Sharing of value in business relationships:a theoretical model

This paper explores the sharing of value in business transactions. Although there is an increased usage of the terminology of value in marketing (such concepts as value based selling and pricing), as well as in purchasing (value-based purchasing), the definition of the term is still vague. In order to better understand the definition of value, the author’s argue that it is important to understand the sharing of value, in general and the element of power for the sharing of value in particular. The aim of this paper is to add to this debate and this requires us to critique the current models. The key process that the analysis of power will help to explain is the division of the available revenue stream flowing up the chain from the buyer's customers. If the buyer and supplier do not cooperate, then power will be key in the sharing of that money flow. If buyers and suppliers fully cooperate, they may be able to reduce their costs and/or increase the quality of the sales offering the buyer makes to their customer.

The effectiveness of workplace coaching:A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes; scale development; theoretical model of individual differences and longitudinal study

The extant literature on workplace coaching is characterised by a lack of theoretical and empirical understanding regarding the effectiveness of coaching as a learning and development tool; the types of outcomes one can expect from coaching; the tools that can be used to measure coaching outcomes; the underlying processes that explain why and how coaching works and the factors that may impact on coaching effectiveness. This thesis sought to address these substantial gaps in the literature with three linked studies. Firstly, a meta-analysis of workplace coaching effectiveness (k = 17), synthesizing the existing research was presented. A framework of coaching outcomes was developed and utilised to code the studies. Analysis indicated that coaching had positive effects on all outcomes. Next, the framework of outcomes was utilised as the deductive start-point to the development of the scale measuring perceived coaching effectiveness. Utilising a multi-stage approach (n = 201), the analysis indicated that perceived coaching effectiveness may be organised into a six factor structure: career clarity; team performance; work well-being; performance; planning and organizing and personal effectiveness and adaptability. The final study was a longitudinal field experiment to test a theoretical model of individual differences and coaching effectiveness developed in this thesis. An organizational sample of 84 employees each participated in a coaching intervention, completed self-report surveys, and had their job performance rated by peers, direct reports and supervisors (a total of 352 employees provided data on participant performance). The results demonstrate that compared to a control group, the coaching intervention generated a number of positive outcomes. The analysis indicated that coachees’ enthusiasm, intellect and orderliness influenced the impact of coaching on outcomes. Mediation analysis suggested that mastery goal orientation, performance goal orientation and approach motivation in the form of behavioural activation system (BAS) drive, were significant mediators between personality and outcomes. Overall, the findings of this thesis make an original contribution to the understanding of the types of outcomes that can be expected from coaching, and the magnitude of impact coaching has on outcomes. The thesis also provides a tool for reliably measuring coaching effectiveness and a theoretical model to understand the influence of coachee individual differences on coaching outcomes.

Majority versus minority influence, message processing and attitude change:the Source-Context-Elaboration Model

This chapter examines the contexts in which people will process more deeply, and therefore be more influenced by, a position that is supported by either a numerical majority or minority. The chapter reviews the major theories of majority and minority influence with reference to which source condition is associated with most message processing (and where relevant, the contexts under which this occurs) and experimental research examining these predictions. The chapter then presents a new theoretical model (the source-context-elaboration model, SCEM) that aims to integrate the disparate research findings. The model specifies the processes underlying majority and minority influence, the contexts under which these processes occur and the consequences for attitudes changed by majority and minority influence. The chapter then describes a series of experiments that address each of the aspects of the theoretical model. Finally, a range of research-related issues are discussed and future issues for the research area as a whole are considered.

Theoretical study of Talbot-like bands observed using a laser diode below threshold

We report on a theoretical study of an interferometric system in which half of a collimated beam from a broadband optical source is intercepted by a glass slide, the whole beam subsequently being incident on a diffraction grating and the resulting spectrum being viewed using a linear CCD array. Using Fourier theory, we derive the expression of the intensity distribution across the CCD array. This expression is then examined for non-cavity and cavity sources for different cases determined by the direction from which the slide is inserted into the beam and the source bandwidth. The theoretical model shows that the narrower the source linewidth, the higher the deviation of the Talbot bands' visibility (as it is dependent on the path imbalance) from the previously known triangular shape. When the source is a laser diode below threshold, the structure of the CCD signal spectrum is very complex. The number of components present simultaneously increases with the number of grating lines and decreases with the laser cavity length. The model also predicts the appearance of bands in situations not usually associated with Talbot bands.

