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This paper's purpose is to give an overview of current research regarding the concept of “health tourism” with a focus on Switzerland, and to determine whether a consensus on this concept and its embedding in existing/future markets can be found.

The paper is an explorative study combining literature review, questionnaires and qualitative interviews. Grounded theory was employed.

A service from the field of health care must have been provided prior to health tourism, allowing it to be classified under the health care system. Thus, health tourism is classified under the market for the sick and not under tourism which targets the healthy. Furthermore a new market for the healthy is emerging, which needs to be defined. As an example health(i)ness could help to clarify the terminology, to be seen as a gatekeeper of health and as a cultural paradigm change from cure to prevention.

Further research is needed, regarding the positioning and development of health tourism and its synergies, as the cost pressures in health care increase and will continue to have a sustainable impact on health tourism.

The paper provides better knowledge of the term health tourism, its general classification, and particular reference to Switzerland, and information about upcoming changes in health care.

The findings add to the knowledge of how health tourism is embedded into health care and tourism, and show potential within the market for the healthy. It provides information to members of the tourism and health care market.

This paper aims to review FM research in Switzerland with a focus on recent research projects at the Institute of Facility Management of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

The paper provides a summary and review of research projects.

FM research in Switzerland has grown in the past few years and is now well rooted in the Swiss FM industry. The focus is on service management, workplace management and FM in health care. FM research in Switzerland has been driven collaboratively by the Institute of FM and the industry.

Research at the IFM is very much oriented towards application and many collaborative projects between industry, public administration and universities have been conducted. However, some fields of FM have received little attention yet.

FM research in Switzerland has been driven collaboratively by the Institute of FM and the industry. The focus is on application, e.g. management tools, benchmarking systems or the relationship of FM services, organisational outcomes, and customer satisfaction. Many research results contribute to the development of Swiss FM industry.

In this article the authors summarize FM research in Switzerland and their research approach. With this they contribute to transparency and further development of FM research.

Retaining critical knowledge is relevant for all organizations, knowledge-intensive ones in particular. Failure to do so can, in the worst case, lead to an organization being unable to act. Acknowledging the role of context in this regard, the purpose of this paper is to examine knowledge retention (KR) in the banking sector of a developing country. A particular focus is placed on exploring various contextual factors that influence the retention of critical knowledge taking into consideration the setting.

Following a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior managers from private and public banks in Pakistan. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

The findings suggest that the existence of a collectivist society, gender differences, few job opportunities, power distance and the late IT Boom are vital factors to be considered regarding KR in the setting studied. The findings are summarized in a conceptual framework that highlights critical factors of KR to be studied in a broader context and which are viewed as relevant for informing future research in this underdeveloped area of knowledge management (KM).

The data were collected from a small number of individuals working in different banks in only one country. Future studies should consider research designs across multiple organizations involving more people representing different roles, functions and age groups.

Existing KM research has emphasized the role of context while research on KR is underdeveloped in this regard. By exploring different contextual factors this study advances current understanding in the KM domain.

This paper seeks to propose and discuss a knowledge management tool which has been designed to enable small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to obtain information about the concentration of relevant knowledge with certain individuals respectively in certain departments.

The tool represents an outcome of the authors' ongoing research activities related to the danger of knowledge loss due to turnover or long-term absence. A static knowledge map was developed based on a series of semi-structured interviews with 14 organization members from a German medium-sized enterprise operating in the printing sector. To apply this knowledge map to a broader range of SMEs a knowledge management tool has been developed. As underlying framework, the IC classification scheme and the concept of social capital were utilized.

The knowledge management tool helps smaller firms to calculate a “knowledge at risk” score, which gives them a better understanding of their critical organization members and what is making them critical.

The tool's outcome can illustrate the potential danger of organizational turnover, which hopefully triggers the development and implementation of specific replacement/retention measures in a timely manner.

A tool is proposed that identifies indispensable organization members within SMEs. The tool's strength is its simple but powerful nature which does not require long-term preparation and/or training.

An ignorance of knowledge attrition caused by employee exits is considered as careless and can lead to considerable consequences regarding both a firm's financial capital and intellectual capital, or in other words an ignorance of the danger of knowledge loss is associated with a missing or improper succession planning. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how a medium‐sized firm copes with the danger of knowledge loss due to employee exit or long‐term absence.

Data were obtained through semi‐structured interviews with 14 organization members from a German medium‐sized enterprise operating in the printing sector. These participants represented different departments and positions.

The findings demonstrate the influence of a precarious financial situation on activities related to knowledge management and succession planning. Although the organization members are aware of obvious needs for improvement within the firm, their actual scope of action is centered on the execution of current orders.

The data are cross‐sectional and were collected in one organization. Future studies should consider longitudinal designs across multiple organizations.

Based on the findings some suggestions were derived that may help firms facing similar circumstances.

