Emergent Conceptual Framework Research Articles

Marketing innovation for sustainability: Review, trends, and way forward

AbstractSustainable development goals are aligning marketing innovations to meet sustainability interventions. Recently, marketing has evolved to incorporate sustainability in outreach objectives. Heightened literature on the interplay between sustainability, innovations, and marketing demands a holistic understanding to guide future research direction. The current review bridges the research gap using quantitative performance analysis and qualitative intellectual structure analysis. The thematic and content analysis points towards permeating sustainability focus across the business verticals and value chain for differentiated brand positioning and sustainability‐based competitive advantage. The emergent conceptual framework underpins the moderated‐mediation role of sustainability and economic enablers with marketing initiatives to promote business innovations beneficial to all stakeholders. The sustainability‐aligned innovations in products and processes reflect in gaining cost advantage, revenue generation, access to newer markets, and differentiation. It can be inferred from the study that sustainability and conducive marketing strategies can co‐create value across the value chain, providing tangible and non‐tangible corporate payoffs. This cross‐section in the research domain calls for environmental and business focus at the micro and macro levels, supported by pro‐business strategies, system efficiencies, productivity, and technological changes in synergy with the societal landscape. The findings discern strategic directions for practitioners to chart out an organizational portfolio centered around marketing innovations to create business value for the shareholders and sustainability value for the stakeholders, ecosystem, and society. The conceptual framework can help academicians comprehend the business model around sustainability, innovations, and marketing. The evolutionary mapping of the research domain can be used to discern corporate or macro‐level policies and transcend reforms aligned to the dynamic market/stakeholder expectations.

Understanding the Conceptualization and Operationalization of Trauma-Informed Care Within and Across Systems: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis.

Increased recognition of the epidemiology of trauma and its impact on individuals within and across human service delivery systems has contributed to the development of trauma-informed care (TIC). How TIC can be conceptualized and implemented, however, remains unclear. This study seeks to review and analyze the TIC literature from within and across systems of care and to generate a conceptual framework regarding TIC. Our study followed a critical interpretive synthesis methodology. We searched multiple databases (Campbell Collaboration, Econlit, Health Systems Evidence, Embase, ERIC, HealthSTAR, IPSA, JSTOR, Medline, PsychINFO, Social Sciences Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts and Web of Science),as well as relevant gray literature and information-rich websites. We used a coding tool, adapted to the TIC literature, for data extraction. Electronic database searches yielded 2,439 results and after inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied, a purposive sample of 98 information-rich articles was generated. Conceptual clarity and definitional understanding of TIC is lacking in the literature, which has led to poor operationalization of TIC. Additionally, infrastructural and ideological barriers, such as insufficient funding and service provider "buy-in," have hindered TIC implementation. The resulting conceptual framework defines trauma and depicts critical elements of vertical TIC, including the bidirectional relationship between the trauma-affected individual and the system, and horizontal TIC, which requires intersectoral collaboration, an established referral network, and standardized TIC language. Successful operationalization of TIC requires policies that address current gaps in systems arrangements, such as the lack of funding structures for TIC, and political factors, such as the role of policy legacies. The emergent conceptual framework acknowledges critical factors affecting operationalization.

Making the customer experience journey more hedonic in a traditionally utilitarian service context: a case study

PurposeThis article aims to provide an understanding of how utilitarian services can make the customer experience more hedonic.Design/methodology/approachThe author performs an in-depth case study of a leading wealth management firm that is reinventing its business model to incorporate a hedonic perspective into experience design.FindingsThe findings reveal how a traditionally utilitarian firm integrates hedonic elements into the customer experience. The findings describe and expose how four experience design characteristics are interactively linked to form a customer journey model, from eliciting emotional engagement to trigger rapid enrolment through to individualising the experience to drive purchase.Research limitations/implicationsThis research takes the perspective of the firm to explore the research question. No customer data are collected.Practical implicationsThe article provides evidence-based recommendations that can serve as a platform to develop an action plan for designing and deploying hedonic elements in the customer experience in utilitarian contexts.Originality/valueThis study challenges the dichotomy between utilitarian and hedonic services. It derives an empirically grounded understanding of an intended experience that combines design characteristics associated with both the utilitarian and hedonic model at different stages of the customer journey. The emergent conceptual framework describes and links these design characteristics to enact the customer journey. Together, these empirical insights extend and enrich existing knowledge and provide actionable recommendations for managers.

