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1 – 10 of 117Hidenori Sato and Kiyohiro Oki
This study aims to investigate the consequences of middle managers’ sensegiving for organisational change in neglected workplaces, where middle managers are given insufficient…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the consequences of middle managers’ sensegiving for organisational change in neglected workplaces, where middle managers are given insufficient resources because of receiving low attention from top management.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a case study of three call centres in the Japanese non-life insurance industry. To collect data, the authors conducted interviews with ten stakeholders and made multiple field observations.
Findings
The authors identified the following mechanism: in neglected workplaces, middle managers initially focus on sensegiving to employees because they recognise the difficulty of eliciting support from top management. However, as a result, they see sensegiving to employees as top priority and do not try to elicit the support of top management, which is necessary for further organisational change. As a result, organisational change stops at a certain level.
Research limitations/implications
The authors identified the following mechanism: in neglected workplaces, middle managers initially focus on sensegiving to employees because they recognise the difficulty of eliciting support from top management. However, as a result, they see sensegiving to employees as their top priority and do not try to elicit the support of top management, which is necessary for further organisational change. As a result, organisational change stops at a certain level.
Originality/value
First, this study contributes to the body of research on the effects of sensegiving on organisational change. It shows the new problems hidden behind organisational change, which existing research merely regards as independent successes. Second, this study identifies middle managers’ behaviour during organisational change in neglected workplaces. Instead of focusing on the factors necessary for successful organisational change, as in existing studies, this study extends the knowledge of the role of middle managers in organisational change by focusing on their behaviours when success factors are not aligned.
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Meagan O'Brien, Orla Kistmacher, Sabrina Marie Stephen and Gerard Thomas Flaherty
This paper aims to describe the unique health challenges facing female commercial sex workers (FSWs), including issues related to their marginalisation and difficulty accessing…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the unique health challenges facing female commercial sex workers (FSWs), including issues related to their marginalisation and difficulty accessing health care. It proposes solutions to some of these problems.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper addresses this sensitive subject through the methodology of a literature review, drawing on a variety of relevant published literature to inform a modern understanding of the current health challenges faced by this population.
Findings
This paper discusses issues around criminalisation of commercial sex workers, complexities of family planning, sexually transmitted infection prevention, mental health and substance abuse and how increasing health-care worker awareness of the health needs of this vulnerable population can be a positive step in building trust within this relationship. Although adoption of the proposed recommendations put forth in this paper may help to eliminate some of the barriers encountered by female sex workers, further research is recommended.
Originality/value
The subject of commercial sex worker health care is neglected in the academic literature. This review explores the topic in an open and balanced manner and presents a broad and updated overview of the current health-care challenges faced by FSWs as well as opportunities for optimising access and quality of sex worker health care.
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This study aims to establish the shape of investment dynamics in equity crowdfunding to better understand backer behavior.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to establish the shape of investment dynamics in equity crowdfunding to better understand backer behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
This study provides insights into when backers invest in successful funding campaigns. It uses t-tests to compare differences in means between observation windows during successful funding campaigns. It is based on 4,938 transactions from 61 campaigns, focusing on the first and last tail ends.
Findings
In contrast to previous findings, the current investment dynamics seem more U-shaped than L-shaped. This supports previous findings about a strong start but also suggests a late collective attention effect. The strength is higher at the first tail end. However, differences in the later tail ends are statistically significant and emphasize the presence of late investment activities, especially in crowded or less complex campaigns.
Practical implications
These findings emphasize the importance of signaling during the entire funding window. This encourages platforms to invest in user-friendly functionalities that guide entrepreneurs and help backers when investing in successful campaigns.
Originality/value
This study improves the understanding of backer behavior and suggests changing investment dynamics in equity crowdfunding. In addition, this pattern contrasts with previous findings on dynamic collective attention effects in rich digitally informative markets, implying two attention effects when uncertainty is high.
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Pramod Malaka Silva, Niluka Domingo and Noushad Ali Naseem Ameer Ali
The construction industry is complex, human-intensive and driven by monetary values. Hence, disputes are widespread. Initial conflicts among parties may develop into a disastrous…
Abstract
Purpose
The construction industry is complex, human-intensive and driven by monetary values. Hence, disputes are widespread. Initial conflicts among parties may develop into a disastrous dispute that costs the project success and good relationships and affects stakeholders' expectations. There has been a focus on causes of construction-related disputes, and studies over the past three decades have attempted to identify a more comprehensive list of reasons for disputes. Some of these studies' limitations were geographical, project delivery methods and project types. The purpose of this study is to identify the most recent and conclusive list of causes of disputes based on current literature by undertaking a systematic literature review (SLR).
