Search results

This study aims to investigate how to manage the stressors that facility managers (FMs) face with the aim of reducing their stress and strain levels.

Using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, stressors are operationalized from job demands, job resources and personal resources constructs. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from FMs based in Singapore.

FMs have significantly high levels of stress, but they are able to manage this well. Job demands that cause stress and strain are those relating to insufficient time to complete the work and difficulties in handling the work. The lack of job resources in terms of lack of organizational support and inadequate stress mitigation programs are associated with high levels of stress and strain.

The limitations are the relatively small sample size and absence of a database of FMs in Singapore, and correlation is not causation when determining the association between stressors and stress and strain.

Based on the recommendations, employers and FMs may manage the specific stressors identified so that FMs’ stress and strain levels are under control to enable them to work optimally.

This research discovered that the JD-R model is moderated by certain features of facilities management and FMs. When these features are present, FMs are predisposed to more stressors, and higher stress and strain. For the facilities management profession, the discovery is that there are significantly more job demands: for in-house FMs compared to those working for outsourced firms; for FMs who need to carry out estate and asset management, landlord activities and facility planning compared to FMs who focus on operations and maintenance; and for FMs who work longer than five days compared to those who work a five-day week.

With the growing need for employees to be innovative, public-sector organizations are investing in employee training. This study aims to examine the effects of a combined Lean Six Sigma and innovation training, using action learning, on public-sector employees’ creative role identity and innovative work behavior.

The authors studied a public service agency in Singapore in which a five-day Lean Innovation Training was implemented, using a combination of Lean Six Sigma and Creative Problem-Solving tools, with a simulation on day one and subsequent team-based project coaching, spread over six months. The authors administered pre- and postintervention surveys among all the employees, and initiated group interviews and observations before, during and after the intervention.

Creative role identity and innovative work behavior had significantly improved six months after the intervention, enabled through senior management’s transformational leadership. The training induced managers to role-model innovative work behaviors while cocreating, with their employees, a renewal of their agency’s core processes. The three completed improvement projects contributed to an innovative work culture and reduced service turnaround time.

Starting with a role-playing simulation on the first day, during which leaders and followers swapped roles, the action-learning type training taught all the organizational members to use various Lean Six Sigma and Creative Problem-Solving tools. This nimble Lean Innovation Training, and subsequent team-based project coaching, exemplifies how advancing the staff’s creative role identity can have a positive impact.

This study is the first to investigate the causal relationship between Bitcoin and equity price returns by sectors. Previous studies have focused on aggregated indices such as S&P500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones, but this study uses mixed frequency and disaggregated data at the sectoral level. This allows the authors to examine the nature, direction and strength of causality between Bitcoin and equity prices in different sectors in more detail.

This paper utilizes an Unrestricted Asymmetric Mixed Data Sampling (U-AMIDAS) model to investigate the effect of high-frequency Bitcoin returns on a low-frequency series equity returns. This study also examines causality running from equity to Bitcoin returns by sector. The sample period covers United States (US) data from 3 Jan 2011 to 14 April 2023 across nine sectors: materials, energy, financial, industrial, technology, consumer staples, utilities, health and consumer discretionary.

The study found that there is no causality running from Bitcoin to equity returns in any sector except for the technology sector. In the tech sector, lagged Bitcoin returns Granger cause changes in future equity prices asymmetrically. This means that falling Bitcoin prices significantly influence the tech sector during market pullbacks, but the opposite cannot be said during market rallies. The findings are consistent with those of other studies that have established that during market pullbacks, individual asset prices have a tendency to decline together, whereas during market rallies, they have a tendency to rise independently. In contrast, this study finds evidence of causality running from all sectors of the equity market to Bitcoin.

The findings have significant implications for investors and fund managers, emphasizing the need to consider the asymmetric causality between Bitcoin and the tech sector. Investors should avoid excessive exposure to both Bitcoin and tech stocks in their portfolio, as this may lead to significant drawdowns during market corrections. Diversification across different asset classes and sectors may be a more prudent strategy to mitigate such risks.

The study's findings underscore the need for investors to pay close attention to the frequency and disaggregation of data by sector in order to fully understand the true extent of the relationship between Bitcoin and the equity market.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact and mechanism of WeChat public platforms articles (abbreviated as WPP) on blood donation behavior using data of WPPA and donation behavior data.