Management in the Performing Arts: An Empirical Exploration of Organizational Structures in Indian Theatre

It is well established that organizational structure is critical to the performance of organizations. For performing arts organizations, especially from developing countries such as India, mere survival is a struggle and sustainability becomes a vital goal before the achievement of mission. Our emergent conceptual framework, based on a grounded theory study of six theatre organizations, sheds light on aspects of organizational structure that have contributed to organizational sustainability. Theatre organizations in India are highly dependent on a small core group, often comprising founders or founding families, and rely on strong personal networks in the arts sector. They are supported by membership that is flexible and project-oriented, and organizational boundaries are relatively porous. An exploration of performing arts in the Indian context offers valuable points of comparison to the nature of organizational structures of arts organizations in the West, as evidenced by Western literature.

Theorizing “Wicked Concept” and Reconceptualizing Wisdom as Wicked

The emergent conceptual framework of wicked problems has garnered much attention in academic discourse, including geography. By refining and drawing insights from tenets of the wicked problem concept, this article posits a “wicked concept” usefully defined through five propositions: Wicked concepts are difficult to define and have no universal meaning; there is an unending quest for a universal definition of wicked concepts; definitions and conceptualizations of wicked concepts are neither true nor false; all wicked concepts’ components are fundamentally unique; and wicked concepts are multidimensional. Although not exhaustive, our list of propositions aims to generate intellectual discourse on the usefulness of the wicked concept as a conceptual framework with which to analyze concepts marked with such ambiguities. Using the concept of wisdom as a reference point, we argue that academic knowledge production—particularly as it relates to wisdom—would benefit significantly from being reconceptualized as wicked.

"Co-production Compass" (COCO): An Analytical Framework for Monitoring Patient Preferences in Co-production of Healthcare Services in Mental Health Settings.

Background: Engaging patients in raising their voices to advocate for their priorities being taken into account is today acknowledged as essential to improve research and decision-making in healthcare. However, literature is scarce regarding an evaluation framework to monitor the extent to which this approach is successful, in particular in mental health, where the application of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) is particularly difficult. In this study, we describe the process of development and first implementation of a new assessment framework—“Co-production Compass” (COCO) framework—for monitoring patient preference collection in co-production of healthcare services within the scope of a national-based project (namely, Recovery.Net) in the mental health field.Method: We conducted (1) a narrative scan of relevant scientific literature on patient engagement in service co-production and (2) qualitative analysis of five subsequent workshops involving—in total−144 expert stakeholders (i.e., expert patients, doctors, nurses, psychologists, healthcare managers…). Data analysis involved three phases: identifying the themes, developing a framework, and confirming the framework. We coded and organized the data and abstracted, illustrated, described, and explored the emergent themes using thematic analysis. At the same time, content analysis was conducted to retrieve concepts and insights from relevant literature about health services co-production to integrate and extend the emergent conceptual framework. The framework was finally reviewed by the research partners belonging to the study project and preliminarily implemented.Results: According to the results of both the literature scan and the participatory workshops, the COCO evaluation framework for monitoring patient preference collection when coproducing medical pathways was drafted. The framework comprised of three organizing themes, corresponding to the three code clusters, which emerged from both the stakeholders' workshop data and relevant scientific literature: “the need for shared and practice-oriented evaluation standards”; “the quest for a multi-dominion approach”; “the need for a multi-stakeholder evaluation”. These themes were interconnected and formed a conceptual framework to measure the phenomenon of meaningful patient involvement in healthcare co-production. This framework was endorsed by the research partners of the project and preliminarily applied in a mental health setting.Conclusion: The COCO framework provides guidance on aspects of co-production in healthcare to address for meaningful patient involvement in giving their inputs for more effective service and drug development processes. It could be particularly useful when monitoring patient–researcher partnership initiatives.

