Showing papers on "Value (ethics) published in 2018"

Marketing and Firm Value: Metrics, Methods, Findings, and Future Directions

Abstract: The marketing profession is being challenged to assess and communicate the value created by its actions on shareholder value. These demands create a need to translate marketing resource allocations and their performance consequences into financial and firm value effects. The objective of this article is to integrate the existing knowledge on the impact of marketing on firm value. The authors first frame the important research questions on marketing and firm value and review the important investor response metrics and relevant analytical models as they relate to marketing. Next, they summarize the empirical findings to date on how marketing creates shareholder value, including the impact of brand equity, customer equity, customer satisfaction, research and development and product quality, and specific marketing-mix actions. Then, the authors review emerging findings on biases in investor response to marketing actions. They conclude by formulating an agenda for future research challenges in this emerging area.

Precision Medicine: From Science To Value.

Abstract: Precision medicine is making an impact on patients, health care delivery systems, and research participants in ways that were only imagined fifteen years ago when the human genome was first sequenced. Discovery of disease-causing and drug-response genetic variants has accelerated, while adoption into clinical medicine has lagged. We define precision medicine and the stakeholder community required to enable its integration into research and health care. We explore the intersection of data science, analytics, and precision medicine in the formation of health systems that carry out research in the context of clinical care and that optimize the tools and information used to deliver improved patient outcomes. We provide examples of real-world impact and conclude with a policy and economic agenda necessary for the adoption of this new paradigm of health care both in the United States and globally.

A Critical Review of Consumer Wearables, Mobile Applications, and Equipment for Providing Biofeedback, Monitoring Stress, and Sleep in Physically Active Populations.

Abstract: The commercial market for technologies to monitor and improve personal health and sports performance is ever expanding. A wide range of smart watches, bands, garments, and patches with embedded sensors, small portable devices and mobile applications now exist to record and provide users with feedback on many different physical performance variables. These variables include cardiorespiratory function, movement patterns, sweat analysis, tissue oxygenation, sleep, emotional state, and changes in cognitive function following concussion. In this review, we have summarized the features and evaluated the characteristics of a cross-section of technologies for health and sports performance according to what the technology is claimed to do, whether it has been validated and is reliable, and if it is suitable for general consumer use. Consumers who are choosing new technology should consider whether it (1) produces desirable (or non-desirable) outcomes, (2) has been developed based on real-world need, and (3) has been tested and proven effective in applied studies in different settings. Among the technologies included in this review, more than half have not been validated through independent research. Only 5% of the technologies have been formally validated. Around 10% of technologies have been developed for and used in research. The value of such technologies for consumer use is debatable, however, because they may require extra time to set up and interpret the data they produce. Looking to the future, the rapidly expanding market of health and sports performance technology has much to offer consumers. To create a competitive advantage, companies producing health and performance technologies should consult with consumers to identify real-world need, and invest in research to prove the effectiveness of their products. To get the best value, consumers should carefully select such products, not only based on their personal needs, but also according to the strength of supporting evidence and effectiveness of the products.

How firms navigate cooperation and competition in nascent ecosystems

Abstract: Research Summary Despite a wealth of research on competitive and cooperative strategy, gaps remain with respect to how firms successfully navigate cooperation and competition over time. This is especially true in ecosystems, in which firms depend on one another to collectively provide components and create value for consumers. Through an in‐depth multiple case study of five firms in the U.S. residential solar industry from 2007 to 2014, we induct a theoretical framework that explains how firms navigate nascent ecosystems over time. We identify three strategies, each with a distinct balance of cooperation and competition, as well as unique advantages, disadvantages, and required capabilities. Overall, we contribute to research on ecosystem strategy, crystallize the pivotal role of bottlenecks, and shed light on the dynamic interplay of cooperation and competition. Managerial Summary Competition and cooperation are fundamental to strategy, and often closely intertwined. But how firms navigate and balance cooperation and competition over time, especially in ecosystems where firms depend on one another to deliver value to consumers, is unclear. In this article, we conduct an in‐depth multiple‐case study of five firms in the U.S. residential solar industry to examine how firms can successfully navigate nascent ecosystems over time. We identify three distinct strategies, each with a distinct balance of cooperation and competition, and examine the unique advantages, disadvantages, and required capabilities of each. In doing so, we also contribute novel insights into the evolution of ecosystems and bottlenecks.