This paper uses multiple linear regression methods, web crawlers and natural language processing technology. It first quantifies the impact of WPP published articles on donation behavior. On this basis, it then selects data from the day of article publication to further study the impact of article dissemination on donation behavior from the perspective of reading quantity, and analyzes the influencing factors of article reading quantity.

The results show that on the same day that an article is published, there is an increase of 13.8 and 14.3% in blood donation volume and fan registrations, respectively. The mediating effect exists. However, the day after an article is published, there is no longer any effect on blood donations. With a 1% increase in reading quantity, blood donation volume on the day of article publication increases by 0.13%, and this positive impact is promoted by the quality of the articles. A conc ise articles title and body and rich images help drive reading quantity. Moreover, blood donors prefer to read articles about blood dynamics and donation promotion, while articles about news, announcements and administrative affairs make them less inclined to read.

First, it focuses on WPPA, quantifies the impact of articles on blood donation behavior and analyzes the mechanism. Second, the authors study the impact and timeliness of social media article dissemination to address the insufficiency of existing research. Third, the study provides a scientific basis for the editing and publishing of articles, helping blood banks improve the effectiveness of publicity and recruitment.

The global rise in obesity can be closely linked to excessive calorie consumption and misperceptions regarding food intake. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature to have a better understanding how heuristic cues – mental shortcuts used for decision-making – impact calorie underestimation and consequently lead to unhealthy eating habits.

A search was conducted across multiple databases with priority given to studies in developed countries that provided insights into the cognitive processes behind food choices, the application of specific heuristics, and the association with eating behaviours. Articles were also selected based on their methodological quality.

The main findings are that the dichotomous categorization of foods as healthy or unhealthy can result in underestimating the calorie content in those foods perceived as healthy. Although nutrition claims, health claims and campaigns help in the fight against obesity, there is also the risk that consumers’ reliance on heuristic-based decision-making could aggravate the problem because a misinterpretation or misrepresentation could lead to calorie underestimation and overeating.

To establish effective behavioural interventions for obesity prevalence -, it is critical for interventions and policies to understand how consumers perceive calorie content and how they interpret claims on food marketing or packaging. Recognizing and addressing these heuristic-driven biases and understanding the factors influencing food choices are crucial for encouraging healthier eating habits.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the only review to date that consolidates research on the topic, drawing from multiple disciplines.

The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative approach to overcoming a common dilemma in designing negotiation simulations – that of situating a simulation in a real-life or fictitious context. This binary choice, which the authors call the negotiation designer’s dilemma, has profound implications for the types of learning activities and outcomes that can be integrated into the overall learning experience. As a way of overcoming the trade-offs inherent in this dilemma, the authors developed what they term hybrid simulations, which blend elements of fact and fiction in its contextual design in a particular way.

The authors were part of a negotiation simulation design team that used Design Thinking to understand the negotiation designer’s dilemma and to prototype and test a corresponding solution.

This paper demonstrates the benefits, potential applications and the how-to of hybrid simulations within the context of two such simulations the authors have designed at two different Swiss business schools. This paper concludes by discussing the potential and limitations for the application of hybrid simulations, as well as areas of potential further development.

The concept of a hybrid negotiation is a novel design trick that can be used in a variety of negotiation simulation contexts.

Facilities management (FM) plays a key role in the performance of businesses to ensure the comfort of users and the sustainable use of natural resources over operation and maintenance. Nevertheless, reactive maintenance (RM) services are characterised by delays, waste and difficulties in prioritising services and identifying the root causes of failures; this is mostly caused by inefficient asset information and communication management. While linking building information modelling and the Internet of Things through a digital twin has demonstrated potential for improving FM practices, there is a lack of evidence regarding the process requirements involved in their implementation. This paper aims to address this challenge, as it is the first to statistically characterise RM services and processes to identify the most critical RM problems and scenarios for digital twin implementation. The statistical data analytics approach also constitutes a novel practical approach for a holistic analysis of RM occurrences.

The research strategy was based on multiple case studies, which adopted university campuses as objects for investigation. A detailed literature review of work to date and documental analysis assisted in generating data on the FM sector and RM services, where qualitative and statistical analyses were applied to approximately 300,000 individual work requests.

The work provides substantial evidence of a series of patterns across both cases that were not evidenced prior to this study: a concentration of requests within main campuses; a balanced distribution of requests per building, mechanical and electrical service categories; a predominance of low priority level services; a low rate of compliance in attending priority services; a cumulative impact on the overall picture of five problem subcategories (i.e. Building-Door, Mechanical-Plumbing, Electrical-Lighting, Mechanical-Heat/Cool/Ventilation and Electrical-Power); a predominance of problems in student accommodation facilities, circulations and offices; and a concentration of requests related to unlisted buildings. These new patterns form the basis for business cases where maintenance services and FM sectors can benefit from digital twins. It also provides a new methodological approach for assessing the impact of RM on businesses.