Design/methodology/approach
Considering the large number of studies that focused on causes of disputes, this study aims to develop a comprehensive list of causes, using a SLR, as it ensures that all previous articles in multiple databases are reviewed to produce a comprehensive outcome. A six-stage SLR was followed from background study to analysis and reporting.
Findings
Not surprisingly, the number of publications has increased over time, most from the Middle East region. The interconnected nature of the causes was widely emphasised. The SLR has produced eight common core causes of disputes. They are: poor contractual arrangements, employer-initiated scope changes, unforeseen site changes, poor contract understanding and administration, contractor’s quality of works, the inability of the contractor to achieve time targets, non- or delayed payments and poor quality of design. The majority of previous authors realised that disputes could be avoided by parties’ involvement during the early stages, avoiding being opportunistic and acting collaboratively.
Originality/value
Even though numerous studies have been carried out to identify the causes of disputes in the construction industry, none did a SLR. This study aggregates all the previous studies that focused on construction-related disputes systematically. Categorising causes based on the party primarily responsible help various stakeholders by providing a distinct list of factors to avoid that contribute to disputes.
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Ziggi Ivan Santini, Ola Ekholm, Ai Koyanagi, Sarah Stewart-Brown, Line Nielsen, Charlotte Meilstrup, Vibeke Koushede and Lau Caspar Thygesen
Prior research on relations between mental health and pain has focused on negative mental health aspects (e.g. depression), while the literature is scarce in terms of positive…
Abstract
Purpose
Prior research on relations between mental health and pain has focused on negative mental health aspects (e.g. depression), while the literature is scarce in terms of positive aspects, such as mental well-being. This study aims to investigate prospective associations of mental well-being at baseline with pain and functional impairment due to pain in the following year.
Design/methodology/approach
Data stem from a Danish nationally representative survey of 5,000 adults (aged 15+) conducted in 2019 and 2020, which was linked to register data. The Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale was used to assess mental well-being, both continuously (range 7–35) and categorically (low, moderate, high). Logistic regressions were conducted to assess associations between mental well-being in 2019 and pain and functional impairment due to pain (among those reporting any pain) in 2020.
Findings
In the fully adjusted models, each point increase in mental well-being was inversely associated with pain (OR = 0.97, 95%CI 0.95–0.99) and functional impairment due to pain (OR = 0.96, 95%CI 0.94–0.99). As compared to low mental well-being, moderate mental well-being was associated with an OR of 0.76 (95%CI 0.58–0.99) for pain and an OR of 0.63 (95%CI 0.46–0.87) of functional impairment due to pain, while high mental well-being was associated with an OR of 0.56 (95%CI 0.40–0.77) for pain and an OR of 0.53 (95%CI 0.34–0.79) for functional impairment due to pain.
Originality/value
Higher mental well-being levels may be protective against pain and functional impairment due to pain. Wider mental health promotion may be considered to prevent pain and associated functional impairments in the general population.
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Krzysztof Borodako, Jadwiga Berbeka and Michał Rudnicki
The aim of the study is to assess the resilience of tourism enterprises in the face of the pandemic crisis and the war in Ukraine. It was achieved on the base of the results of…
Abstract
The aim of the study is to assess the resilience of tourism enterprises in the face of the pandemic crisis and the war in Ukraine. It was achieved on the base of the results of surveys conducted among Małopolska (Poland) tourism enterprises in the years 2021–2022. The research was conducted using the CAWI technique, it has been collected 517 completed questionnaires. Regression analysis was used to check the relationships between the studied variables. The findings confirm that the surveyed companies react agilely to changing, volatile, uncertain, and complex business conditions. These companies undertook numerous innovative (most often in the scale of the company) solutions in the organisational area. Changes noticed in the behaviour of contractors were also confirmed by constant monitoring of the environment forced by dynamic changes in conditions. Among the factors determining the activities of tourist companies in the context of international factors, one can undoubtedly mention the uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine (and thus the energy crisis). The research focuses on the important subject of resilience, organisational changes, and agility in adapting to conditions in the face of volatility and uncertainty in the environment.