Service robots: value co-creation and co-destruction in elderly care networks

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential roles for service robots (i.e. socially assistive robots) in value networks of elderly care. Taking an elderly person’s perspective, it defines robot roles according to their value co-creating/destroying potential for the elderly user (i.e. focal actor), while acknowledging consequences for a network of users around the elderly (i.e. network actors).,This qualitative, interpretative study employs in-depth phenomenographic interviews, supported by generative cards activities (i.e. Contextual Value Network Mapping), to elicit an elderly person’s tacit knowledge and anticipate the effects of introducing an automated actor on institutionalized value co-creation practices.,The proposed typology identifies six roles of socially assistive robots in an elderly person’s value network (enabler, intruder, ally, replacement, extended self, and deactivator) and links them to three health-supporting functions by robots: safeguarding, social contact, and cognitive support.,Elderly people have notable expectations about the inclusion of a socially assistive robot as a new actor in their value networks. The identified robot roles inform service scholars and managers about both the value co-destruction potential that needs to be avoided through careful designs and the value co-creation potential that should be leveraged.,Using network-conscious phenomenographic interviews before the introduction of a novel value proposition sheds new light on the shifting value co-creation interplay among value network actors (i.e. elderly people, formal and informal caregivers). The value co-creation/destruction potential of socially assistive robots and their corresponding roles in care-based value networks offer insights for the design of meaningful robotic technology and its introduction into the existing service networks.

Global wetland outlook: State of the world’s wetlands and their services to people 2018

Abstract: Conservation and wise use of wetlands are vital for human livelihoods. The wide range of ecosystem services wetlands provide means that they lie at the heart of sustainable development. Yet policy and decision-makers often underestimate the value of their benefits to nature and humankind. Understanding these values and what is happening to wetlands is critical to ensuring their conservation and wise use. The Global Wetland Outlook, the flagship publication of the Ramsar Convention, provides a current overview of wetlands: their extent, trends, drivers of change and the responses needed to reverse the historical decline in wetland area and quality.

Anthropocentrism: More than Just a Misunderstood Problem

Abstract: Anthropocentrism, in its original connotation in environmental ethics, is the belief that value is human-centred and that all other beings are means to human ends. Environmentally -concerned authors have argued that anthropocentrism is ethically wrong and at the root of ecological crises. Some environmental ethicists argue, however, that critics of anthropocentrism are misguided or even misanthropic. They contend: first that criticism of anthropocentrism can be counterproductive and misleading by failing to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate human interests. Second, that humans differ greatly in their environmental impacts, and consequently, addressing human inequalities should be a precondition for environmental protection. Third, since ecosystems constitute the “life-support system” for humans, anthropocentrism can and should be a powerful motivation for environmental protection. Fourth, human self-love is not only natural but helpful as a starting point for loving others, including nonhumans. Herein we analyze such arguments, agreeing with parts of them while advancing four counter-arguments. First, redefining the term anthropocentrism seems to be an attempt to ignore behavior in which humans focus on themselves at the risk of the planet. Second, if addressing human inequalities is a precondition for environmental protection, biodiversity protection will remain out of the scope of ethical consideration for an indefinite period of time. Third, anthropocentric motivations can only make a positive contribution to the environment in situations where humans are conscious of a direct benefit to themselves. Fourth, ‘self-love’ alone is an inadequate basis for environmental concern and action. We also explore the question of agency, shared responsibility, and a fair attribution of blame for our environmental predicaments.

Different uses of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory in public mental health research: what is their value for guiding public mental health policy and practice?

Abstract: Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory is appealing as a conceptual tool for guiding public mental health interventions. However, his theory underwent significant changes since its first inception duri ...

Choosing between staying at home or moving: A systematic review of factors influencing housing decisions among frail older adults.

