Personal Drivers Research Articles

Why early adopters engage in interpersonal diffusion of technological innovations: An empirical study on electric bicycles and electric scooters

Early adopters promoting electric vehicles in their social network may speed up market uptake of this technology. Apart from their opinion leader status, few previous research details the motivations which turn early adopters into advocates for innovation who approach the non-adopters among their family and friends, or casual acquaintances.Drawing on a survey among 1398 e-bike and 133 e-scooter early adopters in Austria, personal drivers of engagement in interpersonal diffusion are investigated. Longitudinal data one year later for 157 e-bike users allows tests of causal relations. A complementary sample of 33 network peers illustrates the early adopters’ social impact.Early adopters engage actively in discussing product features, instigating trial behavior and recommending purchase. Analyses by structural equation modeling show that efforts at interpersonal diffusion are driven by opinion leadership, experienced product performance, and perceived normative expectations of others toward pro-environmental technologies. Mediator and moderator analyses underline that opinion leadership is conveyed upon early adopters because personal norms and technophilia qualify them as credible and competent for the specific topic of e-vehicles. Social norm interrelations point to dynamic interactions and discourse between early adopters and their addressees. Evidence from the peer sample suggests though that the persuasive impact of early adopters is small.To accelerate market entry of electric vehicles, public or private agencies should foremost approach early adopters scoring high in the identified drivers, and empower them in their role as multiplicators by providing pre-prepared product information and encouraging them to continuously address peers.

Discipline versus passion: Collectivism, centralization, and ambidextrous innovation

Can the collectivistic culture of an organization help manage the tension between explorative and exploitative innovation? Though recent studies have suggested contextual approaches to cope with the tension, we still lack an understanding regarding whether organizational culture can be a context vehicle in solving the tension and consequently in enabling ambidextrous innovation. Drawing upon organizational effectiveness theory, we seek to present a collectivistic culture perspective in achieving ambidexterity and aim to settle the nested paradox of innovation in the pair of personal drivers, that is, discipline versus passion. Based on 102 completed survey questionnaires from 60 high-tech clusters in China, we found that creating collectivistic culture within an organization can help alleviate the tension between exploration and exploitation in organizational learning and facilitate ambidextrous innovation within the firm. Moreover, the effect of collectivism on achieving ambidextrous innovation will be weakened in a centralized hierarchy system.

Education and employee skill-set certifications in the new economy: a it-related case study

Presently, any individual can claim to be an “expert” in a particular process, subject matter or technology. In fact, one disadvantage in the tacit knowledge approach is that individuals in an organization may claim to have knowledge that they do not actually have or may claim to be more knowledgeable than they really are. Despite this fact, qualifications and credentials have long served as signals for organizations. As some authors put it, certifications are double-edged, as they can also be used as “credentials” to gain prestige and influence, having nothing to do with competence development, as they are valued as impression management or self-presentation strategies. The data for this exploratory study was gathered from a 58 employee sample of a Portuguese-based multinational software engineering company. An experimental Competence Certification Effects Scale (CCES) was used, and after a consistency analysis, the original 22 items were reduced to 17, grouped in a 4-factor structure: “Certification Intrinsic Value”; “Certification as Training”; “Career Management”; and “Effort Trade-off”. Cronbach`s alphas were .81, .81, .83, and .81, respectively. The study findings indicate that there is a significant difference in the perceived usefulness of a certification, if an employee participates or not in a dedicated certification program. The study further points out that certification programs tend to be judged in an instrumental way, for extrinsic motivation reasons, more by its positive effects in terms of career management or professional within-peers recognition, than by its intrinsic value as institutional learning or knowledge management anchors or personal development drivers.

Student and faculty perceptions of research in nutrition and dietetics: A qualitative investigation.

Evidence is fundamental to the practice of nutrition and dietetics yet few dietitians pursue research as a career path. The aim of this study was to explore elements of undergraduate teaching and learning in nutrition and dietetics that supports research skills development and inspires students to pursue research. This researched formed part of a process intended to inform curriculum development for undergraduate dietetic education. In-depth interviews with dietitians (past undergraduate students) pursuing research degrees and academics embedding research skills within their teaching and learning in nutrition and dietetics and other health professions were conducted, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Eight students and five academics participated in the study. Qualitative analysis revealed three key themes. (i) Research in nutrition and dietetics is fundamental to practice; (ii) There are a number of internal and external cultivators and capacities for research; and (iii) strategies and approaches for research skill development should start early, continue through a curriculum and promote independence. This study identified that students and academics view research as fundamental to the practice of dietetics. Personal drivers as well as external factors enhance involvement in research. Research skills teaching should commence early and be embedded across whole curricula. The findings can be used to create teaching and learning opportunities that support research skill development and inspire dietitians to pursue research.

