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The purpose of this paper is to study the nature of the incubator manager (IM)‐client, client‐client and client‐IM‐client relationships that facilitate incubation activity.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the nature of the incubator manager (IM)‐client, client‐client and client‐IM‐client relationships that facilitate incubation activity.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study methodology was adopted for undertaking the empirical work. The case organization was an Irish Dublin‐based university campus incubator. During the course of the research, which lasted six months, data were collected from high‐technology client firms and the incubator management using semi‐structured interviews, non‐participant observation and corporate documents.
Findings
Incubation is very much dependent on the quality of human relationships and occurs via a process of co‐production in dyads and triads. Without the voluntary and active participation of client firms, the mechanisms that facilitate co‐production break down. There is no one master incubation process, it is comprised of small micro‐processes each with its own norms, dynamic and stages depending on relational quality.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is based on a single case study using a qualitative, inductive and interpretive approach; the aim was analytic rather than statistical generalization, therefore, contributions are made to incubation theory.
Originality/value
The research makes a number of contributions; first, the amount of interaction among the incubation parties has the potential to both positively and negatively impact the overall quality of client experiences; second, levels of interaction and relational quality among a certain category of clients in the same incubator may be higher than others based on industrial affiliation; and third, brokerage behaviour by the IM that facilitates the connection of clients in consortia or links clients individually or in groups to unrelated outside agencies, improves the overall quality of the incubation environment.
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Donata Tania Vergura, Cristina Zerbini, Beatrice Luceri and Rosa Palladino
The research carried out a bibliometric analysis of the literature on environmental sustainability from a demand perspective by analyzing the scientific contributions published in…
Abstract
Purpose
The research carried out a bibliometric analysis of the literature on environmental sustainability from a demand perspective by analyzing the scientific contributions published in the last twenty years.
Design/methodology/approach
A bibliometric analysis was carried out to outline the scientific studies development, identifying the most discussed topics and those that would require future research. In total, 274 articles published between 1999 and 2021 were collected through the Web of Science database and analyzed with the SciMAT software.
Findings
By systematizing the literature results, the study revealed a steady growth in the number of publications and in the research areas, highlighting a substantial evolution of the research topic.
Research limitations/implications
The study contribute for conceptual, methodological and thematic development of the topic, systematizing the results of existing studies and providing useful indications for the promotion of sustainable consumer habits.
Originality/value
The study attempts to bridge the gap in current literature by offering a holistic view on the role of consumer behavior in pursuing sustainability goals, identifying both the most treated areas and the emerging ones that can represent opportunities for future research.
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Rimsha Khalid, Abu Bakar Abdul Hamid, Mohsin Raza, Pornpisanu Promsivapallop and Marco Valeri
In today’s digital age, technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace, and businesses that fail to keep up risk falling behind their competitors. This requires not only…
Abstract
Purpose
In today’s digital age, technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace, and businesses that fail to keep up risk falling behind their competitors. This requires not only investing in technological resources but also creating a culture that values and encourages women in technological learning and innovation in the tourism and hospitality sector. This study aims to investigate the consequences of organizational learning on firm innovation directly and indirectly with cultural and technological perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach
The study carries out a quantitative approach, and data is collected from 398 women entrepreneurs from Thailand’s tourism and hospitality sectors. The statistical software Smart-PLS was used to analyze the data.
Findings
The findings revealed that organizational learning (the learning orientation and learning process) significantly influence firm innovation and organizational culture. Organizational culture also significantly mediates learning orientation, learning process and firm innovation, while learning leadership was found to be insignificant in relationship with organizational culture and firm innovation. However, technological knowledge has a significant moderating influence between organizational culture and firm innovation.
Originality/value
This study’s focus on the role of learning practices among women-owned small medium enterprises is a valuable contribution to the literature on innovation and entrepreneurship. These provided dimensions that can be helpful for women entrepreneurs to enhance firm innovation. The study shed light on the importance of diverse kinds of learning practices that change the patterns of innovation. This study also provides directions to practitioners to develop and implement business innovation strategies from women’s perspectives.
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Nur Hanani Hussin and Ab Halim Tamuri
The purpose of this study was to examine the process of embedding values implemented by excellent teachers in teaching Islamic education in the multi-cultural society.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine the process of embedding values implemented by excellent teachers in teaching Islamic education in the multi-cultural society.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was a qualitative study, which used a combination of in-depth interviews, observation and document analysis for data collection. Using a purposive sampling technique, seven excellent Islamic education teachers were selected. The data were analysed using Atlas.ti 7.1.7.
Findings
The findings of the study show the process of embedding values among excellent teachers include the following aspects: teachers take into consideration the various differences among individuals in their classes, especially of learners’ names and family backgrounds, humour elements, praising of students, lectures, repetition practical areas, problem-solving and question and answer sessions. A variety of methods are used in the process of embedding values including two-way interactions between teachers and students. Teaching happens in stages that link to the cognitive level of the students and these learning environments allow the values to be exposed, taught and personally experienced by the students.
