»The German likes quarrelling.« Conflict and belonging in German diasporic communities around 1900

Discourses of inclusion and exclusion were an integral part of German nation building after 1871. The paper shows that they were not confined to the metropole but were, in fact, reciprocated abroad. Selected instances of conflict within German migrant communities around the world are taken as a springboard to analyze public contestations of (trans-)national belonging. The sources abound with gossip, aggressive bickering, and official complaints to authorities. Contentious issues cover the areas of politics, religion, class, and language. The case studies engage critically with a number of wider issues. First, they question contemporaneous interpretations of an Imperial diaspora as a unified and Heimat-oriented block. Second, on a theoretical level the article argues that internal ruptures are constitutive elements of diaspora construction and should be considered in concomitant theorizations. Third, the case studies highlight the close connection between diaspora and nation building. Fourth, the discourses studied did not only take place within communities, but also between them, as well as with the metropole, all in multi-directional ways. Questions of belonging were discussed around the world with strikingly similar arguments and terminology. Globalization was at work at the discourse level.

Unity in Christ or Pan-Europeanism?:Nathan Söderblom and the ecumenical peace movement in the interwar period

In the summer of 2014 the Swedish Church is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the appointment of Nathan Söderblom as archbishop of Uppsala, and thus head of the Swedish church organisation. As a Lutheran with an enormously broad-minded and broad-reaching approach to ecumenical understanding and community-building, Söderblom shot to prominence in the interwar period not only because of his ecumenical engagement, calling for an evangelical catholicity so stand side by side with the Roman catholic and Orthodox catholic traditions, but also because of his comprehensive secular engagement for peace and understanding between peoples. In the latter context he also acquired a solid reputation as a perhaps less prominent but still noteworthy figure in the history of European integration. This article investigates how, why and to what extent Söderblom’s ecumenical and secular engagements were intertwined. The first part discusses how his biographical and academic background led to such staunch ecumenical positions, while the second part focuses on the secular engagement, which was perceived by Söderblom as necessary to make progress on the ecumenical front in the practical political realities of the 1920s. The final part, comparing and contrasting Söderblom’s views with those of Count Richard von Coudenhove-Calergi and the Pan-European Union, demonstrates why Söderblom’s engagement for Europe had to be limited: unity in Christ is by definition global in nature and therefore cannot be continent-specific.

Evaluating productive efficiency:comparative study of commercial banks in Gulf countries

Financial institutes are an integral part of any modern economy. In the 1970s and 1980s, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries made significant progress in financial deepening and in building a modern financial infrastructure. This study aims to evaluate the performance (efficiency) of financial institutes (banking sector) in GCC countries. Since, the selected variables include negative data for some banks and positive for others, and the available evaluation methods are not helpful in this case, so we developed a Semi Oriented Radial Model to perform this evaluation. Furthermore, since the SORM evaluation result provides a limited information for any decision maker (bankers, investors, etc...), we proposed a second stage analysis using classification and regression (C&R) method to get further results combining SORM results with other environmental data (Financial, economical and political) to set rules for the efficient banks, hence, the results will be useful for bankers in order to improve their bank performance and to the investors, maximize their returns. Mainly there are two approaches to evaluate the performance of Decision Making Units (DMUs), under each of them there are different methods with different assumptions. Parametric approach is based on the econometric regression theory and nonparametric approach is based on a mathematical linear programming theory. Under the nonparametric approaches, there are two methods: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Free Disposal Hull (FDH). While there are three methods under the parametric approach: Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA); Thick Frontier Analysis (TFA) and Distribution-Free Analysis (DFA). The result shows that DEA and SFA are the most applicable methods in banking sector, but DEA is seem to be most popular between researchers. However DEA as SFA still facing many challenges, one of these challenges is how to deal with negative data, since it requires the assumption that all the input and output values are non-negative, while in many applications negative outputs could appear e.g. losses in contrast with profit. Although there are few developed Models under DEA to deal with negative data but we believe that each of them has it is own limitations, therefore we developed a Semi-Oriented-Radial-Model (SORM) that could handle the negativity issue in DEA. The application result using SORM shows that the overall performance of GCC banking is relatively high (85.6%). Although, the efficiency score is fluctuated over the study period (1998-2007) due to the second Gulf War and to the international financial crisis, but still higher than the efficiency score of their counterpart in other countries. Banks operating in Saudi Arabia seem to be the highest efficient banks followed by UAE, Omani and Bahraini banks, while banks operating in Qatar and Kuwait seem to be the lowest efficient banks; this is because these two countries are the most affected country in the second Gulf War. Also, the result shows that there is no statistical relationship between the operating style (Islamic or Conventional) and bank efficiency. Even though there is no statistical differences due to the operational style, but Islamic bank seem to be more efficient than the Conventional bank, since on average their efficiency score is 86.33% compare to 85.38% for Conventional banks. Furthermore, the Islamic banks seem to be more affected by the political crisis (second Gulf War), whereas Conventional banks seem to be more affected by the financial crisis.