Social movements thinking for managing change in large-scale systems

PurposeThis study explores the efficacy of social movements thinking for mobilizing resources toward sustainable change in large-scale systems such as health and social services.Design/methodology/approachThe study proceeds from a critical realist perspective employing a qualitative multi-case study approach. Drawing on the tenets of grounded theory (i.e. constant comparative analysis and theoretical sampling), data from semi-structured interviews and field notes were analyzed to facilitate theoretical integration and elaboration.FindingsOne case study explores the emergence of social movements thinking in mobilizing a community to engage in sustainable system change. Data analysis revealed a three-stage conceptual framework whereby building momentum for change requires a fundamental shift in culture through openness and engagement to challenge the status quo by acknowledging not only the apparent problems to be addressed but also the residual apathy and cynicism holding the system captive to entrenched ideas and behaviors. By challenging the status quo, energy shifts and momentum builds as the community discovers shared values and goals. Achieving a culture shift of this magnitude requires leadership that is embedded within the community, with a personal commitment to that community and with the deep listening skills necessary to understand and engage the community and the wider system in moving forward into change. This emergent conceptual framework is then used to compare and discuss more intentional applications of social movements thinking for mobilizing resources for large-scale system change.Originality/valueThis study offers a three-stage conceptual framework for mobilizing community/system resources toward sustainable large-scale system change. The comparative application of this framework to more intentional applications of social movements thinking to planned change initiatives offers insights and lessons to be learned when large-scale systems attempt to apply such principles in redesigning health and social service systems.

Using group concept mapping to explore the complexities of managing children's care.

Children whose assessed health needs cannot be met by statutory and universal services may require bespoke packages of continuing care. A project management group was set up to design a study that would explore the complexities for a children's community nurse (CCN) of managing such packages. Group concept mapping (GCM), a mixed quantitative/qualitative participant-centred methodology, was used to obtain consensus from 20 CCNs about the complexities inherent in managing such packages and to develop a concept map that illustrated the emerging conceptual framework. The participants' ideas were written as statements and analysed. Core analysis of a square symmetrical matrix through multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis was undertaken to produce a set of maps and reports. The final concept map was interpreted. It contained 99 statements organised into five conceptual clusters: 'education and training' (17 statements), 'risk and safety' (15 statements), 'continuing care process' (17 statements), 'relationships and boundaries' (22 statements) and 'working with families' (28 statements). CCNs used GCM to explore their roles and responsibilities when managing children's continuing care. Their resulting ideas were developed into a five-cluster conceptual framework that illustrated their views about the complexities of managing such care. The emergent conceptual framework enables CCNs to explore their practice in relation to managing packages of care. Additionally, the framework will be used to design a CCN workforce planning instrument that will be useful to measure complexity in CCN caseloads. The GCM methodology could be used by other nursing teams who wish to develop their practice.

The contribution of quality management to an organisation’s digital transformation: a qualitative study

Embarking on the digital transformation journey has become vital in order to pursue competitive differentiation in a fast-changing business environment. Digital transformation involves leveraging modern digital technologies to radically transform products and services, processes and people and improve performance. This represents a tremendous and risky challenge for most organisations. Against this background, this article sets out to explore and understand how the quality management (QM) function contributes to an organisation’s digital transformation. An inductive qualitative research methodology involving 63 quality professionals is employed. The findings suggest that QM has a strong potential for supporting an organisation’s digitalisation initiative. The emergent conceptual framework captures the competences required by QM and outline a road map presenting opportunities for QM involvement. The study’s contribution is to develop novel and relevant insights to help organisations undertake and carry out a digital transformation.