重心移動履歴に基づくパーソナルビークル搭乗者の感覚推定に関する実現可能性の検討

重心移動履歴に基づくパーソナルビークル搭乗者の感覚推定に関する実現可能性の検討

Hip Joint Torques During the Golf Swing of Young and Senior Healthy Males

Descriptive, laboratory study. To compare the 3-D hip torques during a golf swing between young and senior healthy male amateur golfers. The secondary purpose was to compare the 3-D hip joint torques between the trail leg and lead leg. The generation of hip torques from the hip musculature is an important aspect of the golf swing. Golf is a very popular activity, and estimates of hip torques during the golf swing have not been reported. Twenty healthy male golfers were divided into a young group (mean ± SD age, 25.1 ± 3.1 years) and a senior group (age, 56.9 ± 4.7 years). All subjects completed 10 golf swings using their personal driver. A motion capture system and force plates were used to obtain kinematic and kinetic data. Inverse dynamic analyses were used to calculate 3-D hip joint torques of the trail and lead limbs. Two-way analyses of covariance (group by leg), with club-head velocity as a covariate, were used to compare peak hip torques between groups and limbs. Trail-limb hip external rotator torque was significantly greater in the younger group compared to the senior group, and greater in the trail leg versus the lead leg. When adjusting for club-head velocity, young and senior healthy male amateur golfers generated comparable hip torques during a golf swing, with the exception of the trail-limb hip external rotator torque. The largest hip torque found was the trail-limb hip extensor torque.

Sympathy or strategy: social capital drivers for collaborative contributions to the IS community

Despite growing interest in delineating the social identity of Information Systems (IS) research and the network structures of its scholarly community, little is known about how the IS community network is shaped by individual conceptions and what motivates IS researchers to engage in research collaboration. Using an exploratory theoretical framework that is based on three dimensions of social capital theory, we examined 32 years of scientific co-authorship in an international IS researcher community. We formulated propositions to empirically examine the multi-level relationships between personal drivers and the resulting complex network organization of the IS community. Our propositions are refined with qualitative interviews and tested using a survey. This process revealed a collaborative research culture with several individual dispositions, including a strategic structural focus, a cognitive focus and a relational focus. These exist among actors displaying a range of differing behaviours such as active engagement and passive serendipity. Our study indicates individual differences at the conception stage of engaging in academic collaboration impact on the resulting network-level configuration. We identified that regional preference, maturity life cycles and lack of small-world properties highlight the important role of senior members as structural backbones and brokers within the IS community.

"Discipline vs. Passion: Collectivism, Centralization and Ambidextrous Innovation"

Extant literature has demonstrated that ambidextrous innovation helps improve a firm¡¯s long-term performance and success, but it is fairly tough to manage the tensions between explorative and exploitative innovation. Recent studies have identified structural or contextual approaches to balance the tensions between exploration and exploitation. But still we lack understandings on whether there are other dimensions in organizational context and the interaction with organizational structure to solve the tensions. Drawing upon Andriopolous and Lewis (2009)¡¯s framework, we sought to present a collectivistic culture perspective in achieving ambidexterity and aimed at settling the nested paradoxes of innovation in the pair of personal drivers, i.e., discipline versus passion. We developed a conceptual model which integrates collectivistic culture theory with organizational learning theory, and found that creating collectivistic culture within an organization can help alleviate tensions in organizational learning between explorative and exploitative innovation, thus facilitate ambidextrous innovation. Moreover, the effort of achieving ambidextrous innovation through collectivism will be enhanced in a decentralized hierarchy system.

