Business, Enterprise & Management
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/5
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Item Is wine consumption in Britain democratizing? Communicating class and taste through the Saturday Times wine column (1982–2017)(Taylor & Francis, 2019-10-24) Welch, Nikki; Tominc, AnaThe popularisation of wine drinking was one of the most significant changes in British drinking culture in the 20th century, in terms of the increase in both the availability and acceptability of wine for the general population. Based on a discourse analysis of 35 years of Jane MacQuitty’s Saturday Times Wine Column (1982-2017), this paper argues that while wine has been discursively constructed as a drink of the many, the distinction traditionally associated with wine drinking in Britain remains. The data demonstrate how MacQuitty constructs wine through the media stylistically as everybody’s drink, while also constructing and maintaining a distinction between ‘us’ as an in-group whose wine knowledge and taste are distinct from ‘them’.Item Beer brand word-of-mouth drivers in Colombia: A qualitative exploration(Transnational Press, 2019-10-31) Stahl, Philipp G.; Tjandra, Nathalia C.; Feri, Alessandro; Marshall, KristenThis paper explores which motivational drivers incline consumers to engage in word-of-mouth (WOM) communication within the Colombian beer market, forecast to be among the most important beer markets during the coming years. Colombian consumers are primarily influenced by recommendations from friends and family and are therefore more likely to adopt new products due to WOM rather than mass communication. Yet marketers still have little knowledge of how to manage WOM effectively, especially in the Latin America region. Consequently, the authors adopt a qualitative research method conducting semi-structured interviews with fifteen Colombian beer market mavens aimed at exploring which motivational drivers cause consumers to engage in WOM. Twelve motivational drivers were found for WOM about beer brands. Of these, two were found to be partially important, and three appeared to be necessary. The findings of this study propose a number of recommendations to be made for enhancing motivational drivers to generate more WOM. The findings of the study could be used to develop a quantitative measurement identifying which of the motivational drivers have the most influence on Colombian consumers to engage in WOM. This research could assist brewing businesses to internationalise into the Colombian beer market and to achieve competitive advantage.Item Female directors, family ownership and firm performance in Jordan(Sciedu Press, 2019-11-06) Saidat, Zaid; Seaman, Claire; Silva, Mauricio; Al-Haddad, Lara; Marashdeh, ZyadThis study examines the impact of female directors on the financial performance of family and non-family Jordanian firms. A sample of 103 Jordanian public firms listed on Amman Stock Exchange for the time period 2009-2015 was selected. The study had a quantitative approach and used a panel data methodology. The data analysis was conducted using Ordinary Least Square Regression. ROA and Tobin’s Q were deployed as measurement of financial performance. The appointment of female directors does not have any significant impact on the financial performance of family firms. However, with regard to non-family firms, female directors appeared to have a negative impact on the performance of these firms. The impact of female directors on family firm performance merits further research in the context of different countries and cultures. Appointments based on qualifications and expertise is more likely to have a positive impact. Jordan is an under-researched area where the impact of female directors on the firm performance would merit further research. Differentiating between the impact of female directors on family and non-family firms would also merit further research, especially in the context of the conditions under which they are appointed.Item On track for first-tier complaint handling: A review of organisational complaint handling in regulated sectors with an Ombudsman for the Office of Rail and Road [Project Report](Office of Road and Rail, 2018-10-30) Williams, Jane; Brennan, Carol; Vivian, Nial1. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the combined economic and health and safety regulator for the GB rail network and the economic monitor for England’s strategic road network. One of ORR’s strategic objectives is to support better rail customer service. Effective complaint handling forms part of the customer experience and there is a strong business case for systems and processes to be of the highest quality. 2. In August 2018, Queen Margaret University was commissioned to conduct a critical review of complaint handling in regulated consumer sectors where there is an ombudsman scheme. A key objective is to ensure that ORR can learn from and apply any lessons to the rail sector. The research identifies good practice and learning points in complaint handling to inform how first-tier complaint handling can be improved in the rail sector. First-tier complaint handling is defined as complaint handling which takes place inhouse usually at the organisation that is responsible for service delivery. 