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1 – 10 of 15Emmanuel Otchere-Darko, Laura Atuah, Richard Opoku and Christian Koranteng
Green roofs are strategies for the ecological intensification of cities and a measure of meeting some of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). They have widely been adopted as…
Abstract
Purpose
Green roofs are strategies for the ecological intensification of cities and a measure of meeting some of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). They have widely been adopted as an adaptation strategy against an urban heat island (UHI). However, they are conventionally soil-based making it difficult and expensive to adopt as a strategy for greening existing buildings (GEB). This paper, therefore, develops a novel green roof system using climbers for thermal-radiative performance. The paper explores the vitality of climbing species as a nature-based strategy for GEB, and for the ecological improvement of the predominantly used cool roofs in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Design/methodology/approach
Simulation for the same building Kejetia Central Market (KCM) Redevelopment; the existing aluminium roof (AL), soil-based extensive green roof (GR1) and the proposed green roof using climbing plants (GR2) were performed using ENVI-met. The AL and GR1 were developed as reference models to evaluate and compare thermal-radiative performance of the conceptual model (GR2). The long wave radiation emission (Qlw), mean radiant temperature (MRT) and outdoor air temperature (Ta) of all three roofing systems were simulated under clear sky conditions to assess the performance and plant vitality considering water access, leaf temperature (Tf) and latent heat flux (LE0) of GR1 and GR2.
Findings
There was no short wave radiation (Qsw) absorption at the GR2 substrate since the climbers have no underlying soil mass, recording daily mean average Qlw emission of 435.17 Wm−2. The soil of GR1, however, absorbed Qsw of 390.11 Wm−2 and a Qlw emission of 16.20 wm−2 higher than the GR2. The AL recorded the lowest Qlw value of 75.43 Wm−2. Also, the stomatal resistance (rs) was higher in GR1 while GR2 recorded a higher average mean transpiration flux of 0.03 g/sm3. This indicates a higher chance of survival of the climbers. The Ta of GR2 recording 0.45°C lower than the GR1 could be a good UHI adaptation strategy.
Research limitations/implications
No previous research on climbers for green roof systems was found for comparison, so the KCM project provided a unique confluence of dynamic events including the opportunity for block-scale impact assessment of the proposed GEB strategy. Notwithstanding, the single case study allowed a focussed exploration of the novel theory of redefining green roof systems with climbers. Moreover, the simulation was computationally expensive, and engaging multiple case studies were found to be overly exhaustive to arrive at the same meaningful conclusion. As a novelty, therefore, this research provides an alternative theory to the soil-based green roof phenomenon.
Practical implications
The thermal-radiative performance of green roofs could be improved with the use of climbers. The reduction of the intensity of UHI would lead to improved thermal comfort and building energy savings. Also, very little dependence on the volume of soil would require little structural load consideration thereby leading not only to cheaper green roof construction but their higher demand, adoption and implementation in SSA and other low-income economies of the global south.
Social implications
The reduction of the consumption of topsoil and water for irrigation could avoid the negative environmental impacts of land degradation and pollution which have a deleterious impact on human health. This fulfils SDG 12 which seeks to ensure responsible consumption of products. This requires the need to advance the research for improvement and training of local built environment practitioners with new skills for installation to ensure social inclusiveness in the combat against the intractable forces of negative climate impacts.
Originality/value
Climbers are mostly known for green walls, but their innovative use for green roof systems has not been attempted and adopted; it could present a cost-effective strategy for the GEB. The proposed green roof system with climbers apart from becoming a successful strategy for UHI adaptation was also able to record an estimated 568% savings on topsoil consumption with an impact on the reduction of pollution from excavation. The research provides an initial insight into design options, potentials and limitations on the use of climbers for green roofs to guide future research and experimental verification.