Individual Mobility Attributes and Their Impact on Modality Style

Mobility attributes such as driver's license, car ownership, reserved parking at work, and transit pass have a very strong impact on travel choices, in particular, mode choice. Mobility attributes are not acquired for a particular trip but rather are driven by the entire set of individual travel needs (commuting being the most basic of them). Some mobility attributes, for example, car ownership and transit pass, are substitutable; others, for example, car ownership and reserved parking at work, are complementary. For this reason, mobility attributes have to be analyzed and modeled jointly. The purpose of the current research is to analyze a wide set of mobility attributes and incorporate them in an operational activity-based model as a set of midterm choices. The approach suggested in this paper is based on an iterative application of three interlinked choice submodels: (a) joint choice of person driver's license, usual driver role (priority in using one of the household cars), car type choice, reserved or reimbursed parking at work, and transit pass; (b) household car ownership choice by type; and (c) intrahousehold car allocation by type. Model estimation results confirmed strong cross- attribute effects as well as revealed many impacts of person, household, and travel accessibility variables. In particular, historical and cultural differences between three population sectors in Jerusalem—secular Jewish, Orthodox Jewish, and Arab—manifested themselves quite strongly. Application of these models for future scenarios is discussed.

Barriers and Enablers to Physical Activity Participation in Patients With COPD

Physical activity (PA) has been shown to improve symptoms in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Despite the high health and financial costs, the uptake of management strategies, particularly participation in PA and pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), are low. The review objective here was to identify potential barriers and enablers, which people with COPD report being associated with their participation in PA programs, including PR. A systematic search was undertaken to identify studies (published Jan 2000 to Aug 2011) reporting any barriers and enablers experienced by people with COPD regarding participation in PA and PR. Methodological quality of the studies was appraised using McMaster critical appraisal tools. A narrative summary of findings was undertaken reporting on individual study characteristics, country of origin, participants, and potential barriers and enablers. Eleven studies (8 qualitative and 3 quantitative) met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. Several methodological issues (small sampling, poor description of data collection and analysis, issues with generalizability of the research findings) were common among included studies. Barriers identified included changing health status, personal issues, lack of support, external factors, ongoing smoking, and program-specific barriers. Enablers identified included social support, professional support, personal drivers, personal benefit, control of condition, specific goals, and program-specific enablers. The findings from this review may assist health professionals, patients, care givers and the wider community to develop effective strategies to promote participation in PA and PR among people with COPD.

Drivers and Blockers: Embedding Education for Sustainability (EfS) in Primary Teacher Education

AbstractThe growing emphasis on sustainability in school curricula in Australia reflects international trends in education. Teacher education is a vital strategy for the incorporation of Education for Sustainability (EfS) in school curricula. Research to identify drivers and barriers to embedding EfS across a primary teacher education program in an Australian university is the focus of this article. Using a mixed methods approach, data were gathered through document and unit outline audits, a self-efficacy pre-service teacher (PST) survey, and staff and PST focus group interviews. The audits identified a foundation of EfS principles and content across units. Lecturers identified societal and personal drivers and blockers to embedding EfS across the course, with lack of time considered the biggest blocker, which is also consistent with existing school-based research on the nature of teachers' work. PST responses described successful learning outcomes; however, confidence towards teaching sustainability varied. PST reported that the incorporation of community networks in their course provided enriching experiences. Embedding EfS involves values, sustainability concerns and appropriate knowledge and skills. Successful implementation will depend on the development of appropriate understandings of teacher educators.

Founder, Employee, or Academic? A Third Career Option and an Extension of Theory of Planned Behavior

While career choice intentions research has largely focused on intentional founders and employees, one option has received conspicuously little attention: becoming an academic. Given that our profession provides unique conditions that include both entrepreneurial and employment-related elements, such as creative entrepreneurial freedom at substantially less personal risk, considering the academic career intention and comparing it to founder and private employee intentions provides new insights into the finer nuances of all three career choices. In this study we therefore examine and compare these three options through the lens of theory of planned behavior. In addition, we extend this theory by empirically testing the moderating effect of perceived controllability on the personal and social drivers of career choice. Based on survey data of 12,931 later-stage undergraduate university students from 13 European countries, we propose a theoretical framework to better explain these three career choices, demonstrate the moderating effect of perceived controllability, and illustrate the integral role of perceived desirability. Our findings contribute to both career choice and psychological theory, and provide insights into how we can better nurture both more successful entrepreneurs and more entrepreneurial academics.

Rule Bending by Nurses: Environmental and Personal Drivers

Rule Bending by Nurses: Environmental and Personal Drivers

Recognising the Skills of Experience in Segmented Labour Markets: Prospects for Personal Carers and Road Transport Drivers?

