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1 – 8 of 8Fernando F. Padró, Karen Trimmer, Heejin Chang and Jonathan H. Green
The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which TQM has influenced the legal system in Australia, an area seldom investigated in the quality or legal literature.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which TQM has influenced the legal system in Australia, an area seldom investigated in the quality or legal literature.
Design/methodology/approach
Documentary and policy analysis of legislation, rules and rulemaking documentation based on a partial application of historical-policy analysis (HPA). Textual analysis was based on Dean and Bowen's (1994) definition of TQM and Vinni's (2007) review of new public management and Swiss (1992) “reformed TQM” concepts.
Findings
Australia's Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act of 2011 and supporting legal documents such as Guidance Notes include language reflective of TQM principles, providing evidence that present-day administrative law schemes include TQM practices and tools to undergird procedures of regulatory expectations (sometimes in the form of standards), monitoring and general operations. Oftentimes, it is the supporting legal documentation where TQM practices are found and operationalized.
Research limitations/implications
This is a proof-of-concept research study to determine the feasibility to identify TQM concepts within the existing language of legal statutes and supporting regulatory documentation. As such this study worked out the preliminary research challenges in performing this type of analysis.
Practical implications
Understanding TQM's impact on legal systems expands the system's perspective of organizations that do not always factor in the influence government policy has on organizational behaviours and outlooks. More specifically, understanding TQM's influence sheds insight on regulatory requirements imposed on a sector and the normative aspects of regulatory compliance that impact the operations and strategic planning of organizations.
Social implications
The article provides an example of how legal administrative rulemaking influences organizational operational and strategic activities to remain viable in the organization's business or industrial sector.
Originality/value
There are few research papers or literature reviews pertaining to the subject of TQM concepts embedded in laws and regulations, most of which date from the 1980s through early 2000s.
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Heejin Lim, Moonhee Cho and Sergio C. Bedford
In the age of transparency, nonprofit organizations have attempted to raise awareness of unethical business practices through diverse social media platforms, putting firms under…
Abstract
Purpose
In the age of transparency, nonprofit organizations have attempted to raise awareness of unethical business practices through diverse social media platforms, putting firms under great pressure to incorporate sustainability in their operations. Focusing on the issue of animal cruelty which is a relatively under-investigated topic in the fashion industry, the purpose of this paper is to examine how different levels of animal cruelty depicted in nonprofit organizations’ ethical consumption campaigns influence viewers’ negative emotions and lead to their supportive behavior and ethical consumption intention.
Design/methodology/approach
In the main study, undergraduate students (n=82) from a big public University in the USA were recruited in exchange for extra credit and randomly assigned to one of the three experimental conditions of animal cruelty in a single-factor, three-level, between-subjects experimental design: non-threatening condition (n=26), low-threatening condition (n=27) and high-threatening condition (n=29).
Findings
The results indicated that the levels of negative emotional arousal are positively related to levels of perceived animal cruelty in social media campaigns. In addition, negative emotional arousal mediates the effect of perceived animal cruelty on the intention of supportive behavior, but no mediation effect on ethical consumption intention was found. Additionally, the findings of this study revealed that the indirect effect of perceived animal cruelty on supportive behavior intention is moderated by participants’ moral justification such as the reality of economic development and government dependency.
Originality/value
The findings of this study contribute to the literature by advancing the current understanding of the role of negative emotional images in ethical consumption campaigns in the context of animal cruelty in the fashion industry.
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This study aims to explore empirical evidence of the impact of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on stock market volatility.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore empirical evidence of the impact of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on stock market volatility.
Design/methodology/approach
Using panel data of 35 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries from 1992 to 2018, we conduct both fixed effects panel model and Prais-Winsten model with panel-corrected standard errors.
Findings
The authors document that there is a significant positive relationship between GHG emissions and stock market volatility. The results remain robust after controlling for potential endogeneity problems.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature in that it provides additional empirical evidence for the financial risk posed by climate change.
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Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky
An increasing number of consumers are turning to the Internet to make their purchases. Yet, many e‐tailers are going out of business or retrenching. If e‐tailers hope to attract…
Abstract
An increasing number of consumers are turning to the Internet to make their purchases. Yet, many e‐tailers are going out of business or retrenching. If e‐tailers hope to attract and retain satisfied online shoppers, they need to know what evaluative criteria consumers use when selecting an e‐tailer. Past research has provided some insight into what characteristics shoppers assess in cyberspace outlets. The extant work, though, has not been without its limitations. Consequently, the present study utilizes a literature review, qualitative research, and quantitative research to identify the underlying e‐store choice dimensions of shoppers. In addition, results of multiple regression analysis show that merchandise and interactivity Web attributes are predictors of consumers' attitude toward online shopping. Implications for e‐store managers and future research are also provided.