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Ola Martin Jensen Larsen, Laura E.M. Traavik and Mari Svendsen
This article examines how the practice of work inclusion towards vulnerable groups can positively affect individual leaders and co-workers. We specifically examine intrapersonal…
Abstract
Purpose
This article examines how the practice of work inclusion towards vulnerable groups can positively affect individual leaders and co-workers. We specifically examine intrapersonal factors like motivation and commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a multiple case design, data is gathered through semi-structured interviews in three private Norwegian organizations. Fifteen interviews were conducted and included leaders and co-workers from each organization. Secondary data, such as internal documents regarding the work inclusion policies, sustainability reports and news articles, were also used to describe different organizational approaches toward work inclusion.
Findings
Work inclusion activities can positively affect leaders’ and co-workers’ commitment and intrinsic motivation.
Originality/value
This article focuses on the individuals who conduct inclusive behavior and how they benefit from practicing inclusion. Exploring the three companies’ different inclusion policies provides insights into how these are associated with different outcomes. The findings indicate that the policy structure and the practice of inclusion can have positive motivational and commitment effects.
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Maria Eidenskog, Ola Leifler, Johanna Sefyrin, Ericka Johnson and Mikael Asplund
The information technology (IT) sector has been seen as central to society's transformation to a more just and sustainable society, which underlines teachers’ responsibility to…
Abstract
Purpose
The information technology (IT) sector has been seen as central to society's transformation to a more just and sustainable society, which underlines teachers’ responsibility to foster engineers who can contribute specifically to such ends. This study aims to report an effort to significantly update an existing engineering programme in IT with this ambition and to analyse the effects and challenges associated with the transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a combination of action-oriented research based on implementing key changes to the curriculum; empirical investigations including surveys and interviews with students and teachers, and analysis of these; and a science and technology studies-inspired analysis.
Findings
Respondents were generally positive towards adding topics relating to sustainability. However, in the unmaking of traditional engineering subjects, changes created a conflict between core versus soft subjects in which the core subjects tended to gain the upper hand. This conflict can be turned into productive discussions by focusing on what kinds of engineers the authors’ educate and how students can be introduced to societal problems as an integrated part of their education.
Practical implications
This study can be helpful for educators in the engineering domain to support them in their efforts to transition from a (narrow) focus on traditional disciplines to one where the bettering of society is at the core.
Originality/value
This study provides a novel approach to the transformation of engineering education through a theoretical analysis seldom used in studies of higher education on a novel case study.
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This paper aims at a qualitative investigation and analysis of the complicated situation of the four German Political Foundations (GPFs) – Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Konrad…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims at a qualitative investigation and analysis of the complicated situation of the four German Political Foundations (GPFs) – Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Friedrich Naumann Foundation and Hanns Seidel Foundation – as actors of democracy assistance in Egypt post 25 January 2011 revolution. It explores the relation between the restrictive political circumstances and the weakness and potential failure of the GPFs while considering their internal structural and operative misconducts as intervening variables.
Design/methodology/approach
The researcher uses the qualitative research method and its interpretive practices of data collection. The backbone of this study are the field visits and extensive interviews with the resident representatives of the GPFs in Egypt, and the representatives of the international departments of their headquarters in Germany. These interviews were complemented by further interviews with members of related organizations in Germany, as well as Egyptian professors, diplomats and experts on Egypt and the broader Middle East. The interviewing method is semi-structured in nature and audio-recorded. In Germany, interviews and information were gathered throughout a four-month field-research stay in Germany.
Findings
The paper concludes that the restrictive regime and political limitations were determining variables undermining the success of the GPFs in the area of democracy assistance in Egypt post 2011 revolution, while the GPFs’ own operative malfunctions and lack of adaptation to the political reality post 2011 were contributing factors in the process.
Research limitations/implications
Owing to security concerns and trust issues, many interviewees were reluctant to give information openly and freely; also requesting complete anonymity in the study. Some information and documents were denied to the researcher out of security concerns.
Originality/value
The added value of this paper lies in the qualitative research, investigations and personalized views on the functions and situation of the GPFs as international actors of democracy assistance in Egypt post 25 January 2011 revolution, considering the restrictive political landscape in which they exist. The study can assist scholars and researchers who explore the processes of democratization during transitional periods and the harsh grip of restrictive regime.
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