Abstract: Background Most older adults wish to stay at home during their late life years, but physical disabilities and cognitive impairment may force them to face a housing decision. However, they lack relevant information to make informed value-based housing decisions. Consequently, we sought to identify the sets of factors influencing the housing decision-making of older adults. Methods We performed a systematic literature search for studies evaluating any factors influencing the housing decisions among older adults over 65 years old without cognitive disabilities. Primary research from any study design reported after 1990 in a peer-reviewed journal, a book chapter or an evaluated doctoral thesis and written in English, French or Spanish were eligible. We extracted the main study characteristics, the participant characteristics and any factors reported as associated with the housing decision. We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis from the perspective of the meaning and experience of home. Results The search resulted in 660 titles (after duplicate removal) from which 86 studies were kept for analysis. One study out of five reported exclusively on frail older adults (n = 17) and two on adults over 75 years old. Overall, a total of 88 factors were identified, of which 71 seem to have an influence on the housing decision-making of older adults, although the influence of 19 of them remains uncertain due to discrepancies between research methodologies. No conclusion was made regarding 12 additional factors due to lack of evidence. Conclusion A wealth of factors were found to influence housing decisions among older adults. However, very few of them have been studied extensively. Our results highlight the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork to study the influence of a broader range of factors as a whole. These results will help older adults make the best possible housing decision based on their unique situation and values.

The Dialectic of Rights and Politics: Perspectives from the Women’s Movement [1986]

Abstract: The idea that legal rights have some intrinsic value is widespread in our culture. A rights claim can make a statement of entitlement that is universal and categorical. Critical legal studies (CLS) scholars question whether rights claims and rights discourse can facilitate social reconstruction. The CLS critique has several interrelated themes which flow from a more general critique of liberalism. CLS scholars argue that liberalism is premised on dichotomies, such as individual and community or self and other, that divide the world into two mutually exclusive spheres. CLS scholars criticize the use of rights claims by social movement groups on related grounds. Feminist theory emphasizes the value of direct and personal experience as the place that theory should begin, as embodied in the phrase "the personal is political". Looking at the gains and losses together, the chapter concludes that the struggles around legal rights have moved the women's movement forward and reinforced a sense of collective experience for the movement.

The Development of Self and Identity in Adolescence: Neural Evidence and Implications for a Value‐Based Choice Perspective on Motivated Behavior

Abstract: Following a key developmental task of childhood-building a foundation of self-knowledge in the form of domain-specific self-concepts-adolescents begin to explore their emerging identities in ways that foster autonomy and connectedness. Neuroimaging studies of self-related processes demonstrate enhanced engagement of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in adolescence, which may facilitate and reflect the development of identity by integrating the value of potential actions and choices. Drawing from neuroeconomic and social cognitive accounts, we propose that motivated behavior during adolescence can be modeled by a general value-based decision-making process centered around value accumulation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. This approach advances models of adolescent neurodevelopment that focus on reward sensitivity and cognitive control by considering more diverse value inputs, including contributions of developing self- and identity-related processes. It also considers adolescent decision making and behavior from adolescents' point of view rather than adults' perspectives on what adolescents should value or how they should behave.

What Do Indigenous Knowledges Do for Indigenous Peoples

Abstract: This essay is written to address conversations about the best ways to engage in knowledge exchange on important sustainability issues between Indigenous knowledges and fields of climate, environmental and sustainability sciences. In terms of sustainability, a crucial facet of the self-determination of peoples such as Indigenous nations and communities is the responsibility and the right to make plans for the future using planning processes that are inclusive, well-informed, culturally-relevant, and respectful of human interdependence with nonhumans and the environment. Indigenous knowledges often play a crucial role in Indigenous planning processes. In my work, I have found that scientists often appreciate what I will call here the supplemental-value of Indigenous knowledges — the value of Indigenous knowledges as inputs for adding (i.e. supplementing) data that scientific methods do not normally track. In the domain of supplemental-value, Indigenous people’s planning processes will improve, in turn, by having access to the supplemented and hence improved science. But it is also the case that Indigenous knowledges have governance-value. That is, they serve as irreplaceable sources of guidance for Indigenous resurgence and nation-building. Scientists should appreciate governance-value because it suggests that for some Indigenous peoples in knowledge exchange situations, we need to be assured that the flourishing of our knowledges is respected and protected. I hope to make the case for why it is important for scientists who work with Indigenous peoples to understand governance value in the hopes that this understanding will improve their approaches to knowledge exchange with Indigenous peoples.