Consumer price knowledge in the German retail market

Price knowledge as a construct has been one of the top behavioral pricing themes in the last four decades, especially in the Anglo-American literature. In Germany, scientists have paid relatively little attention to this topic during the last 15 years – with some notable exceptions. Therefore, this study analyzes German consumers' price knowledge and, by doing so, replicates and extends existing international work. After reviewing earlier attempts at assessing the construct, a measure is developed for the price estimation error “PEE”, based on explicit price knowledge stored in long-term memory. Results, including data from about 1,000 consumers on 69 products from a German retail chain, indicate that price knowledge in Germany is relatively low. Based on that observation, implications for the management are discussed.

When moving information online diminishes change:advisory services to SMEs

Improving the performance of private sector small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in a cost effective manner is a major concern for government. Governments have saved costs by moving information online rather than through more expensive face-to-face exchanges between advisers and clients. Building on previous work that distinguished between types of advice, this article evaluates whether these changes to delivery mechanisms affect the type of advice received. Using a multinomial logit model of 1334 cases of business advice to small firms collected in England, the study found that advice to improve capabilities was taken by smaller firms who were less likely to have limited liability or undertake business planning. SMEs sought word-of-mouth referrals before taking internal, capability-enhancing advice. This is also the case when that advice was part of a wider package of assistance involving both internal and external aspects. Only when firms took advice that used extant capabilities did they rely on the Internet. Therefore, when the Internet is privileged over face-to-face advice the changes made by each recipient of advice are likely to diminish causing less impact from advice within the economy. It implies that fewer firms will adopt the sorts of management practices that would improve their productivity. © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

The global plant location decision

The global plant location decision is important since it involves the allocation of significant resources and may influence the long term competitiveness of firms. The decision is also complex, taking into account a wide range of factors. The decision should involve the consideration of both international business issues as well as manufacturing strategy. Firms may be seeking access to markets, to low cost labour, or new skills and competencies. In the past there has been some emphasis on firms offshoring production to lower cost regions. Case studies from the authors’ experience of advising clients in this decision show that for ‘luxury’ products, firms have chosen to invest further capacity in home country engineering and manufacturing to maintain quality and brand integrity, despite the fact that these locations are higher cost. On the other hand, for ‘standard’ products, firms have located additional capacity closer to target markets to access lower costs.

