Business Commons^™

Muscadine Grapes, Food Heritage And Consumer Images: Implications For The Development Of A Tourism Product In The Southern Usa, Abel Alonso, Martin O'Neill

Abel D Alonso

The present study investigates consumer awareness as it relates to muscadine grapes, a southern US food, and the images that muscadines evoke among southern consumers. The written comments of 189 southern residents were gathered in a southern college town. Respondents' images only partly demonstrate their attachment to this traditional food. For example, while over a third of respondents' comments relate to childhood images (e.g. picking grapes), this finding was much more prevalent among more mature respondents. Overall, a sense of cultural detachment or de-acculturation is suggested regarding the tradition of consuming muscadine by-products (wine, jams), or being involved in harvesting …

What Style Of Football Do 'Consumers' Prefer To Watch? Preliminary Insights From A New Professional League, Abel Alonso, Michelle O'Shea

Abel D Alonso

The present study investigates the perspective of fans and non-fans of a club of Australia's A-League regarding the style of football they prefer to watch. A total of 1706 respondents participated and provided their own preferences in the form of comments. As many as 40.7% fundamentally prefer attacking football; in all, almost 80% indicated attacking, passing or both, highlighting their interest to see flowing, entertaining football. Interestingly, 11.6% just want the team to win, prefer all types or that of 'total' football, and 9.2%, 'the strategists' provide more elaborate comments in a clear allusion to their strong preference for the …

Rusting On Fans: Nurturing Sport Team Identification Via The Creation Of Generational Fandom - A Case Study, M. O'Shea, Abel Alonso

Abel D Alonso

A complex issue faced by sport marketers relates to how they nurture new generations of fans in a rapidly evolving sport/entertainment marketplace. The study examines this issue among marketers and CEOs of three professional sport organisations. The application of the psychological continuum model (PCM) is considered as a framework for understanding. The key emphasis was the organisations' capacity to 'rust on' new and traditional fans in order to nurture long-term allegiance. In a ferociously competitive marketplace, where sport brand diversity (more clubs) can create fan confusion and desertion, the traditional importance of club-fan bonds through 'rusting on' remains a focus.

Moderating Virtual Sport Consumer Forums: Exploring The Role Of The Volunteer Moderator, Abel Alonso, Michelle O'Shea

Abel D Alonso

Social media platforms, including blogs and online forums have dramatically changed the way people communicate. Interactions facilitated by social media platforms can be powerful contexts in which users come together and forge online communities. As a consequence, organisations in different sectors are seeing these online communities as an important marketing and communications contexts. The present research is interested in exploring how professional sport organisations are moderating online communications. In particular, the research considers the role of the social media moderator, an area that despite its ethical and socio-economic implications continues to be under-researched. The perceptions of nine moderators of a …

Investing In The Social Fabric Of Rural And Urban Communities: A Comparative Study Of Two Alabama Farmers' Markets, Abel Alonso, Martin O'Neill

Abel D Alonso

This paper investigates the role that farmers’ markets play in enhancing the social fabric of once thriving rural communities. The paper reports the findings from a comparative study of visitor motivations to two community farmers’ markets in south west Alabama, one located in a rural environment and newly established, while the second, more established market (since 2004) is located in a much more populated and more affluent community. A total of 356 visitors participated in the study by completing a questionnaire. Part of the findings demonstrate that overall, visitors from both markets are more motivated to attend for the opportunity …

"You Only Get Back What You Put In": Perceptions Of Professional Sport Organizations As Community Anchors, Abel Alonso, Michelle O'Shea

Abel D Alonso

The following study investigates consumer/fan perceptions concerning the role that professional sport organizations should play within their communities. Using level of fandom and club affiliation as variables, the paper explores the way in which consumer expectations and perceptions of corporate social responsibility are mediated and impacted. A total of 2107 individuals participated in the study. The findings demonstrate the significance of the sport organization as a support network or "social anchor," for instance, through its involvement in mentoring youth, promoting sport participation, and community outreach. Respondents' comments were diverse; some suggested a desire for greater club community relations, while others …