Practical implications
This study shows that teachers should use various types of teaching methods, i.e. light-hearted element, praising students, lectures, repetition, practical areas, problem-solving and question and answer sessions, to embed values during the lessons of Islamic education. Interaction between students and teachers takes place and creates a transformative process of knowledge and allowing the positive values to be taught effectively. They start to learn and appreciate the values of others and also be able to practice them in their daily lives. The students were exposed to the diversity of culture and various types of background of their friends. The awareness of the teachers in creating a learning environment that is sensitive to all students is very important. Thus, these methods should be taken into consideration by teachers to teach values and should be exposed during teacher training so they are able to implement them in the classroom.
Originality/value
This paper explores and describes methods of embedding of values used by excellent Islamic education teachers in the lessons of Islamic education. There are very few studies conducted in this area and this qualitative study is focussed on how values are thought in the lessons of Islamic education. These findings can be used by educators to improve the quality of the lessons based on most effective teaching methods used by the teachers in the lessons of Islamic education.
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Maryam Khashij, Arash Dalvand, Mohammad Mehralian, Ali Asghar Ebrahimi and Rasoul Khosravi
The purpose of this paper is to analyze zero valent iron nanoparticles (NZVIs) by a novel green method, taken from Thymus vulgaris (TV) plant extract, were synthesized and applied…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze zero valent iron nanoparticles (NZVIs) by a novel green method, taken from Thymus vulgaris (TV) plant extract, were synthesized and applied to degrade reactive black 5 (RB5) azo dye.
Design/methodology/approach
The optimum conditions for the highest removal of RB5 dye were determined. Characterization of NZVIs was done by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The NZVIs were used for the removal of dye RB5, and the parameters affecting were discussed like pH, initial concentration, contact time and NZVIs dosage.
Findings
The characterization results of NZVIs by SEM, TEM, FTIR and XRD show that polyphenols, organic acids and proteins reduce not only the green synthesis of NZVIs but also the aggregation of nanoparticles. The maximum dye removal efficiency of 99.6 per cent occurred at pH 4, NZVIs dose of 600 mg/L, and contact time of 5 min. The adsorption of RB5 dye onto the NZVIs surface and scavenging of the azo bond (−N = N) by the strong reduction of NZVIs were the proposed mechanisms for dye removal. The application of NZVIs to treat wastewater containing reactive dye shows high degradation efficiency.
Research limitations/implications
The findings may greatly benefit the application of the NZVIs taken from Thymus vulgaris (TV) in the fields of dye adsorption.
Practical implications
The present study is novel because it incorporated the morphological and structural properties of the synthesized NZVIs using a native plant of Iran and studied the capability of green-synthesized NZVIs to remove RB5 as a water contaminant.
Social implications
The native plant presented here can be developed for reduced environmental pollution before discharge to accepted water.
Originality/value
The NZVIs is prepared via green-synthesized method, which is prepared with leaves of TV. There are two main innovations. One is that the novel NZVIs is prepared successfully by native plant via green-synthesized method. The other is that the optimized conditions were obtained for the removal of RB5 dye as a water contaminant. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, no study has ever investigated the removal of RB5 by NZVIs produced using a native plant in Iran.
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Muhammad Shoaib and Hazir Ullah
This paper attempts to explore possible contributing factors of females' outperformance and males' underperformance in the higher education in Pakistan from teachers' perspective…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper attempts to explore possible contributing factors of females' outperformance and males' underperformance in the higher education in Pakistan from teachers' perspective. The central question of the study is what are the key factors that affect female and male students' educational performance at the university level? Using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) as a framework, we attempted to predict differentials of the perceived “female outperformance” and “male underperformance” in higher education. We carried out the study by employing quantitative research methods.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for the study come from 253 teachers from University of the Punjab-largest and oldest University in Pakistan. We used a structured questionnaire for data collection. The analysis was carried out with the help of ANN model. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data.
Findings
The testing results of ANN indicated 85.3% of teachers' perception was correctly predicted on various dimensions of performance differentials across female and male students in higher education.
Research limitations/implications
The study banks on primary data collected from teachers of the University of University of the Punjab, Pakistan. Thus, the study's universe was limited to one university – University of Punjab. It is purely based on a quantitative approach employing ANN.
Practical implications
The findings of this study have several significant implications, i.e. it makes a significant contribution to the existing body of scholarly texts on the issue of gender reverse change in academic performance in higher education.
Originality/value
The findings of this research, derived from primary data in Pakistan context, qualify this research as an original one. We also claim that this study is one of the first studies on gender reverse change in academic performance among graduate students in a public sector university of Pakistan employing ANN.
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Ifzal Ahmad and Waheed Ali Umrani
Combining two distinct streams of research studies in leadership and organizational management i.e. ethical leadership and Green human resource management (Green HRM) practices…
Abstract
Purpose
Combining two distinct streams of research studies in leadership and organizational management i.e. ethical leadership and Green human resource management (Green HRM) practices, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of ethical leadership style (ELS) on employees’ job satisfaction (JS) with a mediating role of Green HRM and psychological safety in health sector organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative methodology was adopted to achieve the aims of this study. Data were collected through pencil/paper questionnaires from the respondents (n=177) working in a public sector healthcare organization of Pakistan. Reliability and validity of measures were tested via AMOS (18) software. Results of proposed hypotheses were tested via Preacher and Hayes (2008) macro of mediation.