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Julius Samuel Opolot, Charles Lagat, Stanley Kipkwelon Kipsang and Yonah Katto Muganzi
This study aims at establishing the moderating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between organisational culture (OC) and organisational commitment in the perspective of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims at establishing the moderating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between organisational culture (OC) and organisational commitment in the perspective of institutions of higher learning in a developing country.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional design was used to obtain quantitative data from 572 academic staff in eight universities. The sample was selected following a simple random technique. The study data were analysed using SPSS version 23.
Findings
The study findings reveal that OC and self-efficacy influence organisational commitment. Further, self-efficacy moderates the relationship between OC and organisational commitment.
Practical implications
Universities should foster a culture that emphasises collaboration, open communication, inclusion, equity and staff development to increase organisational commitment. In order to build academic staff self-efficacy, universities should provide opportunities for training and development, mentoring, coaching, continuous performance evaluation, and regular feedback to stimulate academic staff's desire to remain committed to the institution. University administrators should look beyond traditional skills and competencies when recruiting future academic staff as their personal beliefs are essential to accelerating organisational commitment.
Originality/value
This study extends the current literature in organisational behaviour and provides a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between OC and organisational commitment using the Competing Values Framework. This study was also conducted in a developing country context, which can always lead to different results than studies conducted in developed countries.
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Emna Gara Bach Ouerdian, Khadija Gaha and Nizar Mansour
This paper aims to examine the relationship between workplace incivility and the intention to self-initiate expatriation and whether this relationship is mediated by affective…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between workplace incivility and the intention to self-initiate expatriation and whether this relationship is mediated by affective organizational commitment. It also explores the moderating role of career commitment in this proposed model.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected using a questionnaire among 145 young physicians from Tunisian hospitals. Hypotheses are tested using the PROCESS macro (models 4 and 7) in SPSS.
Findings
Workplace incivility is negatively related to affective organizational commitment, which in turn is related to the intention to self-initiate expatriation. Furthermore, career commitment moderates the indirect effect of workplace incivility on expatriate intention through affective organizational commitment. Specifically, when career commitment is high, the indirect effect on the intention to self-initiate expatriation is stronger.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to examine the indirect influence of workplace incivility on the intention to self-initiate expatriation. Moreover, it furthers our understanding of a contingent factor that influences this indirect effect.
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Kalpana Chandrasekar and Varisha Rehman
Global brands have become increasingly vulnerable to external disruptions that have negative spillover effects on consumers, business and brands. This research area has recently…
Abstract
Purpose
Global brands have become increasingly vulnerable to external disruptions that have negative spillover effects on consumers, business and brands. This research area has recently garnered interest post-pandemic yet remains fragmented. The purpose of this paper is to recognize the most impactful exogenous brand crisis (EBC) and its affective and behavioural impact on consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
In Study 1, we applied repertory grid technique (RGT), photo elicitation method and ANOVA comparisons, to identify the most significant EBC, in terms of repercussions on consumer purchases. In Study 2, we performed collage construction and content analysis to ascertain the impact of the identified significant crisis (from Study 1) on consumer behaviour in terms of affective and behavioural changes.
Findings
Study 1 results reveal Spread-of-diseases and Natural disaster to be the most impactful EBC based on consumer’s purchase decisions. Study 2 findings uncover three distinct themes, namely, deviant demand, emotional upheaval and community bonding that throws light on the affective and behavioural changes in consumer behaviour during the two significant EBC events.
Research limitations/implications
The collated results of the two studies draw insights towards understanding the largely unexplored conceptualisation of EBC from a multi-level (micro-meso-macro) perspective. The integrated framework drawn, highlight the roles and influences of different players in exogenous brand crisis management and suggests future research agendas based on theoretical underpinnings.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which identifies the most important EBC and explicates its profound impact on consumer purchase behaviour, providing critical insights to brand managers and practitioners to take an inclusive approach towards exogenous crises.
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Yahya Saleh, Ahmed Adnan Zaid and Rania Omar
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between total quality management (TQM) and the innovation performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between total quality management (TQM) and the innovation performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through empirical testing. It also seeks to determine whether the relationship between TQM and SMEs’ innovation is mediated by organizational culture (OC).