3. From the research, it was clear that significant design activity in relation to complaint handling procedures continues to take place. Regulators are taking an active role in relation to monitoring the market and designing new systems and processes, and amending rules and guidance.Item Dysfunctional accountability in complaint systems: The effects of complaints on public service employees(Sweet & Maxwell, 2019-10) Gill, Christian; Sapouna, Maria; Hirst, Carolyn; Williams, JaneThis article examines the effect that being complained about has on public service employees. The volume of complaints about public bodies is significant: an estimated 543,000 complaints a year are made about central government, while the English NHS was subject to 208,415 complaints in 2016-2017. Despite the significant expansion of complaint procedures following the Citizen’s Charter reforms in the 1990s, there has been no empirical research into the way in which complaints affect employees outwith the healthcare sector. Most scholarly debate has focused on whether complaints procedures within government have improved customer service or been useful for service improvement. Little attention has been paid to the experience of being subject to a complaint and the influence this has on work practice. In this respect, the public accountability literature suggests that significant dysfunctional effects may result from accountability regimes, including: defensive practices, tick-box compliance, excessive formality, and reduced innovation. In the healthcare setting, negative effects arising from being complained about include defensive medical practice, avoidance behaviours, wariness towards service users, and reduced wellbeing. While some positive effects have been reported, the thrust of healthcare studies is that complaints have harmful effects on professionals. To date, however, the effects of complaint systems outwith the healthcare context remain uncharted: we do not know whether other public services are affected in similar ways.Item Barriers to access: Investigation of plus-size women consumer experiences at fashion events(Routledge, 2019-01-08) Elliott, Amanda; Finkel, Rebecca; Walters, Trudie; Jepson, Allan StewartRecent cross-disciplinary literature in the social sciences has shown that fat women experience weight bias and marginalisation in nearly all aspects of life, including within the fashion industry. This stigmatisation results in exclusion from brand and designer collections, runway shows, and other fashion events. As research in this area and in particular within an event context is very scarce, this chapter draws upon accessibility research, fat studies, and critical events studies to investigate the physical and psychological barriers to access for plus-size women at fashion events along with consumer attitudes with regard to fashion events. Research methods adopt quantitative approaches and include a survey of plus-size women who have attended a fashion event in 2017, which allowed for analysis of their experiences with regard to accessibility obstacles as well as their attitudes regarding fashion events and fashion event managers. Findings reveal plus-size consumers are more likely to attend fashion events if they see their body types represented in promotional event materials. They are also more likely to attend if they believe their needs will be met by the event facilities. Consumer attitudes toward fashion events and fashion event managers were generally negative, but provided several opportunities for growth and improvement.Item Governing major events legacy: Case of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games(Cognizant Communication Corporation, 2018-09-26) Sharp, Briony; Finkel, RebeccaThis paper explores the emerging importance of planning and governance surrounding the concept of event legacy by focusing on an in-depth case study of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Given the long-term nature of the concept of legacy, the need for planned and thorough pre-, during and post-Games management is essential if legacy outcomes are to be monitored effectively. Research methods employed for this study consist of in-depth interviews (n=14) with policy makers, organisers, and local community associations, who were involved with legacy planning and implementation for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. The findings present Glasgow’s legacy approach as an advancement in the understanding of legacy governance and planning in relation to critical event management. By designing and implementing legacy governance structures at an early stage, each stakeholder role is established and can be monitored while allowing for some flexibility within the legacy management partnerships. In addition, the notion of a partnership legacy can be seen to have grown from innovative legacy governance structures, such as collaborative working and network creation, put in place by Glasgow in the early stages of legacy planning, which can act as a model of best practice for other major event host destinations.Item Multispecies leisure: Human-animal interactions in leisure landscapes(Taylor & Francis, 2019-06-24) Danby, Paula; Dashper, Katherine; Finkel, RebeccaThe emerging multidisciplinary field of human-animal studies encourages researchers to move beyond human-centric practices and to recognise that human and nonhuman beings are positioned within shared ecological, social, cultural and political spaces whereby nonhumans have become key actors worthy of moral consideration and play a fundamental role in humans’ lives. With some exceptions (e.g. Carr, 2014; Dashper, 2018; Danby, 2018; Danby & Finkel, 2018; Young & Carr, 2018), leisure studies has been slow to embrace this ‘animal turn’ and consider how leisure actions, experiences and landscapes are shaped through multispecies encounters between humans, other animals, reptiles, fish and the natural environment. This special issue begins to address this gap by considering leisure as more-than-human experiences. We consider leisure with