Business model innovation and value-creation: the triadic way

Abstract: Building on the multi-divisional business model (M-model), the purpose of this paper is to develop a better understanding of triadic business models – T-models – and how they create value for their three categories of stakeholders, ie, the suppliers, the platform firm and the buyers The research question that guides the present study is twofold: How is value created individually and collectively in triadic business models and what might challenge their sustainability?,Anchored in extant literature and a process of conceptual modeling with empirical examples from Uber, a new business model archetype was developed for two-sided markets mediated by a middleman,The paper provides a theoretically and conceptually derived roadmap for sustainable business in a triadic business model, ie, for the buyers, sellers and the platform firm This model is coined the T-model A number of propositions are derived that argue the relationship between key constructs Finally, the future beyond the T-model is explored,The paper identifies, illustrates and discusses the ways in which value is created in sustainable T-models First, value is created from a number of sources, not only from lower transaction costs Second, it is proposed that it is not about a choice of either M-model or T-model but rather a continuum Toward 2050, technology in general and Blockchain specifically may for some transactions or services, eliminate the need for middlemen The main conclusion is that despite this development, there will, for most organizations, be elements of the M-model in all or most T-model businesses In short: middlemen will have elements of the M-model embedded in the T-model when co creating value with buyers and sellers,While two-sided T-models are not new to the business area, surprisingly no papers have systematically investigated, illustrated, and discussed how value is created among and between the three stakeholder categories of the T-model With this insight, more sustainable T-models can be created

Moving Institutional Logics Forward: Emotion and Meaningful Material Practice:

Abstract: Institutional theory, and the institutional logics approach in particular, lacks the feelings that produce, sustain and disrupt institutional practice. This is due in part to rational, instrumental...

Integrated reporting and narrative accountability: The role of preparers

Abstract: Purpose: The International Integrated Reporting Council claims that integrated reporting (IR) can enhance corporate accountability, yet critical and interpretative studies have contested this outcome. Insufficient empirical research details how preparers experience accountability while constructing IR; to fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to analyse how the preparers’ mode of cognition influences the patterns of accountability associated with IR. Design/methodology/approach: A functionalist approach to narratives helps elucidate the role that the IR preparers’ narrative mode of cognition plays on accountability towards stakeholders. The empirical analysis particularly benefits from in-depth interviews with the IR preparers of a global insurer that has used IR since 2013. Findings: The preparers’ narrative mode of cognition facilitates dialogue with IR users. It addresses accountability tensions by revealing the company’s value creation process. Preparers’ efforts to establish a meaningful dialogue with a growing variety of stakeholders through broader and plainer messages reveals the potential of IR as a narrative source of a socializing form of accountability. However, financial stakeholders remain the primary addressees of the reports. Research limitations/implications: This paper focusses on preparers’ views; further research should integrate users’ accountability expectations. Originality/value: This paper offers new insights for dealing with corporate reporting and accountability in a novel IR setting.

The United Nations sustainability goals: How can sustainable chemistry contribute?

Abstract: The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) have exceptional value in identifying key areas of challenge that need urgent improvement if we are to move away from the unsustainable trajectory that we are on. The place that is a major shortcoming of these goals is that they take a highly integrated and inextricably linked system, and express them as individual areas such as food, water, poverty, materials, empowerment, etc. In the absence of systems thinking, there is an excellent chance of noble intentions bringing about unintended and perhaps counter-productive consequences. As we employ sustainable chemistry and the tools of its scientific basis, green chemistry, to address so many of these challenges, it is important to integrate these tools not as isolated individual principles or methods, but rather as an integrated interconnected system as well.

