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Outdoor experiential activities, commonly referred to as adventure learning (AL), have been useful in improving teamwork. This study shows the impact of AL on teamwork attitudes that are moderated by two competitive attitudes – the first, Kiasu‐positive (an attitude of diligence that directed effort towards work so as to get ahead of others) led to smaller teamwork attitudinal improvements, while the second, Kiasu‐negative (an attitude that is focussed on preventing others from getting ahead of oneself), led to larger teamwork attitudinal improvements. These competitive attitudes were also examined for their relationships with collectivism and pace of work.

The purpose of this paper is to provide for Western educators of international Chinese and Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) students the first integrated review of kiasu, the “fear of missing out”, and its consequences for learning, teaching, and future research.

A review of the economic importance of international Chinese students is provided, followed by consideration of the pedagogical consequences of restricted participation in educational activities by the so-called “silent Chinese student”. Examination of research on international Chinese students and their source cultures established significant gaps and misunderstandings in the generally accepted understandings of CHCs, especially with respect to the actual practices used in Western and Chinese teaching. More importantly, the participation-related implications of kiasu within the context of broader cultural characteristics are described and implications drawn for teaching practices and research.

While many Western university teachers are aware of the “silent Chinese student” phenomenon, few understand its underlying reasons, especially the kiasu mindset and its relationship to other cultural elements. Kiasu actively impedes the interaction of international Chinese students with their teachers and restricts collaboration with peers, thereby limiting educational achievement. Specific tactics for amelioration are reviewed and recommendations are provided, while an agenda for future research is outlined.

Western teachers need to normalise and encourage Chinese student participation in class activities using tactics that have been demonstrated to improve outcomes for Chinese students, but that also assist students generally. These include both within-class and electronic interaction tools.

More culturally sensitive understanding of the impact of cultural differences on teaching effectiveness. While some effective responses to these already exist, further research is needed to expand the skill-set of Western teachers who work with international Chinese students.

This paper provides the first systematic integration of the kiasu phenomenon with educational practice and research.

Kiasuism (from the adjective, kiasu; meaning “the fear of losing out”) is a much talked‐about topic in Singapore. This study seeks to assess the situation in Singapore and in a major city in Australia, define this cultural concept and explore the possible repercussions on society. Data collected from undergraduates in Singapore and Australia by using a questionnaire survey were analysed using statistical techniques such as multiple regression analysis and t‐tests of sample means. Qualitative methods such as content analyses and critical incident technique for instrument development were also employed. The study consisted of two phases: a phase one pilot study and a phase two questionnaire designed to determine the degree of kiasuism in the two samples and its effect on general wellbeing, academic performance and satisfaction with performance. Results indicated that kiasuism is not unique to Singapore, and may well be a behaviour exhibited by people around the world.

What organization would not want staff who could work well as a team, who could get on well with their colleagues, and who would support each other and who pooled their skills, knowledge and effort into the common cause of the enterprise’s success? Silly question maybe. After all, the only reason any workforce is a “force” at all, or why any establishment of employees is established in the first place is to work as a unit for the good of the business. Or is it? The answer, of course, is undoubtedly “yes” but the question needs asking, and answering, if only to clear up some confusion.

Personal agency is often considered the hallmark of the independent self. By contrast, interdependent selves are viewed as fitting into groups, adjusting to situations, and minimally asserting themselves. This characterization of the interdependent self as a “non-agent” assumes that personal and group agency are inimical to one another. We propose that group agency does not simply constrain personal agency, it also substitutes for personal agency, coexists with personal agency, and enhances personal agency. Further, we examine how independent selves experience constraint, a similarly underrepresented theme. These arguments introduce more nuanced conceptions of how independent and interdependent selves exercise agency.

This paper seeks to identify the cultural obstacles or what discourages the setting‐up of businesses among Singaporeans.

Focus group method.

Four obstacles: being over‐compliant, too left‐brained, over‐pampered, and afraid of failing, are identified. They are assessed as stemming from two key trends: chiefly, a safe, orderly and affluent society and Singapore Government's father‐leadership style. Several recommendations are then made.