State Higher Education Governing Agencies and the Knowledge Brokering Process: Investigating Their Role as Multi-facing Organizations in the United States

State higher education governing agencies in the United States are uniquely positioned between the state government and public postsecondary sector. However, few studies have considered how this organizational characteristic influences these agencies’ role in the policy process. The current study seeks to contribute to this gap in the literature by investigating the use of information in the policy process and the potential role of statewide agencies as knowledge brokers. Through an examination of the state higher education governing agencies in Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas, findings highlight the influence of these organizations’ multi-facing position on the supply and demand of information regarding statewide college completion-related policies. Grounded by principal–agent theory, this analysis also contributes an emergent conceptual framework of the information flow process around state-level higher education policymaking in the United States.

Socially Engaged Art at the Reimagined 21st Century Museum

Socially engaged art is a broad term used to describe contemporary visual art practices that are concerned with the creation of experiences and, as such, often involve participation as an integral component of a work. Art galleries and museums across the United States have embraced socially engaged art with increasing frequency over the past twenty-five-years, mirroring its uptake by artists throughout the country. Despite its prevalence, little scholarship has addressed why art institutions have embraced socially engaged art, nor what benefits they gain from supporting it. In this paper, I attend to this absence with an emergent conceptual framework that illustrates how five of the most common forms of socially engaged art—service, dialog, education, entertainment, and performance—align with the evolving values and priorities of the 21st century museum. This framework combines literature on socially engaged art and critical museology, as well as numerous examples of recent artistic projects, to examine the intersecting aims of these fields, and potential ethical issues that may arise from artist and museum collaborations.

STUDENTS’ EMERGENT ARTICULATIONS OF STATISTICAL MODELS AND MODELING IN MAKING INFORMAL STATISTICAL INFERENCES

A fundamental aspect of statistical inference is representation of real-world data using statistical models. This article analyzes students’ articulations of statistical models and modeling during their first steps in making informal statistical inferences. An integrated modeling approach (IMA) was designed and implemented to help students understand the relationship between sample and population, as well as reasoning with models and modeling. We explore the articulations of a pair of primary school students, who had previously participated in the Connections Project exploratory data analysis (EDA) activities, and suggest an emergent conceptual framework for reasoning with statistical models and modeling. We shed light on ideas of statistical models and modeling that can emerge among primary students and how they articulate those ideas. Implications for teaching and research are discussed.
 First published November 2017 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

An empirically based conceptual framework for fostering meaningful patient engagement in research.

BackgroundPatient engagement in research (PEIR) is promoted to improve the relevance and quality of health research, but has little conceptualization derived from empirical data.ObjectiveTo address this issue, we sought to develop an empirically based conceptual framework for meaningful PEIR founded on a patient perspective.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative secondary analysis of in‐depth interviews with 18 patient research partners from a research centre‐affiliated patient advisory board. Data analysis involved three phases: identifying the themes, developing a framework and confirming the framework. We coded and organized the data, and abstracted, illustrated, described and explored the emergent themes using thematic analysis. Directed content analysis was conducted to derive concepts from 18 publications related to PEIR to supplement, confirm or refute, and extend the emergent conceptual framework. The framework was reviewed by four patient research partners on our research team.ResultsParticipants’ experiences of working with researchers were generally positive. Eight themes emerged: procedural requirements, convenience, contributions, support, team interaction, research environment, feel valued and benefits. These themes were interconnected and formed a conceptual framework to explain the phenomenon of meaningful PEIR from a patient perspective. This framework, the PEIR Framework, was endorsed by the patient research partners on our team.ConclusionsThe PEIR Framework provides guidance on aspects of PEIR to address for meaningful PEIR. It could be particularly useful when patient‐researcher partnerships are led by researchers with little experience of engaging patients in research.

