一个由3个维度12项指标组成的评价指数体系CAI（文化场所, 文化活动和文化氛围）。三个样本城市的相关统计数据也验证了CAI评价体系在促进城市可持续发展方面的科学性, 也通过跨城市比较找到各自可进一步提升文化吸引力的维度。

新的CAI为衡量可持续城市的文化吸引力提供了评价体系, 填补了现有文献的空白。该CAI还为目的地管理者和旅游从业者提供了一个有效的基准工具, 以促进可持续城市发展目标的实现。

alineado con la teoría de la atracción cultural, el estudio propone un índice de atractivo cultural (CAI) que ayuda a los profesionales y académicos del turismo a evaluar y rastrear el atractivo cultural de los destinos urbanos (ciudades) en el contexto del desarrollo sostenible.

Aplicando el método Delphi, se reclutó un panel de expertos para realizar tres rondas de revisión para generar dimensiones y determinar indicadores y pesos correspondientes. Luego, el estudio verificó el CAI con datos estadísticos de tres ciudades de muestra (Londres, Nueva York y Beijing).

Se creó como CAI una estructura de índice tridimensional de 12 ítems (lugares culturales, actividades culturales y atmósfera cultural). El estudio también aplicó el CAI para comparar tres ciudades de muestra. La comparación identificó posibles aspectos a mejorar en el desarrollo del atractivo cultural, lo que confirma la utilidad de CAI para fomentar el desarrollo sostenible en las ciudades de la muestra.

El nuevo CAI ofrece una herramienta eficaz para determinar el atractivo cultural de una ciudad sostenible al mismo tiempo que llena los vacíos existentes en la literatura a través de un instrumento de referencia. El CAI también proporciona una herramienta eficaz para los administradores de destinos y profesionales del turismo para sus iniciativas sostenibles en las ciudades.

Virtual kitchens are a new business phenomenon, and how customers react to the new business model is still a largely unexplored topic. The purpose of this study is to examine the underlying mechanisms of consumers’ different responses to their reasoning of the new and disruptive business model of the virtual kitchen.

Based on the attribution theory and situated focus theory of power, this study conducts three online experiments to test the proposed framework. A total of 487 US residents who had prior experience with restaurant food delivery participated in the studies.

The results indicate that external attribution (vs internal attribution) and ethnic cuisine (vs mainstream cuisine) are more likely to elicit customers’ empathy and justice, leading to higher purchase intentions with virtual kitchens. A mainstream virtual kitchen is better off attributing itself to external factors. The significant effects of causal attribution and cuisine type on purchase intention only exist with powerful customers and those with high moral identity.

The results of this study provide valuable insight to virtual kitchen businesses to better position and market themselves to gain customers’ support. The findings also suggest that ethnic and mainstream restaurants should strategize their marketing communications about virtual kitchens differently.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to provide in-depth insight into the growing phenomenon of virtual kitchens. It also contributes to the extant literature on attribution theory and situated focus theory of power.

The unprecedented growth of social media in the past decade has resulted in an increasing interest on social media research. The purpose of this study is to examine the state-of-the-art developments in social media research and to develop a thematic research framework.

The study reviewed 262 social media-related articles published in eight top hospitality and tourism journals between 2007 and 2017. Content analysis was used to code data from the selected articles, and correspondence analysis was then used to compare the characteristics of research conducted on different social media platforms.

A thematic framework of social media research was developed based on a thorough review and systematic examination of the articles. The thematic framework consisted of the three key players – hospitality and tourism businesses, social media platforms and consumers – along with four categories of topical areas – marketing, managerial implication, user-generated content and impact – and 19 research topics. Three platform groups were identified to share similar article characteristics and research attributes.

This study offers a systematic overview of social media research in hospitality and tourism and is the first one to identify triadic relationships of social media platforms in thematic research framework. The innovative findings of correspondence analysis offer insights on future social media research from a platform perspective.