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The purpose of this article is to investigate the impact of total quality management (TQM) practices adopted by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on their financial performance in a period where ...

This paper aims to ascertain: whether (1) there were any immediate effects on managers’ leadership competencies, leadership outcomes and teamwork as a result of the Outdoor Management Development (...

In recent years, the energy market has seen an increase in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) participating in the sector and providing relevant services to customers. The energy sector SMEs need to acknowledge whether reengineering their marketing strategy by modeling customers’ website behavior could enhance their digital marketing efficiency. Web Analytics refers to the extracted data of customers’ behavior from firms’ websites, a subclass of big data (big masses of uncategorized data information). This study aims to provide insights regarding the impact that energy SMEs’ web analytics has on their digital marketing efficiency as a marketing reengineering process. The paper’s methodology begins with the retrieval of behavioral website data from SMEs in the energy sector, followed by regression and correlation analyses and the development of simulation models with Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM). Research results showed that customer behavioral data originating from SMEs’ websites can effectively impact key digital marketing performance indicators, such as increasing new visits and reducing organic costs and bounce rate (digital marketing analytics). SMEs in the energy sector can potentially increase their website visibility and customer base by re-engineering their marketing strategy and utilizing customers’ behavioral analytic data.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate issues relevant to service quality and propose a conceptual model addressing the convictions held by consumers in relation to the service quality of sport services as regards spectators and their influence on sport consumption. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative method was used for the purpose of this study and 1,643 questionnaires were gathered and analyzed. The current research intended to employ an integrated service quality model within the scope of sport spectating. The model included five fundamental factors and they were examined in association with the behavioral intentions that spectators have. By combining all these factors and aspects, it was attempted to shape consumers’ general perception regarding quality in service. The model of the research considers quality in service to be a hierarchical construct comprising many dimensions and it is observed that service quality can be classified into five factors, all of which can be defined by a variety of corresponding sub-factors. Findings The outcomes showed that four of the suggested factors regarding quality (i.e. game quality, augmented service quality, interaction quality and outcome quality) had an important as well as favorable influence on sport consumption. Research limitations/implications The empirical evidence for this research is derived from one specific professional sport event (European Basketball League) and spectators who took part were from Greece. Future research could use a wider sample of sport events and the participation of spectators from various countries is necessary before such findings are generalized. Originality/value The present research provides a contemporary analysis of factors influencing sport spectators anticipated quality and their influence on sport consumption.

This study seeks to identify the strategic and operational factors necessary for the effective operation of the International Olympic Academy (IOA), and of the National Olympic Academies (NOAs). It applies Resource Dependence Theory (RDP) and Inter-organizational Relationships Theory (IOR) to the institutional environment of the NOAs. A set of exploratory semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), IOA, NOAs and Academics. A thematic analysis of the interview data provided themes to be incorporated into a questionnaire conducted with NOA directors and NOC officials focusing on relationships of the NOAs with other organisations and the implications for their autonomy. The nature of the field of NOA activity and its environment, is such that, for many NOAs, it is beset by an imbalance of power. This is reflected in the resource dependency of many NOAs on, in particular, NOCs and ultimately the IOC for legitimacy, human, financial and physical resources. The paper highlights a number of ways in which these relationships might be modified for the benefit of all the organisations involved.

The concept of online teaching and learning is widely adopted by universities due to the pandemic of COVID-19, which forced them to shift from blending learning (including both direct and remote education) to exclusive online education. Technology has provided a multitude of tools, which can prove very useful in the hands of people who want to serve such a great purpose as education. During the days of the pandemic, where people are isolated, virtual community and virtual learning technology brings people together to experience a sense of educational community in the virtual world. This chapter introduces the reader to the importance for social skill training of the learning communities during times that online learning is the sole type of education, exploring methodologies, tools, and practices that can be used to counterbalance the deficiencies introduced by distance learning methods regarding social skill development.