nonhuman others, both domestic and wild, by exploring the ‘contact zones’ between humans and other species and, in doing so, we create an interspecies lens through which to explore these encounters. The research presented in this special issue takes into consideration the affective and ethical dimensions of human-nonhuman animal entanglements in leisure spaces and the need to strive for reciprocal, mutual welfare and wellbeing. Through the use of innovative methodological approaches, the authors explore a range of issues and perspectives to capture shared experiences of interspecies leisure pursuits. This special issue provides direction for future ways in which research on multispecies leisure, and its associated mutual benefits, can be done to advance understanding and practice in the field. The special issue seeks to ‘bring the animal in’ to the leisure studies domain and contribute to greater understanding of leisure as a complex, interwoven multispecies phenomenon.Item Financing decisions of migrant family businesses: The case of a Ghanaian-owned shop in Kent(Emerald, 2018-12-05) Boateng, Bernard; Silva, Mauricio; Seaman, ClaireThe analysis of new enterprise funding and the financial strategies once in operation has been usually associated to mainstream sources of finance for which there is a standard quantitative method of analysis that relies on readily available information such as interest rates, credit risk analysis, collateral and guarantees, business and sector performance metrics among others. These variables are usually considered at the detriment of other qualitative factors that are difficult to measure and adapt to the rational analysis methodologies generally used and accepted by financial markets and institutions: these include but are not limited to the influence of family ties, cultural traditions, social networks, human capital, and individual attitudes towards money management and financial institutions. Thus we can hypothesise that the influence of social and cultural elements will tend to be more nuanced when the financial decision-making process within the realm of an immigrant family business with transnational social networks and distinct financial goals. The aim of the paper is to share the preliminary findings of a study on the social and cultural factors influencing the financial decision making process of Ghanaian migrant family businesses in the UK. The overarching goal of the research project is to deepen our understanding of immigrant Ghanaian family businesses in the UK and the strategies they adopt when interacting with mainstream financial institutions and informal sources of funding to start up and manage their ventures. The data was obtained through face-to-face interviews with a Ghanaian shop owner in Kent and her observations and thoughts on the process of making financial decisions and developing their enterprise. This was analysed through the prism of Social Network theory and focused on influences such as family, cultural and social factors. The main elements identified as having perceptible yet varying effects on the business owner’s decision making included but were not limited financial decisions being influenced to family, cultural, social networks, and individual attitudes towards mainstream institutions. Significantly, ‘Family ties and Influence’ was the factor identified as having the most influence in the financial decision making process. The key finding of this initial research exercise was that ‘non-rational’ drivers of financial decision-making were skewed towards an internally generated process unrelated to commonly accepted business growth strategies. This is of course a very limited finding as the case study by definition signifies the information is insufficient to support a clear conclusion; however the next phase of the research exercise should provide deeper and richer data for analysis.Item Artisan food production, small family business and the Scottish food paradox(Emerald, 2019-05-13) Quinn, Bernie; Seaman, ClairePurpose This paper draws together three strands of work currently being carried out at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh to take an overview of food in Scotland and on-going local interventions. The provision of ‘artisan’ food, defined here as food that forms part of the established tradition of its local area, usually produced on a relatively small scale, has become prominent in Scotland in recent years and is seen by many as part of a developing food culture that begins to address the Scottish Food Paradox. Design/Methodology/Approach A review of current research that considers artisanal food production and work that researches small and family enterprises was undertaken Findings Small business support within the UK and indeed tailored support for businesses owned and managed by families is in a developmental phase at present. While there are numerous sources from which businesses can seek support, there are also acknowledged challenges for businesses in identifying the most appropriate sources of support and the opportunity cost of engaging with business support agencies remains a serious concern for many. Further, much business support prioritizes high growth businesses effectively de-prioritizing artisanal food producers. Research Limitations/Implications The development and promotion of appropriate business support systems tailored to artisanal food production is an area that would merit further development Originality/Value The value of this piece lies in its blending of two distinct areas of work, considering both the challenges faced by artisanal food producers and recent research in family and smaller enterprises.