The Challenge Of Preserving Rural Industries And Traditions In Ultraperipheral Europe: Evidence From The Canary Islands, Abel Duarte Alonso, Pascal Scherrer, Lynnaire Sheridan

Abel D Alonso

Demographic, economic, environmental, and political changes shape many rural areas and their communities across Europe. As a result, some fundamental aspects of these communities, including traditions, culture, social fabric, and their very raison d’être, are being tested and threatened by what seem to be irreversible events. Ultraperipheral European regions, including the `Canary Islands, are not an exception; in fact, because of their physical isolation from the mainland and other barriers, these regions may be more susceptible to changes. While these dimensions are very important and need to be addressed, to date very few studies have attempted to do so with …

What Is Your Favorite Southern Dish? A Study Of Southern Us Consumers, Abel Alonso, Martin O'Neill

Abel D Alonso

Different studies have highlighted the importance of food in different leisure activities, including the link between food and tourism. However, to what extent do local consumers know about their own foods, or are involved with consumption of local, traditional dishes? The present case study explores Southern foods from the perspective of Southern residents through written descriptions of their favorite Southern dish(es). Overall, participants' comments in the questionnaire illustrate that their favorite food choices were very limited. The fact that vegetables and desserts were only marginally included as core elements of participants' favorite Southern dish also suggest consumers' lack of food …

Creativity From Constraint? How Political Correctness Influences Creativity In Mixed-Sex Work Groups, Jack Goncalo, Jennifer Chatman, Michelle Duguid, Jessica Kennedy

Jack Goncalo

Most group creativity research is premised on the assumption that creativity is unleashed by removing normative constraints. As work organizations become increasingly diverse in terms of gender, however, this assumption needs to be reconsidered since mixed-sex interactions carry a high risk of offense. Departing from the assumption that normative constraints necessarily stifle creativity, we develop a theoretical perspective in which creativity in mixed-sex groups is enhanced by imposing a norm to be politically correct (PC)—a norm that sets clear expectations for how men and women should interact with one another. We present evidence from two group experiments showing that the …

Is It Really All About The Money?: Motivating Employees In The 21st Century, Joshua Randall, Stacy Novotny, Seth Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Motivation has been defined as an emotion or desire operating on the will and causing it to act. In this respect, ‘motivations provide the motor for behavior,’ and according to Pincus, motivation as a psychological construct has played many roles as paradigms have risen and fallen over the decades (2004). To obtain a better understanding of motivation in the twenty-first century, this paper focuses on what motivation is, the role goals play in motivation, how motivation can be maintained, the impact of technology on motivation, the practical implications of needs-based motivation theories, and the concept of over-motivation.

Community Assistance For Refugees And Gender Roles: What Could Make This C.A.R. Run Better?, Nathan E. Meyer

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Community Assistance for Refugees is a non-profit service organization in downtown Mankato, Minnesota. Secondary migration to southern Minnesota has increased the refugee population as well as the need for research assessing the needs and concerns of refugees. The purpose of this project was two-fold: first to analyze how C.A.R. is able to meet the needs of its clients and second, to investigate ways in which C.A.R. could improve its services. Traditionally female refugees are less educated and less mainstreamed into American society. This research was designed to help all clients, but special attention was paid to the specific needs of …

Assessment Of The Mankato Area's Young Adult Population's Knowledge Of Mall Video Mining For Marketing Research, Tyler S. Goodmanson, Brett E. Fleck, Emily A. Johnson

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

The most modern form of gathering marketing information is not as new as many people believe. The trepidation of Big Brother’s cameras watching down on us puts a chill down most peoples’ backs. In numerous mall stores, cameras are located in each store and are examining you. Most believe that the cameras are positioned for the purpose of shoplifting and crime, but the truth is many are also used for the purpose of marketing. Video mining as it is known has emerged as the latest method of conducting market research. The stores that are participating in this study are diligently …

A Research Proposal: Negligent Hiring And Fraudulent Resumes, Mya Mallory

MBA Student Scholarship

Resume fraud and misleading information on applications are more common than ever. Applicants who feel they are ready for a position that might not have the credentials will misrepresent information, giving them an advantage over other competition. Such fraud can also lead to internal and external theft or a violent individual in the office. Employers could be held liable for actions made by employees for not considering the most effective screening and hiring practices. Effective pre-employment screening should be a necessity for a successful business. This research proposal considers effective screening practices companies must be aware of, what information is …

Little League, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The Little League World Series is often the occasion for comment but usually it involves subjects such as rabid parents or hyperventilating coaches. This time the comments coming out of Williamsport, where fracking rather than baseball usually dominates the landscape, had a feel good aspect to them.