Experimental and theoretical studies on a distributed temperature sensor based on Brillouin scattering

Results are reported from recent research on the use of the Brillouin gain/loss mechanism for distributed sensing. A theoretical model of the interaction of the pulsed and CW beams is described and compared with experiments. Results from a system with a 51 km sensing length are presented. We finally investigate issues related to the variation within the sensing fiber of the polarizations of the two beams.

Theoretical modelling of the sulcated spring

Replacement of the traditional coil spring with one of more fibre-reinforced plastic sulcated springs is a future possibility. Spring designers of metallic coil springs have design formulae readily available, and software packages specific to coil spring design exist. However, the sulcated spring is at the prototype stage of development, so literature on these springs is very sparse. The thesis contains information on the market for sulcated springs, and their advantages and disadvantages. Literature on other types of fibre reinforced plastic springs has also been reviewed. Design software has been developed for the sulcated spring along similar lines to coil spring design software. In order to develop the software, a theoretical model had to be developed which formed the mathematical basis for the software. The theoretical model is based on a choice of four methods for calculating the flexural rigidity; beam theory, plate theory, and lamination theory assuming isotropic and orthoropic material properties. Experimental results for strain and spring stiffness have been compared with the theoretical model, and were in good agreement. Included in the design software are the results of experimental work on fatigue, and design limiting factors to prevent or warn against impractical designs. Finite element analysis has been used to verify the theoretical model developed, and to find the better approximation to the experimental results. Applications and types of assemblies for the sulcated spring were discussed. Sulcated spring designs for the automotive applications of a suspension, clutch and engine valve spring were found using the design computer software. These sulcated spring designs were within or close to the space of the existing coil spring and yield the same performance. Finally the commercial feasibility of manufacturing the sulcated spring was assessed and compared with the coil spring, to evaluate the plausibility of the sulcated spring replacing the coil spring eventually.

The definition, theoretical modelling and empirical research of front-line service employee corporate identity within a UK national grocery retailer:determining the FLE corporate brand identification construct

Over the past forty years the corporate identity literature has developed to a point of maturity where it currently contains many definitions and models of the corporate identity construct at the organisational level. The literature has evolved by developing models of corporate identity or in considering corporate identity in relation to new and developing themes, e.g. corporate social responsibility. It has evolved into a multidisciplinary domain recently incorporating constructs from other literature to further its development. However, the literature has a number of limitations. It remains that an overarching and universally accepted definition of corporate identity is elusive, potentially leaving the construct with a lack of clear definition. Only a few corporate identity definitions and models, at the corporate level, have been empirically tested. The corporate identity construct is overwhelmingly defined and theoretically constructed at the corporate level, leaving the literature without a detailed understanding of its influence at an individual stakeholder level. Front-line service employees (FLEs), form a component in a number of corporate identity models developed at the organisational level. FLEs deliver the services of an organisation to its customers, as well as represent the organisation by communicating and transporting its core defining characteristics to customers through continual customer contact and interaction. This person-to-person contact between an FLE and the customer is termed a service encounter, where service encounters influence a customer’s perception of both the service delivered and the associated level of service quality. Therefore this study for the first time defines, theoretically models and empirically tests corporate identity at the individual FLE level, termed FLE corporate identity. The study uses the services marketing literature to characterise an FLE’s operating environment, arriving at five potential dimensions to the FLE corporate identity construct. These are scrutinised against existing corporate identity definitions and models to arrive at a definition for the construct. In reviewing the corporate identity, services marketing, branding and organisational psychology literature, a theoretical model is developed for FLE corporate identity, which is empirically and quantitatively tested, with FLEs in seven stores of a major national retailer. Following rigorous construct reliability and validity testing, the 601 usable responses are used to estimate a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model for the study. The results for the individual hypotheses and the structural model are very encouraging, as they fit the data well and support a definition of FLE corporate identity. This study makes contributions to the branding, services marketing and organisational psychology literature, but its principal contribution is to extend the corporate identity literature into a new area of discourse and research, that of FLE corporate identity