The Romanian Orthodox Church

At first glance, the nationalist ideology of the French Revolution seems to have had little impact on the Orthodox Church in Romanian-speaking territories. Romanians were the predominant inhabitants of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia and the neighboring territories of Transylvania (including Crişana, Maramureş and Banat), Bukovina, Bessarabia, and Dobrudja. The majority of ethnic Romanians belonged to the Orthodox faith while their communities were at the intersection of geopo liti cal interests of the Rus sian, Ottoman, and Habsburg empires. In 1859 the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia (known as the Old Kingdom between 1866 and 1918) united into a single state under the rule of a local prince. The term "Romania" began to be used by the new state in its of cial documents in 1862. Two years later, the state supported the declaration of a Romanian autocephalous (in de pen dent) church that was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1885. As an integrative part of the Orthodox commonwealth, the church was situated between the competing jurisdictions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Rus sian Orthodox Church, while its declaration of autocephaly followed a pattern in the spread of national churches in Southeastern Europe. From the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji of 1774 to the beginning of the Greek War for In de pen dence in 1821, the Romanian principalities were under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, which had full control of their po liti cal and economic affairs. The sultan appointed princes, and the Porte determined their po liti cal and judicial status. The princes were drawn from the "Phanariots," and were directly appointed by the Porte from preponderantly Greek elite rather than the Romanian local elite, the boyars (boieri).1 In each principality, the church was headed by a metropolitan who was under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. That religion mattered to local population as a means of social cohesion was suggestively depicted by Anatole de Demidoff, an En glish traveler in the region in 1837. Arriving in Bucharest, the capital of Wallachia, he claimed that: I know of no city in Europe in which it is possible to find more agreeable society, or in which there is a better tone, united with the most charming gaiety⋯. Religion, which is here of the schismatic Greek creed, does not, properly speaking, hold any great empire over the minds of the Wallachian people, but they observe its outward forms, and particularly the austerities of fasting, with scrupulous exactitude. The people are seen to attend divine ser vice with every sign of respect, and the great number of churches existing in Wallachia, bear witness to the ardent zeal with which outward worship is honored.2 The Romanian Orthodox Church was a national institution, closely linked to social, economic, and po liti cal structures. In most cases, Orthodox hierarchs were appointed from the families of boyars, thus ensuring a close relationship with the state authorities and its policies. As one of the largest landowners in the principalities, the church had a prime role in administrating healthcare and education. Although the majority of the clergy was uneducated, it dispensed both ecclesiastical and civil justice and in many cases worked closely with boyars in local administration.3 The lower clergy not only contributed directly to the economy but also benefited from tax privileges. Some small villages had an unusually high proportion of clergy in comparison to the overall population. For example, in 1810, Stənisləveşti, a village in the south of Wallachia, was composed of eleven houses and had two priests, five deacons, and three cantors; similarly, the Frəsinet village of nineteen houses had two priests and five deacons.4 Although these cases were exceptional, they indicate both the economic value of being a member of the clergy and the wider canonical dimension of church jurisdiction. The special status of the clergy was reflected not only at lower but also at higher levels. Bishops and metropolitans engaged with state policy and in many cases opposition to the authorities led to the loss of a spiritual seat. The metropolitan of each principality worked with the prince and was president of the divan, the gathering of all boyars. He held the right to be the first person to comment on state policy and to make recommendations when the prince was absent. The metropolitan replaced the prince when the principality had no political ruler, such as in the cases of Metropolitan Veniamin Costachi of Moldavia in 1806 and Metropolitan Dositei Filitti of Wallachia, while the bishops of Buzəu and Argeş were members of the provisional government during the Rus sian occupation of the principalities in 1808. The higher clergy had both religious and political prerogatives in relation to foreign powers as evident in their heading of the boyars' delegation to peace negotiation between the Rus sian and Ottoman empires at Focşani in 1772 and addressing memoranda to the Austrian and Rus sian governments in 1802.5 The primary role of the church in the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia was paralleled by the national mobilization of Orthodox communities in the neighboring territories that had Romanian inhabitants. Although throughout the region Orthodox communities were incorporated into church structures as part of the Habsburg, Austrian or Rus sian empires, the nineteenth century was characterized by the leadership's search for political autonomy and the building of a Romanian national identity. The Orthodox communities outside the Old Kingdom maintained relations with the faithful in principalities across the Carpathian Mountains and the Dniester River and sought support in their struggle for political and religious rights.

Governmental social media use for emergency communication

The possibility of crowdsourced information, multi-geographical and multi-organisational information flows during emergencies and crises provided by web 2.0 tools are providing emergency management centres with new communication challenges and opportunities. Building on the existing emergency management and social media literature, this article explores how institutions are using and adopting social media for emergency communication. By examining the drivers and barriers of social media adoption in two European governmental agencies dealing with emergencies, the paper aims to establish a framework to examine whether and how institutional resilience could be improved.