Findings
Contrary to the first hypothesis, no evidence of the direct impact of ELS on employees’ JS was found. However, the mediating roles of Green HRM and psychological safety were supported by the results.
Originality/value
Through this study, the authors have addressed three key gaps in the extant literature of ELS and corporate social responsibility, i.e. exploring the underlying mechanism through which ELS leads to important outcomes with two novel mediators, i.e. Green HRM and psychological safety, the role of ELS in promoting Green HRM in organizations and evidence from a public sector health organization in a developing country, Pakistan. Implications of the study are discussed.
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Constrained clustering is an important recent development in clustering literature. The goal of an algorithm in constrained clustering research is to improve the quality of…
Abstract
Purpose
Constrained clustering is an important recent development in clustering literature. The goal of an algorithm in constrained clustering research is to improve the quality of clustering by making use of background knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a new perspective for constrained clustering, by finding an effective transformation of data into target space on the reference of background knowledge given in the form of pairwise must- and cannot-link constraints.
Design/methodology/approach
Most of existing methods in constrained clustering are limited to learn a distance metric or kernel matrix from the background knowledge while looking for transformation of data in target space. Unlike previous efforts, the author presents a non-linear method for constraint clustering, whose basic idea is to use different non-linear functions for each dimension in target space.
Findings
The outcome of the paper is a novel non-linear method for constrained clustering which uses different non-linear functions for each dimension in target space. The proposed method for a particular case is formulated and explained for quadratic functions. To reduce the number of optimization parameters, the proposed method is modified to relax the quadratic function and approximate it by a factorized version that is easier to solve. Experimental results on synthetic and real-world data demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.
Originality/value
This study proposes a new direction to the problem of constrained clustering by learning a non-linear transformation of data into target space without using kernel functions. This work will assist researchers to start development of new methods based on the proposed framework which will potentially provide them with new research topics.
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Joana Baleeiro Passos, Daisy Valle Enrique, Camila Costa Dutra and Carla Schwengber ten Caten
The innovation process demands an interaction between environment agents, knowledge generators and policies of incentive for innovation and not only development by companies…
Abstract
Purpose
The innovation process demands an interaction between environment agents, knowledge generators and policies of incentive for innovation and not only development by companies. Universities have gradually become the core of the knowledge production system and, therefore, their role regarding innovation has become more important and diversified. This study is aimed at identifying the mechanisms of university–industry (U–I) collaboration, as well as the operationalization steps of the U–I collaboration process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is aimed at identifying, based on a systematic literature review, the mechanisms of university–industry (U–I) collaboration, as well as the operationalization steps of the U–I collaboration process.
Findings
The analysis of the 72 selected articles enabled identifying 15 mechanisms of U–I collaboration, proposing a new classification for such mechanisms and developing a framework presenting the operationalization steps of the interaction process.
Originality/value
In this paper, the authors screened nearly 1,500 papers and analyzed in detail 86 papers addressing U–I collaboration, mechanisms of U–I collaboration and operationalization steps of the U–I collaboration process. This paper provides a new classification for such mechanisms and developing a framework presenting the operationalization steps of the interaction process. This research contributes to both theory and practice by highlighting managerial aspects and stimulating academic research on such timely topic.
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Muhammad Umar, Maqbool Hussain Sial, Syed Ahmad Ali, Muhammad Waseem Bari and Muhammad Ahmad
This paper aims to investigate the tacit knowledge-sharing framework among Pakistani academicians. The objective is to study trust and social networks as antecedents to foster…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the tacit knowledge-sharing framework among Pakistani academicians. The objective is to study trust and social networks as antecedents to foster tacit knowledge sharing with the mediating role of commitment. Furthermore, the moderating role of organizational knowledge-sharing culture is also examined.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applied a survey-based quantitative research design to test the proposed model. The nature of data are cross-sectional and collected with stratified random sampling among public sector higher education professionals of Pakistan. The total sample size for the present research is 247 respondents. The variance-based structural equation modeling technique by using Smart_PLS software is used for analysis.
Findings
Data analysis and results reveal that trust and social networks are significant predictors of tacit knowledge sharing among Pakistani academicians while commitment positively mediated the relationships. While the moderating role of organizational knowledge-sharing culture is also established.
Research limitations/implications
The current research explains tacit knowledge sharing among academics with fewer antecedents i.e. social network and trust with limited sample size and specific population. There is still a great deal of work to be done in this area. Hence, the study provides direction for including knowledge-oriented leadership and knowledge governance in the current framework. Moreover, the framework can be tested in different work settings for better generalization.
Practical implications
The study gives an important lead to practitioners for enhancing tacit knowledge sharing at the workplace through a robust social network of employees, building trust and boosting employees’ commitment, as well as through supportive organizational knowledge sharing culture.
Originality/value
The research comprehends the tacit knowledge sharing framework with theoretical arrangements of trust, social networks, commitment and culture in higher education workplace settings under the umbrella of social capital theory.
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