Experimental and theoretical studies on a distributed temperature sensor based on Brillouin scattering

Results are reported from recent research on the use of the Brillouin gain/loss mechanism for distributed sensing. A theoretical model of the interaction of the pulsed and CW beams is described and compared with experiments. Results from a system with a 51 km sensing length are presented. We finally investigate issues related to the variation within the sensing fiber of the polarizations of the two beams.

Theoretical study of Talbot-like bands observed using a laser diode below threshold

We report on a theoretical study of an interferometric system in which half of a collimated beam from a broadband optical source is intercepted by a glass slide, the whole beam subsequently being incident on a diffraction grating and the resulting spectrum being viewed using a linear CCD array. Using Fourier theory, we derive the expression of the intensity distribution across the CCD array. This expression is then examined for non-cavity and cavity sources for different cases determined by the direction from which the slide is inserted into the beam and the source bandwidth. The theoretical model shows that the narrower the source linewidth, the higher the deviation of the Talbot bands' visibility (as it is dependent on the path imbalance) from the previously known triangular shape. When the source is a laser diode below threshold, the structure of the CCD signal spectrum is very complex. The number of components present simultaneously increases with the number of grating lines and decreases with the laser cavity length. The model also predicts the appearance of bands in situations not usually associated with Talbot bands.

Experimental and theoretical studies on a distributed temperature sensor based on Brillouin scattering

Results are reported from recent research on the use of the Brillouin gain/loss mechanism for distributed sensing. A theoretical model of the interaction of the pulsed and CW beams is described and compared with experiments. Results from a system with a 51 km sensing length are presented. We finally investigate issues related to the variation within the sensing fiber of the polarizations of the two beams.

Institutions matter: essays on the determinants and consequences of socio-political institutions

ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT This thesis seeks to contribute to the socio-political literature. It comprises of three individual chapters examining the determinants and consequences of different social-political institutional factors. Specifically, the first study combines game theoretical and empirical techniques to examine how bureaucrats favour other agents within their social group and the effects this will have on the level of corruption in the economy. To this end, I develop a simple model of allocation of time between economic activities and leisure (time spent building social network ties), to illustrate the underlying causal mechanism between social network and corruption. It shows that large social networks and low levels of economic activities provides the condition for high levels of corruption. However, the ability of the government to punish corruption through well-established laws and property rights enforcement acts as a deterrent to corruption. he second work also combines game theoretical and empirical techniques. It aims to clarify the relationship between the degree of competition and political influence of firms, paying particular attention to the level of government regulations that exist in the countries in which the firms operates. The interplay between economic and political institutions is vital to any analysis on understanding the workings of political influence. The third study is purely empirical. It examines the role of two types of business network, namely, political connections and business group affiliations on a firm’s performance. Evidence was provided on Chinese firms’ performance during the 2008 financial crisis.

Theoretical modeling and experimental validation of fluid-loaded micro rectangular plates

This paper presents a theoretical model on the vibration analysis of micro scale fluid-loaded rectangular isotropic plates, based on the Lamb's assumption of fluid-structure interaction and the Rayleigh-Ritz energy method. An analytical solution for this model is proposed, which can be applied to most cases of boundary conditions. The dynamical experimental data of a series of microfabricated silicon plates are obtained using a base-excitation dynamic testing facility. The natural frequencies and mode shapes in the experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical simulations for the lower order modes. The presented theoretical and experimental investigations on the vibration characteristics of the micro scale plates are of particular interest in the design of microplate based biosensing devices. Copyright © 2009 by ASME.