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The purpose of this paper is to determine the attractiveness or unattractiveness of cyberloafing in the workplace using Q methodology and the Kano model.

The perception of employees towards cyberloafing was investigated based on Q methodology, and then they were prioritized using Kano model. Ten IT companies were selected for the case study. In this study, a mixed method was used. First, 30 participants were interviewed. Next, after extracting the comments, Q-matrix was presented to 30 participants and they completed the matrix cells. Finally, Kano questionnaire was designed using the items obtained from Q methodology and distributed among 30 participants.

Q methodology led to nine perceptions, and the priorities of Kano model were proponents of increasing employees' dependence on the internet, economic thinkers, the indifferent, dissatisfied, proponents of receiving information, self-control proponents, the profit-minded, mind destroyer and satisfaction-oriented. Cyberloafing is considered unattractiveness with adverse effects. The combination of Q methodology and Kano model can improve the analysis of the results.

This study is one of the few studies in which Q methodology is improved by Kano model. In the past, Q methodology alone examined people’s perception, but by combining these two methods, it is determined which perception is more satisfying and which one is more important, and then a general result can be reached.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the usefulness of Q Methodology for business research, as an alternative technique for accounting researchers.

Q Methodology is an innovative technique that provides quantitative structure to individuals' opinions via factor analysis. The authors present the results of a case study where Q Methodology was used to examine attitudes towards an on‐line wiki, a Technology Encyclopaedia (TE), amongst 35 engineers and technical employees at a manufacturing company. Management wanted to understand whether employees were willing to embrace social conversational technology as a way of sharing knowledge. The aim of the case study is to demonstrate how Q Methodology works in a practical setting. The authors also examine a published journal article to assess how Q Methodology might be used to enhance accounting research.

The results show that Q Methodology may provide advantages in data gathering (less respondent burden), data analysis (deeper insight into respondent sub‐conscious), and results (better respondent “ownership” of organisational problems and solutions). However, it also has weaknesses in terms of managerial application.

A limitation is that the discussion is based on a single case study.

When working with an industry partner, researchers may need to consider a more positivist approach and be prepared to explain context behind the statements.

Q Methodology appears to offer most value as a data gathering technique. It may also be used to capture respondents' subconscious views on a topic. While the limited time involved will be attractive to practitioners, there is also the potential benefit of increasing respondents' awareness and understanding of the topic under investigation (i.e. action research), enhancing change management and other sensitive organizational issues.

The purpose of this paper is to show the application of Q methodology in the practice of policymaking, namely, in the field of the wine business. Today, Q methodology has a rising significance in all aspects of human behavior where there is a need for gathering and analyzing qualitative data. This paper discusses the applicability of Q methodology as a participative bottom-up tool for extracting priorities for tailor-made sectorial policies in the field of the wine business.

Developed by William Stephenson almost a century ago, Q methodology was primarily used to study human behavior in different psychoanalysis practices and personality tests. But it can be used also as a tool to extract important opinions of stakeholders in the process of making new sectorial policies. To prove the applicability of Q methodology for this task, data collected from 30 small and medium Croatian winemakers are used as a case study. Selected winemakers originate from coastal and continental regions of Croatia covering the whole country. Gathered data were analyzed using the PQMethod ver. 2.35 software.

The results of the data analysis have given an insight into Croatian small wine business perspectives, rapidly revealing factors which matter the most to them (luck, value added tax, import lobby, margins in HORECA). On the other side, factors like automated grape harvesters, subsidized fair participation were identified that matter the least, and factors like prices and procedures for mandatory analyses, paperwork for exports and development of new sales channels are considered as neutral.

The selected participants are a small, but representative, group of Croatian winemakers and generalization of findings to the whole winemaking sector should be undertaken with caution. Q methodology is primarily an explorative technique, which brings a sense of coherence to the relation of the research question and contested answers, but prone to straightaway change.

Q methodology enables a participatory approach, rapid analysis and focus on the most important factors for changing relations and effects of planning and execution of sectoral policies. It can be used to effectively extract relevant factors common to group of different individuals acting in the same sector with the same goal.

This research provides an insight into potentials of Q-methodology approach when considering the theoretical framework for the policy making process. Therefore, it also widens its applicability in research of subjective viewpoints on different issues in a particular business sector.

This paper provides an overview of a form of factor analysis, Q Methodology, and suggests how it might be applied in an institutional analysis setting. Q Methodology provides for a middle ground between positivist and phenomenological methods, and that its usage will not necessarily result in overly contextualized findings that render generalization impossible. The paperʼs primary focus is to suggest several uses of Q Methodology within different established policy studies frameworks, namely the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework, the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), and the policy process as conceptualized by Lasswellʼs Policy Sciences approach.

Engaging with stakeholders in “a personal, intimate way” (Men and Tsai, 2016, p. 932) or “includ[ing] the ‘personal touch’” (Kent and Taylor, 1998, p. 323) is often seen as desirable in internal communication management. While the importance of personal communication is undisputed from the perspectives of internal communication, its communicators, and from internal stakeholders, this is not true when it comes to the dimensions and characteristics that constitute an experience of communication as feeling personal. The present study aims to explore what makes communication personal from the employees' perspective.

The study used the Q methodology and Q method, thus focusing on an individual's subjective perspective. The Q methodology was implemented in the form of a Q-sort survey exploring the perceptions of 32 German employees (selected from a representative cross-section of 400 employees in Germany, using a balanced-block design to maximize heterogeneity).

The results show that while direct and dyadic communication is often perceived as personal, many other dimensions and characteristics are also considered “personal” in both the literature and based on stakeholder perceptions. The Q-sort survey revealed four perception types whose perceptions of communication as “personal” vary widely, with all these types rejecting non-human communicators.