Person-Directed Care Planning in Nursing Homes: Resident, Family, and Staff Perspectives

Empowering individuals to direct their own care is central to person-centered care and health care policy. However, there is limited knowledge of how "person-directed care planning" (PDCP) can be achieved in particular settings. This study identifies key structures and processes for operationalizing and implementing PDCP in nursing homes. Using participatory inquiry, we convened "stakeholder engagement sessions" with residents, families, nursing staff, and managers/administrators in two North Carolina nursing homes ( N = 24 sessions; N = 67 unique participants). Stakeholders discussed current care-planning processes and provided feedback on an emergent conceptual framework of PDCP. Three themes emerged through directed-content analysis: strategies included providing formal and informal opportunities to engage in care planning and ensuring effective follow-through; different roles were required among leadership, staff, residents, and families to accomplish PDCP; and limits on achieving PDCP included competing priorities and perceived regulatory and resource constraints. Results are discussed in terms of the specific competencies required for accomplishing PDCP.

Quality Teaching in Science: an Emergent Conceptual Framework

Achieving quality in higher education is a complex task involving the interrelationship of many factors. The influence of the teacher is well established and has led to some general principles of good teaching. However, less is known about the extent that specific disciplines influence quality teaching. The purposes of the paper are to investigate how quality teaching is perceived in the sciences and from these perceptions to develop for discussion a framework for teaching practice in the sciences. A New Zealand study explored the views of national teaching excellence award winners in science on quality teaching in undergraduate science. To capture all possible views from this expert panel, a dissensus-recognising Delphi method was used together with sensitising concepts based on complexity and wickedity. The emergent conceptual framework for quality teaching in undergraduate science highlighted areas of consensus and areas where there were a variety of views. About the purposes of science and its knowledge base, there was relative consensus, but there was more variable support for values underpinning science teaching. This highlighted the complex nature of quality teaching in science. The findings suggest that, in addition to general and discipline-specific influences, individual teacher values contribute to an understanding of quality in undergraduate science teaching.

Dynamic capabilities in fashion apparel industry: emergent conceptual framework

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to reconfigure a new component of dynamic capabilities across firms, and to summarize propositions and to construct a conceptual framework of the dynamic capabilities in fashion apparel industry.Design/methodology/approach– The author used the interviews with the industry experts and trade association executives to develop an understanding of the strategic and technological issues facing the industry and to gain a historical perspective on the evolution of the industry.Findings– This study explored the establishment of dynamic capability and market competitiveness in the fashion apparel industry from the perspectives of dynamic capability and resources embedment, and brought out the insight that commonalities/component has been overlooked. The “conceptual framework of dynamic capabilities in fashion apparel industry” developed by this study, which consists of the major key factors for the maintenance of fast fashion apparel industry in market competitive advantage.Research limitations/implications– Although the five top fashion apparel groups interviewed in this study are representative, there are limits in classification of other brands, which is one of the limitations in this study. Second, although qualitative research can achieve understanding of the utmost layer of situations, its greatest limitation is that it cannot investigate massive amount of interviewees, which is a second limitation in this study.Originality/value– The theoretical contribution of the study is to construct a conceptual framework of dynamic capabilities in the fashion apparel industry using eight theoretical propositions. Such conceptual framework will become a basic knowledge system for firms in the fashion apparel industry to develop strategic directions, as well as an important knowledge reference to other firms when choosing what to establish as their core competences.

Open innovation and knowledge appropriation in African micro and small enterprises (MSEs).

This article seeks enhanced understanding of the dynamics of open innovation and knowledge appropriation in African settings. More specifically, the authors focus on innovation and appropriation dynamics in African micro and small enterprises (MSEs), which are key engines of productivity on the continent. The authors begin by providing an expansion of an emergent conceptual framework for understanding intersections between innovation, openness and knowledge appropriation in African small-enterprise settings. Then, based on this framework, they review evidence generated by five recent case studies looking at knowledge development, sharing and appropriation among groups of small-scale African innovators. The innovators considered in the five studies were found to favour inclusive, collaborative approaches to development of their innovations; to rely on socially-grounded information networks when deploying and sharing their innovations; and to appropriate their innovative knowledge via informal (and, to a lesser extent, semi-formal) appropriation tools.