An Empirical Investigation Of The Influence Of Preparation And Implementation Capabilities On Lean Management Competence, David Barrett

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research offers several noteworthy contributions to advancing a more comprehensive scholarly theorization and managerial understanding of the prerequisites for deploying a “strategically ready” approach to lean management (LM). The first contribution is the conceptualization of a productive LM deployment model as a three phased value generation approach: (1) value design, (2) value delivery, and (3) value capture. This conceptualization is theoretically framed by Resource Advantage Theory and resource orchestration. Supporting this value generation conceptualization is a LM Competence comprised of two operational capabilities: (1) LM Preparation and (2) LM Implementation. In concert, these two capabilities generate a resource comparative …

German, French And British Manufacturing Strategies Compared: A Growth Towards Each Other, Arnoud De Meyer

Arnoud DE MEYER

Manufacturing has gained over the last years in attention as a tool to create competitive advantage. For four years now a survey has been carried out by a research team at Insead to build a database on the manufacturing strategies as they are defined and implemented by large European companies. In this paper some of the 1987 data are presented, and a comparison of manufacturing strategies of large companies in the three most important European countries is made. Though the most important conclusion is that there are only slight differences between the three countries, one can see some difference in …

Technology Transfer Into China: Preparing For A New Era, Arnoud De Meyer

Arnoud DE MEYER

Currently, there are three forces creating a more favourable background for western multinational companies to do new business in China by transferring new technology. First, growing overcapacity means China requires not traditional turnkey factories, but instead, technology which leads to innovation and improvement. Second, a changing attitude by all levels of Chinese government to demanding state-of-the-art technology including software instead of previous generation technology, and to technology management and commercial implementation more. Third, intellectual property rights are becoming better respected. The author makes suggestions to best manage technology transfer into China, with this changed background. Based on six case studies …

Using Strategic Partnerships To Create A Sustainable Competitive Position For Hi-Tech Start-Up Firms, Arnoud De Meyer

Arnoud DE MEYER

In most cases these companies chose or were forced to engage in a technology partnership in order to develop and survive. As one would expect, some of these partnerships succeeded whilst others failed. With hindsight it occurred to the author that success or failure was not necessarily a random event, or idiosyncratic to one particular company, but that there seemed to be a pattern. Some partnerships failed because they were a strategic misfit, others probably because they were badly implemented. Based on these clinical case studies, The author addresses these questions: when and under what conditions a partnership is needed; …

Manufacturing Operations In Europe: Where Do We Go Next?, Arnoud De Meyer

Arnoud De Meyer

Extrapolating from the results of a 10-year INSEAD Survey, the author offers some views on the future for manufacturing in Europe. The model on which the Survey was based indicates that competitive priorities and action plans in manufacturing changed over the 10-year period. Taking lessons from these, the author makes some 'informed guesses' on the future implications for European manufacturers in the form of seven normative features: innovation in the value package; close integration between manufacturing and service; the importance of internationalism; flexible project-based organisation; more integrated management of the value added chain; successful transformation of operational programmes into strategic …

On Uncertainty, Ambiguity, And Complexity In Project Management, Michael T. Pich, Christoph H. Loch, Arnoud De Meyer

Arnoud DE MEYER

This article develops a model of a project as a payoff function that depends on the state of the world and the choice of a sequence of actions. A causal mapping, which may be incompletely known by the project team, represents the impact of possible actions on the states of the world. An underlying probability space represents available information about the state of the world. Interactions among actions and states of the world determine the complexity of the payoff function. Activities are endogenous, in that they are the result of a policy that maximizes the expected project payoff.

A key …