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1 – 10 of 14Maria Ioana Telecan, Petru Lucian Curseu and Claudia Lenuta Rus
We grounded this study in the Too-Much-of-a-Good-Thing (TMGT) meta-theoretical framework to disentangle the costs and benefits associated with workplace friendship in a military…
Abstract
Purpose
We grounded this study in the Too-Much-of-a-Good-Thing (TMGT) meta-theoretical framework to disentangle the costs and benefits associated with workplace friendship in a military setting.
Design/methodology/approach
We collected data cross-sectionally through self-reports from 287 employees from the Romanian Air Force.
Findings
The number of friends had an inverted U-shaped association with perceived social support. Our results show that as the number of friends increases from 9 to 10, so does the social support. However, as the number of friends further increases above 10, social support tends to decrease rather than increase. Furthermore, we found that social support and all dimensions of mental well-being (emotional, social and psychological well-being) were positively associated. Moreover, social support mediated the relationship between the number of friends and the three dimensions of mental well-being.
Research limitations/implications
Our findings can help human resources policies in military organizations foster an organizational climate that cultivates friendship ties between employees, which is crucial for their social support and overall mental well-being.
Originality/value
This work provides additional information about the specific mechanisms through which the effects of workplace friendships on mental well-being occur.
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Sundas Pervaiz, Usman Javed, Amir Rajput, Shoaib Shafique and Rabia Tasneem
Drawing upon the stimulus-organism-response model, this study aims to explore the impact of soft aspects of service quality on revisit intention through the mechanism of perceived…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing upon the stimulus-organism-response model, this study aims to explore the impact of soft aspects of service quality on revisit intention through the mechanism of perceived empathy.
Design/methodology/approach
For the examination of the hypothesized relationships, the study adopts structural equation modelling to analyse the data of 562 respondents (i.e. 281 family members and 281 inpatients).
Findings
The empirical results suggest that service quality increased family member empathy perception, which, in turn, improved inpatients’ revisit intentions.
Originality/value
Past studies have focused on the roles of overall service quality. The authors have extended the literature by examining the specific but important aspect of service quality and its effects on emotional response. Importantly, the study explains that the affective reactions of a patient’s family, fastened with perceived empathy, have a central role in influencing the patients’ subsequent reactions. Moreover, the prior studies collected the data either from hospital employees or patients. However, in the present study, the authors used a unique sample (family members as well as patients) to have a deeper understanding. Thus, the study enhances the literature on the stimuli-response (i.e. service quality – revisit intentions) relationship in the context of service marketing in general and health care in specific. Important academic and managerial contributions and recommendations for future research are discussed.
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Bronwyn Eager, Craig Deegan and Terese Fiedler
The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed demonstration of how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to potentially generate valuable insights and recommendations…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed demonstration of how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to potentially generate valuable insights and recommendations regarding the role of accounting in addressing key sustainability-related issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The study offers a novel method for leveraging AI tools to augment traditional scoping study techniques. The method was used to show how the authors can produce recommendations for potentially enhancing organisational accountability pertaining to seasonal workers.
Findings
Through the use of AI and informed by the knowledge base that the authors created, the authors have developed prescriptions that have the potential to advance the interests of seasonal workers. In doing so, the authors have focussed on developing a useful and detailed guide to assist their colleagues to apply AI to various research questions.
Originality/value
This study demonstrates the ability of AI to assist researchers in efficiently finding solutions to social problems. By augmenting traditional scoping study techniques with AI tools, the authors present a framework to assist future research in such areas as accounting and accountability.
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Despite evidence that cashless payment modes influence spending behavior, researchers have yet to explain the underlying mechanism. Cash serves as a store of value, and…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite evidence that cashless payment modes influence spending behavior, researchers have yet to explain the underlying mechanism. Cash serves as a store of value, and transactions involve the transference of ownership in circulation. This study aims to unpack why the physical and visceral nature of cash embodies psychological ownership and how the physicality of cash attenuates the awareness of spending, curtailing instinctive and unnecessary spending.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on data collected in 2013 in New Zealand, the authors conducted another study in the quite different context of China in September 2023, using identical semistructured discussion protocols. The data from 2013 involved five focus group sessions containing at least six participants, involving 31 adults who also completed an open-ended questionnaire immediately before the group discussion commenced. The data collection in 2023 used the same open-ended and semistructured discussion protocol used in 2013, resulting in 180 adult open-ended responses – a nonprobability criterion-based purposive sampling guided participant selection in the 2013 and 2023 studies.