Open Innovation and Knowledge Appropriation in African Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs)

This article seeks enhanced understanding of the dynamics of open innovation and knowledge appropriation in African settings. More specifically, the authors focus on innovation and appropriation dynamics in African micro and small enterprises (MSEs), which are key engines of productivity on the continent. The authors begin by providing an expansion of an emergent conceptual framework for understanding intersections between innovation, openness and knowledge appropriation in African small-enterprise settings. Then, based on this framework, they review evidence generated by five recent case studies looking at knowledge development, sharing and appropriation among groups of small-scale African innovators. The innovators considered in the five studies were found to favour inclusive, collaborative approaches to development of their innovations; to rely on socially-grounded information networks when deploying and sharing their innovations; and to appropriate their innovative knowledge via informal (and, to a lesser extent, semi-formal) appropriation tools.

Building a Conceptual Framework for Data Literacy

Background The increasing focus on education as an evidence-based practice requires that educators can effectively use data to inform their practice. At the level of classroom instructional decision making, the nature of the specific knowledge and skills teachers need to use data effectively is complex and not well characterized. Being able to characterize this requisite knowledge and skills supports definition and measurement of data literacy. Evolving from empirical analyses, an emergent conceptual framework of knowledge and skills is proposed for the construct, data literacy for teaching. The framework is based on a domain analysis, which is the first step of an evidence-centered design process for data literacy. The framework is contextualized in existing research, with an objective of having it ground future work in the development of instruments to measure data literacy. Purpose This article reports on work to develop a conceptual framework to undergird research, development, and capacity building around data literacy for teaching. The emergent nature of the framework is intended to inform the discussions around data literacy so that continued refinement of operational definitions of the construct will emerge. Without such operational definitions, measurement of progress toward teacher data literacy is not possible. Research Design The conceptual framework is based on a sequence of qualitative studies that sought to determine the nature of knowledge and skills that are required for teachers to be considered data literate. A first study examined the ways that the knowledge and skills around the use of data were characterized in practical guides, books, and manuals on data use, formative assessment, and related topics. These characteristics were integrated with definitions of data literacy elicited from experts. A second study examined the licensure and certification documents required by states for teacher candidates for their treatment of data- and assessment-related knowledge and skills. The synthesis of these studies and their components have yielded an evolving conceptual framework for a new construct: data literacy for teachers. Conclusions The conceptual framework described in this article reflects an evolving effort to understand what it means for teachers to be data literate—that is, what knowledge and skills are required for teachers to use data effectively and responsibly set within an iterative inquiry cycle. The work posits that the construct comprises three interacting domains (data use for teaching, content knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge), six components of the inquiry cycle (identify problems, frame questions, use data, transform data into information, transform information into a decision, and evaluate outcomes), and, finally, 59 elements of knowledge and skills embedded within those components. However, the complex construct requires additional discussion from policy, research, and practitioners to refine and reorganize it and to expand it beyond a cognitive focus on knowledge and skills to include beliefs/values, identity, and epistemic elements. Next steps will include structuring an ongoing discussion about the nature of the framework and expansion beyond domain analysis through the evidence-centered design process to the development of a suite of instruments to measure the construct.

Picturing community development work in Uganda: fostering dialogue through photovoice

This article explores the use of photovoice in understanding the roles and experiences of community development workers in Uganda and how such methodology can foster dialogue. Community development workers, attached to a local development organisation, took photographs and engaged in discussions about their roles and experiences. The rich and generative photovoice exercise revealed four major themes, namely, social progress/development (enkurakurana), cooperation (enkwatanisa), education (eby'enyegesa) and our challenges (ebizibu byaitu )i n the experiences of these community development workers. In addition to such an insiders' view of community development through photographs, the article discusses an emergent conceptual framework of five types of dialogue which photovoice methodology can foster in community development research. The article argues that photovoice can richly serve development research given its inherent participatory, critical and emancipatory character. Photovoice fosters multiple forms of dialogue and in so doing, allows people to picture and name their world.