Limitation: time and costs constraints – otherwise more focus group sessions could have been held. Future research, if a budget permits, can employ separate recorders to take notes, freeing the researcher to facilitate the discussions, extracting more information.

The paper implies the need for several cultural changes: Singaporeans can be more entrepreneurial by taking a paradigm shift, adopting the “backpack mentality”; embracing globalised thinking and networking; and tapping the melting‐pot edge.

The article provides a continuing perspective on entrepreneurship in Singapore.

Retail leakages caused by an increasing number of outshopping to other countries has become a growing concern among retailers in border areas. This research seeks to examine the shopping behaviour and attitudes of Singaporeans in neighboring Malaysia and, specifically, the influence of demographic and retail characteristics on outshopping. The importance of various types of secondary costs of outshopping and the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on attitudes toward outshopping are also explored. Findings reveal that food, beverage and grocery products are the most commonly outshopped items. Competitive prices and ample parking space are major reasons for outshopping frequently. Frequent outshoppers perceive fewer secondary costs than infrequent outshoppers and, as a whole, they do not feel unwelcome or guilty when outshopping. In short, this research suggests that, as consumers engage in outshopping primarily for economic reasons, they do not experience a lack of national pride or low consumer ethnocentrism.

Undergraduates constitute an attractive segment of customers for retail banks in many countries of the world, including Singapore. This study, using a sample of Singapore’s undergraduates, sets out to establish a ranking of the various dimensions which influence their bank selection decision and seeks to determine how homogeneous undergraduates are in relation to their selection decision. Seven bank selection dimensions were identified, the most important being undergraduates should “feel secure”, while the least important dimension was “third party influences”. Responses between those “attending engineering courses and non‐engineering courses” were compared, as were those between “males and females” and “single and multiple bank users”. More significant differences were found when engineering undergraduates were compared with non‐engineering undergraduates. Irrespective of these differences, the sequencing of the seven selection dimensions was invariably in the same order.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic caused a severe economic downturn. Employees working in these organisations face employment uncertainty. The pandemic disrupted their daily routines, and it added a layer of complexity to the already resource-constrained environment. During these times, employees would conserve their resources to maintain competitiveness, one of which is knowledge hiding. While economic activities are resuming, the appearance of new variants could mean the transition towards endemicity could be put on hold. Hence, there is a need to rethink the behaviour of employees as they would have elevated levels of anxiety towards resuming daily work activities. Therefore, this study aims to address the question of understanding employees’ perspectives toward knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding.

Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, social learning theory and the social exchange theory (SET), a conceptual framework involving ethical leadership was developed to examine if knowledge hiding or knowledge sharing behaviour is a resource for employees during these times. The partial least squares method of structural equation modelling was used to analyse results from 271 white-collar employees from Singapore.

The results show that ethical leadership encourages knowledge sharing but does not reduce knowledge hiding. At the same time, knowledge hiding, not knowledge sharing, improves one’s perception of work performance. Additionally, psychological safety is the key construct that reduces knowledge hiding and encourages sharing behaviour.

Overall, this study extends the theories, demonstrating that, first and foremost, knowledge hiding is a form of resource that provides employees with an added advantage in work performance during the endemic. At the same time, we provide a new perspective that ethical leaders’ demonstration of integrity, honesty and altruism alone is insufficient to encourage knowledge sharing or reduce knowledge hiding. It must lead to a psychologically safe environment.

Recent initiatives in business curricula have included emphasis on global business and ethics. Combines these issues by comparing the ethical predisposition of business students in New Zealand and Singapore to their US counterparts. A sample of 373 students indicated that the students in the three countries generally hold high expectations for the behaviour of consumers. The overall predisposition of the three groups as measured by the grand mean of the responses was virtually identical. However, of the 14 scenarios evaluated, four exhibited significant differences between the three groups. In two of these four, students from New Zealand expressed greater tolerance for questionable consumer action while US students expressed greater concern in regard to the other two. Singapore’s situation was somewhat in the middle. The results indicate that a global measure of ethical predisposition may be misleading and that ethical attitudes may be situational. Marketers must consider the characteristics of each country when assessing risk.