Suchergebnisse

Objectives: To examine (i.e., contextualize and visualize) the consequences of a laissez-faire strategy characterized by blinkers to fulfill established pandemic goals. The aim is to shed light on the implementation of pandemic measures based on post hoc (after-the-fact) reactions and actions instead of pre hoc ones (in advance). Study Design: This study is based on weekly updates of pandemic variables (i.e., cases, tests, percentage of positive tests, hospitalizations, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions, deceased, and 7- and 14-day incidence) in Sweden from the start of the pandemic in March 2020 until March 2021. Method: This study reports the empirical findings based on Swedish pandemic variables during 52 consecutive weeks, related to the pandemic, all of which has been divided into three time periods to separate the 1st and 2nd waves of the pandemic, and considers them all together as one time period. Results: The findings illustrate the implementation of pandemic measures and the subsequent consequences of a laissez-faire strategy characterized by blinkers. People become diseased and then deceased. This reveals strong associations between the assessed pandemic variables and its subsequent consequences on morbidity and mortality, based on post hoc reactions and actions. Conclusions: The implementation of a pandemic strategy should react and act pre hoc, and to take the safe with the unsafe. Governments and public health agencies should take into account the inevitable associations between pandemic variables. Intertwined pre hoc measures of prevention, enforcement, and monitoring should be implemented in society to avoid the implementation of a laissez-faire strategy based on post hoc reactions and actions.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the logic and differentiators of organizational positioning and planning of sustainability initiatives between private and public organizations in the healthcare industry. Sustainability initiatives refer to organizations' economic, social and environmental actions.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on an inductive approach judgmental sampling and in-depth interviews of executives at private and public hospitals in Spain have been used. Data were collected from the directors of communication at private hospitals, and from the executive in charge of corporate social responsibility in public hospitals. An empirical discourse analysis is used.FindingsThe positioning and planning of sustainability initiatives differs between private and public hospitals. The former consider sustainability as an option that is required mainly for social reasons, a bottom-up positioning and planning. It emerges merely spontaneously within the organization, while the sustainability initiatives in public hospitals are compulsory. They are imposed by the healthcare system within which the public hospital, operates and constitutes a top-down positioning and planning that is structured to accomplish set sustainability goals.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of this study is that it is undertaken exclusively in Spanish organizations from one industry. This study differs from previous ones in terms of exploring the positioning and planning of the sustainability initiatives, which focus on the organizational logic of such sustainability initiatives. There are both common denominators and differentiators between private and public hospitals.Practical implicationsThe logic of determining the positioning and planning of the sustainability initiatives is mainly about satisfying organizational needs and societal demands. Nowadays, organizations tend to engage in sustainability initiatives, so it is essential to understand the logic of how organizations position and plan such efforts.Originality/valueThis study investigates the path that follows sustainability initiatives in public and private organizations. It reports mainly differentiators between private and public organizations. It also contributes to explaining the organizational reasoning as to why companies make decisions about sustainability initiatives, an issue which has not been addressed sufficiently in existing theory studies.

Purpose
This study aims to examine the role of salespeople's skills in relative and absolute SP in business-to-business (B2B) settings of services firms. This conceptual logic reported in meta-analytical works, that salespeople's skills relate directly to their sales performance (SP), is questioned.


Design/methodology/approach
his research relies on existing theory and previous studies on SP drivers and SP measures. The literature identifies a set of common denominators on the role of salespeople's skills regarding their SP, all of which are tested in this study. Based on a deductive approach and questionnaire survey, 732 service firms in Norway were targeted. A total of 389 questionnaires were returned, generating a response rate of 53.1%.


Findings
A total of 10 out of 12 hypothesized relationships in the research model dealing with the relationship between SP drivers and SP turn out to be non-significant. The hypothesized relationship in the research model between relative and absolute SP is also supported.


Research limitations/implications
The results reported in this study, based on a large sample of service firms, empirically confirm that the direct effect is generally overestimated. Empirical evidence is provided that sheds additional light on the role of salespeople's skills in relative and absolute SP in B2B settings of services firms.


Practical implications
This study offers meaningful and relevant insights into the monitoring of SP drivers to practitioners in B2B sales settings of services firms. Salespeople need to learn about gathering knowledge in training programs about each customer and their specific situation. Firms should strive to recruit salespeople who possess the appropriate skills, taking into consideration their customers and specific situations related to them, such as experiences from competitors. Salespeople may be organized around similar customers and similar customer situations, rather than geographical assignments.


Originality/value
Overall, this research contributes insights into the role played by salespeople's skills in relative and absolute SP in B2B settings of services firms. In particular, the research contributes additional insights into the non-existent role of interpersonal presentation and communication skills, adaptiveness of sales approach and sales behavior skills and product/technology-related knowledge skills in salespeople's relative and absolute SP in B2B settings of services firms.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the similarities and differences relating to sustainability initiatives between health-care organizations. The aim is to provide a framework of factors and their determinants to enable a profiling of organizational sustainability initiatives.


Design/methodology/approach
Based on an inductive approach, judgmental sampling was applied to select relevant health-care organizations. Informants were identified according to their knowledge of their organizations' sustainability initiatives.


Findings
Several factors and their determinants for characterizing differences and similarities were found. The results also reveal that organizational sustainability initiatives are either value-driven or business-driven.


Research limitations/implications
The reported framework of factors and their determinants serves the purpose of profiling organizational sustainability initiatives. Opportunities for further research are provided.


Practical implications
This paper provides managerial guidance for characterizing the differences and similarities with respect to organizational sustainability initiatives in relation to other organizations.


Originality/value
This study establishes a framework for characterizing organizational sustainability initiatives. It also contributes to reveal whether organizational sustainability initiatives are value – or business-driven and considers intrinsic-oriented differences and extrinsic-oriented similarities.

Purpose
This study aims to propose a conceptual framework based on organisational and environmental indicators of business-to-business sellers' sales performance in services firms.


Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive research design was applied and data was gathered from 389 respondents across industries and different-sized services firms in Norway using a self-administered questionnaire.


Findings
Results show that the proposed six-dimensional framework of organisational and environmental indicators can be applied to manage seller–customer relationships in a business-to-business environment.


Research limitations/implications
A six-dimensional framework of organisational and environmental indicators is tested successfully in services firms.


Practical implications
Increasingly, services firms will need to work closely with business-to-business sellers to proactively adapt to market changes through a co-creation approach to build long-term seller–customer relationships.


Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, no previous study has focused on relationship marketing in business-to-business relationships that proposes a conceptual framework based on organisational and environmental indicators of business-to-business sellers' sales performance in services firms.