Findings
Findings reveal that psychological ownership does manifest in the app more than in the ownership of money itself. People felt happy, confident, safe and secure while using apps that stored their money. Physical attributes of cash result from sensory perceptions of handling, counting and touching cash and coins. A sense of psychological ownership heightens spending awareness and ramifies spending behavior. The research found sadness and guilt as negative emotions when parting with money.
Originality/value
This study offers empirical support to explain why psychological ownership of cash regulates spending and why the psychological processes that underlie “owned” money interrupt the spending with cash.
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Kirsten Russell, Fiona Barnett, Sharon Varela, Simon Rosenbaum and Robert Stanton
The mental and physical health of those residing in Australian rural and remote communities is poorer compared to major cities. Physical health comorbidities contribute to almost…
Abstract
Purpose
The mental and physical health of those residing in Australian rural and remote communities is poorer compared to major cities. Physical health comorbidities contribute to almost 80% of premature mortality for people living with mental illness. Leisure time physical activity (LTPA) is a well-established intervention to improve physical and mental health. To address the physical and mental health of rural and remote communities through LTPA, the community’s level of readiness should be first determined. This study aims to use the community readiness model (CRM) to explore community readiness in a remote Australian community to address mental health through LTPA.
Design/methodology/approach
Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted using the CRM on LTPA to address mental health. Quantitative outcomes scored the community’s stage of readiness for LTPA programmes to address mental health using the CRM categories of one (no awareness) to nine (high level of community ownership). Qualitative outcomes were thematically analysed, guided by Braun and Clark.
Findings
The community scored six (initiation) for community efforts and knowledge of LTPA programmes and seven (stabilisation) for leadership. The community’s attitude towards LTPA and resources for programmes scored four (pre-planning), and knowledge of LTPA scored three (vague awareness).
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first Australian study to use CRM to examine community readiness to use LTPA to improve mental health in a remote community. The CRM was shown to be a useful tool to identify factors for intervention design that might optimise community empowerment in using LTPA to improve mental health at the community level.
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Caterina Pesci, Lorenzo Gelmini and Paola Vola
This paper draws on the thinking of the nineteenth-century Italian philosopher and poet Giacomo Leopardi and scholars who studied his thoughts on the relationship between nature…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper draws on the thinking of the nineteenth-century Italian philosopher and poet Giacomo Leopardi and scholars who studied his thoughts on the relationship between nature and humans. Leopardi's philosophy of nature recognizes the alienness of nature in relation to humankind, thus challenging human governance of the planet. The poet’s thoughts align with the dilemma identified in the Anthropocene literature: who speaks for nature? This dilemma has accounting implications in terms of the frameworks and disclosures to be adopted. Therefore, Leopardi’s thoughts can become the basis for a more articulated and complex understanding of some key concepts and issues at the roots of SEA.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilizes content analysis to examine four essays by Giacomo Leopardi, which serve as the source of our data.
Findings
Leopardi recognizes the alienness of nature with respect to humanity and the voicelessness of nature as a generative of conflict. He also warned of the consequences of human governance that does not take nature’s needs into account. These findings open a discussion on the complex accounting implications of the distance between humanity and nature. They can inspire SEA scholars to change the status quo by developing new accounting frameworks from the perspective of nature and adopting forms of governance of nature that recognize the need to protect it as a voiceless stakeholder.
Originality/value
Through Leopardi’s humanistic and poetic philosophy, the perspective of nature can be infused into SEA studies, thereby promoting the need for a multidisciplinary and complex approach to the discipline.
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Camille Nakhid, Tommy Sokun Long, Mengzhu Fu, Makanaka Tuwe, Zina Abu Ali, Lourdes Vano, Pooja Subramanian, Caryn Yachinta and Claire Farrugia
This paper looks at mainstream lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) support services in Aotearoa New Zealand, which predominantly center…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper looks at mainstream lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) support services in Aotearoa New Zealand, which predominantly center white queer voices and services and fail to account for the intersectional identities of young ethnic queers.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory, qualitative study investigated the social and professional support experienced and responded to by 43 young ethnic queers living in Aotearoa New Zealand, who were between 18 and 35 years of age. Participants identified as queer, non-binary, gay, pansexual, demisexual, gender fluid, non-binary and trans among others and held ethnic heritage from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Persadie and Narain's Mash Up methodological approach (2022) was used to analyze the data. Mash Up allowed us to understand the intersectional spaces of queer ethnic lives in white-dominated spaces, the ways in which young ethnic queers resisted the marginalization of their racialized being and took agency to counter actions and decisions that negated their presence and intersectional identities.
Findings
The findings from the study showed that young ethnic queers responded to the lack of adequate support services by establishing their own voluntary organizations and support networks. The study revealed that ethnic queer young people were critical of the white-dominated LGBTQIA+ support organizations; they created their own transformative spaces where they found “family” and community where they could be open about their queerness without the fear of rejection and stigma, while still advocating for equitable resources and an intersectional approach in queer mainstream services.
