This article reports an experimental Delphi study of expert attitudes to management contracts in the Dutch hotel industry. The study was prompted by appreciation of the apparent trend towards the divesting of property by international hotel companies, which is also explored here. The purpose of the research reported was to ascertain expert views of the implications of such a trend for the Dutch hotel industry, which has a history of risk aversion and aversion to management contracts as a model for hotel operations. The Delphi approach allowed access to a variety of experts regarding different groups and stakeholder perceptions. The findings of the study, which is the first of its kind to address this question in the Dutch hotel industry context, suggest that there is an expectation of greater diversity in the financial arrangements for managing hotel operations, but no inclination to radically change the business practices that have hitherto characterised the Dutch hotel sector.
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The hotel industry is often thought of as something of a laggard in the implementation of sustainability initiatives. In this conceptual paper, we examine this assertion in a new context: models of hotel ownership and operation. We focus on current trends in the latter toward 'asset light' ownership/operation configurations, materializing in so-called hotel management contracts. It is established that whereas hotel management contracts usually favor the control and manage paradigm, add additional stakeholders and encompass stakeholder detachment, these characteristics of a separation of ownership and operation actually hinder instatement and application of the values-driven collaborative learning processes needed to further sustainable development. Finally, the need to follow up this conceptual discussion with empirical research - focusing on validating, refining and/or adding to the three key issues identified here - is highlighted and key issues for future research are identified.
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Expectations are high for digital technologies to address sustainability related challenges. While research into such applications and the twin transformation is growing rapidly, insights in the actual daily practices of digital sustainability within organizations is lacking. This is problematic as the contributions of digital tools to sustainability goals gain shape in organizational practices. To bridge this gap, we develop a theoretical perspective on digital sustainability practices based on practice theory, with an emphasis on the concept of sociomateriality. We argue that connecting meanings related to sustainability with digital technologies is essential to establish beneficial practices. Next, we contend that the meaning of sustainability is contextspecific, which calls for a local meaning making process. Based on our theoretical exploration we develop an empirical research agenda.
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The benefits of having a high indoor environmental quality (IEQ) for a healthy life and optimal performance are well known. In addition, research has been executed on the effects of indoor environmental parameters such as (day)light, sound/ acoustics, temperature, and air quality on people living with dementia.
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Energy efficiency has gained a lot of prominence in recent debates on urban sustainability and housing policy due to its potential consequences for climate change. At the local, national and also international level, there are numerous initiatives to promote energy savings and the use of renewable energy to reduce the environmental burden. There is a lot of literature on energy saving and other forms of energy efficiency in housing. However, how to bring this forward in the management of individual housing organisations is not often internationally explored. An international research project has been carried out to find the answers on management questions of housing organisations regarding energy efficiency. Eleven countries have been included in this study: Germany, the United Kingdom (more specifically: England), France, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Canada. The state of the art of energy efficiency in the housing management of non-profit housing organisations and the embedding of energy efficiency to improve the quality and performance of housing in management practices have been investigated, with a focus on how policy ambitions about energy efficiency are brought forward in investment decisions at the estate level. This paper presents the conclusions of the research
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This position paper addresses the way knowledge is conceptualized in knowledge management literature and practice. Using the work of Lakoff and Johnson on metaphors it will show how people use metaphors to think and talk about knowledge. In KM literature at least 22 different metaphors for knowledge are used. Further research shows that these metaphors are primarily Western metaphors while in Eastern philosophy many other metaphors for knowledge are used. The choice of metaphors for knowledge has great influence about the way we think about knowledge management. They determine what we diagnose as KM problems in organizations and what we develop as KM solutions. To illustrate this, the paper presents the results of an exercise set up to determine the effect of metaphors on knowledge management approaches in which two challenging metaphors for knowledge were used: knowledge as water and knowledge as love.
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Since the financial and administrative liberalisation from the government in the late 1980s and the 1990s, the Dutch housing associations have been very dynamic, regarding the considerable extension of both commercial and social activities, the increased reliance and dependence on market circumstances, and the large number of amalgamations, creating bigger organisations. In recent years the Dutch social housing sector is under increased pressure as a consequence of the credit crunch, increased tax levies and the national implementation in the sector of EU regulations on ‘Services of General Economic Interest’. Factors like these are likely to have an effect on the organisational strategies of housing associations, the main providers of social housing in the Netherlands. The direction and the size of these effects, however, are not well known. A recent inquiry among housing associations sheds more light on this. In this paper, we make use of a classification including a socialcommercial dimension and a dimension between so-called ‘prospectors’ and ‘defenders’. This classification proves to be an adequate tool to describe the recent developments in the sector. It is concluded that, in general, housing associations are focussing more on traditional social housing tasks and ‘defending’ strategies, implying a shift back compared to the trend in recent decades.
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This report summarizes the work done by Thematic Working Group 4 (TWG4) on “Procurement and Tendering” for e-bus deployment. It further analyses the various Good Practices collected by project partners with a reference to the above aspects. This report takes the policy learning one step further and sheds light on regional similarities and differences in practices that have been found functional and worth spreading.
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Lawmakers as representatives of the people should resist the anti-competitive proposals of the banking sector and embrace a vision of the digital euro that serves the collective interests of Europeans, Dr Martijn van der Linden and Vicky Van Eyck write. The influence of the banking lobby on policymakers risks undermining the digital euro's potential. Lawmakers as representatives of the people should resist the anticompetitive proposals of the banking sector and embrace a vision of the digital euro that serves the collective interests of Europeans. This means that the digital euro must be attractive, accessible and beneficial to all. The deliberation process must be free from the disproportionate influence of an industry that has much to lose from a level playing field for payment services and financial intermediation.
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