Data anxieties: Finding trust in everyday digital mess:

Abstract: Digital data is an increasing and continual presence across the sites, activities and relationships of everyday life. In this article we explore what data presence means for the ways that the everyday is organised, sensed, and anticipated. While digital data studies have demonstrated how data is deeply entangled with the way in which everyday life is lived out and valued, at the same time our relationships with data are riddled with anxieties or small niggles or tricky trade-offs and their use is often chaotic and muddled, part of the inevitable uncertainty about what will happen next. If the presence of data is part of the environments we inhabit, this raises the question of how and why data is valuable to us and what forms of hope and trust enable this value to further develop.

The role of older women in contesting norms associated with female genital mutilation/cutting in Senegambia: A factorial focus group analysis.

Abstract: Social norms theory has become prominent framework for understanding the perpetuation of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), and has influenced the design of interventions aimed at stopping the practice Theoretical advances draw attention to the fact that FGM/C is often upheld by multiple interconnected norms that may vary and shift over time, offering a potential resource for social transformation Analyzing focus group data from Senegambian women, the questions we explore are: What are the constellation of norms associated with FGM/C? When are existing practices and norms being contested, and how does this reflect prevailing structures of power and authority? Our research identifies four overarching themes: 1) pressure to conform with FGM/C arising from sanctions such as ostracization, and moral norms linked to the embodiment of virtue; 2) upholding tradition as a means of venerating ancestors; 3) upholding social hierarchy by displaying respect for elders; and 4) shifting beliefs about the healthful vs harmful nature of FGM/C While strong value is placed on upholding tradition, there is also an appreciation that elements of tradition must be revised to meet fluctuating realities, including the novel threat of HIV infection Moreover, older women are uniquely positioned to realize the dual goal of honoring tradition while negotiating change Rather than resisting change, we find that some older women express an openness to reassessing norms and practices as they seek solutions to maintaining the physical well-being, moral integrity and cultural identity of girls in their families Moreover, given the authority of older women over younger women, they also have power to negotiate change By recognizing older women as potential change leaders, and drawing on variability and fluidity in social norms, it may be increasingly possible to design interventions that will shape possibilities for action and accelerate abandonment of FGM/C without undermining the cultural value of tradition

The Community of Advantage: A Behavioural Economist's Defence of the Market

Abstract: Normative analysis in economics has usually aimed at satisfying individuals’ preferences. Its conclusions have supported a long-standing liberal tradition of economics that values economic freedom and views markets favourably. However, behavioural research shows that individuals’ preferences, as revealed in choices, are often unstable, and vary according to contextual factors that seem irrelevant for welfare. The Community of Advantage proposes a reformulation of normative economics that is compatible with what is now known about the psychology of choice. Other such reformulations have assumed that people have well-defined ‘latent’ preferences which, because of psychologically-induced errors, are not always revealed in actual choices. According to these reformulations, the economist’s job is to reconstruct latent preferences and to design policies to satisfy them. I argue that latent preference and error are psychologically ungrounded concepts, and that economics needs to be more radical in giving up rationality assumptions. I advocate a kind of normative economics that does not use the concept of preference. Its recommendations are addressed, not to an imagined ‘social planner’, but to citizens, viewed as potential parties to mutually beneficial agreements. Its normative criterion is the provision of opportunities for individuals to participate in voluntary transactions. Using this approach, I reconstruct many of the normative conclusions of the liberal tradition. I argue that a well-functioning market economy is an institution that individuals have reason to value, whether or not their preferences satisfy conventional axioms of rationality, and that individuals’ motivations in such an economy can be cooperative rather than self-interested.

Value Creation in Inter-Organizational Collaboration: An Empirical Study

Abstract: Over the last decade, businesses, policymakers, and researchers alike have advocated the need for (and potential of) value creation through inter-organizational collaboration. Researchers have widely argued that organizations that are engaged in collaborative processes create value. Because researchers have tended to focus on the identification of organizational motivations and on key success factors for collaboration, however, both the nature and processes of value creation in inter-organizational collaboration have yet to be examined. A recent theory by Austin and Seitanidi (Nonprofit Volunt Sect Q 41(5):726–758, 2012a; Nonprofit Volunt Sect Q 41(6):929–968, 2012b) has proposed an analytical framework for analyzing value creation in inter-organizational collaboration, based on four types of value. The purpose of this current study is to empirically test this framework, and to provide key pointers for analyzing the nature of value, particularly in relation to learning. Our detailed empirical research is based on a 6-year retrospective case study of an inter-organizational partnership within an international development project for local economic development in Guatemala. The study’s contributions are twofold. First, it provides evidence of the critical path of the creation of diverse types of values in a collaborative process; second, it links the different types of value creation with the types of learning that occur in an inter-organizational process.