Consumer response to gift promotions

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to better understand the factors that influence consumers' responses toward gift promotions. Specifically, the aim is to analyse four variables: the nature of the promoted product, the fit between the product and the gift, the type of brand used in the promotion and the deal-proneness. Design/methodology/approach: In an experimental context, 247 subjects were randomly assigned to a 2 (product type: utilitarian vs hedonic)×2 (gift type: utilitarian vs hedonic)×2 (brand type: high equity vs medium equity) between-subjects factorial design. Findings: Results indicate that the nature of the promoted product does not influence consumer response. Overall evaluation of gift promotions is more favourable when simultaneously the brand promoted has high equity and the fit between the promoted product and the gift is high. Offering a gift that fits with the product and using high equity brands is a wise strategy to positively influence purchase intentions. Findings also show that deal proneness has a positive impact on purchase intentions. Research limitations/implications: A limited set of product categories, gifts and brands were used. Future research should also examine other variables and use a representative sample. Practical implications: Findings provide useful guidelines for the design of gift promotions. Originality/value: Most previous research has focused on monetary promotions with little about non-monetary promotions. This paper addresses this gap by analysing consumers' responses to gift promotions incorporating key determinants in the analysis. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Bringing engineering education to life:an empirical approach

This paper focuses upon the argument that the role played by the engineering profession within today's society has changed markedly over the past several years from providing the foundations for contemporary life to leading societal change and becoming one of the key driver's of future social development. Coining the term 'Engineering-Sociology' this paper contributes to engineering education and engineering education research by proposing a new paradigm upon which future engineering education programmes and engineering education research might build. Developed out of an approach to learning and teaching practice, Engineering-Sociology encapsulates both traditional and applied approaches to engineering education and engineering education research. It suggests that in order to meet future challenges there is a need to bring together what are generally perceived to be two diametrically opposed paradigms, namely engineering and sociology. Building on contemporary theoretical and pedagogical arguments in engineering education research, the paper concludes that by encouraging engineering educators to 'think differently', Engineering-Sociology can provide an approach to learning and teaching that both enhances the student experience and meets the changing needs of society.

Consumer brand equity : a model for the measurement, analysis and evaluation of consumer perceived value

The topic of my research is consumer brand equity (CBE). My thesis is that the success or otherwise of a brand is better viewed from the consumers’ perspective. I specifically focus on consumers as a unique group of stakeholders whose involvement with brands is crucial to the overall success of branding strategy. To this end, this research examines the constellation of ideas on brand equity that have hitherto been offered by various scholars. Through a systematic integration of the concepts and practices identified but these scholars (concepts and practices such as: competitiveness, consumer searching, consumer behaviour, brand image, brand relevance, consumer perceived value, etc.), this research identifies CBE as a construct that is shaped, directed and made valuable by the beliefs, attitudes and the subjective preferences of consumers. This is done by examining the criteria on the basis of which the consumers evaluate brands and make brand purchase decisions. Understanding the criteria by which consumers evaluate brands is crucial for several reasons. First, as the basis upon which consumers select brands changes with consumption norms and technology, understanding the consumer choice process will help in formulating branding strategy. Secondly, an understanding of these criteria will help in formulating a creative and innovative agenda for ‘new brand’ propositions. Thirdly, it will also influence firms’ ability to simulate and mould the plasticity of demand for existing brands. In examining these three issues, this thesis presents a comprehensive account of CBE. This is because the first issue raised in the preceding paragraph deals with the content of CBE. The second issue addresses the problem of how to develop a reliable and valid measuring instrument for CBE. The third issue examines the structural and statistical relationships between the factors of CBE and the consequences of CBE on consumer perceived value (CPV). Using LISREL-SIMPLIS 8.30, the study finds direct and significant influential links between consumer brand equity and consumer value perception.

Exploring the influences of internal branding on employees' brand promise delivery

Internal branding is increasingly seen as a doctrine to ensure employees’ delivery of the brand promise by shaping employees’ brand attitudes and behaviours. However, few studies, if any, have been conducted to understand the internal branding process from the viewpoint of employees who are the end receivers. Therefore, this study aims at exploring employees’ perceptions toward the internal branding process. It identifies the relevant mechanisms and describes how internal branding affected service employees. The challenges of its success are uncovered and discussed. Finally, managerial implications and future research directions are provided.

Developing and applying a place brand identity model:the case of Slovenia

This paper reviews the concept of place brand identity within the supply side aspect of place branding. With no widely accepted model of place brand identity, the paper proposes a new model, which has its roots in marketing, tourism and sociological theory. The model focuses on the country brand of Slovenia, representing the first systematic branding process in Slovenia's short history. The development of a research program followed a holistic approach involving key influencers and enactment stakeholders. This novel approach has several advantages over the previously uncoordinated country branding attempts. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.