This research aims to uncover three forms of communities of practice (CoPs), based on a set of six governance mechanisms. The focus is on the specific question of how organizations combine different governance mechanisms to balance autonomy and control in the management (steering) of CoPs. This paper is based on a study of 16 CoPs in nine multinational organizations.
Les dépenses environnementales (DE) d’une société constituent un outil d’évaluation et de suivi de sa performance environnementale. Le potentiel informatif de cet indicateur n’a pas échappé au législateur qui oblige les sociétés cotées à publier leurs DE. Notre recherche mobilise le courant de la légitimité pour identifier et expliquer les stratégies de réponse à cet item sur un échantillon de sociétés cotées françaises. Une analyse de contenu permet d’identifier trois stratégies : la non-réponse, la réponse de façade et la réponse substantielle. Les tests montrent plusieurs facteurs explicatifs associés à ces stratégies : la critique environnementale, l’actionnariat ISR et la sensibilité du secteur d’activité. Notre recherche contribue aux débats académiques et réglementaires sur la normalisation de l’information environnementale en révélant et expliquant les comportements des acteurs face à la loi.
This article explores knowledge search strategies of technology-based small firms (TBSFs) and the role that informal and proximate relationships play in the development of knowledge networks, through which knowledge exchange occurs. Drawing on interfirm relationship and social network theory, we contend that TBSFs participate in informal networks to exchange technology, market and managerial knowledge, to the extent that these knowledge configurations facilitate acquisition of external knowledge critical for their learning processes by TBSFs. Results indicate that a firm’s engagement in the exchange of various sources of knowledge is directly related to its economic activity and strategic knowledge priorities, which shape the structural dimensions of interfirm informal networks. While informal networks remain informal, certain TBSFs formalize their participation as they obtain and combine knowledge resources that are important for their activity. In examining how different interests and roles impact participation in informal interfirm networks, this study contributes to the literature on small firms and collaborative relationships.
Understanding measurement model specification is especially important for hospitality research due to its cross-disciplinary nature and the prevalence of measures used in the field which are often central to the formative versus reflective debate (e.g., SERVQUAL, socioeconomic status). The current study contributes to this topic by providing empirically based prescriptive advice to drive better measurement model specification. Specifically, the decision-making procedures developed by this study can complement theoretical reasons for a model choice as well as help determine a correct model choice when theories are equivocal or non-existent. This study combines actual and simulated data to show that model fit statistics alone cannot determine which model specification is correct, but also that a correct measurement model will generate more accurate predictions within a model which in turn will offer more accurate managerial recommendations.
In the current study, we contend that to enhance their competitiveness and performance, hotel properties need to develop and implement internal policies and procedures such as strategic management accounting that are consistent with their business strategies and account for changing competitive demands. We employ a sample composed of 80 hotel properties to investigate the key precursor of hotel property strategic management accounting use and its impact on hotel property customer and financial performance. The results highlight that market orientation business strategy is a key determinant of hotel property strategic management accounting use and illuminate the mediating influence of hotel property strategic management accounting use and hotel property customer performance on the relationship between hotel property market orientation business strategy use and hotel property financial performance. Recommendations are provided for both researchers and hotel managers concerning their future study of, or use of, strategic management accounting.
Hotel owners have two fundamental concerns: the financial operating performance of their asset and its selling price. While they often contract a hotel management company to operate the hotel through a lease or management agreement, common industry perception holds that such encumbrance decreases the sales price of hotel real estate assets. This implies that owners who outsource the hotel’s management may be sacrificing a greater selling price in exchange for improved operating results. While this is a critical issue for investors given that a their returns are largely dependent on an asset’s appreciation, the impact of different management structures on the sales price of hotels has not previously been studied. A hedonic valuation model was constructed based on 442 past hotel transactions in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2015. Hotels sold encumbered by hotel management agreements and lease agreements were found to sell at a premium compared with unencumbered properties. The impact across different geographic areas and different economic periods was also examined. Hotels under management agreement achieved the highest premiums during times of economic expansion while lease contracts did so in regional markets. The findings suggest that owners need not necessarily refrain from signing management agreements or leases out of concern for their detrimental effect on their hotel’s sales price. It also provides a strong additional selling point for management companies and should reassure lenders who prefer to underwrite loans for encumbered assets.
Since almost thirty years, three dimensional virtual reality, which required expensive and cumbersome equipment, has raised interest as it allows users to feel immersed in virtual environments. Recently, affordable head mounted displays have revived the hope that virtual reality might really be up for a breakthrough. This research looks into the sense of presence perceived by users of these new affordable devices. All the participants in this research experienced a high sense of presence for two different devices. Although on average, participants were only moderately inspired in suggesting possible future uses of the technology, marketing students were much more creative.
À l’heure d’une concurrence farouche entre des territoires désireux d’attirer des investissements, des touristes et des contribuables de plus en plus mobiles, le programme des Capitales européennes de la culture suscite un intérêt croissant de la part de villes attirées par ses impacts potentiels : gain de notoriété, stimulation de l’économie locale, amélioration de la cohésion sociale, mise en place de processus de requalification urbaine, etc. Preuve de la réussite de cette action, des initiatives similaires – concernant plus de 160 pays – ont vu le jour à travers la planète, à l’instar des Capitales arabes de la culture, des Culture Cities of East Asia ou des Capitales de la culture islamique. À l’aide d’une recherche documentaire importante, cet article s’engage par une présentation des Capitales européenne, poursuit en dévoilant la nature très bigarrée des diverses adaptations, puis montre comment de tels programmes peuvent participer au développement des territoires.
The economic base theory has been systematically mobilised since the 1950s to identify the external—known as basic—incomes of a region stemming from its local production system. This article proposes to integrate the demand (residents, annuitants, tourists) into the analysis. The residential economy represents a lever for additional development through the provision of other basic incomes. A method of calculation enables an estimation of the basic incomes in the Swiss case for two different geographical levels: the municipalities and SM (Spatial Mobility) regions. A spatial typology of basic incomes is then made using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA). The empirical results show the weight of the residential base (commuters, annuitants and tourists) in regional development in Switzerland and the need for the regions to diversify their bases to attract high incomes in the logic of “central places”. Thereby, the most successful regions in terms of basic income are the tourist centres, residential centres and urban centres.
There is currently no consensus about what the term Fintech means. This paper explores the complexity of Fintech, and attempts a definition, drawn from a process of reviewing more than 200 scholarly articles referencing the term Fintech and covering a period of more than 40 years. The objective of this study is to offer a definition which is distinct as well as succinct in its communication, yet sufficiently broad in its range of application. As the origins of the term can neither be unequivocally placed in academia nor in practice, the definition concentrates on extracting out the quintessence of Fintech using both spheres. Applying semantic analysis and building on the commonalities of 13 peer-reviewed definitions of the term, it is concluded that Fintech is a new financial industry that applies technology to improve financial activities. The implications as well as the shortcomings of this definition are discussed.
