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This special topic forum (STF) on Transformative Supply Chain Research introduces a new direction in logistics and supply chain research to guide scholars in addressing the wicked problems facing 21st century society. Supply chain professionals are increasingly addressing corporate social responsibility, changing expectations from customers, resource scarcity, a changing climate, civic and political unrest, to name but a few issues of our times. But scholars have only begun to address these issues from a transformative lens, in which we consider the role of logistics and supply chain management in creating well‐being outcomes for the benefit of society. This editorial presents a 5‐pronged research agenda to guide researchers, while highlighting the three articles in this STF that serve as exemplars of transformative supply chain research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measured New Zealand college students' perceptions of educational service quality using SERVPREF methodology. Found that both technical and functional quality are important dimensions, and that the quality of education, campus facilities and environment, and course process significantly influence students' perceptions of service quality. Student characteristics also influenced perceptions. (EV)

Using the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) and Actor-Network-Theory and After (After ANT), we explore how regime actors from the formal accommodation sector perceive and respond to Airbnb. We evaluate regime actors' perceptions of Airbnb's network and its key characteristics. Based on in-depth interviews with 14 stakeholders, we found that Airbnb is perceived as impacting both the landscape and the regime. Perceptions of Airbnb are not uniform across accommodation types. The findings also suggest that through principles of translation, negotiation, and lack of acquiescence, the niche player, Airbnb, is perceived as attempting to create a new 'collectif'. The regime has responded through strategies including, financial responses, marketing responses, and lobbying for regulations. Implications for theory and practice are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model is tested on the impact of the higher order construct of natural environmental orientation (NEO) on firm performance with reference to the natural-resource-based view (NRBV) of the firm. The findings reveal that the higher order construct of NEO is positively and significantly related to profit after tax and market share, and is negatively related to sales growth.

This study examines the nature of temporary disposition and acquisition in the context of online peer-to-peer (P2P) renting. Although renting is becoming increasingly popular, little is known about the phenomenon as practised between peers. P2P renting is a form of non-ownership access that enables renters to temporarily access goods, but also provides those that rent the ability to temporarily dispose of their possessions. Theoretically driven thematic analysis identifies that P2P renting is characterised as a self-service exchange with extensive co-creation and a balanced market-mediated exchange involving short-term intermittent transactions driven by a desire for community, inspired by political consumerism. However, fear of negative reciprocity, the high-involvement nature of the transaction, limited access to products and the inflexible nature of P2P rental sites impede the practice. Having a better understanding of current attitudes towards P2P renting may help with the design of future online P2P systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Families represent an important context for understanding and addressing the various forms of risk experienced by consumers. This article defines and discusses the concept of risk as it applies to the familial unit, with a particular focus on the liminal transitions that occur within families and the resiliency required for families to identify and adopt effective coping strategies to manage these transitions. A framework is proposed that offers researchers an approach for applying concepts related to family risk to various consumption-related problems and issues. This framework constitutes a starting point that can be developed and expanded to facilitate a deeper understanding of the internal and external forces that influence families and their well-being, and the role consumption plays therein. Potential avenues for future transformative consumer research are proposed in this important but under-developed field. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The formation of a marketing system often reflects historical legacies that seek to protect and preserve longstanding community interests. These legacies encourage some patterns of adaptive growth, but they may also limit other avenues of productive change. In this essay, we focus on the United States housing system as an illustration of a marketing system with significant legacy structures. Historically, this marketplace system arose to provide safe shelter for citizens and was enacted through building codes. These codes arose for historically important reasons, many of which are still pertinent today. Other legacies, however, inhibit market innovations, such as the significant barriers that exist for developing affordable housing. We argue that change in legacy market systems may require tactical moments of creative destruction. We examine a multi-stakeholder approach across the macro, meso, and micro levels of the marketplace to enable novel solutions for systemic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research looks at the way that stories were shared online following the magnitude 7.1 and 6.3 earthquakes that hit Canterbury, New Zealand in September 2010 and February 2011. The earthquakes left the city of Christchurch with massive structural, infrastructural and emotional damage as well as leading to 185 deaths. The ground movement was the highest ever recorded to have hit a major city. Four years on, the city is beginning to recover. This research looks at the way in which technology was used as one tool to promote community resilience amongst those affected by the earthquakes and reflects the growing awareness of the contribution that consumer behaviour research can make to disaster research and studies of resilience. Several online tools, social media and online communities, were used by residents in order to cope with the ordeal. We demonstrate that the Internet not only provided a major source of practical information, but also may have facilitated an emotional bond to others in the city and beyond thereby contributing to increased personal and community resilience. We show that the need to share and express one's self following a major crisis event was clearly evident with the volumes of stories submitted, especially when physical travel was impractical or restricted by the authorities. The implications for theories of catharsis and the use of online media during crises are discussed. Policy recommendations regarding the use of online media are also provided as an aid in the victims' emotional recovery from a major crisis. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]