How social, environmental, and economic CSR affects consumer-perceived value: Does perceived consumer effectiveness make a difference?

Abstract: This study analyzes the influence of consumer‐perceived dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from a sustainable development approach (i.e. economic, social, and environmental) on the dimensions of perceived value (i.e. utilitarian, emotional, and social value). The study also analyzes the moderating effect of perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) in the value generation process around CSR. A theoretical model is estimated with data from 661 consumers of Inditex or Danone products, leading firms in the textile and dairy sectors, respectively. Results indicate that functional value is determined by economic and social dimensions of CSR. Emotional value can be enhanced through the three CSR dimensions but social dimension has the greatest influence. Finally, firms can only influence social value through social CSR initiatives because it is unaffected by environmental and economic dimensions. The moderating effect of PCE is confirmed by the influence of the social dimension of CSR on the three types of value and the influence of the economic dimension of CSR on consumer functional value.

Behavioral and Neural Evidence of the Rewarding Value of Exercise Behaviors: A Systematic Review.

Abstract: In a time of physical inactivity pandemic, attempts to better understand the factors underlying the regulation of exercise behavior are important. The dominant neurobiological approach to exercise behavior considers physical activity to be a reward; however, negative affective responses during exercise challenge this idea. Our objective was to systematically review studies testing the automatic reactions triggered by stimuli associated with different types of exercise behavior (e.g. physical activity, sedentary behaviors) and energetic cost variations (e.g. decreased energetic cost, irrespective of the level of physical activity). We also examined evidence supporting the hypothesis that behaviors minimizing energetic cost (BMEC) are rewarding. Two authors systematically searched, screened, extracted, and analyzed data from articles in the MEDLINE database. We included 26 studies. Three outcomes of automatic processes were tested: affective reactions, attentional capture, and approach tendencies. Behavioral results show that physical activity can become attention-grabbing, automatically trigger positive affect, and elicit approach behaviors. These automatic reactions explain and predict exercise behaviors; however, the use of a wide variety of measures prevents drawing solid conclusions about the specific effects of automatic processes. Brain imaging results are scarce but show that stimuli associated with physical activity and, to a lesser extent, sedentary behaviors activate regions involved in reward processes. Studies investigating the rewarding value of behaviors driving energetic cost variations such as BMEC are lacking. Reward is an important factor in exercise behavior. The literature based on the investigation of automatic behaviors seems in line with the suggestion that physical activity is rewarding, at least for physically active individuals. Results suggest that sedentary behaviors could also be rewarding, although this evidence remains weak due to a lack of investigations. Finally, from an evolutionary perspective, BMEC are likely to be rewarding; however, no study has investigated this hypothesis. In sum, additional studies are required to establish a strong and complete framework of the reward processes underlying automatic exercise behavior.

The Political Value of Time: Citizenship, Duration, and Democratic Justice

Abstract: Waiting periods and deadlines are so ubiquitous that we often take them for granted. Yet they form a critical part of any democratic architecture. When a precise moment or amount of time is given political importance, we ought to understand why this is so. The Political Value of Time explores the idea of time within democratic theory and practice. Elizabeth F. Cohen demonstrates how political procedures use quantities of time to confer and deny citizenship rights. Using specific dates and deadlines, states carve boundaries around a citizenry. As time is assigned a form of political value it comes to be used to transact over rights. Cohen concludes with a normative analysis of the ways in which the devaluation of some people's political time constitutes a widely overlooked form of injustice. This book shows readers how and why they need to think about time if they want to understand politics.