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Leslie Cuevas, Jewon Lyu and Heejin Lim
This study aims to identify key motivation factors for consumers’ social search and examine the role of flow in the process. This study assessed how content quality (i.e. visual…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify key motivation factors for consumers’ social search and examine the role of flow in the process. This study assessed how content quality (i.e. visual aesthetics, textual information and timeliness) and system quality (i.e., intuitiveness and interactivity) influence flow experience. Additionally, this study tested how mental simulation and ease of task mediate this process and examined how the flow experience leads to purchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey via Amazon MTurk was performed using the general consumer population in the USA. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to test proposed hypotheses.
Findings
Visual aesthetics, text information, intuitiveness and interactivity were found to increase consumers’ flow experience in social search on Instagram. The timeliness of information was not a significant predictor of flow experience. Additional analyses demonstrated the mediating role of mental simulation and perceived ease of task mediate in flow experience, ultimately leading to increased purchase intention.
Practical implications
The concept of flow should be taken into consideration in a setting of social media marketing. To create holistic consumption experiences, social media strategy should promote seamless information search by increasing both the content (i.e. visual aesthetics and text information) and system (i.e. intuitiveness and interactivity) quality.
Originality/value
This study expands the theory of flow by applying it to the social search process in social media. Mental simulation and perceived ease of task are distinctively recognized as essential factors for flow experience on Instagram.
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Teresina Torre and Daria Sarti
This chapter aims to build a systematization of the current theoretical and empirical academic contributions on smart working (SW) in the organization studies domain and to…
Abstract
This chapter aims to build a systematization of the current theoretical and empirical academic contributions on smart working (SW) in the organization studies domain and to examine which are the main paths that researchers are concerning themselves with, with specific attention being paid to the new meaning that the work itself has acquired in the model proposed by SW. Particular consideration is devoted to an analysis of the characteristics of the present debate on this construct and the meaning of SW, identifying two different – and contrasting – approaches: one considers it as a totally new concept; the other is notable for its continuity with previous arrangements such as telework. Further, some relevant concepts, strictly related to that of SW in working environments are considered. In the last part of the chapter, some key points for further research are proposed to create stimuli for discussion in the community of organization studies and HRM scholars and among practitioners, given from the perspective of deepening the change in progress, the relevance for which there is general consensus.
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Mohamed Ali Jemmali, Martin J.-D. Otis and Mahmoud Ellouze
Nonlinear systems identification from experimental data without any prior knowledge of the system parameters is a challenge in control and process diagnostic. It determines…
Abstract
Purpose
Nonlinear systems identification from experimental data without any prior knowledge of the system parameters is a challenge in control and process diagnostic. It determines mathematical model parameters that are able to reproduce the dynamic behavior of a system. This paper aims to combine two fundamental research areas: MIMO state space system identification and nonlinear control system. This combination produces a technique that leads to robust stabilization of a nonlinear Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy system (T-S).
Design/methodology/approach
The first part of this paper describes the identification based on the Numerical algorithm for Subspace State Space System IDentification (N4SID). The second part, from the identified models of first part, explains how we use the interpolation of linear time invariants models to build a nonlinear multiple model system, T-S model. For demonstration purposes, conditions on stability and stabilization of discrete time, T-S model were discussed.
Findings
Stability analysis based on the quadratic Lyapunov function to simplify implementation was explained in this paper. The linear matrix inequalities technique obtained from the linearization of the bilinear matrix inequalities was computed. The suggested N4SID2 algorithm had the smallest error value compared to other algorithms for all estimated system matrices.
Originality/value
The stabilization of the closed-loop discrete time T-S system, using the improved parallel distributed compensation control law, was discussed to reconstruct the state from nonlinear Luenberger observers.
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Tomasz Szopiński and Marcin W. Staniewski
The purpose of this paper is to examine the propensity to use e-government services in post-communist countries in the European Union.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the propensity to use e-government services in post-communist countries in the European Union.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted among 7,984 respondents from the states of Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The analysis focused on the following manifestations of e-administration usage in these countries: viewing websites run by public administration bodies, making contact with public administrations via e-mail, downloading the forms necessary to obtain a public service, sending completed electronic forms to appropriate offices, and contacting politicians, activists, or offices electronically to discuss matters important for a region or the whole state.
Findings
The results of the analysis presented in this paper show that there is a statistically significant relationship between the state of the respondent’s residence and the propensity to use particular forms of e-government.
Practical implications
Decision makers should create incentives to popularize electronic signatures, which are necessary to fully settle a matter in public offices via the internet. They could use financial assistance offered by the European Union to implement this technology. Moreover, they should award bonuses to private persons or entrepreneurs who use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in their contact with the state administration, for example, by way of charging less for issuing a driving license, building permits, or other documents necessary to apply for a building permit. The use of ICT in the client-administration relationship would reduce corruption levels by limiting direct contact and allow for reconstruction of all of the digital records to apply for a given permit, document, etc.
Originality/value
With the rapid growth of internet (and e-commerce) worldwide, the public administration sector has many opportunities, especially in a developing democracy. The paper is unique because it shows data collected from almost 8,000 respondents and it presents a comparison of the use of e-government among citizens of nine European Union member states.
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