Design/methodology/approach
Data from managers/owners of food SMEs in the West Bank regions of Palestine were collected through a questionnaire that was assessed for validity and reliability. A structural equation model (SEM) was constructed using Smart PLS 3.9.2 to investigate the relationships.
Findings
The statistical results contribute to the existing literature by demonstrating a direct and positive relationship between TQM and OC where both have a positive and significant impact on innovation in food SMEs. Additionally, the study found that there is a significant and positive indirect impact of TQM on innovation in food SMEs, which is mediated by OC.
Research limitations/implications
The study's results offer valuable insights to food SMEs' managers/owners in the current dynamic manufacturing landscape, with a focus on using TQM as a means of enhancing their innovation. The findings can provide guidance to food SMEs by highlighting the significance of OC, as it impacts the effective implementation of TQM and subsequently leads to an improvement in innovation levels.
Originality/value
This study enhances the existing literature on TQM by providing an in-depth understanding of TQM as perceived by food SMEs in Palestine. It addresses the gap in empirical research on the combined impact of TQM and OC on innovations in food SMEs. The study contributes to the theoretical framework and has significant managerial implications, providing recommendations for future research.
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Pouria Khosravi, Cameron Newton, Azadeh Rezvani, Reza Ghanbarzadeh and Morteza Akbari
Management innovation is one of the most vital practices underpinning economic growth and is considered to be one of the fundamental components of gaining a superior business…
Abstract
Purpose
Management innovation is one of the most vital practices underpinning economic growth and is considered to be one of the fundamental components of gaining a superior business position in market conditions that are continually fluctuating. Drawing upon neo-institutional theory as well as absorptive capacity, the current empirical study unpacks the relationships between external institutional forces (i.e. regulative, mimetic and normative pressures) and management innovation through investigating the role of absorptive capacity as a mediator.
Design/methodology/approach
The research model is tested using survey data from Australian organisations. The study used Partial Least Squares (PLS), a component-based structural equation modelling (SEM) method, in order to perform the data analysis.
Findings
The results confirm that the various dimensions of institutional forces have diverse influences on management innovation. The authors found mimetic and normative pressures have positive influences on realised and potential absorptive capacity of an organisation. In addition, realised absorptive capacity mediates the relations between institutional forces and management innovation.
Originality/value
Dissimilar to preceding studies, this research shows that organisations not only innovate to pursue higher performance but sometimes strive for legitimacy. In addition, the significant associations between absorptive capacity and management innovation and the mediation role clearly signify that institutional forces and absorptive capacity play significant roles in the adoption of management innovation.
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David O'Connell and Mara Fitzgibbons Adams
This study builds upon previous research on grace in the workplace, using scholarship from the fields of psychology, business ethics, philosophy and religion with the purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study builds upon previous research on grace in the workplace, using scholarship from the fields of psychology, business ethics, philosophy and religion with the purpose of clarifying how people experience grace in their work, when it happens, why it happens and what are the affective outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from employed adults in the USA. Research questions were explored using qualitative and quantitative methods.
Findings
Working from a conceptual framework linking the occasions of grace, the reasons for grace-giving and the resulting sentiments, the design and findings of a mixed methods study are presented. The results clarify how individuals from various work environments, demographic groups and spiritualties enact and react to grace-giving at work.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to organizational change and workplace spirituality literatures by unpacking what precipitates workplace grace episodes, what is the nature of the interpersonal exchanges and individuals’ affective responses. This approach allows us to better understand what happens in the specific moments of grace and how grace-giving might be encouraged.
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Yoon Hee Kim, Luv Sharma and Daniel M. Walker
Extant research documents the cost benefits of group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to member hospitals, but understudies concerns about the market dominance of a few large GPOs…
Abstract
Purpose
Extant research documents the cost benefits of group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to member hospitals, but understudies concerns about the market dominance of a few large GPOs and the relatively weakened buyer power of hospitals in the US healthcare product supply chain. To fill the gap in the literature, this study investigates whether GPO size and a hospital’s relative power to its GPO affect the hospital’s supply expenses, and whether and how system membership moderates the power–performance link.