The findings provide new insights for owners and FM staff in determining the criticality of RM services, justifying investments and planning the digital transformation of services for a smarter provision.

This study represents a unique approach to FM and provides detailed evidence to identify novel RM patterns of critical service provision and activities within organisations for efficient digitalised data management over a building’s lifecycle.

This study aims to, firstly, develop a red flag checklist for cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes and, secondly, to test this red flag checklist against publicly available marketing material for Mirror Trading International (MTI). The red flag checklist test seeks to establish if MTI’s marketing material posted on YouTube^® (in the form of a live video presentation) exhibits any of the red flags from the checklist.

The study uses a structured literature review and qualitative analysis of red flags for Ponzi and cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes.

A research lacuna was discovered with regard to cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme red flags. By means of a structured literature review, journal papers were identified that listed and discussed Ponzi scheme red flags. The red flags from the identified journal papers were subsequently used in a qualitative analysis. The analyses and syntheses resulted in the development of a red flag checklist for cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes, with five red flag categories, containing 18 associated red flags. The red flag checklist was then tested against MTI’s marketing material (a transcription of a live YouTube presentation). The test resulted in MTI’s marketing material exhibiting 88% of the red flags contained within the checklist.

The inherent limitations in the design of using a structured literature review and the lack of research regarding the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme red flags.

The study provides a red flag checklist for cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes. The red flag checklist can be applied to a cryptocurrency investment scheme’s marketing material to establish if it exhibits any of these red flags.

The red flag checklist can be applied to a cryptocurrency investment scheme’s marketing material to establish if it exhibits any of these red flags.

The study provides a red flag checklist for cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes.

COVID-19 disrupted the usual way of working for many people across the globe, making full-time work from home and hybrid models two popular work arrangements. Despite the proliferation and high acceptance of the hybrid model, very little research has focused on the same. This study aims to compare the impact of transitions caused by remote work on work disengagement under two settings: remote work and hybrid model.

The data is collected from three corporate hubs in India: Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Bangalore. This study’s respondents represent two working models: full-time work from home and a hybrid model. Responses were collected using Google forms-based questionnaire, which resulted in the following usable responses: 356 (hybrid) and 398 (work from home).

The findings reveal that the structural model for the hybrid sector explained 11% of the variance in work disengagement, while the same for work from home model accounted for 20% of the variance in work disengagement. The authors also tested for the moderation of individual resilience between work-home and home-to-work conflicts and home-to-work transitions and work-to-home conflict under full-time work-from and hybrid models. Based on 356 respondents from hybrid category and 398 from work from home, the study found that employees experience less work-to-home and home-to-work conflicts in the hybrid model and employees experience more work-to-home and home-to-work conflicts in the full-time work from home model.

The study is also the first to examine the moderating role of individual resilience as a tool to bounce back and handle conflicts. As the full-time work from home model leads to more work-to-home and home-to-work conflicts, individuals have more scope to exhibit resilience, and thus, the moderating relationship is stronger in the full-time work from home model. The paper offers theoretical and managerial implications.

This paper aims to examine the learning gained from the evolving adjustment experiences of co-workers in moving to home-based working during the COVID-19 pandemic and the influence of these experiences on re-adjusting to return to co-working.

Results of a longitudinal qualitative study are reported where a group of co-workers were interviewed on three occasions between 2019 and 2022. Experiences are analysed alongside the adjustment to the remote work model using a boundary management lens.

The main adjustment experiences were in work location, temporal structures, professional and social interactions, and a new adjustment area was identified around family role commitment that emerged in the home-based setting. Boundary management practices were temporal, behavioural, spatial and object-related and evolved with the unfolding of adjustment experiences. A return to using co-working spaces was driven by the need for social interaction and spatial boundaries but affected by the requirement for increased privacy.

This paper will help workplace managers to understand adjustment experiences and develop facilities that will support a positive shared working environment not fulfilled through home-based working.

Although many workers abruptly transitioned to home-based working during the pandemic, this research considers those who would normally choose to work in a community-centred working environment rather than being home-based. As such, their experience of adjustment is of greater interest, particularly in terms of their expectations for shared working spaces.