The study's findings provide fresh insights into how an established firm tackles the issue of knowledge attrition and its likely implications for the firm's performance.

The aim of this paper is to review research on knowledge management in small and medium‐sized enterprises to identify gaps in the current body of knowledge, which justify future research directions.

The study consists of a systematic review of 36‐refereed empirical articles on knowledge management and small and medium‐sized enterprises.

The areas of knowledge management implementation, knowledge management perception, and knowledge transfer are relatively well researched topics; whereas those of knowledge identification, knowledge storage/retention and knowledge utilisation are poorly understood. Given the prevalence of small and medium‐sized enterprises there is a strong need for more research on this important topic. The future research directions proposed by the authors may help to develop a greater understanding of knowledge management in small and medium‐sized enterprises.

By only using the ProQuest database this study may not have allowed a complete coverage of all empirical articles in the field of knowledge management in small and medium‐sized enterprises. Yet, it is believed that the findings provide a valuable understanding of the current situation in this research field. The study proposes a number of future research directions, which may stimulate more intensive research in this important field.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, no systematic literature review on this topic has previously been published in academic journals.

With the introduction of the mandatory European Union (EU) organic logo for all organic food products in 2010, the European Commission aimed at fostering the internal organic food market. This needs consumers’ knowledge of the logo. According to earlier research consumers’ knowledge of the EU organic logo is low. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to elicit consumers’ attitudes towards organic certification and labelling and to develop recommendations on how to improve consumers’ knowledge of the EU organic logo.

By means of an online survey with 3,000 participants in six European countries, knowledge of the logo and attitudes towards organic farming and European labelling, as well as organic food purchase behaviour and socio-demographic indicators were elicited. Factor and cluster analysis based on several statements on the test persons’ attitudes towards organic farming and corresponding EU legislation were conducted in order to segment consumers.

The results indicate that knowledge of the logo is low. Only about 15 per cent of all respondents knew its meaning. Four clusters of consumers could be identified: “Committed organics”, “Pragmatic organics”, “Organic sceptics” and Organic disinterested’. With reference to the EU organic legislation’s aim of promoting the organic market, particularly “Organic sceptics” should be addressed by emphasising the trustworthiness of the organic certification and labelling system.

Segmenting consumers according to their attitude towards organic farming, its labelling and certification allows for targeted and efficient communication and organic market development.

Taking company succession as an alternative means of embarking on an entrepreneurial activity, the aim of this study is to explore those intangible assets that are regarded as attractive from the viewpoints of external successors. Thereby, the focal point is on the preparation stage in which promising companies are identified and scrutinised.

The strategy of research behind this paper is the application of a mixed methods approach that is divided into an internet‐mediated questionnaire and a series of in depth interviews (given priority).

The findings suggest that intangible assets have a notable influence on the intention of an external successor to take over a company. This would suggest that the traditional issues considered with regard to company succession, such as tax, legal and financial aspects, should be extended to include intangible aspects. The findings are summarized by proposing a framework for the role of intangibles in external succession, thereby highlighting critical intangibles as perceived by external successors.

This explorative study is by no means exhaustive; however it is regarded as a valuable fundament for further research activities associated with the role of intangible assets in terms of company succession, particularly external succession.

The framework appears to be a valuable tool for understanding the importance of intangibles in external company succession in general and particularly their influence on external successors' business acquisition intentions. The findings are particularly considered as helpful for incumbent‐owners who plan to sell off their companies.

The study's findings can be viewed as a new perspective on company succession as it highlights the intangible assets that make a company attractive to external successors. Given the increasing number of small to medium‐sized enterprises waiting to be transferred to new owners, these findings are highly important as they provide a more holistic view of the dynamics of company succession (and external succession in particular).

Knowledge is the currency of the current economy, a vital organisational asset and a key to creating a sustainable competitive advantage. The consequent interest in knowledge management (KM) has spurred an exponential increase in publications covering a broad spectrum of diverse and overlapping research areas. The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review and categorised analysis of the rapidly growing number of KM publications, and offer a comprehensive reference for new-comers embarking on research in the field with a particular focus on the area of knowledge measurement.

A total of 350 articles published in peer-reviewed journals over the last decade are carefully reviewed, analysed and categorised according to their specific subject matter in the KM context.

KM research tends to fall in one of five categories: Ontology of Knowledge and KM, Knowledge Management Systems, Role of Information Technology, Managerial and Social issues, and Knowledge Measurement. Despite the accumulation of extensive publication efforts in some areas, a series of disagreements and a theory-practice gap are revealed as challenging issues that need to be addressed.

The scope of this study does not cover KM research in its entirety due to the vast nature of the research field.

This paper presents a new birds-eye view of the KM landscape through a novel taxonomy of KM research providing researchers with new insights for future applied research, and offers a comprehensive critical review of major knowledge measurement frameworks.