This paper addresses the problem of low-status or ‘bad’ jobs (Kalleberg, et al.2000) in the occupations of truck driver and personal care assistant, and explores skill-based strategies for making these jobs better. The paper grapples with conceptualizations of low status jobs within theories of labour market segmentation and alternative theories. It also explores possible conceptual foundations for a future empirical research project ,designed to explore ways of better recognizing, developing and utilizing the skills of drivers and carers, through the creation of career paths in occupations seen as low-skilled.

J181021 パーソナルモビリティ・ビークルと運転者のインタフェース([J18102]交通物流における安全安心技術(2))

J181021 パーソナルモビリティ・ビークルと運転者のインタフェース([J18102]交通物流における安全安心技術(2))

Gender and Personality Drivers of Consumer Mixed Emotional Response to Advertising

This research sheds insight on how consumer gender and personality produce different levels of mixed emotions in response to advertising resulting in divergent brand attitudes. Using a more complete measure of emotional response than previously used in advertising research, we manipulate the perceived incongruity between advertisement role portrayals and viewers' self concept and show that women exhibit higher levels of mixed emotions than do men, but they respond with more favorable attitudes toward the advertised brand. Further, individuals who are more neurotic, introvert, or antagonistic experience higher levels of mixed emotions, and respond with less favorable attitudes when experiencing ad-evoked mixed emotions. Implications focus on advancing mixed emotions, gender, and personality research, and on the use of sex role portrayals in advertising.

Exploitation-Exploration Tensions and Organizational Ambidexterity: Managing Paradoxes of Innovation

Achieving exploitation and exploration enables success, even survival, but raises challenging tensions. Ambidextrous organizations excel at exploiting existing products to enable incremental innovation and at exploring new opportunities to foster more radical innovation, yet related research is limited. Largely conceptual, anecdotal, or single case studies offer architectural or contextual approaches. Architectural ambidexterity proposes dual structures and strategies to differentiate efforts, focusing actors on one or the other form of innovation. In contrast, contextual approaches use behavioral and social means to integrate exploitation and exploration. To develop a more comprehensive model, we sought to learn from five, ambidextrous firms that lead the product design industry. Results offer an alternative framework for examining exploitation-exploration tensions and their management. More specifically, we present nested paradoxes of innovation: strategic intent (profit-breakthroughs), customer orientation (tight-loose coupling), and personal drivers (discipline-passion). Building from innovation and paradox literature, we theorize how integration and differentiation tactics help manage these interwoven paradoxes and fuel virtuous cycles of ambidexterity. Further, managing paradoxes becomes a shared responsibility, not only of top management, but across organizational levels.

Time Warner Cable Kansas City looks beyond the usual suspects for ways to retain and engage customer-facing employees

When too many new hires are leaving after just a few months on the job, despite effective recruitment and on-boarding programs, it is time to look for answers in new places. This company set out to strengthen the relationship between frontline supervisors and their new—mostly Generation Y—customer care specialists, and found it's never too early to start building engagement. Keys to early development of a strong supervisor-employee bond include beginning relationship building during the hiring interview; supervisor participation in new-hire training; learning the individual's personal drivers of engagement; 30-/60-/90-day assessments with coaching and mentoring; and exposing the new hire to positive high-performing peers (while buffering them from negative influencers). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Time Warner Cable Kansas City looks beyond the usual suspects for ways to retain and engage customer‐facing employees

AbstractWhen too many new hires are leaving after just a few months on the job, despite effective recruitment and on‐boarding programs, it is time to look for answers in new places. This company set out to strengthen the relationship between frontline supervisors and their new—mostly Generation Y—customer care specialists, and found it's never too early to start building engagement. Keys to early development of a strong supervisor‐employee bond include beginning relationship building during the hiring interview; supervisor participation in new‐hire training; learning the individual's personal drivers of engagement; 30‐/60‐/90‐day assessments with coaching and mentoring; and exposing the new hire to positive high‐performing peers (while buffering them from negative influencers). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Conferences to Get Less Perky

BEIJING— Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering enjoy privileges including easy grant money, housing subsidies, and personal drivers. But organizers of the Xiangshan Science Conferences have decided to bar academy members from using their titles when registering for conferences or in proceedings publications. Held every 2 weeks throughout the year on topics as diverse as neurobiology and robotics, the meetings influence the government's research priorities. The new rules send a message that “every conferee is equal,” says Xiangshan staffer Liu Yuchen. The change “emphasizes that equality among scientists … determines the development of science,” says Zhu Pengcheng, a molecular biologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston who attended a recent Xiangshan meeting in Beijing.