In recent years, business companies are challenged with various difficulties in connection to human resources (HR), for example, adapting to one’s sentiments, managing debates, developing collaboration, affecting leadership, addressing motives, interpersonal susceptibility, dealing with capabilities and also individual emotional intelligence (EI) or inward characteristics (e.g. moral qualities). Expanding on and reaching out earlier and ongoing work, the scope of this research is to experimentally look at the connection between the components of EI and ethics in contemporary organizations and their resulting impact on employees’ motives and performance. A quantitative method was utilized, and an entirety of 386 questionnaires was collected from three diverse high-tech new businesses based in Greece and analyzed with SPSS programing. For triangulation reasons, auxiliary information from the organizations’ sites were gathered and a meeting with each organization’s executive of the HR division was held. The outcomes propose that ethical values add to motives and thus employee motives add to employee performance. Helpful administrative ramifications resulted from this research.

Within the present framework of the Olympic Charter (2019) the International Olympic Committee (IOC) supports educational issues through the International Olympic Academy (IOA), the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and the National Olympic Academies (NOAs). However, there are a number of de facto variations in the arrangements adopted in different national settings. To that end this study seeks to identify the organisations within the institutional environment of the NOAs and how these determine the strategy and the decisions made by NOAs. How does the environment affect the effective operation of the IOA, and of the NOAs in the Olympic academy system? In order to address this question, an archival research along with a set of exploratory semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 key stakeholders from the IOC (4), IOA (2), NOAs (8), Academics (5). The archival research along with thematic analysis of the interview data, provided themes to be incorporated into a questionnaire conducted with NOA officials (response rate 67.8% - 99 of the 146 registered NOAs) focusing on the strategic and organizational factors involved in their functioning. The paper highlights future amendments and changes and a number of ways in which the IOC and the IΟΑ can respond to NOA’s needs and expectations.

All-inclusive hotels have been evolved as an attractive holiday choice for several travelers due to their ability to provide a relaxed holiday with predetermined costs and full amenities. Previous studies on that specific feature of hospitality firms have examined the motivations of travelers behind that choice, yet there is scarce evidence regarding the satisfaction of all-inclusive visitors and whether income and family size are significant determinants of their satisfaction. The study utilizes a large survey of “all-inclusive” visitors summing up to 1600 questionnaires for the exploration of the factors determining tourists’ satisfaction. This research adjoins the existent bibliography by exploring some additional determinants not examined by previous studies such as the size of the family and the income level of the travelers. Empirical evidence indicated that the factors of convenience and economy of resources were impacting customer satisfaction positively along with previous positive experience of visitors. Nevertheless, empirical evidence seem to differentiate when the impact of income and family size is taken into consideration. Specifically, the previous all-inclusive experience, convenience and economy of resources seem to be highly significant only for families with children while the same factors were insignificant for families without children. Finally, the same factors were highly and positively significant for low income visitors and start to become insignificant when examining the medium and high income groups. These evidence provide useful policy implications for hotel managers which offer all-inclusive packages, in order to improve their services and target adjust their tactic strategically based on customer characteristics.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to acquire improved comprehension of the motivational factors and the various constraints associated with individuals’ participation in mass running events.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative method was used for the purpose of this research, and 1.357 questionnaires were completed. This study proposed two broad hypotheses: intrapersonal constraints influence motivation factors (amotivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation); and motivation factors influence the intention to continuous participation.FindingsBoth broad hypotheses were supported by the evidence while the lack of knowledge, interest, confidence and feelings of tiresomeness were found to contribute more to explaining motivation. All three motivational factors had a significant influence on intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe empirical evidence for this study came from runners only. The special attributes of running may have influenced the explored relationships in a way that may not be directly applicable to other activities. Further research in various activities is necessary before such findings are generalized.Originality/valueThe aim of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of the relationships between the motivational factors and the various constraints associated with individuals’ participation in mass sporting and physical activity events. This research focused on developing a model to explain relationships among constraints, motivators and participation, and empirically test the proposed model within the marathon running participants context.