Design/methodology/approach
For this study, we collect the panel data from various secondary sources on GPO–hospital dyads, which include the seven largest GPOs and their 2,590 unique acute care hospital members in 51 states over the period of 2009–2017. To address the endogeneity issue associated with simultaneity, we establish a one-year time lag between dependent and independent variables and analyzed the 15,527 hospital-year observations using the time-series regression with fixed-effect.
Findings
We find that a hospital’s relative power to its GPO is the most critical factor to reduce its supply cost while GPO size has no effects. We also find that a nonsystem hospital achieves greater cost savings by leveraging its relative power to its GPO while a system hospital gains no benefits.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to address the paradox of GPO size and a hospital’s relative power and the moderating role of system membership for the hospital’s purchasing efficiency using a large nation-wide dataset of US hospitals–GPO dyads.
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Samuel Adusei, Dorcas Nuertey and Emmanuel Poku
This study investigated the relationship between last-mile distribution or delivery (LMD) and commodity access through the mediating role of commodity availability and commodity…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated the relationship between last-mile distribution or delivery (LMD) and commodity access through the mediating role of commodity availability and commodity security and the moderating effect of supply chain integration (SCI).
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted the survey research design and employed the questionnaire instrument in collecting primary data from respondents in Eastern Regional Health Institutions in Ghana. The total number of valid responses received was 204. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was adopted to analyze the relationship between the study variables.
Findings
The findings showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between LMD and commodity availability as well as LMD and commodity security. Moreover, while the relationship between commodity availability and commodity access is positive and significant, that between commodity security and commodity access is positive but insignificant. Furthermore, there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between LMD and commodity access. The study discovered that the interaction between LMD and commodity access is insignificant and negatively affected by SCI.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, no previous studies have empirically verified the effect of LMD on commodity access in the presence of mediating factors such as commodity availability and commodity security and SCI as the moderating factors.
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Abel Dula Wedajo, Shagufta Tariq Khan, Mohd Abass Bhat and Yousuf Mohamed Zahran Al Balushi
The study examines the characteristics and development trends of female entrepreneurship publications, cooperation networks between countries, journals and individuals…
Abstract
Purpose
The study examines the characteristics and development trends of female entrepreneurship publications, cooperation networks between countries, journals and individuals, intellectual structure of female entrepreneurship studies in Africa and hot research topics. Future comparative studies in different contexts and interdisciplinary collaboration can enrich the understanding about female entrepreneurship research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used text mining to analyze 130 peer-reviewed articles published from 1975 to 2022 for keywords and classify them into eight main classes: (1) Paradoxical space and informality, (2) work–family conflict, (3) women's entrepreneurial identity and networking, (4) rural women's entrepreneurial activities in the agricultural sector, (5) religious belief and women's entrepreneurial practice, (6) financial trap and environmental challenges, (7) women's entrepreneurial intentions and capacity building and (8) women in cultural entrepreneurship.
Findings
Female entrepreneurship publications develop significantly. Since 1975, African female entrepreneurship study has grown. Results show 130 publications from 1975 to 2023, with two papers published yearly in 2006–2011 and 23 in 2023, indicating growing interest. Paradoxical space and informality, work–family conflict, women's entrepreneurial identity and networking, religious belief and practice, financial trap and environmental challenges and entrepreneurial intentions and capacity building were hot topics identified by topic modeling analysis.
Practical implications
Female entrepreneurs have looser intellectual networks. Nation, organization and researcher communication is inadequate. Collaborating researchers from different universities and countries may develop the field.
Originality/value
This study is more data-driven and less biased than earlier reviews because it is based on thousands of citation data rather than a small number of papers pre-selected by the researchers. Displaying the field's structure and evolution enhances previous reviews.
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