This study contributes to the limited understanding of employees' perceptions of internal communication as “personal.” It shows how the Q methodology and Q method—a rarely used perspective—can complement existing theoretical and empirical research on internal communication. For internal communication management, the findings show that a “one-size-fits-all” approach must be questioned and that a communication team's involvement in personal communication can have negative consequences.

The purpose of this paper is to reveal and describe the divergent viewpoints about cybersecurity within a purposefully selected group of people with a range of expertise in relation to computer security.

Q methodology [Q] uses empirical evidence to differentiate subjective views and, therefore, behaviors in relation to any topic. Q uses the strengths of qualitative and quantitative research methods to reveal and describe the multiple, divergent viewpoints that exist within a group where individuals sort statements into a grid to represent their views. Analyses group similar views (sorts). In this study, participants were selected from a range of types related to cybersecurity (experts, authorities and uninformed).

Four unique viewpoints emerged such that one represents cybersecurity best practices and the remaining three viewpoints represent poor cybersecurity behaviors (Naïve Cybersecurity Practitioners, Worried but not Vigilant and How is Cybersecurity a Big Problem) that indicate a need for educational interventions within both the public and private sectors.

Understanding the divergent views about cybersecurity is important within smaller groups including classrooms, technology-based college majors, a company, a set of IT professionals or other targeted groups where understanding cybersecurity viewpoints can reveal the need for training, changes in behavior and/or the potential for security breaches which reflect the human factors of cybersecurity.

A review of the literature revealed that only large, nation-wide surveys have been used to investigate views of cybersecurity. Yet, surveys are not useful in small groups, whereas Q is designed to investigate behavior through revealing subjectivity within smaller groups.

There is limited participatory research, including, organic winemakers and none with natural winemakers. To get a preliminary insight into the perspectives of Georgian natural winemakers, this research aims to identify their perceptions regarding the major problems facing Georgia’s wine industry by applying Q-methodology. The research uncovers two existing perspectives and provides relevant policy suggestions for the Georgian wine sector.

This research applied Q-methodology. Ten in-person Q-sorts and interviews were carried out in Georgia, with five natural winemakers filling out an additional follow-up survey rating 26 possible policy recommendations to increase the relevance of the study’s findings.

The study revealed two groups of winemakers: the idealists and the pragmatists. The idealists are characterised by their focus on environmental awareness and a lack of trust of government institutions. The pragmatists focus on production-related issues, such as lack of financing and lack of irrigation infrastructure. The development of a local wine bottle supplier, regulation of agro-chemical use and a leading role for natural winemakers in teaching about organic viticulture were the most positively rated policy recommendations.

Using the research results, relevant sectoral policies can be drawn up that support the sustainable development of Georgia’s wine sector and help with the establishment of Georgian wine on the international market.

The growth of natural winemaking through small-scale producers could improve the environmental sustainability of the wine industry in Georgia, as well as reduce rural poverty through increased rural household income and employment.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no participatory research currently exists that includes natural winemakers and their attitudes, and there are no participative studies with Georgian winemakers. This is the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to apply Q-methodology and a follow-up survey exclusively to Georgian natural winemakers and provides a first insight into their perceptions.

Purpose – This study explores U.S. consumer attitudes toward organic foods in order to demonstrate that multiple and meaningful segments can be identified based on attitudes and beliefs rather than demographics and that a more targeted marketing strategy could likely create a better fit with consumer wants and needs.

Methodology – Q-methodology is employed, in part to demonstrate its usefulness for segmentation purposes.

Findings – Six meaningful segments of consumers are generated based on attitudes toward organic foods: Health Enthusiasts, Organic Idealists, Hoban's Hogwashers, Unengaged Shoppers, Bargain Shoppers, and Cynical/Distrustfuls. These groups vary in attitudes toward organic food, and despite conventional wisdom, exhibit a reasonable match between attitude and purchase behavior. Segments are also generated for viewpoints toward conventionally grown foods, revealing that consumers do not simply hold binary positions (pro-organic, anticonventional), but instead consider each food type on its respective merits. Positioning and media choice strategies are considered for each organic food segment.

Originality – This chapter distinguishes between different types of consumers of organic food by using Q-methodology, with the result being a rich, detailed description of the values and preferences of each group. With these descriptions, the organic food industry can better align its marketing efforts with the priorities of individual consumer groups, rather than their simplistic demographics as are commonly utilized. The chapter also offers a unique perspective on the attitude–behavior gap, revealing that when the attitude is understood in greater detail, the gap appears to disappear.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the leadership roles the Ethiopian civil service managers preferably embody in their setting. As such, contextually preferred roles were identified and briefly contrasted with the leadership literature. It also outlined the directions for the future research agenda.

Q-methodology, an approach reasonably like “grounded-theory” was used. It is suited to embrace life as lived by the actors themselves. In this specific case, Q-methodology allows the managers to conceptualize their definitions or preferences of leadership roles. The data were obtained from 51 managers working in the federal civil service organizations covering a broad range of public policy and service fields.

Based on the Q-sorts of 51 managers, the authors found three distinct yet interrelated archetypes of role preferences, which the authors labeled as the change agents, affective leaders and result-oriented realists. The study, however, demonstrates that although the ostensible echoes of each of these perspectives were professed, there were overlooked functions that are needed to be performed for full practice of each.

Understanding the contextually preferred leadership roles, if considered in designing the management training and development programs, could prove productive. It also informs the staff recruitment and promotion activities of the civil service organizations.

Conceptualizations of public leadership roles are abound in the literature. As they mostly emerged in a Western context, their applicability to other settings is questionable. Studying the subject in the context of Ethiopia, this paper contributes to the growing body of African literature on administrative leadership and informs the practice as well as the scholarship in this area.