Background: Recent technological innovations which adapted from tourism sector have a decisive impact on the traveler experience. The rapid growth of the Internet usage, confirms that websites consist a critical competitive resource for tourism firms. In this dynamic environment, it is important for online travel agencies to fully understand what aspects of the website affect the perceived quality and to provide web services that fulfil online consumers’ needs. The main goal of the study was to investigate the effect of perceived quality on customers’ overall satisfaction, and purchase intentions of online travel agency services. Methods: The sample consisted of 346 internet users who had visited an online travel agency in less than one year, 192 of whom were women (55.5%) and 154 men (44.5%), and their age ranged from 18 to 62, with the majority of participants belong to the age category of 18–25 years old (26.6%). Data collection was performed through an electronic questionnaire, which was based on WebQual of Loiacono et al. (2007). The results: Results indicated that among all the quality factors, the ease of understanding, response time, and the website intuitive operation (ease to use and navigation) emerged as the most important. Quality perception was significantly different in terms of gender, age and educational level. Also, the perceived quality needs and purchase intentions were different for browsers and purchasers. With regard to the Internet user profile, the annual amount spending on online booking, the reasons of booking and the reason of visiting the website, seemed to influence the perceived quality. Correspondingly, purchase intentions were found to be affected by the reasons of booking and the reason of visiting the website. Finally, a positive correlation was found between the overall perceived quality and purchase intentions. Conclusions: The results of this study are considered important for practitioners in the online travel sector, by identifying significant factors that affect online consumers’ willingness to purchase and will also contribute to building the concept of online travel agency quality performance.

The transition of TQM from the business field in education started in 1994 to strengthen the humanistic nature of education and improve quality service with the full participation of all involved. Cyprus recognized as a country with highly developed education services and qualitative characteristics that are easily identifiable. However, no studies are published yet concerning the implementation of TQM in Cyprus. The purpose is to examine the design and implementation of TQM at primary and secondary school settings in Cyprus and create a reference point of collecting all partial findings of TQM implementation in Cypriot education. A systematic recording of research included the design and implementation of TQM in education settings using ten electronic databases and keywords including education, TQM and the six factors determining the quality of TQM services. The research included peer-reviewed articles, doctoral theses, and conference abstracts during the last 20 years, leading to future TQM implementation conclusions. Cyprus nowadays focuses on the overall evaluation and implementation of TQM through innovation and quality improvement in education, differentiated and virtual teaching, adapted learning and inclusion of students with disabilities, and hiring new teaching staff that will implement a holistic approach of promoting TQM within school settings.

The objective of this study is to investigate the growing importance of societal marketing, by identifying the key variables in the sport sponsorship relationship, and more specifically to examine the impact of sponsor image on one major behavioral outcome, fans' purchase intention. Furthermore, the role of sport activity involvement and team attachment was investigated, in enhancing sponsor's image between football fans. The findings supported that Sponsor Image has a significant effect on the purchase intention (R2 = 0,813, p < 0.001) regardless of the product fit. Sponsor image was weakly linked with sport involvement and team achievement.

The aim of the present research is to suggest a theoretical framework of sport marketing research with a focal point on sport participation in semi-marathon events. There are clear benefits of an active lifestyle and people are increasingly engaged in recreational sports activity and participation in recreational sports events. In this study the motivation for such participation is explored drawing on empirical evidence from a semi-marathon running event. Elements were obtained from a semi-marathon and a quantitative questionnaire was utilised for the data collection. The total number of questionnaires successfully gathered was 268, which were then analysed using SPSS. Results indicate that intention for recurring participation is positively related to perceived benefits in mental and physical health, attachment with running, socialising opportunities, attractiveness of the respective running event and the destination's elements of the semi-marathon event. Significant differences in the motivation between male and female runners were also identified.

The primary objective article was to investigate the websites’ persuasiveness of the luxury hotels in Greece and its implications for their financial performance. As a result, a content analysis was applied primarily as a quantitative research method, with website characteristics classified into distinct categories and then described using statistics; 335 websites of luxury hotels were reviewed and data were analyzed by means of STATA 12. Persuasiveness measured using six dimensions, namely: informativeness, usability, credibility, inspiration, involvement and reciprocity. The research divulged a comparatively low degree of the hotels overall persuasiveness, specifically in involvement dimension. Furthermore, current research attempted to pinpoint the relation among the hotels’ website overall persuasiveness and its impact on their financial performance. The findings could offer the hotel managers useful insights into enhancing their website’s persuasiveness and accordingly their financial performance.