Originality/value
This paper provides valuable information on the lack of support for queer ethnic young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. The absence of information on the needs of this group poses a challenge to government departments, which rely on data to inform policy and allocate resources. The limited research and knowledge of this community make them less visible and, consequently, less likely to be given resources. It also means that harmful practices and behaviors toward queer ethnic young people by families and communities are more likely to go unnoticed and unaddressed. The paper also shows that the agency of young ethnic queers to create their own transformative spaces and to challenge the white-centric spaces, which have failed to consider their intersectional identities, has been instrumental to their well-being.
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Since COVID-19, many services have burgeoned within the UK, but what about sexual minorities? Since the last review, there are appropriate therapies, but there is often inadequate…
Abstract
Purpose
Since COVID-19, many services have burgeoned within the UK, but what about sexual minorities? Since the last review, there are appropriate therapies, but there is often inadequate research. The purpose of this mixed-method review synthesis looking into the efficacy of psychological therapies for sexual minorities. Seven studies were found in total.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method review synthesis, three studies looking into the efficacy of psychological therapies for sexual minorities and four studies addressing the experiences of sexual minorities partaking in psychological therapies were identified.
Findings
These included three quantitative and four qualitative studies. The minority stress hypothesis is used to formulate problems, but challenges remain to confidentiality and privacy in this context. Therapists still operate within the heteronormative framework, discounting intersectionality in therapy conversations.
Research limitations/implications
Most studies have had low retention rates since 2021. It shows that minority stress needs to be accounted for at the ethics committee and research delivery levels.
Practical implications
Applying a heteronormative framework to sexual minorities is not working. An alternative progress world view is needed.
Social implications
Health-care clinicians strive for equitable care. Unfortunately, using an equitable health service scale adapted from Levesque et al. (2013), the rating is 3 out of 6. More work is needed to improve services.
Originality/value
Some services are reporting much improvement post-pandemic. Sadly, this is not the case for sexual minorities. Individual and systemic barriers remain.
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Ana-María Ríos, María-Dolores Guillamón and Bernardino Benito
Nowadays, there is a strong public interest in promoting transparency to be informed about the actions of the public sector. At the same time, there has been a significant change…
Abstract
Purpose
Nowadays, there is a strong public interest in promoting transparency to be informed about the actions of the public sector. At the same time, there has been a significant change in society’s perceptions and concerns about sustainable development, with a marked increase in attention to this area. In this context, our main objective is to investigate the impact of transparency practices in local government on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Spanish municipalities.
Design/methodology/approach
We will analyse a sample of 84 municipalities, using the Dynamic Transparency Index published by Dyntra to measure transparency. For the level of implementation of the SDGs, we will use an index specifically created using data from the report “The SDGs in 100 Spanish Cities”, published by the Spanish Network for Sustainable Development in 2020.
Findings
Municipalities with a larger dependent population tend to achieve higher SDG levels. Municipalities with lower financial surpluses and more self-generated resources show better SDG implementation. Progressive political parties lean more towards sustainability, and coalition governments show higher SDG implementation than majority governments. Gender appears to play a minor role in SDG implementation, but male leadership is associated with higher levels. Factors such as population density and government transfers do not have a significant impact on SDG implementation levels.
Originality/value
This study seeks to address the lack of empirical research on the potential impact of transparency on the achievement of the SDGs, while also taking into account other socio-economic, financial and political aspects of the municipality. In doing so, it also contributes to the limited empirical literature on the determinants of the level of SDG implementation in local governments.
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Soheyla Salimian, Seyed Mehdi Mirmehdi, Reza Salehzadeh and Saeed Moraadipoor
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of brand hate, personality traits (jealousy and sadism) and corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) on schadenfreude and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of brand hate, personality traits (jealousy and sadism) and corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) on schadenfreude and the effects of brand hate, CSI and schadenfreude on purchase intention for counterfeit luxury brands (CLBs).
Design/methodology/approach
The statistical population of this study is consumers of luxury and CLB. Simple random sampling method was used, and data from 200 questionnaires were analyzed through structural equation modeling and SPSS 20 and AMOS 20 software.
Findings
The results indicated that brand hate, personality traits (jealousy and sadism) and CSI have a direct positive effect on schadenfreude. In addition, brand hate, CSI and schadenfreude have a direct positive effect on purchase intention for CLB.
Originality/value
TO the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is among the first to evaluate the impact of brand hate, personality traits and CSI on schadenfreude and purchase intention.
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