The purpose of this research is to study expectations regarding ageing (ERA) among individuals who participate in running events as well as to explore personality and demographic features as potential variables that influence ERA values. A quantitative questionnaire was selected as the predominant means of collecting the data and 196 successfully completed questionnaires were analyzed by means of the SPSS. Results indicate a positive correlation between ERA values and Change Seeker Index in our sample. Moreover gender and frequency of exercise found to have no significant effect on ERA score. Finally, ERA was examined among three generational cohorts and differences were noticed to physical subscale.

The purpose of this research is to study expectations regarding ageing (ERA) among individuals who participate in running events as well as to explore personality and demographic features as potential variables that influence ERA values. A quantitative questionnaire was selected as the predominant means of collecting the data and 196 successfully completed questionnaires were analyzed by means of the SPSS. Results indicate a positive correlation between ERA values and Change Seeker Index in our sample. Moreover gender and frequency of exercise found to have no significant effect on ERA score. Finally, ERA was examined among three generational cohorts and differences were noticed to physical subscale.

Purpose: The object of this research is to investigate work motivating factors in the public sector in Greece, as well as to study demographic attributes, placing emphasis on age and gender as determinants of employee motives. Design/methodology/approach: To answer our research questions, a questionnaire was distributed at the beginning of 2015 to a public - sector organization in central Greece. A total of 318 anonymous survey responses were collected and analysed with SPSS. Findings: In the public organization under survey, the leading employee motives are an increase in salaries, opportunities for hierarchical advancement in the organization, as well as the development of personal skills. Moreover, motivational differences are noted among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. Research limitations/implications: As the present study has been conducted on a single public organization, awareness should be raised as far as the generalizability of the results providing useful insights for further exploration. Originality/value: Limited research has been conducted in the Greek public sector comparing motives among generations.

The aim of this study is to present a theoretical framework of sport entrepreneurship research and to bridge the gap between sport participation and entrepreneurship. More specifically, the aim of this research is to investigate the factors influencing participation in high performance sport events. Furthermore, the present research explores the impact of gender on motivation of athletes as well as the impact of the various type of events. A quantitative method was used and questionnaires were gathered from three different races. A total of 616 questionnaires was achieved, which were then analysed using SPSS. Regression analysis showed that the intention to participate in future events is explained by the proposed variables; physical and mental health, attachment to the event, and sportscape factors. Moreover, the type of the event was found to have a moderating role.

The primary purposes of this study were: to determine the extent to which the strategic planning process was being used in NCAA Division I‐A athletic departments; to identify the key factors that discourage the above mentioned departments from engaging in strategic planning activities; to develop and recommend a generic strategic planning process model, which could be implemented by the athletic departments; and to examine the relationships between the extent of strategic planning used by the athletic departments and these selected variables: type of the university (private versus public), university size, and background of athletic directors. All 106 NCAA Division I‐A athletic departments were surveyed. The response rate was 72 per cent. Findings of this study were as follows: 33 (43.4 per cent) of the athletic departments were classified as strategic planners; insufficient financial resources and time were the factors that highly discouraged the athletic departments from engaging in strategic planning; a strategic planning process model was developed and an analysis of its several components was presented; the extent of strategic planning used by the athletic departments was not related to the type of university, university size, and the background of athletic directors.

The current study contributes to the understanding of quality practices adopted by Greek SMEs, under economic crisis conditions. In the context of the survey, a questionnaire was distributed to Greek ISO certified SMEs. Using as criterion the number of employees currently employed, different groups of SMEs were formed. From the email sent to SMEs all over Greece, a total of 180 companies responded (45% response rate). The quality criteria used for measuring TQM implementation level were the 'organisational performance assessment', the 'organisational culture', the quality processes and the quality tools and techniques. Conclusions support the belief that Greek SMEs continue their quality journey giving greater emphasis on cultural dimensions. The low rates recognised for quality tools and processes implemented support the perception that ISO certified SMEs reinforce TQM implementation but not in such a level as to contribute to a 'continuous improvement' process.